The Waymaker
“I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” - Isaiah 43 : 19
“But now, this is what the Lord says -
He who created you, Jacob,
he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are Mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I Am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I will 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.
Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west.
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
and to the south , ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth-
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
out those who have eyes but are blind,
who have ears but are deaf.
All the nations gather together
and the nations assemble.
Which of their gods foretold this
and proclaimed to us the former things?
Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were
right,
so that others may hear and say “It is true.”
“You are my witnesses, “declares the Lord,
“and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor will there be one after me.
I, even, I am the Lord,
and apart from me there is no savior.
I have revealed and saved and proclaimed-
I, and not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses, “ declares the Lord,
“that I am God.
Yes, and from ancient days I am he.
No one can deliver out of my hand.
When I act, who can reverse it?”
This is what the LORD says —
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“For your sake I will send to Babylon
and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians,
in the ships which they took pride.
I am the Lord, your Holy One,
Israel’s Creator, your King.”
This is what the Lord says —
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,
who drew out the chariots and horses,
the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there. never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland .
The wild animals honor me,
the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
the people I formed for myself
that they may proclaim my praise.”
-Isaiah 43 : 1 - 21
Lead
“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”
-Genesis 2 : 7
“He said, “Can I not do with you , Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation or a kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.”
-Jeremiah 18 : 6 - 10
“Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?”
-Romans 9 : 21
“Yet you, Lord, are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are All the work of your hand.
Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord;
do not remember our sins forever.
Oh, look on us, we pray.
for we are all your people.”
-Isaiah 64 : 8 - 9
““Be silent” before me, you islands!”
Let the nations renew their strength!
Let them come forward and speak;
let us meet together at the place of judgement.
“Who has stirred up one from the east,
calling him in righteousness to his service?
He hands nations over to him
and subdues kings before him.
He turns them to dust with his sword,
to windblown chaff with his bow.
He pursues them and moves on unscathed,
by a path his feet have not traveled before.
Who has done this and carried it through,
calling forth the generations from the beginning?
I, the LORD — with the first of them
and with the last — I am he.”
The islands have seen it and fear;
the ends of the earth tremble.
They approach and come forward;
they help each other
and say to their companions, “Be strong!”
The metalworker encourages the goldsmith,
and the one who smooths with the hammer
spurs on the one who strikes the anvil.
One says of the welding, “It is good.”
The other nails down the idol so that it will not topple."
“But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
you descendants of Abraham my friend,
I took you from the ends of the earth,
from its farthest corners I called you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’';
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
So do not fear, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
All who rage against you
will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
Those who oppose you
will be as nothing and perish.
Though you search for your enemies,
you will not find them.
Those who wage war against you
will be as nothing at all.
For I am the Lord Your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear,
I will help you.
Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,
little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,
new and sharp, with many teeth.
You with thresh the mountains and crush them,
and reduce the the hills to chaff.
You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,
and a gale will blow them away.
But you will rejoice in the Lord
and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
“The poor and the needy search for water,
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the LORD will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the dessert into pools of water,
and the parched ground into springs.
I will put in the dessert
the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers in the wasteland,
and fir and cypress together,
so that people may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created it.””
-Isaiah 41 : 1 - 20
“‘Your ways, God, are holy.
What god is as great as our God?
You are the God who performs miracles;
you display your power among the peoples.
With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
The waters saw you God,
the waters saw you and writhed;”
the very depths were convulsed.
The clouds poured down water,
the heavens resounded with thunder;
your arrows flashed back and forth.
Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,
your lightening lit up the world;
the earth trembled and quaked.
Your path through the mighty waters,
through your footprints were not seen.
-Psalms 77 : 13 - 19
“Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.””