The Book Of Isaiah. Day 192, The One Who Makes A Way

The Lord promises He will judge Babylon in time. We know from our study of the kings that the Lord allowed Babylon to conquer the kingdom of Judah because of the rampant idolatry into which so many of the people fell. But their captivity in Babylon is not permanent. It may appear to them as if there is no way they could ever return home and rebuild, so the Lord tells them in advance that He will make it happen.

"This is what the Lord says---your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; 'For your sake I will send to Babylon and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians, in the ships in which they took pride. I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel's Creator, your King.'" (Isaiah 43:14-15) The Neo-Babylonian Empire will be at the zenith of its power when it conquers Judah but kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall. Not that many years later Babylon will be conquered by the Medo-Persian Empire. Cyrus the Great will give the people permission to return to their homeland.

The Lord reminds them that situations which look impossible to human eyes are not impossible to Him. These people's ancestors were once trapped between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea but the Lord made a way for them to escape their enemies. "This is what the Lord says---He who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and the horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, snuffed out like a wick." (Isaiah 43:16-17) The Lord delivered them from the army of Egypt; can He not also deliver them from the Babylonians? 

It is very helpful to us to recall all the times the Lord has delivered us. How many times has He healed us? How many times has He provided for us? How many times has He turned our circumstances around? 

After taking some time to reflect on all the ways the Lord has helped them in the past, the Lord now encourages them to look toward the future. It is not bleak. There is no reason to feel hopeless. There is no reason to believe their captivity will last forever. There is no reason to assume that He is finished with them. They must not allow their minds to dwell on such thoughts. He has many new wonders and blessings in store for them. "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." (Isaiah 43:18-19)

"The wild animals honor Me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to My people, My chosen, the people I formed for Myself that they may proclaim My praise." (Isaiah 43:20-21) Just as the Lord provided food and water in the wilderness after He rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, He will provide them with food and water on the long journey back from Babylon.

He makes mention of the animals who are supplied with food and water, which reminds me of what the Lord Jesus said: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you---you of little faith?" (Matthew 6:25-30)

Considering that God has all power and all resources at His disposal, and considering that He cares for us and wants to provide for us, Jesus says, "So do not worry." (Matthew 6:31a) Do not worry about the way things look because the situation at the Red Sea looked extremely dire and yet the Lord made a way for the Israelites to get to safety. Our circumstances may look bad, from a human standpoint, but the Lord looks at them from a different perspective, a perspective in which He is in control of all things. He knows how to provide for us. He knows how to solve problems. He knows how to soothe the weary soul and how to mend the broken heart. He is able to give us the hope and the strength to look toward tomorrow---toward the new thing He is going to do for us.