Yes, the Judahites were in a full-blown, centuries-long crisis that would come to lodge itself deeply in the Jewish consciousness. And that crisis would have to be processed, so the Judahites did what anyone would have done under the circumstances—they told their story: This is who we are. This is where we came from. This is what we believe of God. This is where things went wrong. This is our hope for a renewed future. Christians call that story the Old Testament.
