Christ Our Life: Chapter 23

When Jeremiah was very young, God called him. Jeremiah thought that he was too young but God said that he was not.

During this time, King Josiah reigned over Judah. A scroll of the book of Deuteronomy was discovered and King Josiah realized that the people were not living faithful lives to God's covenant.

King Josiah ordered all shrines to other gods to be destroyed and called on the people to only worship the one true God and stop worshiping the false idols of the neighboring communities.

The king passed laws to help people to follow the covenant and commandments but their hearts did not change. When the king died, the people returned to worshiping idols and disobeying the first commandment.

Jeremiah warned the people that if they did not stop breaking the commandments the Temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed and the city would burn to the ground.

Jeremiah told the people that God was angry at the way they treated the poor and that they could not just worship in the Temple but must live just lives, protecting the vulnerable, poor, widows, and children.

The people did not believe Jeremiah's warnings and continued to live as they wanted. They did not help the poor and needy, bragged about their wealth, and even continued worshiping the false gods.

They thought that if they still worshiped at the Temple as well, that God would protect them, the city, and the Temple.

The people were very angry at Jeremiah's message and cursed at him, beat him, accused him of speaking against the king, and even had him arrested.

After he was released from prison, Jeremiah continued to speak out.

In 597 BC, the terrible things that Jeremiah had spoken of occurred. The Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, stole all the treasure from the Temple, and sent all the rich people into exile. The only people left in the city were the poor.

The king of Babylon set a new leader in charge and this king told the people that they should rebel against Babylon. Jeremiah warned the people not to do this but the people accused him of treason (fighting against his country) and threw him into prison again.

Jeremiah was in prison for 10 years until Jerusalem was attacked a second time.

When the Babylonian army again attacked, the Temple was burned and more people were sent into exile.

Jeremiah was given a choice to stay in conquered Jerusalem or go into exile in Babylon. Jeremiah loved his country and chose to stay in Jerusalem. He knew that the people who remained would need God's comforting words through the occupation.

God sent this message through Jeremiah: "When you seek me with all your heart, you will find me and I will help you."

31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.

32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.

33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

In Babylon, the first group to be exiled did not believe that Jerusalem or the Temple would be destroyed. They continued to believe that they would soon return to their land.

A young prophet named Ezekiel was given a famous vision in which he was told to eat a scroll that tasted like honey. This taught him that the Word of God was sweet and nutrition for your soul.

He began to teach the people about how to worship the one true God and turn away from sin.

When the second group of exiles came to Babylon and told the news of the destruction of the Temple and of the city of Jerusalem, the people began to repent.

Ezekiel began to preach about faith, and God's love for his people. He spoke about how God would raise up a new Temple and a new Jerusalem and they would return from exile.

Ezekiel was granted many visions from God.

In one vision, Ezekiel saw a vast field of bones. The bones were suddenly covered in flesh and returned to life, symbolizing God renewing the spirit of the people.

In another vision, God told Ezekiel that he was with them in exile in Babylon and that the people did not need to be in Jerusalem to worship him.

In yet another vision, God told Ezekiel that he would use the people's experiences in exile to teach them about love and trust.

During the time of exile, the people began to build places of worship, called Synagogues. They gathered on the Sabbath to study God's word and examine their lives and whether they were living according to God's word.

The people were finally able to return from exile after 50 years in Babylon. Eventually, the people rebuilt the temple and began to rebuild the city walls to protect Jerusalem.

During this time after the return from exile, the people of Abraham began to be known as the Jews, which means descendants of the people of Judah.