God Told Israel: Don't Fear, I'm With You

Isaiah is probably my favorite author in the Bible. He wasn’t afraid to call out injustice and shortcomings because he always knew the people reading his words could do better. He had courage and vision, and his way of communicating that was inspiring, challenging others to be better rather than simply telling them that they’re awful. He had a mix of righteous judgment and empathy that worked so well for the difficult points he was trying to make.

I’m going to flip back a bit to Isaiah chapter 6. The opening of Isaiah speaks of Israel’s sins—not as individual sins, but as systemic social issues that required all of Israel to work together to solve. When Isaiah hears the voice of the Lord, his first response is to admit he’s a part of the problem: “Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips.” He existed in a system of injustice, and in passivity, he became complicit. When he again heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”—and please note that God didn’t ask Isaiah directly; he was looking for volunteers—Isaiah responds, “Here am I. Send me!” He chose to move from being a passive bystander allowing an unjust system to operate to an active advocate for positive change, and he did it because no one else would.

The book of Isaiah is full of examples of the type of righteousness he called for, but one of my favorite passages comes from Isaiah 58:

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice

    and untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free

    and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry

    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—

when you see the naked, to clothe them,

    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Then your light will break forth like the dawn,

    and your healing will quickly appear;

then your righteousness will go before you,

    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;

    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

In Isaiah 41 (today’s passage), Isaiah addresses the nation of Israel as he would an individual. Israel was exhausted and torn apart by war, destruction, and uncertainty. The nation lived in fear. Isaiah offers the Israelites hope and reassurance, reminding them that God is with them and will never leave them. But knowing what Isaiah says in the rest of his book, this comfort takes on a new meaning. Isaiah didn’t simply want the Israelites to sleep better at night; he wanted to empower them to be better, and to say yes, just as Isaiah did in the beginning of his book.

Thinking of fear and courage on an individual level comes easy to us, much like individual thoughts of of morality and justice. Isaiah addresses Israel as he would an individual, showing that fear and courage, as well as morality and justice, are things that nations can experience, too. It starts with individuals saying, “Here am I. Send me!” Like Isaiah, we may have been as average or “unclean” as everyone around us—but we might also be the only ones to say yes.