It is always a good time to read a little, especially if it is the Holy Scriptures. In this article we focus on the chapter Isaiah 43 which you will enjoy below. With these texts we are always invited to enjoy, but, above all, to reflect on how we lead our lives as Christians and how we can improve as people.
Now to enjoy a few minutes of reading, let’s get started:
Isaiah 43 of the Bible
To get you started, we leave you with a video on chapter 43 of Isaiah that we are sure you will enjoy:
Isaiah 43 complete and large print in English
43 Now thus saith the LORD, thy Creator, O Jacob, and thy Maker, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed thee; I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and if through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you pass through the fire, you will not be burned, nor will the flame burn in you.
3 For I the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, am your Savior; I have given Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Sheba for you.
4 For you were highly esteemed in my sight, you were honorable, and I loved you; therefore I will give men for you, and nations for your life.
5 Fear not, for I am with you; from the east I will bring your generation, and from the west I will gather you.
6 I will say to the north, Give hither; and to the south, Detain not: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth,
7 all those who are called by my name; I created them for my glory, I formed them and made them.
8 Bring out the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears.
9 Let all nations be gathered together, and all peoples be united. Who among them is there that will give us tidings of this, and make us hear the former things? Present your witnesses, and justify yourselves; hear, and say: It is true.
10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen, that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I myself am he: before me there was no god formed, neither shall there be after me.
11 I, even I Jehovah, and beside me there is no savior.
12 I have proclaimed, and I have saved, and I have made known, and there was no strange god among you. Ye therefore are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.
13 Even before there was day, I was; and there is none who from my hand free. What I do, who will stand in my way?
14 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For you I sent to Babylon, and brought down all of them as fugitives, even the Chaldeans in the ships of which they boasted.
15 I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.
16 Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea and a path in the mighty waters;
17 He who brings forth chariot and horse, army and strength; they fall together, that they may not rise again; they perish, they are quenched as pablum, they are extinguished.
43:18
18 Remember not the former things, neither call to remembrance the things of old.
19 Behold, I do a new thing; it shall soon come to light; shall you not know it? Again I will make a path in the desert, and rivers in the solitude.
20 The wild beasts of the field shall honor me, the jackals and the chicks of the ostrich; for I will give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, for my people, my chosen, to drink.
21 This people have I created for myself; they shall publish my praises.
22 And you did not call upon me, O Jacob, but you were weary of me, O Israel.
23 You did not bring to me the animals of your burnt offerings, nor did you honor me with your sacrifices; I did not make you serve me with an offering, nor did I weary you with incense.
24 Thou hast not bought sweet cane for me for money, neither hast thou satisfied me with the fat of thy sacrifices, but thou hast laid upon me the burden of thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.
25 I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.
26 Make me remember, let us enter into judgment together; speak thou to justify thyself.
27 Your first father sinned, and your teachers transgressed against me.
28 Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have made Jacob a curse and Israel a reproach.
We hope you have enjoyed the verses, some of them very famous among the Christian community such as 43:2, 43:19, 43:18, 43:1, etc.
Meaning of Isaiah 43
Next, we will proceed with a short explanation of the chapter Isaiah 43 that will allow you to deepen and understand the meaning of these precious verses.
In this chapter, God tells the people that despite their spiritual failure, He forgives them and will bring them back from captivity. He emphasizes that he would pour out love to them instead of wrath, and it would be at that instant that the world would know that only God could have done this.
In the opening bars of the chapter, we are told that God created Israel by making them special for Himself. He redeemed her and called her by name that they might be His. God protected Israel in difficult times. We are important to God, He also calls us by name and gives us His name!
He also stresses that in the name of God, we should not act in an improper and shameful manner.
He emphasizes that in turbulent and seemingly definitive moments, if you go with God, he will protect you.
There is a more general meaning to the chapter; it is said that when Christ comes to rule in peace on earth all God’s people should unite and gather with him, yet Israel had the task of witnessing and communicating to the rest what he had done. At present this task is for all Christians and witnesses of God.
In short, Isaiah 43 explains the importance of the Israelites as the ones in charge of spreading and explaining all that God and Christ had done on earth. It also transmits to us to have enough strength and faith to face those complicated moments without fainting, because God will always be on our side. And finally, the responsibility that all Christians have to act in an exemplary and pure way, and to transmit the word of the Lord to those close to us.
Reflection from Isaiah 43
After the peaceful reading, it is time for reflection, it is time to think about the messages to be conveyed by these verses. There is no concrete and correct answer, but these texts awaken in each one of us the thoughts and feelings that God our Lord has instilled in us through Christianity (to help, not to give up, to have faith, to love…).
We hope you enjoyed the reading! 🙂