Exiled

Daniel 1:1-4a -  In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand…3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz…to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles, 4 youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king’s court;

Despite God’s warning, the people insisted on a king.  Though things began well, they ended in disaster.  Generation after generation began to fall further and further away from God.  Idolatry and infighting soon began to permeate the people, and they were eventually split into two separate kingdoms.

In the New Testament, Jesus would warn that a house divided against itself would not stand. These were not idol words or intellectual doublespeak, but a reminder of Israel’s own history.

The splitting of the nation and the distractions of paganism eventually led to their inevitable conclusion: The Exile.  Suddenly the Promised Land was occupied, and the people were enslaved.

Though The Exile would eventually end, the nation would never be the same.  It would be a nation that was conquered by the Greeks; a nation occupied by the Romans; a nation where, for the first time, a Saviour could be crucified.