RESTRAINED: Judah’s Story — Rebellion & Exile Walk through the final years of the kingdom of Judah as generations of rebellion move toward an unavoidable reckoning. In this study, we will stand in Jerusalem with the prophets, watch Babylon advance, follow the exiles into captivity, and discover that even in judgment, the Lord has not abandoned His people. Restrained is a chronological Bible study through the final years of Judah, the fall of Jerusalem, and the Babylonian exile. Each teaching corresponds with a lesson in the Restrained Bible study workbook from Rooted Path Ministries. IN THIS LESSON: Before we step into the final years of Judah, we need to know where we are in the biblical story. In Setting the Table, we establish the historical framework for the study—Israel’s divided kingdom, the fall of the Northern Kingdom to Assyria, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah that remains. We will get our bearings in Kings and Chronicles, meet the kings and prophets who will guide us through the coming lessons, and build the timeline we need to follow Judah all the way from rebellion to exile and, eventually, home. STUDY WITH US Purchase the Restrained workbook and find additional Bible studies at Rooted Path Ministries: rootedpath.org Rooted Path Ministries exists to disciple, equip, and encourage believers to become deeply rooted in the Word of God. #BibleStudy #OldTestament #Judah #BabylonianExile #RootedPathMinistries

IN THIS LESSON: Before we can understand why Judah was carried into exile, we have to understand the sin that brought her there. We trace Israel’s long history of idolatry, see how Scripture describes it as spiritual adultery, and begin to understand why the Lord’s covenant people repeatedly traded the God who loved them for gods that could neither see, hear, nor save. 📖 Scripture: Exodus 20; Hosea 1–2; Ezekiel 16; selected passages from Kings and Chronicles STUDY WITH US Purchase the Restrained workbook and find additional Bible studies at Rooted Path Ministries: rootedpath.org Rooted Path Ministries exists to disciple, equip, and encourage believers to become deeply rooted in the Word of God. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him…” — Colossians 2:6–7 #BibleStudy #OldTestament #Judah #BabylonianExile #RootedPathMinistries

IN THIS LESSON: The Lord had not been silent. Again and again, He sent His prophets to warn Judah, calling His people to turn from their ways and listen to His voice. In this lesson, we step into the final years before Babylon’s arrival and watch the Word of the Lord collide with a nation determined not to hear. As Jeremiah begins his ministry, the question that will follow Judah throughout the rest of her story comes into focus: Will they listen and follow? 📖 Scripture: Jeremiah 1; Jeremiah 7; Jeremiah 25; 2 Chronicles 36 STUDY WITH US Purchase the Restrained workbook and find additional Bible studies at Rooted Path Ministries: rootedpath.org Rooted Path Ministries exists to disciple, equip, and encourage believers to become deeply rooted in the Word of God. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him…” — Colossians 2:6–7 #BibleStudy #OldTestament #Judah #BabylonianExile #RootedPathMinistries

IN THIS LESSON: The Lord had warned His people again and again, but Judah refused to listen. In this lesson, we step into the days of Jeremiah and watch the collision between the Word of the Lord and a people determined to resist it. The question is no longer whether God has spoken. The question is whether Judah will heed what He has said. 📖 Scripture: Jeremiah 25:1–11; Jeremiah 36:1–32 STUDY WITH US Purchase the Restrained workbook and find additional Bible studies at Rooted Path Ministries: rootedpath.org Rooted Path Ministries exists to disciple, equip, and encourage believers to become deeply rooted in the Word of God. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him…” — Colossians 2:6–7 #BibleStudy #OldTestament #Judah #BabylonianExile #RootedPathMinistries

IN THIS LESSON: Babylon is closing in, and Judah is running out of places to turn. As kingdoms shift and alliances fail, the Lord steadily removes every false refuge His people have trusted. Judah is being isolated—not because God has lost control of the nations around her, but because His Word concerning Jerusalem is moving toward fulfillment. 📖 Scripture: Jeremiah 23:9–22; Jeremiah 19:1–15; Mark 9:43–48; Jeremiah 20:1–18; 2 Kings 24:1–17; Jeremiah 22:24–30; Jeremiah 13:15–27 STUDY WITH US Purchase the Restrained workbook and find additional Bible studies at Rooted Path Ministries: rootedpath.org Rooted Path Ministries exists to disciple, equip, and encourage believers to become deeply rooted in the Word of God. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him…” — Colossians 2:6–7 #BibleStudy #OldTestament #Judah #BabylonianExile #RootedPathMinistries

IN THIS LESSON: Judgment is coming, but the Lord is still speaking. Through Jeremiah, God gives Judah instructions that seem almost impossible to obey: surrender to Babylon and live. This lesson brings us into the tension between what looks reasonable to human eyes and what it means to trust the Word of the Lord when obedience comes at a cost. 📖 Scripture: 2 Kings 24:15–20; Jeremiah 27:1–11; Jeremiah 24:1–10; 2 Kings 25:1–3; Jeremiah 37:1–21; Jeremiah 38:1–13 STUDY WITH US Purchase the Restrained workbook and find additional Bible studies at Rooted Path Ministries: rootedpath.org Rooted Path Ministries exists to disciple, equip, and encourage believers to become deeply rooted in the Word of God. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him…” — Colossians 2:6–7 #BibleStudy #OldTestament #Judah #BabylonianExile #RootedPathMinistries

IN THIS LESSON: Jerusalem has fallen. The temple is burning, the walls are broken, and the final wave of captives is being carried toward Babylon. Yet even in the devastation, the Lord has not lost sight of a single person. In this lesson, we slow down in the aftermath of Jerusalem’s destruction and watch the Lord deal personally with individuals caught in the collapse of a nation. Against the enormity of judgment, a striking truth emerges: the God who governs nations still sees the one. 📖 Scripture: Jeremiah 52:6–30; Jeremiah 39:11–18; Jeremiah 38:7–13; 2 Chronicles 16:9; Jeremiah 40:1–6 STUDY WITH US Purchase the Restrained workbook and find additional Bible studies at Rooted Path Ministries: rootedpath.org Rooted Path Ministries exists to disciple, equip, and encourage believers to become deeply rooted in the Word of God. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him…” — Colossians 2:6–7 #BibleStudy #OldTestament #Judah #BabylonianExile #RootedPathMinistries

IN THIS LESSON: Jerusalem has fallen, but the story of Judah is not over. Among those who remain in the land, another decision must be made: trust the word of the Lord and stay, or flee to Egypt in search of safety. Once again, Judah is confronted with the same question that has followed her throughout this story—will she trust God enough to obey Him? 📖 Scripture: 2 Kings 25:22–26; Jeremiah 40:7–16; Jeremiah 42:1–22 STUDY WITH US Purchase the Restrained workbook and find additional Bible studies at Rooted Path Ministries: rootedpath.org Rooted Path Ministries exists to disciple, equip, and encourage believers to become deeply rooted in the Word of God. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him…” — Colossians 2:6–7 #BibleStudy #OldTestament #Judah #BabylonianExile #RootedPathMinistries

IN THIS LESSON: The first exiles are already living in Babylon, but false prophets are promising that captivity will soon be over. Into that confusion comes a letter from Jeremiah. Build houses. Plant gardens. Raise families. Seek the welfare of the city. God has not forgotten His people, but His plan for them in Babylon looks very different from the escape they expected. 📖 Scripture: Jeremiah 43:1–13; Jeremiah 42:13–16; Jeremiah 29:1–23 CLEAN STUDY WITH US Purchase the Restrained workbook and find additional Bible studies at Rooted Path Ministries: rootedpath.org Rooted Path Ministries exists to disciple, equip, and encourage believers to become deeply rooted in the Word of God. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him…” — Colossians 2:6–7 #BibleStudy #OldTestament #Judah #BabylonianExile #RootedPathMinistries

IN THIS LESSON: Jerusalem has fallen, the temple has been destroyed, and Judah is living in exile. Yet the Lord’s work with His people is not finished. Through Ezekiel, we begin to see what God is doing beneath the surface of captivity—exposing idolatry, cleansing His people, and promising a work that reaches far deeper than simply returning them to the land. 📖 Scripture: Ezekiel 34:11–31; Ezekiel 36:22–28, 36 CLEAN STUDY WITH US Purchase the Restrained workbook and find additional Bible studies at Rooted Path Ministries: rootedpath.org Rooted Path Ministries exists to disciple, equip, and encourage believers to become deeply rooted in the Word of God. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him…” — Colossians 2:6–7 #BibleStudy #OldTestament #Judah #BabylonianExile #RootedPathMinistries

IN THIS LESSON: Ezekiel is carried into a valley filled with bones—very many, and very dry. From every human perspective, what lies before him is beyond recovery. Yet the Lord asks a question that shifts our eyes from the condition of the bones to the power of God: “Son of man, can these bones live?” In this lesson, we stand in the valley with Ezekiel and watch the God who gives life speak to what appears utterly dead. 📖 Scripture: Ezekiel 37:1–14 CLEAN STUDY WITH US Purchase the Restrained workbook and find additional Bible studies at Rooted Path Ministries: rootedpath.org Rooted Path Ministries exists to disciple, equip, and encourage believers to become deeply rooted in the Word of God. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him…” — Colossians 2:6–7 #BibleStudy #OldTestament #Judah #BabylonianExile #RootedPathMinistries

IN THIS LESSON: Seventy years have passed. Babylon has fallen. Yet long before Judah entered captivity, the Lord had already named the ruler He would use to open the road home. In the final lesson of Restrained, we watch prophecy, history, and the sovereignty of God converge as Cyrus issues his decree and the exiles finally hear the words generations have waited for: Go home. 📖 Scripture: Daniel 5:1–12, 22–23, 29–31; Isaiah 44:21–28; Isaiah 45:1–2; Ezra 1:1–4 CLEAN STUDY WITH US Purchase the Restrained workbook and find additional Bible studies at Rooted Path Ministries: rootedpath.org Rooted Path Ministries exists to disciple, equip, and encourage believers to become deeply rooted in the Word of God. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him…” — Colossians 2:6–7 #BibleStudy #OldTestament #Judah #BabylonianExile #RootedPathMinistries