Deeper ReflectionKing Nebuchadnezzar was filled with “rage and anger” when
Shadrach, Mishael and Abednego refused to worship his
golden statue (Dan 3:12-13). This can be a very frightening and
dangerous situation.God’s people in exile faced “the
fury of the oppressor” day in and
day out, that they “
fear continually all day long” (v.13). We do face
difficult people in our lives that are like the Babylonian superpower,
“an ever-present, ever-intimidating and ever-visible threat”
31 . And we
feel troubled, anxious, overwhelmed and helpless because of them. We
can be so overcome by fear that, like Israel, we
“forget” God (v.13).
To “forget” God is “to live without consciously holding in mind and
memory who God is, what He has done and what He promises”
32 . It is
“to live in defeat”
33 (cf. Psa 78:9-11).God’s response to His fearful people is: “
Who are you that you are
afraid…?” (v.12). Who are we? We are God’s people (“My people”, v.16),
and God is our God (“your God”, v.15). Present with us in the midst
of “the fury of the oppressor” is the
God of absolute sovereignty
over “the heavens” and “the earth” (v.13), and “the sea and its waves”,
whose “name” is “Almighty LORD” (v.15). Present with us is the
God
of covenant commitment to His people: “I, even I, am He who
comforts you” (v.12), because He is “the LORD
your Maker” (v.13) and
“I am the LORD
your God” (v.15a). With this God present with us, we
can say with Him: “Where is the fury of the oppressor?” (v.13).
31 Walter Brueggemann, Isaiah 40-66, (Westminster John Knox Press, 1998), 131
32 J. Alec Motyer, Isaiah, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, Volume 20 (IVP, 1999), 367
33 J. Alec Motyer, Isaiah, 367
