In this season of Essentials, we’ll take up Israel’s story of exile and restoration. For many of us it feels baffling that almost half of the Old Testament revolves around the topic of Israel’s exile and return. Yet, as Christians, the fact that Israel undergoes destruction, deportation, and then mercy probably resonates with some of our unsettled desires and intense longings. Sometimes—perhaps many times!—we feel like foreigners in the lives we live. This study will not only examine the historical events and contexts of Israel’s defeat and destruction under the Assyrians and the Babylonians, it will also take up topics of Christian purpose, endurance, displacement, and godly satisfaction in life.