CHAPTER 8: THE EXILE

Mike Baratta, Jess Bellia, John Blaisse, Emily Boylan, Rose Corcoran, Amanda Giuffrida, Michelle Walsh

JUDAH HEADING FOR DISASTER

Jews abandon God

Build pagan shrines

Josiah emerges to reform…

JOSIAH

Finds an old copy of the Book of the Law

Reforms Judah by following the book Josiah’s son Jehoiakim undoes

his changes Legacy

Deuteronomists and pre-Exile prophets wanted to continue reform

“THE REMNANT”

God will punish the unfaithful

Impoverished, humble, and lowly people will become the “remnant,” a new chosen group from whom God will build the new Israel

JEREMIAH: A RELUCTANT PROPHET

God calls Jeremiah at the age of 20 He feels he is too young but he trusts

God Preaches to the falsely secure Judahites Communicates God’s message through a

life of struggle His message is rejected Persecuted by others despite his

attempts to help them

JEREMIAH’S VISIONS

Almond Tree Almond tree was often called a “watching

tree” Symbolized that God was watching the

Jews to see if they changed

Boiling Cauldron Boiling pot of water tipped onto a fireplace Symbolized that god will “extinguish”

Judah if it doesn’t change

JEREMIAH’S WARNINGS

God will give Judah and Jerusalem the punishments they deserve

The Temple is a “den of robbers” God won’t even be present in the Temple if

Jews don’t change their ways

Jeremiah’s warnings are rejected and the people punish him

JEREMIAH’S INNER STRUGGLE

Feels tricked by God into a life of persecution

Upset with God but realizes that the Lord is with him

His suffering brings him a close relationship with God

Faithfulness is never easy

THE FIRST EXILE

Babylon attacks Jerusalem and some Judahites are forced into Exile

Jeremiah tells the exiles to go willingly and make the most of the situation

The new king Zedekiah wants to listen to Jeremiah and be saved by God

TTYL

THE NEW COVENANT

The only way Judah can repent is by being exiled

When they return, God forms a new covenant with them

The covenant is written on their hearts, not on stone tablets

God forgets their sin and forgives their evil

Turning point for Israel that gives hope for a new relationship with God

THE SECOND EXILE

Babylonians return to Jerusalem and destroy the Temple

King Zedekiah is captured and taken away

Jeremiah tells the Judahites to stay put and surrender, but they disobey

Jeremiah flees with the people to Egypt Jeremiah disappears and is believed to

have been murdered

EZEKIEL

Prophet in Jerusalem before the Exile Told Israelites that God’s patience was

almost up Spoke with a strong passion that made

some think he was possessed Used many examples to show the

people that they needed to realize God was mad with them and that they would soon be exiled

THE VISION OF THE DRY BONES

Exiles complain that they feel lifeless

Ezekiel has a vision of dry bones, in which God tells him to bring flesh back to them and then fill them with life

The dry bones returning to a living animal represents the exiles soon returning to God’s love and life

SECOND ISAIAH

Prophet who wrote part of the Book of Isaiah

Had challenge of raising the hopes of the exiles for the day when they would return to Jerusalem

Most original exiles were dead and only a few Jews returned to Judah and Jerusalem after the Exile

Chapters in Second Isaiah are full of excitement for the return to Jerusalem and the Messiah

THE SUFFERING SERVANT

Mysterious man who is innocent yet suffers greatly

Punished to save others from their sins 4 Songs of the Suffering Servant

1st song – Chosen one sent to bring justice 2nd song – Prophet called to restore Israel 3rd song – Servant is beaten but endures

his abuse 4th song – Servant will pardon the sins of

many

THE TENDERNESS OF GOD

God responds to Jerusalem’s complaints with a beautiful passage God is a woman in labor

trying to bring forth Israel as a “reborn nation”

Second Isaiah ends with a hymn in which God promises peace to the hope-filled exiles

THE FRUITS OF EXILE

Prophets guide Israel through its purification

With few Jews returning to Jerusalem after the Exile, it was clear that Judaism was no longer tied to one region and that it had become a portable religion

FEMININE IMAGES OF GOD

God is referred to as a “father,” but he is pure spirit and is neither male nor female

Men and women are created equally in God’s image

Isaiah’s image of God as mother reminds us of God’s intimate care

JOURNAL #15 1/21/11

Jeremiah’s preaching was often rejected and despised by his fellow Jews, despite the fact that it was the truth that the people needed to hear. Write about a time when you felt as though your voice wasn’t being heard, even though it should have been.