“Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.” – Isaiah 43:18-19 New King James Version.
“Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them.” – Isaiah 42:9 AMPC.
The word, “Behold” appears in both of our main references text and I just want to share with you what it meant based on my recent discovery from a book I am currently reading. The title of the book is Apostles and Prophets by Rick Renner.
Rick Renner is a highly respected leader, teacher, American missionary to Russia since 1980, and author within the Christian community, both in the U.S. and abroad. Rick and his wife, Denise, have traveled the earth for three decades, teaching the Word of God. They work together to see the Gospel preached, leadership trained, and churches established throughout the former Soviet Union. Rick’s broad understanding of the Greek language and biblical history opens the Scriptures in a unique way that enables readers to gain wisdom and insight while learning something brand new from the Word of God.
In addition to serving as senior pastors of the Moscow Good News Church, Rick and Denise are the founders of the Riga and Kiev Good News Churches, the Good News Training Center, and the Good News Association of Pastors and Churches, through which they oversee several hundred churches. The Renner’s also founded Media Mir, the first Christian television network established in the former USSR that today broadcasts to a potential audience of 110 million people. Rick is the author of more than 30 books, is well known for his top-selling classics Sparkling Gems From the Greek and Dressed To Kill, which have sold more than a million copies combined.
Here is what Rick Renner wrote in page 128 of the book, Apostles and Prophets: “The word ‘behold’ in Greek is idou, a very difficult word to translate, for it carries such intense feeling and emotion. The King James Version most often translates it as behold. But in our contemporary world, it might be better rendered, Wow! It carries the idea of shock, amazement, and wonder…”
When God says in Isaiah 43:19 NKJV, “Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.” What He means is, Wow! Can you believe it? I WILL DO A NEW THING. My mentor and a person of faith, Dr. John C. Maxwell, who pastored for 26 years before answering the call of God on his life to take Biblical Leadership principles to the business world, said, “What you receive tomorrow depends on what you believe today.” Do you believe God will do a new thing?
For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: “That You may be justified in Your words, and may overcome when You are judged.” (Romans 3:3-4 NKJV). Nothing happens without our faith in God because faith honors God and God honors faith!
Hebrews 11:6 AMPC says, “But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out].” In Mark 9:23 NIV, Jesus says, “Everything is possible for one who believes.” It`s high time we let God be true but every man a liar by daring to believe God`s Word so that we can receive all that He has in store for us!
