LESSON TWENTY-FIVE
The Hope of a New Exodus
God sends Israel prophets throughout their decline, exile, and partial return. The prophets’ twofold message is of both warning and hope—warning of judgment and hope of salvation.
Isaiah shows that God’s future acts will be like his previous acts. The prophet sees God’s prior redemption through the exodus as a pattern for the future, pointing forward to a greater redemption to come.
In the exodus God freed Israel from slavery and spared them from judgment through the Passover sacrifices. Through Isaiah he promises an even greater deliverance—not just from physical bondage in Babylon but from spiritual slavery to sin and death. And he will restore not merely Israel but people from all nations. This redemption will reverse the curse and return us to God.
At the center of this salvation is God’s “servant.” This is a title for Israel, but it also refers to a singular person: one ideal Israelite. The servant will live the faithful life Israel (and humanity) has failed to live, die as a sacrifice for sins, and then rise again in victory. Through this servant God will bring salvation to believing Israelites, and then all nations.
Jesus eventually arrives as this servant to redeem us from our exile from God’s presence. And he does it as Isaiah has promised: through a faithful life, substitutionary death, and victorious resurrection.