When thou passest through the waters, I [will be] with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
God speaks here to a people who had failed Him and ignored His discipline, and yet His word to them is "fear not." The promise about deep water and fire is His answer to their fear, and it rests on something He says first: they belong to Him.
Grace Speaking to a Failed People
The promise is not a reward for a people who deserved it. It comes after a chapter where Israel ignored God's correction. The "fear not" of verse 1 grows out of that setting.
How low God's people have sunk when the Lord's discipline no longer touches them! Does God then give up His people? No! ... So, despite all their failure, the LORD can say to Israel, "Fear not." Their sad history with God gave them every reason to fear. But now God will act toward them on the basis of what He has done for them in grace. So He can say, "I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine." Their own failure may mean they have to pass through the cleansing waters and the purifying fire. But the LORD can say, "I will be with you." If the Lord is with His people in all their trials, we can be sure He brings them "through."
Two Names, Two Halves of the Promise
Verse 3 gives the reason the promise holds, and it names God twice — as the Holy One, and as Saviour. Each name accounts for a different half of what verse 2 describes.
If Israel comes through the trial into final blessing, it is not because of any merit in Israel. It rests wholly on Who God is. "For," says God, "I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour." Israel must endure the fire and the water, because God is "the Holy One." But they will come through, because God is their Saviour.
"You Are Mine"
The words "I will be with you" follow a statement of ownership. Redemption means someone paid a price to buy them back. That price creates a claim, and the claim carries both a duty and a comfort.
What then are our responsibilities as a redeemed people? First and foremost, the acknowledgement that we belong to Him who has redeemed us... In His wonderful grace and love, the Lord Jesus paid the ransom price for us. So He has full right and title to all that we are and have. From now on we belong to Him. But this involves a twofold aspect — privilege and responsibility. We have the privilege of belonging to Christ, of being His own... and therefore of being the special objects of His care, tenderness, and love... In sorrow, trouble, or grief — in the quiet hours of the night — when we are cut off from everyone around us — what deep comfort it is to lift our eyes to Him and remember that we are His.
Through, Not Around
The verse does not promise that God will drain the water or put out the fire. Writers find the same pattern elsewhere in Scripture.
The point was not so much rescue from the thing that caused the fear. It was lifting their souls above it through fellowship with Himself... The Lord's way is often to leave His people in trial and to be with them in it. Paul wanted to be rid of the thorn, but the answer came: "My grace is sufficient for you." It is a far richer mercy to have the grace and presence of Jesus in the trial than to be taken out of it. The Lord let Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be thrown into the furnace. But when He did, He came down and walked with them in it.
That same account in the book of Daniel shows what the fire burned — and it was not the three men thrown into it.
What was the effect of the fire in their case? It only burnt off their bonds, and set them free. Often the Lord lets us get into the fire. Its effect is to burn off the cords that tie us up — in our case often cords we tied ourselves — and we come out free. But what have we had in the fire? A sense of the presence and company of the Lord, such as we never had before.
The Deliverance Still Ahead
The chapter also looks ahead to a day when Israel will be rescued. One writer traces both their ruin and their pardon back to the same source.
They were plundered because of the One they rebelled against. And because of Him they will be delivered, pardoned, and blessed. He, the LORD, is the only God, and He is just as much the only Saviour... It is He Who for His own sake will blot out their transgressions and justify them. Before that day comes, we already know what is still a secret to them: the great salvation by His grace. That is the only way He can deal with the guilty and stay just. Christ, the cross, is the only key.
Summary
- Cause. The promise is not earned. It answers a people who had ignored God's discipline, and rests on what He has done in grace, not on any merit in them.
- Claim. "I have redeemed you… you are Mine" comes first. Because He paid the price, His people become the special objects of His care.
- Through. God does not promise an easier road but a shared one. It is a richer mercy to have His presence in the trial than to be spared the trial.
- Fire. In the furnace the flames burned only the bonds. What the trial takes away is the cords; what it gives is a sense of His company never known before.
- Result. Because God is holy, His people must go through the water and the fire. Because He is Saviour, they come out the other side.