The Road to Redemption: Exile

    I realize that even the title of this piece, the Road to Redemption: Exile seems as if it is an oxymoron (a figure of speech that contains contradictory terms such as living dead or new classic). On the one hand we have the image of exile, meaning to be sent away from one's home, land and people to a foreign location. On the other hand we have redemption which implies that we have been set free from our bondage or exile. The question becomes than how does exile move forward the redemptive plan of God?

    In order for us to gain a handle on how these terms work together let's begin by taking some time to learn a bit more about exile in the scriptures. To being with we need to remind ourselves that the stories in the scriptures about the history of God's people did not take place in a vacuum. The history of Israel and Judah (the northern and southern kingdoms of God's people) were lived out in the midst of the geo-political upheavals of their times. The initial rise of Israel/Judah took place in a moment in history when the major powers of the East (Hittites, Samaria, Egypt, Assyria and Babylon) were all weak and consumed with internal struggles. Once those struggles were completed these nations began to assert their power over neighboring nation states, including Israel/Judah. The issue for Israel/Judah was how to remain independent, while at the same time acquiescing to the demands of their more powerful neighbors. This struggle, as you might imagine, was one that was not easily resolved.

    The concept of exile began when the northern Kingdom Israel refused to pay tribute to Assyria, and aligned itself with Samaria and Judah in resisting Assyrian domination. The results were disastrous. Assyria obliterated Samaria and Israel (721 BCE). The people of Israel who were not slaughtered were taken into exile never to return. In a sense their exile was permanent. A little more than 100 years later (598-586 BCE) the southern kingdom of Judah was faced with a similar situation. This time it was the Babylonian Empire which dominated the Middle East. And once again the people of God believed that by aligning themselves with another power (this time Egypt) that they could successfully become independent. Though the prophet Jeremiah warned them that the alliance would fail, the people and their leaders refused to listen. History proved Jeremiah to be correct. Judah withheld tribute and was destroyed by the Babylonians. All of the leadership of the nation which was not killed (the king had to watch his sons executed before his eyes, then he was blinded) was taken into captivity in Babylon. This was the exile.

    The question presents itself then, how does the exile play a role in the Road to Redemption. After all it would appear that the exile was more of a detour along the way than anything else. Which, in actuality it was. However, one of the most important lessons of scripture is that even detours can teach us something. What this detour tells us is that the Road to Redemption is not a super highway but a long and winding road (to borrow a phrase from the Beatles). As 21^st century people we like getting to where we want to go in a hurry (by plane, phone, text or tweet). While some of us may enjoy a long, meandering walk in the woods, if we have something to accomplish the shorter path the better. God on the other hand appears to not be in that big of a hurry. God is willing to allow God's people to mess up, get sidetracked, and go into exile in order that they learn to trust God and not political or military might. Needless to say such lessons are not easy to learn. As human beings we are predisposed to yearn for absolute freedom (redemption). Waiting does not come naturally. Yet, God appears willing to take whatever amount of time is necessary to help us learn the lesson.

    The good news of the exile then is that while it is not God's desire for us, we as the people of God can survive whatever the world throws at us…and still find our way back to the Road to Redemption.