The Road Through the Exile; AKA Fuzzy Parallels
Notes
Transcript
Precursor
Precursor
We briefly examined the pattern of sin that led to the captivity
Despite the destruction, there is redemption in the captivity
Not atypical of God’s actions
We’ve left the on-ramp and are now on the road through exile
Judah, Southern Kingdom taken into exile
Happened in “phases”
Began in 605 BC, (Daniel, and contemporaries)
Judah became a vassal state
in 601, an alliance with Egypt—didn’t work out well
2nd phase 597 BC
Culminated with the fall of Jerusalem in 586 & last wave of exiles
We’ve left the on-ramp and are now on the road through exile
Decree of Cyrus for Jews to return was 539
We understand...
We understand...
…it’s not a happy situation
By the waters of Babylon,
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
On the willows there
we hung up our lyres.
For there our captors
required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
Yet, Jeremiah wrote that letter
Main Idea: How to behave when under less than ideal circumstances
Main Idea: How to behave when under less than ideal circumstances
Predicament
Predicament
There were false prophets among the exiles
One was Hananiah…read his story in chap. 28
Giving the people bad advice—claiming to speak with the authority of the LORD
Sometime between the 2nd and 3rd phase of exiles, Jeremiah wrote to the
surviving elders…priests, the prophets, and all the people....
Short version: Deal with it!
They were going to be there for a while—total would be 70 years
Make the best of it
Pronouncement
Pronouncement
THUS SAYS THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL!
This was the Word of the LORD—from a true prophet
He’d been proven to be an accurate prophet—not popular with the politicians—but accurate!
…whom I have sent...
Not an accident of fate/a capricious foreign king…a divinely ordered event
A means of salvation
Means of salvation have always been provided
He gives a series of instructions to those whom He has saved
Build houses...
Make yourselves at home, settle in…it’ll be a while
(if you stay in a hotel more then 2 nights, unpack…)
Plant gardens and eat their produce...
There will be a predictable cycle of events—plant, tend, harvest, repeat
Take wives...
Don’t become a bunch of hermits!
Be fruitful—multiply
God populated the earth from Noah and his sons
Built a nation from Abraham’s sons...
Encourage your offspring to do the same
Seek welfare of the city....
Pray to the LORD on its behalf
WHAT!?!?!?!?
It will be to your benefit
Don’t listen to the false prophets
Promises
Promises
1st, Israel will be restored
For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers Jer. 16:15 (b)
…but that’s not our story-line today
Partly fulfilled by the time of Christ—trickling back---Samaritans
Maybe partly fulfilled by establishment of national Israel
Yet to be totally fulfilled in the Millennium
Specific to Judah and the Babylonian exile
For behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the Lord, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”
A Misused Promise
A Misused Promise
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
That one gets, abused quite often—without the context it’s twisted badly out of shape
Judah will be restored
It does match up a bit with Rom. 8:28,
All things work together for good
But it is to those who love God…are called according to His purpose
Neither a general statement
Loving God is not a touchy-feely; must be knowledge of God; not the god of our desires and designs
…and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from the all the nations and all the places...
…I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile
Jer. 29:14
Parallels—the Fuzzy Ones
Parallels—the Fuzzy Ones
Remember—not an exact parallel to our situation
The nation of Israel 500 years BC does not exactly match up with the church of 2020
But, a couple of true prescriptions for behavior here
Here draw the relationship between His people then—Judah, and now—believers
Those who truly do love God and are called according to His purpose
God’s plan for redemption was yet to be completed
God had to save a remnant to complete that
Would not be fully in place until Jesus died and rose
That has happened
Those of us trusting in Christ
We have already been saved from the penalties of sin…but...
We are looking for the “full number” to come in
That’s interpreted different ways by different scholars—not going there
The salvation (the exile) of that remnant was necessary to accomplish our salvation
There’s the matter of discipline
God disciplines His children as He disciplined Judah
Discipline, not Punishment
Discipline, not Punishment
Discipline is a matter of training and correction
It may be severe at times, depending on circumstances
Should always be a learning experience
What things might we learn from our temporary exile?
Then: chasing false gods; we do some of the same
Then: a religion of formality; do some of us do the same?
Then: had evil direction from the spiritual leaders; we still have that
Pluralism is popular!
Might some of this pandemic, and our absence from physically attending church be part of intended to reset our focus?
It was during this exile that the concept of synagogue worship developed…that was a change the Jews never saw coming
Is this a time for change for us? I believe it is (Just like that, my pastor is a televangelist!)
Did some fall away, staying in Babylon out of preference—preferring exile and the proliferation of false gods to return and restoration of true worship—indeed they did
Might some do the same now—certainly
But might some realize the lack of true Christian community?
Might some have met God on a deeper level during this time?
That is our prayer, our desire
As we travel the road through our “exile” let us be thankful that our God is not the god of a building
He is our God, He goes with us wherever we are
Pray for our county/state/nation and its leaders
As we move back toward the “new normal” let us accept the changes that must come; adapt to serve better; resolve to reach further and see the church grow as a result of our time apart
Those of us who know Christ, should be ever-growing in our relationships
Those who don’t, need to meet Him, then grow in the relationships
