Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-07-29
Golden Text: "We know that to
them that love God all things work
together for good" Rom. 1928,

Golden Text: "We know that to
them that love God all things work
together for good."' Rom. 1928.
The condition Of the people of God
in Babylon was not all sunshine.
They were captives but they had a
good deal Of freedom-they engaged
in business and some became
wealthy: they had their own homes;
they had their own religious serv-
ices-but they We're still captives
and could not leave the land without
rern,ission. Beside this they were
greatly oppressed at times and mace
to nav ,burdensome taxes; ana the
hardest thing for them to bear was
to be separated from the land that
had been given them forever, and
where all their hopes conferred. Some
idea of their feelings may be had
by reading carefully Psalm 1877: by
the rivers of Babylon, there we sat
down and wept, when we remem-
bered Zion, etc.
Although Daniel had the highest
positions in the kingdom, he, like
the others, longed for his native
land. He was familiar with the
writings Of Isaiah and jeremiah, and
took great comfort in the fact that
jeremiah had prophesied that after
70 years In Babylon God would re-
store His people to their own land.
(Jer. 25:11; 26:1-13). So when the
Bahylonian empire fell and the
Medo.Persian reign began under Da-
RUS, the Mede, Daniel realized tnat
God was beginning to carry OUT H1s
promises, and by a study OF Jere-
miah he concluded that the ~ years
was nearly up. In fact, he hlmsen
had been captive for more than
60 years. So he set his face to seek
by prayer and fasting to learn the
will Of God-would it be soon that
the hopes Of Israel would be realized?
In answer to his prayer dan. 81
God gave him q wonderful reveal
tion-even naming the very day
that the Messiah would present him
self. He learned however that the
| complete fulfillment of their hopes
would not be realized at the end OF
that 70 years, but at the end of
70 sevens Of years. That story is
most interesting, but is too long to
consider further here.
However, when Cyrus, the Per
sian. came to the throne two years
| later, Daniel was still in q position
| OF authority and trust, and thus
had the ear Of Cyrus. There can be
no question but that Daniel told him
or the prophecy of jeremiah that
AFTER 20 years Judah should be re.
stored to their own land and of the
prophecy Of Isaiah (Chas. A, 45) in
which he Cyrus had been named
as the instrument in Gods hands
$50 years before he was born! What
kind of an impression would have
peen made on you II you were
shown that $50 years before YOU
were born your name had been men.
TONED as the one who would do q
| certain thing? Well, that's the kind
OF impression 1t made on Cyrus.
| heather king though he was; par
t1cularly as this was the very year
which ended the 70. The first can
tlv1ty, in which Daniel and others
| were taken, was in the third year of
Jenolakim, the year COG b. c.. CYRUS
became sole king in 536 B. c., lust
~ years later, although he had been
associated with Daniel for two wears
oeIore this while he was re,enir :,
along with Darius, the Mede as ae'
| rex. Therefore, in the first vea,. ~ -
ms reign as sole king, sac r - ~
nlaoe the proclamation that ali rte
Mdnteo to might go back +o To-
eaien and build again the $500.
o Deen razed to the ground.
Inc Lord stirred up the spirit of
cyrus, and used praying Daniel ss
Ills means Of doing it. Otherwise
daniel could not have done n hv
ninseI1, Tor the proclamation which
Cyrus made went far beyond anv.
lining that Daniel could have hoped
ne gave permission to all to go who
Woulo; ne told those who STAYED at
nome to contribute to a building and
restoration fund; he brought out ali
the vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had
taken from the temple and gave
mem TO Zerubbabel to take back
Win hlm-5,4O0 in all, great treas.
ufe intrlns1caIly, to say nothing of
the greater value from their asso.
clat1ons, God stirred up the the sipirt
Of Cyrus.
The Faithful Fifty Thousand
God stirred up also the spirit of
those who returned. Only a COM
paratively small number of the Jews
in Babylon went back with Zerub-
babel. Some were making money
there and preferred to stay, some
were apprehensive of the. dangers of
the journey land these dangers were
many and would not undertake 1t;
some did not care. There were fifty