Studies in Old Testament History Part 12

=I. Gen. Asp. Kin. Jud.= 1. Terr. Tri. Jud. 3,435 m. 2. Gov. mon.

3. Rel. 1.) Jeh. 2.) Idol.

=II. Dur. Kin.= 1. Ret. sit. 2. Un. peo. 3. Conc. Jer. 4. Rev. Ho.

Dav. 5. Pur. rel.

=III. Per. Hist.= 1. Fir. dec. rev. 1.) Dec. Reho. Abi. 2.) Rev.

As. Jehosh.

2. Sec. dec. rev. 1.) Dec. 200 y. 2.) Rev. Hez.

3. Thi. dec. rev. 1.) Dec. Man. 2.) Rev. Jos.

4. Fin. dec. fal. 1.) Ris. Bab. 2.) Des. Jer.

QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW.

What was embraced in the kingdom of Judah?

What was its area?

How was it governed?

What was its religion?

What was a.s.sociated with the worship of Jehovah?

What was the religious tendency of the people?

How long did the kingdom of Judah last?

What were the causes of this duration?

What were the periods in its history?

Under what kings was the first decline?

Who led in a revival and reformation?

Who was the greatest of the kings of Judah?

What took place during the second decline?

Who was the usurping queen?

What did this queen try to do?

Who wrought the second great reformation?

What was the character of this king?

What great destruction of Judah's enemies took place at this time?

Which reign was both longest, wickedest, and most evil in its results?

Who attempted a third reformation?

What was the result of his endeavor?

What was the political cause of the fall of Judah?

By what nation and by what king was Jerusalem finally destroyed?

Subjects for Special Papers.

HISTORY OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH.

THE HOUSE OF DAVID.

THE RELIGION OF JUDAH.

THE PROPHETS OF JUDAH.

ANCIENT JERUSALEM.

THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH IN RELATION TO EGYPT AND a.s.sYRIA.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SOLOMON'S DOMINIONS, THE KINGDOMS OF JUDAH & ISRAEL AND THE LANDS of the CAPTIVITIES]

NINTH STUDY.

THE CAPTIVITY OF JUDAH.

I. We must distinguish between the =CAPTIVITY OF ISRAEL=, or the ten tribes, and =THAT OF JUDAH=.

1. The captivity of Israel took place B. C. 721, that of Judah B. C.

587. The southern kingdom lasted one hundred and thirty-four years longer than the northern.

2. Israel was taken captive by the a.s.syrians under Sargon; Judah by the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar.

3. Israel was taken to the lands south of the Caspian Sea (2 Kings 17.

6); Judah to Chaldea, by the river Euphrates (Psa. 137. 1).

4. Israel never returned from its captivity, which was the end of its history; but Judah was brought back from its captivity and again became a flourishing state, though subject to foreign nations during most of its after history.

II. There were =THREE CAPTIVITIES= of Judah, all in one generation and all under one Chaldean king, Nebuchadnezzar:

1. =Jehoiakim's captivity.= (B. C. 607.) Jehoiakim was the son of Josiah, placed upon the throne after the battle of Megiddo, in which Josiah perished (2 Kings 23. 34). In the war between Pharaoh-nechoh of Egypt and Nebuchadnezzar (then joint king of Babylon with his father Nabopola.s.sar) Jehoiakim, as a va.s.sal of Nechoh, aided the Egyptians.

After the defeat of Nechoh, Nebuchadnezzar marched to punish Jehoiakim.

He was called away from the siege of Jerusalem by the death of his father and the necessity of hastening to Babylon to a.s.sume the government. Jehoiakim was spared, but a number of the n.o.bles of Judah were taken to Babylon, perhaps as hostages for the king's good conduct.

For three years Jehoiakim obeyed Nebuchadnezzar; then he rebelled, but was speedily reduced to subjection, and many of the leading people among the Jews were carried captive to Babylon (2 Kings 24. 1, 2). Among these captives was Daniel the prophet (Dan. 1. 1-6). From this event the _seventy years_ of the captivity were dated (Jer. 27. 22; 29. 10), though the kingdom of Judah remained for twenty years longer. Jehoiakim, the king, was not taken away, though bound in chains for that purpose (2 Chron. 36. 6); he reigned several years after this event, but under suspicion of the Chaldeans, and his end was ign.o.ble (Jer. 22. 18, 19; 36. 30).

2. =Jehoiachin's captivity.= (B. C. 598.) Jehoiachin was the son of Jehoiakim (called Jeconiah, 1 Chron 3. 16; Jer. 24. 1; and Coniah, Jer.

22. 24). He reigned only three months, and was then deposed by Nebuchadnezzar and carried to Babylon. With the young king and the royal family were taken thousands of the people of the middle cla.s.ses, whom the land could ill spare (2 Kings 24. 8-16). Among these captives was Ezekiel, the prophet-priest (Ezek. 1. 1-3).

3. =Zedekiah's captivity.= (B. C. 587.) He was the uncle of Jehoiachin, and the son of the good Josiah (2 Kings 24. 17), and had been made king by Nebuchadnezzar. But he too rebelled against his master, to whom he had taken a solemn oath of fidelity (2 Chron. 36. 13). The Chaldeans were greatly incensed by these frequent insurrections, and determined upon a final destruction of the rebellious city. After a long siege Jerusalem was taken, and the king was captured while attempting flight.

He was blinded and carried away to Babylon, the city was destroyed, and nearly all the people left alive were also taken to the land of Chaldea (2 Kings 25. 1-11). After this captivity the city lay desolate for fifty years, until the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus (B. C. 536).

III. Let us ascertain the =CAUSES OF THE CAPTIVITY=; why the Jews were taken up bodily from their own land and deported to a distant country.

1. Such deportations were a frequent =policy of Oriental conquerors=.

The Orientals had three ways of dealing with a conquered people: that of extermination or wholesale butchery, which is frequently described upon the a.s.syrian monuments; that of leaving them in the land under tribute, as subjects of the conqueror; and that of deporting them _en ma.s.se_ to a distant land. Frequently, when the interests of the empire would be served by changing the population of a province, this plan was carried out. Thus the ten tribes were carried to a land near the Caspian Sea, and other people were brought to Samaria in their place (2 Kings 17. 6, 24). A similar plan with respect to Judah was proposed by Sennacherib (2 Kings 18. 31, 32), but was thwarted by the destruction of the a.s.syrian host.

2. We have already noticed another cause of the captivity in the frequent =rebellions of the kings of Judah= against the authority of Babylon. The old spirit of independence, which had made Judah the leader of the twelve tribes, was still strong, and it was fostered by the hope of universal rule, which had been predicted through centuries, even while the kingdom was declining. The prophets, however, favored submission to Babylon; but the n.o.bles urged rebellion and independence.

Their policy was pursued, and the unequal strife was taken up more than once. The rebellions always failed; but after several attempts the patience of Nebuchadnezzar was exhausted, and the destruction of the rebellious city and the deportation of the population was ordered.

3. But underneath was another and a deeper cause--in =the rivalry of Egypt and Babylon=. Whenever in history one nation has been dominant there has been another nation, next in strength, as its rival to check its supremacy. Thus Greece stood in the way of Persia, Carthage in the way of republican Rome, and Parthia in the way of imperial Rome. In the earlier days a.s.syria (and after a.s.syria Babylon) was the controlling power in the East; but it was always opposed by Egypt, which, though less powerful, was yet strong enough to be dangerous to a.s.syrian or Chaldean supremacy. Palestine stood on the border of the a.s.syrian Empire toward Egypt; and in Palestine there were two parties, the a.s.syrian and the Egyptian; one counseling submission to a.s.syria, the other seeking alliance with Egypt against a.s.syria (Isa. 31. 1-3; 37. 6).

After Babylon took the place of Nineveh the Chaldean party took the place of the a.s.syrian, as the Chaldean Empire was the successor of the a.s.syrian Empire. The prophets, led by Jeremiah, always counseled submission to Babylon, and warned against trusting to Egypt, which had never given any thing more than promises; but the n.o.bles were of the Egyptian party, and constantly influenced the kings to renounce the yoke of Babylon, and to strike for independence by the aid of Egypt. Under Egyptian influence the later kings of Judah made attempt after attempt to rebel against the Chaldean Empire. But the expected help from Egypt never came, and Judah was left again and again to suffer the wrath of Babylon (Jer. 37. 5-9). The necessity of making the frontier of the Chaldean Empire safe on the side toward Egypt was the political cause for the deportation of the tribe of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar dared not to leave a people on the soil who would constantly endanger the entrance to his dominions by plotting with the Egyptians. He therefore took up the Jews bodily, placed them in the center of his empire, and turned the land of Judah into a desolation.

4. There was underlying all these political reasons a moral cause in =the divine purpose to discipline the nation=. The captivity was a weeding-out process, to separate the precious from the vile, the false from the true, the "remnant" from the ma.s.s. There had always been two distinct elements in Israel and Judah--the spiritual, G.o.d-fearing few, and the worldly, idol-worshiping many. The worldly and irreligious took part in the resistance to the King of Babylon; and the worshipers of Jehovah, led by the prophets, urged submission. As a result, the n.o.bles and the warriors, for the most part, perished; while the better part, the strength and hope of the nation, were carried away captive. Notice that the captives were mainly of the middle cla.s.s, the working element (2 Kings 24. 14-16). Those who had submitted to the Chaldeans were also taken away (2 Kings 25. 11). The prophet expressed greater hope for those taken away than for those left behind (Jer. 24. 1-10). The captives were the root of Judah, out of which in due time a new nation should rise.

IV. =THE CONDITION OF THE CAPTIVES IN CHALDEA= was far better than we are apt to suppose.