“Ideas have consequences. The blurring and sometimes complete loss of the doctrine of creation in our time affects the way we understand our nature and function as human beings. Creation is a reminder that the relationship we have with God is not that of equals. We owe our existence to Him, and we are essentially subordinate.”

What kind of God does the prophet proclaim in Isaiah 42:18– 43:21? What must God be like if He promises to restore and renew despite the abject failure of His people?

What kind of God is our covenant Lord? The answer is that He is like no other!

I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior. (Isa. 43:11)

In a series of statements that open chapter 43, a sixfold depiction of God’s glory emerges.

First, God is the Creator. Using two distinct words, both found in the carefully constructed narrative of creation in Genesis 1 and 2, Isaiah describes God as having “created” and “formed” Jacob/Israel:

But now thus says the LORD,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel. (Isa. 43:1)

The first word, “created” (bara), usually refers to the creation of something new. It does not necessarily imply that the creative result was ex nihilo, out of nothing. Genesis 2:7 tells us that man was not created (bara) ex nihilo but from “the dust of the earth.”

The second word, “formed” (yatsar), can be rendered “to knead.” Later in Isaiah, a form of this word is translated “potter” and implies the use of preexisting material. The emphasis is on sovereignty. In “forming” Adam, God used “the dust of the ground” and breathed into him the breath of life. In a sense, God “kissed” Adam into life (Gen. 2:7).

Later, a third word is employed—“made” (yaas). This word suggests the labor of God in “giving perfect expression to his creative designs, bringing the acts of creation to their intended concrete expression.”

Like Adam, Israel is the product of God’s sovereign determination and skill. God’s people are no accident. Thought, premeditation, and divine dexterity are involved in Israel’s creation. Like Adam, Israel owes allegiance, obedience, and reciprocal affection. She is not her own creator. She owes her existence and her salvation to the Lord.

Ideas have consequences. The blurring and sometimes complete loss of the doctrine of creation in our time affects the way we understand our nature and function as human beings. Creation is a reminder that the relationship we have with God is not that of equals. We owe our existence to Him, and we are essentially subordinate. Even in the most intimate of relationships of our redeemed status—that of adopted sons—we are still creatures. Though saved and adopted creatures, we are creatures nevertheless. We exist to serve the Lord, and we are redeemed to serve the Lord.

Second, God is our Redeemer: “I have redeemed you” (Isa. 43:1). He has taken the role of Boaz and acted as our Kinsman-Redeemer, our next-of-kin with all the legal and family obligations this relationship entails. Our debt became His. He paid in full what we, or Israel, could not pay. He fulfilled what the law required on our behalf. It is a glorious truth that the Lord will pay whatever it takes to ransom His people from captivity, even His own Son.

Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy,
His child and forever I am.

Redeemed, redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed,
His child and forever I am.

Third, God is our Preserver. Purchase implies ownership. “You are mine,” God says. And, underlying the intimacy of this relationship, we are on first-name terms: “I have called you by name” (Isa. 43:1). God knows my name, and He knows yours. His love ensures that we will come to no ultimate harm. We may be asked to pass through the waters and the rivers, and even fire and flame, but they will not overwhelm or consume (Isa. 43:2). He preserves His people through the trial. We may not be spared from the trial, but we will be spared through the trial. This is what our redemption means: we are His.

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