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JEREMIAH AND THE END OF THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM

JEREMIAH AND THE END OF THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM. THE LATTER HALF OF SOUTHERN KINGS Manasseh His reign saw a rebirth of Baal worship in Judah Practiced human sacrifice, even burning his own son on altar to pagan god. Amom Ruled for only two years & was assassinated.

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JEREMIAH AND THE END OF THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM

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  1. JEREMIAH AND THEEND OF THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM

  2. THE LATTER HALF OF SOUTHERN KINGS Manasseh • His reign saw a rebirth of Baal worship in Judah • Practiced human sacrifice, even burning his own son on altar to pagan god. Amom • Ruled for only two years & was assassinated.

  3. THE LATTER HALF OF SOUTHERN KINGS Josiah (2 Kings 22:1-23:30) • Only 8 years old when he came to throne • Ruled during time of Covenant Renewal. Ordered temple cleansing in 622 B.C.E. & they found scroll containing a version of the law. • When scroll was read to Josiah, he realized the people had fallen short & got upset b/c people had not been following laws. So he instituted a number of reforms:

  4. THE LATTER HALF OF SOUTHERN KINGS Josiah’s Covenant Renewal: • Led people in ceremony of covenant renewal • Rid the land of pagan cults • Ordered celebration of a great Passover, reminding people of their legacy • Gathering priests in Jerusalem to centralize worship there.

  5. THE LATTER HALF OF SOUTHERN KINGS Jehoahaz – Josiah’s son. Imprisoned in Egypt Jehoiakim – • Jehoahaz’s brother that Egyptians made king. • Ruled like a new “Solomon” (forced labor, heavy taxes, etc.)

  6. THE LATTER HALF OF SOUTHERN KINGS Jehoiachin • Son of Jehoiakim • 598-597 B.C.E. – Babylon invaded Judah after king had been on throne for 3 months. Took him, his wife, and Judean leadership (nobility, artisans, high ranking military officers) into Babylonian captivity.

  7. THE LATTER HALF OF SOUTHERN KINGS Zedekiah • Son of Jehoiachin • A weak ruler – pressured to align w/Egypt & revolt from Babylon; eventually did & paid the price. • Made to watch his sons murdered, then had his eyes gouged out.

  8. THE PROPHETS WHO SPOKE TO THEM Zephaniah • Active during reign of King Josiah • Major theme – “the day of the Lord.” Nahum • Active during reign of Jehoakim • Hated Assyrians – his words were all about fall and destruction of Nineveh

  9. THE PROPHETS WHO SPOKE TO THEM Habakkuk • Sometimes called a “philosopher prophet” • Questioned why God would send a nation more unfaithful than God’s people to defeat God’s people (referring to the Babylonians)

  10. JEREMIAH • From priestly family & preached during reigns of Josiah, Jehoiakim & Zedekiah • Preached judgment on Judah & referred to “a foe from the north” destroying Jerusalem – the Babylonians. • Like the book Isaiah, Jeremiah covers a long period of time and may indicate multiple authors from Jeremiah & his followers over time. • Book seeks to tell the narrative of the prophet & relay his oracles.

  11. CALLING OF JEREMIAH (1:1-19) • Called to be a prophet before he was born! (vs. 5) • Didn’t know what to say – God put God’s hand on Jeremiah’s mouth to literally put God’s words in his mouth.

  12. TEMPLE SERMON (7:1-15; 26:1-24) • Gave scathing sermon in temple, denouncing Jerusalem & saying it’d be destroyed. Attacked popular notion that Jerusalem would never be destroyed. • Received very poorly – made an enemy with then King Jehoiakim & Jeremiah was put on trial. JEREMIAH’S CONFESSIONS • Six of them • Not “confessions” of personal faults, but honest self-revelations about heart-felt frustrations (wants to give up; wishes he’d never been born). Offer unique perspective into prophet’s mind & psyche.

  13. VISION OF THE GOOD AND BAD FIGS (24:1-10) • During reign of King Zedekiah - Babylonians had already taken Israelite nobility into captivity. Before fall of Jerusalem in 588 B.C.E. • Good figs were those taken from Jerusalem (revered in God’s eyes). Bad figs were those who remained. Not a popular message! • Jeremiah supported Judah’s submission to Babylon b/c he saw it as following though on God’s judgment - Again, not a popular message!

  14. BABYLON ON THE DOORSTEP… Purchasing the field at Ananoth (32:1-44) • Jeremiah had right to land outside Jerusalem – not worth much b/c of impending invasion. Jeremiah bought it to show that God’s people would survive attack & would return one day – hope!

  15. BABYLON ON THE DOORSTEP… Letter to the Exiles (29:1-32) • After first exile, before the fall of Jerusalem. Jeremiah wrote a letter to initial captives in Babylon that encouraged them to: • Live as normally as possible • Be good citizens • Don’t listen to false prophets • When the time is right, God will bring you home

  16. AND THEN IT HAPPENED….. …..July 10, 586 B.C.E….. …THE FALL OF JERUSALEM

  17. FIRST DEPORTATION – 597 B.C.E. • King Jehoiachin taken into captivity • Nobility, Aristocrats of Judah taken as well – severely weakened nation SECOND DEPORTATION – 586 B.C.E. • Most of Judah’s population taken to Babylon to live in captivity for over a generation. • Entire city of Jerusalem destroyed, including temple • King Zedekiah captured & made to watch his sons killed before his eyes were gouged out.

  18. EXILE, LAMENTATIONS, AND EZEKIEL

  19. Jerusalem after 586 B.C.E. • Houses burned to the ground • Massive city walls pummeled • Glorious temple was heap of rubble • People were either dead or gone Those who remained in Jerusalem: • A number of people, including prophet Jeremiah, stayed under governorship of Gedaliah. • Estimated around 20,000 people, less than a tenth of what it had been.

  20. Those who were exiled to Babylon: • Not at all like Egyptian captivity centuries before • Given much freedom to practice their religion, live together in community, & improve economic status • Received payments of oil, barley, etc. in exchange for skilled labor • Fairly comfortable living • However, they missed their homeland and esp. the temple – struggled with how to practice their faith “in a strange & foreign land”

  21. CHANGES FOR GOD’S PEOPLE IN BABYLON • Were no longer referred to as Hebrews but Jews (short for Judahites – from Judah) • Changed from rural people to urban people, living in cities & making a living in various commercial enterprises • Language changed from Hebrew to Aramaic, the language of Babylonians & most widely spoken language in that part of the world. • With no temple to manage, priests devoted their time to writing down traditions & recording the history (Deuteronomic history)

  22. BOOK OF LAMENTATIONS Five chapters; each is a poem “lamenting” destruction of Jerusalem at the time of Exile. • 1:1-22 – Jerusalem, the abandoned widow • Looks directly at destroyed city • 2:1-22 – Punishment of Jerusalem • Moves backward in time to portray event • 3:1-66 – Personal lament & prayer for help against the enemy • Event & emotions of exile

  23. BOOK OF LAMENTATIONS Five chapters; each is a poem “lamenting” destruction of Jerusalem at the time of Exile. • 4:1-22 – Conditions during siege of Jerusalem • Focusing on people who suffered during siege • 5:1-22 – “Restore us, O Lord” • Desperate prayer of those who remained after exile

  24. EZEKIEL Was a priest before a prophet. Taken to Babylon in 597 B.C.E. during first deportation & was called to be a prophet. Known for wild visions & the way he acted out his messages rather than delivering them orally. Four grand visions of Ezekiel: • His calling (1-3) • Transported to temple in Jerusalem (8-11) • Valley of Dry Bones (37) • The reconstructed temple (40-48)

  25. CALLING OF EZEKIEL (1:1-3:3) Wild vision – God comes to prophet on a throne in the sky. • Vs. 16 – “wheel within a wheel.” God is not back in Jerusalem – God is “on the move” and is in Babylon. Of key theological importance to Hebrews in Exile. • Throughout book – “Mortal.” This is what God calls Ezekiel. Means “son of man.”

  26. TRANSPORTED TO TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM (8:1-18 & 11:1-21) Ezekiel is transported to temple by a hand that carried him by his hair. There he witnesses acts of pagan worship going on in temple: • 7 of Judah’s leaders worshipping pictures of animals drawn on wall; • Women weeping for Babylonian god; • 25 men worshipping the sun; • Specific leaders worshipping pagan deities are named

  27. For second half of Ezekiel, the prophet changed his message to HOPE – encouraged people to plan for a future out of exile and back in Jerusalem.

  28. VISION OF THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES (37:1-14)

  29. VISION OF THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES (37:1-14) • Ezekiel finds himself in a battlefield, perhaps those who died in battle for Judah. • God commands Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones; he does & the bones reform. • Then he prophesied that breath come into the bones. A play on words here: breath (ruach) and the “four winds” (ruachoth) • Symbolic of future restoration of God’s nation. Now like dry, scattered like bones, they’d be reformed & brought alive again by God’s action.

  30. RESTORATION OF THE TEMPLE (40:1-48:35) • Future rebuilding of temple. Very detailed description. Included reinstitution of sacrifices and offerings & new traditions as well. • 47: 1-12 – Vision of water flowing from base of temple to Dead Sea, to bring about new life to the stagnant water. Again, symbolic of new life for God’s people. • Temple very important to Ezekiel from his background as a priest. Appropriate that this book end with vision of restoration of temple.

  31. SUMMARY OF EZEKIEL: • Ezekiel’s priestly background had great deal of influence on his work in ministry. • Ezekiel’s visions were much more elaborate and numerous than other prophets. • Allegory & Symbolism were major teaching device for Ezekiel. • Served as a bridge between pre-Exilic religion of Israel and later Judaism.

  32. NEXT WEEK – MARCH 11

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