The Yale expositor., 1911-10-12
The Return
From Captivity
Specially Arranged for This Paper
LESSON TEXT-Ezra Hill: 2:s4-7o.

Zerubbabel, 5376.
| PLACE-Babylon and vincinity. Jeru-
salem. And the long journey between.
RULERS-Cyrus was king of Babylon,
ana large part Of the East. Zerubbabel
called also Sheshbazzar ezra is: 2.O
| from Babylon became the ruler of Jeru-
| salem.
MONUMENTS-On stone tablets and
cylinders, are written records of these
| days.
The Cyrus Cylinder, found at Babylon
| In 1879, now in British Museum.
The Nabonidus cylinders in British Mu-
| scum
Annalstic tablet of Cyrus. proclama-
| tlon by him, written shortly after his
conquest of Babylon.
There were three eras of captivitv
Tor the children of Israel as there
were several eras Of return. The first
captivity was by Nebuchadnezzar,
when Daniel and his friends were car
rled captive. Seventy years from this
brings us to B. C. 536, the time of
the completion Of the return described
In this lesson.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS again captured the
city, sent great amount of treasures
from the palace and the temple to
Babylon. with 10000 of the more i'm
portant of the people. Among these
were the prophet Ezekiel and the
great-grandfather of Mordecai, Queen
Esther's cousin. The third captivity
was also by Nebuchadnezzar, who,
after siege of year and a half, in
July, $50, completely destroyed the
city and the temple. Seventy years
from this time brings us to the COM
pletion of the temple, b. G. els.
The discipline of the exile has ac-
complished its purpose so far that it
is wise and safe to permit q large
number to return and renew the an
cient nation. 1t would be useless to
bring back to Judes people who would
commit the same sins which made the
exile necessary and who had not
learned to some extent the lessons
which their hard discipline was sent
to teach.
The power of idolatry was forever
broken. They never again yielded to
its destinations. They were taught to
set new value on the filing of all
the forms Of worship with the spirit
of religion. God had allowed even the
city which was the type of heaven and
the most glorious temple dedicated to
his worship to be destroyed when
these became a substitute for true re-
liSion instead of an aid to it. They
were also taught by their absence the
value and necessity of religious insti-
tutions, Of the means of worship, of
the Sabbath day.
1t led to renewed study of the sa-
cred Scriptures. The exile was the
period in which the guardianship,
transcription and study of the written
Scriptures became the special care
Of distinct class, afterwards famous
as the great order of the scribes. 1t
led, also, to the establishment of the
synagogue for social worship and read
ing of the Scriptures, with its accom-
panying schools.
The captivity served as a mission
airy scheme to spread the knowledge
OF God over the world. 1t was an aid
in preparing the world for the COM
ing of the Lord Jesus Christ and for
the spread of the gospel by the apos-
ties. Thus there was the promised
land, the homeland the center of re.
ligious life, and the dispersion as an
agency in every country of the known
world.
The journey home and the whole
movement may be made most real to
all. and especially to children, by
tracing the journey on the map. Note
the great rivers to be crossed without
bridges, the desert lands, the savage
tribes, the countries of their old ene-
mics, the rugged mountains to be
traversed, hunger, thirst and pain, the
long weary months of travel on foot,
and the desolate city and devastated
homes at the end of their journey.
If we may trust later traditions, the
setting out Of the captivity" for Pal
estine was joyous in the extreme. An
escort of 1000 cavalry accompanied
them, for protection against the des-
ort Arabs, then as now given to plum
der, and they started to the music of
tabrets and flutes. Forth from the
gates of Babylon they rode, to the
sound Of joyous music-a band of
horsemen playing on flutes and tab
rets, accompanied by their own 200
minstrel slaves and 12S singers of the
temple, responding to the prophets
voice, as they quilted the shade Of the
walls and found themselves
in the open desert beyond. Go We out
OF Babylon. Flee from the Chaldeans,
with a voice of singing declare We,
tell this, utter it even to the end Of
the earth; say We, The Eternal hath
redeemed his servant Jacob" 1t was
like the procession of the vestal vir-
gins, with the sacred fire in their
hands, in their retreat from Rome;
like Aeneas with his household gods
from Troy.
For all who have gone into the cap.
tivity of sin there is a call to repent |
and return to the Fathers house.
The sins that led to the exile were
not fall upward. The fall into sin |
is never fall upward. The man who |
throws away the gold, silver and pre-
cious stones Of life" for the wood, |