CHAPTER XVII.

THE RETURN FROM THE BABYLONIAN EXILE, AND THE PROPHETS AFTER THE RETURN.

THE captivity in Babylon did not bring the Jews to national repentance, and so lead to national restoration. When God had prepared the way by the establishment of the new Persian kingdom under Cyrus, and had moved this ruler to give permission to such of the captives as desired it to go up to Jerusalem to rebuild the house of the Lord, but few availed themselves of it (536 B.C.). Only forty and two thousand went up. A considerable number of these were priests, and some Levites; but, for the most part, they seem to have been of the poorer and humbler class. The proclamation of Cyrus speaks of building the temple, not the city and its walls; and to this work did the returned exiles first address themselves. (Ez. iii.) Having erected the altar of burnt offering, they proceeded to lay the foundation of the temple; this was done in the second year after their return, but for a considerable period their work on the temple was hindered by the opposition of their heathen and Samaritan enemies (534-516 B.C.). But it is plain that this external hostility was not the sole cause of the delay; it was rather the slothfulness and indifference of the colonists themselves. To arouse and quicken them, God sent the prophets Haggai and Zechariah; and at last the temple was completed. (Ez. v. 1, vi. 15.)

After the rebuilding of the temple, a period of more than fifty years passed (515-458 B.C.), of which we know very little. Then came Ezra the scribe from Babylon, followed after some years by Nehemiah (445 B.C.). By the latter the walls of the city were rebuilt; and by his efforts and those of Ezra many abuses were corrected, and the Mosaic laws enforced with more strictness. The last of the prophets was Malachi (432 B.C.). A brief survey of the condition of the Jews after the return from exile will enable us better to understand the words of these last prophets.

At no time after the conquest by the Babylonians did the Jews regain their political independence, except for a very short period under the Hasmoneans. They dwelt in their own land as a subject people. If not oppressed by their Persian rulers, still they were by their local position much exposed to spoliation and suffering through the wars which Persia waged with other states, especially with Egypt. At first they occupied but a very small part of their old territory, but were scattered through it, chiefly in the northern and central parts. Being so few in number, it was for a time a question whether they could be preserved as a distinct people, or would be merged in the peoples around them. Two things were especially on the hearts of their leaders, to keep them separate from the heathen by strict prohibition of intermarriage, and to re-establish the rites of worship. The first step was to rebuild the temple, for this alone could be a centre of unity to the returning exiles. In their condition of political subjection to heathen governors, the only rule possible under Mosaic institutions was that of the priests in ecclesiastical matters; and, as the office of high priest was hereditary and permanent, it soon became the chief and most influential.

The Jews who returned from Babylon were probably those least tainted with idolatry, and their dislike of their heathen rulers naturally intensified their aversion to heathen deities. But for a considerable period after the return the intermarriages with the heathen, which their rulers vainly attempted to repress, exposed them to temptation; and there are indications that some yielded to it, and fell into idolatry. (Ez. ix. 1, etc.) Gradually, however, they became more and more strictly monotheistic, and looked with increasing abhorrence upon idols and idolatrous worship. Their reverence for Jehovah did not, indeed, lead them to obey His commands, or to make great sacrifices for His honor, as is shown in the complaint of the prophet Haggai that they were more eager to build their own houses than His house.

It must be borne clearly in mind, that this return under Zerubbabel and Joshua was not a national restoration, nor was it a re-establishment of the original theocratic relation. Jehovah was no longer their King as of old; He did not return to dwell among them. He could not dwell in a land over which heathen princes ruled,-in a city in which His will was not supreme. When He returned, it must be to assert His high prerogatives over both people and land, to separate the good from the evil, to judge the heathen nations, to exalt and bless His chosen ones, and fulfill all that the Theocracy was originally designed to accomplish.

The return of a remnant to remain in subjection to heathen rulers was, therefore, primarily for the preservation of the people till the hour of the Messiah should come. It was a continuation of national existence under the law of Moses, but on a lower plane. Yet was this remnant itself on trial; for by faithful obedience to such Mosaic laws as were applicable, it might hasten

the return of Jehovah to dwell again in Jerusalem, and the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom. Before the exile, and while Jehovah was dwelling among them, this Kingdom was presented as the completion and exaltation of the existing Theocracy; but after the exile, when Jehovah had ceased to dwell among them, the restoration of the Theocracy, and the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom, were presented as to be contemporaneous and identical. The return and dwelling of Jehovah in Jerusalem, and the appearing of the Messiah, were thus to take place at one and the same time; and both alike were the object of hope.

In immediate connection with this trial of the returned remnant, whether it would by its moral preparation regain what it had lost, or fall still lower, two things are to be noted: first, that the returning exiles had at their head a prince of the house of David Zerubbabel- and the high priest Joshua; second, that prophets were given to help these leaders in the execution of their work. The means were thus in the hands of the remnant to prepare the way for the fulfillment of God's promises, means both for the right order of worship under the Aaronic priesthood, and for the revival of the Davidic dynasty, and the prophetic voice also was there to warn and to guide. Much was wanting in the second temple that had been found in the first; but faithfulness to their covenant might restore what was lacking, and the day quickly come when Jehovah would return, the Messiah appear, and all that the earlier prophets had spoken be fulfilled. But, because the people were not faithful in that which was left them, all these means of preparation were given in vain. Zerubbabel was the last prince of the house of David, and the royal family sank speedily into obscurity. The High Priesthood continued for a time, indeed, in

the line of Joshua, but passed at last into the line of strangers; and the spirit of prophecy, quenched by disobedience, was silent for centuries.

Let us now turn to the utterances of the three prophets after the exile,- Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. These took their distinctive character from the changed relation in which the returned remnant stood to Jehovah as the theocratic King. They all recognized the fact that He had departed from the holy city and temple, that He was still absent, and that with His return the true prosperity and blessedness of the nation would begin. "Lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations. shall be joined to the Lord in that day. . . . And the Lord shall inherit Judah His portion in the holy land.” (Zech. ii. 10-12.) "The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple. . . . He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver. . Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old. . . . And all nations shall call you blessed." (Mal. iii. 1, etc. See Hag. ii. 6-9.)

We may note the following chief points of agreement in these prophets as to the present and future of the people:

1. All recognize the fact that the mere return from Babylon to the land, and the rebuilding of the temple, did not restore the theocratic relation existing before the exile. The covenant is not abrogated, but Jehovah is no more present with them as their King. His return to dwell among them is still future.

2. The day of Jehovah's return to dwell again at Jerusalem is "the day of the Lord," "that day," the time when He "will shake the heavens and the earth," and "destroy the strength of the kingdom of