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…
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
“Exploration of Similarities in Religious Texts: A Further Look at the Koran, the Tanakh and the New Testament”
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.
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...
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.
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 :
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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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.
Smith, James E. The Major Prophet. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1992. Print. The. Old Testament Survey Series -.