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THE CAPTIVITY AND RETURN OF THE JEWS.

B.C. 606-B.C. 400. 206 YEARS.

Lesson 118. Of Daniel and his Friends.

Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were selected to be brought up in all the wisdom of the Chaldeans. God blessed them, and gave them knowledge and skill, because they served him. Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem in the reigns of Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, and took captive to Babylon all but the poorest people in the land.

"Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday." Psalm xxxvii. 3-6.

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Jeremiah wrote to the Jews in Babylon, and exhorted them to live in peace, and to be happy during their captivity, and that after seventy years they should return to Jerusalem. He denounced God's wrath against the false prophets Shemaiah and Hananiah

-whose prophecies made the people rebellious to God.

"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive." Jeremiah xxix. 13, 14.

Lesson 120. Jeremiah's Prophetic Mission. Jeremiah was to tell Zedekiah that God would give Jerusalem to the king of Babylon, and it should be burned with fire, and that Zedekiah should

be taken captive. He denounced the princes for bringing their bondmen into subjection after they had promised them liberty. Ezekiel prophesied to the captive Jews in Chaldea.

"A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee; and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them." Prophecy of Ezekiel v. 12.

Lesson 121. Zedekiah's Rebellion.

Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon, who again besieged Jerusalem. Jeremiah again reproved the priests and the people, but they mocked him. He purchased a field, to show his faith in God's promises— that the people should return from the land of their captivity, and dwell once more in their own land.

"For thus saith the Lord, Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them; and fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans." Jeremiah xxxii. 42, 43.

Lesson 122. Jeremiah Imprisoned.

Jeremiah was accused of favouring the Chaldeans, and he was cast into a noisome dungeon. When Jerusalem was besieged Zedekiah fled, but he was overtaken by the Chaldeans. His eyes were put out; he was carried in chains to Babylon, and he was put into prison till the day of his death. The princes of Judah were slain.

Thus was fulfilled the prophecy of Ezekiel-" And the prince that is among them....shall go forth. My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare and I will bring him to Babylon, to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there." Ezekiel xii. 12, 13.

Lesson 123. Of Gedaliah. Of Tyre.

Gedaliah was appointed governor of Judah and Jerusalem, by NebuJeremiah joined him.

chadnezzar. Gedaliah was afterwards slain by Ishmael, who escaped to Ammon. Tyre was a place of great trade. The Tyrians rejoiced when Jerusalem was destroyed, but God threatened to destroy Tyre and to make it desolate.

PROPHECIES AGAINST TYRE.-" It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God: and it shall become a spoil to the nations."

"I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more; for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD."

"I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord GOD." Ezekiel xxvi.

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