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The Babylonian exile is one of the most important events in salvation history. In fact, there are large portions of the Scriptures—the majority of the prophets, for instance—which don’t really make sense until we first learn to appreciate what the exile was and why it matters.
So what is it exactly? Also known as the Bablyonian captivity, the Babylonian exile refers to the deportation of the Jewish people away from their homeland of Judah and into Babylon, the capital city of the Neo-Babylonian Empire (also known as the Chaldean Empire). Though no longer extant, Babylon was then located on the Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, in modern-day Iraq.
This was not the first exile to afflict God’s people. Back in B.C. 722, the mighty Assyrian Empire had completed its conquest of the northern kingdom of Israel. This Assyrian exile left the ten northern tribes in bondage, but the southern kingdom of Judah would retain her independence for another two centuries.
Over the course of those two centuries, however, the southern kingdom of Judah began to imitate the same idolatry and religious corruption which had brought down her northern counterpart. Though God patiently sent the prophets to warn His people to change their ways, those warnings were repeatedly ignored. At long last, judgment came. This time, however, it came at the hands not of the Assyrians but of the Babylonians, who had gradually been increasing their power in the region and who had already conquered Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, in B.C. 612.
Continued below.
stpaulcenter.com
So what is it exactly? Also known as the Bablyonian captivity, the Babylonian exile refers to the deportation of the Jewish people away from their homeland of Judah and into Babylon, the capital city of the Neo-Babylonian Empire (also known as the Chaldean Empire). Though no longer extant, Babylon was then located on the Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, in modern-day Iraq.
This was not the first exile to afflict God’s people. Back in B.C. 722, the mighty Assyrian Empire had completed its conquest of the northern kingdom of Israel. This Assyrian exile left the ten northern tribes in bondage, but the southern kingdom of Judah would retain her independence for another two centuries.
Over the course of those two centuries, however, the southern kingdom of Judah began to imitate the same idolatry and religious corruption which had brought down her northern counterpart. Though God patiently sent the prophets to warn His people to change their ways, those warnings were repeatedly ignored. At long last, judgment came. This time, however, it came at the hands not of the Assyrians but of the Babylonians, who had gradually been increasing their power in the region and who had already conquered Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, in B.C. 612.
Continued below.
What Was the Babylonian Exile and Why Should I Care?
The Babylonian exile is one of the most important events in salvation history. In fact, there are large portions of the Scriptures—the majority of the prophets, for instance—which don’t really make sense until we first learn to appreciate what the exile was and why it matters.
stpaulcenter.com
