Chapter 17: The Exile and the Journey Home

Question 1

What did the Book of Lamentations express?

Answer 1

It expressed what the people were feeling in that time.

Question 2

What is a lamentation?

Answer 2

A sorrow expressed in the form of a poem.

Question 3

How many poems does the Book of Lamentations have?

Answer 3

Five.

Question 4

Who was the most likely author of the Book of Lamentations?

Answer 4

The prophet Jeremiah.

Question 5

What was the message of Jeremiah?

Answer 5

That only firm faith in God’s love could comfort the people.

Question 6

What occupation was Ezekiel?

Answer 6

A priest.

Question 7

How long was Ezekiel’s ministry?

Answer 7

20 years.

Question 8

What did Ezekiel condemn?

Answer 8

All forms of social injustice, idolatry, and superstition.

Question 9

What is superstition?

Answer 9

The false belief that living creatures or things possess powers that in fact they do not have.

Question 10

Why are superstitions bad?

Answer 10

They take away from the honor we owe the all-knowing and all-powerful God.

Question 11

How do the Old Testament messages apply to us today?

Answer 11

We are called to trust in God and his desire for our well being. We are called to follow Christ’s example of complete confidence in God the Father’s blessings for us.

Question 12

What was Ezekiel’s vision?

Answer 12

That because the people rejected God, God rejected Jerusalem and the Temple as his dwelling place.

Question 13

How did Ezekiel say that God will deal with the people’s unfaithfulness?

Answer 13

That he would send them to distant and foreign places to get rid of their uncleanness.

Question 14

What did Ezekiel predict while in exile?

Answer 14

That for those who remained close to him would purify the others and that after that would take place, he would lead them back to Jerusalem and that it would once again become his dwelling place with everybody living in comfort and prosperity.

Question 15

What happened while the Jews were in exile in Babylon?

Answer 15

They identified themselves and Jews and called their religion Judaism. The Jews started to realize how they had been unfaithful to God.

Question 16

What did the Jews believe made one part of God’s people?

Answer 16

Truly following his will, having absolute faith in him and making a personal commitment to following the covenant.

Question 17

Which prophet appeared in Babylon?

Answer 17

The prophet Isaiah of Babylon.

Question 18

What is hope?

Answer 18

A gift from God that enables us to trust in God’s promise to be with us always; it enables us to be confident in God’s love and care for us.

Question 19

What did Isaiah call the people to do?

Answer 19

He called the people to be faithful to God and to have hope, and that God would save them again in a way even greater than he did when their ancestors crossed the Red Sea through the suffering of God’s servant.

Question 20

What does hope help us to do?

Answer 20

It helps us to rely not on our own strength, but on the strength of God the Holy Spirit, sent to us by the Father and the Son.

Question 21

What do the wisdom books give us?

Answer 21

They give us practical guidance on how to live.

Question 22

What is a proverb?

Answer 22

A brief saying that gives wise advice.

Question 23

Who captured the Babylonian empire?

Answer 23

The Persians.

Question 24

Who let the Jewish people turn to their homeland?

Answer 24

King Cyrus.

Question 25

Who were the two new prophets?

Answer 25

Haggai and Zechariah.

Question 26

What did Haggai and Zechariah try to argue?

Answer 26

That the Temple should be completed along with the unfinished work.

Question 27

Who protected Judah from foreign attack?

Answer 27

Nehemiah.

Question 28

Who was the important figure in the Third Stage of the return to Judah?

Answer 28

Ezra.

Question 29

What was Ezra’s message?

Answer 29

That the people had been failing too many times in following God’s law.

Question 30

Who was Saint Bonaventure?

Answer 30

A saint who wrote about God and made a biography on Saint Francis of Assisi. His feast day is on July 15th.