A Message of Hope for Downhearted Captives, Chapter Sixteen

IT WAS a dark period in Judah's history.  God's covenant people had been forcibly taken from their homeland and now were languishing in captivity in Babylon.  Granted, they were allowed  a measure of freedom to carry on their daily affairs.  (Jeremiah 29:4-7)  Some acquired professional skills or engaged in commercial enterprises.  (Nehemiah 3:8, 31. 32)  Nevertheless, life for the Jewish captives was not easy.  They were in bondage, both physically and spiritually. Let us see how.

When the Babylonian armies destroyed Jerusalem in 607 B.C.E., they did more than devastate a nation; they also dealt a blow to true worship. They stripped Jehovah's temple and destroyed it, crippling the priesthood arrangement by taking some of the tribe of Levi captive and putting others to death. With no house of worship, no altar, and no organized priesthood, it was impossible for the Jews to offer sacrifices to the true God as prescribed by the Law.

Faithful Jews could still preserved their religious identity by practicing circumcision and following the Law to the extent possible.  For example, the could abstain  from forbidden foods and observe the Sabbath.  But in doing so, they risked the ridicule of their captors, for the Babylonians viewed the religious rituals of the Jews as foolish.  The downhearted condition of the exiles can be seen in the psalmist's words:  "By the rivers of Babylon-there we sat down. We also wept when we remembered Zion. Upon the poplar trees in the midst of her we hung  our harps. For there those holding us captive asked us for the words of a song, and those mocking us-for rejoicing:  'Sing for us one of the songs of Zion.' "-Psalm 137:1-3.

To whom, then, could the Jewish captives turn for comfort?  From where would come their salvation?  Certainly not from any of the surrounding nations!   All of those were powerless against Babylon's armies, and may were hostile to the Jews.  But the situation  was not hopeless.  Jehovah, against whom they had rebelled when they were a free people, graciously extended a heartening invitation to them, even though they were in exile.

Next time: "Come to the Water"

From the Book Isaiah's Prophecy Light for all Mankind, Volume II, 2001