Obviously God did not want His people to forget what He had done for them in the Exodus , but neither did He want them to look back on that event and conclude that it was His only act of redemption or the only method He could use to redeem them. The Exodus exemplified God"s ability, but it did not set a pattern that He had to follow thereafter (cf. Jeremiah 23:7-8). [source][source][source]
Context Summary
Isa 43:14-28 - A Way In The Wilderness
Let uptake care lest we thwart God's purpose in our lives. We were made to show forth His praise, Isaiah 43:21; but we must beware of causing a revoking of His gracious purpose (See Romans 11:20-21,56 r.v. margin): by prayerlessness, Isaiah 43:22; by the neglect of little things, Isaiah 43:23; by the lack of sweetness and tenderness in our disposition, Isaiah 43:24. "Be not high-minded, but fear; for if God spared not the natural branches, neither will He spare thee," 1714234650_1 r.v.
On the other hand, directly sin is repented of and put away, it is blotted out, Isaiah 43:25. It is persistence in sin that causes God to turn from us. If we forsake what is evil, as soon as we are conscious of it, "the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin." It is blotted out as a cloud from the sky and no more remembered against us forever. This is done for God's own sake. The reason for our salvation and deliverance is not in us, but in Him. The cross of shame and sorrow was His own expedient, and the Lamb in the midst of the throne is the emblem of the divine Atonement, which was commenced and finished by the inexplicable grace of God. [source]
Chapter Summary: Isa 43
1The Lord comforts the church with his promises 8He appeals to the people for witness of his omnipotence 14He foretells them the destruction of Babylon 18And his wonderful deliverance of his people 22He reproves the people as inexcusable
What do the individual words in Isaiah 43:18 mean?
Notdo rememberthe former thingsand the things of oldnorconsider