June 22, 2025

Second Sunday after Pentecost

Sermon Text: Isaiah 43:18-23

Other Readings: 2 Timothy 1:3-10 and Luke 8:26-39

 

  1. Who is being talked about in verse 8? And in what way are those people “blind” and “deaf”? Confer Isaiah 6:9-10 and Isaiah 42:18-20. Also consult Luke 8:34-37 (our Gospel Reading).

 

 

  1. The text talks about other “gods” and has in mind those false gods that were worshiped by the peoples surrounding Israel. Pick one of the popular false gods below. Do a quick search on that idol and learn more about it.
     
    1. Baal
       
    2. Marduk
       
    3. Ishtar

 

  1. Verse 10: “’You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.’” Should we see a progression in the verbs “know … believe … understand”? If yes, then what is the progression and what applications can we make for ourselves?

 

 

  1. Verse 13: “No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?” Think of a time from the Old Testament when God did what he had determined to do, despite the best efforts of his enemies to reverse it.

 

  1. God has given many names for himself. Here, he emphasizes that he is “the Lord.” Offer reasons why God in this context would choose to emphasize that particular name. Compare Exodus 20:1-6 and Exodus 34:6,7.

 

 

  1. Israel is people talked about here, and they are spiritually blind and deaf. Now, it should be noted that Isaiah, roughly, prophesied around 700 B.C. By this time, the Holy Land had been split into two kingdoms – the Kingdom of Israel in the north and the Kingdom of Judah in the South. Plus, in 722 B.C., the Assyrian Empire had taken over the Northern Kingdom and dispersed its people to different nations. While in the Old Testament, “Israel” can refer to the Northern Kingdom only and not include the Kingdom of Judah, here it seems to be used in the original broad sense—referring to all of the chosen people. Despite seeing and hearing the powerful ways God had kept his promises, they refused to put their trust in him. We see this also illustrated in the Gospel Reading. While Jesus healed the demoniac in a predominantly Gentile territory, still there were Jewish residents there who witnessed what happened yet refused to put their trust in him.
     
  2. Baal is the name of a deity from Canaanite regions that immediately surrounded Israel and was the associated with rain, thunder, and fertility. Isthar is the Assyrian goddess of the Morning and Evening Star and of love and fertility. Marduk was the main god of Babylon, the place that Judah would eventually be exiled to; Marduk was the leader of the Babylonian pantheon.

 

  1. This is poetry, and so Isaiah may just be using similar verbs to emphasize a point, not to make fine distinctions. But if there is a progression, perhaps the progression is this – an initial experience of God to dependence upon him to understanding how he works (cf. Pieper’s commentary on Isaiah). We would never say that we fully understand God, but a person who knows him, believes in him, and has an understanding from his revealed word—that person is in a better position to testify about him, as Israel was called upon to do.

 

  1. Many scenarios fit this, especially the Exodus or Balaam unable to curse Israel (Numbers 22-24) and others.

     
  2. This is the name that God prefers to use as a reminder of his covenantal relationship with Israel. It emphasizes God’s independence, along with both his justice and his mercy. In other words, none of the other gods stack up against him, and – for the sake of his name – he will both dispatch of his enemies and uphold his unconditional promises to his people. This also helps us better understand what Scripture means when it simply says that Jesus “is Lord.”