I find this period of time in scripture fascinating because it's a time of upheaval and change, not unlike our time. In the Exile, the Jewish people were conquered, the temple was destroyed, and a good portion of the population were deported to Babylon where they lived as resident aliens.
Surprisingly, the people did not lose their faith. In fact, some of the most creative and lively expressions of faith came about during the exile. It forced the people to re-examine their identity and find new ways to remain faithful to their understanding of God. Some of the richest literature of the Bible sprung out of the time in exile.
I'm using a book by Walter Bruegemann, Cadences of Home, for this class. In it, he writes,
"The exiles experienced a loss of the structured, reliable world which gave them meaning and coherence, and they found themselves in a context where their most treasured and trusted symbols of faith were mocked, trivialized, or dismissed. Exile is not primarily geographical, but it is social, moral, and cultural."Here's the ROSE model for our class:
Rationale – The story of the Jewish Exile in the Old Testament demonstrates how the Jewish people coped with displacement and change, and may help us as we cope with displacement and change.
Objective – To learn about the religious, historical and cultural conditions of the Jewish Exile; to understand how we are “in exile”; and to draw parallels between the Biblical story and our own story.
Strategies – Presentation on the scriptural resources about the Exile; exploration and discussion of the scripture story; sharing of our stories of “exile”; excerpts from Walter Breuggemann’s book Cadences of Home; poems; and art.
Evaluation – Discussion, short written evaluation.
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