Rebecca’s Well: The New Exodus

By Dr. Rebecca R. Rivka

Jesus leads the Believer to a new Exodus – through death to a new life. Not only out of the world of Egypt through the Red Sea and the Wilderness, across the Jordan River into Canaan the Promised Land and so forth to Mount Zion and the New Jerusalem, the journey of life; but Jesus leads us through the valleys and the shadows of daily living to a New Exodus every morning. “For it is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy   Faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23) 

Of all the Bible heroes only Jesus can promise and grant newness. Jesus Christ is the key witness of the Bible’s entire story. Jesus is the victor in the struggle with God’s enemy and has corrected at Calvary all that went wrong. Amen Oh, Yes! Jesus has shown us His Way, His Truth and His Life as the pattern for our lives on earth and in the hereafter.   So God the Father wants the victory of Jesus’ Message to spread to all the world, embracing and forming all peoples of the earth into Jesus’ Church. ”For by one Spirit are we baptized into one body whether we be Jews or Gentiles (non-Jews) “ (1 Corinthians 12-13).                 

Jesus states in St. Matthew 28:19 …” Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” And in the book of St. Mark 16:15, Jesus recounts, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.” The task of carrying out this great commission is given to each of us to manifest in our own strength. Not only to preachers and evangelists and other forms of clergy, but to all Lay Believers in Christ, the message is to EVANGELIZE. This is the lighting of the candle in the soul of every Believer so that the Holy Spirit of God may manifest out into the visible world. 

Dr. Eugene H. Peterson writes in his book, The Invitation (2008), “ The mission of Christ followers is to proclaim the liberating message of the good news , The Gospel of Christ’ Kingdom. The challenge of a decision now confronts us. What will we do? How will we fit into this story? Will we be a part of God’s mission of re-creation – of restoring the world around us – and making the world (including ourselves) new?”  Yes, we are members of the New Exodus in Christ. We are new creations, brand new every morning“ by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:5b,6,7)  Amen  

Amen (Oh, Yes!)