If from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him. (Deuteronomy 4:29)
We
started the year with the premise that these writings came to their final form
during the Babylonian exile. I asked you to put yourself in the place of a
Jewish expatriate. Things haven't been particularly rough in Babylon; you've
settled down, raised a family, and been relatively prosperous – but inside you
is a longing for home. The faraway look in your parents’ eyes when speaking of
Jerusalem has made you vow to return there if you ever get the chance.
Now
there are rumors that your fantasy may soon become reality. Whoever wants may
return to Judah with the new king’s blessing. To prepare, the priests have been
reading stories from Israel's beginnings – stories of enslavement and escape, temptation
and failure, desert wanderings and battles of conquest.
These
stories explain why Judah was exiled seventy years ago. It was her unwillingness
to obey the first commandment: You
shall have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:3). But these stories
also include a promise: Even if you've been scattered among the nations, …seek the Lord your God, [and] you
will find him.
It
was a reminder that Yahweh would not be trifled with, and a promise that Israel
would not be forgotten. You vow that if you ever see Jerusalem you will not
make the same mistakes as did your parents and grandparents.
What lessons have you learned from the mistakes of others?
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