Quit Driving through the Rear View Mirrow

God said I will do A new thing

Isaiah 43:18–19 KJV 1900

Remember ye not the former things, Neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; Now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, And rivers in the desert.

Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 43

43:18 You must not remember the former things After evoking strong memories of the exodus event in Isa 43:16–17, God instructs the exiles to stop dwelling on the past. The “former things” previously seemed to refer to the judgment against Israel predicted earlier in Isaiah, so the instruction may have two parts: stop dwelling on your punishment (exile) and don’t yearn for the former days of Israel’s power. Rather, attention should now be focused on God and His miraculous redemption.

Isaiah 40:3–5 KJV 1900

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, And every mountain and hill shall be made low: And the crooked shall be made straight, And the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together: For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

King James Version Chapter 35

5  Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

And lthe ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

6  Then shall the lame man leap as an hart,

And nthe tongue of the dumb sing:

For oin the wilderness shall waters break out,

And streams in the desert.

7  And pthe parched ground shall become a pool,

And the thirsty land springs of water:

In the habitation of dragons, where each lay,

Shall be ugrass with reeds and rushes.

8  And an highway shall be there, and a way,

And it shall be called The way of holiness;

Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 40

40:4 every mountain and hill shall become low Similar imagery to the trembling of the natural world that accompanies an appearance of God (or theophany). Compare 2:14, where the day of Yahweh is accompanied by the mountains and hills being brought low.

Theophany in the Old Testament

rough ground shall be like a plain Describes the reshaping of the wilderness to make a level highway fit for God to lead His people across.

Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 40

40:4 every mountain and hill shall become low Similar imagery to the trembling of the natural world that accompanies an appearance of God (or theophany). Compare 2:14, where the day of Yahweh is accompanied by the mountains and hills being brought low.

Theophany in the Old Testament

rough ground shall be like a plain Describes the reshaping of the wilderness to make a level highway fit for God to lead His people across.