Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, sent up his forces against him, took some captives, bound the king in fetters, and he died in shame, his dead body being cast without the gates of Jerusalem, and without a burial and his young son Jehoiachin reigned in his stead, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 5–8. Dan. i. 1—3. Jer. xxii. 18, 19.

65 Q. What became of this Jehoiachin, who is also called Jechoniah and Coniah?

A. When he had reigned three months, Nebu. chadnezzar took the city of Jerusalem, and carried him to Babylon, together with ten thousand captives, and rich treasures of silver and gold that remained in the temple and in the king's house, 2 Kings xxiv. 8-17. Jer. xxii. 24-30.

66 Q. Was there any king in Judah after Jehoiachin?

A. Yes, the last king was Zedekiah, his father's brother, whom Nebuchadnezzar made king in Jerusalem, ver. 17, 18.

67 Q. What fell out in the days of Zedekiah?

A. He rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, to whom he had sworn subjection by the name of the true God, whereupon Nebuchadnezzar came up and took the city of Jerusalem again, after a siege of two years, 2 Kings xxv. 1-4.

68 Q. How did he punish Zedekiah for his rebellion ?

A. When Zedekiah fled from the city, he was seized by the Babylonians; Nebuchadnezzar ordered his sons to be slain before his face, then his eyes were put out, he was bound with fetters of brass, and carried to Babylon, and there was no more a king in Judah, ver. 6, 7. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 13.

69 Q. What became of the city and temple at this time?

A. The king of Babylon burnt the temple of the Lord, the palace of the kings, and all the houses of Jerusalem; he brake down the walls of the city, and

carried away the rest of the people captive; together with all the vessels of gold, silver, and brass, great and small, that belonged to the temple, 2 Kings xxv. 8-17.

70 Q. But were the people punished thus for the sins of their kings?

A. The princes, and the priests, and the people, had a large share in the common idolatry and wickedness, together with the kings, and that in opposition to all the warnings of their prophets, whereby God was provoked to punish them all, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 14-21.

71 Q. Was there any ruler of the scattered people that remained in the land of Israel?

A. Gedaliah was made governor by the king of Babylon, but he was slain in a little time by a faction under Ishmael, one of the seed-royal; and there was nothing but confusion and disorder in the land, 2 Kings xxv. 22, &c.

72 Q. What became of the people afterward?

A. Johanan, the son of Kareah, one of the captains under Gedaliah, routed Ishmael, and drove him out of the land; yet being afraid of the anger of the king of Babylon, and his resentment of the murder of Gedaliah his governor, he was tempted to fly into Egypt, and to carry most of the people thither with him, where they were dispersed into several cities, Jer. xli. 13-18, and xlii. xliii.

73 Q. Was this done by any divine order?

A. No; but directly against the word of the Lord, by the mouth of Jeremiah the prophet, who was left among them in the land; and they carried him also into Egypt with them, Jer. xliii. 1–9.

74 Q. Did the Jews behave themselves better in Egypt after all their afflictions and distresses?

A. They practised idolatry in Egypt with insolence, in opposition to the reproofs of Jeremiah the prophet, Jer. xliv.

75 Q. Did they perish there or return?

A. Jeremiah was ordered by the Lord to foretel the destruction of Egypt by the king of Babylon, and so denounce the uttermost calamities and death, by sword and famine, upon the Jews that sojourned there; and that but a very small number of them should ever return to the land of Judah, though he foretold the return of their brethren from their captivity in Babylon, Jer. xliii. 9. and xliv. 11. 28, &c.

CHAPTER XIII.

Of the Return of the Jews from Captivity in Babylon, and the Rebuilding the City of Jerusalem and the Temple.

1 Q. How long did the nation of the Jews continue in their captivity, and their land lie desolate?

A. Though the land lay not utterly desolate till the final destruction of Jerusalem, in the days of Zedekiah, which was between fifty and sixty years before their first release; yet, from their first captivity by Nebuchadnezzar in former reigns, their land was in some measure desolate seventy years, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah. See 2 Chron. xxxvi. 21. Jer. xxv. 11, 12.

Here let it be observed, that as there were several seasons, and under different kings, when part of the children of Israel and Judah were carried into captivity, and several periods whence their desolations may commence; so there were several seasons also of their return and restoration: but the chief duration of their captivity and desolate circumstances was

seventy years. See 2 Kings xxiv. 1, 2. 10-14, and ch. xxv. 11, compared with Ezra i. 1, 2, and ch. vi. 1-12, ch. vii. 7. and Neh. ii. 1, &c.

2 Q. Who gave them release from their captivity in Babylon ?

A. When Babylon was taken by Cyrus, the general of the army under Darius, the king of the Medes, the Assyrian or Babylonish empire was finished. After Darius's death, Cyrus himself became king of Persia, and he not only gave the Jews a release, but gave them also a commission to rebuild the Temple, and restored to them the vessels of gold and silver: and this he did by the hand of Shesbazzar, a prince of Judah, Ezra i. 7-11. Note. Now was that prophecy fulfilled which Isaiah pronounced above a hundred years before, Isa. xliv. 28, that it was Cyrus who should say to Jerusalem, Be thou built; and to the Temple, Be thy foundation laid; and chapter xiv. 13. who should build the City of God, and release his captives.

3Q. Which of the tribes did accept of this commission, and return to their own land?

A. There were many persons and families of several tribes of Israel, who took this opportunity of returning; yet it was chiefly those of Judah and Benjamin, with the priests and several of the Levites, who returned, and were now all united under the name of Jews, Ezra i. 5, and iv. 12.

4 Q. Who were the first leaders and directors? A. Zerubbabel, a prince of Judah, of the seedroyal, whose Chaldaic or Babylonish name was Shesbazzar; he was their prince or captain, and Jeshua or Joshua was their high-priest, Ezra i. 11. and ii. 2, and iii. 8, compared with v. 14-16, and Zech. iii. and iv.

Note. This Shesbazzar, or Zerubbabel, was the son of Salathiel, the son of Jehoiachin, or Jechoniah, king of

5

Judah; he was made governor of the land, under the title of Tirshatha, by a commission from Cyrus. Jeshua was the son of Jozedak or Josedech, the son of Seraia, who was high-priest, when Jerusalem was destroyed, and who was put to death by Nebuchad

nezzar.

5 Q. What was the first thing they did after their return?

A. They made a large contribution toward the rebuilding of the Temple, they gathered themselves together to Jerusalem, they set up the altar of the God of Israel, and offered sacrifices upon it, Ezra ii. 68. and iii. 1-6.

6 Q. In what manner did they lay the foundation of the temple?

A. While the builders laid the foundation, the Priests and the Levites sung and praised the Lord with trumpets and other instruments, after the ordinance of David, Ezra iii. 10, 11.

7 Q. What remarkable occurrences attended the laying of the foundation of the Temple?

A. While the younger part of the people shouted for joy, many of the ancient fathers wept with a loud voice, when they remembered how much more glorious the first temple was than the second was like to be, ver. 12, 13. and Hag. ii. 3.

Here it may be observed, that though the foundation of the second Temple stood on the same compass of ground as the first, yet a company of poor exiles, returning from a long captivity, could not promise or hope for so glorious a building as the temple of Solomon, neither in the richness of the materials, nor in the magnificence and curiosity of the workmanship. See Dr. Prideaux's Connection, vol. i. p. 143.

The Jews also generally suppose five things to be wanting in the second temple, after it was finished, which did belong to the first; namely, (1.) The ark of the covenant, and the mercy-seat, which was upon it, with the cherubs of gold, together with the tables of stone in which the law was written, which were in