Isaiah 43:14-21 – Merciful Deliverance
We have seen throughout this chapter God’s marvelous work of deliverance. We have seen Him shown very plainly as the Saviour, the Saviour of Israel, the Saviour of the nations, and now we see Him doing great mercies. What is mercy? Mercy is kindness. Mercy is help. Mercy is pity, given to the miserable, and often those who don’t deserve it. This is certainly the case with the mercy of God, because what we deserve is something entirely different than what we receive. In dealing with man, God shows mercy, for we deserve nothing good. And God gives many good things even to sinners, even to reprobate sinners.
When we talk about merciful deliverance we are talking about being rescued from the hands of enemies and from the consequences of sin. There is to be merciful deliverance in the short term from the Assyrians. But there is other merciful deliverance as well. God is merciful in giving Himself to them. He delivers Israel for her sake. What does that mean? That somehow Israel deserved this? Not at all. It’s not due to the loveliness of God’s people. It’s due to the everlasting loving of the Father given in covenant in Christ. This gives hope, because His mercy to His people is rooted in his holy and unchanging character, not our weakness.
God says, ‘Look at the past.’ Look at the past there in verses 16 and 17. They are to remember their deliverance from Egypt. But then God says, ‘Look away.’ The emphasis changes from deliverance from Egypt and Babylon, to a great deliverance indeed. God will be doing a new thing. A day of deliverance was coming, when all that the prophets spoke of and all that the priests and their works symbolized would come to full reality in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the new thing. We see merciful deliverance here from a far greater enemy than the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Babylonians. We receive merciful deliverance from the last enemy, death, and the greatest enemy, sin. Come to Him, and you will certainly find merciful deliverance!
Questions
- What is mercy?
- What are these verses looking ahead to?
Prayer Points
- Give thanks for the mercy you have in Christ.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.