Faithfulness in exile

Armstrong does a great job understanding what it means to be in exile in antiquity. It’s difficult at times for us in the present day to truly understand the burden and complications of it due to our modern conventions. At times my sentiment towards an exile simply saw it as a change of address however many additional layers exist that counter this overgeneralized view of mine. Firstly, being removed from your territory is significant due to the attachment and value the land had instilled in its people. Not only was their land believed to be sacred but it also allowed for their identity to flourish. Within the boundaries of the land a set of principles and characteristics were expected and celebrated. The identity of its people was validated through the land. However, once the Jerusalem was destroyed there was a risk of losing the notion of cultural integrity. Thus, during the exile certain steps were taken to preserve and reinforce their identity. Armstrong states how “the Law would prevent the exiles from losing their identity in the melting pot of Babylon” thus providing a constant in an unknown environment (Armstrong, 82). Regulations and practices were enforced as to distinguish themselves from their pagan neighbors. The ultimate goal in these actions was to “distinguish themselves as the people of the covenant” and so they proceeded in circumcising male children, not working on the Sabbath, and adopting food laws (Armstrong, 82). It makes sense that in order to preserve a sense of self one must continue and/or create unifying character traits. The burden of an exile was not only the act of losing physical possessions but also the potential of losing a sense of self. Secondly, an exile also jeopardized religious connections between Yahweh and his people. At the time it was believed that a connection was made and could only be sustained with the divine in the proper geographical context. Once they were pushed out then “the loss of homeland meant that the link with heave, which alone made life supporable, had been broken” resulting in a “spiritual dislocation” (Armstrong, 82). The question of how to properly worship Yahweh in a foreign land arguable acted as the biggest complication in the exile. Theological dilemmas of worship and reverence towards the divine arose as uncertainty on how to do so in an unknown land. It was unheard of to build a temple for Yahweh in a Babylon as well as singing songs to him. Thus, his people had to navigate this unprecedented scenario and await guidance from the divine.