A Newsletter of weekly meditations on Biblical Theology and curated resources from The Carson Center

May 27, 2026

“‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” Exodus 19:4

“Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:30–31

Read: Exodus 19; Luke 22; Job 37; 2 Corinthians 7

            Travel was quite arduous in the ancient world. Most had to walk, but if you had some money, you could ride an animal, an animal-drawn vehicle, or travel by boat. These were the basic options. Today, we have many more options for travel that make our lives more comfortable. We have cars, airplanes, helicopters, and many other forms of travel.

            Exodus 19 is not a travel story. Israel has finally come to the place they were traveling to––Mount Sinai. However, God didn’t want them to forget how he brought them here. He had rescued them from Egypt and brought them through the Red Sea in order that they might worship him on this mountain, and he might form a covenant with them. God described their redemption from Egypt as a type of flight from that evil land. God “bore them on eagles’ wings” (Ex. 19:4) and brought Israel to himself.

            The prophet Isaiah picks up this imagery when he predicts that Israel will again be rescued from slavery. Now the nation oppressing them is not Egypt but Babylon. God promised that he would come and rescue his people, that he would strengthen even the young who couldn’t make it back to Israel through the desert. Those who trust in the Lord “shall mount up like the eagles” (Isa 40:31). A new exodus would occur when the Lord came to rescue his people from Babylon.

            Isaiah also looks further into the distance and recognizes that only the Suffering Servant could truly “bear them on eagles’ wings.” Their true redemption would come when the Messiah arrived and didn’t defeat a foreign nation but defeated the sin that resided in their hearts and caused them to go into exile in the first place. Jesus came not as a political savior but to save his people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). He is the one who bears us away from sin and death on eagle’s wings. – Patrick Schreiner 

Reflect: When was a time when you were fainthearted, and God lifted you up as if you were on eagles’ wings? Reflect on how God has already done this for you in Christ.