Jewish History ISA PART 3 1) Jeremiah and Ezekiel were prophesying on the time that the Jewish people were exiled from Jerusalem. The Jewish people were exiled to babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. This was a hard time for the Jewish people because they had been exiled right after the destruction of The Temple. Jeremiah and Ezekiel were using their prophesies to help the Jews deal with the fact that they were no longer in Jerusalem. Jeremiah did this by writing letter to the exiles saying how God still believes in them and they must remain faithful to God while in Babylon. Jeremiah also told the Jews to start new lives in Babylon and to build a community because they will only be able to return to Jerusalem in seventy years. While Ezekiel did not write …show more content…
letters to the exiles Ezekiel did envision God bringing the Jews back to life by allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem if they remain loyal towards him. Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel insure the Jewish people that one day they will be allowed to return to Jerusalem, and that God did not give up on the Jewish people. 2) Navi is a Hebrew word for prophet, but there are different meanings to the word prophet. Some people believe that the word prophet means a person who can predict the future similar to a fortuneteller. The Jewish people have a different meaning for the word, they believe that there were prophets during the biblical period in order to give the Jews hope. People believe that they were around in order to restore the Jews faith in God, during hard and difficult times. Since biblical prophets do not exist anymore, people will use what they said back then in order to help them with there problems today. 3a) Jeremiah was not always a prophet of hope. Before the Jewish people were exiled to Babylon the Jews did not listen to what Jeremiah had to say. This is because they believed that no matter what they did as long as they made a sacrifice God will not let anything happen to them. Jeremiah always believed in telling the Jews the truth even if it was extremely difficult for the Jewish people to hear, because Jeremiah knows that they will only benefit from it. Once the Jews were exiled they began to listen to what Jeremiah had to say about them being able to one day return to Jerusalem. The Jews heard what he had to say, and actually did as he told them to do. Jeremiah quickly became the prophet of hope and was considered to be an optimistic prophet. He told the Jews that god intends on allowing them to return home and restoring the land to the way it was before for the destruction. All of Jeremiah’s prophecies were proven to be correct and the Jews were able to return to Jerusalem in about 70 years after their exile. Rabbi Joseph Telushkin showed Jeremiah’s role in the Jewish community back then, by looking at the way the Jewish people reacted and responded to him. Jeremiah was shown at first to be the prophet of despair, but after helping a community join together and get through the extremely difficult period in time, he was known as the prophet of hope. 3b) Ezekiel was truly the prophet of hope for the Jewish people. His prophecies were always seemed to be very optimistic. When Judea was first conquered by Babylon, Ezekiel was exiled because he was a priest in the Temple. Due to his exile Ezekiel actually predicted the destruction of the Temple, and Jerusalem. During the time of Ezekiel’s exile he began to have these amazing visions about the future of the Jews in Judea. Ezekiel’s most famous vision was his vision of dry bones. This vision showed Ezekiel in a valley full of dry bones and him asking God if these bones will ever live again. God tells Ezekiel that he will take these bones and put them back together and that someday they will return to the land of Israel as long as they remain faithful. Ezekiel realized that this vision was actually a metaphor for the Jewish people, and the dried up bones were actually the Jews. Ezekiel realized that if the Jews do not have faith in God they are practically dried up bones, which have no use to God. Even with a tiny bit of belief in God these “bones” will come back to life and will be returned home. People have interpreted this vision to be that one day God will actually resurrect the dead, as Ezekiel had seen in his vision. Rabbi Joseph Telushkin shows us, how such a pivotal person in Jewish history was able to inspire the Jews through his visions even while living in a different place. He also shows that people still think about Eziekel’s visions today. PART 4 Elie Wiesel once said, “I marvel at the resilience of the Jewish people.
Their best characteristic is their desire to remember. No other people has such an obsession with memory.” Jeremiah and Ezekiel impacted the Jewish people with their prophecies in both the time of the Babylonian exile and in the 20th century in order to help the keep their Jewish identity and reminding the Jews to never forget about their homeland. Firstly, Jeremiah helped the Jews deal with the fact that they were exiled from Jerusalem by telling them to build lives and always remember there homeland because they will be able to return in 70 years. Jeremiah’s prophecy impacted the Jews greatly, because if he had not told the Jews what to do during this difficult time and to remain faithful to God, the Jews would still be sitting be the river of Babylon crying and smashing babies heads.This shows how Jeremiah continuously helped the exiled Jews by reminding them that God promised to return them to their own land, the land of Israel. Jeremiah was not the only prophet that helped the Jews keep their Jewish identity during the Babylonian exile, Ezekiel also had prophecies that helped the Jewish people. Ezekiel had the vision of dry bones which showed the Jews being able to return to Israel and coming back to life because of their faith in God. This vision helped the Jews back then, because not only did it restore the Jews hope for a land of their own, it restored their belief in God causing the Jews to be allowed to return back to their homeland. Even though Jeremiah and Ezekiel are no longer around their prophecies were stilled referred to even in the 20th century to help restore the Jews confidence in God during hard times and even helped to make sure the Jews still believed in them getting a Jewish State to call home. Many times throughout history you can see that God had promised the Jews a home where they could be themselves without being exiled, forced to convert religions, or even feel
socially awkward due to not relating to the culture around them. A rough time for the Jews in the 20th century was the Holocaust. This was extremely hard for the Jews because once again they were left without a home and felt lost because they missed the place they were able to call home. During this hard time the Jews were able to use the prophecies from Jeremiah and Ezekiel to help them through it. The Jews were able to use this as a way to pray for a better time, and pray for a place for them to be themselves. The Jews looked at their situation as being similar to the exile of the Jews from Babylon. Once the Jews were freed from the war they began to move to Israel which is similar to how Jeremiah and Ezekiel told the Jews back then that they would eventually be allowed to return to Israel. The way Jews reacted through the Holocaust resembled the way they acted in Babylon by trying to hold on to their faith in God, and hoping for their own Homeland. The Jews were rewarded nearly three years after the Holocaust with their own State to call home. All this shows how both Jeremiah and Ezekiel’s prophecies benefited the Jews in not only the time of the Babylonian exile but also during the 20th century. Jeremiah and Ezekiel will always be remembered as two phenomenal prophets that succeed in helping the Jews deal with all the difficulties that they faced. PART 2 COMIC 1 (LETTER TO THE EXILES) Dear jewish people, I know it sucks that you were exiled but God is here for you and he will let you return……. Jeremiah wrote: Please stop crying because this is your life now Remember just because you can’t live in Jerusalem doesn’t mean that the jewish people can’t keep multiplying. Jeremiah told the Jews In Babylon not to forget about Jerusalem. Please remember that God didn’t abandon you he just need all of you to remain faithful in him and he will return you all to your home land……. As you will now be living in Babylon you must build a strong jewish community As a parent you must help your child get married All of you holy vessels from the temple will be returned to you Don’t worry, in 70 years you will be able to return home to Jerusalem and you will be able to rebuild the temple. COMIC 2 (VISION OF DRY BONES) Ezekiel had a vision that god had come and picked him up. God places Ezekiel in a valley filled with dry bones. God started to speak to Ezekiel through his visions [God: Do you think these Bones will comeback to life? Ezekiel: My god, only you know] God Spoke to Ezekiel [God: I want you to tell these bones to listen to the words of god] God said to the bones [God: I will put flesh on your bones. I will put a breath into you again and you will live.] During the vision that Ezekiel had, Ezekiel realized that what God said to the bones was directed to the Jewish people. (Maybe God meant it as the jews will be revived when they return to judea) Ezekiel did as God told him and saw the bones join together and come to life. God spoke to Ezekiel again. [God: All of these dried up bones make up all of Israel] In Ezekiel’s vision God declares [God: I will put life back into the Jews and return to the holy land and you will know your God did as he said.]
In 1845, Ebenezer Carter Tracy published a book titled, Memoir of the Life of Jeremiah Evarts. Within this book is a statement from the Cherokee people from 1830 called, “Appeal of the Cherokee Nation.” In this statement, The Cherokee Indians refuse to move west of the Mississippi River. They made this refusal for two main reasons. The Indians believed that they had a right to remain in the lands of their ancestors and they also insisted that their chances of survival would be very low if they moved west. Their survivability would be impacted by their lack of knowledge of the new lands, and by the Indians that were already living in the western lands, and who would view the Cherokee as enemies.
Finally one of the last and least liked of the prophets comes about around 626 BCE and his name is Jeremiah.
...all the people Ezekiel was strange but God did not believed, In God’s eyes, Ezekiel was truthful, forgiving, obedient, and had endurance. He was dependable, patience, faithful, and tolerant. Ezekiel was truthful in all that he spoke because all of his words were from God. Ezekiel was forgiving and tolerant of God when God decided to take Ezekiel’s wife away to make a point. Ezekiel was very obedient as he obeyed God’s every single command including not mourning when his wife died. God gave Ezekiel lots of endurance because he prophetized for over twenty-two years. With his endurance, showed he was always dependable and faithful. All God needed to do was tell Ezekiel what to say or do, and Ezekiel would complete the task without complaint. Ezekiel was very patient even though God did not allow him to speak for seven and a half years and he complied with that.
After the fall of Jerusalem, Judah was set under the Babylonian-designated Governor named Gedaliah (2 Kings 25 : 22-26 and Jeremiah 40 : 5). His rule was short and later killed (Jeremiah 41 : 1-10). A large portion of the refugees fled to Egypt including Jeremiah and Baruch from Judah (2 Kings 25 :
Before I start to explain anything that Jeremiah had to say and his messages, I must first explain a little bit about the kind of man that Jeremiah was. As with most of the prophets, personality plays a major role in what they wrote. It is almost impossible to find a passage in the bible that has not influenced in some way by peoples beliefs and feelings. The writings that Jeremiah had done are the same way. His personality influenced them immensely (Smith, 3). ."..The fact is that no prophet started so deeply from himself as Jeremiah did." (Smith, 5). There can be no way of knowing exactly how he lived or how long that he lived. The only information that can be gathered on him is from what people have written about him in the bible. Some more information of Jeremiah was that he was hated by almost everyone for him message that he was sending. People did not want to hear that they were doing wrong and that Yahweh was angry with them. Because of this, Jeremiah himself didn't want to be a prophet. He despised spreading such an unpopular message, but he saw it as something he had to do. He took it as more of an obligation rather than a delight.
Among Jewish peasantry at the time of Jesus were two distinct types of prophets: the action prophets, who "led sizable movements of peasants from the villages of Judea in anticipation of God's new, eschatological act of liberation," and the oracular prophets, who delivered oracles of either judgment or deliverance (185). The former, as illustrated by the case of Theudas, appea...
“Exploration of Similarities in Religious Texts: A Further Look at the Koran, the Tanakh and the New Testament”
Even though the prophets were met with hostility and rebuking from the people, due to the evil in peoples hearts, they continued to speak the words of God. The Prophets knew they would face danger because of the words they spoke, but they also knew the words of God had to be heard. The prophets were an important tool in redirecting the people which makes their role in the history of Israel and Judah one of the most important roles.
Some prophets targeted Jewish monarchs as an idolatrous distraction which prevented the people from properly hearing the Word of God. Other prophets still maintained that Jews should continue to believe that God would not abandon his chosen people. Regardless of the specific message, it was clear that the overall prophetic approach to God’s covenant with the Jewish people was changing.
In the days of Christ’s life on this earth, believers did not have access to the Bible in its entirety as we know and are familiar with today. Believers in this ancient time period only had access to the Old Testament. However, through their access to the Old Testament, believers were provided a foundation for New Testament times. This foundation provided New Testament believers with the Lord’s established principles of right and wrong they were expected to follow. In addition, the Old Testament is overflowing with accounts of people whose lives exemplified the future life of Christ on this earth. These pictures allowed the Israelite nation to begin to have an understanding of why Christ needed to come as their Messiah and the work He needed to do on earth. Finally, there are common themes that are interwoven throughout the entire Old Testament. Three of these themes: transgression, redemption, and consummation point to the purpose of Christ’s atoning death on the cross. These themes portray God’s work both in the lives of Old Testament believers, but they also foreshadow God’s desire and plan for believers in New Testament times and beyond.
The Old Testament serves as a foundation for the teachings of God, while the New Testament continues to build and preserve God’s principles. The Old Testament and New Testament have a very unique relationship, as they are complementary to each other. The Old Testament contains many prophecies that are fulfilled in the New Testament. God can be viewed as fearsome in the Old Testament, whereas God portrays a friendlier and more compassionate persona in the New Testament. Although there are many differences between the two, there are also many similarities due to the heavy influence that the writings of the Old Testament had on the books and passages of the New Testament. An example of similarity between the Old Testament and the New Testament can be examined between passages from the First Book of Samuel and the Gospel of Luke, located in the Old Testament and New Testament respectively.
The kingdom of Jerusalem is one of the most important Kingdoms in the bible, thats why it was so important when it fell to the Babylonians. The beginning of the book is describing in first person from Jeremiah the prophet the destruction of Jerusalem and how sad it is of a site to see. In chapter two of the book Jeremiah is talking about the how mad the lord is at his people, and how he brought judgement to the wicked land. God is showing in chapter two how mad he is and he cut off the power of Israel, but in chapter three he Jeremiah tells us that he is faithful to us and he will restore the land. Even though he to is very sad from his city being taken and destroyed he remembers what the lord has told him. He then explains that the people of the kingdom of judah and the kingdom of Jerusalem need to fall back to the lord and get rid of those false gods. For the love and kindness of the lo...
Smith, James E. The Major Prophet. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1992. Print. The. Old Testament Survey Series -.
Jeremiah 31:1-6 is the announcement of restoration, giving rest to Israel. Jeremiah 31:1, “At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.” (NIV). “While the return from captivity is a good thing, it was a very difficult time, a time when the Jews, where threatened by those who occupied that land during the captivity and later by the Greeks and Romans. This restoration includes al the clans of Israel. Historically the Northern kingdom ceased to exist nearly 200 years prior to prophecy.” “Jeremiah’s great contribution to our understanding of messianic prophecy and how the New Testament relates to the Old Testament is that he explicitly describes a coming glorious “new” covenant (Jer. 31:31-34) that will replace the old one that Israel/Judah has shattered and annulled” (Pg. 174). “Chapters 30 and 31 contain no historical dates or ties to the reign of a king. This absence of dates or specific historical ties gives these first two chapters a certain timelessness. Also, in chapters 30-33 Jeremiah does not connect the future restoration to the downfall of Babylon. Instead, the restoration is tied theologically to the fulfillment of both the Abrahamic and the Davidic covenants-the new covenant and the associated blessings of restoration come as a fulfillment of those prior covenants (which are not broken)” (Pg. 174).
A prophet was a person viewed upon as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God. Prophets bring the word of God to the people of God and calls the people to respond. They were called by God in times of crisis, and were chosen by God to lead His people and protect them. "I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him(Deuteronomy 18:18-19)." When it was difficult to see the hand of God, Prophets would give direction, so that God's people know what was happening, and what they should do. Prophets were the “fortune tellers” who have insight into God's purposes for many things. The prophet speaks to the present, considering the future that God has revealed to him. They also received new identities when God calls on them to act in His name. Prophets have done many things, no two prophets were called to do the same thing and every prophet has had a contribution in carrying out the teachings of God. The prophet, Amos, spread the Word of God in such a way that inspired sinners to find redemption.