Restored by God’s grace
I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again. Let us review the situation together, and you can present your case to prove your innocence. From the very beginning, your first ancestor sinned against me; all your leaders broke my laws. That is why I have disgraced your priests; I have decreed complete destruction for Jacob and shame for Israel. Isaiah 43:25-28 NLT
From the text, we are presented one of the attributes of God. He declared that He will blot out the sins and remembering them no more. This is what God does; when God forgives and restores His people, He will forget the failures of the past, strengthen those whom He has forgiven in the present so they can be witnesses of His mercy, and fulfill His promises for the future, (vv. 18–21). Satan, the accuser will have us remember that which God has forgiven and forgotten. God forgave the sin of the Israelites, not because they brought Him sacrifices for they had no altar in Babylon, He forgave them solely because of His rich mercy and grace. What matters most to God, is not the record of our sins but Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. That is God’s pure grace and the only way to be restored with Him. Yet, it is sad when we insist that we can right the wrongs we have done by our own efforts. In the case of the Israelites, He invited them to prove that they have within them that deserve God’s mercy apart from God’s action of forgiveness. “Let us review the situation together, and you can present your case to prove your innocence” (v. 26). But there is nothing to be proud of because sinfulness is ingrained even at the beginning. “From the very beginning, your first ancestor sinned against me; all your leaders broke my laws” (v. 27). If we remain in our pride and reject God’s offer of grace, there will be “complete destruction” (v. 28). What do we prefer, God’s judgment or God’s grace? With God’s grace, we are restored and will experience the fruit of having relationship with Him that He wants us to enjoy at present and the life to come. “I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland... Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland so my chosen people can be refreshed” (Isaiah 43:19-20).
Blessings,
