Isaiah 43:16-21 Memory and Newness

"Thus says the Lord,
who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,
17 who brings out chariot and horse,
army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
18 Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
19 I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
20 The wild animals will honour me,
the jackals and the ostriches;
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
21 the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise."

Introduction

This unforgettable passage appears in the enormously powerful early chapters of Is. 40-66. The tone of the previous three chapters alternated between bold and colorful declarations of God's power and resolve to lead Israel back from exile and the people's deafness and blindness to the divine work in their midst (e.g., Is. 42:18f.). The more powerful and memorable word, however, is spoken in ch. 43: "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine" (43:1). The Exodus theme, which will be probed in our passage today, has been on the author's mind:

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" (43:2).

By speaking about Israel's expected salvation from exile in such glowing terms, the author of this section of Isaiah has made a contribution not simply to Hebrew or Biblical literature, but to the literature of the world. Today we will explore the six verses in 43:16-21 under the following themes: (1) The Context for Salvation (vv. 16-17); (2) The Command to Israel (v. 18); and (3) The Consummation of Salvation (vv. 18-21).

I. The Context for Salvation (43:16-17)

The context for the current salvation is established in Israel's memory. Salavation doesn't just arise out of nowhere; it has a prototype, a model, which will form the basis for the current salvation. That model is the Exodus from Egypt. No one can read the Biblical literature without running into the constant refrain: 'Your ancestors were slaves in Egypt but with a mighty hand and outstretched arm God delivered them from captivity'--or words to that effect. The image of slavery to freedom through the experience of the wilderness wanderings became seared into the consciousness of the people, shaping their self-understanding and their identity. Isaiah will speak of a new salvation that will come to the people, but this salvation is rooted in the past. These verses begin the story of the new salvation in the old story. The translations don't bring out the tone of the Hebrew verbs in vv. 16-17. We have two participles, then two imperfects (which function as future tense in English) and then two perfects (which function as past tenses). The flow is then as follows:

'thus says the Lord who, giving a way in the waters and a path in the strong waters, and leading out rider and horse, strong army and warrior, they shall lie down and will not rise, they are extinguished, put out like a wick...'

By using both presents and futures, it is almost as if the author is trying to make the memory current, to bring to mind today the story of the Egyptian horse and rider which God threw into the sea. Their "candle" will be/was put out forever. Notice the appearance of the two verbs "lie down and rise." These are often paired in the Biblical literature to speak of Israel's duty to God--you recite the commandments when you lie down and when you rise; you lie down to sleep and rise up to serve. However, in the use of these verbs in Is. 43, the sequence of lie down and rise is broken. Here, the people of Egypt lie down but will not rise. The verbs are split and the people of Egypt die. By a clever use of verbs and participles, then, the author is trying to make fresh to his readers the memory of that most awesome act of deliverance: the Exodus.

But this is all prelude. Now follows a command.

II. The Unexpected Command (43:18)

I say that the command to Israel in v. 18 is unexpected because on the heels of the exhortation to remember comes the comman not to remember. To change the metaphor, he serves up a reheated and re-spiced telling of the Exodus in vv. 16-17 only to tell the people in v. 18: "Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old." What is going on here? I think the author is exploring with insight what we might call the psychology of memory. The glory of a good memory is that it anchors us in a past that is identity-providing. We are not just adrift on a sea, or thrashing about in a vain attempt to try to understand who we are and whose we are. Memory gives hope and gives self-understanding. But, there is also what Jung would call a "shadow side" of memory, and that is its tendency to turn the past into an idol. Calvin, in Book I of the Institutes, speaks of the human mind as a veritable factory of idol-making. Like the disicples on the Mount of Transfiguration who want to "freeze" the presence of Moses and Elijah by building three booths on the Mount, so we have a tendency to want to "freeze" the past and use it fully to explain the future. We think or say, 'God worked in such-and-such a way in the past; that defines or even constrains the way God will act in the future.' Even the Exodus can be idolized. We can be so fixed in our understanding of it that we fail to realize that there are new signs of life breaking out all around us.

This, then is the meaning of the crucial v. 18 of our passage. The context for any new act of God is the Exodus from long ago, but we are not to "remember" it. Of course it is in our minds, but we are so to look to the new thing of God that it is as if we are not remembering the things from the past. We are so to enjoy today's manna from the Divine that we, as it were, don't recall even yesterday's manna. Memory and newness, the title of this day, captures what the author is trying to tell us. Let memory fade now under the fresh spotlight of the glorious acts of God in our day.

III. God's New Thing--The Consummation of Salvation (vv. 19-21)

Now we are ready to hear the message for today. It is a simple one, but we ought not to be put off by simplicity. "I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" The words bristle with energy. Literaly the first part of v. 19 reads: "Behold I am doing something new. Now it germinates; don't you know it?" I emphasize the last words in line because it has the typical OT verb for knowledge: daah. Thus, this new thing that God is doing is discoverable by human effort. It is not a secret revelation made only to the prophets; it isn't something arcane to which only a priestly class will have access; rather it is something that can be known. That verb is the typical verb used in the Book of Proverbs to describe something that can be figured out by human effort. This actually is good news for us today because what the Scripture suggests is that God's new thing is accessible to those who have ears to hear and eyes to see. It is available to the knowledge seekers and wisdom lovers among us.

But this new thing of God also has a cryptic dimension to it which is covered with the drapery of metaphor. In v. 19 the prophet speaks about a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The reader is led to suppose that if God could dry up the waters (the Red Sea) and provide a way, then this same God could produce waters where there is dryness and provide a way. What is the end of all this? Well, vv. 20-21 speak of a symphony of praise to God from all creation. Certainly the people of God will declare God's praise (v. 21), but also we have refernce to the honor God will get from "wild animals" and "jackals" and "ostriches." Reference to jackals is meant to suggest the most marginalized or most wild of all the animals in creation. God's new work will even provoke honor and praise from them.

So let the symphony continue, and let's add our voices to the tune that is rising in our midst. God is up to something new right now. Can you understand it?

2515