Old things and new things

Linda Pollock April 03, 2022 0 2

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Isaiah 43:16-21 (NRSVA)

16 Thus says the Lord,
    who makes a way in the sea,
    a path in the mighty waters,
17 who brings out chariot and horse,
    army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
    they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
18 Do not remember the former things,
    or consider the things of old.
19 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.
20 The wild animals will honour me,
    the jackals and the ostriches;
for I give water in the wilderness,
    rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
21     the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise.

The timing of this writing is around the 6th century BCE and the location is Babylon. Many from Judah have been taken into captivity, they are defeated physically, economically, culturally, and their identity as beloved children of the Most High God is mocked by their captors. As was their practice, they called to mind the stories of how God rescued them in days gone by, it encouraged them as their story revealed a cycle of faithlessness, rescue, redemption, faithfulness etc… God, time and time again delivering them. The recalled stories of God’s generosity and steadfast love gave them hope that one day they would be rescued from their captivity in Babylon.

In this prophecy, we see the prophet telling the people to forget those hope-inspiring stories, which seems rather strange because, to this day, we tell those same stories reminding ourselves of Who God is and how God is for us. But the problem with remembering only their history is that they are putting God into a box, limiting God to what God has done in the past. The prophet tells the people that God is doing a “new thing,” not repeating the cycle they have come to rely on. That cycle serves only to help them trust that God will never abandon them, it is not a template for God’s activity. In limiting God exclusively to their experience, they run the risk of failing to notice the new thing God is offering… the unnoticed joy of His surprises, the unnoticed joy of intimacy with the living God. Sometimes I wonder how Judah’s history might have changed had they allowed God to do something new in, for, and through them.

Too often we walk around half blind, hands tightly closed holding on to what we already have – how then will we ever be ready to receive from God’s abundance, to see this “new thing,” that God is still doing today?

PRAYER:

O faithful God Who can be trusted, thank You that we cannot confine you to our memories of happy days of yore. Thank You for being the God Who moves on, the God Who offers new things to confound, surprise and delight us. Help us to open our eyes to see You and the work You invite us to share in, for the sake of Christ Jesus in Whose name we pray. Amen.