What kind of God is our covenant Lord?
What kind of God does the prophet proclaim in Isaiah 42:18– 43:21? What must God be like if He promises to restore and renew despite the abject failure of His people? What kind of God is our covenant Lord? The answer is that He is like no other! I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior. ( Isa. 43:11) In a series of statements that open chapter 43, a sixfold depiction of God’s glory emerges. First, God is the Creator. Using two distinct words, both found in the carefully constructed narrative of creation in Genesis 1 and 2, Isaiah describes God as having “created” and “formed” Jacob/ Israel : But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel. (Isa. 43:1) The first word, “created” (bara), usually refers to the creation of something new. It does not necessarily imply that the creative result was ex nihilo, out of nothing. Genesis 2:7 tells us that man was not created (bara) ex nihilo but from “the dust of the earth.” The second word, “f