Our head—the Lord Jesus Christ—has gone before us into the glorious presence of God, and in that sense, we can say we too have returned from exile. But it is also true that experientially, in this life, we are returning from exile. And to God’s great praise and our comfort, he is with us in our return-from-exile trek through this life.

1. Israel’s exile is the major theological catastrophe of the Old Testament.

Israel’s exile to Assyria and Babylon occurred over a series of events from 722 BC to 582 BC. You can read about them in 2 Kings 17 and 2 Kings 24. And although forced deportation is awful enough in its own right, these waves of exile were coupled with two other deeply significant events: the toppling of David’s dynasty and the destruction of Solomon’s temple. In 2 Samuel 7 we read of how God had given his people “rest” in the land, and in turn promised to David that he would have a kingdom forever and a son to build God’s temple. Subsequently, Solomon is that first royal heir, and he builds God’s temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 1‒10). Thus marks the pinnacle of God’s saving purposes to date: God’s people in God’s place under God’s king and worshipping in God’s sanctuary. All of that is an affirmation that the Lord God is truly for his people, and with his people, and saving his people. What then is the exile but a stripping away of all of that? Because of the sins of their kings (1 Kings 14:15; 2 Kings 21:9), the people are driven out of the land, deprived of a king, and made to watch their temple crumble—all of which begs the terrible question as to whether God has abandoned his people and/or been defeated by the Assyrian and Babylonian gods. The OT “exile,” therefore, is a collection of disasters that create an unthinkable theological quandary. It must be resolved!

2. The Bible’s theology of exile long predates Israel’s historic exile.

Yet, the OT’s theology of exile does not start in 2 Kings. Rather, Israel’s exile is a microcosm of a much larger exile. In Genesis 3:24, Adam and Eve are ejected “east of the garden of Eden” because of their sin (Gen. 2:17; 3:6). Israel’s experience of exile, therefore, is representative of all humanity’s exile from our original home in God’s glorious presence. This is why Israel’s exile matters to everyone, even if we are not Israelites. For it is only through Israel’s return from exile that we too can return to the true presence of God. We also learn from Adam and Eve’s expulsion from Eden that there is a critical theological link between exile and death. They are told that they will die the day they eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:17). But on the day they eat of that tree, they do not die—strictly speaking. But they are expelled from the garden, and later they do die (Gen. 3:23–24; 5:5). We can conclude, therefore, that exile is a form of death, and death is a condition of being in exile. And such is the state of the world under “the curse” of sin (Gen. 3:17).

3. Return from exile motifs are all over the Old Testament.

The theology of exile and return is subsequently baked into the entire OT. The calling of Abraham demonstrates this in Genesis 11‒12. As he moves westward from Ur to “the land,” he is symbolically coming back to the presence of God. In turn, the language of Eden is used throughout Exodus by Joshua to describe the land promised to Israel (see esp. Ex. 3:8; Lev. 26:11‒12). Thus, Joshua’s entrance into the land is symbolic of a return to the garden of Eden (see esp. Josh. 1:13; 21:43‒45). Equally, insofar as the tabernacle is meant to look like and commemorate the garden of Eden (Ex. 24‒25), the ceremonies of the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16 comprise a liturgical return from exile—the high priest bearing Israel, and by extension all humanity, back into the presence of God. The point of all this is that Israel’s calling, escape from Egypt, entrance into the land, and worship practices all remember Adam and Eve’s exile from Eden and create the hope for all humanity’s return to the presence of God someday.

4. Return from exile is often associated with resurrection.

Throughout the OT these symbolic returns from exile are often accompanied with resurrection symbolism. Two examples will have to suffice. When Israel escapes from Egypt, it is said that they “go up” or “go out” (Ex. 3:8, 12, 17; 6:6, 11, etc.), which is the same language used of “going up/out” of the grave in other OT texts (cf. Gen. 46:4; Ps. 18:15‒16; Jonah 2:2, 6). Thus, Israel is metaphorically resurrected in their exodus! Also, when the prophets speak of Israel coming out of their Babylonian exile, they describe it as a resurrection of the nation (see Isa. 25 and Ezek. 37). In both of these cases, an atoning sacrifice is necessary to precipitate the return and resurrection (Ex. 12; Isa. 53).

5. Jeremiah says the exile will last 70 years, but Daniel says it will last 70 x 7 years.

The most famous prediction of the duration of Israel’s exile comes in Jeremiah 29:10, “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.” I say this is famous not because we know it very well, but because other biblical authors often refer to it. See 2 Chronicles 36:21, Ezra 1:1, and Daniel 9:2. But it is striking that upon seeing that those 70 years are ended, Daniel prays that the Lord will return his people to the land (Dan. 9:3‒19). But then the angel Gabriel appears to Daniel and says, “Seventy weeks [or “Seventy sevens”] are decreed about your people and your holy city…” That means that while the exile will end in one sense (Ezra does lead many home), it is ordained by the Lord actually to extend the conditions of the exile to seventy times seven years! I don’t think that number is meant to pinpoint a precise date, but to speak of a lengthening of the exile (and all it meant under #1 above) to a further horizon while all still under God’s sovereign timing.

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