"And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not."
Isaiah 58:11
Here is a beautiful description of how the LORD leads His child.
“And the LORD shall guide thee continually,”
He is a gentle guide that never loses His way, and He doesn’t need a map. He is the perfect guide.
“I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners,” (Isaiah 57:18).
“And satisfy thy soul in drought,”
In the dry places (and times) in life, He will be sure His child has water. In these problematic dry times, He will “satisfy thy soul.”
“When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water,” (Isaiah 41:17-18).
“And make fat thy bones:”
This phrase seems strange to English speakers. What Isaiah was saying is that the LORD will “‘make strong’ (thy bones)”1 or even “renew thy strength.” In another familiar passage in Isaiah, he used the same idea.
“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint,” (Isaiah 40:31).
“And thou shalt be like a watered garden,”
The well-watered garden to those in the middle east was a picture of happiness. This garden is always healthy and thriving.
“Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all,” (Jeremiah 31:12).
“And like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.”
“Whose waters fail not,” in Hebrew means, these waters “deceive not.”2 Deceptive waters are like the springs in the desert where, this year the caravan stops and the water is gone, dried up when last year it was in this same spot in abundance. A dangerous disappointment to the traveler. There is no deceit, nor disappointment with the water that God supplies.
With God’s provision like this for me, why would I ever go searching in the world for satisfaction? He is all I need.
1. Cambridge Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
2. Jamison, Fausset, and Brown. Jamison-Fausset-Brown’s Commentary, the electronic version in eSword.