Exile

  • Micah’s Trust in the Lord

    Micah 7:1–10

    As God’s people were surrounded by their enemies, Israel and Judah often heard these nations asking, “Where is the LORD your God?” (Mic. 7:10a). Because these enemies conquered Canaan with little resistance, they thought Yahweh was absent from ...Read More

  • The Good News of God’s Reign

    Isaiah 52:1–12

    Restoration requires faith in the Lord, but we are not able to muster up in ourselves faith that will persevere to the end. We need an atonement that covers even our unbelief, and God must create in us new hearts ...Read More

  • The Savior of God’s Blind Servant

    Isaiah 42:18–43:7

    Today’s passage reveals divine election, for Isaiah speaks of a people who are precious in God’s eyes (43:4). This is not due to any good in them, given that the people are still blind to their sin ...Read More

  • The Glory of the Restoration

    Isaiah 35:5–6

    Christ Jesus our Lord is God’s agent of renewal, the one through whom the Spirit is poured out and whose work on the cross redeems creation. But we cannot benefit from this work, nor can we see Jesus as ...Read More

  • The Little Apocalypse

    Isaiah 24

    The final judgment in today’s chapter was predicted to come after the exile of Israel and Judah. We live on the other side of this exile, though the New Testament does not foresee it coming to its full and ...Read More

  • The Hope of Restoration

    Leviticus 26:40-45

    God’s grace to His people in the restoration is shown in two primary ways. First, He provides His Son to fulfill perfectly all the requirements needed for Him to restore all creation. Second, He elects a people to salvation ...Read More

  • Living in Exile

    Nehemiah 1:1-3

    When it comes to the “culture war,” American evangelicals often embrace one of two extremes. On the one hand, they can give up trying to influence society altogether. On the other, they might believe the nation will be saved if ...Read More

  • The Lord’s Plentiful Redemption

    Psalm 130

    Fundamentally, Christ saves us from the penalty and power of sin. Yet His deliverance does not stop there. Our Savior also delights to make all things new, empowering us to mend fences with others, bring joy where there was once ...Read More

  • God the Deliverer

    Exodus 6:1-8

    Even those who affirm justification by faith alone may act as if they need to do more than trust Christ to be declared righteous. Some think that they must trust Christ and go a certain number of days without sinning ...Read More

  • The Threat of Exile

    Leviticus 26:14-39

    Though it may be painful at times, God’s discipline is one of the greatest blessings that we have as His children. He chastises us when we sin that we might continually turn to Him, proving the reality of our ...Read More

  • The End of Exile

    Matthew 2:16–18

    Herod is one example of all those who have tried to destroy the Christ and His people. Though this evil king did much harm, he was in the end unable to thwart the plans of the Father for His Son ...Read More

  • One Stick in God’s Hand

    Ezekiel 37:15–28

    Today the church remains a mixed community. The visible church (the church that we can see) is made up of professing believers who, as far as we know, have faith. But many within our churches do not really trust Christ ...Read More

  • Israel’s Sons in Exile

    2 Kings 17:1–23

    “It is time for judgment to begin at the household of God” (1 Peter 4:17). Sometimes God shakes the church when He brings judgment, punishing those who falsely claim to believe and disciplining those who truly confess Jesus as ...Read More