Bible Studies for Life By Jeffery M. Leonard, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Religion, Samford University
One Great Purpose
Isaiah 43:1–7
For the people of Israel, the exile of the nation to Babylonia was a cataclysmic event. In successive waves of onslaught, the Babylonians and their powerful king, Nebuchadnezzar, laid waste to the nation.
After first asserting control over the region in 605 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar returned in 597 B.C. to put down a rebellion led by the Judean king, Zedekiah. A brief siege led to the surrender of the city and the exile of thousands of captives who were sent to live out their days in Babylon. Chief among these was Zedekiah himself who was forced to watch the slaughter of his sons before having his own eyes gouged out.
Just a decade later the Babylonians returned to destroy Jerusalem and the glorious temple of Solomon once and for all. Little wonder the psalmist would go on to lament, “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and there we wept when we remembered Zion” (Ps. 137).
It is the fate of the captives in Babylon to which the second part of the book of Isaiah, Chapters 40–55, returns to again and again. Dominating the prophet’s oracles is one key conviction: When the long years of the exile come to an end, God will lead His people out of Babylon in an event so dramatic it will be no less than a second exodus. In Chapter 40, he comforts the nation, telling her that her hard service is at an end, her sin has been paid for (vv. 1–2). He speaks of preparing a way for the Lord, a highway for God in the desert (vv. 3–4). It is along this highway out of Babylon that God will gently lead His flock back home (vv. 10–11).
We were intended to be
in relationship with God. (1–2)
As he arrives in Chapter 43, the prophet continues to encourage the nation of Israel with words of hope for a new exodus soon to come.
In verses 1–2, he reminds the nation, here called “Jacob” and “Israel,” that it was the Lord Himself who created them. When he uses the term “bara” for “created” in verse 1, he is using a verb that Hebrew only uses with God as the subject. Israel is a people specially created by God.
But God’s purpose for the people did not end with their creation. The prophet goes on to remind the nation that God not only created them, He also redeemed them and summoned them by name. In one of the most brief but most powerful lines in Scripture, he assures them that the Lord says, “You are Mine” (v. 1).
We were intended to enjoy
God’s love. (3–4)
It is because God has taken ownership and responsibility for the people that they can be assured of His loving care.
Through dangerous waters and blasts of fire, God encourages the people to trust in Him, to hear above all the din of present circumstance the comforting words, “I will be with you” (v. 2). He urges the people to trust in Him, giving them powerful reasons for doing so: “You are precious and honored in My sight and I love you” (v. 4).
We were intended to bring
God glory. (5–7)
Though the years of exile were long and difficult, God speaks through the prophet to promise that those who were scattered will once again be brought home. From east and west, north and south, God declares His intention to call the exiles back to Himself. The people whom God created for His own glory will soon have occasion to glorify God once again. The years of hard service are past. It is time to come home again.
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