Context: Isaiah 43:14-21 announces God's promise of a "new thing" that will surpass even the Exodus—Israel's defining act of divine redemption. God first identifies Himself as Israel's redeemer who destroyed Babylon's army (vv. 14-15), then recalls the original Exodus: "who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters" (v. 16). But then God commands a shocking shift: "Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" (vv. 18-19). God commands Israel to stop looking backward to the Exodus and start looking forward to something greater. The "new thing" uses creation language (water in wilderness, reversing the curse on the ground) combined with exodus language (making a way), signaling a new exodus that is simultaneously a new creation. This passage bridges the original exodus and the eschatological redemption Christ accomplishes.
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Christological Connection: God's declaration "Behold, I am doing a new thing" anticipates Christ's redemptive work as the ultimate "new thing" that surpasses all previous divine acts. Isaiah's new exodus/creation imagery finds fulfillment in Christ who leads a greater exodus—from sin and death rather than from Egypt—through His death and resurrection. Luke uses exodus language for Christ's death: Moses and Elijah discussed Jesus' "departure" (exodos) at the Transfiguration (Luke 9:31).
The command "remember not the former things" does not erase the Exodus's significance but relativizes it in light of the greater redemption. Paul captures this in 2 Corinthians 5:17: "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come"—applying Isaiah's cosmic new creation language to individual transformation in Christ. The "way in the wilderness" becomes Christ Himself: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). The "rivers in the desert" become the living water Christ offers: "whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again" (John 4:14).
Christ's declaration at consummation consummates Isaiah's promise: "Behold, I am making all things new" (Revelation 21:5)—the same "Behold" (hinne/idou), the same newness, but now achieved in cosmic fullness. The trajectory: Isaiah promises a new thing → Christ accomplishes it through cross and resurrection → believers experience it in new creation life → the consummated new heavens and earth realize it fully.
Connection Method(s): Promise-Fulfillment, Redemptive-Historical Progression — God's declaration "I am doing a new thing" uses new exodus/creation language to promise a future act of cosmic renewal, inaugurated in Christ's redemptive work and consummated in the new heavens and new earth.
Trajectory Table: 107 - New Creation (Cosmic Redemption)