Exodus from the four corners of the earth

“Therefore behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them.’ For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers” (Jeremiah 16:14-17).

We all know the story of the Exodus and how God delivered His people out of Egypt. Jacob and his sons' families, as 70 members, entered Egypt at Joseph’s invitation. Some 430 years later, on the exact day, most scholars believe that an estimated 2 million left Egypt through the Red Sea on the way to the Promised Land. That’s not to mention the plagues and miracles surrounding their departure.

Throughout Jewish history and culture, this is a key, monumental story not to be forgotten. Since the time of the Exodus, God instructed His people to remember when He brought His people out of Egypt and re-tell their children every year at the Passover meal. Like Christmas for Christians worldwide, Passover is for Jewish communities across the globe. Whether religious or secular, the account of Israel miraculously leaving Egypt by God’s hand is a big deal and memorialized every year.

In Jeremiah’s day, it was becoming increasingly obvious that the Kingdom of Judah and the city of Jerusalem were going to fall to the Babylonian invasion. Jeremiah told them to get ready for exile and informed them that they would soon be taken from their homeland. Yet, at the same time, he was also telling them that God would not forget them but would bring them back from the land of their enemies. And that when He does, it will be a bigger deal than when they had left Egypt.

In the verse above, Jeremiah says that one day the exodus from the nations will be greater than the exodus of Egypt. For the first time in history, we are living in the days that Jeremiah foretold.

In a simple numerical comparison, an estimated 2 million people left Egypt. According to Jewishvirtuallibrary.org population charts, the Jewish population of the land promised to Abraham crossed the 2 million mark back in the 1960s. That number has multiplied more than three times since then.

In light of Jeremiah’s prophecy, ask yourself which is greater: That God would miraculously bring 2 million people out of one nation after 430 years and give them their own land OR that God would miraculously bring over 6 million people (and counting!) out of the nations of the world after 2,000 years and return them to this same ancient homeland?

The answer is obvious. Now is that time. Not only is this an unparalleled anomaly in all of recorded human history, but these events were prophesied 2,600 years ago. That alone tells us this is God’s doing.

Yes, Israel today has many problems internally and many enemies outwardly, yet we still get to choose what we will focus on – our fears or the verifiable facts of this statement:

As the Lord lives, who brings the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the nations where He had banished them, we are living in the time that the prophets foretold and in the time of Israel’s restoration. We are seeing perhaps one of the greatest and most miraculous demonstrations of God’s covenant-keeping faithfulness to His people that the world has ever seen. Clearly, He has a plan.