The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1891-06-18
CAPTIVITY OF JUDAH.
International sundsy-sohecl Lssson -,
june ~, 1901.

hee9uational sunday-0ohocl I1asson for,
June ~, 1901.
Especially Arranged from g. g. ousrseriy1
LEgsoN Tnxr-a Kings Ssn-le.
0otDsr TExT-oome. and Let MS return unto
the Lord-Hos. Oil
OnrraA1 TRurn-0ods word whether OF
promise Or warning 10 certain 10 be fulfilled
Tn1B-Jerusaiem Destroyed In the summer Of
b @ 58o; 30 yesrs after the last lesson
PnAcr-Jerusaiem; Ribiah, ~ miles north Of
Damascus; Babylon.
Judsh, . son OF Josiah; Nebuchadneszar, king
H Babylon, 10th year.
pfoPHBrs - Jeremiuh, In Jerusalem fe27-
BSa) Ezekiel. in Bsbyionin (5oe57s); Daniel IN.
Babylon (ooo5so); Obadiah Us6).
PARALLEL AocouHrs-Jer. be:4ios Chron
a;1i'n; Jer 8o;l-6
APPROACHES TO THE FINAL doom - Tho
nrst captivity (when the seventy years oaptiv-
ity referred TO In Jer 9o:10 beg1ns)was soon
after the last lesson, B. O. 900. Daniel was
among these captives. Tho second captivity
took place six years laten b @ bsa BY Nebu-
chadneszar; ten thousand people and great
treasures were carried to Babylon n Kings A:
fo.i0) Ezekiel was among these csptives
(Ekek. I! I. ~ Ton years latef began tho
third captivity which 10 the subject Of to-day'S
Lesson
Of hiss" zedelsiah's reign 'Tcnth month";"
Thebet which includes from middle Of Decem-
Dor 70 middle Of January. Quilt foftsr" high
wooden towers from which 10 ding darts, fire.
brands, OF 10 thrust bsttertngrama & &.
Eleventh yenr, fourth month" July b O
$50 year and half after the siege began.
Here belong tho 30as captivss Of JeY. 6sto8
twhere 18th" should be "i7th.") 4 .By way
OF the gates" at the south Of the city. The be.
seigers entered on the north. '"Tovard the
plain," Of Jericho. q Riblah: seventy.fvei
miles north Of Damascus Here Nebuchadne1.
zer was overseeing two seigeA one ct Jerusa-
lem and ono at Tyre. II. Remnant Of the
rnultitude:" those outside Of the oity. l2 The
poor Of the lands" these had now some compen.
cation for their poverty. They had been oppressed
by the rich and great, as jeremiah tells us,
and now their oppressors are ruined captlves.
and the poor have full opportunity In the coun.
try. Among those who remained was the
prophet jeremiah.
LESSON COMMENTS
At last the end came. Gods 1udg-
ments had tarried long; but when they
came they proved as terrible as He had
said they would
The fate Of Jerusalem. It was be-
sieged by Nebuchadnezzar; was reduced
to starvation; was assaulted and cap
tured; the temple was burned to the
ground; all the principal houses We're
destroyed; the walls were broken down,
and the people were for the most part
marched off into slavery IN foreign
land. just imagine what sight that
Babylon marched away, carrying with
them their long train Of captives, and
leaving behind them the City Of David a
heap Of ruinsl
The .fGte Of tho king hSmseE As soon
as the city was captured he fed, but
was overtaken and made prisoner. Neb-
uchadneEzar was then at Riblah, about
ten days journey from Jerusalem. To
him the king was taken. With heart
less cruelty, they killed Zedekiah's sons
before his eyes, and then put out the
eyes Of Zedelkiah himself, after which
they carried him away TO Babylon,
where he died.
In this lesson there Is an instance Of
the fulAllment Of two remarkable, and
apparently contradictory, prophecies,
with regard to King Zedekiah. 'The
former Of these (Jer. 82:4) states that
Zedelziah shall speak with the king Of
Babylon, mouth to mouth, and his eyes
shall behold his eyes; the latter (Ezel.
1919, that he shall be brought to Bah
ylon, yet shall he not see It, though he
die there. The whole Of this predc-
ton Of Ezekiel, whose prophecy appears
to have been delivered at Babylon, is
truly remarkable, as describing almost
exactly the circumstances Of zedelziahs
flight"
Read from Deut. ee:1bSs; say verses
40, 80, 80, "a and 81. These are the
threats which God uttered through the
lips Of Moses, In case the people turned
away TO idolatry. How many years
before the captivity. actually came
were these words uttered? Nearly
nine hundred yearsi Were these the
only warnings that God gave them9
Assuredly notl For He says: IAN day
long have I stretched out my hands,"
meaning that He had continually
warned and invited His people. Never
was o nation warned 90 clearly and 60
continuously Of the danger Of apostasy,
And not only was Israel warned by
word Of mouth, but she was punished
many times for her sins as an addition
a caution. Yet all was In vainl The
king and the people together hardened
their hearts even as Pharaoh did, and
pushed ahead In their course. Then
came the end, as told In our lesson, and
the Kingdoms both In the north and In
tho south ceased to exist the empire
ceme to an end, and the Jews mou1ned
% captives under . foreign yoke. We
may well ask, how could God teach
men in more impressive way that His
word stands sure, and, that though
Heaven and earth pass away, His word
ahan not pass away7 As In the days Of
Noah, 80 now their God waited and had
pataence. But also, as in the days OF
Noah, God said; my spirit shall not
always strive with man." 30 He said in
zedekiah's time. The end had come,
and now no cries would avail. Rev. A.
p. Schaufher, D. D.
PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS.
/ God put every hindrance possible
IN the way of their ain and destruo-
ton = prophets, warnings, mercies,
time for repentance, vision Of the end.
8. The punisbmeut comes SLOWLY at