Grace Instead of Wrath - Isaiah 40-44

 Isaiah 43:1-4 (ESV)

But now thus says the LORD,

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.

For I am the LORD your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

I give Egypt as your ransom,

Cush and Seba in exchange for you.

Because you are precious in my eyes,

and honored, and I love you,

I give men in return for you,

peoples in exchange for your life.

To better grasp the beauty of the above words from God to Israel you have to remember the context of the book of Isaiah.   God is not pleased with Israel, His chosen people.   God is bringing in Babylonian warriors to crush them.   Their idol worship has grieved their God. As chapters 41 and 42 come to close we read the condemnation of Israel for their sins; their rejection of God’s mercy and goodness.  They turned to the worldly and forsook the blessings of God.   What should naturally follow this declaration by God of their guilt is the condemnation by God in their judgment.   Chapter 43 should begin with an opening phrase like:  “Since you abandoned Me for worthless idols I am going to do this to you ...!”   That is not what happens.  Instead of condemnation God pours out grace.    If you and I were to write the opening lines of chapter 43, it would read like this:

But now thus says the LORD,

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

I WILL CRUSH YOU UNDER MY WRATH!

Instead God speaks through Isaiah:

But now thus says the LORD,

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

“FEAR NOT, FOR I HAVE REDEEMED YOU;

This might be one of the most unexpected turns in Scripture.  This is equivalent to the writings of Paul when he writes:

Ephesians 2:1-4 (ESV)

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. BUT God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,

In the midst of what we deserve God provides mercy and grace to cover our sins.   What an amazing God.   Rather than being disposed in God’s eyes, Isaiah writes that they are precious in God’s eyes.   Instead of judgment we receive salvation.   God is a merciful God.