This section makes it clear that the prophecy is directed against what will happen to Babylon. Babylon would become a very powerful nation, but she would also become proud. God would bring the nation down, she would have to acknowledge that God is the Lord.
God then reminds them of what He did when He brought the Israelites out of Egypt and through the Red Sea. This was great, but the people were not to dwell on the past, for God was going to do a new thing. Having a correct attitude to the past is so important. There are many things we can learn from the past, indeed we must learn from the past. We must learn from our mistakes, and we must learn from the times we experience God's help in various situations. But we must also be ready for God to do new things. When Jesus came the Jews were not "forgetting the former things", they were not looking for a new thing. Our God is a God who does new things.
He makes streams flow in the desert. He provides for His people in a wilderness. So even if you feel as if you are in a wasteland at the moment, the Lord can still rescue you. He can come to where you are and make a way in the desert.
This demands a response from the people. If we want to know God's salvation then we need to turn to the Lord, we need to call upon Him. We need to come to terms with our sin, and we need to call on the Lord. Otherwise there is no salvation.
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