“How lonely she is now, the once crowded city! Widowed is she who was mistress over nations; the princess among the provinces has been make a toiling slave. Bitterly she weeps at night, tears upon her cheeks, with not one to console her of all her dear ones; her friends have all betrayed her and become her enemies. Judah has fled into exile from oppression and cruel slavery; yet where she lives among the nations she finds no place to rest; all her persecutors come upon her where she is narrowly confined.”
– Lamentations 1: 1-3
THE PRACTICE OF EXILE:
Jeremiah predicted the seventy year exile in chapter 25:11: “This whole land shall be a ruin and a desert. Seventy years these nations shall be enslaved to the king of Babylon.” In 587 BC, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians and the Israelites were deported to Babylon. The exile lasted some 70 years, commencing in 587 BC. The end of the exile began some fifty years later with the rebuilding of Jerusalem under the Persians which began in 537 BC. Tiglath-peleser III of Assyria (745-727 BC) was the first to refine this ancient practice of removing conquered peoples on a large scale. He resettled peoples in different parts of the empire as a way of detaching them from their land and destroying the spirit of resistance by suppressing their national identity. Not everyone was deported. Those selected for exile included the royal and noble families, people of means, the landowners, and skilled artisans, all of whom were most influential in shaping the popular will and inciting resistance. In general the peasants were left on the soil and for them it did not really matter who governed the country.
THE REASON FOR THE EXILE:
Jeremiah tells us very clearly why the exile took place: “Though you refused to listen or pay heed, the Lord has sent you without fail all his servants the prophets with this message: Turn back, each of you, from your evil way and from your evil deeds; then you shall remain in the land which the Lord gave you and your fathers, from of old and forever. Do not follow strange gods to serve and adore them, lest you provoke me with your handiwork, and I bring evil upon you. But you would not listen to me, says the Lord, and so you provoked me with your handiwork to your own harm… I will doom them, making them an object of horror, of ridicule, of everlasting reproach. Among them I will bring to an end the song of joy and the song of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstone and the light of the lamp. This whole land shall be a ruin and a desert. Seventy years these nations shall be enslaved to the king of Babylon (Jeremiah 25: 4-11).”
THE FORMATIVE EXPERIENCE OF THE EXILE:
Isaiah, chapters 40 to 55 were written toward the end of the exile experience. The Israelites had several formative experiences during this painful period in their history. For one they came to understand God’s tenderness and covenantal love as never before. God projected Himself as Israel’s Redeemer: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine (Isaiah 43:1).” In spite of Israel’s rebellion, God will not abandon Israel, but will claim her for His own and will ransom her. God projected Himself as mother: “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you (Isaiah 49:15).” And God projected Himself as husband: “For he who has become your husband is your Maker; his name is the Lord of hosts; … The Lord calls you back, like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, a wife married in youth and then cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great tenderness I will take you back (Isaiah 54:5, 6-7).” In the midst of Israel’s oppression and misery, God’s optimism and hope brims forth to overflowing: “As the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall endure before me, says the Lord, so shall your race and your name endure (Isaiah 66:22).”
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EXILE EXPERIENCE:
The importance of the exile lies in the fact that the center of gravity of Israelite life and religious consciousness shifted from Jerusalem to Babylon during the years 587-537 BC. Jeremiah had encouraged them to build houses, plant vineyards, and marry the people among whom they settled. He urged them to accept the exile because it was the will of Yahweh that they should be punished, and to await His good pleasure for the redemption of Israel. The Jews were allowed to live freely in Mesopotamia, and OT allusions suggest that they gathered in their own communities. Some of them prospered so well that the Jewish colony begun by the deportations of Nebuchadnezzar still existed in the medieval period.
The religious importance of the exile appears not only in the survival of national and religious consciousness but also, as most scholars are convinced, in extensive work on the sacred books and traditions of Israel. Most of the historical books of the Old Testament were collected and edited during the exile. The prophetic books as well were edited during this period, and two major prophetic works, Ezekiel and Isaiah 40-55, were written during the exile. The codification of Hebrew Law in the form in which it appears in the Pentateuch was at least begun during the exile. Lastly, it is possible that the synagogue, of such vital importance in the subsequent history of Judaism, first made its appearance in the exile as a substitute for the worship of the temple.
HELPFUL ATTITUDES FOR PRAYER:
· “Though you refused to listen or pay heed, the Lord has sent you without fail all his servants the prophets with this message: Turn back, each of you, from your evil way and from your evil deeds; then you shall remain in the land which the Lord gave you and your fathers, from of old and forever.
· “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine (Isaiah 43:1).” In spite of Israel’s rebellion, God will not abandon Israel, but will claim her for His own and will ransom her.
· “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you (Isaiah 49:15).”
· “For he who has become your husband is your Maker; his name is the Lord of hosts; … The Lord calls you back, like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, a wife married in youth and then cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great tenderness I will take you back.
· In the midst of Israel’s oppression and misery, God’s optimism and hope brims forth to overflowing: “As the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall endure before me, says the Lord, so shall your race and your name endure (Isaiah 66:22).”
· Jeremiah urged the Israelites to accept the exile because it was the will of Yahweh that they should be punished, and to await His good pleasure for the redemption of Israel.
GUIDELINES FOR PRAYER:
- Be faithful to your time of prayer, and make it between 20 and 30 minutes daily.
- Begin every prayer session with an earnest prayer to the Holy Spirit like the one I have composed for you: Come, Holy Spirit, and overshadow me with your gentle wisdom and power as I endeavor to sit at the feet of Jesus during this period of prayer. Purify my mind and heart as I seek to make the teachings of Jesus my priority in life, thinking, speaking and doing as He desires. You are the keeper of my soul, leading me into God’s heart. May I be docile and submissive to your wisdom and guidance. May my life be a pleasing offering in your sight. Amen.
- Take one of the passages suggested for prayer. During the week you might want to ponder the question, “Have I looked upon my adversities as steeping stones toward humility and deeper union with God or have they become stumbling blocks in my discipleship?”
- Lastly, during your prayer make sure you also address God directly and listen for the Holy Spirit’s responses.
- You can end your prayer with the following: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I thank you for your gracious companionship. I praise you for being my Creator, Savior and Lord. May I take your blessings to my day, and may your presence envelop and permeate all my thoughts and actions. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
PASSAGES FOR PRAYER:
Jeremiah 29:1-15: Letter to the exiles of Babylon
Jeremiah 30: 4-21: The Restoration
Lamentations: 1: 1-13: Jerusalem abandoned and disgraced
Isaiah 40: 1-8: Promise of Salvation
Isaiah 54: 1-15: The New Zion
Isaiah 57: 14- 21: Comfort for the Afflicted
Ezekiel 36: 24-32: Regeneration of the People
SPIRITUAL READING:
The Imitation of Christ:
After the Bible, this classic is the most widely read. There are four books and 114 chapters in all. You could savor this book three times over if you read a single chapter each day of the retreat. For this week the following chapters might be useful:
Book I: Useful Reminders for the Spiritual Life:
Chapter 21: Of Heartfelt Remorse
Chapter 22: Of Human Misery
Chapter 24: Of Judgment and Punishment
SCRIPTURAL READING:
The Bible:
It would be even more important for you to become familiar with the Bible, especially with the New Testament. Similarly, beginning with the New Testament you can choose to read a few chapters on a daily basis, and/or the ones recommended during this week.
Old Testament:
Lamentations: Chapters 1-5
Isaiah: Chapters 40-45, 48-55
Ezekiel: Chapters 33: 1- 39: 29
JOURNALING:
- Journal for a few minutes daily about your experience with God in prayer and during the day.
- Your journal will help you with your sharing in spiritual direction
- Gradually patterns of insights, themes, consolations, and resistance to God’s promptings will emerge.
- Your journal will help you appreciate the Holy Spirit’s action in your being.
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