Before we look at that verse, let’s read Isaiah 43:16-18 which says, “Thus says the LORD, Who makes a way through the sea and a path through the mighty waters, Who brings forth the chariot and the horse, The army and the mighty man (They will lie down together and not rise again; They have been quenched and extinguished like a wick): ‘Do not call to mind the former things, Or ponder things of the past” (NASB). In verses 16-17 the Lord reminds Israel of how He delivered them from their Egyptian captors by opening up “a way through the sea” so they could walk right through, while their enemies were drowned and “extinguished like a wick.” Then in verse 18 He tells them to forget it! Why would the Lord instruct them to forget such a mighty deliverance?

The answer to this is found in verses 19-21 which reads, “Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The beast of the field will honor Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, To give drink to My people, My chosen. This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise” (NKJV). The Lord reveals to His people, “I will do a new thing,” and what He goes on to describe is so glorious that it will, as another has said, “eclipse that of the past.” It’s not that Israel will ever really forget what the Lord had done for them when He brought them through the Red Sea and destroyed Pharaoh and his armies, but when He performs His “new thing,” the past deliverance will pale in comparison.

The “new thing” looks on to the time when the Lord Jesus Christ comes to reign over the earth as King of kings, and Lord of lords.” He will sit on His throne for 1,000 years and during that time all of creation will undergo a wonderful transformation. He will “make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert,” which means He will once again bring His people into the land of promise. Once there He will “give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert,” which is another way of saying that the Lord will nourish His people, along with the animal kingdom. Isaiah spoke earlier of this in chapter 35:1, “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.” Divine healing is included in this promised blessing, as we see in 35:6-7, “Then shall the lame man leap as a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, And the thirsty land springs of water” (NKJV).

All creation will praise God for these blessings. We saw in Isaiah 43:20 that “The beast of the field will honor Me, The jackals and the ostriches.” Romans 8:22 teaches us that at the present time “the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together,” but when God does His “new thing,” even the animals will rejoice and honor their Creator for delivering them from the effects of sin brought in by Adam’s fall. And then Israel, whom God calls, “My people, My chosen,” will finally give God the praise He deserves, for we are told in 43:21, “They shall declare My praise.” The prophet rehearses the praise that will come from them in Isaiah 12:4-6, “And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon His name, declare His doings among the people, make mention that His name is exalted. Sing unto the LORD; for He hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion; for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.” What a day that will be! All creation will be richly blessed and God will be glorified!  (180.6)  (DO)