17The poor and the needy seek water, but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
1.Spiritual thirst: exiles who felt forgotten by God. Isaiah reads it this way himself: “
I will pour water on the thirsty land… I will pour out My Spirit” (
44:3).
2.The seeking thread (Matthew 7:7): “
Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you.”
a)The thirsty seek, and God answers. Jesus points us straight back into verse 17: keep seeking, because God responds to seekers.
B.v.17b: God answers and stays
I, Yahweh, will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
1.Renewal starts with God responding, not with us getting it together.
C.vv.18–19: Rivers and trees where nothing grows
18I will open rivers on the barren heights…
I will turn the desert into a pool of water…
19I will plant cedars in the desert…
I will put juniper trees in the desert… together.
1.Four “I will”s. God does it all; His people receive.
2.God is willing, and God will do it. Every “I will” is His. So we can quit trying to open the rivers ourselves or turn the desert into a pool on our own strength. Our part is to come thirsty; His part is to make the water flow.
D.v.20: God Doesn’t Fix. He Creates.
20…so that all may see and know,
consider and understand,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.
1.“Created” = בָּרָא bara, baw-raw´, the verb of
Genesis 1:1, used only of God. This is re-creation, not repair.
2.The thirsty seekers of v.17 become the people who “see and know” in v.20.
4.Theme check: God didn’t just keep the exiles alive. He created something new where nothing could grow. That’s the second part of our theme.