Today’s passage: Isaiah 43
Helpful thoughts:
- God made the people of Israel a nation and loves them by His choice. They did not earn His favor, He made them and gave them His gracious love.
- The timing of these promises refer to the time at the end of the exile, when Israel would return to the promised land by way of a different wilderness.
- Egypt and Ethiopia (Cush and Seba) would become subject to the Persians, while Israel would be allowed to go free.
- No one ever has and no one ever will defeat God.
Questions to consider:
- For whose sake is the Lord blotting out the transgressions (Forgiving the sins) of the people of Israel (Verse 25)? Why would God’s name be on the line if Israel failed to exist? Why will God’s name always prevail as consistent with who He has revealed Himself to be?
- What would be the result of engaging in verse 26? Do we have a case against God? Why or why not?
- How are the sins of God’s people simply blotted out? How can God remain just and also no longer remember our sins against us? (Romans 3:21-26)