Call to Prophesy in Babylonian Captivity

The air along the Chebar canal carries the heavy heat of the Mesopotamian summer. Exiled Judeans labor in the irrigated floodplains south of Babylon in 593 b.c. They dig wide irrigation trenches through the hardened clay and river mud. A voice commands a young priest to stand up on his feet. The Almighty speaks his commands directly across the flat and humid agricultural basin.

This settlement lies at Tel Abib near the ancient city of Nippur. It sits roughly fifty miles southeast of the main capital of Babylon. The deep local canal system diverts water directly from the Euphrates River. This massive engineering infrastructure supports heavy barley yields to feed the growing empire. The displaced Judean population lives in small mudbrick homes along these muddy riverbanks.

A disembodied hand presents a thick scroll to the newly appointed prophet. The document is heavily inscribed on both the front and the back. Ancient scrolls are typically crafted from treated animal skins and wooden spindles. This specific record contains only written dirges and warnings of coming destruction. The text outlines the impending military collapse of the distant Judean capital.

Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house.

The prophet receives his difficult assignment among an angry and displaced people. God warns him that the local audience will resist his given words completely. The prophet must speak the heavy message regardless of their bitter and hostile reactions. The thick physical scroll now waits for him to take and consume it.