Verse of the Day
Wednesday, December 31, 2025
Isaiah 43:16, 18-19
Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters… Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Introduction
Prophetic literature often functions as a disruption of the status quo, breaking into human history to realign our vision with divine reality. Isaiah 43 constitutes one of the most profound moments in the Old Testament, where the voice of God cuts through the silence of exile and the despair of a defeated people. This passage captures the central tension of biblical faith: the delicate balance between remembering God’s past faithfulness and refusing to be held captive by it. It addresses a people who know their history but have lost their horizon, offering a stunning promise of divine intervention that does not merely repeat the past, but transcends it.
Commentary
Verse 16: The God of the Way
Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters…
The oracle begins by grounding the listener in their foundational identity. The imagery of making "a way in the sea" and "a path in the mighty waters" is an unmistakable reference to the Exodus—specifically the crossing of the Red Sea. In the ancient Near Eastern worldview, the sea often represented chaos and death. By identifying Himself as the one who cuts a path through the waters, YHWH asserts his sovereignty over chaos. He reminds the exiles that He is the God of deliverance who has already proven He can make a way where there is physically no way.
Verse 18: The Command to Forget
Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.
Here, the prophet introduces a startling theological twist. After establishing His credentials via the Exodus in verse 16, God immediately commands His people to stop dwelling on it. This is counter-intuitive for a faith built on memory (an anamnetic faith). However, the prohibition here is not against gratitude, but against nostalgia that limits expectation. The exiles were likely longing for a repeat of the "good old days" or a precise replication of the Red Sea miracle. The theological implication is profound: clinging to the method of a past miracle can blind us to the movement of God in the present. God is effectively saying, "Do not try to fit My future actions into the container of your past experiences."
Verse 19: The New Exodus
I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
The contrast in imagery here is deliberate and striking. In the first Exodus (v. 16), God made a dry path through the wet sea to allow escape. In this "New Exodus" (v. 19), God promises the opposite: He will bring wet rivers into the dry desert to sustain life.
The phrase "now it springs forth" suggests immediacy—like a seed germinating or water bursting from a rock. The question "Do you not perceive it?" challenges the spiritual dullness of the people. They are looking for a parting of the sea (a dramatic exit strategy), but God is providing rivers in the desert (sustenance for the journey home). The "new thing" is not just a change in geography, but a change in the nature of salvation—from mere survival to flourishing renovation.
Understanding the Context
Historical Setting
This passage is addressed to the Jewish exiles living in Babylon (circa 540s BC). Decades after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, the people were in a state of spiritual fatigue and national depression. They likely felt abandoned, believing that the Babylonian gods had defeated YHWH or that their sins had permanently disqualified them from covenantal blessing. They were a people whose history felt like it had ended.
Literary Context
Scholars classify chapters 40–55 as "Second Isaiah" (Deutero-Isaiah). The overarching theme of this section is the "New Exodus." Just as God brought them out of Egypt, He will bring them out of Babylon. However, the prophet insists that this deliverance will be even greater than the first. The journey through the wilderness back to Zion is painted not as a terrifying ordeal, but as a triumphant procession where nature itself transforms (deserts becoming watered gardens) to accommodate God’s people.
Application for Today
The Trap of "Former Things"
The command to "not remember the former things" is acutely relevant for contemporary believers. Individuals and communities often get stuck in two types of pasts: the past of failure (where shame dictates the future) or the past of glory (the "golden age" syndrome). Churches, for instance, often mourn that they cannot replicate the programs or successes of 50 years ago. Isaiah suggests that God is not interested in franchising His past miracles. To see the "new thing," we must relinquish our demand that God act exactly as He did before.
Perceiving the New in the Wilderness
Modern believers frequently encounter "wilderness" experiences—seasons of deconstruction, personal loss, cultural upheaval, or spiritual dryness. The natural human response is to ask God to get us out of the wilderness (the Red Sea model). However, this passage suggests God often chooses to provide in the wilderness (the River in the Desert model). The challenge for the believer is "perception." We must cultivate a spiritual attentiveness that looks for signs of life (the springing forth) in unlikely places, trusting that God is working creatively even when the environment looks barren.
Reflection
There is a tension at the heart of this text regarding the nature of the Divine. We worship a God who is immutable—unchanging in His character—yet this same God refuses to be static in His actions. He is the God of the "new thing."
The great difficulty for the human spirit is that we find security in patterns. We build monuments to the "former things" because they are known, safe, and verifiable. To "forget" them, in the Isaianic sense, requires a vulnerability that feels dangerous. It requires us to trade the certainty of a memory for the risk of a hope.
Yet, this is the very definition of biblical hope. It is not a wishful optimism that things will return to normal, but a disciplined anticipation that the Creator is still creating. The "New Thing" is rarely a repetition; it is a renovation. Faith, then, is the courage to release the script of the past so that our hands are empty enough to receive the novelty of God’s future.
The Bible texts are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Bible, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Verse of the Day is a daily inspirational and encouraging Bible verse, extracted from BibleGateway.com. Commentary by Kenny Sallee, ThM.
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