“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.” (Isaiah 65:17)
Isaiah 65:17 invites us to lift our eyes beyond repair and toward re-creation. God does not merely promise to improve what is broken; He declares that He is creating something altogether new. The language is intentional and echoes Genesis. Just as God once spoke light into darkness, He promises to speak a renewed world into existence, one so transformed that “the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.”
This verse confronts our instinct to cling to the past. We often imagine redemption as God restoring what we lost: old joys, old stability, old versions of ourselves. But Isaiah tells us that God’s future is not a rewind button. It is a reset of a deeper kind. The pain, injustice, and grief that have shaped our memories will not define our eternity. They will not even haunt it. God’s promise is not amnesia, but healing so complete that sorrow loses its power to dominate our consciousness.
For Isaiah’s original audience, exiles, weary from judgment and displacement, this promise would have sounded almost too good to be true. Their world had collapsed politically, socially, and spiritually. Yet God does not offer them a slightly improved Jerusalem or a safer version of their old life. He offers a new creation in which joy replaces despair and peace eclipses fear. The scope of God’s promise matches the depth of their loss.
For Christians, Isaiah 65:17 points forward to the hope fulfilled in Christ and consummated at His return. The New Testament echoes this promise when Revelation declares,
“Behold, I am making all things new” (Rev. 21:5).
In Jesus’ resurrection, the new creation has already begun. The future has broken into the present. While we still live amid groaning and decay, we belong to a story that is heading toward renewal, not ruin.
This verse also shapes how we live now. If God’s future is truly new, then our present suffering is not ultimate. Regret does not get the final word. Neither do failures, losses, or unresolved grief. Isaiah 65:17 gives believers courage to endure, knowing that what weighs heaviest on our hearts today will not define our tomorrow.
God’s promise frees us to live with hope rather than nostalgia and with faith rather than fear.
Isaiah’s call to “behold” is a summons to trust. God asks us to fix our attention not on what is fading, but on what He is creating. Even now, He is at work, quietly, powerfully preparing a world where joy is unbroken and sorrow is no more. Until that day, we live as people shaped by the future, confident that the God who makes all things new will finish what He has begun.
MBC's Bible Engagement Plan
MBC’s Bible Engagement Plan: Isaiah – From Ruin to Redemption
As a church community, our desire is to move from hearing God’s Word to living it out daily. This Bible Engagement Plan is designed to help us walk through Isaiah together in a weekly rhythm that deepens our understanding while also cultivating habits of daily reading and reflection.
- LISTEN TO THE SUNDAY SERMON
Each week begins with the Pastor’s Sunday sermon on a passage from Isaiah and includes
- Pastor’s Outline: A guide to follow along and take notes. We also suggest picking up the Isaiah scripture journal from the Welcome Center.
- Discussion Questions: Provided to encourage reflection and conversation in small groups, families, or personal study. If you are not already part of a small group, consider joining one this Fall: Click here to explore one of MBC’s small groups
- READ AND REFLECT ON THE WEEKLY PLAN
Monday through Saturday, follow the suggested reading plan outlined in the Saturday eNews Bulletin. As you read and reflect on your passage each day, ask these two guiding questions and jot down your thoughts in your Isaiah journal.
- What does this passage reveal about God—His character, His purposes, or His promises?
- How should I respond in light of what I’ve read—through trust, obedience, repentance, or worship?
- MEMORIZE THE WEEKLY KEY VERSE
Every week, one key verse from the sermon will be highlighted for memory. You are invited to use the free Bible Memory app and join the “Millington Baptist Church” Bible memorization group: Click here to join
- READ AND REFLECT ON THE PASTOR’S DEVOTIONAL BLOG
Each Wednesday, one of our pastors will share a devotional expanding on the sermon theme helping to connect Isaiah’s message to everyday life.
Why This Rhythm Matters
- Immersion: This plan helps you engage learning in multiple ways—hearing, reading, memorizing, and reflecting—so you gain a richer understanding of Isaiah’s message.
- Transformation in Community: Discussion questions and shared readings create space for us to learn together and nurture application of the biblical principles into our daily lives.
Questions or comments?
Contact Amy Huber, Director of Discipleship and Connections: ahuber@millingtonbaptist.org
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Pastor Bob Erbig and Pastor Dave Hentschel
