God’s Precious People
Isaiah 43:1-7
Rev. Randy Quinn

Before reading text, let me ask you a question. How many times have we lived in fear of the words that follow “but”?
You did a great job, but . . .
I wish I could hire you, but . . .
Your tests for cancer came back negative, but . . .

Since our text for today begins with “But now thus says the Lord” (Is. 43:1), we might want to cower as we listen to what God has to say. So let me give you the context before reading the scripture lesson.

The people of Israel have been in exile. Depending upon how you read the story, they were taken away because of a failure to live up to their end of the covenant. The people had forgotten who they were and whose they were. Their leaders had sought other gods, other comforts, other guides; and the people followed their lead.

Listen to part of God’s response:

The LORD goes forth like a soldier, like a warrior he stirs up his fury;
he cries out, he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foes.
For a long time I have held my peace, I have kept still and restrained myself;
now I will cry out like a woman in labor, I will gasp and pant.
I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbage;
I will turn the rivers into islands, and dry up the pools. . . .
Who gave up Jacob to the spoiler, and Israel to the robbers?
Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned,
in whose ways they would not walk, and whose law they would not obey?
So he poured upon him the heat of his anger and the fury of war;
it set him on fire all around, but he did not understand;
it burned him, but he did not take it to heart.

Is. 42:13-15, 24-25

The people of Israel were scattered to the far corners of the earth. Their homes were destroyed, the temple was torn down. Life as they had known it was over.

It is in that context that Isaiah offers words of hope. The “but now” is a transition from bad to good, not good to bad. Listen now to the good news from Isaiah today.

But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, 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 shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.
Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you,
I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life.
Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you;
I will say to the north, "Give them up," and to the south, "Do not withhold;
bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth--
everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."

Is. 43:1-7

Given the context in which these words were spoken, the profound love of God becomes quite evident. Isaiah wants us to know that judgment is not the last word, mercy is. God’s gracious acceptance of us comes – not from what we have done right but – from the heart of God who sees us as precious. We are so precious, in fact, that God will do whatever it takes to restore the loving relationship we once had with God – even if it means offering his own son as a ransom.

It’s the prophet’s version of the bumper sticker sentiment, “If you feel far away from God, it’s important to remember that God hasn’t moved.”

God’s love remains steadfast. God’s grace continues to be extended to us.

It’s the same message that Jesus tells using the story of the lost sheep. We are precious in God’s eyes, precious enough for God to come after us and find us, no matter where we are, no matter how far we have roamed.

But Isaiah’s message sounds more like the love of a parent than it does the love of a shepherd. The story of Amanda Knox has been in the news off and on for more than a year now1. She is the American who was accused of murdering her roommate in 2007. In December the Italian courts sentenced her to 26 years in prison.

Whether she is innocent or not, I have watched and wondered about the toll this story has taken on her family. Each time I see the look in her parent’s eyes, I know that she is precious in their eyes. At 22 years of age, Amanda is still their little girl, and they are doing everything they can to be with her, and if possible to help free her.

My guess is that either of her parents would willingly put themselves in prison so Amanda could be free. If the laws of Italy allowed such a thing, they would ransom her life by giving their own.

And every parent I know would do the same thing.

That’s the love that God has for us. In Isaiah’s text, God is willing to give the people of other lands in exchange for the freedom of Israel (Is. 43:3). As the story unfolds over time, however, the only ransom that will suffice is Jesus, God’s only begotten son (Jn. 3:16).

And thanks be to God, we are precious enough for God to pay that price to restore us.

A critical point of the story, however, is the reminder of how we got to where we needed to be redeemed. Like the people of Israel, we have all-too-easily forgotten to whom we belong. We may not be in exile, but we have removed ourselves from the presence of God. As a reminder to us then, God says, “I created you. You are mine” (Is. 43:1, 7).

How many of you have seen the movie Avatar?
Of those who have not seen it, how many are planning to see it?

I don’t want to ruin it for you, so I won’t tell you how the story ends. And while I don’t mean to promote the film, I want to show you the trailer that has been used to advertise it. If you’ve been to a movie in recent months, you have already seen this preview.

Video Clip:

http://www.fandango.com/avatar_103067/movieoverview

This is the movie theater “trailer” for the movie, giving a few scenes from the movie including a few of the most memorable lines from the movie. It gives you a “flavor” of the movie without giving away the story. It’s a science fiction movie in which humans take on the life form of an alien planet in order to extract a precious mineral from the ground.

Even from that brief clip, you can tell that one of the issues the movie wrestles with is commonly referred to as “going native.” It’s the danger of sending people undercover to spy. It also happens when we send missionaries into a different culture. At some point, there is the very real temptation to become more closely affiliated with the “alien” culture rather than their own.

It happens when we forget who we are or whose we are, sometimes with disastrous outcomes.

It’s the same temptation the people of Israel faced, and it’s the same issue we still face. In exile, the people of Israel found it hard to keep their own identity; they were being assimilated into the culture of the Babylonians. And today, we forget that the secular world in which we live has similar pulls. We are constantly being lured away from a life of faith by the culture around us.

To us, then, the word of Isaiah comes as both a promise and a warning – or perhaps more accurately a warning and then a promise. “But now,” we are precious in God’s sight. We belong to God. And we are invited to live and love in response to that truth.

You see, God’s love is not being imposed on us. It is merely offered as an invitation to reciprocate, to return our love to God by living in response to the good news of what God has done for us.

We are God’s precious people. Thanks be to God. Amen.