What does Isaiah 43:3-4 mean?
Question:
Can I please ask you to explain Isaiah 43:3-4 (NIV):
"For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.
Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
nations in exchange for your life."
Answer:
When a person was captured in a war, his relatives were expected to pay a redemption price to buy him back.
God sent Israel off into captivity with the Assyrians. The Babylonians then conquered Assyria and inherited their captives. Judah was later sent off into captivity with the Babylonians. The Persians then conquered the Babylonians and inherited all their captives. God predicted that He would have the Israelite captives return to their land during the Persian Empire. He specifically stated that Cyrus would send the people back (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1).
As a "ransom payment," God promised to give the Persians three nations to conquer: Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba. This happened under Cyrus' successor, Cambyses.
The point being made is that Israel should not fear because God is willing to sacrifice mightier nations to preserve Israel. They could be certain that their descendants would return from captivity. All of this was announced about 150 years before it took place.
Question:
Thank you.
Is this a kind of favoritism in Holy Scripture because our Lord Jesus would be incarnate later? Or is this a shadow of how Christ would die for our sins? Why is this sacrifice necessary in the book of Isaiah? Couldn't God save them without these ancient nations being "sacrificed?"
Answer:
Just because a nation is old, it doesn't make it good. Egypt has long been used as an example of a sinful and corrupt nation because of its idolatry. Often, God takes care of multiple problems when He has a nation destroyed, so this isn't just about rescuing Israel but also about punishing corrupt nations (Isaiah 19-20).
You are also correct that Israel was being preserved because God was keeping His promises to Abraham, which included the coming Messiah.
