Bible Challenge
Day 256
Jeremiah 39-41 The Babylonian Exile actually took place in two stages. The first exile occurred about 596 B.C. At that time, when the Babylonians first subdued Judah, the king, the royal household, the nobles, the artisans and basically all of the really skilled people were deported to Babylon. Judah became a captive nation of the Babylonian Empire with a puppet king appointed by Nebuchadnezzar. Chapter 39 recounts the second stage of the Exile, the definitive fall of Jerusalem in about 586 B.C. It was at this time that the Temple was destroyed and the bulk of the population was deported into exile. Any last vestige of “national” life was ended when the puppet king was replaced by a governor (Gedaliah) and Judah was clearly merely a province within the Empire.
Chapters 40 and 41 recount the turmoil in the earliest days of the “big” Exile (as it were). Gedaliah was doing his best, with Jeremiah’s blessing, to hold together the peasantry that was left in the land of Judah. (For some reason we do not know, Jeremiah seems to have been given the choice by the Babylonians to either go into exile or remain in Judah. He chose to remain.) However, one Ishmael, who was a zealot patriot and also a potential heir to the throne (he was of the royal family), murdered Gedaliah and his cohorts as well as some Babylonian soldiers who were present. One Johanan had tried to warn Gedaliah, who did not believe Johanan. After Johanan avenged Gedaliah’s death he and many of the people remaining in the land fled to Egypt because they feared Babylonian reprisals. By going to Egypt they were going into a voluntary exile, as opposed to an enforced exile in Babylon.
While the Babylonians had given Jeremiah the choice of whether to go to Babylon or remain in Judah, Johanan and his compatriots did not afford him such courtesy. Jeremiah was taken forcibly into Egypt, very much against his will. The last we hear of Jeremiah is in Egypt. His whole life, his entire ministry, had been a sorrow and a burden, and this final deprivation was emblematic of the trajectory of his life. Faithful to God to the end, his own people did not recognize the validity of his ministry until after his death.
James 3 In this chapter James is urging us to bridle both our tongues and our emotions (jealousy, ambition). James echoes the wisdom tradition of Israel. Like Israel’s wisdom tradition, James’ wisdom is for practical ethical living rather than being speculative like much of the Greek wisdom tradition. The fruits of such wisdom are similar to Paul’s fruits of the Spirit.
Frank J. Corbishley
The Episcopal Church Center at the University of Miami
Day 256
Jeremiah 39-41 The Babylonian Exile actually took place in two stages. The first exile occurred about 596 B.C. At that time, when the Babylonians first subdued Judah, the king, the royal household, the nobles, the artisans and basically all of the really skilled people were deported to Babylon. Judah became a captive nation of the Babylonian Empire with a puppet king appointed by Nebuchadnezzar. Chapter 39 recounts the second stage of the Exile, the definitive fall of Jerusalem in about 586 B.C. It was at this time that the Temple was destroyed and the bulk of the population was deported into exile. Any last vestige of “national” life was ended when the puppet king was replaced by a governor (Gedaliah) and Judah was clearly merely a province within the Empire.
Chapters 40 and 41 recount the turmoil in the earliest days of the “big” Exile (as it were). Gedaliah was doing his best, with Jeremiah’s blessing, to hold together the peasantry that was left in the land of Judah. (For some reason we do not know, Jeremiah seems to have been given the choice by the Babylonians to either go into exile or remain in Judah. He chose to remain.) However, one Ishmael, who was a zealot patriot and also a potential heir to the throne (he was of the royal family), murdered Gedaliah and his cohorts as well as some Babylonian soldiers who were present. One Johanan had tried to warn Gedaliah, who did not believe Johanan. After Johanan avenged Gedaliah’s death he and many of the people remaining in the land fled to Egypt because they feared Babylonian reprisals. By going to Egypt they were going into a voluntary exile, as opposed to an enforced exile in Babylon.
While the Babylonians had given Jeremiah the choice of whether to go to Babylon or remain in Judah, Johanan and his compatriots did not afford him such courtesy. Jeremiah was taken forcibly into Egypt, very much against his will. The last we hear of Jeremiah is in Egypt. His whole life, his entire ministry, had been a sorrow and a burden, and this final deprivation was emblematic of the trajectory of his life. Faithful to God to the end, his own people did not recognize the validity of his ministry until after his death.
James 3 In this chapter James is urging us to bridle both our tongues and our emotions (jealousy, ambition). James echoes the wisdom tradition of Israel. Like Israel’s wisdom tradition, James’ wisdom is for practical ethical living rather than being speculative like much of the Greek wisdom tradition. The fruits of such wisdom are similar to Paul’s fruits of the Spirit.
Frank J. Corbishley
The Episcopal Church Center at the University of Miami
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