Isaiah 43:1-7/Luke 3:15-17; 21-22

Today, Isaiah 43:1-7 is our focus. This passage is found in the portion generally termed Deutero-Isaiah (2nd Isaiah) (chapters 40-55). The Unpopular assumption being that this part of Isaiah might have been written by a disciple of Isaiah and the popular assumption being that Isaiah wrote it but focusing completely on a different subject. This school of thought suggest that the book of Isaiah can be divided into three distinct parts. Chapter 40 begins with the words, “Comfort, comfort my people”. It is assumed that this prophecy is being delivered to the Israelites while in exile for almost five decades. The exile played diverse roles in the lives of the Israelites: it was a period of deep soul searching. To some it was a period of questioning the omnipotence of Yahweh, if Yahweh is all powerful, why did He then allow the Babylonians to destroy the temple in Jerusalem? Is it of any significance to worship Yahweh if He can be defeated by the gods of Babylon?

In the midst of all that confusion, Isaiah then wrote to the Israelites reassuring them of Yahweh’s love and faithfulness, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine”. We cannot speak of this period of God’s restoration, comfort, and hope without mentioning the contributions of Cyrus-the Persian king. If we read the book of Isaiah, the reason for the Israelites to be exiled was clearly stated, they had sinned against Yahweh, and they were being punished. However, their return was facilitated not directly by Yahweh, but Cyrus-the Gentile Persian king. Restoration came coming through Cyrus when he defeated the Babylonians. After defeating the Babylonians, God then touched the heart of Cyrus, a Gentile king who allowed the Israelites freedom of worship. But not only that, Cyrus went an extra mile by allocating a budget for the reconstruction of the Jerusalem temple (Ezra 1:2-4)

God works in unusual ways, Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts”. Joseph’s ascend to power was facilitated by his enemies i.e., his brothers and the Ishmaelites (Genesis 37:28). Now, if God works in this this manner, then we should treat all people with respect because they maybe the vehicles for our blessings. 

The Israelites had to endure the exile for over half a century, and they lived in fear without hope that one day they would be free. Yahweh then spoke through Isaiah reassuring them that in spite of their suffering and apparent hopelessness, deliverance was around the corner. Verse 2 of Isaiah 43 says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and flame will not scorch you”. God is not promising to prevent the Israelites from passing through the rivers, He fully knew that rivers will be there, but they will not cause any harm to them. God is not promising to prevent the Israelites from getting into fire, fire is real but will not scorch them as long they are in the Lord.

In today’s gospel reading, John is being followed by a large crowd. Some thought that he was the Messiah due to his great works. But note something, in the skipped verses: 18-20, God did not prevent John from being imprisoned, He prevented the prison to dampening his spirit/faith. In the book of Daniel 3: 19ff, God did not stop Nebuchadnezzar from building the golden calf, but he stopped Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego from worshiping it. God did not stop Nebuchadnezzar from lighting the furnace, in the eyes of Nebuchadnezzar the furnace was seven times hotter than usual but in God’s eyes it was seven times cooler, warm enough for Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego to parade and sing songs of praise. God did not stop the three from getting into the fire, but he protected them from being burnt.

Today is a special Sunday, Jesus is being baptised. A Sunday in which we renew our baptism vows. As we renew our vows, let us be reminded that baptism makes us children of God. Being children of God does not make us immune to temptations but reassures us that God will see us through those temptations. Being children of God does not stop us from being in “exile”, but it gives us assurance that restoration is certain. Being children of God does not spare us from all other challenges that befall other human beings, but it gives us confidence that challenges may press us from either side, but they will never crush us.

May God be with us as we solider through the journey of life. If God was faithful to the Israelites, then he is faithful to us because Hebrews 13:8 tells us that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. If He was faithful to Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego then He is faithful to us; if He was faithful to John then He indeed faithful to us; if He was faithful to all the other generation then definitely, He is faithful to us. Amen.