John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 43:3

"For I am Jehovah thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour; I have given Egypt as thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in thy stead." — Isaiah 43:3 (ASV)

For I am Jehovah your God. He confirms the preceding statement by the experience of the past, for the Lord had previously assisted his people in such a way that it was reasonable and proper that believers should safely rely on his grace. We must always remember what we had in the previous verse: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I am your Lord. These ought to be read together and in immediate connection, because they have the same object; for if the Lord is our God, it follows that he is on our side, and therefore we shall find that he is our Savior.

But if we wish to know by experience that he is our Savior, we must be a part of Israel, not in name only, but giving true evidence of godliness throughout our lives. This, therefore, is the foundation of our confidence: that Jehovah is our God. And thus it follows that those who do not acknowledge God to be their Father, and who do not rely on his kindness, are wretched and tremble continually.

Wicked men, indeed, indulge in merriment and even act disdainfully towards God; but their indifference is intoxication and madness of mind, by which they are more rapidly carried headlong to their destruction. To believers alone this brings the assurance that he who has chosen them wishes to be continually their God and to preserve them, and therefore has separated them to be his inheritance.

In this sense he calls himself The Holy One of Israel, because while the whole human race is by nature estranged from him, he has chosen his people to set them apart to be his own.

Now, although external separation is of little importance unless God sanctifies the elect by the power of his Spirit, yet because Israel had openly polluted himself, God declares that his covenant will still not be made void, because he is always like himself.

Besides, it is well known that the word holy is used in an active sense for him who sanctifies. Therefore, if we wish to be certain of God’s love towards us, let us always remember the testimony of our adoption, through which we are confirmed in our hearts as by a sure pledge, and let us earnestly ask it from God.

I have given the price of your redemption. I make no remarks on those repetitions which are frequently used by the Prophet and are customary in the Hebrew language; for the two phrases in this verse, I have given the price, and I have given instead of you, are used by him in the same sense.

We have said that the Prophet confirms believers by presenting earlier proofs of the grace of God, as if he had said: You have already known by experience that God cares for your salvation. For how else could Sennacherib have turned his forces against Egypt, Ethiopia, and other nations, unless the Lord spared you and directed the attack of your enemy elsewhere?

Since, therefore, he has until now shown such great concern for you, you do not need to be anxious about the future.

Thus, if at any time doubts arise in our minds about the providence of God or about his promises, we should recall the benefits which he has already bestowed upon us. For we will be guilty of extreme ingratitude if, after having received so many benefits from God, we doubt his kindness for the future.

But a question arises: In what sense does he call Egypt and Ethiopia the price of the redemption of the Church? For pagans do not have such high value as to redeem the children of God.

But the Prophet borrowed this way of speaking from the ordinary language of men, as if he had said: The Egyptians, the Ethiopians, and the Sabeans came in your place and, as if an exchange had been made, were compelled to suffer the destruction to which you were exposed. For, in order to preserve you, I destroyed them and delivered them instead of you into the hand of the enemy.

But we must attend to the history. While Sennacherib was advancing with all his might against Judea, the Lord, by placing a bridle on him, suddenly checked him and entangled him by other wars, so that he was forced to withdraw his army. Thus the Egyptians and Ethiopians were decisively defeated, while the people of God were allowed to breathe (2 Kings 19:28; Isaiah 37:8).

We too may readily acknowledge, if we are not worse than stupid, that the same providence and infinite mercy of God have been shown to us. This happens when tyrants who wished to destroy us, and who joined in opening their mouths with eagerness to devour us, are caused by him to engage in wars against each other, and when the rage with which they burned against us is directed by him elsewhere. For by doing so he preserves us, giving them as the price of our redemption.

When we see irreligious men, amidst the uproar and confusion of mutual wars, pause in their efforts to destroy us, while it is evident that they do not pause on their own, let us lift up our eyes to heaven and learn that God, in order to spare us, miraculously substitutes others in our place. For we were like sheep appointed for slaughter (Psalms 44:22); swords were drawn on every side, if he had not snatched them from the hands of wicked men or given them a different direction.

Therefore, we should draw a general doctrine: that the Lord takes such care of all believers (1 Peter 5:7) that he values them more highly than the whole world.

Although, therefore, we are of no value, yet let us rejoice in this: that the Lord values us so highly, prefers us to the whole world, rescues us from dangers, and thus preserves us in the midst of death.

If everything were at peace with us, and if we had no troubles, we should not see this grace of God. For when a thousand deaths seem to hang over us, when there seems to be no way of escape, and when he suddenly drives back the tyrants or turns them in another direction, we then know by experience what the Prophet says and perceive his immeasurable kindness toward us.