Confirmation Lesson
Exile & Return
Opening Prayer
God, you have promised to never abandon us.
Thank you for your presence.
God, you led your people out of captivity in Babylon.
Thank you for your presence.
God, you rebuilt the temple and established your law.
Thank you for your presence.
God, you continue to reform your church in new and exciting ways.
Thank you for your presence.
God, you speak to us today and always.
Thank you for your presence.
Amen.
The Babylonian Exile

Babylon comes to Jerusalem and destroys the temple and the city, taking the people of Israel (God's people, the Hebrews) and leaving them without a home. They are now in Exile. What do they learn from this time in exile? They learn that God is still present and they still have one another and that is the most important.
Notice that this is a clip from a tv show that is exploring history. This story of the Babylonian Exile comes from our history books in the Bible.
The Impossible Egg
Check out this object lesson...
Jerusalem literally means “foundation of peace.” God wants to move us to places of joy and peace. Do you ever feel exiles in any way. Stressed out? Ready to crack?

How does God move us from here to there? Does it seem impossible? What made the egg move? Oil? The Bible says that God’s grace is like oil (Psalm 23:5-6). What does the flame do (Matthew 3:11, 2 Timothy 1:6-7)? In what ways does God draw us close?
Where are we at in the Bible?

Today we will be exploring some of Ezekiel and Nehemiah.
Nehemiah is a history books and Ezekiel is a Major Prophet.
Prophet is a person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God.
"Major" simply indicates that it's a longer book compared to the Minor Prophets.
Ezekiel


Read Ezekiel 5:5-8

Even though we don’t like to think of God as angry and destructive, the prophet Ezekiel spends a lot of time portraying God as instrumental in the destruction of, as well as the redeeming of, Jerusalem. Do you ever find yourself blaming God when things don’t go your way?
Read Ezekiel 36:22-32

These verses were written to offer comfort to God’s people, who had been taken captive and had seen their homeland destroyed. This event was called the Babylonian exile and it lasted from 597 to 539 B.C.E.
Make a list of things from this passage that prove that God remained faithful to God’s people.
Do you think these things are important for us to know about God today? Why or why not?
We Live in Our Own Daily Exile

What does this have to do with us... with Jesus?
confession: acknowledgment or disclosure of sin or sinfulness

Confession reconnects broken relationships. The exile was a time when the sins of Israel separated them from God and from each other. Of the 12 tribes, only one, the tribe Judah (whom we call “the Jews” today), returned from captivity to rebuild their city, their temple and—most importantly—their relationship with God and one another.

Check out Nehemiah’s prayer in Nehemiah 1:4-11

Because we sin daily, every day we experience mini-exiles in which we find ourselves separated from those we love. But because of God’s forgiveness in Christ, we can also enjoy many happy returns from our daily exiles. 

Through it all, we see that God keeps God's promises!
Do you have any questions?
If you have any questions or would like to share your thoughts, you can email Leisha at ltays@oursaviourslc.org