Sunday June 2, 2019

I Need a Drink

This chapter begins the great second section of the book of Isaiah (chapters 40-66). In contrast to the dark judgment of the preceding chapters, it shines with the light of promises of restoration (40-48), the coming Messiah (49-57), and the millennial blessings (58-66). Isaiah saw beyond the terrible times to future blessings. It begins by making a way for God in the wilderness and a highway in the desert.

Desert. The word itself brings forth images of dry, barren and lifeless lands. It elicits a sense of scorching heat and unbearable vastness. Yet it is in those desert places that the Lord desires to meet us and restore life to our parched and weary souls.

The word desert means, “parched, barren, solitary, drought, and decayed.” It is interesting though, that it comes from a root word that means, “to speak in a destructive sense, to declare, and command.” The word picture denotes a place of desolation that speaks to us in a way as to destroy us. We have all had desert experiences. Those times when circumstances and trials and enemies and sin have driven us to a place of defeat and torment. We cry for relief…we beg for mercy…we plead for deliverance. The amazing thing is that then initial responsibility for relief lies within us! You see, we are the one who must listen to the commanding voice to “make a way” for God to come. We are the ones who are called to “make a highway” for the Lord. When we prepare a way for Him to meet us, He promises deliverance. How do make a way for the Lord? We pray. We repent. We sing. We meditate on the Word. We lay ourselves down on the altar. We fellowship. We have faith. We believe. We simply call upon His name.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. (Jas.4:8-10)

Did you catch that? One small step toward Jesus and He will turn sadness into joy as He lifts you up! Lift means “to elevate.” He will lift you to an altitude that allows you to soar on the wings of eagles.

He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (Is.40:29-31)

When we make the way for the Lord, He provides amazing blessings in our deserts.

He encircles us with love in the desert (Deut.32:10)

He will make rivers in the desert (Is.43:19)

He will cause water to even come from a rock (Is.48:21)

He can make the desert like a garden of Eden (Is.51:3) and

He will make the desert a place of gladness (Is.35:1)

(See WORD WISDOM for a deeper study of water)

In a place of dryness, solitude, and barrenness God will bring restoration and refreshing. There really can be life in the desert. Amen But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.

But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. (Jn.4:14)

< Back to all posts

Related Scripture

The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

— Isaiah 40:3

Word Wisdom

water

Hebrew "mayim" (my-yeem) Strong's #4325

Water; waters, flood, seas. Mayim is the Hebrew word for “water,” but is always found in the plural: “waters.” Mayim appears 570 times in the Old Testament and has a wide range of use. It occurs as metaphor for the raging heathen, the chaotic, stormy seas at creation, and vast nations (or seas of people). See Psalm 32:6, 33:7, 46:3, Jeremiah 46:7-8. Most significantly, mayim speaks of life, sustenance, fertility, blessing, and refreshing. See Psalm 23:2, Isaiah 12:3, 32:2, 55:1, 58:11, and Jeremiah 17:8.

So...

Driving up from Beersheba, a combined force of British, Australians and New Zealanders were pressing on the rear of the Turkish retreat over arid desert. The attack outdistanced its water carrying camel train. Water bottles were empty.

The sun blazed pitilessly out of a sky where the vultures wheeled expectantly. “Our heads ached,” writes Gilbert, “and our eyes became bloodshot and dim in the blinding glare…Our tongues began to swell…Our lips turned a purplish black and burst.” Those who dropped out of the column were never seen again, but the desperate force battled on to Sheria. There were wells at Sheria, and had they been unable to take the place by nightfall, thousands were doomed to die of thirst.

“We fought that day,” writes Gilbert, “as men fight for their lives… We entered Sheria station on the heels of the reteating Turks. The first objects which met our view were the great stone cisterns full of cold, clear, drinking water. In the still night air the sound of water running into the tanks could be distinctly heard, maddening in its nearness; yet not a man murmured when orders were given for the battalions to fall in, two deep, facing the cisterns” He then describes the stern priorities: the wounded, those on guard duty, then company by company. It took four hours before the last man had his drink of water, and in all that time they had been standing twenty feet from a low stone wall on the other side of which were thousands of gallons of water.

(From an account of the British liberation of Palestine by Major V. Gilbert in The Last Crusade, quoted in Christ’s Call To Discipleship) That is how close Jesus, the Living Water is to us.