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The Reign of Kings and a Prophet

In the years prior to the Babylonian destruction of the temple and city of Jerusalem, the Judahites had enjoyed a religious revival and cleansing that had been implemented by the hands of King Josiah (641-609 BCE) and had been encouraged by the voices of the kingdom’s prophets. This period of revival occurred in the lull between the fall of the Assyrians and the rise of the Neo-Babylonians of whom Nebuchadnezzar is perhaps the most memorable figure. From the time of Josiah until the end of the nation we see three of his sons (Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah) and one grandson (Jehoiachin) sit on the throne of Judah and throughout all this time we have one prominent prophet, Jeremiah, speaking to the kings and the people.

How Jeremiah became Public Enemy Number One

Jeremiah had not been satisfied with King Josiah’s reforms nor the heartening knowledge that the Assyrian Empire had come to an end. His mouth was full of prophecies of doom directed at the Israelites. These messages astounded the people who reacted with fists and imprisonment to his threats (Jer 19:14-20:3; 26). His message went completely against the trust they had, that God would save them as he had done in the days of Sennacherib and Hezekiah. Furthermore his message was a paradox they did not understand- surrender to a heathen king to save yourselves. The call to surrender had nothing to do with sin and repentance, but rather accepting that it was God’s will that every nation should put on the yoke of the Babylonians, and thus survive (Jer 27-28). However the notion of surrendering to the Judeans meant not trusting in God for their salvation and so they ignored and despised him as a raving lunatic. When the Babylonians finally besieged Jerusalem Jeremiah was being half-staved in a miry pit for inciting insurrection amongst the people and army.

Jeremiah’s Unknown End

The hard-necked people of Judea did not surrender and for their insolence, (as seen by the Babylonians), they were dealt with decisively. The age-old temple established by their forefathers was razed to the ground and the population, in a series of waves, was exiled into the east for work-projects. For thirty-eight years Jeremiah had cried a message that had fallen on unhearing ears, his logic being inconceivable to them. In the end he was forced against his will into exile in Egypt where he died in an unknown place.

His life was one of deep service not only to those in Jerusalem- his last recorded prophesy deals with the idolatry he found when he arrived in Egypt. Jeremiah should be remembered as a man whose heart was broken for his people. For he deeply believed in the sanctity of this nation and its covenant with God, and through this conviction was cut by the continuing blindness of the people. However Jeremiah should be remembered for the promise from God he imparted to them, that if they return to God with “all their heart” then God “will give them a heart” to know and fear him (Jer 24:7, 32:39).

The Babylonians Arrive

 Three hundred and fifty years of kings had ruled over the kingdom of Judah before Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian armies arrived at the gates of Jerusalem. For three hundred and fifty years Jerusalem had been growing as the center of Yahweh worship with temple based worship as its focus. This all came to an end the moment the Babylonians laid a devastating siege on the city, sucking dry the power of Judah, destroying the city and temple and exiling the population into servitude.

End of Temple-sanctioned Yahwism

The religious political and social lives of the people of Judah were over; they were citizens of a country that no longer existed. Israelite Yahwism had essentially ended the moment the temple was destroyed. The temple that represented the House of Yahweh on earth, lay in ruins, and sacrifices could no longer be brought to the altar. Furthermore the borders of Judah, which demarcated in the Judeans minds the domain of Yahweh, were breached. They were pulled away, not only from the place of worship, but also from the realm of God’s influence. In a state of servitude and a feeling of abandonment from their God and hopelessness the Judeans walked from the Mediterranean Sea to the Chebar River in modern day Iraq.

The Future?

If History were on their minds during this long trek into exile, they would surely have recalled the similar fate of their brothers in the Kingdom of Israel who were exiled over a hundred years before by the Assyrians. These “ten tribes” as we fondly recall them today disappeared from history, assimilated into the cultures they were artificially planted in, and lost their religion.

This would be our fate, the Judeans were thinking.

God becomes Bigger?

 Israelite Yahwism at this point offered no hope of redemption- for Yahweh was not present in the lands of Babylon with their multiplicity of gods. This idea however dramatically changed when a Judean priest had a mighty vision of Yahweh by the Chebar river. He saw a mighty chariot with wheels, wings and animals carrying the presence of Yahweh who appeared in the likeness of a human. Yahweh spoke with him and called him to become a prophet to his people, his name was Ezekiel. (Ezekiel 1:1-3:5)

The ramifications of this vision were awesome. For not only was God bigger and more powerful than they had ever imagined him to be- for he could transverse over foreign lands were other gods were worshipped proving himself above them all, but more importantly, he was still speaking to the people of Israel.