www.blakehart.com/cypresswoodbulletin.htm

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: Nona King, Jason King (2^nd); Jolene Mearns (7^th); Rusty Hudson (18^th);

Shalaina Cruthirds (23^rd)

EXILE

“A voice of one calling: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God…’” (Isaiah 40:3).

Exile is the third metaphor; the first two being Eden and Exodus; found in scripture based on historical events. After having all unfaithful kings in the northern kingdom of Israel, God sent the Assyrians to carry them off, scattering them throughout their Empire. About one hundred years later, Judah and Jerusalem also being unfaithful to God are carried away to Babylon. Jeremiah predicted a seventy year period in which the land would find rest from the evils of the Jews. When the Persians defeated the Babylonians, King Cyrus issued a decree in which the Jews could return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple, and eventually the walls of the city. N.T. Wright calls this the new exodus, the idea of leaving bondage and returning to the Promised Land.

There are several ideas we must understand about this historical exile. Not all the Jews returned to Israel. The prophet Jeremiah told them to settle in the lands to which they were taken and establish themselves. Since our understanding of this area’s history is sparse; that is, we know more about European history; we sometimes do not realize what happened. We find that Jewish influences spread beyond the borders of the captive nations. What later became known as the Silk Road, from China to the Middle East, Jewish influences spread into China (1). This period of eastern exile prepared the way for the spread of the good news about Jesus as the gospel went out from Jerusalem (2).

While some Jews returned to Israel; such as Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Nehemiah, and Ezra; not everything was reestablished. The Temple was rebuilt and the priestly system restored. Israel would have a high priest in the Temple. Interestingly, of all the items taken by the Babylonians from the Temple, the most important one, The Ark of the Covenant, was not mentioned. It fades from history after Solomon’s reign and we have no idea what happened to it. Over the five hundred years from the return from Babylon to the first century, a number of things happened. Synagogues developed as meeting places. New groups arose, often in opposition to each other, such as the Pharisees and Sadducees. The Samaritans became a segregated group of people, considered half-breeds, if not worse by the Jews. The Old Testament was translated into Greek and we know it as the Septuagint (LXX) because seventy scribes did the translating.

One aspect that was notably absence from this period was a king. Israel did not have a king ruling in Jerusalem for the six hundred years between the Exile and the first century. Herod and sons were not Jews but came into power with the help of some Jews and stayed in power because of Rome. Another aspect of the Exile was the destruction of idolatry. The Jews feared idolatry to such an extent that they would fight against overwhelming odds to prevent any form of idolatry in Jerusalem. When a foreign king offered pigs as a sacrifice in the Temple in 168 B.C., the Jews rebelled with a three year war. From this we get the holiday Hanukkah. Later when Rome march into Jerusalem with its military standards, the Jews again threatened war. Rome removed them to keep the peace. The king was restored to the throne when Jesus was raised and sat down at the right hand of God. He is the King of Israel.

As a metaphor, we continue in an exile period. We have been carried off because of sin and live in a foreign land waiting to return. Our period of exile isn’t over until we return, but our land is that of Eden (3). Sin has caused this exile. Some have returned, the righteous who have been made perfect (see Hebrews 12:22-24). Not much is said about exile in the New Testament. We can see in such phrases as pilgrims (Philippians 3:20-21) and the exiles (1 Peter 1:1). Using this terminology and how we are to live in exile can give us a glimpse into the meaning of the exile itself for us. We certainly need to understand the historical context of the exile in order to understand Peter’s use of it.

It is helpful to read Isaiah 40-55. This was written to encourage a nation in exile that they would return home. Included in this text are four servant passages, the most famous being Isaiah 53. There we see the suffering servant. While the Jews could read that as the nation that is suffering because of the exile, Jesus and the New Testament authors apply it to the Messiah, Jesus Himself. The later chapters of Isaiah speak again to a people who are looking to the new heavens and earth, a return to the Promised Land. Of course, we too look forward to that (see Revelation 21-22).

Like the Exodus, the Exile teaches us metaphorically about life as we now live it. Our exile from the Garden of Eden will end when the Lord returns to bring us into that glorious Garden in the presence of God. Until then, we live in a wilderness (Exodus) or in Exile (our Babylon). With God’s direction, we have come together in the assembly to learn to survive and encourage one another. We are preparing the way of the Lord as we live and speak the good news. We await the return of the King when we will go out and greet Him and bring Him into His victorious reign (see 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

These three themes; Eden, Exodus, and Exile; help us understand our life in Christ.

George B. Mearns

(1) See Philip Jenkins, The History of Lost Christianity.

(2) Later exiles by European powers scattered the Jews into the Roman world where we see the spread of the synagogue system. Paul and others would first enter these synagogues to preach the good news in Asia Minor, Greece and Rome.

(3) See the bulletin of 4/5/2009.