EXILED

the story of Israel’s exile

The Return of the Prophets

Post-Exilic Period
After the exile of Israel and Judah, the Judahites were allowed to return and
rebuild the temple. Once the temple was rebuilt, it remained standing for
some 500 years, being demolished once again in 70 AD by the Romans in
response to a Jewish revolt.

Since the post-exilic period basically begins with the building of the second
temple and ends with it’s destruction, it is often called the “Second Temple
period,” by Jewish scholars. This second temple period stretches past the
life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

As long as the temple stood in the minds of the Jewish people, God was with
them. The destruction of the temple in 70 AD caused Christians and Jews
alike to wonder about God’s presence with the people of Israel.

• This is the 4th of July weekend. What kinds of things do we as a nation

look for as proof that God blesses our nation?
A New Lease
Zechariah 1:1-6

Now that the Hebrews are back in their homeland, it appears that they have
a new lease with God. He has renewed His covenant with His people. This is
different than when Jesus says that He establishes a “new covenant”.

This renewed covenant operates in the same way that the old covenant did,
but God has forgiven the sins of the past in hopes that Israel will not turn
away from Him again. (Guess what, they do.) God chooses to speak through
prophets once again. The Post-Exilic prophets are: Haggai, Zechariah,
Malachi, Joel, and Obadiah.

Through the prophet Zechariah, God says, “Return to me and I will return to
you.” This is different from the covenant of Jesus that says, “I will come to
you so that you will return to me.”
• The problem in the covenant with the returned Hebrews is that they
refuse to listen to God’s word even though they are sometimes the
ones speaking it. What might this caution us against?
Mine eyes have seen the glory…
Haggai 2:3-9

Most of the people who are now returning from the exile do not remember
what the old temple looked like, they have just told stories and heard stories
about it.

God promises that this new house and this renewed covenant will be more
than what the people had seen before.

• What are the specific promises that God makes in this section?

A Future for Everyone

Joel 2:28-32

God promises a new future for everyone, that in days to come He will pour
our His Spirit on all people. This prophecy from Joel serves as the basic text
for Peter’s sermon in Acts 2.

The exile of Israel and of the Church are finite events. While God may allow
things to happen that we don’t understand, we have His promise that
nothing will harm our relationship with Him. He will not leave us because He
came to save us.

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

• Joel 2 ends with a haunting line, “Among the survivors shall be those
whom the Lord calls.” What do you suppose is meant by that? Are you
a survivor through Christ?

Please don’t throw this away. If you’re not going to use it, leave it for someone else to use.