A couple of months ago I bought the DVD/CD “Majestic” by Kari Jobe. At one point she introduces one of her songs called “I am not alone” by quoting from the book of Isaiah chapter 43 verse 2:- “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 burned, the flames will not set you ablaze.” The first part of the verse seems to be referring back to events in Israel’s history. Namely, the crossing of the Red Sea in the Exodus and the crossing of the Jordan River in the book of Joshua. The second part seems to be referring to an event in the Babylonian exile when the three Jewish men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, were thrown into the fiery furnace on the orders of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 3. (Abednego as opposed to his Australian cousin Abendigo. [As I have heard him mispronounced.]) The problem that arises is that Isaiah lived and died a century or more before the exile. Liberal theologians have long considered that the latter part of the the book of Isaiah was written after the exile and would no doubt see this verse as evidence in their support. On the contrary I would argue that the three young men must have been aware of this verse in order to be so confident that their God was able to save them. There was no comparable event in Jewish history where the enemies of God’s people had threatened them with fire and they had survived unscathed, it had to be prophetic. Though they were bound when they were thrown into the fire their bindings were destroyed but they were unharmed. They were able to walk about in the flames. Nebuchadnezzar was astounded to see a fourth person in the fire. They knew from Isaiah that because God had been with Israel in the past when they crossed the Red Sea and when they crossed the Jordan that God would be with them in the fire. It has just occurred to me as I am writing this post that the young men might have even quoted this verse to Nebuchadnezzar in their defence so he ordered them to be bound so they could not be able to walk in the fire. In Scripture what is recorded in many cases may only have been a synopsis of what was said in any dialogue. If not then we would be all be suffering from hernias lugging our massive tomes around. Not only did Nebuchadnezzar see the three of them walking about in the furnace but also a fourth person was seen in the flames, thus confirming the promise of the verse that God would walk with them in the flames.
David Rose. 2014.