Read & Absorb Isaiah in Five Daysनमूना

Day Four: The Second Exodus

Read: Isaiah 49–58

When you hear the word exodus, you most likely conjure up images of the Red Sea parting dramatically. You might think of the plagues in Egypt, the plucky yet reluctant prophet Moses, and the ability of God to deliver a people from an enslaving nation. And you’d be right.

But have you considered God loves exodus, and he enacts it a second time here?

Many call the return from exile, from Babylon, back to a ruined Jerusalem, the second exodus. The past exodus is one of the themes of the book of Isaiah, so as you continue reading it, do so with that in mind. You may uncover new treasures.

When Israel is commanded to return, their exodus must involve repentance—leaving behind what brought on their captivity in the first place. “Get out! Get out and leave your captivity, where everything you touch is unclean. Get out of there and purify yourselves, you who carry home the sacred objects of the Lord” (Isaiah 52:11).

If you return to Isaiah 43, you’ll see that God says this new exodus will be different. In verses 15–17, God reminds the nation of the past exodus, helping them remember that he was the initiator of the deliverance through the Red Sea and performed the miraculous on their behalf.

Then the narrative takes a turn with the word but in verses 18–19. “But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” On their exodus from Babylon to Jerusalem, God will guide them through the wilderness (rather than the Red Sea). And instead of damming up rivers and seas, he will create water from dust.

In this new deliverance, God will feed them. “They will neither hunger nor thirst. The searing sun will not reach them anymore. For the Lord in his mercy will lead them; he will lead them beside cool waters” (Isaiah 49:10).

He will guide and protect them on this second exodus. “The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring” (Isaiah 58:11).

He will utterly transform their circumstances from desolation to joy. “The Lord will comfort Israel again and have pity on her ruins. Her desert will blossom like Eden, her barren wilderness like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found there. Songs of thanksgiving will fill the air” (Isaiah 51:3).

Lord, reading about this second exodus, I realize I need one too. Would you provide it for me? Would you lead me near cool waters—my soul is parched. Would you restore my strength? Would you change my pain to joy? I trust you to do all this. Amen