Weekly Readings: Isaiah 43

One of the Scripture readings for this Sunday is from Isaiah 43:

"Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters,
who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people,
the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise."

I'm a big fan of (Deutero)Isaiah; it's so filled with hope and comfort. In this passage we hear Yahweh (aka. 'the LORD') providing his people with the assurance of his care and good things to come. He is speaking to a people who have been displaced from their ancestral homeland; they had witnessed the destruction of all that they knew (their homes, their temple, their lands) and were living as foreigners in the land of their conquerors. Though there was little to suggest that they would one day see their homes again, the voice of God speaks comfort and hope into their lives, assuring them that they will be restored.

In the minds of the Jewish people was likely the old familiar stories of God's mighty deeds. They looked back with fondness on the time of the exodus from Egypt. Back then, so long ago, their ancestors were slaves in a foreign land but had found freedom as Yahweh, through Moses, had led them from bondage across the deserts and the Jordan river to find their home in the promised land of freedom.

Here we hear Yahweh speaking to these past events of liberation, but instead of pointing them to the past where he was active in the lives of his people, he points them to the future where he will again act on their behalf as liberator of the oppressed. He calls to them, 'you long for those old days, but I tell you that I'm about to do something great, something new, something for you, my people. Where once there was dry desert, I shall make water spring forth into rivers; where once there was hopelessness, I will bring hope; where once there was captivity, I will bring freedom. Those who thirst for justice and mercy, for freedom and joy, will be able to drink deep and quench their thirst... this I will provide.'

This is the God in whom I place my hope; this is he who quenches my thirst, who gives me liberty.

I really enjoy the book of Isaiah...