Exile was covenant discipline, not covenant collapse: after centuries of warnings ignored, Jerusalem fell, the temple burned, and Judah went to Babylon. Yet even there God promised to gather, cleanse, and renew His people, and the return home became another picture of the greater rescue to come.
Not a summary of these passages: the passages themselves. Read them, then come back to the study below.
The study
What the Scripture says
1
Exile was warned about long before it happened
Moses had spelled out the terms centuries earlier: covenant blessing for obedience, scattering among the nations for persistent rebellion. The prophets repeated the warning generation after generation. Exile was not God losing His temper; it was the agreed consequence arriving exactly on schedule.
Yahweh will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth. There you will serve other gods, which you have not known, you nor your fathers, even wood and stone.And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.
but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until the wrath of Yahweh arose against his people, until there was no remedy.But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy.
They would not listen, but hardened like their fathers
Second Kings' verdict is patient and devastating: Yahweh testified against Israel and Judah 'by every prophet, and every seer,' but 'they would not listen, but hardened their neck.' Judgment fell 'until there was no remedy.' Persistent refusal of God's voice eventually meets a silence that lets consequences speak.
Yet Yahweh testified to Israel, and to Judah, by every prophet, and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.” Notwithstanding, they would not listen, but hardened their neck, like the neck of their fathers, who didn’t believe in Yahweh their God.Yet the Lord testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets. Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the Lord their God.
but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until the wrath of Yahweh arose against his people, until there was no remedy.But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy.
Even in the ashes, hope was built in: God promised a new covenant, with His law written on hearts rather than tablets. Lamentations finds the fulcrum mid-catastrophe: 'It is because of Yahweh's loving kindnesses that we are not consumed... his compassion doesn't fail.' Exile proved sin's wages without ever canceling God's faithfulness.
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yahweh: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people:But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
It is because of Yahweh’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them; for I am Yahweh their God; but I will for their sake remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am Yahweh.’”And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the Lord their God. But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the Lord.
The prophets describe the homecoming with Exodus-scale language: gathering the scattered, opening a highway, pouring out the Spirit. Jesus' ministry reads against that backdrop: forgiveness of sins is the true return from exile, and the new covenant He sealed at supper is Jeremiah's promise coming true.
Don’t be afraid; for I am with you. I will bring your seed from the east, and gather you from the west. I will tell the north, ‘Give them up!’ and tell the south, ‘Don’t hold them back! Bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth—Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and worked redemption for his people;Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
Likewise, he took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
Notwithstanding, they would not listen, but hardened their neck, like the neck of their fathers, who didn’t believe in Yahweh their God.Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the Lord their God.
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yahweh: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people:But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
It is because of Yahweh’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.