A central theme across the canon of Scripture — and even the message of Christianity more broadly — is the repeated concept of Exile and Return. The undesired deportation from apparent prosperity, away from the fertile Eden into the dark depths of Babylon, to the labors of Egypt. And why? On account of rebellion, of the departure and betrayal of vocation, rest fades. In these depths, however, is a persistent hope and the vague sense of a promise — a promise of return from exile, of restoration, of ultimate rest and peace.
Not only is this theme paramount to the identity of the Israelites — Pharisees, Jesus, and the early disciples all acted within this larger world — but serves as a helpful framework for interpreting the vast swaths of the Jewish Scriptures, providing one of many layers of context in which the authors are writing. The Biblical writers composed their respective works in worlds and languages very different than our own. But a shared perception of a wider narrative which describes a called people in relationship with their deity.
In this study, we will adopt this framework to explore a higher level story across the Old and New Testaments. I will use the language of Exile and Return, though alternatives such as Rebellion and Restoration are perhaps equally apt. While, at times, approaching the Scriptures with a magnifying glass is of particular value to trouble over the precise meaning and significance of divine injunctions and human responses, other occasions demand the fleeting touch of a gardener raking in the leaves scattered across the lawn. No microscope can capture the beauty of a landscape, nor analyze a hiker’s trail. For this reason, we’ll take a couple steps back and gaze out, focusing on a few major landmarks.
Our first attraction will be the Israelites in Egypt where they are enslaved and suffering, yearning for release. From there we will follow the exodus and the contracts agreed upon with their deity in Sinai, along with the repeated acts of rebellion following their departure. This cycle continues into the promised land where rebellion leads to exile, repentance to restoration. At last, under the leadership of the first kings, it appears that final rest and peace has been accomplished, but how quickly it fades.
Once again, constant abandonment of Israel’s vocation, even against the harried cries of prophets bearing the message to repent, leads to eventual destruction, death, and deportation. But even in this distant land, as with the Israelites in Egypt, hope and promise remain. When it does come, with celebrations and associated festivities, a new concern arises: avoid exile. How can future deportations be eliminated? By ensuring strict obedience to God. It was into this thought world which Jesus announced his own message of freedom from a deeper, more insidious exile which had captured all humanity since the rebellion in Eden. The early Christians carried out this message of release from exile and a restoration, in progress.
There’s out roadmap. Let’s begin.