I was recently at a Sunday Watchtower, reading one of the novels I have on my iPad to help me get through the dreadfully boring event. Every once in awhile though I'll glance at the article just in case anyone is peeking at my screen, and in the article, I noticed these paragraphs.
3. How did exile in Babylon differ from the slavery the Israelites had experienced in Egypt?
3 What the prophets had foretold came to pass. Through Jeremiah, Jehovah advised the future exiles to accept their new situation and make the most of it. He said: “Build houses [in Babylon] and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their fruit. And seek the peace of the city to which I have exiled you, and pray in its behalf to Jehovah, for in its peace you will have peace.” (Jer. 29:5, 7) Those who submitted to the will of God lived a relatively normal life in Babylon. Their captors allowed them to administer their own affairs to some extent. The exiles even had freedom to move about the country. Babylon was a center of trade and commerce in the ancient world, and documents that have been unearthed indicate that many Jews learned the art of buying and selling there, while others became skilled craftsmen. Some Jews even became prosperous. Exile in Babylon was nothing like the slavery in Egypt that the Israelites had experienced centuries before.—Read Exodus 2:23-25.
4. Besides rebellious Israelites, who were affected by captivity in Babylon, and what limitations were placed on their ability to worship God acceptably?
4 Although the material needs of the exiled Jews were being met, what of their spiritual needs? Jehovah’s temple with its altar had been destroyed, and the priesthood was no longer functioning in an organized manner. Among the exiles were faithful servants of God who had done nothing deserving of punishment, but they had to suffer along with the rest of the nation. Nevertheless, they did what they could to observe God’s Law. For example, in Babylon, Daniel and three of his companions—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—abstained from foods that were forbidden to Jews. And we know that Daniel maintained regular communication with God in prayer. (Dan. 1:8; 6:10) Still, under a pagan administration, it was impossible for a God-fearing Jew to do everything the Law required.
Bear with me please as I try to follow this string of events. God creates the nation of Israel, the nation of Israel doesn't worship God according to rules he set up, God punishes the Israelites by removing them from an environment that allows them to follow all those rules he set up, but other than that they have their needs cared for.
So basically this punishment didn't adversely impact the people who were not worshiping Jehovah whole-souled, in fact, if the statements made in these paragraphs are accurate it was ONLY the people who continued to try and worship Jehovah that faced any large difficulty. Which means that God was, in essence, administering a form of punishment that primarily had a negative effect on his faithful servants.
Isn't that simply absurd? It would be like if one of your kids acted up, so you decided to punish them by taking a toy away from their sibling.