Redemption Through Exile
SCRIPTURE: “I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love.”
(Isaiah 63.7)
MAIN POINT: God often accomplishes His purposes by leading His people through places of exile and uncertainty.
Matthew tells us that the flight to Egypt fulfilled the prophet’s words: “Out of Egypt I called my son” (Matthew 2.15). This isn’t just a prophecy check-mark. It’s God retelling Israel’s story through Jesus. Israel went down to Egypt in slavery; Jesus goes down to Egypt as a refugee. Israel was called out to be God’s son; Jesus is God’s true Son being called out.
Isaiah 63 recounts God’s faithfulness to Israel through their own exodus: “He became their Savior. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them” (Isaiah 63.8-9). The same God who led Israel through the wilderness now leads Jesus through Egypt. The same God who was afflicted with His people now becomes afflicted as one of His people.
Your own seasons of exile—whether literal displacement or spiritual wilderness—are not outside God’s redemptive plan. They are often the very means by which He is accomplishing something profound. The God who was faithful to Israel, who protected the infant Jesus, who walked with His people through affliction, walks with you now.
REFLECTION: God’s greatest redemptive acts often happen in the places we least expect—in exile, in wilderness, in hardship. How has God shown His faithfulness during your own “wilderness” seasons? What redemptive purposes might God be working in your current difficulties?
PRAYER: Lord, help me see Your hand at work even when the path leads through difficult places. I trust that You are with me in affliction and accomplishing Your purposes. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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