The Young Captives Part 23

"Listen, O king, to the words of Jehovah's prophets in regard to the taking of Babylon:

"'Make bright the arrows, gather the shields! The Lord hath raised up the spirits of the kings of the Medes, for his device is against Babylon to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple. Howl ye, for the day of the Lord is at hand! Shout against her round about! Behold, I will stir up the Modes against them, who shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain! Exalt the voice! shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the n.o.bles! Go up, O Elam! Besiege, O Media! Therefore shall evil come upon thee, and thou shalt not know from whence it cometh. Desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know. I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, and thou wast not aware. O thou that dwellest upon many waters, I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry. A drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up. In her heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may repose and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the Lord. Arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield!

Prepare slaughter for his children, for the iniquity of their fathers, that they do not rise and possess the land; for I will rise up against thee, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name and remnant, and son and nephew, saith the Lord.'

"These, O king, are some of the predictions of Jehovah against Babylon, by the mouths of his holy prophets. And has not my lord the king been an eye witness to their fulfillment!"

"They have all come to pa.s.s to the letter, O Daniel! Surely the G.o.d of Israel is the G.o.d of G.o.ds! Why should I any longer doubt? Thus it appears that Cyrus the Persian has been under the directions of the G.o.d of Israel, to bring about these wonderful events!"

"In this thou sayest truly, O king. And strange as it may sound in thine ears, be a.s.sured that thy name was known in Israel for over one hundred and fifty years before thy birth."

Here the Persian gazed on the Hebrew for awhile in silent wonderment; and it was evident from his countenance, that he had some doubt in regard to the truth of the sentence.

"Did the king rightly understand thy meaning? Sayest thou that my name was known in Israel for one hundred and fifty years previous to my birth?"

"The king rightly understandeth his servant. Thy name was carefully written in a book by one of our prophets two hundred and twenty years ago. Happily, I have now in my possession a copy taken from the original, written by one of our scribes, and bearing date which maketh it over one hundred and seventy years old. If the king desireth, thy servant will read."

"Read, Daniel," said the king, with much feeling.

Daniel from the same scroll from which he had read before, which was the Prophecies of Isaiah, read:

"'Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings to open before him the two-leaved gates; and the gates shall not he shut, I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of bra.s.s, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord which call thee by thy name, am the G.o.d of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.'"

The Persian was deeply moved. Indeed, tears were in the monarch's eyes.

He rose, and in the deepest reverence, exclaimed:

"I acknowledge the G.o.d of Israel as the great ruling power of the universe! Under his infinitely wise directions I stand ready to do his pleasure, and accomplish his great designs."

"One favor it is thine to grant, O king, according to the word of the Lord. For their iniquity the children of Judah were carried captive into Babylon, and Jerusalem was rendered desolate. According to the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, they were to remain in this land of their captivity for seventy years. This period, O king, in a few more months will be at an end. I pray thee, give permission to the children of Judah to return to their own land, and build up the old waste places, and raise again a temple to the G.o.d of Israel."

"This thy request, O Daniel, shall be granted," said the king, in a firm voice. "The proclamation shall go forth from the king, and all that is needful for the enterprise shall be supplied."

"Praised be Jehovah!" said the aged Hebrew. "At last the days of Judah's captivity are numbered, and Jerusalem shall be restored. Thy G.o.d, O king, whom from henceforth thou wilt serve, shall greatly prosper thee in the affairs of thy kingdom."

"I trust my faithful servant will consent to tarry with the king, to whom, from time to time, he will deliver lessons of wisdom. I purpose soon to remove my court from Babylon to Ecbatana, in Persia, whither I hope my faithful servant Daniel will consent to remove."

"Thy servant in this is willing to abide the pleasure of the king."

The king left the presence of his aged minister with strange but yet pleasurable emotions, hurried into his chariot, which was waiting, and was soon on his way to the palace.

The next day the following proclamation was heralded through the streets of Babylon, and sent to all the provinces:

"Thus saith Cyrus, King of Persia: The Lord G.o.d of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? His G.o.d be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord G.o.d of Israel (he is the G.o.d), which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, besides the free-will offering for the house of G.o.d that is in Jerusalem."

This proclamation was received by the captive Jews with gladness and great joy. Measures were immediately put forth for the accomplishment of the enterprise; the king, in the meantime, continuing to give every encouragement to these measures, in the firm conviction that he was under peculiar guidance of the G.o.d of heaven.

A brighter day never dawned on the plains of Judah. The brilliant rays of the morning sun were seen flashing upwards from behind Mount Zion, like so many messengers in uniform, proclaiming the near approach of their sovereign master. Presently, the great regent of day himself, in slow and silent majesty, made his appearance, and once more smiled on the City of the Great King. At an early hour, mult.i.tudes were seen pouring into the city, from east, west, north, and south, and on each countenance might have been read a degree of excitement and animation. This was the twenty-fourth day of the second month, in the second year after the return from Babylon; and on this day was to be laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord. This was well understood throughout the land; and we wonder not that from cities and villages, from hill and valley, the emanc.i.p.ated Hebrews hastened by thousands to witness a scene at the thought of which their hearts throbbed with intense emotions. By the sixth hour the great mult.i.tudes had congregated to witness the solemn and joyful ceremony. There stood the priests, with their long, flowing robes, with trumpets in their hands. There, also, stood the Levites, and the sons of Asaph, with cymbals to praise the Lord, after the ordinance of David, king of Israel. The builders had laid the foundation. Then the trumpets were blown, and the sons of Asaph struck their cymbals. Songs of praise ascended on high, and they gave thanks unto the Lord.

The ceremony was over. The concourse was dismissed, under the benediction of the priests, and the ma.s.ses moved homeward in all directions.

Two chariots of magnificent appearance, drawn by beautiful steeds, were seen leaving the ground. They drew much attention from the crowd, as they leisurely drove through the winding streets of Jerusalem. At last the chariots halted in front of a mansion, which had the appearance of having of late undergone a thorough repair. From one of these chariots alighted several venerable men, their hair whitened with age. Their whole bearing gave the beholder to understand that they were persons of distinction.

From the other chariot alighted, first a man of middle age, next a woman somewhat younger, then an aged man and woman, the latter alighting with great elasticity of step. The countenance of this lady gave evidence that it had once been the throne of rare beauty.

"Why looketh my brother so thoughtful and sad on this day of general rejoicing in Judah?" asked the aged lady, directing her address to one of those who had alighted from the first chariot.

"I am not sad, sister," replied the brother, "but am thoughtful. And what thinkest thou my mind dwelt upon?"

"Surely, I cannot tell. Some past scenes in Chaldea, peradventure."

"Nay, sister. But I was thinking that seventy and two years ago this very night, myself and my two brothers here, accompanied by our beloved Jeremiah, entered this house, and revealed the sad story of our captivity to our beloved Perreeza."

"Ah, dear Hananiah! and a dark night of sorrow that proved to your almost brokenhearted sister."

"But I trust that Jehovah hath overruled the whole in the end to the glory of his great name," said Mishael.

"Surely he hath!" quickly answered Mathias. "Forever blessed be the memory of that delightful night when these eyes, at the house of Barzello, rested on the bright charms of the 'Rose of Sharon.'"

"The rose no longer blooms, Mathias!" answered Perreeza. "It's hues are faded; and, under the pelting storms of life, its petals have well-nigh withered."

"The tint may fade, and the petals may wither, but sweeter than ever shall its fragrance continue to perfume the surrounding air," answered the husband, his face glowing with pure affection. "In that better country whither we are going, where flowers never fade, and where roses forever bloom, the 'Rose of Sharon' shall yet flourish in immortal beauty."

Mathias, Perreeza and the latter's three brothers had been made almoners of an immense bequest provided in Joram's will for advancing the interests of Judah. It was stipulated that the fund should not be employed until the expiration of seventy years of captivity. Joram believed, with Daniel and the other distinguished Israelites, that the captivity would come to an end in the specified seventy years. The treasure was hidden where none but the almoners and their natural heirs could disturb it.

It was Esrom's purpose, as a final atonement, to bequeath one-half of his vast fortune for the development of religious and educational inst.i.tutions in Jerusalem and to aid the poorer cla.s.s of Hebrews to acquire homes. The decision of Cyrus the king to a.s.sist in rebuilding the Temple at Jerusalem enabled Mathias and his a.s.sociates to use the bequest in other channels. The fund at their disposal was large, and they were enabled to give a new impetus to the cause of education in Judah.

Hundreds of the former captives were likewise a.s.sisted in the purchase of land and cattle. Much had been accomplished in the past year for the upbuilding of Jerusalem and the advancement of the race. It was natural, therefore, that, at the close of the ceremonies attending the laying of the foundation of the new temple, Esrom's friends should let their minds dwell on his generosity. Conversation turned to this theme as the family entered their home.

"It was a gracious and n.o.ble thing for Joram to do," exclaimed Hananiah.

"My uncle frequently told me," said Perreeza, "that it was his earnest desire to have his native city and his beloved land of Judah take a more advanced position in the affairs of the world. He believed that, with higher educational advantages, the Israelites would rapidly gain in statecraft. They are an industrious people, and many of them have shown such marked administrative ability as to convince observing men that the race will be potent in shaping the destiny of nations.

"Uncle Esrom became the wealthiest man in all Babylon because of his sagacity in barter and exchange. He was wise in regard to what the populace would buy most freely and where to obtain the merchandise to the best advantage."

"His discretion rather than his wealth gave him influence at the king's court," exclaimed Mishael. "Joram was a credit to his people, and methinks he was remarkable for his talent as a diplomat. He had great influence in foreign countries, and his knowledge gained abroad was of the highest importance to Nebuchadnezzar throughout his reign. Our uncle never forgot his native land, and constantly exerted a powerful influence in behalf of the people of Judah. That work was secret and mysterious, however. Frequently we heard of unexpected concessions and favors to our people from the king, and in time found out that they were due to Joram's promptings."

"My great hope at present is," returned Perreeza, "to be spared long enough to see substantial fruit spring from Uncle Esrom's bounty."

"I second that hope," said Hananiah. "I wish to see all the returned captives well provided for. The children of all these families must have doubled advantages as a measure of rest.i.tution. We can accomplish much with the immense sum at our disposal."

"We ought now, under such favorable circ.u.mstances," said Mishael, "to give Israel a new start in commerce and education. We have the benefit of Daniel's wisdom in this great undertaking; for, on several occasions before we left Babylon, he outlined plans by which Joram's wishes might be carried out in a practical manner. With the present government of Chaldea to protect our nation, the security of life and property is a.s.sured. We can push our projects as hard as we please, and feel confident that nothing but good is being accomplished."

The melodious voice of young Rebekah was now heard in another apartment, warbling one of her sweetest songs.

"Jehovah bless the child!" cried the grandmother. "How that voice of melody cheers my heart!"

"Mother!" quickly replied Monroah. "Permit me to call her into this apartment, where she may sing and play thy favorite 'song of Judah.'"

"Thou art ever kind to thy mother, dear Monroah; do as thou desirest."