This is OUR Story!

Sermon/study for November 15th at Zionsville Christian Church:
2 Chronicles 36:15-21 http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=124540147

Around 12,000 to 16,000 Judeans (from this time forward called Jews) were deported to by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon. There they established homes, had families, and became business and trades people. The king pretty much gave them free rein in their business and many grew rich. Still it was not the ‘promised land.’ They were not only strangers in a strange land; they were trying to make sense of what had happened. The land had been given them by God and promised to them and their descendents to the thousandth generation—and now they were defeated and deported!

Psalms 74 and 137 were probably written during the Exile. Try reading them—hear the despair, anger and longing. They are among the most-human of writings; not what we expect to find in the Bible!

About fifty years later the Jews who had been exiled began to return to Judea. The second temple was built. Many of the stories that had been passed down through generations were put into writing—Jews became a people of the book. There was a strict emphasis on proper, correct forms of ritual—fasts, dietary laws, tithes, circumcision, Sabbath observance and such annual festivals as Passover, Yom Kippur and Purim—in order to preserve their race and identity—preventing assimilation was a top priority. During this period the Jews came to realize that their God was not so closely tied to a certain place and could be worshiped anywhere. (Much of this material comes from A Guide Through the Old Testament by Celia Brewer Marshall)

Yet God still wanted Israel/Judah to be a blessing to others so that everyone would be included in the realm of God’s mercy.

For reflection and conversation:
• Think about how devastating it must have been for the Jews. This was a theological crisis: where was God? Why had God allowed this to happen to them? What kind of God do we worship in the face of everything being lost? Isn’t this a pretty common human experience and reaction: when all is lost we wonder about God. Have you ever felt this way? Did you come to any conclusions? What helped you get through?
• They were aliens and strangers trying to be faithful in a land that was not sympathetic to their worship. In some ways that is the world in which Christians find themselves today! No longer do the structures of society support religious activities. Some will remember when there were no school activities on Wednesday nights and no ball games on Sunday. Do you as a Christian ever feel like an alien in a strange land? What from the experience of the Jews can we learn to cope with the world in which we live?
• Once again we learn that the biblical God is a god of rescue. What in the world calls for God’s rescue today? What in your own life?
• When the keepers of the temple became corrupt or the nation was in exile, unofficial spokespersons arose to bring god’s word to the people: we call them prophets. These were the people whose faith in god and sensitivity to what was going on around them came together to give them great insight into the historic situations in which they found themselves. Who—outside of ‘official’ church structures—speaks a unique word for God today? Where will we hear God’s voice?

Add your comment here—and we’d love to have you join us for worship and discussion this Sunday!