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68 Q. How did he punish Zedekiah for his rebellion? A. When Zedekiah fled from the city, he was seized by the Babylonians; Nebuchadnezzar ordered his sons to be slain before his face, then his eyes were put out, he was bound with fetters of brass, and carried to Babylon, and there was no more a king in Judah. ver. 6, 7, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 13.

69 Q. What became of the city and temple at this time?

A. The king of Babylon burnt the temple of the Lord, the palace of the king, and all the houses of Jerusalem; he brake down the walls of the city, and carried away the rest of the people captive; together with all the vessels of gold, silver, and brass, great and small, that belonged to the temple. 2 Kings xxv. 8-17.

70 Q. But were the people punished thus for the sins of their king?

A. The princes, and the priests, and the people, had a large share in the common idolatry and wickedness, together with the kings, and that in opposition to all the warnings of their prophets, whereby God was provoked to punish them all. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 14—21.

71 Q. Was there any ruler of the scattered people that remained in the land of Israel?

A. Gedaliah was made governor by the king of Babylon, but he was slain in a little time by a faction under Ishmael, one of the seed-royal; and there was nothing but confusion and disorder in the land. 2 Kings xxv. 22, &c.

72 Q. What became of the people afterward?

A. Johanan, the son of Kareah, one of the captains under Gedaliah, routed Ishmael, and drove him out of the land; yet being afraid of the anger of the king of Babylon, and his resentment of the murder of Gedaliah his governor, he was tempted to fly into Egypt, and to carry most of the people thither with him, where they were dispersed into several cities. Jer. xli. 13-18, and xlii. xliii.

73 Q. Was this done by any divine order?

A. No; but directly against the word of the Lord,

by the mouth of Jeremiah the prophet, who was left among them in the land; and they carried him also into` Egypt with them. Jer. xliii. 1–9.

74 Q. Did the Jews behave themselves better in Egypt after all their afflictions and distresses?

A. They practised idolatry in Egypt with insolence, in opposition to the reproofs of Jeremiah the prophet. Jer. xliv.

75 Q. Did they perish there, or return?

A. Jeremiah was ordered by the Lord to foretel the destruction of Egypt by the king of Babylon, and to denounce utmost calamities and death, by sword and famine upon the Jews that sojourned there; and that but a very small number of them should ever return to the land of Judah, though he foretold the return of their brethren from their captivity in Babylon. Jer. xliii. 9. and xliv. 11, 28, &c.

CHAP. XIII.

Of the Return of the Jews from Captivity in Babylon, and the Rebuilding of the City of Jerusalem, and the Temple.

1 Q. How long did the nation of the Jews continue in their captivity, and their land lie desolate ?

A. Though the land lay not utterly desolate till the final destruction of Jerusalem, in the days of Zedekiah, which was between fifty and sixty years before their first release; yet, from their first captivity by Nebuchadnezzar in former reigns, their land was in some measure desolate seventy years, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah. See 2 Chron. xxxvi. 21. Jer. xxv. 11, 12.

Here let it be observed, that as there were several seasons, and under different kings, when part of the children of Israel and Judah were carried into captivity, and several periods whence their desolations may commence; so there were several seasons also of their return and restoration: but the chief duration of their captivity and desolate circumstances was seven

ty years. See 2 Kings xxiv. 1, 2, 10-14, and chap. xxv. 11, compared with Ezra i. 1, 2, and chap. vi. 1-12, chap. vii. 7, and Nehem. ii. 1, &c.

2 Q. Who gave them release from their captivity in Babylon ?

A. When Babylon was taken by Cyrus, the general of the army under Darius, the king of the Medes, the Assyrian or Babylonish empire was finished. After Darius's death, Cyrus himself became king of Persia, and he not only gave the people of the Jews a release, but gave them also a commission to rebuild the temple, and restored to them the vessels of gold and silver; and this he did by the hand of Shesbazzar, a prince of Judah. Ezra i. 7-11.

Note. Now was that prophecy fulfilled which Isaiah pronounced above a hundred years before, Isa. xliv. 28, that it was Cyrus who should say to Jerusalem, be thou built; and to the temple, be thy foundation laid; and chap. xiv. 13, who should build the city of God, and release his captives.

3 Q. Which of the tribes did accept of this commission, and return to their own land?

A. There were many persons and families of several tribes of Israel who took this opportunity of returning; yet it was chiefly those of Judah and Benjamin, with the priests and several of the Levites, who returned, and were now all united under the name of Jews. Ezra i. 5, and iv. 12.

4 Q. Who were their first leaders and directors ?

A. Zerubbabel, a prince of Judah, of the seed-royal, whose Chaldaick or Babylonish name was Shesbazzar; he was their prince or captain, and Jeshua or Joshua was their high priest. Ezra i. 11, and ii. 2, and iii. 8, compared with v. 14-16, and Zech. iii. and iv.

Note. This Shesbazzar, or Zerubbabel, was the son of Salathiel, the son of Jehoiachin or Jechoniah, king of Judah: he was made governor of the land, under the title of Tirshatha, by a commission from Cyrus. Jeshua was the son of Jozadak or Josedech, the son of Seraia, who was high priest when Jerusalem was destroyed, and who was put to death by Nebuchad

Dezzar.

5 Q What was the first thing they did after their return?

A. They made a large contribution toward the rebuilding of the temple, they gathered themselves together to Jerusalem, they set up the altar of the God of Israel and offered sacrifices upon it. Ezra ii. 68, and iii. 1—6.

6 Q. In what manner did they lay the foundation of the temple?

A. While the builders laid the foundation, the priests and the Levites sung and praised the Lord with trumpets and other instruments, after the ordinance of David. Ezra iii. 10, 11.

7 Q. What remarkable occurrences attended the laying of the foundation of the temple ?

A. While the younger part of the people shouted for joy, many of the ancient fathers wept with a loud voice, when they remembered how much more glorious the first temple was than the second was like to be. ver. 12, 13, and Hag. ii. 3.

Here it may be observed, that though the foundation of the second temple stood on the same compass of ground as the first, yet a company of poor exiles, returning from a long captivity, could not promise of hope for so glorious a building as the temple of Solomon, neither in the richness of the materials, nor in the magnificence and curiosity of the workmanship. See Dr. Prideaux's Connection, Vol. I. p. 143.

The Jews also generally suppose five things to be wanting in the second temple, after it was finished, which did belong to the first; namely, (1.) The ark of the covenant, and the mercy-seat, which was upon it, with the cherubs of gold, together with the tables of stone in which the law was written, which were in the ark when it was brought into Solomon's temple; 1 Kings viii. 9. 2 Chron. v. 10, though one would think they should have made an ark and a mercy-seat, before which the high priest should officiate once a year. Some learned men supposed there was such an ark made, and that Ezra's correct copy of the Bible was laid up in it: and that it is in imitation of this, that the present Jews in all their synagogues have such an ark or coffer, wherein they keep the law. (2.) The Shechinah, or divine presence, in a cloud of glory on the mercy-seat. (3.) The Urim and Thummim, whence the oracle came, or divine answers to their inquiries. (4.) The holy fire upon the altar, which came from heaven. (5.) The spirit of prophecy. For though Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi lived while the

second temple was building, and prophecied after it was built, yet on their death the prophetic spirit ceased from among them.

8 Q. What was the first hindrance they found in the building of the temple?

A. The Samaritans desired to join with them in their building, and because the Jews forbid them, they gave them continual trouble in the days of Cyrus. Ezra iv. 1-5.

9 Q. What was the second hindrance they met with?

A. When Artaxerxes the first came to the throne of Persia these people wrote an accusation against the Jews, that the city of Jerusalem had been rebellious in former times; whereupon Artaxerxes caused the work to cease fill the second year of Darius. ver. 7—24.

Note. This was not Darius, the first king, and he who took Babylon, and released Daniel from the lions' den; but another, who reigned several years after him, and was called Darius Hystaspes, as the best authors assert: and this also was long before that Darius whom Alexander subdued, and put an end to the Persian kingdom.

Here let it be observed in general, that it is not a very easy matter for learned men to agree exactly in adjusting the time of all these events, and the particular accomplishment of every prophecy, because there were several kings of the same name; as, three or four Artaxerxes's, and three or more Darius's, &c. And there were four decrees from the kings of Persia in favour of the Jews: the first from Cyrus to Zerubbabel or Shesbazzar, a prince of Judah. Ezra i. 1—8. The second from Darius the second to the enemies of the Jews, to forbid their hindrance of the work. Esra vi. 1-7. The third from Artaxerxes the second to Ezra, recorded in Ezra vii. 11. The fourth from the same Artaxerxes to Nehemiah, written in Nehem. ii. 1–9.

10 Q. Who persuaded the Jews to go on with their work under the reign of this Darius ?

A. The prophets of God which were with them encouraged and required them in the name of the Lord, to go on with the work of the temple; for several of them were too negligent, and God punished them for it with scarcity of corn and wine. Ezra v. 1, 2. Hag.i. 2-11. Zech. i. 7, &c. and chap. iii. and iv.

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