Isaiah 43:20
The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.
The promise is that God gives water in the wilderness and rivers in the desert to sustain His chosen people, and this prophecy will be fulfilled. The provision reaches even beyond His people to the beasts of the field, so that the dragons and the owls honor Him because of these blessings. The verse belongs to Isaiah 41-45, which very fully reveals God's purpose for His people and should be prayerfully studied. That purpose is that His people do not turn from His wisdom to look to finite man for wisdom, but remember that they are His servants whom He has not forgotten, whose transgressions He has blotted out, whom He has redeemed and in whom He will be glorified, and that all the ends of the earth are to look to Him alone and be saved, finding righteousness, strength, and justification in Him alone.
The chapter to which the verse belongs is a source of assurance and promises for believers in the latter days, and those who fulfill its conditions may trust that the Lord will do what He has promised. The verse is part of a prophecy yet to be fulfilled, expressing God's promised grace to His chosen people in the last days, when His law is made void. It describes the abundant blessings that follow the abandonment of idolatry and Israel's return to loyalty to God. In that day God opens fountains in the valleys and living springs in the deserts to give drink to His people, and with joy the people draw water from the wells of salvation, with the living streams refreshing all who thirst for the water of life.
God's provision of life-giving water in barren places is fulfilled as fountains of salvation are opened in the world's waste places, where thirsty souls are invited to drink freely. The chapter containing the verse describes the work that follows when a person keeps the mind free from Satan's influence and open to God, a work associated with seeing God, a well-cultivated intellect, and a disciplined character. The image of God providing water in a wilderness and rivers in a desert for His people applies to obedient love and willing effort flowing out like streams in the desert as people answer God's call to active service.