Day Three: An Even Greater Miracle

Prior to the resurrection, God’s greatest miracle was the exodus and, in particular, the parting of the Red Sea. At the critical moment, God divided the sea so that his people could cross over on dry land, escaping the Egyptians and gaining their freedom from slavery. 

God’s Word declares over and over that it was by this miracle that his relationship with his people would be known. For example, Deuteronomy 5:6 declares, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

But in Jeremiah 23:7–8, God predicts that in the future, he will be known for an even greater feat:

“So then, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ but they will say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”

One day, God says, the regathering of the children of Israel will outshine even the miracle of the exodus. The regathering will be seen as an even greater miracle than the parting of the Red Sea. 

What’s more, God declares that the regathering of Israel will be done in defense of his name. Ezekiel 36:22 (NLT) says, “I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations.”

God had promised that his people would possess the land he had given them forever. But over the centuries, while the people were under judgment and scattered among the nations, God’s enemies accused him of being unable to keep that promise, sullying his name. So, God says to “protect [his] holy name”—to “show how holy [his] great name is”—he is going to “gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.”