But now, thus says the LORD,
your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, "Do
not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name;
you are Mine! "When you pass through the waters, I will be
with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you When you walk
through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. "For I
am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt
as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. "Since you are precious
in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men
in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life. "Do not fear,
for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east,
And gather you from the west. "I will say to the north,
'Give them up!' And to the south, 'Do not hold them back ' Bring My sons from
afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth, Everyone who
is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I
have formed, even whom I have made."
In this passage God is talking about the things He has done for Israel, but I think a lot of it applies to us as well. I noticed that in this chapter God is referred to many times as both the Creator and the Redeemer. The words created, formed, made, redeemed, saved, and called are all used. In verse 7 it says He created us for His glory. Like it talks about in Colossians 1:16 - "All things were created by Him and for Him." But we sold ourselves into bondage. We were hopelessly lost in sin, but He loved us. We were precious in His sight.(verse 4) "Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life." He made us for His glory and even though we were separated from Him by sin, we were still precious in His sight, and He gave His Son in exchange for our lives. For my life. That's how much He loved me. He redeemed me through the death of His Son. Although I was a slave to sin, fully deserving the penalty He bought back that which He created for Himself. He says in verse one, "You are Mine." Twice in this passage He says "Do not fear." He made us, He bought us, and we are His. What reason do we have to fear?
Verse 2 has a theme that I seem to be mentioning a lot, but I'll say it again anyway. Verse 2 - "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you." We are in Him. He bought us. He redeemed us, We now have no condemnation, However, we will be put through the fire. This fire is not a punishment! The lake of fire is the punishment, and that's only for those who have not accepted Christs payment for their sins. This fire is for our growth. Notice it says When you WALK through the fire... We're not just tossed in to these trials and left to burn until our salvation comes. Sure, we may be tossed in against our will, but the ropes that we're bound with quickly burn off and we're able to walk. We walk through these trials and we're able to do that because in our weakest moments, when we're bound and thrown into trials, God removes our bondage, helps us up, and gives us strength to walk. And not only that, He also walks through with us!
And of course the classic illustration of this is the story of Shadrach Meshach and Abed-nego in Daniel 3:19-26:
"Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with wrath, and his facial expression was altered toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. He answered by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. He commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire. Then these men were tied up in their trousers, their coats, their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. For this reason, because the king's command was urgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, "Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?" They replied to the king, "Certainly, O king." He said, "Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods! Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!" Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire."
God gave them the endurance to walk through and out of the blazing furnace, and He was with them all the way. And He has promised the same thing to all those who are redeemed. Jesus said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." With His strength the fire can't even touch us. We won't get burned or scorched, because He is with us. And of course, we come out more valuable, more pure, and more precious than we went in. What a God.
In this passage God is talking about the things He has done for Israel, but I think a lot of it applies to us as well. I noticed that in this chapter God is referred to many times as both the Creator and the Redeemer. The words created, formed, made, redeemed, saved, and called are all used. In verse 7 it says He created us for His glory. Like it talks about in Colossians 1:16 - "All things were created by Him and for Him." But we sold ourselves into bondage. We were hopelessly lost in sin, but He loved us. We were precious in His sight.(verse 4) "Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life." He made us for His glory and even though we were separated from Him by sin, we were still precious in His sight, and He gave His Son in exchange for our lives. For my life. That's how much He loved me. He redeemed me through the death of His Son. Although I was a slave to sin, fully deserving the penalty He bought back that which He created for Himself. He says in verse one, "You are Mine." Twice in this passage He says "Do not fear." He made us, He bought us, and we are His. What reason do we have to fear?
Verse 2 has a theme that I seem to be mentioning a lot, but I'll say it again anyway. Verse 2 - "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you." We are in Him. He bought us. He redeemed us, We now have no condemnation, However, we will be put through the fire. This fire is not a punishment! The lake of fire is the punishment, and that's only for those who have not accepted Christs payment for their sins. This fire is for our growth. Notice it says When you WALK through the fire... We're not just tossed in to these trials and left to burn until our salvation comes. Sure, we may be tossed in against our will, but the ropes that we're bound with quickly burn off and we're able to walk. We walk through these trials and we're able to do that because in our weakest moments, when we're bound and thrown into trials, God removes our bondage, helps us up, and gives us strength to walk. And not only that, He also walks through with us!
And of course the classic illustration of this is the story of Shadrach Meshach and Abed-nego in Daniel 3:19-26:
"Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with wrath, and his facial expression was altered toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. He answered by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. He commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire. Then these men were tied up in their trousers, their coats, their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. For this reason, because the king's command was urgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, "Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?" They replied to the king, "Certainly, O king." He said, "Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods! Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!" Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire."
God gave them the endurance to walk through and out of the blazing furnace, and He was with them all the way. And He has promised the same thing to all those who are redeemed. Jesus said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." With His strength the fire can't even touch us. We won't get burned or scorched, because He is with us. And of course, we come out more valuable, more pure, and more precious than we went in. What a God.
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