Constructing a New Life
Karen Armstrong describes the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in her book "Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths" as being earth shattering to its former inhabitants. So earth shattering in fact that these exiled people almost immediately sought out a way to cope, or to differentiate their relationship with Yahweh from their Babylonian neighbors. In the beginning, it's said that they resorted to facing Jerusalem wherever they were and speaking words to Yahweh, not knowing if Yahweh was even present with them. However, Armstrong insinuates that these people were exiled in 586, and as soon as 592 Ezekiel had a revelation of Yahweh following them out of Jerusalem. This and Ezekial's plan for a "new sacred geography" triggered a reconstruction of the lives of the exiled Judaeans and the way they worshipped as they needed a new "center for their lives and a new orientation" (86). This time, God became more separate from mundane existence- in Ezekial's plan for the new temple, the Temple buildings were "surrounded by two walled courts" (page 85). In Armstrong's words,"the holiness of Yahweh was to be segregated more carefully than before from the profane world" (page 85)- perhaps this was because it had been suggested by Jeremiah that Yahweh had played a part in the destruction of Jerusalem, and they decided he wanted to be worshipped in a new way.
Not only did they have to construct a new idea of sacred space and how to worship, but they had to create guidelines to follow in their new society. Armstrong states that alongside the mitzvoth were commandments put in place such as "you must not steal nor deal deceitfully with your neighbor... You must not be guilty of unjust verdicts...You must not slander your own people... if a stranger lives with you in your land, do not molest him..." (page 88) and more. Although these are broader and have more to do with displaying good character, these commandments sound similar to a constitution. Therefore, it was not just the religion the people exiled from Jerusalem had lost- it was the order of their lives. This is an interesting thought to explore, given that people in America are already governed by laws and social norms and therefore would not lose the complete structure of their lives if something happened to their religious beliefs. This contrasts heavily to the state of these exiled Judaeans, because they lived in the place they believed connected them to Yahweh and therefore revolved their lives around their religious beliefs and sacred connections, and their whole lives were shattered when Jerusalem was destroyed.
Not only did they have to construct a new idea of sacred space and how to worship, but they had to create guidelines to follow in their new society. Armstrong states that alongside the mitzvoth were commandments put in place such as "you must not steal nor deal deceitfully with your neighbor... You must not be guilty of unjust verdicts...You must not slander your own people... if a stranger lives with you in your land, do not molest him..." (page 88) and more. Although these are broader and have more to do with displaying good character, these commandments sound similar to a constitution. Therefore, it was not just the religion the people exiled from Jerusalem had lost- it was the order of their lives. This is an interesting thought to explore, given that people in America are already governed by laws and social norms and therefore would not lose the complete structure of their lives if something happened to their religious beliefs. This contrasts heavily to the state of these exiled Judaeans, because they lived in the place they believed connected them to Yahweh and therefore revolved their lives around their religious beliefs and sacred connections, and their whole lives were shattered when Jerusalem was destroyed.
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