Categories: Bible Lessons Leave a comment

#DailyDevotion Fear Not! Jesus Is The Lord, The Holy One Of Israel

#DailyDevotion Fear Not! Jesus Is The Lord, The Holy One Of Israel

Isa 43:1-3  But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.  (2)  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.  (3)  For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

Despite all the pronouncements of judgment upon Israel and Judah by Isaiah in the much of the previous chapters, the Lord gives those who have been crushed by these pronouncements hope. The first note of hope hear is the Lord has not abandoned his people. He pronounces his name, YHWH, the Lord, the name he had given them to call upon in times of trouble and praise. He reminds them that it is he who created and formed them. It is he who called them from all nations of the world to be his holy people.

Then the Lord puts forth this good news, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” Indeed the Israelites have much to fear. They had abandoned the Lord their God and run after other gods.  As a result of their abandoning the Lord they have abandoned his ways and fallen into many great sins, shame and vice. What they deserve is the wrath of God. Indeed the wrath of God was headed down the pike in the form of the Assyrians who would indeed put many of them to death, exile into slavery in distant lands and never to be heard from again. But there is a light shining through in the midst of this. Fear not! Why? Because the Lord has redeemed them.

The Lord himself has redeemed Israel by providing himself as the redemption price. He has become man and offered himself up upon the altar of the cross. They have not be redeemed with the blood of bulls and goats or lambs or any other created thing but with the precious blood of Jesus is the Lord their God.

He has called them by name and they are his. Just as the Lord calls out the stars one by one and makes them shine in the night sky, he knows their name and calls them by it. He gives them the comfort they may know they belong to him. In light of his previous calling out of Egypt the Lord makes the pronouncements against being harmed by the waters or fires which may come upon them, even as they had passed through the Red Sea and the Jordan river. Indeed we can see the three young men in Daniel who were thrown into the furnace and the Lord protected them.

Now for us too this word of comfort applies. Jesus is the Holy One of Israel. Jesus is the Lord our God. Jesus is our Savior just as he is for the house of Israel. He has called us to be joined to Israel and to become children of Abraham. Jesus has redeemed not only Israel with his sacrifice on the cross, but he has redeemed the whole world. While we may suffer much for his name’s sake we need not fear what man can do to us. It is only temporary. As we put our faith in Jesus, the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, we know we shall escape the floods of the pit and the fires of Gehennah. They shall not touch us. He has called us by name and declared us to be his as well. By his name we are protected from the wrath of judgment.

Heavenly Father, when the world causes us alarm, grant us faith to remember your Son Jesus Christ has redeemed us and called us to be his own so we will not fear but walk in faith in promise of eternal life and living in your kingdom. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Share this post
Rev. Guillaume J. S. Williams, Sr.

The Reverend Guillaume Williams is the Pastor of Hope Lutheran Chapel of Osage Beach, Missouri. His pastoral ministry with Hope began in 2005 where he preaches the Christ crucified.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *