How to Study the Bible: The Importance of Context (Isaiah 43:18-19)

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why in the world would God tell the people of Israel to stop commemorating
the Exodus well the answer is in verse 19
hey there welcome to equipt I'm Mario Escobedo your host this channel is all
about learning how to study the Bible correctly and learning how to share it
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we're gonna look at Isaiah chapter 43 verses 18 and 19 but before we do that I
want to share a resource with you there's a link to it in the description
of this video this is a book that I was made aware of many many years ago when I
was in Bible School and it's how to read the Bible for all it's worth currently
in its fourth edition by Gordon fee and Douglas Stewart fantastic resource for a
tool I mean just for learning principles on how to study the Bible fee and
Stewart they go a chapter by chapter just giving fantastic advice and
principles on how to study the Bible I recommend this book if you haven't had a
chance to read it or get your hands on it I recommend you do so again there are
links in the description of this video where you can do that one of the things
that fee and Stewart talked about quite a bit is the importance of reading a
passage of scripture in its literary context how important that is because
when we do that we unleash the power of a verse but we also were doing it
responsibly we're doing biblical scholarship biblical study responsibly
and I want to go to Isaiah chapter 43 verses 18 and 19 to see to see this in
action to see a practical application of reading a verse in its context to see
how the power of that verse is unleashed all right so I'm gonna be reading the
ESV because I prefer this translation for this particular verse verses 18 and
19 of Isaiah chapter 43 let me highlight that here says like this remember not
the former things nor consider the things of old behold I'm doing a new
thing now it springs forth don't you perceive it I'll make a way in the
wilderness and rivers in the desert now those are beautiful verses both of those
verses are really nice and typically when we've heard them talked about it's
all about hate looking towards the future what God has
you forget your past God has forgiven your past the past is in the past don't
worry about that it's it's been forgiven it's been forgotten and and all of that
is true all of that is beautiful but in it in its context isaiah 43:18 and 19
really isn't talking about that it's not really talking about forgetting all the
bad things you've done in the past let's look at the context to see the power and
the beauty of these two verses look at verses 16 and 17 and this is this is
what these verses say I'm having a little trouble highlighting here but
this is what these verses say thus says the Lord who makes a way in the sea a
path in the mighty Waters who brings forth chariot and horse army and warrior
they lie down they cannot rise they're extinguished quenched like a wick right
now in these two verses 16 and 17 what God is talking about here is the Exodus
event when God liberated the people of Israel from Egypt brought them to the
Red Sea parted the waters of the waters of the Red Sea they crossed on dry land
Pharaohs army tried to chase them or pursue them and then the waters came
back over them and drowned them that's what verses 16 and 17 are talking
about and then we jump into verse 18 where it says now forget the former
things or do not remember not the former things and and it's a it's important how
the a ESV translate verse translates verse 18 it says remember not now this
is the original language over here and what's remember not on the English side
it's highlighted over here in grey on the Hebrew side all to screw now this is
important to understand this and again this I'm just gonna do a brief little
bit of Hebrew here this word tisca room means remember but it can also mean
let's look at some some other alternatives here remember reflect on
commemorate that's another another word that it can mean I prefer the ESV in
this case because look at how the NIV translate this translators verse forget
the former things in my opinion that's not a good translation that's not what
this Hebrew word Altis karu means it means what we have here highlighted
remember reflect on commemorate so that as sin
what God is telling the people of Israel is stop commemorating remember not the
former things but Altis guru stop commemorating stop focusing on stop
reflecting on stop remembering the former things now again if we isolate
this verse from its context we could just be talking about any old thing that
happened in the past our annual thing in the old former thing but when we look at
this verse in its context we realize that there is a very specific former
thing that God is telling the people of Israel to stop remembering and it's what
we just read in verses 16 and 17 what God described in 16 and 17 is the exodus
event and so what God is telling the people of Israel when he says remember
not the former things he's speaking very specifically because this is what the
context informs us he's speaking very specifically about the exodus event he's
telling the people of Israel stop commemorating stop reflecting on stop
remembering the exodus event for the people of Israel the Exodus event was
huge why in the world would God tell the people of Israel to stop commemorating
the Exodus well the answer is in verse 19 right we already read the answer in
verse 19 he says oh look I'm doing a new thing that it springs forth don't you
perceive it I'm gonna make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert the
reason God is telling the people of Israel to stop commemorating the Exodus
is because he wants him to behold to perceive and to see the new thing that
he's doing and because they were so busy commemorating the Exodus they couldn't
see the new thing that God was doing they were so bent on reflecting on the
Exodus and what God did for their ancestors in the past that they couldn't
see that God wanted to do something for them in their present and and I think it
was something like this I'm gonna interpret a little bit here that for the
people of Israel in the time of Isaiah under this prophecy that they were
saying man the height of God's power was the Exodus when he split the waters of
the Red Sea I mean that God cannot top that I mean
that is as high and as powerful as God can be and so they commemorate at that
event to the point that they couldn't see that God was trying to tell them
forget that because I'm doing something new something that might even rival or
surpass what I did with your ancestors at the exodus event and for that reason
you need to stop remembering commemorating reflecting on the exodus
event so that you can perceive and understand the new thing that I'm doing
now I don't want to sermon eyes I want to go back to the point that we're
making here the beauty and the power of verses 18 and 19 are Unleashed when we
read them and understand them in their context because all of a sudden stop
remembering or remember not the former things doesn't only talk about the bad
things in our past or just any general thing that happened formerly now it's
talking even about God's miraculous interventions and even then God tells us
forget that don't don't focus on that anymore
don't commemorate that anymore because I'm doing something new now if I were to
take this to the point of sharing this all right application I would tell the
people look you need to focus on what God wants to do now yeah there are some
bad things in the past that can keep you from moving forward and experiencing the
new things God has for you but guess what
sometimes we focus on the good things that God did in our past and that keeps
us from moving forward as well because we say God could never heal me again
like he did back then God could mat that time God provided for me and for my
family I just don't know that God could do that
again that was a one-time thing you're letting the good things of the past that
God did for you keep you from perceiving and seeing the good things and the
better things that God wants to do for you now now we only come to that
interpretation and application when we read verses 18 and 19 in their context
when we don't yank them out of their context and isolate them and say he's
talking about the bad sins of the past forget about that because he's forgiven
you no no he's even talking about the good
stuff don't let that stuff hold you back but we only come to that interpretation
or that concludes when we responsibly read verses 18 and
19 in their context that's when the beauty that's when the power of these
verses and any verse in Scripture really shined through when we read them in
their context so that that's that's the whole thrust of this particular teaching
of this video read any portion of scripture in its context because that's
really where the power that impact the beauty of any verse even John 3:16 any
verse the most familiar verses their beauty their power in their impact we
find them in their context so take that and understand that it takes some work
you know we need to work at that but when we look at the context of a verse
we unleash the beauty the power and the impact of any verse in Scripture and
again I'll refer you again to this resource how do we the Bible for all
it's worth there's a link in the description where you can pick up that
either as a Kindle version or as a paperback version fantastic advice and
principles on how to study the Bible and again I would I would tell you take the
time to read any passage of scripture in its context if you haven't done so yet
and if you felt that this was adding value to you into your ministry consider
subscribing hitting that Bell notification and remember notify your
spanish-speaking friends that they can find some resources here as well that's
it for now god bless see you next time

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How to Study the Bible: The Importance of Context (Isaiah 43:18-19)

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