Chapter 8: The Exile Jackie Bonner, Olivia DeRogatis, Megan Kelly, Jennie Kelly, Meg

Kyle, and Sean Monahan

The story of the Exile..

The Second Book of Kings and covers the following prophetic books:

The Books of Zephaniah, Nahum, and Habakkuk

The Book of Jeremiah

The Book of Lamentations

The Book of Baruch

The Book of Ezekiel

Second Isaiah

Judah’s Slippery Slope: Heading for Disaster

The reform initiated by Hezekiah did not last long His wicked son Manasseh replaces him

Manasseh bows to the Assyrian Empire’s gods and puts pagan shrines in the Temple

His son, who succeeds him, is assassinated, but his grandson Joshua grows to be king and one of Judah’s great reformer

King Joshua finds the Book of Law while repairing the Temple in about After reading it, he is appalled that Judah has abandoned

the Law of God so shamelessly. He then issues many reforms in an attempt to bring back

to Judah However, these reforms do not last long, as Joshua killed

as Joshua killed in battle with Egypt’s pharaoh in 609 B.C.

Judah’s Slippery Slope: Continued

His reforms are undone, as his son Jehoiakim, another terrible king, takes the throne as a puppet of Egypt

Joshua’s zeal for the Covenant has left a deep and lasting impression on some of his followers

The Deuteronomists begin assembling Israel’s ancient texts of history

The prophets : Zephaniah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and, above all, the great Jeremiah call Judah to hope and repentance, inspiring the Deuteronomists

Zephaniah: The Remnant

Zephaniah’s 3 short chapters tell of “the Day of the Lord,” a time of judgment for not only enemies of Judah but for the unfaithful of Judah and Jerusalem as well

- People will be judged for their deeds, not their religious beliefs - the unfortunate and impoverished, the “humble of the land,” will become the remnant, a new kind of “chosen” from whom God will build the new Israel

• Remnant meant the people who would remain with God and be chosen by Him on the judgment day • these ideas of the poor and humble being those who would be chosen by God were new and shocking

Nahum: Nineveh Will Fall

A little-known prophet, who spoke during Joshua’s reign

His book opens while Joshua’s reform is in full swing - jubilant, as it appears that Assyria will soon be destroyed by Babylon • gloats over his visions of their bloody downfall

- calls Judah to hope as all looks well • little does he know that it will be

corrupted again

Habakkuk: Why, God, Why?

Probably a prophet in the Jerusalem Temple during the detestable Jehoikim’s reign

Had a great way with words and writes his book after having a vision in the Temple

Complains to God that he has prayed endlessly for Judah to be punished for its corruption, yet his prayer has not been heard

God replies that Judah will be punished by the Chaldeans

This exchange between God leaves the prophet praising Him and humbled by his own ignorance of divine ways

The idea of questioning God for why this evil is occurring in Judah and why He was not answering Habakkuk’s prayers, was first introduced in this book.

- it was a bold step forward in the people’s understanding of God

Jeremiah: Persecuted for God’s Sake

Jeremiah was about twenty years old when God called to him during Josiah’s reign.

Jeremiah preached God’s message not only through his words and oracles but also through his own life suffering.

He was despised and persecuted by the people he was trying to save, and also struggling with God.

The Book of Jeremiah is a combination of poetry, prose, and biographical.

Jeremiah’s Visions

Jeremiah had two visions:

1.) He sees a branch of an almond tree that symbolized that God was watching to see if Judah and Jerusalem will change.

2.) He sees a boiling cauldron tipped on a hearth in the north that meant that God will summon kingdoms from the north to be poured out over Judah if it does not change.

Jerusalem, Your Time is Coming!

After Josiah is killed in a battle with Egypt, the Egyptians choose his son Jehoiakim to be king of Judah. He sides with Egypt in its struggle against the king

of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar II, for control of the reign around the eastern Mediterranean.

Through Jeremiah God warns that Judah and Jerusalem will get the punishment their crimes deserve.

Judahites feel confident that God would never permit Jerusalem or the house of David to be destroyed.

The Temple: No Guarantee of Safety

God tells Jeremiah to preach in the Temple and he warns his listeners that even the Temple does not ensure God’s presence. Unless they stop oppressing aliens, shedding innocent

blood and worshiping idols they will be lost. Outraged priests and court prophets start a riot and call

for Jeremiah’s death. Jeremiah escapes alive.

After Jeremiah demonstrates that God will smash the city, he is accused of blasphemy and is beaten and put in stocks overnight.

Jeremiah feels tricked and claims he will never mention God’s name again but soon realizes that his enemies have failed and shouts “The Lord is with me!”

The First Exile

King Jehoiak, king of Jerusalem, withheld information from the Babylons, causing a war.

Jerusalem was attacked but not destroyed.

Jeremiahs explains how exile isn't for annihilation, but for purification, so the exiled can return to the role God choose for them.

The First Exile Continued.

King Jehoiakim’s son, Zedekiah, became king. He was afraid to follow Jeremiahs advice.

King Zedekiah took part in Babylon's revolt against Jeremiahs advice.

Jeremiah was accused of treason and was imprisoned, beaten, and thrown into jail to die.

Jeremiah continued to talk to God, and God revealed his plan to make a New Covenant.

The New Covenant

The new covenant was not just practices, but also a moral code.

After Jerusalem is destroyed in 587BC Jeremiah stayed with the remaining Judahites to give them Gods message on how to be safe, the refuse to listen to Jeremiah.

After this Jeremiah disappeared and many believe he was murdered in Egypt.

Lamentations: Judah Grieves

The Book of Lamentations is a collection of 5 hymns of grief composed shortly after the fall of Jerusalem

Each chapter is a separate poem, its thought each is written by a different author.

The Book of Lamentations helped Judah by giving it a way to grieve – recalling its agony, lamenting, and asking for healing.

Chapters

Chapters 1, 2, and 5, are funeral laments for the lost Jerusalem.

The 3rd chapter tells of the authors suffering and hope that one day God will bring it to an end.

The 5th chapter is the voice of the people admitting their guilt, expressing their hope and praying for restoration.

Ezekiel: From Hearts of Stone to Hearts of Flesh

After Jerusalem fell, Ezekiel was one of those deported to Babylon.

Like Jeremiah, he confronted the hard hearts of the people and let them know that God was loosing patience with them.

An Awesome Call

Ezekiel’s life of prophecy begins with being called through a strange vision.

He sees a bright light in a chariot drawn by four winged creatures.

A voice instructs him to tell the people of the Lords displeasure with them and it bids him to eat a scroll.

When he eats the scroll, it tastes as sweet as honey

A New Heart and a New Spirit Within

Once Jerusalem was captured, Ezekiel's role with the people changes.

He now becomes a counselor, a teacher, and an inspirer to the disheartened exiles.

Despite Ezekiel's hopeful words, the exiles feel lifeless.

Ezekiel has a vision of a valley filled with dry bones.

Ezekiel is told to call forth breath for the bones; he does and suddenly an array of living people are before him.

The Vision of a New Jerusalem

The last chapters of Ezekiel are a vision of the return to Jerusalem, the rebuilding of the Temple, and the return of the glory of God.

After years of his message of repentance being ignored, Ezekiel became the herald of Israel's hope.

Who was the Second Isaiah?

A prophet toward the end of the Babylonian Exile

Inspired by the 1st Isaiah

Chapters 40-55 of the book of Isaiah

Life in Babylon

Exiles had certain religious freedoms Built homes, planted gardens, developed businesses Many became prosperous

Jews weren’t allowed to build a temple or practice religious rituals publically

Jews tried not to fall to Babylonian practices

Preserved the Torah carefully

Gathered to worship secretly, read scriptures, and pray

Focused more on God and community rather than the temple itself

Tensions and Compromises

People wondered if God forgot them

Jews argued through generations about religious practices

People could’ve fell to Babylonian practices

Jews faithfulness to God varied

Even the faithful Jews were content with staying in Babylon

Showed that the temple wasn’t necessary for worship

Consolation and Hope

Cyrus, Persian King, freed the exiles

The exiles needed inspiration to go back to Judah

Only a fraction of the Jews returned

These chapters are called the Book of Consolation 4 songs of mysterious

salvation to people through a servant’s suffering

Cyrus: The Anointed Liberator

2nd Isaiah foresees the day when God summons Cyrus to overthrow Babylon

Exile ends with a new Exodus

Cyrus doesn’t know God, but God calls him by name

Cyrus doesn’t resort to rape and genocide

Allows conquered people to return home as long as they worshipped his God

Shows us a universal God

Comfort of God’s People

God offers comfort and shows the exiles the way home

Isaiah shares hope with the people through many hope filled passages

These passages are the Songs of the Suffering Servants

The Songs of The Suffering Servants

Innocent man who suffers greatly

Suffers in order to save the people from their sins

Christians see in him a prophetic image of Christ

There are 4 Songs

Song 1: Song 2:

God speaks of a chosen one

This person has been given God’s spirit to bring justice to the nations

Act toward the bruised reed : Israel

The speaker is the prophet

Simile of a sharp edge sword that God had hidden in a quiver

Called from his mother’s womb to restore Israel as a light to the nations so that salvation can reach the ends of the Earth

Song 3: Song 4:

The servant is the subject to insults and derision

Endures abuse, hoping God will help him

Tormenters wear out, and God prevails

Suffering servant is an embodiment of Israel and seems inhuman

Suffering for the nation’s wrongdoing

Since he has poured out himself from death, he won pardon for the sins of many

The way of salvation

Israel will bring salvation to the whole world.

Jesus as the suffering servant

Suffering servantSongs are used in the good Friday

liturgy.

Tenderness of God

God inspired a passage in scripture to insure that he will never forget Israel.

Come to the Feast• A joyful poem in second Isaiah invites

people to a great feast: to enjoy rich food of God’s life.

• Closes with hymn of joy.

Fruits of the exile

Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Second Isaiah guided Israel through its time of purification in exile to: call people to a deeper relationship with god and ultimately make Judaism a religion.

Pointed to the transforming and saving power of suffering, rather than its being simply a punishment for sin.

Judaism was no longer tied to one particular place. It spread and became a “light to all nations.”