What does Isaiah 12:3 mean?

The promised descendant of King David, the Messiah, will establish a new kingdom on the earth. And in those days Israel will proclaim gratitude to the Lord (Isaiah 12:1). They will declare that God is their salvation, their strength, and their song (Isaiah 12:2). Next, Isaiah says, poetically, that they will "joyfully draw water from the wells of salvation." Throughout the Bible, water is used as a metaphor for salvation. God took care of His desert people time and again by providing water when it was needed most. Even in their times of sinfulness (e.g., Numbers 20:9–11).

Water is foundational to life. It must be gathered and consumed every day, sometimes at great trouble and expense. It is necessary to survival. Jesus, though, used the metaphor of water to describe eternal salvation. To the woman at the well he described it as "living water." He claimed that "everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I [Jesus] will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:13–14).

The Lord Jesus, who has died for the sins of Jews and Gentiles alike and has been raised from the dead (Romans 10:9), will sit on the throne of His earthly kingdom. His people will joyfully draw from that living water of eternal salvation in full view of the world. And they will call everyone to join them in praising the Lord.