Day 210 Isaiah 43-44

There is a profound difference in tone between the oracles of Isaiah of Jerusalem and those of Isaiah of Babylon. The relationship they have to their hearers is completely different. Isaiah of Jerusalem is given the heartbreaking task of proclaiming to the people of Judah the sentence which God has already passed upon them. There are moments of shining promise in his words, but hope is always overshadowed by the impending doom to come—Jerusalem must be destroyed; the event may be delayed, but it must happen.
For Isaiah of Babylon the worst has already happened. Jerusalem has fallen; the temple is destroyed, the chosen people are exiles in a strange land. So to this prophet a totally different task falls—the comfort and strengthen a dispirited nation of exiles with good news. And the words he speaks in the name of the LORD are tender, not harsh—indeed, you hardly find such intimacy anywhere else in scripture—"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you," the LORD says through his prophet. "I have called you by name, you are mine" (43:1). These are the words of a mother comforting a child who has awakened from a bad dream--"I love you" (43:4), God says. Therefore, "do not fear, for I am with you" (43:5). The love of God takes away fear.
The breaking of the covenant is what caused the destruction of the Holy City and the temporary loss of the Land. Isaiah of Babylon does not try to gloss over past sins. But it is always the forgiving nature of God that he emphasizes—"I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake," God tells his people—not because you deserve it, because you don't. "I will not remember your sins," says the LORD, because forgiveness and mercy are my essential character (43:25).
Again and again in the writing of Isaiah of Babylon God calls himself by the titles of "savior" (43:11) and "Redeemer" (14)—one who buys back one who has fallen into slavery because of debt. He redeems an enslaved people because of who he is, and for no other reason. And he says to the people of Israel—"You are my witnesses" (43:10) --you are the ones assigned to testify to the world who I am. The business of God is to save and redeem, the business of his people is to witness to what kind of God he is, strong and ever present, and to denounce all other so-called gods as helpless idols, weaker even than those who make them.
And now the LORD is about to again demonstrate what it means to be God. Soon he will liberate his people from their long captivity—"For your sake I will send to Babylon," the LORD says, "and break down all the bars" (43:14). This will be a miracle like the exodus from Egypt, but greater, because it will happen in the hearers' own time. "I am about to do a new thing;" says the LORD. "Now it breaks forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert . . . to give drink to my chosen people" (43:19-20).
The pouring out of water on the parched earth represents giving courage and new purpose to the Jewish people, who had had none before. "Do not fear," God says, "for I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my spirit on your descendents, and my blessing on your offspring" (44:3). They are no longer landless exiles—they have a mission to accomplish for the sake of the world. "Do not fear, or be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? You are my witnesses!" (44:8). The Jews will return from exile in Babylon with a new purpose—to witness in a pagan world not only to the oneness and uniqueness of their God, but also to the faithfulness of the one who keeps his promises.
He did not forget the promises he made with his people long ago, and now he calls upon them to remember—"I formed you, you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me" (44:21). God has not forgotten his people, and he is the one "who says of Jerusalem—'It shall be inhabited,' and of the cities of Judah, 'they shall be rebuilt, and I will raise up their ruins'" (44:26). The rebuilding of Jerusalem and the reestablishment of Judah will be the sign of God's faithfulness and steadfast love. And what is more, God is the one "who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd, and he shall carry out my all my purpose'; who says of Jerusalem, 'It shall be rebuilt,' and of the temple, 'Your foundation shall be laid' (44:28). The God of Israel is the LORD of history, and history testifies to his mercy and love.