One of the most devastating words ever uttered by the Prophet Jeremiah was during the reign of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah who had broken the treaty he had made with Nebuchadnezzar, the Emperor of Babylon. Jeremiah told the King: “Even if you were to defeat the entire Babylonian army that is attacking you and only wounded men were left in their tents, they would come out and burn this city down” (Jer 37:10).

False Teaching

The conviction behind Jeremiah’s uncompromising pronouncement was based upon the revelation he had received of God’s purpose for those who had already been sent into exile in Babylon. He had written them a letter (Jer 29) telling them that it was God who had sent them to Babylon, and that he had good plans for them to give them a future and a hope. This would be fulfilled in God’s own time when he would overthrow the Babylonian Empire and bring his people back to rebuild Jerusalem in a ‘new covenant’ relationship with the God of their fathers.

A Redeemed Remnant

God’s primary purpose in sending the people of Israel into exile in Babylon was to separate them from the land so that he could do a special work of cleansing and purifying them – in Ezekiel’s words, God said: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezek 36:26-27).

A New Mindset

It was God’s intention to transform the mindset of the redeemed remnant, which was essential to enable them to think outside the box – to be free from the control of the major institutions of the nation that had become married to the world. The people of Israel and Judah had become enslaved by three major institutions. Just as they had to be saved from slavery in Egypt, God had to set them free from all the things that had control over them.

The Three Major Institutions from which the people had to be set free were:

1. The Temple and the institution of religion based upon animal sacrifice. This had been condemned by Isaiah of Jerusalem more than a century earlier in stern words of rebuke: “The multitude of your sacrifices – what are they to me? Says the Lord. I have more than enough of your burnt offerings… Stop bringing meaningless offerings” (Isa 1:10-13).
2. The Monarchy that had become an ungodly institution surrounded by greedy men with worldly ambitions. God had never wanted Israel to have a king (1 Sam 8). Ezekiel rebuked the exiles: “You say, we want to be like the nations, like the peoples of the world who serve wood and stone” (Ezek 20:32). It was God himself who was to be the only King of Israel. They were to be different from the nations of the world.
3. Idolatry whereby the people indulged in what they thought to be harmless practices of baking cakes to the goddess Astarte; and there were shrines in the temple to other gods. But the worst sins were the sacrifice of babies on the altars of the Moabites in the Valley of Ben Hinnom just outside Jerusalem.

It was God’s intention to transform the mindset of the redeemed remnant, to be free from the control of the major institutions of the nation that had become married to the world.

These three worldly institutions were to be replaced by godly qualities that were essential to enable God to fulfil his purposes in sending the people of Israel into exile. He was preparing them for the Messianic Age when he would fulfil his ultimate purpose when his message would go out to all nations as foreseen in Isaiah 45:22-24: “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: before me every knee will bow and by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, in the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.”

The two major qualities that God was seeking to establish in the people of Israel were UNITY AND MISSION.

Unity of the Tribes

The people of Israel had been split asunder by tribal infighting and jealousy for many centuries. Jeremiah speaks of the time coming when God would unite the scattered clans of Israel and they would all be his people in a new covenant relationship. He says: “This is what the Lord says: the people who survive the sword will find favour in the desert; I will come to give rest to Israel” (Jer 31:2). He looks forward to the day when God will lead the people “beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel’s Father, and Ephraim is my first-born son” (Jer 31:9). God’s intention was to bring the scattered people of Israel back from all over the world into a new family unity where tribal differences were unknown, as they are today in the people of Israel.

Mission

The final thing God intended fulfilling through the exile in Babylon was to instil a missionary sense of purpose in the people of Israel – that they were not simply called to be his people as an act of favouritism; but they were to be his servants to take his truth and the message of salvation to the Gentile nations. He said in Isaiah 49:6, “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth”.

The two major qualities that God was seeking to establish in the people of Israel were UNITY AND MISSION.

We are the ones who have benefited from that mission and we look forward to the day when all Israel will come to recognise Jesus as Messiah and pave the way for the ‘One New Man’ to take the message of peace and salvation to the world.

This article is part of a series. Click here for previous instalments.