Coming Out of Exile: Returning to the Promised Land

Coming Out of Exile: Returning to the Promised Land Part 1: Have We Learned Our Lessons? November 13—Going Into ExileNovember 13—Going Into Exile November 20—Surviving the ExileNovember 20—Surviving the Exile November 27—Break:November 27—Break: Thanksgiving Eve Eucharist

Coming Out of Exile: Returning to the Promised Land Part 2: The Prophets of the Return December 4—ZechariahDecember 4—Zechariah December 11—HaggaiDecember 11—Haggai December 18—MalachiDecember 18—Malachi

Coming Out of Exile: Returning to the Promised Land Session 1—Going into Exile or How Did We Get Here?

Coming Out of Exile: Returning to the Promised Land

Saturday, February 18, 2012, Bp. Simpson consecrated our new property at a Eucharist where we dedicated that property to the Glory of God. During his sermon, Bp. Simpson said:

Coming Out of Exile: Returning to the Promised Land “This is not a Moses and Joshua return from the wilderness. This is a Joshua and Zerubbabel return from Babylon.”

Coming Out of Exile: Returning to the Promised Land Joshua was the High Priest and Zerubbabel was the Governor of Jerusalem when Cyrus the Great released the Jews from Exile and allowed them to return to Jerusalem.

Coming Out of Exile: Returning to the Promised Land Coming Out of Exile is significant to us because it describes where we are, where we are going, and our hope for the future. The Lessons of Ezra, Nehemiah and the Prophets are the lessons we need to heed so that is does not take us the same TWENTY years to rebuild the Temple it took the Jews!

Coming Out of Exile: Returning to the Promised Land The background of Exile is significant to us because it provides the context for how the Children of Israel ended up in their dire predicament. The Lessons of the kings of Israel and Judah, and their prophets are the lessons we need to heed so that we do not end up off course and have it take another SEVENTY years to get out of our own “Babylon” again!

Coming Out of Exile: The Divided Kingdom Open your Bible to I Kings 11 Key Verses: So the L ORD became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the L ORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the L ORD had commanded. I Kings 11:9,10

Coming Out of Exile: The Divided Kingdom Therefore the L ORD said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. II Kings 11:11-12

Coming Out of Exile: The Divided Kingdom However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.” II Kings 11:13

Coming Out of Exile: Returning to the Promised Land Cheat Sheet: Failures and Failings! Solomon: turned from the Lord; Idolatry.

Coming Out of Exile: The Divided Kingdom What had been the Kingdom of Israel is now two completely separate and often warring nations: The Kingdom of Israel in the north has its capitol in Samaria. The Kingdom of Judah in the south has its capitol in Jerusalem.

Coming Out of Exile: The Fall of Israel Open your Bible to II Kings 17 Key Verses: In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. II Kings 17:6

Coming Out of Exile: The Fall of Israel And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the L ORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods and walked in the customs of the nations whom the L ORD drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced II Kings 17:7-8

Coming Out of Exile: Returning to the Promised Land Cheat Sheet: Failures and Failings! Solomon: turned from the Lord; Idolatry. Kingdom of Israel: followed other gods, Idolatry.

Coming Out of Exile: The Fall of Judah Israel fell in 722 BC. Judah lasted another 136 years and did not fall until 586 BC when the Babylonians invaded. Their destruction was long and drawn out and really began almost as soon as Israel had fallen.

Coming Out of Exile: The Fall of Judah King Hezekiah begat Manasseh King Manasseh begat Amon King Amon Begat Josiah King Josiah begat Jehoahaz King Jehoahaz was dragged off into exile by the Pharaoh Neco Fortunately…

Coming Out of Exile: The Fall of Judah King Josiah also begat Eliakim Eliakim changed his name to Jehoiakim King Jehoiakim begat Jehoiachin King Jehoiachin was deposed by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 597 BC. Fortunately…

Coming Out of Exile: The Fall of Judah Fortunately… King Josiah also begat Zedekiah “And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.” II Kings 24:20b

Coming Out of Exile: The Fall of Judah Open your Bible to II Kings 25 Key Verses: On the ninth day of the fourth month … the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they passed sentence on him. They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains and took him to Babylon. II Kings 25:3-7

Coming Out of Exile: The Fall of Judah Why did all of this happen? In spite of how specific the author is when it comes to the Kings of Israel and Solomon, the author of I & II Kings is strangely tight-lipped here at the fall of Judah. Although, there is one place where Scripture spells out very clearly all the trouble that Judah had gotten into of the last hundred years and many people think that he also wrote I & II Kings too!

Coming Out of Exile: The Fall of Judah Open your Bible to The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah See especially 3:6-14 And chapter 5

Coming Out of Exile: The Fall of Judah Key Verses: And when your people say, ‘Why has the L ORD our God done all these things to us?’ you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.’ Jeremiah 5:19

Coming Out of Exile: Returning to the Promised Land Cheat Sheet: Failures and Failings! Solomon: turned from the Lord; Idolatry. Kingdom of Israel: followed other gods, Idolatry. The Kingdom of Judah: served foreign gods… Why did all this happen? Idolatry!

Coming Out of Exile: Staying Out of Babylon! “We’ve Never Worshiped Idols!” Have we let something else, however noble- hearted the cause may be, get between us and what God has really called us to do?

Coming Out of Exile: Staying Out of Babylon! “We’ve Never Worshiped Idols!” Have we done something which God has called us to do yet with a motive and heart which was anything but Godly?

Coming Out of Exile: Staying Out of Babylon! What is God calling us to do? “My house shall be called a house of prayer.” “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” James 1:27

Coming Out of Exile: Staying Out of Babylon! What is God calling us to do? “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20

Coming Out of Exile: Staying Out of Babylon! What is God calling us to do? “This is my body which is for broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” I Corinthians 11:24,25

Coming Out of Exile: Staying Out of Babylon! What is God personally calling YOU to do? Remember your Baptismal Covenant! –Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?

Coming Out of Exile: Staying Out of Babylon! What is God personally calling YOU to do? Remember your Baptismal Covenant! −Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?

Coming Out of Exile: Staying Out of Babylon! What is God personally calling YOU to do? Remember your Baptismal Covenant! –Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ? –Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?

Coming Out of Exile: Staying Out of Babylon! What is God personally calling YOU to do? Remember your Baptismal Covenant! –Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?