God's Blessing on His Chosen People

Isaiah 44:1-8

1 "Yet hear now, O Jacob My servant,
And Israel whom I have chosen.

2 Thus says the LORD who made you
And formed you from the womb, who will help you:
'Fear not, O Jacob My servant;
And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

3 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty,
And floods on the dry ground;
I will pour My Spirit on your descendants,
And My blessing on your offspring;
4 They will spring up among the grass
Like willows by the watercourses.'

5 One will say, 'I am the LORD's';
Another will call himself by the name of Jacob;
Another will write with his hand, 'The LORD's,'
And name himself by the name of Israel.

6 "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel,
And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:
I am the First and I am the Last;
Besides Me there is no God.

7 And who can proclaim as I do?
Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me,
Since I appointed the ancient people.
And the things that are coming and shall come,
Let them show these to them.

8 Do not fear, nor be afraid;
Have I not told you from that time, and declared it?
You are My witnesses.
Is there a God besides Me?
Indeed there is no other Rock;
I know not one.'"

There is no other God and His blessings are given to, not earned by, His people.  He chose Jacob and named him and his descendants Israel and Jeshurun, meaning ‘upright one’.  The choosing was first to Abraham and then from him to Jacob and to his offspring with a longer view to those chosen of the seed of Abraham’s faith in His seed who is Christ.  This thread runs from the beginning to end of scripture and is why these passages in Isaiah are important for we who are in Christ as chosen descendants of faith from out of all the nations.  The LORD promises to His chosen ones that He will help us because He made us for Himself in His image and for His glory, a common thread repeated often for us to understand and take to heart.  We are then to be His upright ones, holy and acceptable because we are accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6, 1 Peter 1:16).  He not only promised water to sustain the lives of His upright ones chosen in grace, but also there was a future promise of His Spirit and blessings to be poured onto their descendants, including all in Christ through the faith and promises to Abraham.  We have seen the beginning of that on the new Pentecost in Acts 2 and now on everyone reborn in Christ who follow them (Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Corinthians 1:22).  All who thirst for Him and for righteousness come to Him (John 3:21, Matthew 5:6) to find satisfaction through their salvation.  Like God’s people then, we call ourselves by the name of our LORD, though some also name themselves as those of Israel and of the Lord Christ.  We are His because He chose us and not we ourselves.  He is our Redeemer, the only God who is the first and last (Revelation 1:8, 22:13, Isaiah 45:21-22, Philippians 2:9-11), the divine Son of God.  He as the Word of God living and powerful and written in scripture, He tells us these things which He did and will do for us to read and understand to gain a heart of wisdom and not to fear the circumstances and events of life in the world around us.  Why fear when we know the outcome and our destination of eternal life forever before His face?  We then are as Israel in that we are witnesses to these things to declare that He alone is our firm foundation and no one one thing else.  He has blessed and will bless His people.  Therefore we have no fear in the turmoil of the world.  Fear not!