Exodus

You, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name.

Why, O LORD, do you make us wander from your ways and harden our hearts so we do not revere you? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes that are your inheritance…

Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you!

For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways.

But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved? All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins.

Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand (Isaiah 63-64, select verses).

Exodus. The word means "mass departure; emigration." The Bible describes three important examples of exodus. The first happened in the Old Testament; the second happened in the New Testament; and we are still waiting for the third.

The exodus of the Old Testament is recorded in four books—Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. That exodus involved about two million people. The descendants of Israel has settled in Egypt during a time of poor harvests. They remained in Egypt for 400 years, their population steadily growing. Eventually, the king of Egypt came to see these foreigners as a threat to national security; so the Israelites were forced into slave labor on behalf of the government. They had no rights; they were overworked, underfed, and frequently brutalized. Eventually, the king even issued an order that all Israelite boys be killed at birth, in an attempt to limit the growth of their numbers.

As conditions worsened, the people turned to God for help. In response to their cries for deliverance, God sent them Moses, an Israelite set apart by God to save his people. Moses went into Egypt, the land where the people were suffering in slavery. Acting under God’s authority, Moses delivered a promise of freedom and performed many miracles. Ultimately, the Israelites were freed from their enslavement; God led the people out into the desert to Mount Sinai, where He appeared to Moses in person. God gave Moses documents that promised blessings for those who obeyed Him and threatening punishment for the lawbreaker. Moses came away from this encounter glowing with God’s reflected light, and shared God’s words with the people.

The Israelites had been freed from the misery of their slavery and were on a journey to a new homeland, a place God had prepared just for them, a place where they could live happy, contented lives in His service. But the journey was a long one, and the people became dissatisfied. Some rebelled against God’s leadership through Moses; others still followed, but only with grumbling. This ingratitude angered God greatly; the rebels met with sudden death, and no one who grumbled lived to enter the Promised Land. God prolonged the journey until the people abandoned their evil ways and humbly submitted themselves to the Lord’s leadership. Only then were they brought into their new homeland.

The exodus of the New Testament is also recorded in four books—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. That exodus involved just one man. The descendants of the Israelites had lost control of their country; it was now occupied by the army of the Roman Empire. The Jews were once again slaves—but not slaves to the Romans. Although they did not have the rights of Roman citizens, the Jews were permitted to marry and raise families and run their own businesses. No, the slavery that I am speaking of was slavery to sin. Almost as soon as they had settled into the Promised Land, the Israelites had turned their backs on God. They did not take time to worship Him. They ignored His commandments. When problems came, they looked to their political leaders for solutions instead of praying to God for help. Once again, God was angered. He warned the people through many prophets like Isaiah that if they persisted in their evil behavior, He would turn His back on them. But the Israelites became hardened in their sinful ways, and God stopped protecting them from their enemies; the nation was conquered first by empires of the Middle East, then by empires originating in Europe. God also stopped sending messages through His prophets. God’s deafening silence lasted for 400 years.

But then God sent a new Moses to rescue His people from slavery, a Jew set apart by God to deliver His people from their sins. That person was Jesus, God’s Son given physicality in the body of a man. Jesus entered our world, the place where the people were suffering in slavery to sin. Acting under God’s authority, Jesus delivered a promise of freedom and performed many miracles. He announced God’s promise of blessings for those who placed their trust in Him, and the threat of judgment on those who reject the Savior. At the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus glowed with the light of God’s glory as He discussed His coming exodus with Moses and Elijah. Jesus traveled on to Jerusalem, where He was put on trial for our sins, made fun of for His willingness to be punished in our place, and was put to agonizing death to pay the penalty for our breaking of God’s laws. Then, on the third day, Jesus rose from the dead and soon returned to His Father’s side in heaven. By doing this, He has shattered the chains of sin that had bound us to Satan’s service; by doing this, He has torn open our graves and established a safe path from them to His side. This was the second exodus—Jesus the holy Son of God came into our world of darkness so that He could free us from our slavery to sin and lead us out to the Promised Land of heaven.

We have been freed from the misery of our slavery and are on a journey to a new heavenly homeland, a place God had prepared just for us, a place where we will be able to live happy, contented lives eternally in His service. But the journey through life is a long one, and we become dissatisfied. Some rebel against God’s leadership through Jesus; others still follow, but only with grumbling. This ingratitude angers God greatly; those who turn away from our Lord risk dreadful judgment at God’s hand, and those who habitually grumble about God’s expectations may not reach the Promised Land.

The situation we live in is eerily similar to Israel during Isaiah’s time. Once again, Christians don’t take time to worship God or immerse themselves in the study of His word. Once again, His laws are casually ignored by the people who claim to follow Him. Once again, when problems come we look to politicians and scientists for answers, instead of going to God in prayer. Once again, God is angered. He warns us through many preachers that if we persist in our evil behavior, He will stop listening to our prayers. If we become hardened in our sinful ways, God may stop protecting us from our enemies; He may leave us to face evil on our own until we realize the error of our ways and return to Him with humble and contrite hearts, willing to follow Him and serve Him without reservation.

In today’s Old Testament lesson, Isaiah reflects on the glories of the first exodus, when God showed Himself with power in Egypt and on Mount Sinai. He pleads with God to set aside His anger and return to lead His people once more. Listen again to the prophet’s prayer: You, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old…Return for the sake of your servants…Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you! For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways. But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved? All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins. Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.

Isaiah’s prayer should be your prayer, my prayer. We take our God far too casually. We take our sin far too casually. We are too willing to grumble; we are too willing to disobey. It is long past time for us to set aside our sinful habits and desires and rededicate ourselves to Jesus’ leadership. We need to join Isaiah in asking God to return for the third and final exodus. That exodus will happen when Jesus returns from heaven in glory to judge all the earth. All the dead will be restored to life. Satan and those who think like him will be sent away forever, where they can do no more harm. Our Lord will destroy this world and replace it with a new earth, one made in perfection. And then Jesus, the new Moses, will lead all the faithful to inhabit this new creation, a final exodus to a Promised Land that will never be spoiled by sin.

Because of Jesus’ exodus that started at Calvary, you have been freed from slavery to sin, death, and the devil. Because of Jesus, you are part of the exodus, journeying through life to the Promised Land that waits on the other side of the grave. This is no time to get spiritually lazy. Our King is coming to meet us, coming sooner than you probably suspect. It is time to leave behind the things of this world so that you can travel light and without distraction to your Savior’s waiting arms.