“Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea, declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it, send it out to the end of the earth; say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!” They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and the water gushed out. ” (Isaiah 48:20-21, ESV)

It’s like a second exodus. They would be redeemed, this time not from the Egyptians, but from the hand of the Babylonians. This theme of God as the great emancipator, setting His people free from their captivity, appears time and again in the scriptures. Notice, He reminds the people of Israel of the protection they had from Him when they left Egypt. They didn’t have it easy, but as they wandered in the wilderness, God provided for their needs.

It’s interesting, when you are in the desert, the thing you need the most is WATER. Without it, you can die in a matter of hours. Here, God reminds the Israelites that He had supernaturally provided for this need, implying that He could do it all over again.

Leaving Babylon wouldn’t be easy. It would be tough. Rebuilding wouldn’t happen instantly, it would be hard going. Jerusalem lay in waste. The temple was destroyed and the walls were broken down. Yet, Israel had nothing to fear, they had both the COMMAND and the PROMISE of God.

In some ways, this is like our situation today. As believer’s we are called to come out of the “Babylon” of sin and death. It won’t be easy… there will be difficult things ahead, but we need not fear… as we walk away from the life of sin and death, following Jesus into the wilderness looking forward to the land of promise, we can trust Him to provide for our every need. We will never “thirst” spiritually, for we have come into relationship with the water of life.