The Gospel of Isaiah: Ch. 43:1-7, Fear Not… Redeemer to the Rescue
The Gospel of Isaiah: Ch. 43:1-7, Fear Not… Redeemer to the Rescue.
WANTED: An imaginative scribe who can write exquisite poetry. A faithful, articulate believer in Yahweh who can switch from one extreme to another at the Lord’s command… from a sublime vision of God’s glory, to a ridiculous demonstration of shameful nakedness; from confronting the people over their sinfulness, to comforting people with hopefulness; from being an outspoken messenger one minute, to a living object lesson the next; from having one foot in the immediate surroundings one minute, to one foot in the future messianic realm the next. Must be adaptable, thick-skinned, and extraordinarily brave. Person who answers, “Here I am. Send me!” will be especially considered. (from The Jerusalem Post, 740 BC).
“But now, says Yahweh, He who Created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel. Do not be afraid, for I your Kinsman-Redeemer will rescue you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fires of persecution, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your mighty God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; Because you are precious in my eyes, and I honor you and love you; So be not afraid, for I am with you; I will bring together everyone who is called by My name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” (Isaiah 43:1-7).
Fear has been described many ways… dread or alarm in facing danger; to be afraid or apprehensive; anxiety caused by belief in approaching danger or by a perceived threat; feeling frightened concerning one’s safety or a loved one’s well-being; unpleasant emotions due to the likelihood of something unwelcome or undesirable; trepidation over unexpected crisis. Examples would include… dementia; survival; poverty; sickness; disaster; intimidation; climate change; public speaking; public shame; disability; loneliness; rejection; failure; pain; death; the unexpected; opposition; the Apocalypse; loss of loved one. We are living in the 21st century, 2025, and fear is in the air we breathe. We nonetheless try our best to survive in this firmly established climate of fear. Consider the many causes of fear this day: the viral pandemics; terrorism; climate change; a seeming moral breakdown in society; old age; extreme weather; tragic violence; educational chaos; the diminishing of parental influence; international conflict; nuclear weapons; racial unrest; abuse of women and children. For Christians, we can add the fear of spiritual warfare on our loved ones and on our culture. Many of us have more private fears, such as crime, hunger, unemployment, and subsistence survival. All these fears have a cumulative effect. At one level we seek to live with stability and peace. But at a deeper level we fight all these fears in our spirit. What is the antidote to fear, before it overwhelms us?
Fear Not. Since this phrase is repeated over 70 times in Scripture, it must be God’s most common commandment to us. Fear not. Be not afraid. Have no fear. Take heart. Be of good courage. Why? Because I am the Holy One who has created you, I am the (who has formed you. Because I am your Kinsman-Redeemer who has rescued you from a hopeless situation. I have named you and claimed you as mine. Because I have promised My presence no matter what you go through, I have committed Myself to be with you through thick and thin.
Disciples in Deep Waters. There are many echoes of Isaiah’s promise in the gospel stories of Jesus calming the storm (Matthew 8 and 14, Mark 4 and 6, Luke 8, and John 6). Did you notice Jesus’ pointed question after He calmed the stormy waters, the windstorm that almost sank their boat? “A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking dangerously into the boat, so that the boat was already filling up with water. Jesus was in the stern of the boat, asleep with His head resting on a pillow. The disciples woke him in a panic and said to Him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are going to perish?’ Jesus woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Silence! Be Still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was great calm on the surface of the lake. Jesus then asked them, ‘Why are you so afraid? Why are you fearful? Have you no trust in me yet?”
The Only Way Out is Through. It’s interesting in the gospel of John that Jesus didn’t calm the storm! He would say things like “Peace, be still!” in other storm stories, but in this case, He didn’t calm those surging waves. He instead walked on those waves and let the storm continue. Sometimes Jesus doesn’t calm our storms. Sometimes He provides His presence, enables us to survive the storm and then helps us make the best of it instead. God promises His presence as we go through the storms when they come our way. He will help us overcome the trials, not avoid them altogether. He will enable us to endure the difficulties, not sweep away the difficulties. To press this point, Isaiah says “when” three times in that one verse, knowing it’s not a matter of if we have trials, but when.
Every Believer’s Hope. “Who could ever separate us from the endless love of God’s Anointed One? No one! For nothing in the universe has the power to diminish His love toward us. Troubles, pressures and problems are unable to come between us and heaven’s love. What about persecution, hunger, nakedness, dangers and death threats? No, for they are all impotent to hinder omnipresent love. Yet even in the midst of all these things, we triumph over them all, for God has made us to be more than conquerors, and His demonstrated love is our glorious victory over everything!” (Romans 8:35-37, Passion Translation).
Redeemer – Hebrew, Go’el – Kinsman Redeemer. To buy back; to restore; to recover by purchase; to perform the obligation of the next of kin; to put something back into its original condition; to repay a debt; to advocate for a relative if wrongly accused; the blood relative who will do what is needed for the kin if that person is unable to do it for himself; the first kinsman obligated to help a relative is the brother. The term Go’el was used more generally to mean to rescue from captivity, to deliver from some type of confinement; to ransom from slavery; to bring justice to a loved one’s unjust situation.
The Kinsman Redeemer was obligated in the Hebrew community to do the following for a blood relative:
(1.) To purchase a brother’s freedom if serving as a “slave” or an indentured servant. If this brother was in dire poverty and hired himself out to a master as a working servant for an extended time, the Go’el was obligated to buy his brother back from the master’s employment to release him from his obligations.
(2.) To buy back the brother’s land if the brother had to lease his land to pay off debts. This was done in order to regain what was originally family property to keep it within the family for inheritance.
(3.) To enact vengeance on a brother’s death if it was the result of a murder. This is called being the “avenger of blood” (Gen. 9:5), which was offset by the establishment of “cities of refuge” throughout Israel. In those cities, vengeance could not be taken, and was a sanctuary protecting those who accidentally killed someone or who acted in self-defense. The Go’el was obligated to kill the murderer of his brother.
(4.) To marry a brother’s widow if that couple was childless. The go’el, the nearest kinsman brother, was obligated to produce a male heir for his deceased brother’s family. In that culture, they would continue producing children until a son was born, who would then be the guardian and breadwinner of the family.
Father God was considered a Redeemer throughout Hebrew Scripture, a divine Go’el. Jacob was the first Patriarch to use the word Go’el, in Genesis 48:16, during his blessing of Joseph. Jacob spoke of God as “the Redeemer who rescued and delivered him continually from all harm and from all evil.” Job was the next biblical character to speak of a divine Go’el, in Job 19:25-27: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes. How my heart yearns within me!” We also see that in Proverbs 13:11, the Go’el was understood to be the advocate who will powerfully plead the case of the orphan.
The most extensive use of Go’el in the Hebrew Bible is in Isaiah, where the divine Redeemer is highlighted at least thirteen times: The Redeemer will rescue the helpless (41:14); wreak vengeance on Babylon (43:14); remain as King of Israel (47:4); direct and teach the way to go (48:17); be their Savior (49:26 and 60:16); be their husband (54:5); show compassion (54:8); be their Father forever (63:16). Isaiah had an expansive view of how God was a Redeemer, and his heightened vision of the Lord as Israel’s Redeemer is unequaled.
Redeemer-God. How did the Lord become such an important title for the Lord God?
(1.) Father God redeemed His children the Israelites from oppression in Egypt. As their Father, God was the closest relative to His Chosen People, He was united with them by a blood covenant, and therefore was the first in line to redeem His children, rescuing them from tyranny and slavery. “This is what Yahweh says: Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, ‘Let my son go, so he may worship me.” (Ex. 4:22). And then the Lord followed that up with, “I am the Lord Yahweh and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them and will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.” (Ex. 6:6-7).
(2.) Jewish believers developed the meaning of redeemer to include Yahweh as they understood the parallels between deliverance from Egypt and God’s continual rescue mission of each of them from evil and destruction. What was once a kinsman redeemer evolved into a God-Redeemer.
(3.) The Father sent the Son to forgive our indebtedness to God because of our sin; to redeem mankind: to deliver us from evil; to rescue us from our captivity to our fallen nature; to remove the penalties of sin in our lives; to save us from our slavery to sin; to regain mankind’s innocence; to avenge the evil done to mankind through judgment of Satan and his demons; to wipe the slate clean and offer eternal life in God’s presence.
(4.) To redeem mankind, God the Son was required to be a divine Go’el and buy back the human race from sin and sin’s master. In order for this redemption to occur, Jesus purchased our spiritual freedom by offering His own blood as a worthy sacrifice. Jesus saw we were on the slave block, and He ransomed us, giving up His life in the process. We were not able to regain our own salvation from the guilt of sin, we were not able to restore our own innocence by our own efforts, so in the role of kinsman redeemer, Jesus rescued us because of His unfathomable love for us.
(5.) Among Jesus’ parting words before His Ascension, He declared that His God was our God, and His Father was our Father. So we have the same Father as Jesus, which makes us brothers and sisters with Him. Who was the first relative obligated to redeem a blood relative? The brother. Jesus was our Go’el, our kinsman redeemer, the brother coming to the rescue.
(6.) In every way possible, Jesus Christ is the biblical fulfillment of the kinsman redeemer. Jesus is the Go’el of the world.
Everyday Redemption. There is a mysterious thread of redemption woven into our lives. Somehow, a person who has had a difficult time of rebellion and disobedience actually becomes a stronger person after turning that part of his life around had he never had that time of rebellion. Something bad transformed into something that is even better than if that bad had never existed. Mistakes made has the potential to mature a person even deeper than if he had never made those mistakes in the first place. So don’t be afraid to make mistakes, because the truth is Redeemer God wants to transform those mistakes into something better than if those mistakes had never happened. God doesn’t waste mistakes, there will be no such thing as lost time. God redeems bad mistakes and lost time to make things even better had they never happened. Sometimes we see redemption, in the cases of healing, deliverance, rescue, restoration, the opportunity to start over. And sometimes we don’t see redemption, in the cases of chronic pain, fatal illness, ongoing suffering, and tragic death. Only our good God has the Big Picture on how redemption fits into a world that is not fully redeemed, freed from the shackles of sin and its consequences. There are no easy answers, of course, and Christians should be careful about blithely throwing around Bible verses when in difficult circumstances with someone who suffers. Some thoughts on everyday redemption:
(1.) The Bottom Line: We are not capable of understanding how the world works, or even how God works. So it comes down sooner or later to trusting in God’s mercy, regardless of the situation. Trust that God is good and knows best, that He wants what is good even if we don’t see the redemption in the situation. Believe that we will for certain see the fullness of redemption in the next life in God’s kingdom… “I hope in God’s mercy, I trust in God’s faithfulness, forever and ever and unto ages of ages.” (Psalm 52:8).
(2.) Redeemer-God wants to restore and renew us, if not now, then certainly in the next life. In order to see our redemption from suffering, some of us might have to wait, unfortunately. Isaiah 61:1-4 reveals His plan of what has been called “the Great Exchange.” This passage reveals the redemptive plans God has for us, sooner or later. Isaiah declares the word of the Lord as he shouts God’s message, proclaiming spiritual liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners… A clear picture of redemption, for sure. Isaiah goes on to say that God wants to redeem our situation by exchanging our ashes of grief scattered on our heads with a royal crown of utter beauty. God wants to take our spirit of mourning and replace it with a spirit of festive joy. God wants to redeem us by exchanging our burdened spirit of hopelessness with a bright-colored garment of splendor that expresses hope in our Redeemer. The Lord wants to take the difficult things in our life and redeem them by exchanging good things in their place.
(3.) Jesus redeemed something that was thought to be irredeemable. His Resurrection was a profound act of redemption, by taking our pain, misery and death and turning it into abundant and everlasting life. He took something that was essentially hopeless and gave it new life, which is the ultimate redemption story. He can give us life in the midst of deathly turmoil as well. His blood paid our debts. We were purchased by the Redeemer at the price of His life.
(4.) Redemption, which carries the destiny of good, does not mean that everything that happens is good. This world is not fully redeemed, which is glaringly obvious to everyone that has breath. There is sinfulness, injustice, shame, cruelty, tragedy and death. It is the height of insensitivity to blithely tell a victim of tragedy that “it’s okay, don’t worry, it’s meant for your good… Just ignore your suffering, something good will eventually come out of it. God will redeem your suffering sooner or later.” If a loved one dies, for example, what is the good of that advice? How will that dead person’s situation be redeemed? He’s dead! And that is where we join our friend and incarnate God’s presence to the sufferer, offering the hopes of eternity. When the time is right, apply God’s principle of redemption to the next life. God offers hope for eternity and will truly redeem those who have suffered. “For our momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).