17 “The [e]afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none,
And their tongue is parched with thirst;
I, the Lord, will answer them Myself,
As the God of Israel I will not forsake them.
18 “I will open rivers on the bare heights
And springs in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water
And the dry land fountains of water.
19 “I will put the cedar in the wilderness,
The acacia and the myrtle and the [f]olive tree;
I will place the juniper in the desert
Together with the box tree and the cypress,
20 That they may see and recognize,
And consider and gain insight as well,
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Four short verses today, or at least four verses, since they are on the longer side… Yet the message they bring is something God continuously spoke into the history of the Israelites, and I know it is something we need still today. We have here folks who are afflicted and needy, in search of water, “but there is none…” They are parched, and they cannot do a thing about it.
So God says, “I will answer them, as the God of Israel I will not forsake them.” How will God answer? We might think He is going to give the same answer that Jesus did when the woman at the well asked, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water?” (John 4)
Which was (and is for us), “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” However, God gives them a quite literal description, and the point of this passage doesn’t really depend on the water being physical or spiritual, though we need both, and the latter more so.
Let’s look at God’s description a little closer then. He is going to open rivers on barren hills, springs in the valleys, pools in the wilderness and fountains in dry land. He will cause all sorts of trees to grow, some that you might expect in dryer climates, but certainly not all of these: acacia, myrtle, olive, juniper, box tree and cypress. Why? Just so they can have a drink? That’s a whole lot of bother just to get them water.
Rather, all of this is so, “that they may see and recognize… that the hand of the Lord has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it.” From the parting of the Red Sea, to the felled walls of Jericho, the fire from heaven when Elijah prayed on Mount Carmel, or just a few chapters ago, the sun moving backward in response to Hezekiah’s prayer, all of these have a common thread. They were done so that no man could take credit for the work of God.
Take a slightly more obscure instance, when Moses struck the rock (the second time) to get water in the desert for the Israelites. Why did God punish him? Because he was supposed to speak to the rock, so that all would know it was God who provided the water, and not Moses. God doesn’t always work in such obvious ways, more often His work can easily be ascribed to human work.
But it shouldn’t be, and we must be more careful to give God the glory for what He has done, rather than take the glory for ourselves. Certainly, sometimes the hand of God is obvious, but when we follow God, His hand is ever-present, and we would do well to remember that. Don’t try to go it alone, or rely on your own knowledge or expertise. Do more, with God at the helm, guiding your heart, and mind, and hands. So that all will know, “that the hand of the Lord has done this…”