BibleProject | Discovering the Exodus Way Theme in Scriptureਨਮੂਨਾ

This Happened Once Before: A New Exodus

In the last session, we explored Israel’s exodus from Egypt. Now, as we follow the people’s journey into the promised land, we see them sometimes following God and sometimes distrusting and ignoring him.

God patiently reminds the people that he rescued them into freedom and life. If they break the commands and damage their covenant relationship with God, God warns them that they will once again face oppression and death. But the people ultimately ignore these warnings.

So by 586 B.C.E., Israel is crushed, and Jerusalem and its temple are destroyed. The people are exiled in Babylon, suffering again under an oppressive tyranny. They need a way out, and God offers hope through the prophets.

Isaiah 40:3 describes a voice instructing the exiles to “prepare the way of Yahweh,” that is, live by God’s instruction because he is coming to set the people free. Isaiah’s words reveal God’s promise to lead people on a new kind of exodus—out of exile, through the wilderness, and back into their good land.

In this new exodus, God powerfully delivers the people (Isa. 40:10) from their oppressors. And just like he raised up Moses for the exodus out of Egypt, God now promises to eventually raise up a “root of Jesse,” a greater leader who is a royal king from David’s line (Isa. 11:10).
While departing Babylon, the people take heaps of riches with them (11:14), echoing the actions of the Israelites who plundered Egypt (Exod. 12:36). And just as God split the Red Sea with a wind (Exod. 14:21-22), here he parts the Euphrates River with a wind (Isa. 11:15). The people are taken out of exile, through the waters and wilderness, and back into the life of freedom that God created them for. Once again, they’re experiencing the Exodus way.

Reflection Questions:
How does Isaiah’s vision of a new kind of exodus connect with the story of Israel’s exodus from Egypt or other exodus stories we’ve read so far?

These biblical exodus stories often showcase the mighty power of God. But the end of this Isaiah passage offers a surprising way to consider God. Review Isaiah 40:11. God says this is how he will treat his people—who are often rebellious, unwise, and forgetful—as he trains and guides them. What might Isaiah’s words be communicating about God’s character?