14 Thus says the Lord your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
“For your sake I have sent to Babylon,
And will bring them all down as fugitives,
[c]Even the Chaldeans, into the ships [d]in which they rejoice.
15 “I am the Lord, your Holy One,
The Creator of Israel, your King.”16 Thus says the Lord,
Who makes a way through the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
17 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):
18 “Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
19 “Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
20 “The beasts of the field will glorify Me,
The jackals and the ostriches,
Because I have given waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My chosen people.
21 “The people whom I formed for Myself
Will declare My praise.
God says funny things sometimes. In v. 16 He says “Who makes a way through the sea, and a path through the mighty waters…?” For naturally, God reminds the Israelites of the mighty deeds of the past, like the parting of the Red Sea and all the battles God won for them (v. 17). Yet then in vv. 18-19 God says, “Forget about all that, I’m going to do something new!”
The past is a bit of a double-edged sword, as it certainly helps remind us of how amazing God is, and how awesome are all His works. After all, He inspired men throughout history to write down those very things for our benefit (though not just us, of course). God wrote down His laws for Moses, and the people certainly needed frequent reminders of all of it–as do we.
Whether God was referring to the coming Messiah or something much closer in the future, the former is a great example of this. In Jesus day, the people had many victories of the past to recollect. With Moses they escaped slavery in Egypt, and under Saul and David they threw off the oppression of their enemies. In Daniel’s time, they were released from captivity to return home. Later, the Maccabees would lead a fight against the Syrians and Antiochus, instituting the festival of Hanukkah.
So naturally, when the Romans conquered them, they looked for the Messiah to be like Moses or David, to throw off and break the yoke of oppression. What many didn’t realize was that God had bigger plans, to “do a new thing” that was even better than liberating their country. He wanted to liberate their hearts, and sent the Messiah (Jesus) to break the yoke of sin and death forever.
We might be tempted to look at all this and think, “Oh those silly Jews, why couldn’t they figure it out!” However, we also can get bogged down by the past, trying to replicate it and recreate past “movements” of God. While the past can be useful, just as God reminded the Israelites, He is always doing something new.
What new thing is God trying to do in your life and mine? Are we so laser-focused on reliving some “glory days” that we cannot see His hand? He’s working, make no mistake, but are you going to join Him? It may look different than you expected, but don’t let that hold you back! Keep your eyes and ears open, ready and willing to do what God asks.