Isaiah 21:14: Bring water for the thirsty, O inhabitants of the land of Tema, meet the fugitive with bread.

The final oracle in Isaiah 21 concerns Arabia. An unnamed enemy has attacked, and Arabs are in flight, chased by swords, drawn swords, bent bows, weighed down with the weight of battle. Glory-seeking warriors pour into Arabia, and within a year, Isaiah says, the glory of Kedar will come to an end.

Isaiah exhorts the Arabs of the city of Tema to bring water and bread for the fugitives. As they flee into the desert, Israel’s prophet urges the Arabs to greet the fugitives with hospitality.

As an Israelite, Isaiah knows what it’s like to be a fugitive without bread and water.

When Israel came out of Egypt, they met the Moabites and Ammonites, their cousins, descendants of Abraham’s nephew Lot. Instead of bringing food and water for the languishing Israelites, the Moabite king Balak hired Balaam to curse them. Because of this, Moabites and Ammonites were excluded from the congregation of Israel to the tenth generation.

Isaiah urges the Arabs not to act like the Moabites. When other Arabs are in need, they should feed the hungry and give cold water to the thirsty.

By feeding fugitives, the Arabs do what Yahweh does. They display divine hospitality. When Israel enters the wilderness, Yahweh withholds nothing. He gives them water from the Rock, bread from heaven, the meat of quail; He ensures that their clothing and shoes stay fresh for forty years. Yahweh spreads a table in the wilderness.

You may be in the wilderness this morning. Trials and troubles surround you. Poisonous snakes strike and bite. The only oases you see turn out to be mirages. But even in the wilderness you have everything you need. You are at this table, and the Father promises to meet your every need through His Son and Spirit. Your Father plays the host in the desert.