Old School - Prophets - Speaking in and Through Exile

Backdrop for the Prophets

Covenant - blessings and curses

Kingdom crumbling

God’s Judgment – Exile from the Land

The Land…

• The promise of God
• The provision of God
• The presence of God

The Babylonian Captivity

Looking  at the Exile

Why Exile? God’s Judgment

Ezekiel 36:16-21

Understanding Exile

Understanding God’s Sovereignty

Daniel 2:20,21; Daniel 46,47; Daniel 4:34,35

Understanding Corporate and Individual Accountability

Ezekiel 18:1-4; 21-24

Understanding Exile as Part of God’s Mission

• For the Good of the City: Jeremiah 29:4-7
• Sojourners in Exile: Daniel and Esther

Restoration from Exile

For His Namesake and His Glory

Ezekiel 36:22-32

For our LIFE and Joy

Ezekiel 37

How do we live in Exile?

Repentance: Returning to God

Faith: Trusting his promises

Community Meditation Questions

• How can God’s judgment and exile end up being an act of mercy and grace?
• In hard times, do you find it difficult or comforting to believe in the Sovereignty of God? Why?
• God used exile in the Old Testament and persecution in the New Testament to scatter his people for his mission. Would you be cool if he did that with your life? Are you willing to go to or stay in hard places for gospel mission?
• God’s people had to be encouraged to move into Babylon and seek the good of that city. In what ways do we resist loving our communities? In what ways would we prefer to stay separate?
• In the exile there was a way to remain faithful to GOD yet living as part of the culture as a people of influence. Discuss how we can do so in New Jersey.
• Why is it important to know and trust the promises of God?