BibleProject | One Story That Leads to JesusSample

Yahweh is on trial.

The accuser: his own people. The charge: Yahweh has stopped caring for the Israelites. The evidence: Israel’s pain and humiliation in Babylonian exile does not feel like the peace and blessing God promised. This courtroom scene, which began in chapter 41, continues through today’s and into tomorrow’s reading.

How can God matter if he won’t end the suffering of his people? Maybe the Babylonian idols actually are running the show?

Yahweh takes the stand, appealing to his proven character and genuine power: I have shown you constant love and provision. I have proven myself to be unstoppable. If you think those things you make, those idols, also somehow care for you—where do they come from? A carpenter chops firewood and chisels an idol from the extra wood. The fuel for heating and cooking that you get from a woodpile is now also a god?

They can’t care for you; they’re utterly powerless. Who else levels mountains? Who else parts seas and splits the cosmic darkness with light? Yahweh insists that he alone is Israel’s redeemer.

As you’ll learn in the video, biblical authors use the term “redemption” to describe liberating people from situations of distress or death. Just as Yahweh redeemed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt (see Exod. 6:6), he will redeem them from exile in Babylon. He promises the Israelites will once again pass through waters without being harmed and through deserts without being thirsty.

When Yahweh redeems his people, he not only frees them but also forgives their sins that led to exile in the first place. He invites them back into a loving relationship with him. Will the Israelites trade their indictments for intimacy?

Reflection Questions

• What hyperlinks to the creation and exodus stories do you notice in today’s reading? Why do you think Yahweh would refer to these events to defend his character?
• How does the exodus story help you understand the meaning of redemption in today’s passage?