BibleProject | One Story That Leads to JesusSample

If a group of people brutally harmed you and your family, and you escaped, would you then go back and trust them to keep you safe? “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,” Isaiah says (31:1), because Judah’s leaders believe the Egyptian military force has more power to protect them than Yahweh.

Yahweh defeated Egypt’s pharaoh, whom everyone thought was undefeatable. He then led Israel out of Egypt, protected them through 40 years of wilderness travel, and settled them in the promised land. After all that, it would make sense to trust Yahweh, not Egypt, for help in a bad situation.

Instead of trusting Yahweh, Judah’s leaders want Egypt’s horses, chariots, and warriors to ensure their safety. It’s like the exodus narrative has reversed. Isaiah knows this is heading toward exile, out of freedom and back into enslavement.

The exile will be brutal, yes, but it will not be Israel’s end. Isaiah promises God will lead them on a new exodus road. The dangerous, desolate wasteland will become a safe and fertile highway. This road will lead to something even better.

Watch the video to learn more about the “exodus way” literary pattern in the Bible, woven throughout both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament.

Reflection Questions

• Meditate on the connections between the story of Israel’s first exodus and today’s reading. How is Isaiah’s promise of a new exodus out of exile similar to Israel’s exodus from Egypt? How is it different?
• Notice that Israel’s restoration into a new Eden includes healing for the land and for humanity. Where in the gospels do you see Jesus performing miracles of restoration? What does this reveal about his mission?