THE EXILE

by The Bible Project

https://thebibleproject.com/explore/exile/

For followers of Jesus, the story of his life, death, and resurrection is the absolute center of our practice, belief, and worldview. It’s the central event which generated the entire Christian story and the New Testament.

However, these events didn’t occur in a vacuum. Jesus saw himself fulfilling a larger storyline that was told in His Bible, the Hebrew Bible, or as most Christians refer to it, the Old Testament. One of the most important events in Jesus’ Bible, which also changed Jewish history forever, is the Babylonian exile.

The exile left its mark on Israelite history in an unparalleled manner and played a key role in the formation of the Bible itself. For the Israelites, the exile was the watershed moment of their history on which the entire Bible gains its significance; everything else orbits around the gravity of this faith-shaking moment.

The entire national structure of the kingdom, which was thought to be ordained by God himself, came crashing down. This event fulfilled centuries of prophetic warnings, as hundreds of years of tradition, culture, and history was destroyed in just one year. This was their Day of the Lord, and it left them absolutely devastated.

Read the book of Lamentations if you want some somber reflection on what it felt like to live through the tragedy of Jerusalem’s destruction and the people’s enslavement under Babylonian rule. You can understand how it may be hard to find hope in such a situation.

After spending decades in a foreign land under foreign rule, the Israelites are allowed to return home under Persian rule. However, this offers only a false climax. The people's hearts and spiritual state is as broken as it was before they left. Hope for future is all they had, but we know how that story ends! Jesus.

UNITED KINGDOM OF ISRAEL
SPLITS IN TWO SEPARATE KINGDOMS

Bible References: 1 Kings 11:26-40; 1 Kings 14:21-31

Circa 931 BC The United Kingdom of Israel, comprised of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, splits into two regions. The Northern Kingdom of Israel is ruled by King Jeroboam and consists of ten tribes (Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Manasseh and Ephraim). The Southern Kingdom of Judah is ruled by King Rehoboam and consists of two tribes (Judah and Benjamin).

ISRAEL'S KING REJECTS LEVITES AS PRIESTS

Bible Reference: 2 Chronicles 11:5-17

Circa 931 BC-910 BC King Jeroboam (Northern Kingdom of Israel) and his sons reject the Levites as priests. So, the Levites leave all their property and land behind and move from the Northern Kingdom of Israel to the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
Additionally,  members from every Tribe of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the Levites into Judah.

MANY DEFECTIONS FROM ISRAEL TO JUDAH

Bible Reference: 2 Chronicles 15:8-9

Circa 870 BC-811 BC Large numbers from the Tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon relocate from the Northern Kingdom of Israel to the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

ASSYRIANS INVADE NORTHERN KINGDOM OF ISRAEL

Bible Reference: 2 Kings 15:29

Circa 734 BC-732 BC Led by their King Tiglath-Pileser, the Assyrians invade the Northern Kingdom of Israel, taking possession of many towns and land. The uprooted Israelites were taken prisoner and deported to Assyria.

ASSYRIANS TAKE SAMARIA;
NORTHERN KINGDOM OF ISRAEL FALLS

Bible References: 2 Kings 17:3-6; 2 Kings 18:9-12

Circa 722 BC Led by their King Shalmaneser (and his successor, Sargon II), the Assyrians attack the Northern Kingdom of Israel again. This time, the invaders lay siege to the entire Kingdom. After three years, Israel's capital city (Samaria) falls into enemy hands. All Israelites are taken prisoner into Assyria and have been known, henceforth, as the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Other subjects of Assyrian rule who were previously taken captive are moved into the region to replace the Israelites.

ASSYRIANS INVADE SOUTHERN KINGDOM OF JUDAH

Bible References: 2 Kings 18:13-19:37; Isaiah 7:1

Circa 701 BC Led by their King Sennacherib, the Assyrians invade and attack the fortified cities of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. They laid siege on Jerusalem, but failed to capture it.

BABYLONIANS SACK JERUSALEM;

SOUTHERN KINGDOM OF JUDAH FALLS

Bible references: 2 Kings 23:26-27; 2 Kings 25:8-21; 2 Chronicles 36:15-23; Daniel 1:1

Circa 605-586 BC Led by their King Nebuchadnezzar, the entire Babylonian army invaded the Southern Kingdom of Judah and laid siege to Jerusalem. Eventually, the capital city fell into enemy hands. The Temple of the Lord, the royal palace, every important building and all the houses of Jerusalem were burned to the ground and completely destroyed. In addition to the Temple furnishings and treasures being plundered, all gold, silver and bronze objects were stripped and transported back to Babylon. Many Temple workers were taken prisoner while many citizens were executed by their captors.