Making everything new

The other day I was at the pub discussing theology with one of my friends. During our discussion, I referred to “the New Exodus”, a phrase which he hadn’t heard before. I can’t say for sure, but I think I first heard it used by either Brant Pitre or Scott Hahn…someone like that…

Actually, if you listen to other theologians at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, you’ll hear them use the word “new” an awful lot. They speak about the New Moses, New Manna, New Solomon, New Temple… In light of this, today I would like to give a brief overview of this way of viewing Scripture, with particular reference to the New Exodus. Understanding this perspective on Scripture can be really helpful, particularly in seeing the overarching unity of Scripture in the Old and New Testaments.

Exodus 1.0

To speak of a “New” Exodus implies that there was one which took place earlier, so before we start talking about the New Exodus, let’s re-familiarize ourselves with the events of this original Exodus in order to see the parallels with the new.

The original Exodus is described in the book of the Bible which bears that name, Exodus. After the Patriarch Joseph brought his father (Jacob/Israel) and family to Egypt, they experienced a period of prosperity, but the Egyptians soon came to see the Israelites as a threat and the Pharaoh enslaved the Israelites.

God’s people were in trouble and in need of a saviour. It was at this point that God called Moses to help free the Children of Israel. After several confrontations with Pharaoh (the Ten Plagues etc), the Egyptian King finally yields and agrees to set the Israelites free. Unfortunately, he later reneges on his promise and, together with his soldiers, sets out in pursuit. The Israelites have their backs against the Red Sea and all looks lost, but Moses parts the waters, allowing them to escape. The Egyptians follow but are drowned as the waters returns to their normal course.

Now safe, the Israelites journey to Sinai to receive the Law in the Ten Commandments. They later come to the very threshold of the Promised Land, but due their repeated sin and disobedience, they then spend the next forty years wandering through the desert. Although deprived of a homeland, God continues to look after His people, feeding them with the manna, the bread from Heaven.

As they once again stand on the threshold of the Holy Land, Moses dies. It now falls to Joshua to lead the people into the Promised Land. He sends the Ark of the Covenant into the Jordan and, as the priests descend into the water, it once more parts as it did years before at the Red Sea. Having finally entered the Promised Land, the Israelites begin to re-conquer, led once again by the Ark of the Covenant.

The Fall and The Promise

Things go well, at least for a little while. With the land conquered and the borders secured, the Jerusalem Temple is constructed by Solomon with even Gentiles coming there to worship the God of Israel.

However, after the death of Solomon, the Kingdom split into two. Both of these Kingdoms are eventually conquered and the people carried off into exile. The Northern tribes never return but the southern ones eventually return and rebuild. Unfortunately, by the First Century it had come under Roman occupation.

During these difficult years, the prophets repeatedly reminded the people of the Exodus from Egypt, since it was not only the event which originally formed them as a nation, but it was also a reminder of God’s fidelity and saving help:

“However, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ but it will be said, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them,’ For I will restore them to the land I gave their ancestors

– Jeremiah 16:14-15

God was effectively telling them: You think the Exodus from Egypt was amazing? You haven’t seen anything yet…

One figure who became closely associated with the New Exodus was Elijah. Dressed in “a garment of haircloth, with a girdle of leather about his loins” he called the people to repentance and through his preaching came into direct conflict with King Ahab and Jezebel his wife.

In the same way that the original Exodus led the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery, many thought that the New Exodus and the coming of the Messiah would result in their liberation from the yoke of Roman oppression. Ultimately, the New Exodus did come, but not in the way that the people expected…

Exodus 2.0

The time finally came. A figure appeared in the wilderness, dressed like Elijah. The man was John the Baptist. Like Elijah, called the people to repentance and also got into trouble with the so-called King (Herod).

Jesus then comes to the Jordan to be baptized by John. As the Lord enters the waters of the Jordan the waters do not part, but the glory of the Trinity is revealed. After passing through the waters he heads to the desert for forty days where he is tested and, unlike the Israelites in the desert, He later emerges victorious.

The Lord starts His earthly ministry and the liberation begins. Jesus becomes a New Moses, but this time it is not a liberation from an earthly power such as Pharaoh, but from sin and death. Jesus becomes a New Joshua, reclaiming what had once been lost and conquering Satan and the enemies of darkness. Whereas Moses ascended Mount Sinai and delivered the Ten Commandments, Christ ascends the Mount of Beatitudes and gives the New Law. As the Kingdom‘s restoration gets underway, once more Gentiles come to worship the God of Israel. They join the People of God through the waters of baptism which destroys not Egyptian might, but the power of sin. After this washing they are granted the privilege to eat the New bread from Heaven, the Eucharist, the flesh of Christ.

Conclusion

Hopefully this post has shown the beauty of viewing Scripture in this way, seeing the parallels between the Old and New Testaments since, as St. Augustine rightly wrote, “the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New”.