📊 Isaiah 43:2 | An Unexpected Meaning of 'Waters'

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📧 In today’s email…

• A brief ancient Hebrew lesson 🌊 

• OT connections: how Israelites would have likely heard this 👂️

• Reflect: God’s faithfulness in your story 🤔 

• Tuesday Trivia about Isaiah 43 📊

 🧠 Memorize

_{see if you know what words go in the blanks}

When you ____ _______ ___ ______, I will __ ____ ___;

and _______ the rivers, ____ shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.

Isaiah 43:2

🌊 Hebrew Lesson: Waters

Today, let’s dig into the first part of verse 2.

There’s a lot to unpack here but for today, we’ll focus on waters and God’s promise that they will not overwhelm you.

Something that we 21st century North Americans miss is that the sea sometimes held a negative connotation for the Israelite people.

The Hebrew word for water, mayim, comes from the root mem, which can mean "chaos."

The image we see depicted in the creation account in Genesis is an image of God bringing order out of chaos.

We see the first mention of waters in the opening words of Scripture:

💡 Again, remember that the original audience of Isaiah 43 was the kingdom of Judah during their exile and captivity in Babylon.

Not only that - think back to the last time God’s people were captive: Egypt.

And how did that end? With the miraculous parting of the Red Sea.

And later in Joshua chapter 3 as the Israelites were about to cross the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land, this happens:

God’s promises to be with the Israelites through the waters were not empty claims.

And they weren’t just future promises.

They were demonstrated in God’s concrete, historical faithfulness to His people.

Throughout the rest of the week, we’ll spend time looking:

• Back at the history of God’s faithfulness in your life

• At the present waters you find yourself in

• The future promise we can all place our hope in as Jesus followers

Reflect: God’s Faithfulness in Your Story 🤔 

At the time Isaiah was a prophet, the Israelites had a long history of God’s faithfulness to look back on.

Odds are, you can probably look back over your life and see times of His great faithfulness to you.

(potentially even during times in your life when you were far from Him relationally)

Reflect 🤔 

What storms of life - what chaotic waters have you experienced in the past?

How has God followed through on His promise to be with you? How has His presence shown up in those seasons?

🗣️ Bonus: Share a story of God bringing order out of chaos in your life with one friend or family member.

💡 Tomorrow, we’ll dig deeper into the imagery of fire used in the second part of Isaiah 43:2.

Tuesday Trivia 📊 

Click one of the options below. Let’s see how you do..

In Isaiah 43:3 (directly after the verse we’re memorizing), God makes a comforting promise to His people.

Finish the verse: 

² "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.

³ For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your _______:

Answer key ✅ 

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.

Isaiah 43:2