The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1892-12-29
SUNDAY MEDITATION.
A Study of the International Sunday
School Lesson Appointed for Jan.
l, 1893.

i, 1878.
Subject: The Return of Captive jews from
Babylon to Jerusalem Under Leadership
of ZerubbabeI. Ezra, Till. See also g
CHI, Sc: 22, 23.
Zone reading these notes should first carefully
study the paragraph from the Holy Scriptures
indicated above.l
INTRODUCTION.
We take long step back ward from the Acts
of the Apostles to the book of Ezra There is
something akin in the two books. Ezra gives
account of a new start in the Jewish religion,
just as the book of Acts shows us the new Chris
tian work gaining footheld. Ezra had to meet
many q new question; to solve many a new
difficulty; to overcome hosts Of objections and
oppositions just as st. Paul was obliged to do
later.
The Book Of Ezra.
| The Book Of Ezra is brief, covering only 10
| chapters, and they rather short. Cautiously
| enough not one quotation is made in the New
Testament of any portion of the Book of Ezra.
| In early times the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah
| were regarded one Book. The Book of Ezra
covers 81 years. Chapters to inclusive cover
| the years from $50 b. G. to AS B. C., and give
| account of Zerubbahel and Joshua leafing from
| Babylon $4,000 jews to Jerusalem, where they
| rebuilt the Temple and formally resumed the
worship of Jehovah on Mt Morish. The Tenn
| pie thus reconstructed by Zerubbabel was re-
dedicated sic B. c.. 90 years after be arrived
| at Jerusalem. As yet Ezra does not appear on
| the scene. He went from Babylon to Judes
| 456 d. g.. or 10 years after ZerubbabePs party
| arrived there. Chapters to 10 tell Of
his mission at that visit, the reforms he ef-
| fected etc. In particular he succeeded in hsv-
ing divorces secured in all cases of Jews having
| married heather companions.
| Nehemiah did not .JarusQleYn I'LL i4S
that is to say g. years after Zerubbabel and 13
| after Ezra. Ezra returned to Jerusalem and
compiled the historic part of the Old Tesla
ment. The work Of Nehemiah and the work
| of Ezra at his return to Jerusalem are described
| in the Books Of Nehemiah.
| Bertheau, Dillman, KeiL Nagesbach Sehen-
KEEL. Schultz, and Zung have written much on
| the Book Of Ezra.
EZRA, 1:1-11.
/. Data
| Besides the account in Ezra, Ill, ons
| must read Ch.. 36: %. %. 1t will be seen
| those two verses are like, Ezra : ], and 3, to
| the words "let him 90 up"
| We have in the Apocrypha, Esdras 2: LIS
| inclusive, the following account: ~ In the
| first year of Cyrus, King of the Persiaus. that
| the word of the Lord might be accomplished,
that he had promised by the mouth of Jeremy
| ~ The Lord raised MP the spirit of Cyrus, the
| King of the Persians, and he made proclama-
| tion through all his kingdom, and also by writ
| ing, ~ Saying, Thus saith Cyrus, King of the
| Persians; the Lord of Israel, the most high
Lord, hath made me King of the whole world,
/ AZ And commanded me to build him house at
| Jerusalem in Jewry. (5) If, therefore, there be
any of you that are of his people. let the Lord,
| even his Lord. be with him. and let him go up
| to Jerusalem that Is in Judea, and build the
house of the Lord of Israel; for he is the
| Lord, the Lord that dwelleth at Jerusa-
| lem. (8) Whosoever then dwell in the
| places about, let them help him (those say
| that are his neighbors) with gold and with
silver. ~ With gifts. with horses. and with
cattle, and other things, which have been set
| forth By vow, for the temple of the Lord at
| Jerusalem. (S) Then the Chief of the families
| of Judea and of the tribe of Benjamin stood
| up; the priests also and the Levites, and all
they whose mind the Lord had moved to go up,
/ and to build house for the Lord at Jerusalem.
| {9) And they that dwell round about them, and
helped them in all things. with silver and gold,
| with horses and cattle and with very many
| free gifts of great number whose minds were
stirred up thereto. Q0) King Cyrus also
| brought forth the holy vessels which Nabncho-
donosor had carried away from Jerusalem, and
| had set up in his temple of idols. Q1) Now
when Cyrus, King of the Persisns. had brought
| them forth, he delivered them to Methridates
his treasurer; (12) And by him they were de-
| livered to Sanabassar. the Governor of Judea.
1 (13) And this was the number of them: 1000
golden cups, and 1000 of silver, censers of
silver 2, walls of gold 80, and of silver 2.410
and 600 other vessels. l14) So all the vessels
of gold and Of silver. which were carried away,
! were FIVE thousand four hundred three score
| and nine. Q5) These were brought back by
| Sanabassar together with them of the cap
| tivity, from Babylon to Jerusalem"
2. Time.
We date 3483 A. NJ, or 536 B. c. Twenty
| four years before this Cyrus dethroned his
grandfather Astyages. and began to rule but
| it WAS not at the date we give above that he
| came into possession of the vast total Empire
So we read in the first verse in the first year
of Cyrus" meaning, the first year of his COM
plete sovereignty. When he began his king
ship over the grand Empire it on such .
| stupendous scale that one might say he had
| not been a ruler till thus promoted. Keno
| phon agrees in putting the beginning of the
reign of Cyrus at the date We fix, look g at the
| matter in the same light that the writer of the
book of Ezra looked at it.
1t is to be remembered the year 536 is the
date at which Zerubbabel went to Jerusalem,
and that Ezra did not go till 70 years after
| that.
| 3. Places
/. Babylon. Y.11.) 1t is now called HilIah.
| It is located on the Euphrates. 1t was named
from the Tower of Babel. After the food it
4 was 0ecfueu 10 Dulju u lower n1gQ6I IMAM any
| waters could ever overtop. God put stop to
| the impious attempt by causing the builders to
| speak multitude of different Languages, thus
| surprising. discouraging and dividing them.
Tablets in the British Museum dug up at
| Babylon confirm the Bible story. The remains
of said tower now identified with the tomb
or Temple of Belus. The modern name is Birs
| Nmrud.
2. Jerusalem. Capital of the land of Pales-
tine, location of Solomon's Temple. center of
David's Kingdom.
3. Judah. Palestine was divided into four
provinces-Judah. Samaria Galilee, Psrea.
4. Persia. Also called Iran. Home of the
Parsees; scene of the Zsnd Avesta; asso-
ciated reIigously with the name of Zoroaster !;
suggesting the heroes Cambyses, Cyrus
Hystaspes, Darius. Xerxes. Artaxerxes. Anti
ochus. 1t was vast Empire, full of historic
events, illustrations with many battlefeids.
1t was at its best in the time of Ezra. 1t then
took in Babylon aud even Palestine.
8. Notice the extent of the Empire of Cyrus.
He declared ". q: "The Lord God of
| Heaven hath given me all the Kingdoms of the
earth" His Kingdom was bounded on the
east by the Indus River; on the west by the
| Island of Cyprus and Egypt; north by the
Euxine Sea; Oh the south by Arabia and Mare
Rubrum. 1t included the following: Armeni-
ans Arabians Assyrians. Babylonians, Bactri-