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 C0FHHGHT DEPOSm 
 
KINGDOM OF GOD SERIES 
 
 Studies in the development of the kingdom of God, 
 for use consecutively or as independent units. 
 
 The Religion of Israel 
 
 Twenty-six lessons. 
 
 By John Bayne Ascham 
 
 The Religion of Judah 
 
 Twenty-six lessons. 
 
 By John Bayne Ascham 
 
 The Life of Jesus 
 
 Twenty-six lessons. 
 
 By Harris Franklin Rail 
 
 The Teachings of Jesus 
 
 Twenty-six lessons. 
 
 By Harris Franklin Rail 
 
 The Kingdom of God Since the Time of Christ 
 
 In preparation. By John Bayne Ascham 
 
KINGDOM OF GOD SERIES 
 
 f 
 
 The Religion of Judah 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN BAYNE ASCHAM 
 
 THE ABINGDON PRESS 
 
 NEW YORK CINCINNATI 
 
T3M I us 
 
 ■at 
 
 Copyright, 1920, by 
 JOHN BAYNE ASCHAM 
 
 The Bible text used in this book, except that appearing in italic, is taken from 
 the American Standard Edition of the Revised Bible, copyright, 1901, by Thoxnaa 
 Nelson & Sons, and is used by permission. 
 
 AUG -2 i920 
 ©CI.A597126 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. The Story op Judah From Rehoboam to Ahaz 7 
 
 II. The Early Prophecies op Isaiah 17 
 
 III. Isaiah and the Jud2ean Crisis op 735 b. c 27 
 
 IV. Isaiah and the Assyrian Invasion 36 
 
 V. Isaiah and the Messianic Hope 48 
 
 VI. The Message op Micah 59 
 
 VII. The Deuteronomic Reform 69 
 
 VIII. Deuteronomic Provisions for Worship 79 
 
 IX. Deuteronomic Provisions for Social Welfare . . 90 
 
 X. Jeremiah: Prophet op Judah's Decline 100 
 
 XI. Jeremiah: Prophet op Personal Religion 109 
 
 XII. Ezeeiel: Watchman Unto the House of Israel. . 119 
 
 XIII. In the Waejs op the Exiles 129 
 
 XIV. Two Nameless Kingdom Builders 140 
 
 XV. Tasks and Hopes op the Returning Exiles 152 
 
 XVI. From Zechariah to Nehemiah 163 
 
 XVII. Nehemiah: Builder and Reformer 174 
 
 XVIII. The Development of Jewish Law 185 
 
 XIX. Job: A Study in Jewish Piety 197 
 
 XX. Jewish Life in the Persian Period 209 
 
 XXI. The Jewish Sage 220 
 
 XXII. The Maccabean Crisis 231 
 
 XXIII. Jewish Religious Parties 242 
 
 XXIV. The Jewish Messianic Hope 256 
 
 XXV. The Jewish Scriptures 270 
 
 XXVI. The Developing Kingdom of God 281 
 
 Index 293 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 THE STORY OF JUDAH FROM REHOBOAM TO 
 
 AHAZ 
 
 United Israel came to its fullness of national spirit and 
 achievement in the reign of Solomon, during the middle 
 of the tenth century B. C. The death of Solomon pre- 
 cipitated the revolt of the northern portion of the state. 
 Israel, as the northern kingdom is known, pursued a tragic 
 career until the nation perished in the destruction of 
 Samaria in 722 B. C. The southern part of Solomon's 
 kingdom, the inhabitants of the territory lying almost 
 wholly south of Jerusalem, remained loyal to his son. For 
 almost two centuries after the disruption of the kingdom 
 that had been established by Saul, David, and Solomon, the 
 southern state, known as Judah, moved on uneventfully 
 until it too came into collision with Assyria. During this 
 period religious conditions for the most part were the same 
 in Judah as in Israel. 
 
 The Political History 
 
 Two Centuries of Kings: 937-735 B. C. — (a) Behoboam, 
 937-917. — In addition to the war with Israel (1 Kings 14. 
 30) the chief event of this king's reign is narrated in 1 
 Kings 14. 25-28. For the treasures of the Temple see 
 7. 51. To despoil the Temple to pay tribute or to pur- 
 chase an alliance was not an infrequent resort of Judah's 
 kings. See in 2 Chronicles 11. 5-12 the list of cities forti- 
 fied by Rehoboam. 
 
 (b) Abijah, son of Rehoboam, 920-917. — War continued 
 between him and Jeroboam. No details of his reign are 
 given by the editor of Kings. A typical instance of the 
 historical methods of the chronicler is 2 Chronicles 13. 
 
 (c) Asa, son of Abijah, 917-876. — Read 1 Kings 15. 
 16-22. Since Ramah was only a few miles from Jerusa- 
 lem, the desperate strait of Asa is easily understood. Read 
 
 7 
 
8 THE EELIGION OP JUDAH 
 
 2 Chronicles 16. 7-10 for the prophetic attitude toward 
 Asa's policy. This is the second inroad upon the Temple's 
 treasures. Note the first hint of the efforts of Judah's 
 kings to reform the cultus (1 Kings 15. 12, 13). 
 
 (d) Jehoshaphat, son of Asa, 876-851, — Jehoshaphat 
 ended the long feud between Judah and Israel by a mar- 
 riage alliance with the house of Ahab (2 Kings 8. 18). 
 One of the first issues of this alliance was a campaign 
 against Damascus to recover Israelitish territory in Gilead. 
 See 1 Kings 22. 1-37 for the disastrous results. The 
 chronicler's parallel is found in 2 Chronicles 18. 1 to 19. 
 3. What other acts are ascribed to him in 1 Kings 22. 
 46-49 ? 
 
 (e) Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, 851-81+8. — Eead 2 
 Kings 8. 16-18 for his marriage and 8. 20-22 for his 
 disastrous campaign against Edom. The passage 2 Chron- 
 icles 21. 2-4 is probably a bit of authentic history that the 
 writer of Kings took no pains to record. 
 
 (/) Ahaziah, son of Jehoram, or Joram, 81+8-81+2. — He 
 reigned a little less than a year. There is little to record 
 about him. He went to Samaria to visit Jehoram, his 
 brother-in-law, the king of Israel, who was ill (2 Kings 
 8. 29), and, being there at the time of Jehu's revolution, 
 was slain (9.27,28). 
 
 (g) Athaliah, daughter of Ahab of Israel and mother 
 of Ahaziah, 81+2-886.—Re&& 2 Kings 11. 1-3 for Athaliah's 
 seizure of the throne. Athaliah had carried into Jerusalem 
 the Tyrian Baalism which her mother Jezebel had im- 
 ported into Israel (11. 18). What measures did she take 
 to secure herself on the throne ? Jehu had already rooted 
 out the foreign Baalism in Israel. How is Athaliah's 
 prolonged success accounted for? Bead 2 Kings 11. 4-20 
 for the revolt under Jehoiada and the enthronement of 
 Joash. 2 Chronicles 22. 11 states that Jehoiada was the 
 priest of the Temple and the husband of Jehoshabeath, the 
 aunt of Joash, whose life she saved. 
 
 (h) Joash, or Jehoash, son of Ahaziah, 886-796. — Eead 
 2 Kings 12. 4-16 for the king's repair of the Temple. Up 
 to this time the expense of the upkeep of the Temple was 
 
FROM REHOBOAM TO AHAZ 9 
 
 borne by the king. Now the expense is to be borne by the 
 people. At first Joash decreed that two sources of priestly 
 revenue should be expended by the priests for repairs — 
 namely: Temple dues, or taxes, imposed by the priests for 
 this purpose, and free-will offerings. For several years the 
 priests collected this money but failed to expend it as di- 
 rected. Then the chest was introduced, and the expendi- 
 ture of the money placed in the hands of the royal secre- 
 tary and the chief priest. The second plan worked 
 successfully and continued in force probably until the 
 destruction of the Temple. Read 2 Kings 12. 17, 18 for 
 the Syrian aggression and the tribute of Joash. This is 
 the third recorded despoliation of the Temple to pay tribute 
 or to bribe an ally. It is stated in 2 Chronicles 24. 17-22 
 that the chief priest, Zechariah, was stoned by royal order, 
 and that the king's assassination was in revenge for the 
 priest's death. 
 
 (i) Amaziah, son of Joash, 796-782. — Read 2 Kings 
 
 14. 1-7. After an introduction in the usual Deuteronomic 
 style note the two incidents taken from the older historical 
 records — namely, the execution of the murderers of Joash 
 and Amaziah's victory over the Edomites. The first of 
 these is noteworthy. Observe the statement "the children 
 of the murderers he put not to death." What was the 
 older practice? See Joshua 7. 24; 2 Kings 9. 26. This 
 is a distinct advance in jurisprudence. Later the practice 
 of limiting guilt to the actual transgressor was embodied 
 in the Deuteronomic Code (see Deuteronomy 24. 16). Em- 
 boldened by his success over Edom, Amaziah dared Israel 
 to battle. The challenge and the disastrous results are 
 told in 2 Kings 14. 8-14. Again the Temple was despoiled. 
 Undoubtedly Amaziah's folly with regard to Israel occa- 
 sioned the insurrection that ended in his death (14. 19, 20) . 
 
 (/) Azariah (Uzziah), son of Amaziah, 782-740. — His 
 son Jotham was regent from 751 until his father's death, 
 when he assumed the throne. The editor of Kings gives 
 only two events of Uzziah's long reign: 2 Kings 14. 22; 
 
 15. 5. The longer account in 2 Chronicles 26. 6-15 throws 
 additional light upon the military activities and commer- 
 
10 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 cial prosperity of Judah under the rule of Uzziah. It is 
 quite probable that Isaiah 2. 6-21, with its suggestions of 
 trade and wealth, describes conditions in the closing years 
 of Uzziah's reign. Putting all these references together, 
 what may be inferred concerning the political and social 
 conditions in Judah in the days of Amos, Hosea, and 
 Isaiah ? 
 
 (k) Jotham, son of Azariah, regent 751-7 J/-0; king 71*0- 
 785. — The occasion for the regency is explained in 2 Kings 
 15. 5. A rare prophetic summary of his reign, 15. 32-38, 
 states that "he built the upper gate of the house of 
 Jehovah." As the Temple came more and more to be the 
 sanctuary of Judah, the need of the new approaches be- 
 came pressing. According to 2 Kings 15. 37 the Syrian 
 invasion was threatening at the time of his death. A few 
 other details are added in 2 Chronicles 27. 3-6. 
 
 Summary of Political History. — The two centuries of 
 Judah's history from the death of Solomon to the Assyrian 
 period were less eventful than Israel's stormy career. For 
 the first one hundred years there was constant friction 
 between the two kingdoms. This open antagonism was 
 ended by the marriage alliance arranged by Jehoshaphat 
 and Ahab. During the second century Israel's position 
 between Judah and Damascus imposed upon her the brunt 
 of Syria's aggressions. Protected by the northern king- 
 dom's successes and misfortunes, Judah was free to ac- 
 quire that prosperity and sense of security which 
 characterized the southern state under Uzziah and Ahaz. 
 Judah differs from Israel in its loyalty to the Davidic 
 dynasty. With the exception of the half dozen years of 
 Athaliah's usurpation the throne descended regularly from 
 father to son during nearly the whole of Judah's history. 
 Undoubtedly this loyalty to David's house was augmented 
 by the attraction of the Temple; and the stability of the 
 throne tended to transform gradually the royal sanctuary 
 into the nation's one legitimate place of worship. 
 
 The Keligious Life 
 The Religious Influence of Solomon.— The reigns of 
 
FROM EEHOBOAM TO AHAZ 11 
 
 David and Solomon established in the thought of the 
 Hebrew people Jehovah as the national Deity. In his 
 name successful wars of conquest had been waged. All the 
 chief sanctuaries were his. In remote districts some local 
 Canaanitish Baal might still be honored. But in general 
 Jehovah reigned supreme in the religious thought and 
 practice of the Hebrew people. Other nations had their 
 deities, and the reality of these gods was conceded by the 
 prevalent thought of Israel in this period. The primitive 
 worship of Jehovah, the worship of the wilderness, is 
 largely a matter of conjecture. It involved animal sacri- 
 fice, perhaps at stated periods but certainly at times of 
 confusion and crisis. The sacred places, where sacrifices 
 might be offered, were few and unadorned. This primitive 
 worship was very similar to the religious beliefs and prac- 
 tices of the Bedouin of to-day. 
 
 Upon entrance into Canaan this primitive worship was 
 greatly modified by the religious life of the Canaanites. 
 The religion of the nomad gave place to the religion of 
 the settled agriculturist. The common worship became 
 largely a borrowing from the Canaanites. The three great 
 annual festivals (Exodus 23. 14-17) entered into the wor- 
 ship of Jehovah from the customs of the Canaanites. The 
 sanctuaries of the Hebrews in Palestine had been sacred 
 places long before their settlement in the land. The 
 mazzebah, or stone column, and the asherah, or wooden 
 pillar — essentials at a Canaanitish altar — became familiar 
 elements in the sacrificial feasts of the Hebrews. 
 
 In addition to the unchallenged, unspiritual forms of 
 worship Solomon introduced the altars and the priests of 
 foreign deities. As a result of his treaties with surround- 
 ing nations women of the royal families of these nations 
 were admitted to his harem. With these wives, in the 
 manner of our modern ambassadorial privileges, came the 
 religious rites of their respective peoples. Upon the 
 Mount of Olives, Solomon set up a sanctuary of Astarte, 
 the widely worshiped Semitic goddess of fertility and love ; 
 Milcom, the national god of the Ammonites ; and Chemosh, 
 the chief Moabite deity (1 Kings 11. 6-8). The editor 
 
12 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 of the book of Kings does not give the names of other 
 foreign deities worshiped at Jerusalem but states (11. 8) 
 that Solomon's many marriages were the occasion of many 
 diverse forms of worship. 
 
 These women of foreign birth, representing trade rela- 
 tions with their homeland, naturally would not be the only 
 worshipers at these shrines on the Mount of Olives. Nor 
 would these sanctuaries, at which women of royal blood 
 worshiped, be inconspicuous and meanly adorned. The 
 worship conducted at these altars not only would tend to 
 make the Hebrew tolerant of foreign rites but also would 
 attract the natives of Jerusalem to participate in the 
 foreign rites. The worship of Astarte in particular would 
 be demoralizing. Some of these sanctuaries were in ex- 
 istence until the reforms inaugurated by Josiah swept them 
 away. That they should have continued for a period of 
 more than three hundred years indicates that Hebrews 
 were drawn into the worship carried on at these shrines, 
 and that Judah was not as alert as Israel to invasions of 
 the rights of Jehovah. 
 
 Tyrian Baalism. — The policy inaugurated by Solomon 
 was followed by other princes. Jehoram married Athaliah, 
 the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, sovereigns of Israel. 
 As her mother had done in Samaria, she introduced Tyrian 
 Baalism into Jerusalem. A temple was erected for the 
 worship of the Phoenician national deity, probably on the 
 Mount of Olives; a priest was installed; and numerous 
 altars and images were erected (2 Kings 11. 18). This 
 worship continued uninterruptedly for several years. In 
 Jerusalem this worship supplanted for the court, at least 
 during the six years of Athaliah's reign, the worship of 
 Jehovah as the official religion of the state. That Atha- 
 liah, a princess of Israel, should bring Tyrian Baalism 
 into Jerusalem as the official religion of Israel — her mar- 
 riage with the king of Judah would warrant her in intro- 
 ducing only the religion of her native state — indicates both 
 the resoluteness of her Phoenician spirit bequeathed to her 
 by her mother, Jezebel, and also the tolerance of foreign 
 religions Solomon's example had introduced into Judah. 
 
FROM REHOBOAM TO AHAZ 13 
 
 Efforts at Reform. — There are two accounts of reform 
 during this period which should be noted. Read 1 Kings 
 15. 12, 13. The sodomites, or sanctuary prostitutes, 
 were no doubt attached to the shrine built by Solomon 
 to Astarte. The abominable image made by the queen 
 mother was probably a phallic emblem. The zeal of 
 Asa indicates a beginning of moral revolt against the 
 Canaanitish-Jehovah worship which was to eventuate later 
 in an ethical upheaval of the ancient cultus. That Asa 
 did not wholly succeed is stated by 1 Kings 22. 46, and 
 Jehoshaphat, who stood for Tyrian Baalism, has something 
 to his credit. 
 
 The Temple Built by Solomon. — The political history 
 offers glimpses of the growing importance of the Temple. 
 Built by Solomon as a royal sanctuary, in the course of 
 time it tended toward a sanctuary for the people. The 
 reference 2 Kings 11. 14 indicates that by the time of 
 Athaliah the Temple had become much more than the 
 king's private chapel. The repairs to the Temple were 
 paid for by popular tax and the free-will offerings of the 
 people. The splendor of the Temple overshadowed the 
 ancient shrines of Judah and prepared the people for the 
 Deuteronomic reform in which worship was centralized at 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 Priest and Prophet. — During these two centuries there 
 is a marked difference in the character of the religious 
 leadership of Israel and Judah. In Israel's records there 
 appear the schools of the prophets, who in many in- 
 stances influenced the political history of the kingdom. 
 Shemaiah, Micaiah, Elijah, and Elisha are notable persons 
 in their state. Kings were compelled to reckon with them ; 
 the people turned to them in their extremity. The situa- 
 tion in Judah during the same period is quite contrary. 
 In Jerusalem the priest is the leading religious person of 
 the state. He is the custodian and the jealous enthusiast 
 for the dignity of Jehovah. He feels the affront and the 
 danger of Tyrian Baalism and he organizes the revolu- 
 tion that sweeps Athaliah from the throne and her foreign 
 worship from Jerusalem. This difference of religious 
 
14 THE KELIGION OP JUDAH 
 
 leadership corresponds with a difference in the political 
 situation of the two kingdoms. A large factor in the re- 
 volt of the northern tribes had been the antagonism of the 
 democratic Hebrews to the autocratic economic methods 
 of Solomon. The prophets arose out of the common life. 
 They voiced the democracy of the people. Consequently, 
 their prominence and influence were assured by the estab- 
 lishment of the northern kingdom. The prophets were 
 also, from the days of Saul, jealous enthusiasts for Je- 
 hovah. Consequently, Ahab's alliance with Phoenicia 
 quickened the prophetic activity in Israel. The political 
 isolation of Judah partly accounts for the late appearance 
 of prophetic activity in Jerusalem. Then, too, the Temple 
 was the outstanding religious institution in Judah. It 
 was the royal sanctuary. Its priest was an important per- 
 sonage. The worship was conducted in elaborate man- 
 ner. The Temple priests naturally became the guardians 
 of the national worship. They united within themselves 
 the spirit of Israel's prophets and the routine of Israel's 
 priests at the royal sanctuaries. It was not until Judah 
 was compelled to face the great empires of the Nile and 
 Euphrates that great prophets arose in Jerusalem. 
 
 Observations 
 
 The Choice of Historical Material. — Judah's annals for 
 two centuries are brief. As long as history is a record of 
 wars, the narratives of a peaceful people must be concise. 
 These two hundred years were not a brilliant period of 
 Hebrew life ; they were a period of spiritual inertia. The 
 richness of a civilization is measured by the expansion 
 of its spiritual vision. Yet during these centuries there 
 was some trailing toward the dawn of ethical religion. 
 The earliest Hebrew laws were codified by Judah's priests 
 within this period. The state's faithfulness to David's 
 dynasty manifests a sense of moral order. Amos, who 
 began the great prophetic experience of religion, was a 
 citizen of Judah. If the historians of Judah had been 
 trained to observe and appreciate the common facts of 
 daily life, they might have wonderfully illumined for U8 
 
FROM REHOBOAM TO AHAZ 15 
 
 the ethical growth of Hebrew life, for Amos and Isaiah 
 did not spring up in Judah with no relatedness to moral 
 ideas. There must have arisen in many minds doubts and 
 questionings concerning the ritual of worship. History 
 is not a record of the growth alone. True history investi- 
 gates and relates the life of the people. It is imperative 
 that all who seek to record the life of our times must see 
 and understand the life of the humble as well as the 
 achievements of the great. 
 
 Keligion and the State. — Note the concern of the 
 Hebrew states for religion. State religion is usually un- 
 spiritual religion. State religion has commonly been 
 autocratic and intolerant. To preserve freedom of con- 
 science there has seemed an increasing necessity in modern 
 centuries to divorce church and state. This separation 
 has tended to create the impression that the state need 
 not concern itself with religion. It is said that it is not a 
 matter of public concern what attitude toward religion is 
 assumed by state officials. It is forgotten that the state is a 
 social institution, that it is a community of human beings. 
 It is disastrous for the individual and the community to 
 consider that any function of mankind may be carried 
 through with the neglect of religion. It is an irreparable 
 social loss for the state to maintain an educational system 
 that makes no provision for formal religious discipline. Is 
 it not possible for the state in some manner to concern it- 
 self with religion, that the citizens may be constantly as- 
 sured that public and individual welfare is grounded in 
 loyalty to the will of God? 
 
 Themes fob Class Discussion 
 
 1. Why did the Temple at Jerusalem have so little signifi- 
 cance for the prophets of Israel? 
 
 2. Where did Elijah in his extremity go to commune with 
 Jehovah? (1 Kings 19. 8.) 
 
 3. Why is there no reference to the ark during these two 
 centuries? Where was this ancient sanctity during this 
 period? (1 Kings 6. 19.) 
 
 4. How is the priestly leadership of religion in Judah to 
 be explained? 
 
16 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 5. What change took place in the use of the Temple? What 
 was the cause of the arrangements? 
 
 6. Why was the political life of Judah so uneventful dur- 
 ing these two centuries? 
 
 7. Why was Judah so tolerant of Tyrian Baalism? 
 
 8. What forms of worship were observed during the period 
 under review? 
 
 9. To what extent does the quiet political life of Judah 
 suggest a fair amount of social justice within the state? 
 
 10. In what ways to-day could the state assume the respon- 
 sibility of inculcating the religious life among its citizens? 
 
 References fob Additional Reading 
 
 Old-Testament History, Smith, pages 184-6, 197, 203-6. 
 Jerusalem, Smith, Volume II, pages 83-131. 
 History, Prophecy, and the Monuments, McCurdy, para- 
 graphs 269-78, 295-300. 
 Biblical Geography and History, Kent, pages 182-4. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE EARLY PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH 
 
 The previous chapter traced the political history of 
 Judah from the death of Solomon, 937 B. C, to the reign 
 of Ahaz, which began in 735 B. C. This was a period 
 unmarked by unique events. Judah was sheltered from 
 the world by the political sturdiness of the northern king- 
 dom. With the Syro-Ephraimitic War, however, Judah 
 entered into world politics. The early prophecies of Isaiah, 
 considered in this chapter, belong to the reign of Jotham, 
 740-735 B. C, and indicate the internal conditions of the 
 state that led Ahaz on to his fateful policy of alliance with 
 Assyria. 
 
 The Call of Isaiah 
 
 The Realization of a Divine Purpose. — Great religious 
 careers frequently are precipitated by a crisis. In every 
 case they are begotten and sustained by the individual 
 man or woman becoming aware of some purpose of God. 
 It is the recognition that God has something for him to 
 do which enables a man to adventure in his name. 
 
 Study Isaiah 6. 1-12. This narrative was composed a 
 few years after the beginning of Isaiah's ministry. His 
 call to the prophetic office was in 740 B. C, and this 
 account of that experience which changed the world for 
 him was circulated among his associates probably in 735. 
 The publication served to inform his disciples concerning 
 the influences that shaped his life, his fundamental con- 
 victions, and the inevitable obstacles that beset the mes- 
 senger of lofty spiritual conceptions in a crass age. 
 
 Isaiah's career exhibits two disunited features of earlier 
 prophecy. Like Elijah and Elisha he exercises consider- 
 able political influence; and like Amos and Hosea he 
 demands an ethical religion. He is the first of the 
 
 17 
 
18 THE KELIGIOJST OF JUDAH 
 
 world's statesmen whose political horizon is profoundly 
 both ethical and religious. He is the forerunner of Savon- 
 arola, Luther, Calvin, and Knox. He is also the first 
 Hebrew thinker to formulate a Messianic hope and to de- 
 liver a Messianic message. Later chapters will expand 
 this statement. Isaiah therefore becomes a figure of sur- 
 passing interest not only in Jewish life but also in the 
 history of the world. 
 
 The Convictions Embodied in His Call. — An analysis 
 of this experience of Isaiah indicates that four distinct but 
 related ideas were coming to harvest in his mind — namely : 
 (1) Jewish life is moving in the wrong direction; it has 
 in it the seeds of social dissolution ; it is cursed by ambi- 
 tion, greed, sensuality, and disloyalty to Jehovah. (2) 
 The nation's God is nothing less than a righteous God, 
 who ever seeks righteousness among his people. (3) Je- 
 hovah needs messengers — men who will face the careless 
 nation and preach righteousness. (4) Eighteousness is 
 better than national existence. 
 
 With these ideas running in his mind Isaiah made his 
 way into the Temple at Jerusalem. While he worshiped, 
 the Temple before him faded, and a heavenly one took its 
 place. In glorious and awful surroundings the ideas that 
 were forming in his mind were congealed into convic- 
 tions. Jehovah, manifesting himself to Isaiah in this 
 striking vision, confirmed his meditations. Henceforth 
 Isaiah became the active messenger of the Holy One to 
 sinful Israel. 
 
 At the beginning of his ministry Isaiah evidently ex- 
 pected the destruction of Judah. The prophets preceding 
 Amos taught the inviolability of the Hebrew states. Amos 
 and Hosea, in the interest of ethical religion, preached 
 their destruction or, at least, only faintly imaged a re- 
 stored people. Isaiah, likewise, in his earliest years saw 
 no spirit of repentance in Judah and believed that Jeho- 
 vah's judgment would end in desolate cities and a wasted 
 countryside. But later his faith became stronger. He 
 became the first to unite a stern denunciation of the sins 
 of Israel and Judah with the clear expectation that the 
 
THE EARLY PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH 19 
 
 Judaean state at least should outride the storms of chas- 
 tisement and be transformed into a kingdom in which 
 Jehovah's will, expressed in righteousness, would be fully 
 done. 
 
 The Essential Message of Isaiah 
 
 Conventional Holiness. — In few particulars does the 
 history of religion show more striking instances of develop- 
 ment than that found in the change of meaning in the idea 
 of holiness. Previous to the eighth-century prophets the 
 conception of holiness held by the Hebrew people was the 
 idea of sanctity which was common throughout the Semitic 
 world and which resembled that which is still to be found 
 among all primitive peoples. The eighth-century prophets 
 repudiated these primitive ideas but they were not able to 
 eradicate entirely the earlier views which will be found 
 reappearing in the legislation that sprang up to enforce 
 Jewish religion after the Exile. 
 
 Examine 1 Samuel 21. 4, 5; 2 Samuel 11. 11; Deu- 
 teronomy 12. 26; Isaiah 13. 3. It will be observed that 
 holiness is ascribed to things used in connection with 
 a sanctuary; that soldiers were sacred persons because 
 war was initiated by sacrifice and was conducted under 
 the immediate direction of the Deity; that prophets were 
 holy men of God not because of saintliness of character 
 but because they were in the service of God. In Leviti- 
 cus 6. 18-23, Isaiah 65. 5, and Ezekiel 44. 19 appear 
 some of the most primitive ideas concerning holiness. Here 
 it appears (1) that a person or thing is holy which is set 
 apart for divine use, (2) that holiness is something that 
 may be passed on to others through contact, and (3) that 
 such holiness rendered its possessors unfit to participate 
 in ordinary life. This holiness, gotten by contagion, needed 
 to be purged away by purificatory rites before its pos- 
 sessors could resume their secular vocations. 
 
 Holiness for Isaiah. — Until the eighth-century proph- 
 ets spoke, holiness, in the thought of mankind, had 
 nothing to do with morality and purity of life. Applied 
 to deity it meant irresistible power and unapproachable 
 
20 THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 majesty. In its earliest use "the holy God" meant no 
 more than God. But with Amos a new conception of God 
 arises. In the thought of the prophets and their disciples 
 God is to be characterized by moral qualities. Isaiah's 
 vision of the holy Jehovah proclaims that holiness has 
 expanded into righteousness. 
 
 The whole mission of Isaiah centers in this new con- 
 ception of deity. Jehovah's holiness is not ritual but 
 ethical, and the holiness that Jehovah demands is moral 
 living. Jehovah is exalted above men neither by his power 
 nor by his capriciousness. If there is a chasm between him 
 and his creatures, this alienation is caused by the want 
 of morality in Judah. That Jehovah is holy and lives 
 apart from men was not a new conception. The Hebrew 
 ever had been aware of a distinction between sacred and 
 common, but this distinction had not been ethicized. Dis- 
 ease, an issue of blood, contact with the dead, a journey 
 into a foreign land, the eating of tabooed animals, made 
 men and women unclean and unfitted them for drawing 
 near an altar and mingling in the sacred festivals. To the 
 people in Isaiah's day holiness meant that the shrines, 
 the priests, the sacrifices, and the worshipers participating 
 in the religious feasts must be free from those physical 
 conditions which rendered them ritually unclean. This 
 ritual uncleanness made them objectionable to Jehovah, 
 they knew not why, and aroused his wrath. Holiness in 
 Jehovah they understood as majesty, the exalted dignity 
 of a being elevated above the chances and changes of the 
 world. 
 
 Isaiah felt that such a Deity could not save Judah in its 
 desperate need. There must be in him some loftier nature 
 than was commonly believed, and there must be some 
 deeper ground of acceptability to him than the old dis- 
 tinction of clean and unclean. This aspiration of Isaiah 
 was the open door for the inspiration of Jehovah. It 
 was revealed to the prophet that the one cleanness that 
 Jehovah desired was in life, and the uncleanness that he 
 abhorred was greed, lust, and injustice. He saw that the 
 essence of deity is not power but the splendid radiance 
 
THE EAKLY PEOPHECIES OF ISAIAH 21 
 
 of ethical life. Jehovah is to be feared not because he is 
 all-powerful but because he is opposed to all that is impure 
 and unjust. 
 
 The Earliest Prophecies op Isaiah 
 
 It is generally agreed that Isaiah 2. 6-21 is to be placed 
 among the earliest of Isaiah's utterances and illustrates 
 his thought shortly after the death of Uzziah. Judah was 
 then enjoying the peace and prosperity that had been 
 increasing through this king's long reign and that con- 
 tinued through the reign of his son and successor, Jotham, 
 and produced that sense of security so fatal to Ahaz in 
 the days of the Syro-Ephraimitic War. The date 739 
 B. C. fairly represents the time. 
 
 Eead carefully this section and make a list of the faults 
 for which Jehovah has renounced the nation. Verse 6 
 should be translated: 
 
 "He hath renounced his people, the house of Judah, 
 For they are full of divination from the East 
 And are full of soothsayers, like the Philistines, 
 They make compacts with foreigners/' 
 
 Observe that Isaiah, like Amos, traces the sins of the 
 people to their greed for wealth. In what way has com- 
 merce contributed to defection from Jehovah? Does 
 Isaiah feel that financial prosperity weakens in men the 
 feeling of dependence on God ? * What does Isaiah mean 
 by the "haughtiness of men" (2. 17) ? Note especially 
 the assurance that "there shall be a day of Jehovah of 
 hosts" (2. 12). What does Isaiah understand by this? 
 What judgments does Isaiah pronounce upon Judah ? 
 
 Examine Isaiah 3. 1 to 4. 1. This section also is among 
 the early oracles of Isaiah. Note the additional disorders 
 that are leading on the destruction of the state. Who are 
 the "stay and staff" of Judah — that is, the leaders and the 
 supporters of the state? Observe especially the religious 
 leaders. These are the judge — that is, the priest who de- 
 
 : l See The Religion of Israel, Ascham, page 203. 
 
22 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 livers oracles at the sanctuary — the prophet, the diviner, 
 the cunning artificer — that is, the expert magician and 
 the skillful enchanter. It was a capricious universe in 
 which people anciently lived. Men neither understood that 
 nature is guided by law nor believed that God's dealings 
 with them were determined by moral purposes. There- 
 fore, men and women lived in a constant anxiety to dis- 
 cover the will of their deity or deities and to placate their 
 whims. It is a sad world that turns to the soothsayer 
 and diviner. Isaiah knew a different world and he was 
 doing his utmost to lead his countrymen to believe in a 
 Deity whose will was discoverable in moral thinking and 
 action, and whose willingness to bless never withdrew from 
 those who faithfully served him by righteous living. 
 
 Isaiah sternly denounces the socially favored leaders 
 who have not hesitated to live by economic oppression of 
 the poor (3. 14, 15). The women of his times by wanton- 
 ness and luxury contribute to the general demoraliza- 
 tion of the nation (3. 16, 17). Isaiah's words will recall 
 the scorn of Amos for the "kine" of Samaria (Amos 
 4. 1), whose sensuousness made for the destruction of the 
 northern kingdom. Observe the doom Isaiah pronounces 
 upon the thoughtless and selfish women of his day (3. 24 
 to 4.1). 
 
 The beautiful parable of the vineyard, Isaiah 5. 1-24, 
 also dates from the early years of Isaiah's ministry and 
 belongs probably to the last year of Jotham's reign, when 
 the threatened approach of the Syrian *and Israelitish 
 forces brought keenly to the prophet the dissoluteness of 
 the state. Note the beauty of the imagery and the swift 
 application in verse 7, when the attention and sympathy 
 of his hearers have been secured. What instances of a 
 fruitless vineyard are cited in verses 7, 8, 11, 12, 18, 23 ? 
 What penalty is to be meted out to these land-grabbers, 
 drunkards, scorners of the judgments of Jehovah, triflers 
 with moral distinctions, and accepters of bribes? Note 
 that Isaiah (5. 24) sums up the sin of Judah as a rejec- 
 tion of the instruction of Jehovah of hosts. By the law 
 or teaching of Jehovah, Isaiah does not mean a definite 
 
THE EARLY PEOPHECIES OF ISAIAH 23 
 
 set of laws but such social principles of honorable dealing 
 as had come to be more or less clearly defined through the 
 centuries. These principles had been enunciated by priests 
 at the sanctuaries, by prophets, and by other eminent men 
 who endeavored to make human society more secure. 
 The better knowledge of life that had sprung up in the 
 human conscience Isaiah holds is the teaching of Jehovah. 
 We close our study of this group of early prophecies 
 with an oracle against Israel. It was impossible for a 
 prophet of the southern kingdom to keep silent about the 
 northern state. Already Amos, a dozen years before, had 
 left his southern home to proclaim his message from 
 Jehovah at Bethel. Eead Isaiah 9. 8 to 10. 4. This section 
 is a denunciation of the arrogance and folly of the northern 
 kingdom in failing to profit from the disasters already 
 befallen the state and its blindness to the approaching 
 danger from Assyria. Afflictions already endured have 
 not taught the nation's leaders to set the state in order. 
 The weak and defenseless are openly wronged, tribal feuds 
 curse the land, and a general condition of anarchy pre- 
 vails. Isaiah 5. 25-30 is the conclusion of this oracle. 
 There is nothing in Hebrew prophecy which surpasses the 
 vivid imagery describing the approach of the avenging 
 Assyrian hordes upon guilty Israel. 
 
 Thoughts for Our Times 
 
 Driven by the profound sense of the false security of his 
 times, Isaiah was brooding in the Temple when the vision 
 came. Aspiration ever precedes inspiration. Higher re- 
 ligious conceptions always are first formed within aspiring 
 souls. God never becomes a reality to the man who does 
 not question the universe. Man climbs to heaven. He 
 dreams of the eternal city before he finds a ladder reaching 
 from his stony pillow to its golden portals. 
 
 It was the Jerusalem Temple, with its failure to com- 
 mand the conscience of his day, which set Isaiah groping 
 for a loftier religious authority. Each new and command- 
 ing revelation is never a complete break with the past; 
 
24 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 it is always a development of existent ideas and forms. To 
 apprehend this truth fully makes for the progress of the 
 kingdom. About lis everywhere are vast sections of life 
 where the principles of Christian brotherhood are not ap- 
 plied. Sometimes it is ignorance, as well as cursed selfish- 
 ness, which delays the better day. To feel that the greatest 
 advances are never a birth out of nothing but the result of 
 long processes of development will hold us heroically 
 to our tasks and quicken our vision. 
 
 Isaiah makes no effort to overturn Judah's political and 
 economic institutions. Whether he was satisfied with them, 
 we do not know. If he could have had his way he would 
 have swept aside the soothsaying, the idolatry, and the 
 religious feasts. He gladly would have had such customs 
 perish. There was in them no basis of reform. But the 
 prophet well understood that in order to obtain a just 
 society it is necessary to change the spirit of living rather 
 than to change an institution. 
 
 Consciousness of God is our guard against sin. It is 
 infrequently that we remind ourselves of his presence in 
 our life. To remember that our very being is the product 
 of his continual thought enables us to think con- 
 stantly of him as the sleepless, loving Father, ever ready 
 to enter into communion with us. To think of yourself, 
 when your thoughts turn upon self, as God's child, servant, 
 and friend; of your home as God's guest house; of your 
 business as God's talent intrusted to you; of your recrea- 
 tions as God's way of keeping you healthy and whole- 
 some; of your fellow beings as brothers and sisters in his 
 family, would eliminate sin in your life. To gaze steadily 
 upon the face of God is the one perfect way to noble 
 character. 
 
 You may read Isaiah's vision over and over, but it is 
 not your vision. The most heroic religious achievement of 
 the past avails you nothing unless it leads you to re- 
 produce it in your own life. You cannot rest with 
 other men's visions of God; you must possess your own. 
 When your vision of God comes it may draw from you a 
 cry of woe. Your life will seem so fruitless measured by 
 
THE EARLY PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH 25 
 
 your opportunities. When your vision comes, you will 
 cease to apologize for righteousness ; you will cease to com- 
 promise with doubtful wrong; you will no longer cringe 
 before blustering evils. Get your vision of God, like the 
 disciples at Emmaus, when he breaks your bread, not 
 when he breaks your heart. It is not opportunity but 
 vision that you need. If the vision of God passes you 
 by — the vision that burns up the dross and purifies you 
 for service, that turns the stammering tongue into noble 
 eloquence and your faltering feet toward paths of service 
 — it is because you look for God in the storm, the lightning, 
 and the earthquake rather than in the temple of your 
 daily contact with your fellow men. 
 
 The Hebrews believed in contagious holiness. To touch 
 a holy person or object infected one with holiness. But 
 the holiness that was conferred in this manner unfitted 
 one to fulfill the common duties of life. We still believe 
 that holiness is contagious. When one lives worthily, the 
 life of others in immediate association takes on a finer 
 spirit. Genuine Christian living induces others to live 
 nobly. But this holiness does not make more difficult the 
 common day and the customary duty. It is an inspiration, 
 not a destruction of life. 
 
 Themes for Class Discussion 
 
 1. Narrate some of the historical incidents which engaged 
 Isaiah's attention at the threshold of his public ministry. 
 
 2. Describe the event which inaugurated Isaiah's prophetic 
 career. 
 
 3. What was the popular conception of holiness? What did 
 Isaiah understand by holiness? 
 
 4. What social wrongs did Isaiah condemn? 
 
 5. What religious practices met his disapproval? 
 
 6. What was Isaiah's doctrine of "the day of Jehovah"? 
 
 7. What punishments did Isaiah believe would fall upon his 
 countrymen? By what agency would they be inflicted? 
 
 8. What did Isaiah conceive to be the cause of the social 
 anarchy which was dooming the state? 
 
 9. What salary did Isaiah receive for his preaching? 
 
 10. Judging from Amos, Hosea, and from this first study of 
 Isaiah, what do you consider is the characteristic feature of 
 eighth-century Hebrew prophecy? 
 

 26 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 Suggested Readings 
 
 The Book of the Prophet Isaiah, Wade, pages xvii-xl. 
 
 Religious Teaching of the Old Testament, Knudson, pages 
 137-53. 
 
 The Religion of Israel, Smith, pages 147-54. 
 
 Article, "Holiness," Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, 
 Hastings. 
 
CHAPTEE III 
 
 ISAIAH AND THE JUD^EAN CEISIS OF 735 B. C. 
 
 Isaiah now assumes the leading role in the spiritual 
 life of Judah. In the first years of his ministry, like 
 Amos and Hosea, he has but little influence upon the social 
 and political life of the state; henceforth, throughout his 
 long career, Isaiah appears a political counsel not to be 
 ignored. The present chapter is a study of the conditions 
 in Judah arising through the international relations in 
 which the state became involved and of the messages Isaiah 
 spoke to his countrymen in this eventful crisis. 
 
 The Syko-Epheaimitic Invasion of Judah 
 
 The Coalition Against Assyria. — Ahaz, the son of 
 Jotham, came to the throne of Judah in 735. Imme- 
 diately he had to face the combined attack of Israel and 
 Syria (Damascus). Eead 2 Kings 16. 5-9. From these 
 verses it appears that these two states, having determined 
 to make a stand against the conquering progress of Assyria 
 in the west, apparently had solicited Judah, while Jotham 
 was yet king, to join the confederacy. The refusal of 
 Ahaz to unite in a coalition against the powerfjil Assyrian 
 led the two allies into an attempt to force Ahaz to join 
 them. Eead Isaiah 7. 1, 2 for a description of the con- 
 sternation into which Judah was thrown by the proposed 
 attack. Ahaz could not be forced into an attack upon 
 Assyria, but Elath (2 Kings 16. 6) was captured by the 
 Syrians. 
 
 Ahaz made overtures to Assyria to come to his relief. 
 He sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser and voluntarily, by 
 the payment of tribute, acknowledged Judah to be a de- 
 pendency of Assyria. Eead 2 Kings 16. 7-10. The Temple 
 was despoiled of many treasures to pay this tribute, and 
 Ahaz himself went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser. 
 The appeal of Ahaz to Assyria resulted in an attack by 
 
 27 
 
28 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 Assyria upon Syria and Israel. The northern kingdom 
 suffered severely. Many towns were captured, and their 
 inhabitants were deported into Assyria. Read 2 Kings 
 
 15. 29, 30 for the story of Israel's humiliation. This was 
 in 734 or 733 B. C. Damascus was captured by Assyria 
 in 732 B. C. These events and their sequence reveal the 
 remarkable character of Isaiah's statesmanship. 
 
 Innovations Introduced by Ahaz. — Examine 2 Kings 
 
 16. 10-16. The interests of Ahaz were not wholly political. 
 He saw an altar in Damascus whose design so greatly 
 pleased him that orders were given to erect a duplicate 
 in the Temple at Jerusalem. On his return Ahaz conse- 
 crated the new altar. "The brazen altar shall be for me 
 to inquire by" (verse 15) indicates that the king cus- 
 tomarily performed a certain class of sacrifices. The inno- 
 vation of Ahaz is not easy to comprehend. W. R. Smith 
 believes that a tireless type of sacrifice was earlier than the 
 offering by burning the sacrificial portions; that in the 
 earlier custom the blood was dashed against the altar. As 
 long as burnt offerings were rare, it was not necessary to 
 have a permanent hearth-altar. He believes that this new 
 altar was a "permanent hearth-altar," and that the innova- 
 tion was also in the adoption of "the rule that in ordinary 
 cases this new altar should serve for the blood ritual as 
 well as for the fire ritual." Whatever were the precise 
 details of the new arrangement, the historian regarded the 
 change as significant. It is possible that the interest of 
 Ahaz in the ritual indicates that the popular conception 
 of religion demanded greater attention to the ritual as 
 national calamities increased. It certainly means that 
 the great altar of burnt offering found in the succeeding 
 Temple was a foreign importation. It is of much interest 
 also that at this period the king, not the priest, exercised 
 absolute control over the Temple and its worship. 
 
 Isaiah's Prophetic Statesmanship 
 
 Isaiah's Message to Ahaz. — Examine Isaiah 7. 3-17. 
 Isaiah opposed the alliance with Assyria and did his 
 
ISAIAH AND THE JUD^AN CEISIS 29 
 
 utmost to convince Ahaz that there was no real danger to 
 be feared from Israel and Syria. He believed himself 
 the direct messenger of Jehovah to his king and he spoke 
 with unwavering confidence that Jehovah would protect 
 and rescue Judah from the threatening ills. Observe the 
 method taken by Isaiah to convince Ahaz that he ought 
 to trust Jehovah rather than Assyria. If this purpose of 
 Isaiah is remembered, verses 14-17 offer little difficulty. 
 The Hebrew word translated "virgin" means a young 
 woman old enough to become a mother. Isaiah urges that 
 Israel and Syria can be only a brief menace to Judah: 
 that before a woman — any woman now marrying — can 
 have a child emerging from babyhood, certain things will 
 occur. At the first dawn of discriminating intelligence — 
 that is, within two or three years — the lands of Samaria 
 and Damascus will be overrun by a foreign power. 
 
 But this is not all : Judah also will share in the general 
 calamity. This child — that is, any child — within two or 
 three years, on account of the desolations of war, will be 
 limited to the plain fare of curds and honey. Dire days 
 of devastation (verse 17) are falling upon Judah also. 
 It is quite probable that Isaiah was already aware when 
 he met Ahaz or guessed the truth from the king's conversa- 
 tion that an alliance was to be made with Assyria or 
 already had been made. To the prophet such utter reli- 
 ance upon human aid was a rejection of Jehovah, and the 
 moral failure of the house of Judah to trust its God gave 
 Isaiah vision to foresee the inevitable outcome of calling 
 Assyrian aid. 
 
 Eead Isaiah 7. 18-25. It is probable that this section 
 was a part of Isaiah's message to Ahaz at the time that 
 he predicted the defeat of the coalition. It certainly be- 
 longs to the same period. Observe that Isaiah becomes 
 more specific in his statement of the disasters that await 
 Judah from the false statesmanship of Ahaz. Note that 
 Egypt and Assyria in this internecine conflict will over- 
 run Judah and fill the land with desolation. Note also the 
 examples of poverty and destruction given by Isaiah. 
 
 Isaiah's Appeal to the Populace. — Examine Isaiah 
 
3.0 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 8. 1-4. Note Isaiah's method of making a public appeal. 
 Such a strange message, set up in a public place — no doubt 
 in the court of the Temple — gave Isaiah continual oppor- 
 tunity to warn and encourage the people. Notice the 
 parallel, in his own child, of the Immanuel prophecy in 
 7. 14-17. 
 
 Isaiah's Assurance of the Approaching Overthrow 
 of Syria and Israel. — Eead Isaiah 17. 1-11. This oracle 
 closely followed those just studied and was intended to 
 relieve the strain of the Syro-Ephraimitic invasion. 
 Assyria is not expressly stated to be the conqueror of the 
 northern states, but no auditor of Isaiah could have mis- 
 understood him. Observe the striking images of desola- 
 tion in verses 5 and 6 ; the cause of Israel's destruction, 
 verses 10 and 11 ; the presence of the cult of Adonis 
 (Tammuz) in Israel, whose worship included the cultiva- 
 tion of gardens or potted plants that quickly blossomed 
 and as promptly withered. 
 
 Isaiah's Counsel Is Rejected. — Isaiah's warnings fall 
 unheeded upon court and people alike. Ahaz, as noted 
 above, enters into alliance with Assyria and so forges 
 the bitter bonds of vassalage upon the southern state. This 
 action is intolerably grievous to Isaiah as a patriot and 
 a religionist. Eead Isaiah 8. 5-15. Yerse 6 may be ren- 
 dered : 
 
 "Because this people have rejected the waters of Shiloah 
 
 that flow softly, 
 And are dismayed because of Rezin and Remaliah's son." 
 
 "The waters of Shiloah" (the Pool of Siloam, once within 
 the walls of the city) is the prophet's metaphor for the un- 
 failing helpfulness of Jehovah. Because Ahaz rejects 
 Jehovah and trusts Assyria, Jehovah will overwhelm Judah 
 with "the waters of the River" — that is, the Assyrian 
 armies. In verse 8 the image suddenly changes to a bird 
 of prey. Isaiah expects the Assyrian to be victorious over 
 Syria and Israel and to sweep into Judah also. But 
 Judah will not be totally destroyed. Coalition against 
 
ISAIAH AND THE JUD^AN CRISIS 31 
 
 Judah and revolts against Assyria alike will be of no avail. 
 Other nations will go down before the conqueror, but 
 Judah, because "God is with us," will survive. What the 
 king and people called conspiracy, and before which they 
 trembled, Isaiah saw to be the hand of Jehovah laid 
 inflictingly upon his people. Jehovah of hosts is Judah's 
 Conspirator (so read in verse 13 instead of "him shall ye 
 sanctify"). He is the stumblingblock for the two king- 
 doms. The sins and the headstrong, worldly policies of 
 the Hebrew states inevitably are hastening their destruc- 
 tion. 
 
 Isaiah feels that, since his counsel is rejected by Ahaz, 
 his public usefulness, at least temporarily, is at an end. 
 Read 8. 16-18. The prophet evidently withdraws from 
 public speech and from any attempt to guide the political 
 destiny of his country. Undoubtedly he had made some 
 disciples. He must have kept in touch with these and 
 waited for a more favorable opportunity to resume his 
 public ministry. This decision was hastened by the popular 
 rejection of true prophetic guidance. The people turn, 
 instead, to the grossest superstitions. Examine 8. 19-22. 
 Verses 19 and 20 may be translated: 
 
 "When they say unto you, Inquire of the spirits of the 
 
 dead, 
 And the necromancers who chirp and mutter: 
 Should not a people inquire of their departed? 
 On behalf of the living should they not consult the dead?" 
 
 To such solicitation of the distracted and frightened people 
 by the champions of superstition Isaiah thunders his 
 answer: "To the instruction and the testimony." Let 
 them go to the prophets of whom Amos has said (3. 7), 
 "Surely the Lord Jehovah will do nothing, except he reveal 
 his secret unto his servants the prophets/' Isaiah felt that 
 for those who listened to such proposals from necromancers 
 and spiritualistic mediums the future was dark indeed. 
 Verses 21 and 22 add a final picture of desolation and 
 gloom. 
 
32 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 SUMMARY OF ISAIAH'S RELIGIOUS VlEWS IN THIS MIDDLE 
 
 Period of His Ministry 
 
 Isaiah's Political Policy. — Isaiah possessed an unwav- 
 ering political policy. He opposed all entangling alliances 
 with foreign powers. An alliance with Israel and Syria 
 he opposed with the same vigor with which he denounced 
 any affiliation with Egypt and Assyria. The little states 
 lying between Assyria and Egypt lived precariously. 
 Isaiah believed that Judah should ally itself with Jehovah 
 alone. His political policy was essentially religious. 
 
 Beginning his ministry, like Amos and Hosea, with an 
 overwhelming sense of Jehovah's holiness, he severely de- 
 nounced the social sins and religious defection of rulers 
 and people. Like these earlier prophets Isaiah at first 
 held that nothing but the destruction of the state would 
 eliminate the evils that were undermining the social order ; 
 but as the rigors of the Assyrian vassalage became more 
 apparent, and the despair of people and court grew deeper, 
 Isaiah reached a turning point in his ministry and began 
 to preach the indestructibility of Jehovah's people. It 
 seemed incredible to him that Jehovah's purpose to mold 
 a people into conformity to his holy will could be accom- 
 plished anywhere outside his chosen land. That Jehovah 
 dwells in Mount Zion is a fixed belief of the prophet. In 
 this belief Isaiah sets a limit to the impending judgment. 
 This had not been done by Amos and was uttered vaguely 
 by Hosea. Isaiah asserts that in the coming disaster 
 Jehovah will preserve all that is necessary to make possible 
 the quickening of the nation into a holy people of God. 
 Isaiah does not predict a captivity. Rather is the state to 
 be overwhelmed by the Assyrian invasion, but out of the 
 ruins a new social order is to arise in conformity to 
 Jehovah's righteous will. 
 
 This is the central theme of Isaianic prophecy. Je- 
 hovah will not suffer his people to be utterly destroyed. 
 Read again 8. 8 and note the language in which this belief 
 is expressed. Study too, in the light of this conception 
 of a faithful remnant, the symbolic name of Isaiah's son 
 
ISAIAH AND THE JUD^EAN CRISIS 33 
 
 in 7. 3 (marginal reading). This remnant that is to re- 
 turn unto Jehovah is not some happy band of exiles return- 
 ing from captivity in a foreign land, but earnest citizens 
 of the state, purged by the calamities that have scourged 
 the nation, who seek Jehovah, and whose seeking eventuates 
 in righteousness. 
 
 The Prophet's Religious Beliefs. — Like Amos and 
 Hosea, Isaiah preaches a practical monotheism. He asserts 
 that Jehovah will chastise the confederate states that have 
 assailed Judah. For Isaiah the gods of Damascus and 
 Assyria have nothing to do with the destiny of nations. 
 Jehovah rules them according to his will. "He fills the 
 whole earth with his glory" is the Isaianic creed. Isaiah 
 laughs at the idols. God is not merely the one God in 
 the affairs of the world: he is a holy God whose essential 
 nature is righteousness. Since holiness involves devo- 
 tion to Jehovah, expressed in justice and righteousness, 
 Isaiah saw the futility of the prevailing ritual to bring 
 men into a correct relation with Jehovah. 
 
 Consider the religious faith of Isaiah. It never is an 
 easy task to pioneer in religion. Undoubtedly Isaiah was 
 familiar with the utterances of Amos and Hosea, but 
 the positions taken by them were not the beliefs of the 
 masses. Their messages had not lightened the religious 
 task to which Isaiah gave himself. Isaiah swung free 
 from the prevailing conceptions of Jehovah and from the 
 customary worship into a far more spiritual conception 
 of God and of his requirements from man. This is always 
 the work of genius and abounding faith. Not every modern 
 conception surpasses the old, but it takes more faith to 
 move forward into a new realization of the character and 
 purposes of God than to hold fast to the achievements 
 of the fathers. 
 
 The prophet Isaiah is characterized by his faith. He 
 believed in a nobler duty than did his contemporaries; he 
 believed in the value of chastisement ; he believed in a new 
 social order. For this faith he lived and for it he would 
 have died. He hesitated at no defense of his faith and 
 shrank from no chance to proclaim his great convictions. 
 
34 THE KELIGIOtf OF JUDAH 
 
 Thoughts for Kingdom Builders 
 
 The Isaiah who declared of Jehovah, "The whole earth 
 is full of his glory," also wrote, "Jehovah of hosts, who 
 dwelleth in mount Zion." It is one of the difficult tasks 
 for thought to present adequately the universal regnancy 
 of the heavenly Father and at the same time to be aware of 
 his presence in a unique way in the immediate concerns of 
 the individual life. Yet there is no great religion apart 
 from such faith. We cannot hold a satisfactory sense of 
 God's comradeship with us unless we enthrone him as the 
 master will of the universe. God cannot dwell adequately 
 for human needs in Jerusalem unless he fills also the whole 
 earth. He cannot share his throne and sway the world. 
 God never has abdicated in favor of the devil. 
 
 "I and the children whom Jehovah hath given me are 
 for signs and for wonders in Israel from Jehovah of hosts" 
 (8. 18), said Isaiah to his countrymen. Let any man 
 make himself and his household a manifestation of the 
 purposes of God, and he becomes an intellectual and moral 
 leader in his community. Any religious man should re- 
 gard himself as a point of contact between God's thought 
 and human society. Each man who prays, "Thy kingdom 
 come," to be sincere must make his own life a highway for 
 the coming King. 
 
 Possibly you have come in contact with persons who 
 have resented the implied or spoken judgment of your 
 Christian discipleship. It is well to remember that when 
 purity of life, fine sympathy, and sterling integrity in all 
 engagements are coupled with vigorous faith, there is little 
 honest adverse criticism with regard to the most earnest 
 propaganda of your religious convictions. Ahaz and his 
 court did not yield to Isaiah's evangel but they respected 
 the messenger. Isaiah's life had been purged by a vision 
 of Jehovah's righteousness before he addressed his coun- 
 trymen. If you have been quickened by an experience of 
 God and hold radiant ideals of the ought-to-be, you are 
 accursed unless you seek to bring others to the dawn that 
 has arisen in your own soul. 
 
ISAIAH AND THE JUD^AN CRISIS 35 
 
 Becoming Acquainted With Isaiah 
 
 1. What is known concerning the personal life of Isaiah? 
 
 2. What political dangers from abroad threatened Judah? 
 
 3. What was Isaiah's doctrine concerning foreign political 
 alliances? Why did he object to an alliance with Israel and 
 Syria? Why did he oppose any acknowledgment of the As- 
 syrian? 
 
 4. What was the religious basis of his political policy? 
 
 5. What effort did he make to dissuade Ahaz from appealing 
 to Assyria for relief from the Syro-Ephraimitic invasion? 
 
 6. What were some of the prevailing religious beliefs and 
 usages, and what was Isaiah's attitude toward them? 
 
 7. What change did Isaiah make in his beliefs about the 
 destruction of Judah? What were his reasons for this change? 
 
 8. In what way did Isaiah's beliefs vary from those of Amos 
 and Hosea? 
 
 Selected Readings 
 
 Old-Testament History, Smith, pages 225-37. 
 
 Article, "Isaiah," in Dictionary of the Bible, Hastings, 
 Sections II and VI. 
 
 Isaiah: His Life and Times, Driver, Chapter IV. 
 
 Isaiah in "The Expositor's Bible," G. A. Smith, Book I, 
 Chapter VI. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 ISAIAH AND THE ASSYRIAN INVASION 
 
 Thirty years intervene between the subjection of Judah 
 to Assyria by Ahaz in 735 B. C. and the Assyrian invasion 
 of Judah in regard to which the prophecies of Isaiah reach 
 their climax of political statesmanship and of denuncia- 
 tion and hope for Judah. Great political events take place 
 in this period. Samaria, capital of the northern kingdom, 
 after a long siege succumbed to the army of Sargon, king 
 of Assyria, in 721 B. C. The destruction of Israel stirred 
 Judah as no other fact in her history had done. The inept 
 policy of Ahaz became apparent to all, and the soundness 
 of Isaiah's counsel to keep free from Assyria was fully 
 acknowledged. 
 
 Succeeding events increased Judah's fear of Assyria. 
 In 720 some of the Philistine cities, supported by Egypt, 
 revolted from Assyria and were severely punished by Sar- 
 gon. It became continually more apparent that the 
 Assyrian threatened the very existence of all the little 
 states in Syria and Palestine. During the next ten years 
 Sargon was busy in other portions of his empire; and 
 Judah, growing restive under the annual tribute, de- 
 veloped an Egyptian party, whose members lent them- 
 selves to hopes and suggestions of an alliance of western 
 states, supported by Egypt, to throw off the sovereignty of 
 the Assyrian. Sargon crushed the movement by the cap- 
 ture of Ashdod in 711 B. C. 
 
 Isaiah's messages during these thirty years were di- 
 rected toward keeping Judah faithful to Assyria, to pre- 
 dictions of Assyria's ultimate overthrow, to denuncia- 
 tions of Judah's sins, and to promises of better days in 
 the little state. The following sermons of Isaiah are 
 exceedingly difficult to place in exact chronological order. 
 
 36 
 
ISAIAH AND THE ASSYRIAN INVASION 37 
 
 The arrangement here adopted offers as few difficulties 
 as any. 
 
 The First Years of the Reign of Hezekiah 
 
 Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, came to the throne of Judah 
 in 715 B. C. (some think as early as 720 B. C). An in- 
 teresting narrative of the sickness and recovery of Heze- 
 kiah is presented in 2 Kings 20. 1-11. At about the same 
 time, perhaps in 714 B. C, came the embassy from Mero- 
 dach-baladan. Examine 2 Kings 20. 12-19 and Isaiah 
 39. 1-8. Merodach-baladan, the king of a small state at 
 the head of the Persian Gulf, seized Babylon in 721 B. C. 
 and held the throne against the Assyrians for eleven years. 
 Evidently it was during this period that he sought an alli- 
 ance with Judah against Assyria. Hezekiah, restless under 
 Assyria, received the embassy, but the opposition of Isaiah 
 and his own best counsels kept him from the peril of the 
 proposed alliance. 
 
 Isaiah 28. 7-22 is a stinging reproof of the social life 
 and political outlook of priests and princes. This charac- 
 terization of the internal conditions of Judah faithfully 
 reports the evils prevailing during a decade and more 
 preceding the invasion of Sennacherib. Drunkenness had 
 become a curse. Even at the religious feasts men became 
 "soused." No longer do the prophets possess a true vision 
 of Jehovah's ways, and the drunken priests fail to pro- 
 nounce just judgments. These leaders, whom Isaiah seeks 
 to rouse from this disastrous vice, mockingly retort that 
 he prattles like a child (verses 9 and 10), saying the same 
 senseless words over and over. Isaiah replies to their 
 taunt that a people speaking a foreign tongue — for them 
 the jargon they ascribe to the prophet — will deliver Je- 
 hovah's judgments upon them. In the latter part of this 
 section Isaiah rebukes the political leaders who think that 
 in political scheming the safety of Jerusalem lies. In 
 justice and righteousness and in the trust of Jehovah lies 
 the opportunity of Judah's escape from the aggressions 
 of powerful neighbors. 
 
 Read Isaiah 20. 1-6. As early as 711 B. C, an alliance 
 
38 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 with Egypt became the policy of the Palestinian states 
 in order to free themselves from Assyria. But it was not 
 until 708 that Egypt was in position to render any effective 
 aid against Assyria. The revolt of Ashdod in 711 was 
 severely punished by Sargon. In this section Isaiah, in a 
 very expressive manner, sets forth the folly of any attempt 
 to discard the Assyrian yoke and the impossibility of 
 placing any reliance upon Egypt. 
 
 Sargon was assassinated in 705 B. C, and his son Sen- 
 nacherib came to the Assyrian throne. The death of this 
 great military leader was the signal of revolt throughout 
 his empire. Phoenician and Philistine cities, encour- 
 aged by Egypt, threw off the foreign yoke; and the 
 Egyptian party in Jerusalem, against the remonstrances 
 of Isaiah, succeeded in winning Hezekiah to join the 
 rebellion. 
 
 Prophecies Against an Alliance With Egypt 
 
 Examine Isaiah 29. 15-21. At the time that this oracle 
 was uttered, those leaders in Judah who thought to escape 
 from the rigors of the Assyrian by an alliance with Egypt 
 were secretly plotting this transfer of allegiance. Such 
 counsel is sure to fail. It is against the plans of Jehovah. 
 The clay might as well ignore the potter as the people, of 
 Judah their God. Let them trust Jehovah, and the "ter- 
 rible one" — that is, the Assyrian — will be "brought to 
 nought." 
 
 Study Isaiah 30. 1-7. The secret leaning toward Egypt 
 has become an open policy. Emissaries with rich presents 
 have been sent by Hezekiah to Egypt. Observe the man- 
 ner in which Isaiah denounces this embassy. It is an 
 added sin to Judah's already overdrawn account in the 
 patience of Jehovah. Not to have counseled with Jehovah's 
 prophets, not to have followed their advice, is the certain 
 assurance that the project will fail. Notice the fine scorn 
 of the phrase "to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt!" 
 
 Eead Isaiah 31. 1-9. This is a strong but tender plea 
 that Judah will not turn to Egypt in order to be freed 
 from Assyria. "The Egyptians are men, and not God." 
 
ISAIAH AND THE ASSYEIAN INVASION 39 
 
 Jehovah alone can save Judah from Assyria. He will 
 fight on Mount Zion like a lioness for her young. As a 
 mother bird protects her offspring, so Jehovah will hover 
 over Jerusalem. "Turn unto Jehovah, against whom you 
 have deeply revolted," urges Isaiah ; "put away your idols, 
 and then shall the sword of Jehovah be lifted against the 
 Assyrian, and you shall be free." 
 
 Prophecies Dealing With Assyria 
 
 Examine Isaiah 29. 1-8. To understand this section 
 and, indeed, the entire group of oracles studied in this 
 chapter, it must be kept in mind that Isaiah, during the 
 latter years of his life, had two objectives constantly before 
 him. These were (1) to prevent Judah from throwing 
 off the Assyrian yoke to join an alliance led by Egypt 
 and (2) to assure his countrymen that loyalty to Jehovah 
 would lead them safely through every affliction. The pre- 
 ceding chapter narrates the attitude of Isaiah toward the 
 Assyrian alliance when it was initiated by Ahaz. He had 
 opposed that policy with all his might. But once it had 
 been adopted, he continually counseled loyalty to Assyria. 
 He clearly foresaw the disastrous consequences of revolt. 
 Judah apart from Jehovah's aid was too weak to contend 
 with Assyria. Patient bearing of the Assyrian yoke and 
 renewed consecration to Jehovah would eventuate in Je- 
 hovah's interference in their behalf. The rescue of Judah 
 from Assyria depended on loyalty to Jehovah. 
 
 Eead 29. 1-5, which expresses Isaiah's grief at the pro- 
 posed rebellion against Assyria and his prediction of its 
 consequences. "Ariel" probably means "altar-hearth," at 
 which sacrifices are offered. The whole city will become 
 an altar, and its sacrificial victims will be the inhabitants 
 slain, as the result of a false political policy, by Assyrian 
 armies. The city, humiliated by the afflictions of the con- 
 quest, will speak humbly, like the tones of the necroman- 
 cer. But this severe visitation will not be lasting. The 
 Assyrian invasion is indeed a visitation from Jehovah ; but 
 the thunder, the earthquake, the whirlwind, the tempest, 
 and the fire, which he directs against Jerusalem (29. 5-8), 
 
40 THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 shall pass, and Judah's foes, having accomplished Jeho- 
 vah's purposes, shall be no more than "a vision of the 
 night." 
 
 Isaiah 10. 5-27, written about 703 B. C, continues the 
 prophet's oracles concerning Assyria. Notice the view that 
 Isaiah takes of the coming invasion of Judah by the 
 Assyrian armies. Assyria is the rod of Jehovah to smite 
 Judah. Why does Jehovah visit this affliction upon Judah ? 
 What condemnation is passed upon Assyria ? The student 
 will note again Isaiah's teaching that Judah needs chas- 
 tisement for her faithlessness to Jehovah, but that the 
 nation shall not be overwhelmed utterly. What does 
 Isaiah mean by "the Light of Israel" and "the Holy One 
 of Israel"? What further statement is made concerning 
 the Isaian doctrine of "the remnant" ? Does Isaiah expect 
 an exile for Judah, under Sennacherib, such as Samaria 
 experienced under Sargon? 
 
 For a clearer view of the historical situation that called 
 forth Isaiah's utterances at this period 2 Kings 18. 13-16 
 must be studied. The events described took place in 701 
 B. C. The Assyrian invasion here narrated and the tribute 
 paid are corroborated by the Taylor Cylinder, a contem- 
 porary Assyrian account of Sennacherib's victories. After 
 enumerating the conquests among the Hittites, Phoenicians, 
 and certain Philistine cities the record runs: "I drew 
 near to Ekron; Padi, their king [whom his rebellious 
 subjects had deposed, because he was loyal to Assyria, and 
 had turned over to Hezekiah, the chief of the confederacy, 
 for safe-keeping], I brought out of Jerusalem and set 
 him again upon their throne. And of Hezekiah, the 
 Judaean, who had not submitted to my yoke, forty-six 
 strong cities with walls, the smaller cities which were 
 around them without number, by the battering of rams 
 and the assault of engines, the attack of foot soldiers, 
 mines, breaches, and axes, I besieged and captured them. 
 Two hundred thousand one hundred and fifty men, young 
 and old, male and female, horses, mules, asses, camels, 
 oxen and sheep without number, I brought out from them 
 and counted as booty. [Hezekiah] himself I shut up like 
 
ISAIAH AND THE ASSYKIAN INVASION 41 
 
 a caged bird within Jerusalem, his royal cily. I cast up 
 intrenchments against him, and whomsoever came forth 
 from the gate of his city I punished. His cities which I 
 had plundered I separated from his land and gave them 
 to Mitinti, king of Ashdod, Padi of Ekron, and Sillibel 
 of Gaza. Besides the former taxes paid yearly I added 
 tribute and presents. As for Hezekiah the fear of the 
 majesty of my dominion overwhelmed him, and his troops 
 deserted. With thirty talents of gold [and] eight 
 hundred talents of silver, precious stones, couches 
 and seats of ivory, elephant hide, ivory, heavy 
 treasure, and his daughters, the women of his 
 palace, male musicians, female musicians, he dispatched 
 after me to Nineveh, my capital. He sent his ambassador 
 to give tribute and make submission." (Cuneiform Par- 
 allels to the Old Testament, Eogers, page 343f. condensed). 
 The passage 2 Kings 18. 17 to 19. 8 is a supplementary 
 Biblical account to be read in this connection. The appeal 
 to Isaiah is the turn of the tide of the prophet's influence 
 with the court. Note the confidence of Isaiah that Jeru- 
 salem, guarded by Jehovah, is impregnable, and that the 
 Assyrian, in spite of his boasting, is under the control not 
 of Assyrian deities but of Jehovah. The account of the 
 discomfiture of the Assyrian army given in 2 Kings 
 19. 10-37 is best explained by supposing a second western 
 campaign of Sennacherib. 
 
 Study Isaiah 10. 28-32. This section was uttered after 
 the Assyrian army was on the march to punish the rebel- 
 lious western states and before the submission of Hezekiah 
 narrated above. It was spoken before the exact line of 
 Sennacherib's march was known. Isaiah rightly knew that 
 upon Judah especially would the Assyrian vengeance fall. 
 Observe that each succeeding site mentioned brings the 
 invader nearer Jerusalem, and that Nob is within sight 
 of the city walls. Examine 17. 12-14 and observe the 
 mingled terror and comfort; state the language in which 
 each is expressed. 
 
 Turn now to Isaiah 30. 27-33. This section expresses 
 Isaiah's final message concerning Assyria. Jehovah takes 
 
42 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 up the cause of beleaguered Judah. Assyria will be broken 
 in pieces, and Judah will be filled with rejoicing. 
 
 Prophecies Dealing With Internal Conditions in 
 Judah From 705 to 701 B. C. 
 
 Isaiah 29. 9-14. — Here Isaiah severely rebukes the citi- 
 zens of Jerusalem for their failure to understand the 
 political and religious conditions of the day. Gay and 
 careless, they do not comprehend the menace from Assyria ; 
 devoted to the ritual worship and wanting in moral insight 
 and conscience, they offer Jehovah no more than a vain 
 service of the lips. This message was uttered about 703 
 B. C. 
 
 Isaiah 30. 8-17. — The people will have none of true 
 prophetic guidance. To be popular the prophets must 
 declare smooth things. The truth the people will not hear. 
 "Let us hear no more concerning the Holy One of Israel" 
 is their rebuke of the prophet. 
 
 Isaiah 32. 9-14. — Frivolous women of the wealthy class 
 are here upbraided for their thoughtless, worthless life. 
 The day comes when their gay laughter shall be turned into 
 mourning for the devastated vineyards and fields. Here 
 is another one of Isaiah's fine etchings of the social life 
 of Jerusalem in the days of peril. This warning was 
 uttered within a year or two of Sennacherib's invasion. 
 
 Isaiah 22. 1-14. — Here too the citizens of Jerusalem 
 are shown utterly callous to the danger threatening them. 
 At a time when they should be in deep contrition and 
 mourning in the face of impending disaster, the city is 
 full of feasting, drinking, and merrymaking. Observe the 
 manner in which the gayety of the people expresses itself. 
 It was in this spirit that Judah was caught by the advance 
 of Sennacherib, 
 
 Sennacherib in Palestine 
 
 Examine very carefully 2 Kings 18. 13 to 19. 37. Here 
 we have three accounts of the dealing of Sennacherib with 
 Jerusalem and Hezekiah. Without doubt the best view is 
 to regard the narrative of 18. 13-16 as corresponding with 
 
ISAIAH AND THE ASSYKIAN INVASION 43 
 
 the account of his campaign given by Sennacherib (see 
 page 40). The passages 18. 17 to 19. 9 and 19. 9-37 
 appear to be parallel accounts of the same attempt of Sen- 
 nacherib to induce Hezekiah to surrender Jerusalem. Since 
 he was not successful in this endeavor Sennacherib was not 
 likely to make a record of his failure. Note the religious 
 ideas in the first of these accounts. The emissaries of 
 Sennacherib urge that the citizens of Jerusalem should 
 not depend on Jehovah to deliver them from the power 
 of Assyria. Jehovah, they claim, is angered because 
 Hezekiah has torn down his altars upon the high places 
 of the countryside. Is he more powerful, they ask, than 
 the gods of other nations that have succumbed to the might 
 of Sennacherib? They urge also that Sennacherib is the 
 servant of Jehovah sent to punish Judah. The demand 
 to surrender the city sorely tried Hezekiah. Perhaps with- 
 out the strong faith of Isaiah asserting that Jehovah would 
 save the city and would destroy the invading army Hezekiah 
 would have yielded. Never was Isaiah's faith put to greater 
 test, and never was he more completely vindicated. 
 
 Summasy 
 
 Isaiah's teaching up to this year of calamity and de- 
 liverance (701 B. C.) may be stated thus: Jehovah is 
 the Holy One of Israel ; this holiness consists in righteous- 
 ness and justice; and these qualities he demands from 
 Judah. The nation must put away its idols (2. 8) and 
 its dependence on ritual worship (1. 11-15) and practice 
 righteousness. This righteousness is to admonish the op- 
 pressor, to obtain justice for the orphan, to plead the 
 widow's cause. The state is rotten with drunkenness (28. 
 7), murder (1. 21), bribery (1. 23), licentious worship 
 (1. 29), and superstitions (3. 3). Its princes are thieves 
 (1. 23), and its priests drunken knaves (28. 7). All these 
 evils must be purged away, and Jerusalem must become the 
 city of righteousness (1. 27). The crowning political 
 folly of Judah was her alliance with Assyria. This final 
 defection from Jehovah could issue only in national hu- 
 miliation. This humiliation was hastened by the rebellion 
 
44 THE KELIGION OF JTJDAH 
 
 of Hezekiah. Assyria now becomes Jehovah's instrument 
 of chastisement (10. 5). But after Judah is reduced to 
 the verge of dissolution, a remnant within the nation will 
 return unto Jehovah — that is, seek him with that reverence 
 and righteousness which alone can commend the people 
 to the Holy One; and Assyria, the instrument of punish- 
 ment and, indirectly, of the nation's return to righteous- 
 ness, in its turn shall be crushed for its cruelties and inso- 
 lence (10. 12-15). 
 
 The invincibility of Jerusalem, Jehovah's sanctuary, is 
 Isaiah's chief contribution to the political history of his 
 people. Not only did the prophet's faith sustain Heze- 
 kiah in the state's darkest hour, but this creed became of 
 much religious significance in later years. It lies at the 
 root of Jewish Messianism. The belief itself is a part of 
 the conviction that Jehovah is the builder of an earthly 
 kingdom of righteousness. Such a kingdom must have a 
 capital, and there is no other than the city of David to be 
 Jehovah's throne. We shall study expressions of this belief 
 in later chapters. 
 
 Isaiah, like Amos and Hosea, denounced the ritual that 
 would permit murderers to approach, unchallenged, Je- 
 hovah's sanctuaries (1. 15, 16). Such worship was rotten to 
 the roots and must be put away. The nearer the Assyrian 
 affliction came to Jerusalem, the more splendid became the 
 worship. But it was all in vain. Jehovah cries out in 
 Isaiah that he hates the whole religious program of Judah 
 (1. 14) and that he will no more accept such unmeaning 
 worship (1. 15). Here we have again the clash of the 
 priestly and the prophetic ideal of religion and worship. 
 To-day we are sure that the prophets were the men of vi- 
 sion. Blood of bullocks cannot be wanted by an ethical 
 Deity. Incense is never a substitute for righteous living. 
 This is the mighty ethical reorganization of religion which 
 it is Isaiah's glory to have accomplished for the whole 
 world. Eeligion ever will be haunted by this ideal of 
 ethical holiness; and whenever the moral vision lights 
 upon the most distant son of man, he will be debtor to 
 Isaiah, inhabitant of Jerusalem, but citizen of the world. 
 
 
ISAIAH AND THE ASSYRIAN INVASION 45 
 
 For Kingdom Builders To-Day 
 
 Beligion Versus Magic. — Think of the vision of Isaiah. 
 In a day when his countrymen were dragging bullocks, 
 rams, and goats to a sanctuary to splash their blood upon 
 an altar of Jehovah, Isaiah saw that religion is com- 
 radeship with God or it is nothing. No lamb can take 
 away the sin of the world. No spilled blood can set a man 
 in comradeship with God. 
 
 "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: 
 A broken and a contrite heart, God, thou wilt not de- 
 spise." 
 
 Nothing less than the seeker after righteousness can draw 
 near a righteous Deity. God cannot be bribed by a present. 
 
 The highest worship to be paid an ethical Deity is to 
 imitate his character. "Shall two walk together, except they 
 have agreed?" Christ calls us not primarily to believe in 
 him but to believe with him. "If any man would come after 
 me, let him . . . take up his cross, and follow me." Let 
 him have his wilderness experience, his Galilean ministry, 
 his intimate brotherhood, his Pharisaic antagonisms, his 
 Gethsemane, his Golgotha. Let him have these, and he will 
 have his slopes of Bethany. 
 
 It is ever a tendency in man to confuse magic with 
 religion, to burn incense rather than to purge the heart, 
 to trust to external mechanism rather than the sanitation 
 of the soul. No man's character ever was changed by an 
 application of water, however sacred the priest declared the 
 water to be. A vicious business or a worldly life is not 
 atoned for by a contribution to church or charity. Violated 
 treaties are not set right by donations of gold. The lust 
 that overleaps the marriage vow is not less hideous because 
 of loveliness of disposition. Nothing deals adequately with 
 sin but repentance and a new life. 
 
 The Test of Greatness. — Perhaps the greatness of a 
 man is tested as in no other manner by the way he treats 
 powerful enemies who succumb to defeat and humiliation. 
 After Ahaz had reduced Judah to vassalage, Isaiah steadily 
 
46 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 counseled loyalty to Assyria. This course made him many 
 enemies. His powerful opponents, blind to the disastrous 
 consequences of their action, were able to force a break 
 with Assyria. Isaiah had done his utmost to preserve the 
 nationality of Judah. He was set aside by worldly-wise 
 politicians. But in the hour of their sad discomfiture Isaiah 
 ceases remonstrance and denunciation. His city and na- 
 tion are imperiled. The honor of Jehovah is at stake. 
 For Isaiah country is greater than party ; the cause is dearer 
 than the humiliation of individuals arrayed against it. 
 Isaiah now summons all his resources of faith and influ- 
 ence to infuse his countrymen with confidence and cour- 
 age. Animosities are forgotten. Only the integrity of 
 the state and Jehovah's purposes are remembered in the 
 dark hour when Jerusalem is besieged. 
 
 This is true greatness. The great man cannot be 
 insulted or humiliated. His soul is wrapped up in his 
 cause. For it he endures everything. He does not dis- 
 own his church because some member mistreats him. 
 Because some servant of an institution or public move- 
 ment betrays his trust, he does not forsake the enter- 
 prise. Because self-seeking politicians or economists nar- 
 rowly oppose ideas and methods of progress, he does 
 not lose faith in the possibility of a better civilization, 
 nor does he cease his efforts to usher in the better day. 
 In the midst of the grossest materialism and social ostra- 
 cism he can keep his faith and lift his voice. This is the 
 greatness of the man whom God has summoned to follow 
 the trail of righteousness and good will. 
 
 Nations Are the Servants of God. — Nations even 
 like Assyria are the instruments of God. A striking par- 
 allel exists between Assyria and Germany. Both nations 
 coveted empire. Both, for their selfish ends, were ready 
 to crush small states. To regard either empire as the 
 servant of God for the chastisement of worldliness and 
 sin belongs only to men of vision and faith. Yet history, 
 read by epochs, ministers to the faith that it is God who 
 governs nations. Germany, like Assyria, struck savagely 
 at weaker states, yet was overwhelmed in defeat. The 
 
ISAIAH AND THE ASSYEIAN INVASION 47 
 
 war was God's way of enunciating that right is might. 
 He has shown us, through our dreadful human blundering, 
 that the destiny of any nation is indissolubly intertwined 
 with the destinies of all; that civilization, in order not to 
 perish, must be the common purpose and the common 
 struggle of all nations. The nations of the earth con- 
 stitute a family. Any departure from virtue and recti- 
 tude is a menace and a disaster to all. Nothing less 
 than the recognition of the familyhood of nations and 
 races can make possible the peace and progress of hu- 
 manity. One autocracy renders democracy insecure. One 
 armed lust of empire sets up militarism throughout the 
 world. One thief compels a whole community to lock 
 its doors. This is the great lesson of God taught by the 
 world war. Like Assyria, Germany taught the world a 
 great lesson through vast suffering. Like Assyria, Ger- 
 many, once the lesson was taught, was broken and hu- 
 miliated. 
 
 Intebbogation Points 
 
 1. Why did Isaiah oppose the policy which made Judah a 
 vassal of Assyria? 
 
 2. What was the platform of the Egyptian party in Jeru- 
 salem? 
 
 3. Why did Isaiah oppose their policy? 
 
 4. Why did Isaiah regard Assyria as the servant of Je- 
 hovah? 
 
 5. What were the sins of Judah denounced by Isaiah? 
 
 6. What service did religion render politics through Isaiah? 
 
 7. What did the prophet mean by saying of certain leaders 
 in Jerusalem that they "have not asked at my [Jehovah - ^] 
 mouth"? (Isaiah 30. 2.) 
 
 8. In his early sermons Isaiah apparently contemplated the 
 destruction of Jerusalem. When and why did he change his 
 views? 
 
 9. What elements of greatness are discoverable in Isaiah? 
 
 10. What principles of government and religion enunciated 
 by Isaiah are applicable in our own times? 
 
 Fob the Deeply Intebested Student 
 
 The Religion of Israel to the Exile, Budde, pages 147-56. 
 Jerusalem, G. A. Smith, Volume II, pages 148-80. 
 Old-Testament History, Smith, pages 238-5.2. 
 Article, "Isaiah," in Encyclopedia Biblica. 
 
CHAPTER Y 
 ISAIAH AND THE MESSIANIC HOPE 
 
 It is said that "hope springs eternal in the human 
 breast." Certain it is that out of the depths of oppres- 
 sion and defeat there have sprung up the brightest Uto- 
 pias. When men ceased locating their golden age in 
 the past and began to peer into the future to behold 
 their ideal social order, a turning point was reached in 
 human affairs. Of all political idealizations the Jewish 
 Messianic hope has been the most productive of good, 
 for out of it sprang the Christian church and the Chris- 
 tian conception of the kingdom of God. 
 
 This Messianic hope of the Jews takes its first definite 
 shape in the preaching of Isaiah. Although certain ex- 
 pectations of his never were realized, he enunciated cer- 
 tain principles that ever remained in varying propor- 
 tions essentials in the Jewish dream of the ideal king- 
 dom. 
 
 Isaiah's Doctrine of a Faithful Remnant 
 
 That Jehovah is a righteous and sovereign Deity is 
 fundamental in all Isaiah's preaching. His call to the 
 prophetic office was inaugurated by a vision of Jehovah's 
 sovereign holiness. Such a Deity cannot tolerate un- 
 righteousness among men. He will therefore punish Is- 
 rael, a nation peculiarly his own, for its unrighteousness. 
 This visitation, to purge the land of evil, in the earliest 
 teaching of Isaiah (6. 11, 12) will result in the destruc- 
 tion of the state. It will be impossible for the people 
 to avert this scourging judgment by renewed devotion 
 to superstitions and foreign religions (28. 15) or by po- 
 litical arrangements with other nations (30. 1, 2; 31. 1). 
 Read the strong words (28. 17-21) in which Isaiah de- 
 clares that the purpose of Jehovah to vindicate his own 
 righteousness by a purging judgment is unalterable. 
 
 48 
 
ISAIAH AND THE MESSIANIC HOPE 49 
 
 Not long after Isaiah began his ministry, the extent of 
 the terrible judgment of Jehovah was restricted in the 
 thought of the prophet. He named his oldest son Shear- 
 jashub, meaning "A remnant shall return." Wherever 
 the boy appeared and was known he was a prediction of 
 judgment and also of hope. This remnant was to be com- 
 posed of those in Judah who turned from false religion 
 and every form of social evil to imitate Jehovah's right- 
 eousness. "He that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be 
 called holy" (4. 3). This remnant evidently was re- 
 garded by Isaiah as forming a very small group (6. 13; 
 10. 22), but this small company of righteous men and 
 women will become the stock of a new and glorious 
 state. 
 
 Assyria (10. 5) is Jehovah's instrument of punishment. 
 Jerusalem will be besieged, and the city's slain will be so 
 numerous that it will seem an altar of sacrifice upon which 
 the citizens are being offered to atone for Judah's sins 
 (29. 1-4). But in the midst of Assyria's triumph Jehovah 
 will arrest the work of destruction. Jerusalem will not 
 be taken (10. 12; 29. 7), but, on the contrary, will raise 
 itself aloft again in proud triumph over all surrounding 
 nations. It is at this hour of its punishment and de- 
 liverance that the Messianic age will be ushered in. 
 
 Contents of Isaian Messiantsm 
 
 The Intervention of Jehovah. — The Messianic hope, 
 first of all, was the belief that a divine order would 
 emerge out of the disorder of the eighth-century life of the 
 Hebrew states. Previous studies have shown the necessity 
 of the monarchy to deliver the Hebrew tribes from the 
 chaotic social and political life of the period of the judges. 
 But the later history of the kingship did not fulfill all 
 the hopes of those prophets who had championed the na- 
 tionalistic program of the earlier sovereigns. Foreign 
 alliances for trade and war produced conditions in which 
 sharply contrasted social classes were formed in Israel 
 and Judah. An age of greed, lust, and brutal selfishness, 
 
50 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 characteristic alike of prince and priest, was the curse 
 of the two kingdoms in the eighth century. It was the 
 mission of the eighth-century prophets to denounce the 
 social disorders of their times. That the sins of Israel 
 were fast leading the northern kingdom to destruction 
 was the unswerving conviction of Amos. Hosea too looked 
 for the destruction of the northern state, but he believed 
 also that Jehovah's love would be able to find some way 
 of reestablishment of the afflicted people. Hosea 2. 16-23 
 presents the details of the prophet's hope of the better 
 days to follow the purging judgment. Israel will enjoy 
 her fruitful vineyards and fields in peace, the Baals will 
 be worshiped no more, and the people, faithful and loyal 
 to Jehovah, will rejoice in their knowledge of his right- 
 eousness and lovingkindness. Since Hosea keenly felt the 
 failure of Israel's kingship (13. 11), it is not likely that 
 he expected the kingship to continue in the new social 
 order. The new age was in some measure to be a return 
 to the earliest years of the nation's history (2. 23). 
 
 Isaiah differs from Hosea in the starting point of his 
 age of felicity. Hosea expected the overthrow of Israel, 
 a return to the wilderness, and a new entrance into the 
 land. Isaiah, as we have seen, insisted that the judgment 
 would not overwhelm Jerusalem, and that the "return" 
 was not geographical but ethical. Jehovah's fiery judg- 
 ment would awaken the dull conscience of Judah's leaders, 
 and they would inaugurate the better day. 
 
 According to Isaiah, Jehovah alone inaugurates the new 
 age. The Assyrian will be checked in his victorious ca- 
 reer not by the armies of Egypt or by Judah or by a 
 confederation of states; "the sword, not of men, shall 
 devour him" (31. 8). "Through the voice of Jehovah 
 shall the Assyrian be dismayed" (30. 31). There came 
 to pass a strange fulfillment of this prediction. Jerusa- 
 lem, as we have seen, outweathered the Assyrian storm 
 not alone because of strong walls, but because of some 
 circumstance with which Judah had nothing to do. In 
 some mysterious fashion Sennacherib was robbed of the 
 capture of Jerusalem and was forced to retreat from 
 
ISAIAH AND THE MESSIANIC HOPE 51 
 
 Palestine. Later studies will reveal some disastrous con- 
 sequences from this teaching. But at the time it was 
 uttered it infused that faith into Isaiah's countrymen which 
 alone saved them from surrendering to the Assyrian. 
 
 The Personal Rule of Jehovah in Jerusalem. — Eead 
 attentively 2. 1-4 and note that it is Jehovah's house 
 which is to be exalted. This is not merely the Temple. 
 It is, rather, the purified city, the righteousness of whose 
 inhabitants fits them to be the teachers of the world. The 
 actual instruction would fall to king, judge, and priest. 
 But Jehovah is the source of the new order. Above priest 
 and king he is the Euler of the Messianic empire; he is 
 the Overlord of the nations. Previous chapters make clear 
 this fundamental Isaian truth of Jehovah's sover- 
 eignty. The student may read 30. 27-33, which so 
 strongly declares that Jehovah's judgment is administered 
 by himself alone. Note especially verse 31. This same 
 conviction of Jehovah's personal rule, especially as the 
 ground of the expected righteous social order, is found 
 in 28. 14-22. Observe that the present social order is 
 built on a foundation of lies and superstitions (verse 15) ; 
 but Jehovah will sweep aside such false supports of the 
 state and lay, instead, "in Zion ... a tried stone, a 
 precious corner stone," which will provide an immovable 
 foundation. This foundation is righteousness and jus- 
 tice. 
 
 Isaiah certainly did not expect the monarchy to be set 
 aside. The Judsean kingship, despite its evils, for Isaiah 
 was an established factor in society. He was quite 
 aware that the princes (3. 14) were the source of many 
 of the ills of the state ; but even in the midst of the great- 
 est calamities, when prophet, diviner, judge, and military 
 leader, the stay and staff of the city, have been swept 
 away, the state is not without its King (3. 1-4). With 
 this feeling for the kingship it was inevitable that Isaiah 
 should look for a line of sovereigns whose abilities and 
 virtues should fit them to be the leaders of the new 
 social order. This expectation is the starting point of 
 prophecies of the Messiah. 
 
52 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 The Messianic King. — Read 9. 1-7. Observe that the 
 inauguration of the new order of light and joy devolves 
 upon a Judaean king. It is Jehovah, indeed, who crushes 
 the Assyrian oppressor (verse 4), but the deliverance is 
 to be followed by the rule of a prince who will secure 
 for his people the expected felicities of the new age. The 
 names applied to this new king — or line of kings — are 
 worthy of careful scrutiny, since they throw light upon 
 the nature of the kingdom. Four striking characteriza- 
 tions of the new sovereign are given: he is a wonder of 
 a counselor, a god of a warrior, a father forever, a prince 
 of peace. The new king is endowed with extraordinary 
 statesmanship, he fights the battles of his people like a 
 divine warrior, his fatherly care of his people is unceas- 
 ing, and he secures for his subjects the blessings of peace. 
 Verse H declares the belief that this Davidic line of ex- 
 traordinary kings shall long endure, and that they shall 
 secure their kingdom through justice and righteousness. 
 If this divinely endowed race of kings seems improbable, 
 let it be remembered that "the zeal of Jehovah of hosts 
 will perform this." 
 
 Examine 11. 1-9. Point out the additional details in 
 this picture of the Messianic prince. What endowment 
 fits him for rulership in the approaching age ? Note care- 
 fully what elements of character are given the Messiah 
 by Jehovah. Observe too that the king is the judge of 
 his people. What is the meaning of the expression "he 
 shall not judge after the sight of his eyes"? What prin- 
 ciples govern his administration of the laws? The stu- 
 dent will delight in the idyllic portrayal of the peaceful- 
 ness of the expected age found in verses 6-9. Observe the 
 recurring note of Isaianic thought that ignorance of Je- 
 hovah is the source of Judah's ills, and that when the 
 earth is full of the knowledge of Jehovah, a universal 
 reign of peace will be inaugurated among men. The pas- 
 sages 32. 1-5, 16-20 also are Messianic oracles. They have 
 been considered above, but the student should observe 
 that a Messianic king is responsible for the well-being of 
 the state. 
 
ISAIAH AND THE MESSIANIC HOPE 53 
 
 The Social Content of Isaiah's Messianism. — The 
 
 land itself will respond with increased fertility to the new 
 happiness of the people. Examine 4. 2; 29. 17; and 32. 
 15, 20 and state the measure of the prophet's expectation 
 that the soil of Palestine will be more richly endowed in 
 the Messianic age. 
 
 There is to be a moral reorganization of life. The 
 purging judgment clears the nation of moral evil (1. 25), 
 and Jerusalem becomes the city of righteousness (1. 26). 
 As Jehovah's city Jerusalem becomes preeminent among 
 the nations of earth. What is Jerusalem's mission in this 
 Messianic age ? See 2. 1-3. What great blessing is prom- 
 ised in 2. 4? The chief characteristic of Judah's life, 
 after the new day dawns, is justice and righteousness (9. 
 7). The poor no longer are oppressed (29. 19), the 
 tyranny of priest and prince over the weak ceases (29. 
 20), violence is at an end (29. 21), the helpless and 
 the lowly never lack for justice (11. 4), judges cease 
 taking bribes and adjudicate the cause of the orphan 
 and the widow (1. 23-26), the people dwell quietly and 
 confidently in their possessions (11. 6-9). The people 
 themselves are holy — that is, righteous (4. 3). In short, 
 it is a new age of social justice rooted in a new sense of 
 human brotherhood. v 
 
 The new state is neither communistic nor democratic. 
 Isaiah did not predict a socialistic state. Each man 
 possesses his own fields, vineyards, and flocks. There are 
 pronounced social classes — king, prince, judge, and priest 
 — still exercising authority over the commoners, who have 
 nothing to do with the choice of their rulers. Isaiah ex- 
 pected all classes in Judah to be permeated by such a 
 profound sense of Jehovah's righteousness that lust, greed, 
 and love of ease on the part of the rulers, priests, and 
 landowners would no longer curse the social order with 
 selfish indulgence and oppression. There would be no 
 embittered hearts among the poor. The cruel wrongs 
 springing from the outrageous alienation engendered 
 among men by wealth and power would cease in this new, 
 intense consciousness of Jehovah's righteous rule in 
 
54 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 Judah. Princes, priests, and judges, not insensible to 
 Jehovah's grace and kingdom purpose — manifested in 
 the preservation of Jerusalem, his holy city — , would seek 
 to carry out Jehovah's demands, which are, essentially, 
 demands for social justice. As will be seen presently, 
 the Messianic hope is religious: it visions new knowledge, 
 trust, and loyalty on the part of man toward Jehovah. 
 But Messianism in Isaiah finds its outward expression 
 in a fraternal order, wherein the sense of brotherhood is 
 strong enough to secure peace, justice, and good will 
 among men. 
 
 Worship in the New Age. — That which undermined 
 the Jewish state was the people's forgetfulness of Jehovah 
 manifested in the worship of other deities (17. 10). In 
 the new era "men shall look unto their Maker" (17. 7). 
 They will not seek spiritualistic mediums nor bow down 
 to idols. Jerusalem will be the source of the religious 
 instruction of surrounding nations (2. 3). The whole 
 spirit of Isaiah's teaching indicates that he regarded the 
 prophets, not the priests, as the true servants and spokes- 
 men of Jehovah. Consequently, he must have expected 
 that the religious leadership of the new age would be 
 with those in whom the spirit of prophecy lived. 
 
 Isaiah says very little about the forms of worship in 
 the projected ideal state. His insistence upon righteous- 
 ness would rule out the licentious features of worship 
 at the local sanctuaries. It will be remembered that in 
 Isaiah's day the people were still worshiping at. the vari- 
 ous local shrines throughout the country. Worship was not 
 yet concentrated at Jerusalem. The local high places con- 
 tinued to be the scenes of the great annual religious feasts 
 and of other family sacrifices. There is no evidence that 
 Isaiah raised any objection to these local altars or that 
 he distinctly contemplated their discontinuance in the 
 golden age. But with his profound sense of the sover- 
 eignty of Jehovah he could scarcely have tolerated the 
 venerable altars set up by Solomon to foreign deities. 
 
 Isaiah nowhere states that he regards the priesthood 
 and the system of sacrifice as essentials in the new age. 
 
ISAIAH AND THE MESSIANIC HOPE 55 
 
 He certainly bitterly denounced the whole sacrificial sys- 
 tem as it was carried on in his day (1. 11-15). While 
 there is no direct evidence that he expected the sacrificial 
 system to be swept away, because of the fact that he con- 
 stantly regards the prophetic experience as the very soul 
 of religion it is reasonable to suppose that he could con- 
 template with satisfaction the disappearance of the whole 
 sacrificial system. Since the "earth is to be full of the 
 knowledge of Jehovah," and since the exercise of religion 
 is primarily the practice of justice and righteousness, 
 Isaiah may have looked for a displacement of the cultus 
 by a spiritual democracy in which each individual would 
 enjoy an unmediated fellowship with Jehovah. 
 
 An Attempt to Eealize the Messianic Kingdom 
 
 The signal deliverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrians 
 in 701 B. C. verified in a remarkable manner Isaiah's 
 teaching of divine deliverance and the inviolability of 
 Jehovah's city. Hezekiah and his court, sobered by the 
 danger and the disastrous results of the Assyrian inva- 
 sion, began to heed this man of God whose political poli- 
 cies had not varied, and whose religious faith had not 
 wavered even in the darkest hour of the nation's life. 
 At last Hezekiah set himself to carry out some of the 
 reforms upon which Isaiah insisted. 
 
 Bead 2 Kings 18. 4 for the extent of this reformation 
 of worship. That the reform was quite superficial is seen 
 in the fact that the altars to alien deities erected by Solo- 
 mon were unmolested. The ritual was not corrected. 
 Certain country shrines were violated, and the bronze 
 serpent was destroyed. The sacrifice offered to this ser- 
 pent is a suggestive hint of the idolatrous practices against 
 which Isaiah so strongly inveighed. Note that the author 
 of the book of Kings believes that the idol had been long 
 a part of Judah's worship. It is a mark of Isaiah's 
 greatness that his religious program was too exalted for 
 his times. A century needed to pass by before his visions 
 were translated into the actual practices of any consider- 
 
56 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 able portion of his countrymen. There are elements in 
 his dreams which still are dreams for the prophets of 
 modern civilization. 
 
 Summary 
 
 The student should hold a clear conception of the terms 
 "Messianism," "Messianic kingdom," and "Messiah." By 
 "Messianism" is meant that strong belief of the Jewish 
 people that Jehovah would deliver them from their ene- 
 mies abroad and from the internal evils of their state and 
 exalt them into a glorious commonwealth that should have 
 rule over the nations. The term "Messianic kingdom" 
 fixes more precisely the form of the state : it is, in political 
 form, a monarchy. The Messiah is the nation's king, 
 the anointed one, chosen and consecrated by Jehovah. 
 While the Messianic hope frequently included a Messianic 
 king, the Messiah is not the essential element of Mes- 
 sianism. The determining feature of the Messianic hope 
 is the divinely established deliverance and kingdom. 
 
 It will be observed from the sections studied in this 
 chapter how strongly the Messianic hope was a social ideal. 
 This point cannot be overemphasized. If the student 
 recalls the social disorders denounced by Amos, Hosea, 
 and Isaiah, it will be clear that any vision of a better day 
 would center in a demand for social justice and righteous- 
 ness. The content given the Messianic hope by Isaiah 
 should be well understood, for the Isaian concept is not 
 final. Later thinkers incorporate new ideas. 
 
 Foe Modern Holders of the Messianic Hope 
 
 To know God, says Isaiah, is the solution of the people's 
 ills. Do you believe this? Can any permanently satis- 
 factory adjustment of present-day wrongs be made apart 
 from religion? Can justice and righteousness be se- 
 cured in the state unless they are felt supremely to 
 be the demand of God? This is not a question to be dis- 
 missed lightly; it is fundamental to all reform. 
 
 Do you feel keenly that your religion demands from 
 
ISAIAH AND THE MESSIANIC HOPE 57 
 
 you justice, love, and righteousness in all your human 
 relations? The religion that does not utter an unceasing 
 protest against the ills of society and lift its undying cry 
 for the better day is not a great religion : it does not bring 
 man face to face with God. Unless worship is the glad 
 reverence and trust with which the person who is keen 
 to eliminate the wrongs so grievously cursing the com- 
 munity draws near to fellowship with Him who, too, is 
 laboring to bring in the perfect day, it is a mockery. 
 
 The government of the world rests with the optimist. 
 He who is convinced that "the best is yet to be" in every 
 age will find the multitude his followers. There is a 
 natural repulsion toward defeat. The soul covets free- 
 dom, and progress is the road to liberty. No man who 
 really believes in God can long remain disconcerted with 
 the world's events. He cannot keep his faith in God and 
 despair of civilization. Nations and races come and go, 
 but ideals are deathless; and in the long run every glo- 
 rious dream for humanity shall manifest itself in deeds 
 and institutions. 
 
 Do circumstances create the individual? Or does the 
 individual mold his surroundings into finer forms? 
 Measured by his own day, Isaiah does not seem to have 
 accomplished much in changing the spirit and social prac- 
 tice of his age. His predictions concerning the chastise- 
 ment and rescue of Jerusalem were fulfilled. But the 
 golden age did not follow. The dream of his heart did 
 not come true. Tradition, custom, habits, ignorance — 
 every form of social inertia — were against him. Is it, 
 then, worth while for the dreamer to continue weaving 
 his ideal? Shall the reformer tirelessly beat against the 
 solid wall of ignorance, prejudice, and greed? What is 
 the reward of prophesying and martyrdom ? This : 
 Every bit of progress in the individual and society comes 
 from the ceaseless beating of ideals against the bars of 
 ancient things. It is the visioner of dawn who ever has 
 fought the hosts of darkness. To change the world one 
 need not have a great name; he needs only great pur- 
 pose and great faith. 
 
58 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 Taking Inventoby 
 
 1. What advantage to mankind accrues from the belief that 
 "the best is yet to be"? 
 
 2. State those passages in the Bible which convey the idea 
 that the happiest experience of men lies in the past. 
 
 3. What is the meaning of the terms "Messiah" and "Mes- 
 sianism"? 
 
 4. What is Isaiah's doctrine of "the remnant"? 
 
 5. What led him to put forth this doctrine? 
 
 6. To what extent was this ideal realized? 
 
 7. According to Isaiah, when and how was the Messianic 
 age to be ushered in? 
 
 8. What was Isaiah's conception of the Messiah? 
 
 9. What changes in social conditions were to take place? 
 
 10. To what extent were Isaiah's expectations concerning a 
 new era realized? 
 
 11. What resemblance is there between Jewish Messianism 
 and other schemes of political idealism, such as Plato's Ideal 
 Republic, Campanelli's City of the Sun, and Moore's Utopia? 
 
 Material fob Additional Study 
 
 Isaiah: His Life and Times, Driver, Chapter IX. 
 Prophets of Israel, W. R. Smith, pages 356-64. 
 The Religious Teaching of the Old Testament, Knudson, 
 Chapter XV. 
 Article, "Utopia," Encyclopedia Britannica. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 THE MESSAGE OF MICAH 
 
 The book of Micah contains not only written prophe- 
 cies of Micah of Moresheth (a hill town of western Judah), 
 a prophet who lived in the eighth century, but prob- 
 ably also reflects the writings of other religious teachers 
 of succeeding generations. Students have not yet gener- 
 ally agreed upon the sections to be assigned to him who 
 was the contemporary of Isaiah and who labored, in the 
 spirit of this great prophetic age, to lift religion from 
 unethical ritual into the vision of Jehovah's moral nature 
 and, consequently, into the practice of social virtues. 
 Although this uncertainty attaches to his message, he 
 belongs worthily to the great group of prophets through 
 whom the world first received its vision of ethical re- 
 ligion. He was no mere imitator of Amos, Hosea, and 
 Isaiah. His messages are quite like theirs, but he pos- 
 sessed an independent soul and asserted vigorously and 
 boldly his views of Judah's sins and faithlessness. Jere- 
 miah 26. 18, 19 reveals that Micah was an influential 
 factor in the political and religious life of the border years 
 of the eighth and seventh centuries. 
 
 Micah's prophecies indicate that he was old enough 
 to appreciate at the time of its occurrence the disaster 
 to the northern kingdom wrought by the destruction of 
 Samaria in 721. His life was determined by his belief in 
 a similar destruction of Jerusalem. He must have lived 
 through the Assyrian invasion of 701. In such case, 
 although no prophecies of a restored people are extant, like 
 Isaiah he may have believed in a near Messianic age. 
 Under the following topics are grouped the essential 
 themes in the sermons of Micah: 
 
 The Appkoach of Certain Destruction 
 Bead the first chapter of Micah. Verses 2-7 are a 
 ' 59 
 
60 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 threat of certain punishment to fall upon the two He- 
 brew kingdoms. Observe^that Jehovah's residence is his 
 holy temple not in Jerusalem but in the heavens. When 
 he draws near Samaria and Jerusalem in judgment, the 
 very earth suffers. The capital of the northern state will 
 be turned into a desolate field. It is the city, wealthy 
 and licentious, which has spread the dreadful contagion 
 of sin throughout the state. This prediction of Samaria's 
 destruction was fulfilled in Sargon's capture of the city 
 in 721 B. C. Like Isaiah, Micah regarded the devastat- 
 ing and conquering Assyrian forces as the servant of 
 Jehovah. 
 
 Verses 8-16 describe the approach of the Assyrian army 
 into Judah to the very gates of Jerusalem. Micah mourns 
 this terrible destruction and calls upon Judah to put on 
 the signs of humiliation and grief for her captive chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Seasons foe This Scourging Punishment 
 
 After this chapter, expressing so confidently the de- 
 struction of the two kingdoms, there follow two chapters 
 denouncing the sins which have occasioned the downfall 
 of the Hebrew states. The student should note carefully 
 the nature of the sins condemned by Micah. Sin is al- 
 ways some disruption of man's fellowship with men or 
 with God. What spirit and deeds in Micah's day are 
 breaking fraternalism in Judah? See 2. 1, 2. What 
 penalty (2. 3, 4) is promised these covetous, oppressive 
 landowners ? Note the appropriateness of the judgment to 
 fall upon these ruthless land thieves. What protests do 
 these wealthy oppressors of the poor make to Micah's 
 threat of punishment? The text of verses 6 and 7 is un- 
 certain, but the following cannot be far from the meaning : 
 
 "Do not preach upon such subjects: 
 Destruction cannot come upon Jehovah's people. 
 Is Jehovah impatient with us? Will he cast us off? 
 Cow h§ mean aught but good to his people Israel?" 
 
THE MESSAGE OF MICAH 61 
 
 The same folly is expressed by a clearer text in 3. 11, 
 which we prefer to render: 
 
 "Is not Jehovah in the midst of us? 
 No evil shall come upon us." 
 
 Although Amos and Hosea had done their best to break 
 down this unwarrantable folly of believing that the ancient 
 covenant bound Jehovah to protect his people in every 
 event, and although their history gave little basis for such 
 belief, the people still clung to this kinship conception of 
 man and Deity. The covenant relation was not yet ethi- 
 cized. 
 
 The answer to this folly is Jehovah's protest to the 
 rich (2. 8, 9) : 
 
 "You have become my peaceful people's enemy; 
 
 You strip the clothing, as in wartime, from your quiet 
 neighbors; 
 
 The women of my people you drive out from their blessed 
 homes; 
 
 From their young children you take away my glory for- 
 ever." 
 
 It is not clear whether the last line means that the chil- 
 dren are sold into slavery, or the fathers of children. In 
 the former case the children would be orphans (2 Kings 
 4. 1). All this is a horrible picture of the social corrup- 
 tion that an unchecked greed for wealth ever introduces 
 into society. Verse 11 adds a final touch to the infamy 
 of Judah's social life. Micah, recognizing that his mes- 
 sage is unacceptable to the unscrupulous rich of his day, 
 declares that the prophet who would preach on wine and 
 glorify drunkenness would receive a handsome salary and 
 get it paid regularly. 
 
 Chapter 3 becomes more bitter in the denunciation of 
 the greed and covetousness that oppress and rob the poor. 
 Princes, says Micah, ought to be the guardians of social 
 justice; on the contrary, they love evil. Verses 2 and 3 
 describe in the terms of a cannibal feast the hardships 
 
62 THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 that wealthy men inflict upon the poor. But there is a 
 day of judgment for these hard-hearted scoundrels. In 
 that day of reparation they will cry for mercy, but Je- 
 hovah's face will be hidden from them. 
 
 Micah rightfully pours out his scorn upon the profes- 
 sional prophets who have failed to insist upon economic 
 justice. They are the truckling servants of unscrupulous 
 and greedy merchants, landowners, and princes who feed 
 them. They cry, "Peace" when the whole state groans 
 with the burdens of intolerable injustice. Micah can 
 think of no more dire calamity for a prophet than for 
 visions from Jehovah to fail him. Yet this is their pun- 
 ishment. In their hour of indecision and deepest per- 
 plexity nothing but silence and darkness will meet them. 
 There will be no answer from Jehovah. 
 
 Verses 9-12 are a summary of Judah's sins. Princes 
 pervert the courts and destroy the hope of justice. Men 
 of wealth beautify Jerusalem by the pauperization of 
 labor. Priests, custodians of traditional law and custom, 
 sell their knowledge and grow rich upon the necessities 
 of their victims. Prophets, instead of declaring Jehovah's 
 purposes, preach a gospel pleasing to the dominant social 
 classes. 
 
 For these sins, sins of social anarchy, Jerusalem will 
 be destroyed. "Is not Jehovah with us?" these greedy 
 and antisocial leaders reply to the true prophets who 
 threaten them in the name of Jehovah with judgment and 
 punishment. But Micah responds in sterner tones, 
 "Zion for your sake shall be plowed as a field." 
 
 Miscellaneous Prophecies of the Book of Micah. — 
 The prophecies so far studied quite generally have been 
 assigned to Micah, whose ministry paralleled the later life 
 of Isaiah. Certain oracles in the remaining chapters, the 
 authorship of which is debatable, are here examined, since 
 they are similar in tenor to the accepted teaching in chap- 
 ters 1 to 3 or with previously expressed prophetic thought : 
 
 (a) Micah 6. 1-8. — Judah's false conception of Jeho- 
 vah's character and, consequently, of the worship that is 
 acceptable to him. As in Isaiah 1. 2 Jehovah summons 
 
THE MESSAGE OF MICAH 63 
 
 heaven and earth to witness his accusation against his 
 people. The spirit of love and pleading suggests the ten- 
 derness of Hosea. Micah cannot understand the defec- 
 tion of Judah. Like Hosea he feels that the course of 
 Israel's history — a history of redemption — ought to have 
 produced more spiritual views of Jehovah's character and 
 purposes. The nation should have learned ere this that 
 a ritual of animal sacrifice, however extravagantly and 
 faithfully performed, springs from an inadequate knowl- 
 edge of Jehovah's nature. Blood splashed upon a stone, 
 the burning fat of the choicest calf, or even a human sacri- 
 fice, believed to be an efficacious way to win the favor of 
 God, can arise only among an unreflecting people. Be- 
 neath all the licentious, superstitious worship and the 
 social crimes lies a primitive, unethical, and inadequate 
 conception of Deity. Hosea and Isaiah, as we have seen, 
 bitterly complain of this ignorance of Jehovah. There is 
 no knowledge of God in the land, affirmed Hosea (4. 1), 
 and the destruction of Israel is due to this false conception 
 of their national deity (4. 6; 5. 13). Isaiah is equally ex- 
 plicit (1. 3), and in his picture of the ideal age (11. 9) 
 it is a fundamental that "the earth shall be full of the 
 knowledge of Jehovah." Verse 8 is a beautiful summary 
 of the eighth-century prophetic ideal of religion. It con- 
 templates a religion without sacrifice of any kind. It lifts 
 religion out of a butcher shop into a fraternal life of good 
 will expressed in the home, the fields, the markets, the 
 courts of justice, and the executive mansion. This verse 
 should be treasured in memory. It makes a splendid 
 motto for the home or business office. 
 
 (b) Micah 6. 9-16. — An arraignment of dishonest 
 business practices and an assurance of punishing judg- 
 ment. The text is frequently corrupt, but the general 
 meaning may be understood. Scant measures and false 
 weights, wealth gotten by lies and theft, are an abomina- 
 tion to Jehovah. Therefore, riches so accumulated shall 
 vanish. The invader will snatch them away. The owner 
 of fields, olive orchards, and vineyards who has amassed 
 competence by the high-handed, bloody methods of Ahab 
 
64 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 shall not enjoy the fruits of his evil deeds. His wealth 
 shall be swept away. 
 
 (c) Chapter 7. 1-6 perhaps belongs near the close of 
 Micah's life. If it is a genuine oracle of this prophet 
 it reflects the terrible reaction under Manasseh, the son of 
 Hezekiah (see next chapter). It is a dark picture. The 
 first verse indicates Micah's isolation: His ideal of re- 
 ligion and the social order is ignored by all. The state 
 is torn asunder by fratricidal suspicion and crime. High- 
 handed greed and cruelty pursue their anarchic war un- 
 checked. The righteous have been silenced by fear 
 or death. The courts are the agents of crime. The state 
 topples to its ruin. 
 
 Micah and the Messianic Hope. — There is little Mes- 
 sianic hope in Micah. Like Isaiah he began with denun- 
 ciation of Judah's sins ; unlike Isaiah he felt the full force 
 of the Assyrian invasions of 711 and 701. He lived in 
 a country town and felt more keenly the savage ravages of 
 the troops of Sennacherib. With sixty Judaean towns 
 captured, the whole countryside devastated, and Jerusa- 
 lem beleaguered, there was little expectation that the cap- 
 ital eventually would be spared. Like Isaiah he realized 
 the fullest extent of the rapacity, greed, and murderous 
 intent of the wealthy nobles. These nobles dwelt in the 
 city, and Micah could conceive nothing less than the city's 
 destruction as suitable reward for their crimes. Chap- 
 ter 3. 12 : 
 
 "Therefore, on account of your doings, 
 Like a field shall Zion he plowed; 
 Jerusalem shall be a heap of ruins, 
 And the Temple-mount a wooded hill" 
 
 Chapters 4 and 5 of the book of Micah contain Messianic 
 material; but it is of such a nature that it seems unlikely 
 that it was written by the Micah studied above. Like 
 Amos with regard to Israel, Micah undoubtedly believed 
 that nothing less than the overthrow of the Judsean state 
 could correct its evils. Like Hosea, if he did conceive of 
 a deliverance, it was such a vague hope (4. 10) that it 
 
THE MESSAGE OP MICAH 65 
 
 did not win a significant place in his utterances. Even 
 his pessimism turns out optimism. Jehovah is so righteous 
 that Judah, if she cannot practice righteousness, must be 
 destroyed. It is better to have a righteous world or none 
 at all. 
 
 SUMMAEY 
 
 The personal history of Micah, like that of his prede- 
 cessors, is a coloring element in his prophecy. We never 
 view life wholly apart from the context of our own 
 lives. Our theories spring out of our environment. Which 
 one of Micah's three great predecessors most resembles 
 him in personal history and prophetical outlook? Which 
 of these four leaders are known to have been married, and 
 what did married life contribute to their training and 
 ministry ? 
 
 We cannot remind ourselves too often of this prophetic 
 ideal of religion. First of all, the religion that is destined 
 to endure is vision of the ethical life of God. This was 
 the starting point of each of these men and the supreme 
 fundamental in their thought of deity. It is this insight 
 of divine nature, conviction, and faith, so far above the 
 customary belief of their day, which sets them so sharply 
 against their contemporaries. From this contemplation 
 of Jehovah they came back to the actual life of the times 
 with the demand that the social order should reflect the 
 lofty nature of God. In two ways the social order was not 
 a response to an ethical Deity. Worship centered in super- 
 stitious rites — sorcery and divination — and in a ritual of 
 idols, lust, and animal sacrifice. Such religion made no 
 demands upon the civil, political, and economic relation- 
 ships of life. When justice, righteousness, and love be- 
 come the supreme elements in man's concept of deity, 
 there arises at once the demand in the person who 
 would enter into fellowship with his divine Overlord to 
 reproduce like character in himself. Nor can ethical 
 religion rest in the individual's just, righteous, and loving 
 attitude toward God. Immediately he is compelled to 
 treat his fellows with the same spirit and motives. A 
 
66 THE KELIGIOtf OF JUDAH 
 
 just person is just in all his relationships, or his justice 
 ceases altogether. It is this glorious insight by the 
 prophets into the nature of God and of the individual's 
 relation to him and their compelling demand for a social 
 order responsive to the divine character which constitute 
 the fadeless splendor of the prophetic ideal of life. 
 
 Micah may not seem to have contributed much to this 
 ideal. But he reenforces the ideal from the life of a coun- 
 tryman of Isaiah's day. He is a fearless spokesman of 
 his conceptions of truth. He cared more for righteousness 
 than for the treasured institutions of his country. He 
 lives in that immortal group of eighth-century Hebrew 
 leaders to whom the world never will cease to be indebted. 
 
 Corner Stones eor Spiritual Temples 
 
 Would you test your faith in God? Attack some in- 
 iquitous custom, habit, business, or institution that yields 
 financial profit to its promoters. The preaching directed 
 against the source of a man's income ever is bitterly 
 assailed. Savonarola was hanged by the business inter- 
 ests he condemned. Paul was mobbed at Ephesus because 
 the silversmith's trade was threatened. Jesus was cruci- 
 fied because his teaching was undermining the Jewish 
 hierarchy. Gambling, the saloon, prostitution, the licen- 
 tious theater, curse society because they pay dividends. 
 Vice lives because it enriches its promoters. The nation 
 wars because it supposes that victory in the long run con- 
 duces to prosperity. Have Micah's heroism to denounce 
 these profit-yielding evils. Be not afraid of iniquitous 
 wealth. 
 
 An institution that lives on injustice has no claim upon 
 a patriot. No true lover of his country will enlist in a 
 war of conquest. A real patriot would rather see his 
 country perish than live by injustice and greed. Wealth 
 secured by pillage never enriches a man or a people. Let 
 us learn to be poor if wealth can be secured only through 
 dishonor; let us be content to remain unknown if fame 
 has to be won by the betrayal of our finest selves; let us 
 
THE MESSAGE OF MICAH 67 
 
 be willing to die if life is to be preserved through disloyalty 
 to God. 
 
 Do not think that God is obligated to do great things 
 for you. Eeligion is fellowship, and any betrayal of 
 Christ's ideals in you alienates you from fellowship with 
 God. There is no redemption in broken fellowship. 
 Whatever evil there is in you must be thrust out of your 
 life. Then, with yearning heart to know God's love, you 
 place an obligation upon his love and righteousness which 
 issues in the drawing of yourself unto his own great Soul. 
 
 In the midst of the antagonisms and disorders of his 
 day Micah was conscious of deep power (3. 8). He saw 
 so clearly into the purposes of Jehovah that he knew 
 the ultimate triumph of his ideal. That consciousness of 
 sure victory was the source of his power. You too may 
 move serene and sure in the midst of life's confusions. Be 
 filled with a passion for love and justice and go forth to 
 champion these causes, and you fight on the side of vic- 
 tory. This universe is backed by God, and God will pre- 
 serve him who struggles in behalf of the eternal verities. 
 
 Are You Acquainted With Micah? 
 
 1. What dates fairly indicate the periods of the public min- 
 istry of Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah respectively? 
 
 2. What is known of the personal life of Micah? 
 
 3. What sins did Micah most strongly condemn? 
 
 4. In what sins do cities usually specialize? 
 
 5. What accusation did Micah bring against the prophets? 
 
 6. With what wrongs did he charge the priests? 
 
 7. What was Micah's attitude toward the sacrificial system? 
 
 8. Find the verse in the book of Micah which sums up the 
 religious teaching of the eighth-century prophets. 
 
 9. What was Micah's thought concerning the Messianic king- 
 dom? 
 
 10. State the resemblances and differences in the teaching 
 of Micah and Isaiah. 
 
 11. Do you find any parallels with Micah's descriptions in 
 economic conditions to-day? 
 
 12. What help does Micah offer in the solution of our modern 
 economic difficulties? 
 
 Fob Further Study 
 Article, "Micah," Dictionary of the Bible, Hastings. 
 
68 THE RELIGION OP JUDAH 
 
 The Prophets of Israel, W. R. Smith, pages 287-94. 
 
 History, Prophecy, and the Monuments, McFadyen, Volume 
 II, Book VII, Chapter VI. A careful and illuminating survey 
 of the social conditions that led to the overthrow of Samaria 
 and the destruction of Jerusalem. 
 
CHAPTEK VII 
 
 THE DEUTERONOMIC REFORM 
 
 The precise date when Hezekiah's long reign ended is 
 in doubt. It may have been as late as 686 B. C. The exact 
 date of Isaiah's death is unknown. It is quite probable 
 that he did not live long after the Assyrian retreat in 701 
 so remarkably confirmed his faith in the indestructibility 
 of Jerusalem. We have seen that Micah, a younger con- 
 temporary of Isaiah, had no such hopes of Jerusalem's 
 inviolability as had Isaiah and that he lived to experience 
 something of the bitter reaction under Manasseh. The 
 present chapter is a study of the sad conditions under 
 Manasseh, which stirred the disciples of the eighth-cen- 
 tury prophets to undertake a reform of worship in the 
 reign of Josiah. 
 
 The Reign of Manasseh 
 
 Manasseh came to the throne of Judah probably in 686 
 and reigned until 641. The deliverance of Jerusalem 
 from sack in the reign of Hezekiah did not free Judah 
 from Assyrian vassalage. The reign of Manasseh coin- 
 cides with the period of greatest domination of Assyria in 
 the west. Esarhaddon (680-668) led his troops to the 
 conquest of Egypt, and the Assyrian suzerainty was main- 
 tained through much of the rule of Ashur-bani-pal (668- 
 626). Both these princes maintained Syria and Pales- 
 tine in vassalage, and the imperial records of their reign 
 mention Manasseh among their tributary kings. Their 
 annual tribute undoubtedly was borne by Judseans to 
 Nineveh, and Judaean soldiers were compelled to march 
 with their Assyrian masters in the Egyptian campaigns. 
 Several Palestinian towns were occupied by Assyrian gov- 
 ernors and troops. In the excavations at Gezer two clay 
 tablets, dated 649 and 647 respectively, dealing with the 
 
 69 
 
70 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 sale of an estate and the transfer of a field repeal the 
 fact that while Assyrians, Egyptians, and Hebrews were 
 living in this ancient city, the official language was As- 
 syrian. 1 These instances of Assyrian dominion in Pales- 
 tine inadequately suggest the influence which this mighty 
 empire under its greatest kings exercised over the small, 
 weak Judasan state. Manasseh's long reign was peaceful 
 for the sole reason that he attempted no rebellion and 
 faithfully paid the Assyrian tribute. 
 
 This political situation enables us to understand the 
 religious condition x of these years. Isaiah's predicted 
 golden age had not come. The judgment had not fallen 
 upon Assyria. On the contrary, that nation's hold upon 
 the west was greater than ever. Isaiah and his disciples 
 were discredited before the nation. The court, probably 
 expressing the views of the large majority of the nation, 
 turned with new zeal to the cultus that the eighth-cen- 
 tury prophets had so insistently condemned. Eead 2 
 Kings 21. 1-18 for the historian's account of the sins of 
 Manasseh. With regard to worship Manasseh turned the 
 development of religion backward in two particulars: 
 
 (a) He gave a new impetus to the Babylonian worship 
 of the luminaries of heaven. It is stated in 2 Kings 
 21. 3 that Manasseh "worshipped all the host of heaven, 
 and served them." Verse 5 adds, "He built altars for all the 
 host of heaven in the two courts of the house of Jehovah." 
 From 2 Kings 23. 4, 5 we learn that this astral cult had 
 its various altar utensils and priests. Where were these 
 altars located? See Jeremiah 19. 13; Zephaniah 1. 5; 
 and 2 Kings 23. 5. Job 31. 26, 27 is a witness that this 
 star worship continued for centuries. What details do 
 these verses from Job add concerning the manner of 
 worship of this star cult? Jeremiah 8. 2 indicates some- 
 thing of the extent of this worship in Jerusalem. Deu- 
 teronomy 4. 19 and 17. 3 express the horror in which 
 this worship was held by the reformers of the seventh 
 century. 
 
 1 See Bible Side-Lights From the Mound of Gezer, Macalister, page 338. 
 
THE DEUTERONOMIC REFORM 71 
 
 Another aspect of this worship of the heavenly bodies 
 is found in 2 Kings 23. 11. These horses, white in color, 
 were stabled within the Temple precincts near one of the 
 entrances of the Temple. They were quite likely intro- 
 duced by Manasseh. The horses were not sacrificial ani- 
 mals. Harnessed to the chariots, they were driven in 
 procession toward the east at the rising of the sun. Primi- 
 tive people frequently have accounted for the sun's move- 
 ments by supposing that he was a god riding in his 
 chariot. The savage supposes that he can cause changes 
 in the natural world by some imitative act which mag- 
 ically causes the natural phenomenon. The horses and 
 chariots of the sun undoubtedly first were used by primi- 
 tive Semitic people, who supposed that the harnessing of 
 the horses at dawn and the driving of the chariot thereby 
 compelled the sun god to awaken from his sleep and set 
 forth in his chariot to bless the world with light and 
 warmth. 
 
 The worship of the heavenly bodies assumed another 
 form, which evidently was quite popular. Eead Jeremiah 
 7. 18; 44. 15-30. "The queen of heaven" quite probably 
 was the Babylonian goddess Ishtar, who was identified 
 in the eighth and seventh centuries with the planet Venus. 
 In the Babylonian texts of this period Ishtar is called 
 "Ishtar of the Stars," "Queen of the Stars," "Queen of 
 Heaven," and other similar titles. The references in Jere- 
 miah show that the worship essentially was a woman's 
 cult, that cakes of a special kind were made and burned 
 on the altars of the goddess, and that the offering was 
 accompanied by libations and was performed in various 
 cities as well as in the streets of Jerusalem. 
 
 (b) All this display of Babylonian worship gave a new 
 impulse to old Canaanitish cults, which, although in some 
 measure repressed by Hezekiah, had characterized He- 
 brew worship since the earliest centuries in Palestine. 
 Study again 2 Kings 21. 1-18 for the details of this re- 
 vival of Canaanitish practices. Observe that Manasseh 
 built again the high places destroyed by Hezekiah, reared 
 altars for Baal, set up an asherah within the Temple, 
 
72 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 practiced augury, used enchantments, recognized me- 
 diums, introduced sacred prostitutes into the Temple (2 
 Kings 23. 7), and offered human sacrifice. Baal was the 
 common Semitic name for deity. There were innumer- 
 able Baals. Each high place had its Baal. When the 
 Hebrews first entered Palestine, the worship of the Baals 
 was taken up and carried on side by side with the worship 
 of Jehovah. In the course of time the name of Jehovah 
 was substituted for the various Baals. The eighth-cen- 
 tury prophets denounced this worship, although in the 
 name of Jehovah, as heathenism. It is probable that the 
 words "he reared up altars for Baal" means that the old 
 ritual, essentially a Baal ritual, was encouraged at the 
 various high places. The asherah was a wooden post, 
 sometimes carved (1 Kings 15. 13), and perhaps occa- 
 sionally draped (2 Kings 23. 7). Its use at the sanc- 
 tuary is disputed. The sacrifice of the first-born child 
 seems to have been widely prevalent. "Over the whole 
 area of the high place the earth was discovered to be a 
 regular cemetery, in which the skeletons of young infants 
 were buried. These infants never were more than a week 
 old. They were deposited in large jars, and with them 
 were placed smaller jars, possibly for food for use of the 
 little victim in the other world. Two at least of the skele- 
 tons showed marks of fire. We have here evidence of 
 the widespread custom of devoting the first-born; a part 
 of the practice whereby the first fruits of man, of beast, 
 and the field were sacred to the divinity ,' n 
 
 This introduction of Assyrian worship and revival of 
 Canaanitish practices did not take place unchallenged by 
 those citizens more loyal to Jehovah and those who had 
 learned from the prophets something of the spiritual and 
 ethical character of deity. Manasseh stamped out all 
 open opposition by wholesale murder (2 Kings 21. 16) 
 and forced by his cruelties those who cherished other 
 beliefs to hold them secretly. He did not of course 
 crush all worship of Jehovah. Sacrifices to the national 
 
 1 Bible Side-Lights From the Mound o/Gezer, Macalister, page 73. 
 
THE DEUTERONOMIC REFORM 73 
 
 Deity still continued, but they were neglected and mini- 
 mized by this revival of heathenism. 
 
 The Reign of Josiah 
 
 (a) Manasseh's long reign ended in 641. His son Am- 
 nion ruled for two years. Josiah, the son of Ammon, 
 came to the throne in 639 and held the scepter of Judah 
 until 608. Josiah's elevation to the throne apparently 
 ended the open persecution of the prophetical party, but 
 the worship established under Manasseh continued un- 
 changed for a period of eighteen years. 
 
 The earlier prophecies of Jeremiah and the ministry 
 of Zephaniah belong to this first half of Josiah's reign. 
 Read Zephaniah 1. 4-6, 8, 9 for hints of the Assyrian and 
 Canaanitish worship studied above. See also Zephaniah 
 3. 1-4 for the general corruption of the state. The athe- 
 ism regarding their national Deity is expressed in 1. 12. 
 Zephaniah, lite his predecessors, prophesies an overwhelm- 
 ing judgment. This prophet, especially like Amos, pro- 
 claims a "day of Jehovah," and for him, too, it is a day 
 of judgment. Note especially 1. 15-18. Like Isaiah, 
 Zephaniah cherished the Messianic hope. Read 3. 11-17. 
 After the judgment will dawn a new age, in which there 
 shall be no iniquity, no lies; but Jehovah will dwell in 
 the midst of the restored community, the King of Israel. 
 
 Read Jeremiah 1. 16; 2. 11-37; chapters 3 to 5. These 
 sections are additional testimony to the deplorable re- 
 ligious and social conditions existing through the reigns 
 of Manasseh and Ammon and also down to 621 in the 
 reign of Josiah. 
 
 (b) In the year 621 there occurred an event that 
 changed the course of Judah's religious history. The ac- 
 count is found in 2 Kings 22. 3-20. 
 
 Note the mission of Shaphan. After the business of 
 the repairs was finished, what new matter was broached 
 by Hilkiah? What was done immediately by Shaphan? 
 What report did he make to Josiah? What effect did the 
 reading of the book produce in the king? What were 
 the king's first orders? Note that the book was a "book 
 
74 THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 of the law" and that it had been found by Hilkiah in the 
 Temple. Did the king question its genuineness? What 
 caused the king's consternation? In what manner did 
 the king's servants "inquire of Jehovah"? What was the 
 answer ? 
 
 For the inauguration of the reform study 2 Kings 23. 
 1-3. What was the king's first measure ? What solemn cov- 
 enant was made by Josiah? What position was taken 
 by the people with reference to the proposed reform ? Ex- 
 amine attentively 2 Kings 23. 4-15 for the details of the 
 reformation. Observe that they consisted in (1) a purg- 
 ing of the Temple of the Assyrian and Canaanitish wor- 
 ship, (2) the suppression of the local sanctuaries scat- 
 tered throughout the kingdom, and (3) the destruction 
 of the sanctuaries erected by Solomon to the gods of his 
 various foreign wives. Josiah, following the requirements 
 of the newly discovered law book, inaugurated a change in 
 the celebration of the ancient Passover festival. Eead 
 2 Kings 23. 21. What other reforms were put through? 
 (2 Kings 23. 24). What else is known of Josiah? (2 
 Kings 23. 29, 30). How does this event correspond with 
 2 Kings 22. 20 ? 
 
 SUMMAKY 
 
 It comes with a surprise and almost with a shock that 
 the ethical interpretation of religion so impressively pro- 
 claimed by Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah penetrated 
 so little the worship of their times. The signal deliv- 
 erance of Jerusalem, accepted in 701 by Hezekiah and his 
 court as a mark of Jehovah's favor and power, failed to 
 inculcate loyalty to him. The stress of economic cir- 
 cumstances dislodged Jehovah from his supreme place in 
 the life of his people. Assyrian overlordship induced a 
 time-serving court to imitate the fashions, customs, and 
 worship of the nations that had become Judah's master. 
 Zephaniah 1. 8, 9 indicates how deeply Assyrian influences 
 permeated Judaean society. Foreign customs were intro- 
 duced, and styles of dress were imitated. This belief that 
 the worship of Assyrian gods conduced to national pros- 
 
THE DEUTEKONOMIC EEFOEM 75 
 
 perity was so deeply rooted in Judah that the reform 
 under Josiah did not permanently eradicate it. It is 
 probable that the Tammuz worship (Ezekiel 8. 14) was 
 introduced under Manasseh and, after being suppressed 
 for a time, again was practiced openly within the pre- 
 cincts of the Temple. Sun worship too had revived (Eze- 
 kiel 8. 16), and Ezekiel throws light upon the manner 
 in which it was performed. Even the destruction of 
 Jerusalem did not eliminate these cults from Hebrew 
 life. An assembly of men and women, fugitives from 
 Jerusalem in Egypt, openly declared to Jeremiah that they 
 would have none of his Jehovah worship (Jeremiah 44. 
 15-19) ; that all the calamities of the downfall of the 
 southern kingdom were due to their failure to continue 
 the worship of the queen of heaven, which had been so 
 faithfully performed in the days of Manasseh and Josiah 
 by their fathers, kings, and princes in the cities of Judah 
 and the streets of Jerusalem. 
 
 Yet the reform under Josiah was no insignificant ex- 
 pression of Hebrew religious life. It was, as the next 
 chapter will show, a splendid triumph of prophetical re- 
 ligion. Without this sudden recall to Jehovah worship 
 and to a more spiritual and ethical interpretation of his 
 will the religion of the Hebrews would have been sub- 
 merged by the cults of their conquerors. It is a splendid 
 testimony to the clearness and the strength of the 
 prophetic vision of Jehovah that it withstood the Assyrian 
 influence under Manasseh, lifted its burning protest under 
 Josiah, and held aloft under succeeding kings through 
 the tragical years of the nation's downfall and exile its 
 demands for the sole worship of Jehovah, expressed in 
 humble devotion to him and in justice and righteousness 
 among men. 
 
 In rereading the sections of the books of Samuel and 
 Kings and the prophetic sermons studied previously it 
 will be seen that hitherto there had been little or no ap- 
 peal to codes of law. The sins of Israel and Judah inter- 
 preted by the prophets were not transgressions of well- 
 known law codes: they were violations of thoroughly un- 
 
76 th:e keligion of judah 
 
 derstood principles of justice and humanity. Previous to 
 Josiah's reform there was of course a gradually enlarging 
 body of religious and civil law. These laws were, in the 
 first place, the decisions of the priest at the various sanc- 
 tuaries. Under the monarchy, at least in the eighth cen- 
 tury, there were local judges regarded as representatives 
 of the king. Civil and religious law in the Hebrew state 
 were not clearly distinguished, and the priest and judge 
 frequently overlapped jurisdictions. The point here made 
 is that Josiah's changes in the religious life of the state 
 were promulgated by an appeal to a code of law, and that 
 such an appeal is an entirely new departure in Hebrew 
 history. 
 
 CONFORMERS AND TRANSFORMERS 
 
 Manasseh and Josiah are permanent types of charac- 
 ter. Manasseh, yielding to Assyrian influence, made no 
 permanent contribution to Hebrew civilization; Josiah, 
 setting himself against the evils of his times, impressed 
 his moral faith and heroism upon the world. The one 
 was a conformer; the second was a transformer. We be- 
 long to one or the other class. Conformers are played 
 upon by their surroundings until their life is molded and 
 their destiny is shaped by external forces. Conformers 
 stone the prophets, adorn the sages with cap and bells, 
 worship will-o'-the wisps, lift self-seekers to the throne, 
 and follow charlatans, who trick them out of their lib- 
 erty and live upon their toil. Conformers acquiesce in 
 the petty and mean in human affairs. They are the prey 
 of prejudice, gossip, rumors, and lies. Such men do not 
 know why they are in the world. They never hear God 
 calling them to help redeem the world; they would not 
 think it worth redeeming if they did. 
 
 The conformist is a putty man. If the world wears 
 high-heeled shoes and red socks, he must wear high-heeled 
 shoes and red socks. If it smokes, he must get him a box 
 of cigarettes. If it owns a chariot of the sun or an auto- 
 mobile, he must mortgage his house to ride fashionably. 
 Conformists never bring in a minority report; they follow 
 
THE DEUTERONOMIC REFORM 77 
 
 the crowd to the christening- of a child or the lynching of a 
 murderer. Conformers never discover worlds, never orig- 
 inate nations, never explore continents, never name the 
 stars. They never started reformations, never advanced 
 the cause of liberty, never freed a slave, never honored 
 woman, never lifted a burden from a child. They never 
 accepted a purer religion, never formulated a higher phil- 
 osophy, never revealed a nobler science, never wrote 
 world-poetry, never died for the truth. For them there 
 are no problems, no paths to unseen goals, no angel visit- 
 ants setting up ladders to heaven, no faint songs sound- 
 ing in the dead of night from far spiritual cities, no tang 
 and push of soul to be a knight-errant in the cause of 
 truth. 
 
 Conformers have eyes, but they are in the back of their 
 heads; they have ears, but they are stuffed with cotton; 
 they have noses, but they never smell the stench of civic 
 unrighteousness; they have lips, but they are dumb with 
 the apathy of sordid minds ; they have hands, but they are 
 struck with moral paralysis; they have souls, but they are 
 shrunken with fear, abased in sensuality, and imprisoned 
 hopelessly in the fashions of the world. 
 
 Transformers are a class of supermen. All that is es- 
 sentially valuable in human achievement has been done by 
 them. True creative work is theirs alone. They give new 
 meanings and directions to human life. It is they who 
 flash the ideal in awakening dawns across a slumbering 
 world and arouse hope and victorious struggle in the 
 despondent epochs of mankind. The transformer knows 
 that he is supremely soul; he knows that the universe is 
 fundamentally spiritual ; he know3 that he can go forth to 
 live consciously with God. He treads the high places of 
 the earth; he builds the habitations upon the hills; he 
 lives with the stars ; he thinks in eternities ; he pitches his 
 tent in the camping places of Almighty God. 
 
 Transformers consider themselves masters of life. They 
 are the shapers of events. They are potters, and the world 
 is their clay. They know they are on earth not to have a 
 good time but to run a great race, to finish a great task, 
 
78 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 to fight the good fight. Life for them is not an excursion, 
 a picnic, a vacation, a picture show. They realize that 
 life is never a gift but a conquest. They see that they 
 win manhood and womanhood not in pursuit of a career 
 but in surrendering themselves to a great cause. They 
 know that the road to greatness crosses the summit of 
 a Golgotha. They try not to save their lives but to lose 
 them in a thousand ministries. They find peace not in 
 banquets, not in touching gold, not in the flaming cup, 
 not in passion's hot embrace; they know happiness in 
 following afar the vision of a world redeemed from ignor- 
 ance and sin and in losing themselves to this their chosen 
 cause of God. 
 Be a transformer. 
 
 Infobmation Wanted 
 
 1. What prediction of Isaiah's concerning political events 
 remained unfulfilled? 
 
 2. Why should Judah's vassalage to Assyria affect disas- 
 trously Hebrew religious life? 
 
 3. What is meant by star worship? To what extent did it 
 obtain in Judah? Give some details of the manner in which 
 such worship was carried on. 
 
 4. What influences led to the resurgence of the Canaanitish 
 worship of the Baals? What were the "high places"? De- 
 scribe some features of this Canaanitish religion. 
 
 5. What were the prophets doing in the reign of Manasseh? 
 
 6. What religious practices of the reign of Manasseh and 
 Josiah were condemned by Jeremiah? by Zephaniah? 
 
 7. What social conditions were adversely criticized by these 
 two prophets? 
 
 8. Study closely and answer carefully all the questions 
 raised above in the discussion of the law book found in the 
 Temple. 
 
 9. What is the unique thing in Josiah's reforms? 
 
 10. State the differences in character between Manasseh and 
 Josiah. 
 
 11. How many transformers are there in your community? 
 
 SlJPPLEMENTABY READINGS 
 
 Old-Testament History, Smith, pages 254-76. 
 
 Articles "Manasseh" and "Josiah," Dictionary of the Bible, 
 Hastings. 
 
 The Second Book of Kings, Farrar, Volume II, Chapters 
 XXIX-XXXI, in "The Expositor's Bible." 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 DEUTERONOMIC PEOVISIONS FOR WORSHIP 
 
 The preceding chapter discussed the discovery of a 
 law book in the Temple of Hilkiah in the year 621 B. C. 
 and the inauguration of this code as the law of the realm 
 by a popular assembly. The reforms undertaken by Josiah 
 in compliance with the new code also were noted. The 
 student is aware of the uniqueness of this event. We have 
 met no similar establishment of a body of law in our 
 study of Hebrew life. The covenant made at Sinai at 
 the threshold of the people's history, although it involved 
 certain requirements of obedience and loyalty, did not 
 include a wrought-out code. Our studies have made no 
 reference to Hebrew law, and there have been but few 
 notices of the administration of either civil or ecclesias- 
 tical law. Therefore, the appearance of a written code 
 solemnly adopted by the people is a unique event in He- 
 brew life. 
 
 This book of law, which was the basis of Josiah's re- 
 forms, is now found in chapters 5 to 26 and 28, with few 
 exceptions, of our present book of Deuteronomy. 
 
 SUMMAEY OF EiGHTH-CeNTUKY PkOPHETISM 
 
 Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah were practical mono- 
 theists. The majority of their contemporaries believed in 
 the reality of other gods. As Jehovah was the God of the 
 Hebrews, so other nations had their deity or deities. It 
 was expected that Jews who took up their residence in 
 other lands should worship the gods of the people in whose 
 midst they lived. Foreigners who settled in Palestine as 
 a matter of course worshiped Jehovah. The great 
 prophets were the first to claim universal sovereignty for 
 Jehovah. Perhaps at first the claim was no more than 
 
 79 
 
80 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 that Jehovah was superior to other gods; but presently 
 the doctrine was advanced that he is God alone. Jehovah 
 rules the nations. See Amos, chapters 1 and 2; Hosea 
 12. 9 ; Isaiah 2. 12-22, and many other references in these 
 prophetical writings. Jehovah supplants the Canaanitish 
 deities as Lord of Palestine (Hosea 2. 8-13, 17-20). His 
 original dwelling place was at Mount Horeb, but he 
 finally, in the thought of the Hebrews, made Palestine 
 his own land. 
 
 Through the prophets, also, was made known Jehovah's 
 moral character. The student will recall the stern de- 
 mands for justice uttered by Amos in the name of Jeho- 
 vah. Justice is Jehovah's supreme characteristic (3. 2; 
 4. 1-3; 5. 14, 15, 21-23). Hosea added that Jehovah's 
 justice is tempered by compassion; that he loves guilty 
 Israel (2. 19, 20; 11. 1-4); that righteousness and good- 
 ness are rooted in his nature (4. 1; 6. 4-6). Neither can 
 one forget the inaugural vision of Isaiah, which planted 
 so positively in him the conception of Jehovah's right- 
 eousness. In the teaching and life of these prophets 
 Jehovah was not a Deity exalted merely by power; he was 
 to be worshiped and obeyed because of his matchless char- 
 acter. He was the embodiment of those virtues which 
 ever are necessary for fellowship between persons. 
 
 Jehovah's supreme demands from men are moral de- 
 mands. The student will recall the severe denunciations 
 of the worship at the sanctuaries uttered by this group of 
 prophets. They were not condemning the fact of sacrifice 
 at the many high places but they did excoriate the unre- 
 flective and licentious character of this worship. Examine 
 Hosea 4. 17; 8. 4, 5; 13. 2; Isaiah 2. 18-20; 30. 22. 
 Micah (1. 7) condemned the use of images. The spiritual 
 Jehovah cannot be represented by material forms. 
 The elaborate ritual and sacrifice accompanied by feast- 
 ing and sensuality cannot bring man into right relation 
 with Jehovah. These prophets were willing that the 
 whole sacrificial system should be abandoned; but they 
 were insistent that men should hear Jehovah directing 
 them to that moral service which upbuilds the community. 
 
PROVISIONS FOR WORSHIP 81 
 
 Religious Conceptions and Provisions in the Law 
 Boob: of Josiah 
 
 Jehovah Alone to Be Worshiped. — Read Deuteron- 
 omy 6. 4-15 and 11. 13-21. Observe the impressive and 
 beautiful words of this essential creed of Jewish religion 
 to this day. "Hear, Israel: Jehovah our God is one 
 Jehovah," the injunction begins; and then follows the 
 admonition to love him whole-heartedly and to beware 
 of having anything to do with other gods. There are 
 many other passages of like import. The code is a con- 
 tinual insistence that Jehovah alone is Israel's God. No 
 other is to be worshiped; no other has had aught to do 
 with Israel's history; no other can secure the nation's 
 future glory. This only claim of Jehovah upon the wor- 
 ship of Israel is set forth in stern demands: All those 
 who worship or solicit others to worship any deity except 
 Jehovah are to be put to death (12. 29 to 13. 18). 
 
 The chief inducement of the immigrant Hebrews to 
 worship other gods is well put in 12. 30. The Hebrews, 
 in fact, did ask this very question : "How do these people 
 of Canaan serve their gods?" and in the first years of 
 their settlement in Palestine worshiped the local deities 
 as well as their own Jehovah. In the course of time 
 Canaanitish practices were so much assimilated by the 
 Hebrews that practically the old Baal worship of Canaan 
 was carried on in the numerous high places in the name 
 of Jehovah. The prophetic reformers are now trying to 
 eliminate the grosser features of this amalgamated worship 
 by calling attention to the manner in which it had orig- 
 inated. Observe that the most obnoxious of these per- 
 sistent features of Canaanitish practices is the sacrifice of 
 children (12. 31). 
 
 The basis of this demand that Jehovah alone shall be 
 worshiped should be carefully noted. Jehovah, out of his 
 great goodness and love, chose the Hebrew people to be 
 his own people (7. 6-8). This love led him to redeem 
 them from Egyptian bondage and to make a covenant with 
 the founders of the nation. He never has repudiated this 
 
82 THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 covenant, and his love is still turned toward his own. The 
 history of the Hebrews is a history of this ministering 
 love (8. 2-10). Yet Jehovah's love is not such that trans- 
 gression goes unpunished. Instances of such punishment 
 are cited (11. 2-7), and the present generation is sternly 
 warned not to take advantage of this compassionate love. 
 Kegulations Concerning Worship. — (a) The place 
 of worship. — The law of the single sanctuary: (1) De- 
 struction of the high places (Deuteronomy 12. 2-4). The 
 student will recall that worship at the many scattered 
 sanctuaries went on unchallenged for centuries. Hosea is 
 the first to question in any way the legitimacy of this 
 worship. No one of the prophets advocated their destruc- 
 tion. It was left to these Deuteronomic writers of this 
 new code to insist upon their abandonment in favor of 
 the Temple. This was now for the first time possible. 
 The northern kingdom was no more; Judah was only a 
 small territory. But even so it involved a striking change 
 in the people's beliefs and practices. (2) The single sanc- 
 tuary (Deuteronomy 12. 5-19). What sanctuary, though 
 not expressly named, does the writer have in mind? Were 
 earlier worshipers not conscious of meeting Jehovah at 
 other altars? Eecall Solomon's visit to Gideon (1 Kings 
 3. 4) and similar practices in the earlier history. Observe 
 that this code contemplates not only a destruction of the 
 worship imported by Solomon for the sake of his wives 
 and by Manasseh from Assyria, but also the cessation of 
 all Jehovah worship at scattered altars. Worship is now 
 to be centered at Jerusalem. Since sacrifice, in this code, 
 is still the customary expression of worship, observe the 
 positive demand that it must be offered at the central 
 sanctuary (Deuteronomy 12. 13, 14, 17, 18). (3) Ex- 
 amine 12. 15, 20-27. These verses are extremely interest- 
 ing. Note that so long as sacrifice takes place at the local 
 altars, all killing and eating of animals is sacrifice. When 
 all sacrifice was ordered by this code to take place at Jeru- 
 salem, either the ordinary killing of animals for food had 
 to take place at Jerusalem, with great inconvenience to 
 daily life, or the killing of animals for food must be de- 
 
PROVISIONS FOR WORSHIP 83 
 
 clared nonsacrificial. Which way out was taken by the 
 reformers? Note that this legislation wipes out the old 
 distinction of clean and unclean sacrificial animals (12. 
 15-22). The blood, however, formerly an essential ele- 
 ment of the sacrifice, retains enough of this sanctity in the 
 thought of the legislators that it must not be treated com- 
 monly; it must be poured out upon the ground. 
 
 (b) The law of tithes. — Examine 14. 22-27. This provi- 
 sion should be observed carefully. Undoubtedly it is the 
 earliest Old-Testament legislation on this subject. 1 What 
 things are tithed? What disposal is made of the tithe? 
 Amos 4. 4 indicates that this tenth of the produce of the 
 soil, together with the firstlings of flock and herd, was 
 used in a sacred feast at the various local sanctuaries. 
 What change in the disposal of the tithe, then, does this 
 Deuteronomic law contemplate? Why is the change in- 
 sisted upon? 
 
 (c) The law of firstlings. — Read 15. 19-23. The student 
 will observe the sanctity of the first-born male of flock and 
 herd. Such could not be used in labor, but must be offered 
 to Jehovah in sacrifice. Consult Exodus 20. 24 for an 
 earlier law. Here, too, in pre-Deuteronomic days, the 
 firstlings were sacrificed at the local altars. The change 
 is in the interest of the one sanctuary and the one Deity. 
 
 . (d) The annual agricultural feasts. — (1) The Passover, 
 or the Feast of Unleavened Bread (16. 1-8) : Here, too, 
 the chief change is the transfer from local shrines to the 
 central sanctuary at Jerusalem. (2) The Feast of Weeks 
 (16. 9-12) : The Harvest Feast also was a festival older 
 than the Deuteronomic age. Earlier laws are found in Ex- 
 odus 23. 16; 34. 22. This festival too was celebrated at 
 the local sanctuaries. The Deuteronomic law fixes the date 
 of the festival seven weeks from the first beginnings of 
 the grain harvest and limits the celebration to the Temple 
 at Jerusalem. See Deuteronomy 26. 1-11 for the ritual 
 of the sacrifice at such occasions. (3) The Feast of Taber- 
 nacles (16. 13-15) : This is an ancient autumn feast, called 
 
 1 See Deuteronomy, Driver, page 168f. 
 
84 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 in the earlier legislation the Feast of Ingathering (Exo- 
 dus 23. 16; 34. 22). The present code withdraws the feast 
 from its local observance to (and legalizes it only at) 
 Jerusalem and fixes the length of the feast. 
 
 (e) Various laws dealing with improper worship, — 
 Asherahs and Mazzebahs condemned (16. 21, 22) ; blem- 
 ished animals unacceptable for sacrifice; divination and 
 spiritualism condemned (18. 10-14) ; sacred prostitution 
 proscribed (23. 17, 18) ; vows not to be lightly ignored 
 (23. 21-23). > 
 
 (/) Religious persons. — (1) Priests: These in the 
 Deuteronomic age are known also as Levites (17. 18 to 18. 
 1, 6-8). The Levites who have had charge of the various 
 local sanctuaries shall go to Jerusalem and share alike 
 in the labors and rewards of the Temple priests (18. 6-8). 
 Josiah was not able to put the country priests upon an 
 equality with their brethren of the Temple. See 2 Kings 
 23. 9. (2) This code contemplates a succession of 
 prophets (18. 15-22). The prophet is the chief inter- 
 preter of the divine will. The truth of his predictive 
 statements is the attestation of his office. 
 
 The Development of Hebrew Law 
 
 In any primitive community custom is the law. The 
 head of the family is the judge who administers the af- 
 fairs of his clan according to the established usage. When 
 the Hebrews entered Palestine they carried with them un- 
 doubtedly a group of commandments engraved on stone 
 setting forth certain regulations of worship. Those in 
 charge of the ark, by some form of sacred lot, rendered 
 decisions in cases where the head of the clan felt that the 
 case required a divine judgment. This clan rulership is 
 illustrated in the story of Judah and Tamar (Genesis 38) 
 and in the headship of Joash in Ophrah (Judges 6. 30). 
 But with the entrance into Canaan and the assumption of 
 more settled forms of life the authority of the clan chief 
 gradually gave way to the older men of the villages, who 
 rendered decisions according to customs. Judges 11. 
 4-11 illustrates this stage of Hebrew administration of 
 
PROVISIONS FOR WORSHIP 85 
 
 laws. New situations arose from time to time, and these 
 elders naturally gave new interpretations to old precepts 
 or formulated new usages to meet new conditions. These 
 elders constituted the judiciary of Israel for centuries. 
 The rise of the monarchy did not greatly disturb their 
 prerogatives. The king was the chief judge, and in the 
 course of time there were associated with him certain 
 officials who were his representatives. The reigns of David 
 and Solomon offer illustration of this arrangement. Na- 
 both's trial before the elders and nobles of Jezreel (1 
 Kings 21. 8) indicates a fusion of the ordinary villages 
 and royal courts. Even under such conditions decisions 
 were rendered according to ancient practice. 
 
 During these centuries there were innumerable cases 
 where the elders who were in perplexity or the individual 
 seeking light in a doubtful hour turned to the sanctuary 
 for the judgment of Jehovah. Such judgments were ren- 
 dered by the priest, who, being more conversant with 
 usage, rendered his decision according to the custom, or 
 who manipulated the sacred lot, and the decision thus 
 reached was accepted as the judgment of Jehovah. 
 
 In the course of time the ancient practice was codified. 
 This first written Hebrew code, with the exception of the 
 Sinaitic tables, is known as the Book of the Covenant. This 
 is found in Exodus 20. 2 to 23. 19. This includes a Deca- 
 logue, certain regulations of worship, and various laws 
 dealing with property. Exodus 34 undoubtedly contains 
 equally old written regulations. The elders of villages 
 and towns are the judges presupposed by the Book of 
 the Covenant. These earliest written laws codified the 
 prevailing practice and were intended for the use of priests 
 in their decisions at the sanctuaries. 
 
 The development of Hebrew law did not cease with this 
 codification in the ninth century. Elders and priests con- 
 stantly were expanding older regulations to meet new con- 
 ditions. The Deuteronomic Code was not an entirely new 
 body of laws. Its comparison with the Book of the Cove- 
 nant shows its dependence on the earlier legislation. The 
 new code is chiefly concerned with the uprooting of for- 
 
86 THE KELIGION OF JITDAH 
 
 eign worship, the limitation of worship to Jerusalem, and 
 certain humanitarian provisions in response to the social 
 preaching of the eighth-century prophets. This latter ele- 
 ment will be examined in the following lesson. 
 
 Summary 
 
 From the preceding chapter, as well as from this study, 
 the student will observe the importance of this Deutero- 
 nomic Code : (1) It was the basis of Josiah's reforms. (2) 
 It was adopted in a public assembly as the code of the 
 realm. (3) It contained the revolutionary provision of 
 the central sanctuary and the consequent varied changes 
 in the social and religious life of the people. It gave a 
 new meaning to sacrifice. (4) It was based upon the 
 prophetic demand for the sole worship of Jehovah, the 
 end of idolatry, and social justice. (5) It did not rise 
 to the spiritual heights of the prophets in two particulars : 
 (a) It clung to the sacrificial system as the mode of wor- 
 ship. Perhaps these lawmakers understood the conserva- 
 tism of the people better than did the prophets. At any 
 rate, they deemed that the time had not yet come for a 
 nonsacrificial worship. (&) It gave no hint of a Mes- 
 sianic age. It is probable that the author of the code be- 
 lieved that its acceptance and practice would constitute 
 that golden era of which Isaiah had dreamed. 
 
 The student cannot overstudy this important body of 
 laws. It was a turning point in many ways in Hebrew 
 religious life. It is the beginning of the death of proph- 
 etism and the first definite forecast of the legal Judaism 
 of later centuries. But it enforced in a new way the 
 monotheism of the prophets and perpetuated that vision 
 for the world. 
 
 Studies for the Quiet Hour 
 
 What is the relation between law and life? To what 
 extent must a law embody custom to become effective? 
 Why do we have so many dead laws upon our statute 
 .books ? Ask some attorney to estimate the number of Jaws 
 
PEOVISIONS FOE WOESHIP 87 
 
 in your State toward the enforcement of which little or 
 no effort is made. 
 
 To what extent is reform by law possible? Does this 
 depend on the form of government? In America what is 
 the chief support of law? In what cases is one justified 
 in the violation of law ? What must be the ultimate sanc- 
 tion of law? 
 
 In Josiah's reforms we have an instance of the wise 
 regulation of worship by the state. Is the separation of 
 church and state in America a sound political principle? 
 If compulsory education is justifiable, why is not an en- 
 forced moral and religious training conducive to the wel- 
 fare of the state ? Is the opposition to the state's religious 
 and moral instruction of the youth due to the fact that 
 such position is fundamentally wrong or to the practical 
 difficulties of such education? If the principle is sound, 
 ought not all educators, both secular and religious, to 
 give themselves unweariedly to devise some method of re- 
 ligious and moral training authorized and enforced by the 
 state ? 
 
 This code was formulated in one of the darkest hours of 
 Hebrew history. The reign of Manasseh seemed to have 
 undone the hard-won results of the great prophets. But in 
 these years of disloyalty to Jehovah and to his noblest 
 champions other servants of his were bringing together the 
 neglected laws, giving them new interpretations, and mak- 
 ing new demands of Judah in the name of Jehovah. De- 
 feat for the man of God is the summons to another battle. 
 However much our civilization seems shadowed by war, 
 greed, and lust, we may labor on unweariedly to uphold 
 the cause of righteousness. The kingdom of God cannot be 
 set aside by the ignorance and passions of men. 
 
 "Thou shalt love Jehovah thy God." Here is some- 
 thing new in religion. During the whole of the nation's 
 past men had been taught to stand in awe before Jehovah 
 and, often, to fear him. The fathers of the nation trembled 
 in fear before the thunderings of Sinai (Judges 5. 4, 5). 
 "The fear of Jehovah" had become a synonym of religion 
 (Isaiah 29. 13) . Men had been taught to worship Jehovah, 
 
88 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 to offer sacrifices to him, to refrain from careless and in- 
 sincere use of his name in daily speech; but they had not 
 been taught that their first duty was to love him. How 
 shall we cultivate love for God? Out of what situations 
 among human beings does true love spring? What origi- 
 nates and maintains the love of husband and wife? Ac- 
 quaintance, similarity of interests, experiences undergone 
 together, common ideals and struggles — these are the woof 
 and warp of full, enduring love. The color of the eyes, the 
 tale of years, the housing of the home — these are incidental 
 in the epic of their love. The love that lives is truly spir- 
 itual. We can learn to love. Let us seek His interests and 
 objectives, and we shall draw near him and be drawn unto 
 him. 
 
 Hebrew fathers were exhorted to teach the love of Je- 
 hovah to their children. To teach love is the Deuteronomic 
 ideal. We teach a multitude of other things. We teach our 
 children deception, suspicion, selfishness, pleasures, de- 
 sire for wealth, snobbishness, love of display, craving for 
 praise. We teach them arithmetic, music, and dancing. 
 Germany taught her youth war. During a half century 
 her youth were instructed in the "superiority" of Ger- 
 man civilization and the mission of Germany to extend 
 her civilization into other lands. We teach class distinc- 
 tions and race antipathies. We organize propagandas for 
 and against every public issue. It is time that we taught 
 love. We can teach good will. We can cultivate frater- 
 nalism. We can inculcate love for God. The proposed 
 Hebrew method never has been surpassed. When religion 
 — not a catechism — is systematically taught to children; 
 when it is the subject of daily conversation ; when it mani- 
 fests itself in the books, magazines, pictures, and music 
 in our homes; when it takes precedence over business; 
 when it appears a living, lovable, and essential part of 
 our daily life, then we will teach naturally love and 
 religion. All vital religion is taught. Its ideas, its ex- 
 periences, its conduct, flash their truth and reality from 
 one generation to another. But we must know what we 
 would teach to others. 
 
PROVISIONS FOR WORSHIP 89 
 
 Additional Tests of Lesson Masteby 
 
 1. Upon what did the Deuteronomic Code base the demand 
 that Jehovah only should be worshiped? 
 
 2. What constituted the offense in the worship of other 
 deities? 
 
 3. What provision of the code was the most revolutionary? 
 
 4. What significant change was made in the killing of 
 animals for food? 
 
 5. What use according to this code was to be made of the 
 tithe? What sources of income were tithed? 
 
 6. Why did these reformers put a stop to the worship of the 
 local sanctuaries? 
 
 7. What became of the country priests? 
 
 8. What distinction was made in Israel and Judah between 
 civil and religious law? Who were the administrators of the 
 law? 
 
 9. What new spirit now pervades Hebrew law through the 
 adoption of the Deuteronomic Code? 
 
 Valuable Illustbative Readings 
 
 Deuteronomy, G. A. Smith, in "Cambridge Bible for Schools 
 and Colleges." No single volume offers the student so much 
 help. The introduction to this commentary is exceedingly 
 worth knowing. 
 
 Article "Deuteronomy" in the Encyclopedia Britannica and 
 also in Dictionary of the Bible, Hastings, Sections IV and VII. 
 
 Articles "Law and Justice" and "Law Literature" in the 
 Encyclopedia Biblica may be consulted for the development 
 of Hebrew law. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 DEUTERONOMIC PROVISIONS FOR SOCIAL 
 WELFARE 
 
 It will be recalled that the eighth-century prophets 
 insisted upon social justice and righteousness. Greed of 
 power and wealth, love of ease, and sensual desire had 
 well-nigh destroyed the last vestiges of the old clan broth- 
 erhood in both Israel and Judah. These prophets pleaded 
 for a social reorganization of Hebrew society. Humani- 
 tarian motives were the crying need in every department 
 of Judah's life. So insistent was this need that the 
 prophets believed that social justice and love were the 
 supreme expressions of religion. Micah's summary of 
 religion will be remembered: "What doth Jehovah re- 
 quire of thee, but to do justly, and to love kindness, and 
 to walk humbly with thy God?" (6. 8). 
 
 The Deuteronomic writers responded to this humani- 
 tarian appeal of the prophets; they attempted to intro- 
 duce into Jewish law the prophetic social ideal. They 
 did not go as far as the great prophets in minimizing 
 sacrifices but they planned more than the priestly order 
 would practice. 
 
 Humanitarian Provisions 
 
 The Amalgamation of War. — (a) Exemptions from 
 military service. — (1) Release from service was granted 
 to the man who had built a house and had not yet dedi- 
 cated it. Among primitive Semitic peoples to-day a new 
 house must be dedicated by a sacrifice. "Every house 
 must have its death — a man, woman, child, or animal." 
 To sacrifice an animal redeems the inmate of the house 
 from disaster. Hence, to enter into war with the dedica- 
 tory sacrifice unoffered subjects the man to the maximum 
 chances of death. (2) The man who had not yet par- 
 
 90 
 
PROVISIONS FOR SOCIAL WELFARE 91 
 
 taken of the fruits of his vineyard was exempted. Since 
 it was not until the fifth year after planting that the 
 vintner could enjoy the rewards of his labor, the provi- 
 sion seems intended to give a man a chance to enjoy the 
 blessings of his labor before he shall be required to jeop- 
 ardize his life in battle. (3) The humane motive is 
 apparent in the dismissing of the man engaged to be 
 married. 
 
 (b) Treatment of captured cities. — It was the accepted 
 belief among primitive Semitic peoples that the inhabit- 
 ants and their possessions found in a captured city should 
 be utterly destroyed. Mesha, king of Moab, on the famous 
 Moabite stone states that he devoted an entire town in this 
 manner to his deity. The narrative in 1 Samuel 15 
 expresses the same conception. As this latter narrative 
 indicates, however, there was being developed the feel- 
 ing that this was a harsh procedure. The Deuteronomic 
 legislation embodies this growing humane sentiment. Ex- 
 amine Deuteronomy 20. 10-18. 
 
 (c) Preservation of the enemy's fruit trees. — Read 20. 
 19, 20. The barbarous practice of destroying fruit trees 
 was not uncommon in ancient times. Assyrian monarchs 
 resorted to the destruction of orchards in their campaigns. 
 Even Israel once thought it a justifiable method of at- 
 tack (2 Kings 3. 19, 25). In the light of events in the 
 war with Germany the Hebrew legislation shines exceed- 
 ingly luminous in its morality. 
 
 (d) Consideration for yiptive women (21. 10-14). — 
 Ordinarily women taken in war became at once the con- 
 cubines of their new masters. 
 
 Family Relationships. 1 — (a) Sex relations. — A com- 
 parison of Exodus 22. 16, 17 with Deuteronomy 22. 28, 
 29 shows the attempt to make seduction a less attractive 
 offense against the social order. Divorce is discussed in 
 22. 18, 19, 28, 29; 24. 2-4. Exodus 21. 7-11 deals with 
 the dismissal of a slave-wife. Neither code goes far 
 •toward securing woman an equality with man. The 
 woman, even in the later code, possesses no right to di- 
 vorce her husband. Adultery is severely punished (Deu- 
 
92 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 teronomy 22. 22-24). Religious prostitution is forbidden 
 (Deuteronomy 23. 17, 18). The levirate marriage (Deu- 
 teronomy 25. 5-10) is another survival of the unfortu- 
 nate subordination of woman to man. For .the perpetua- 
 tion of the name of a childless husband the woman is 
 ruthlessly sacrified. Yet it is probable that in some meas- 
 ure this levirate law is an amelioration of earlier condi- 
 tions. Deuteronomy 21. 15-17 secures the property rights 
 of the first-born son against an unjust favoritism. 
 
 (b) Servants and slaves. — The prompt payment of the 
 day laborer (24. 14, 15) is a fine humanitarian provision, 
 which undoubtedly corrected a flagrant abuse. The hu- 
 manitarian difference of the two codes is strikingly illus- 
 trated in the provision affecting the manumission of slaves. 
 Study Exodus 21. 2-4 and Deuteronomy 15. 12-15. What 
 advance is made in the later legislation ? Both codes pro- 
 vide for permanent slavery (Exodus 21. 5, 6; Deuteron- 
 omy 15. 16, 17). What is the difference in method? What 
 provisions are made for the religious life of slaves ? (Deu- 
 teronomy 5. 14; 12. 17, 18; 16. 10-11). What is the 
 rule for fugitive slaves? (23. 15, 16). What class of 
 slaves is here contemplated? 
 
 Consideration for the Weak and Dependent. — (a) 
 Alien residents in Judah. — For a variety of reasons men 
 and women from other states settled more or less per- 
 manently among the Hebrews. Ruth, a Moabitess, took up 
 her residence with her mother-in-law in Bethlehem. Such 
 persons were deprived of the protection and support cus- 
 tomarily given the individual by his family or clan. These 
 alien residents often must have felt their insecure social 
 position. No code of laws previous to the Deuteronomic 
 legislation secured them any legal rights. There was the 
 injunction not to oppress these sojourners (Exodus 22. 
 21). They were required to observe the Sabbath (20. 10) 
 but they were not to share in the Passover (12. 45). 
 The Deuteronomic Code declared that Jehovah loves 
 these strangers and commands the Hebrew also to love 
 them (10. 18). Loans made to them, as well as to fellow 
 Hebrews, must be without interest (23. 20), and such 
 
PROVISIONS FOR SOCIAL WELFAEE 93 
 
 loans are to be canceled in the year of release (15. 3). The 
 provision for the payment of wages of the poor laborer at 
 the close of the day includes the sojourner (24. 14). Jus- 
 tice is enjoined toward these resident aliens (24. 17). 
 These provisions are a distinct advance in humanitarian- 
 ism. 
 
 (b) Kindness and justice toward widows, orphans, and 
 other poor. — These persons are under Jehovah's special 
 protection, and any injustice or want of kindness toward 
 them will be brought to account (10. 18). The continued 
 presence of poor persons is recognized (15. 7-11), and it 
 is the duty of the propertied Hebrews to befriend and 
 aid their economically weaker fellow citizens. They must 
 not take in pledge the necessary household articles (24. 
 6) ; the lender of money must not enter a man's house 
 to select the article to be mortgaged (24. 10) ; the pledged 
 garments of the poor must be returned each evening for 
 the latter's use (24. 13) ; the wages of the poor must be 
 paid daily (24. 15). The clothing of a widow must not 
 be taken in pledge (24. 17). Orphans and widows must 
 be permitted freely to glean in the grain fields, vineyards, 
 and orchards (24. 19-21). They are to share in the dis- 
 tribution of the third year's tithe (24. 19) and are to 
 participate in the feasting of the annual festivals of sacri- 
 fice (16. 11, 14). 
 
 (c) The Levite. — Note the special provision for the 
 Levite along with other dependents. Study 14. 22-27 
 and observe what is done with this tithe for two successive 
 years. What disposition is made of the third year's tithe ? 
 (14. 28, 29; 26, 12-15). In this last section observe the 
 three acts which would have desecrated the tithe. 
 
 (d) Note the provisions against stealing land (19. 14) 
 and false weights and measures (25. 13-16). 
 
 Kindness to Animals. — In two instances the prevailing 
 humaneness of this code is extended to animals. The ox 
 and ass are included in the old provision for cessation 
 of work on the Sabbath (5. 14), and the ox used to trample 
 out the grain on the threshing floor is not to be muzzled 
 (25. 4). 
 
94 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 The Administration of Justice.— (a) The courts. — 
 Read 16. 18 ; 19. 11 ; 17. 8-11 and state the provisions for 
 the securing of justice. It will be noted that the judiciary 
 is in process of transition. In some cases the elders of 
 the city constitute the tribunal. What cases are brought 
 before them? (22. 13-16; 25. 5-10; 21. 18-21). It is 
 quite probable that the judges were selected from the el- 
 ders and were intended to constitute a smaller and, there- 
 fore, more effective court. Note the constitution of the 
 supreme court in 17. 8-11. It is probable that the judge 
 of verse 9 is the king and that he associated with himself 
 the Jerusalem priests in this court of appeal. What cases 
 might come before this court? 
 
 (b) Principles for guidance of the courts. — Eead 16. 
 19. An early law of similar purport (Exodus 23. 6-8), 
 according to the witness of the prophets, had been sadly 
 disregarded. What provision for punishment graded ac- 
 cording to guilt is given in 25. 1-3? Note the provision 
 for contempt of court in 17. 12, 13. An exceedingly 
 significant regulation is found in 24. 16. Compare this 
 law with the incident in 2 Kings 14. 5, 6. The compiler 
 of the book of Kings, writing a considerable period after 
 the event and later than Josiah's reform, here refers to the 
 Deuteronomic Code. This historical note of the sparing 
 of the innocent members of a guilty family is the earliest 
 reference to a change from the primitive rule that re- 
 garded all members of a clan equally guilty with the ac- 
 tual committer of the crime. This individualization of 
 guilt and punishment is a striking advance in Hebrew 
 thought. It not only is a break from barbarous cruelty 
 but it opens the way for the spiritual worship of the in- 
 dividual; it denotes a deepening significance of individual 
 life. A sense of social obligation and responsibility is an 
 element of the highest civilization, but equally necessary 
 is the feeling that the individual, in the last analysis, is 
 the unit of life. 
 
 (c) Examine the law of witnesses in 17. 6, 7; 19. 15-21. 
 To what extent would such methods prevent unjust ac- 
 cusations and just trials ? 
 
PROVISIONS FOE SOCIAL WELFARE 95 
 
 Laws Relating to the King. — The qualifications and 
 duties of the king are stated in 17. 14-20. Recall the 
 various kings of Israel and Judah and state the limita- 
 tions of the kingship here imposed. Examine too the 
 qualifications for citizenship treated in 23. 1-8. 
 
 HUM ANIT A RT A NISM AND JUSTICE 
 
 It is not to be understood that the Deuteronomic legis- 
 lation did not contain severe penalties or that it rose 
 to modern heights of humane conceptions of social re- 
 lationships. Stern penalties were provided for infrac- 
 tions of the principle that Jehovah alone is to be wor- 
 shiped. Death is the common penalty for all who wor- 
 ship other gods or who solicit worshipers for non-Hebraic 
 rites. The law regarding the cities of refuge illustrates 
 the combination of humanitarianism and severity and at 
 the same time exemplifies the stern sense of justice which 
 pervades the code. 
 
 Read 19. 1-3. In former times all persons who had 
 killed another were subject to the law of blood revenge. 
 It was the duty of the nearest of kin of the slain man to 
 avenge his death. The actual murderer, if he were known, 
 was slain at once by the interested relative or was turned 
 over to the relatives of the dead man for punishment by 
 death. If the actual murderer could not be apprehended, 
 any member of the clan or family of the murderer could 
 be substituted to receive the death penalty. See 1 Kings 
 2. 28-33. Those who had slain another usually sought 
 refuge at a sanctuary (Exodus 21. 12-14; 1 Kings 1. 
 50). When the law of the single sanctuary was introduced 
 by the Deuteronomic Code to protect excusable homicides 
 from the punishment required by the custom of blood 
 revenge, it was necessary to designate certain cities to 
 be asylums for those who had committed manslaughter. 
 If the elders of such cities were convinced that the killing 
 was intentional, the murderer was delivered to the kins- 
 men of the slain man, who promptly put the criminal to 
 death. This seems to be the first provision for any 
 public and official determination of the guilt of the homi- 
 
96 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 cide. It is the first legislation in Hebrew life which dis- 
 tinguishes between accidental and intentional killing. It 
 is the only Semitic legislation which does not compromise 
 murder by the payment of fines. 
 
 Summaky 
 
 It already has been stated that this Deuteronomic law 
 book, which was found by Hilkiah in the Temple in 621 
 B. C. and which was the basis of the reforms of Josiah, 
 was written in the reign of either Manasseh or Josiah 
 by persons who had caught the spirit of the great eighth- 
 century prophets. The study of the code has made this 
 evident. It is based upon older legislation, but even in 
 case of ancient laws nearly every one of them is given 
 new interpretations and additions that demand a more 
 spiritual worship and a greater expression of humanitar- 
 ianism and social justice. The language of 7. 6-8 is an 
 example of this prophetic inspiration of the codifiers of the 
 book of law. "Thou art a holy people unto Jehovah thy 
 God" is a reflection of Isaiah's inaugural vision, and the 
 assertion that Jehovah had chosen Judah above all peo- 
 ples is an echo of Isaiah's triumph in the deliverance of 
 Jerusalem and his Messianic hope. The love of Jehovah 
 so often declared and the answering love of Israel so 
 eloquently pleaded for by Hosea and the social justice 
 demanded by all the prophets everywhere are evident in 
 this seventh-century compilation of law. 
 
 A new departure is the code's insistence that the peo- 
 ple should become conversant with the law. Eead atten- 
 tively 6. 4-9. This passage and 11. 13-21 and Numbers 
 15. 37-41 make up the famous Jewish Shema, or confes- 
 sion of faith. This Shema is taught to children before 
 they learn to read and is included in the morning and 
 evening prayers of every pious Jew. The New-Testament 
 student will recall Christ's estimate of the opening words 
 (Mark 12. 29). The student ought to memorize 6. 4-7. 
 Knowledge of the law and reverence for it ever are funda- 
 mentals of good government. 
 
 This chapter, with the preceding two, must impress the 
 
PROVISIONS FOR SOCIAL WELFARE 97 
 
 student that Deuteronomy is one of the world's epoch- 
 making books. It profoundly affected the whole of sub- 
 sequent Jewish life. The prophets raised the question, 
 What doth Jehovah require of thee ? The Deuteronomists 
 answered, as the prophets had answered: We must love 
 Jehovah with every element of our very being. His love 
 surrounds us and constantly ministers to us. We must 
 return his love by an uncompromising and abiding affec- 
 tion. This affection for Jehovah will express itself in 
 justice and kindness toward all his creatures. The socially 
 insecure must become the objects of the love and gener- 
 osity of the more favored. The nation is a community of 
 brothers. The state is a family. It is impossible to be 
 religious and at the same time be wanting in the humane 
 social virtues. This union of religion and social service 
 is the code's abiding glory. 
 
 Questions for Civilization Builders 
 
 The leading element of the seventh-century Hebrew 
 ideal of human welfare is material prosperity. Large 
 families, numerous flocks and herds, and abundant crops 
 (Deuteronomy 28. 11) are the Deuteronomist's conception 
 of a prosperous state. Will an increasing, well-fed popula- 
 tion guarantee a perfect social order ? Is the goal of human 
 life happiness for all? To what extent is human happi- 
 ness dependent on wealth? Are people living to-day as if 
 they believed that happiness depended on well-dressed and 
 well-fed bodies? If wealth in itself is not a guarantee of 
 happiness, would an equality of wealth make men happy? 
 If we hold that happiness is dependent on bodily comfort, 
 how shall such wealth be secured to all ? If we agree that 
 wealth is not fundamental to human happiness, how shall 
 we go about enlightening the ignorant people who still 
 think wealth a guaranty of the satisfied life ? 
 
 This Deuteronomic legislation sets up an ideal of human 
 kindliness. It is an attempt to embrace all Hebrews in 
 one family and so instill in the rich and powerful a fellow 
 feeling for the humblest member of the state. To what 
 
98 THE KELIGION OF JTJDAH 
 
 extent is such sentiment an essential in civilization? Is 
 such brotherhood possible in a social order whose members 
 stand upon a widely contrasted economic footing? Can 
 human brotherhood exist in a state whose citizens range 
 from paupers to plutocrats? Could it be absent from a 
 state whose every citizen is a millionaire? What forces in 
 to-day's civilization are making for human brotherhood ? 
 
 The Deuteronomic Code is largely the embodiment of 
 the vision of Hebrew eighth-century prophets. If humani- 
 tarian preaching must precede humanitarian law, is there 
 not cut out for you both opportunity and duty? Are you 
 not in error to attack no abuses because you have no po- 
 litical power? The preacher is ever the pioneer of the 
 legislator. All wrongs must be denounced by the prophet 
 before they are condemned by a code. An evil must be 
 made a vice before it can be a crime. You may not be in 
 position to label an injustice a crime, but as long as God 
 gives you breath, you can proclaim it a vice. The legis- 
 lator makes a thing a crime; the prophet makes it a 
 vice. If you believe in God, your work is cut out for you. 
 Set yourself so vigorously against the evils of the day that 
 your sons will write your visions and your denunciations 
 into laws. 
 
 Measuring Results 
 
 The student should seek to get a clear conception of the 
 Deuteronomic social ideals. Reexamine this code in the light 
 of the following questions: 
 
 1. What forms of political and judicial government are con- 
 templated? 
 
 2. What is the source of the nation's laws? 
 
 3. What provision is made for additional legislation? 
 
 4. What form of economic social order underlies this legis- 
 lation? 
 
 5. What industries are the sources of wealth? 
 
 6. What ideals of marriage and the home are reflected in the 
 code? 
 
 7. What is the status of women? 
 
 8. What educational and benevolent institutions are fos- 
 tered? 
 
 9. What is the attitude toward alien races? 
 
 10. How does this correspond with previous prophetic teach- 
 ing? 
 
PROVISIONS FOE SOCIAL WELFARE 99 
 
 11. Judging by this code, what is the Hebrew seventh-cen- 
 tury ideal for a people's welfare? (28. 1-25, 38-40). 
 
 12. How is such welfare to be secured? 
 
 13. What provision is made for the enforcement of the 
 code? 
 
 14. To what extent Is public opinion recognized to be the 
 ultimate guarantee of law enforcement? 
 
 15. Judging by the social and religious conditions at the 
 time the code was promulgated, what is the likelihood that 
 this body of law will be enforced? 
 
 Supplementary Mateeial foe Study 
 
 Deuteronomy in "The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Col- 
 leges" is a most excellent commentary. Note especially the 
 discussion of "Tithes" (pages 192-7) ; "The Year of Release" 
 (pages 198-206); "Cities of Refuge" (pages 236-40); and 
 "Levirate Marriage" (pages 286-8). 
 
 The Old Testament in the Light of To-Day, Bade, Chapter 
 VIII, is an appraisal of the ethics of Deuteronomy. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 JEREMIAH: PROPHET OF JUDAH'S DECLINE 
 
 The preceding three chapters carried the political his- 
 tory of Judah to the year 621 B. C. This was the year 
 of the discovery of the Deuteronomic law book and the 
 reforms inaugurated by Josiah to carry out the provisions 
 of this code. This chapter and Chapters XI and XII deal 
 with the remaining history of the southern kingdom until 
 the end came in 586 B. C. The leading figure in this 
 sad period is Jeremiah. The student will be well repaid 
 for a most painstaking study of this fascinating char- 
 acter. 
 
 The Political History of Judah's Decline 
 
 Josiah, the reformer, lived about thirteen years after 
 he had given the state a constitution, in 621 B. C. There 
 is little known of these years. In view of the fact that 
 within a few months after his death there was a sad lapse 
 toward the conditions under Manasseh it is probable that 
 Josiah was kept busy during these years endeavoring to 
 establish fully the provisions of the code. Read 2 Kings 
 23. 29, 30 for the account of Josiah's death. The Assyrian 
 Empire was breaking up before the Medes and Baby- 
 lonians. The nation no longer was able to impose its iron 
 rule upon the west. This was Egypt's opportunity. In 
 608 B. C, Necho II led his armies to recover the west 
 land for the empire of the Pharaohs. Josiah, either as a 
 vassal of Assyria or, more likely, on his own initiative, 
 marched to give the invader battle. According to 2 Kings 
 23. 15-20 Josiah was free to impose his reform of worship 
 upon various sanctuaries in the former territory of Israel. 
 It is not improbable that Josiah was impelled by the hope 
 of extending the boundaries of Judah to the former limits 
 
 100 
 
PEOPHET OF JUDAH'S DECLINE 101 
 
 of Solomon's kingdom. Jeremiah 3. 12, if it belongs to 
 the times of Josiah, may have encouraged this prince in 
 an effort to widen the boundaries of his kingdom. 
 
 Jehoahaz, Josiah's son, held the throne of Judah only 
 three months. See 2 Kings 23. 31-33 for the account of 
 his death. Jehoiakim, another son of Josiah, was set upon 
 the throne by Necho II in 607, and Judah became the 
 yassal of Egypt. Necho's prosperity was short-lived. The 
 Assyrian Empire was dismembered in 606 by the Medes 
 and Babylonians. Nebuchadnezzar led the Babylonian 
 troops to retake the western provinces from Egypt. He 
 met Necho at Carchemish, 605 B. C, and defeated him. 
 Judah again became the vassal of the east. Eead 2 Kings 
 24. 1. Jehoiakim's revolt was not immediately punished 
 in force. The passage 2 Kings 24. 2 indicates Nebuchad- 
 nezzar's plan to harass the Judaean state until he could 
 lead a western campaign to subjugate the kingdom. Jehoi- 
 akim inherited from his father the impending doom of 
 Nebuchadnezzar's wrath. This Babylonian prince led his 
 army to capture the rebellious city. The passage 2 Kings 
 24. 8-17 (with the exception of verses 13, 14) preserves 
 this account of the surrender of Jerusalem and the first 
 captivity. This occurred in 597. Other western cities fell 
 to Nebuchadnezzar, who returned to Babylon with his cap- 
 tives and tribute. During the next eight or nine years 
 Nebuchadnezzar for some reason gave little attention to 
 the west. This relaxation of Babylonian control gave 
 Egypt another opportunity. Zedekiah, uncle of Jehoia- 
 chin, whom Nebuchadnezzar raised to the throne in 597, 
 listened to the Egyptian lure (Jeremiah 37. 5-7) and re- 
 volted against Babylon. Eead 2 Kings 24. 18-20. There 
 could be only one end to such folly. The account of the 
 capture of Jerusalem is given in 2 Kings 25. 1-22. Study 
 this narrative until the details are familiar. The date is 
 586. The history of the southern kingdom ends with this 
 catastrophe. But the fortunes of the scattered people are 
 followed a few steps further in 2 Kings 25. 23-26. With 
 the flight into Egypt a hopeless shadow palls the fortunes 
 of the Hebrew state. 
 
102 THE KELIGION OF JTTDAH 
 
 Jeremiah and the State 
 
 Important Events. — During the forty or more years of 
 Jeremiah's ministry there are six events of outstanding 
 importance which greatly influenced his prophetic mes- 
 sages. These are the Deuteronomic reform under Josiah 
 in 621, the death of Josiah in 608, the reaction under 
 Jehoiakim, the battle of Carchemish in 605, Jehoiachin's 
 surrender of Jerusalem in 596, and the sacking of Jeru- 
 salem in 586. 
 
 Jeremiah, as we have seen in a previous chapter, began 
 his ministry before the promulgation of the Deuteronomic 
 Code in 621. It is a moot question what part he had in this 
 reform. He had nothing to do with the composition of 
 the book. But it is not unlikely that he entered sym- 
 pathetically into the effort to purge worship of its heathen- 
 ism. Although the priestly conception of worship voiced 
 by the code was foreign to Jeremiah's thought, there was 
 enough of good in it to enlist his support. Bead Jeremiah 
 11. 1-6. The prophet's championship of the code brought 
 him into collision with his own townsmen of Anathoth. 
 Why did the advocacy of the reform incense them? (11. 
 18-23). Jeremiah's praise of Josiah (22. 15, 16) sug- 
 gests also that he would have found it easy to cooperate 
 with such a prince. There is every reason to suppose that 
 had the spirit of this Deuteronomic legislation really pos- 
 sessed the hearts of the people it would have won Jere- 
 miah's support to the end of his life. 
 
 Moral and Religions Relapse. — It will be recalled that 
 the Deuteronomic Code promised the people a God-fearing 
 king (Deuteronomy 17. 14-20), a prosperity, a numerous 
 population, and a wide empire (11. 22-25). Josiah, con- 
 scious of fulfilling Jehovah's demands, may have gone up 
 to Megiddo to meet Necho expecting a great victory. 
 The latter part of his reign had verified the promises of 
 the Deuteronomic legislation. Josiah had endeavored to 
 conform the state to the law's requirements. Prosperity, 
 peace, and the outlook for extension of territory followed. 
 Then came the king's death and the defeat of the army in 
 
PROPHET OF JUDAH'S DECLINE 103 
 
 608. By the Deuteronomic theory this was inexplicable. 
 The reformers were discredited by this tragedy and the 
 sudden fate of Jehoahaz. A reaction set in in favor of the 
 religious practices introduced by Manasseh. Preachers 
 like Jeremiah were out of favor. A new wave of corrup- 
 tion spread across civil and religious life. The courts 
 failed to secure justice (Jeremiah 7. 5) ; orphans, widows, 
 and aliens, contrary to the Deuteronomic injunction, were 
 oppressed; theft, adultery, false oaths, treachery, lies, op- 
 pression, and murder were outstanding evidences of the 
 social anarchy that was hurrying the state toward its bit- 
 ter end (9. 3-9; 10. 10; 9. 4; 22. 3). Even the prophets 
 committed adultery, walked in lies, and strengthened the 
 hands of evildoers (23. 14). A similar riotousness charac- 
 terized worship. Foreign deities again had altars and wor- 
 shipers (7. 6; 11. 10); astral worship was a common 
 practice (19. 13) ; the cult of the queen of heaven was 
 reintroduced (7. 18); idolatry was widespread (11. 13; 
 13. 10; 18. 15; 19. 4) ; human sacrifice again was offered 
 in the valley of Hinnom (7. 31; Ezekiel 20. 26). Ezekiel 
 adds other details of the religious lapse under Jehoiakim. 
 A form of animal worship, some mysterious cult, was 
 practiced by prominent citizens within the Temple (Ezekiel 
 8. 7-13) . The Adonis cult again prevailed among the women 
 of Jerusalem (8. 14, 15) ; the worship of the sun openly 
 was carried on within the sanctuary of Jehovah (8. 16- 
 18). 
 
 Jeremiah's Political Messages 
 
 An Indictment of the Nation's Responsible Leaders. — 
 
 Upon whom did Jeremiah place the responsibility of this 
 condition ? Eead Jeremiah 22. 13-19. Of what crimes does 
 he accuse Jehoiakim? What is Jehoiakim' s conception of 
 the kingship ? What is Jeremiah's idea of the duties and 
 prerogatives of a ruling prince? What is the inevitable 
 end of the ruler who mistakes his office? Examine also 
 23. 1, 2 for Jeremiah's position that the chief blame for 
 the impending ruin of the state rests with Judah's kings. 
 Examine 7, 21-23; 8. 2; 13. 13, 14; 14. 18; 19. 1; 23. 11; 
 
104 THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 26. 7-9, 16. What is Jeremiah's attitude toward the priest- 
 hood? Of what evils does he accuse the priests? Note 
 that he places upon them, as well as upon the princes, the 
 responsibility for the ills of the state. Jeremiah regarded 
 the priestly order as the chief bulwark of the false doc- 
 trine of Jerusalem's inviolability, the upholders of a disas- 
 trous and unspiritual conception and practice of worship. 
 Observe especially 7. 21-23. This is a far-reaching ar- 
 raignment of centuries of Hebrew worship. Jeremiah 
 boldly asserts that the whole priestly scheme of life is 
 inimical to Jehovah's rule. 
 
 The prophets too were untrustworthy leaders. Examine 
 8. 1, 2 ; 13. 13, 14; 14. 18. What sins does Jeremiah attrib- 
 ute to them? Eead 14. 13-16. What is the burden of the 
 message of these "false prophets"? Was their prediction 
 fulfilled? What constituted their falseness? Were they 
 insincere conscious deceivers or were they merely unable 
 to read rightly the signs of the times ? Was it their fault 
 that they cared more for the comforts of a quiet life than 
 for the advocacy, in the midst of peril, of a great cause? 
 Eead also 23. 9-32. Here the prophets are accused of 
 gross sins, their messages are denied a divine origin, they 
 encourage lawlessness and irreligion by their sermons, 
 they mistake their dreams for the word of Jehovah. Chap- 
 ter 28 gives a specific case of one of these false prophets 
 and his message. What was Hananiah's message? (28. 
 2-4, 11). What gave him his unwarranted confidence in 
 the continuance of the Hebrew state ? 
 
 The Nation's Future. — Early in the reign of Jehoiakim, 
 Jeremiah delivered a sermon in the Temple in which he 
 gave his expectations of the future destiny of his people. 
 This discourse is found in 7. 1 to 8. 3. Additional details 
 are given in 26. 1-9. Examine 7. 1-15. Observe that the 
 Isaian faith in the safety of Jerusalem in 701 has become 
 a dogma of the city's inviolability by 607. Thinking that 
 they had the "temple of Jehovah," the people believed 
 themselves secure. In what did Jeremiah ground the 
 hope of the nation's permanence? What example is of- 
 fered of Jehovah's treatment of a sanctuary defiled by 
 
PEOPHET OF JUDAH'S DECLINE 105 
 
 ethical misconduct? What is his portrayal of the nation's 
 future? (7. 32; 8. 3; 9. 10, 11; 18. 17; 26. 1-7). Ex- 
 amine too 13. 20-27 for the emphatic statement that the 
 Jewish state is so habituated to evil that its collapse is 
 inevitable. 
 
 Jeremiah clearly foresaw the capture of Jerusalem in 
 597. See 13. 18, 19; 22. 24-30. Yet he did not preach the 
 annihilation of the Hebrew and his religion. Eead the 
 beautiful parable of the potter in 18. 1-4. What is the 
 lesson intended here by Jeremiah? See also the hope 
 that he extends to the first band of captives (24. 1-6). 
 These exiles carried to Babylon in 597 were settled in 
 certain villages along the Kabaru Canal. They were not 
 dispersed but, living in a colony, were able to preserve their 
 laws and customs. Jeremiah's letter to these exiles (29. 
 4-14) promises them, though not a speedy, a sure return 
 to Jerusalem. The seventy years is a round number. 
 
 Jerusalem was captured and sacked by the Babylonians 
 in 586. The siege lasted approximately a year. Jeremiah 
 constantly advised submission. Read 21. 3-10. During 
 the siege the Egyptians approached Palestine, and the 
 Babylonians temporarily raised the siege (37. 5). Pre- 
 vious to this apparent deliverance, in the stress of the 
 siege, the Hebrew slaves had been set free by their repent- 
 ant masters in accordance with the demands of the Deu- 
 teronomic Code. But as soon as the danger seemed passed, 
 these freedmen were reenslaved. This perfidy of the peo- 
 ple did not escape the scathing denunciation which it de- 
 served. See 34. 8-22. During the final siege Jeremiah 
 was imprisoned. His counsel to surrender the city an- 
 gered the authorities. The whole account is interesting 
 (37. 11 to 38. 28). 
 
 Yet in the very hour of Jerusalem's destruction Jere- 
 miah heroically expressed his faith in his people's future. 
 Read 23. 6-15. By the purchase of an ancestral field at 
 the hour it was overrun by the enemy Jeremiah expresses 
 his confidence that the fields of Judah are yet to be tilled 
 by the Jewish people. It is a strong assertion of the 
 restoration of the people. 
 
106 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 After the fall of Jerusalem, Jeremiah was liberated from 
 confinement by the Babylonians and given his choice of 
 going to Babylonia or remaining in Palestine. He chose 
 the latter (39. 14). Gedaliah, the governor, fixed his 
 capital at Mizpah. After the latter^ assassination the 
 mere remnant of a nation was without a head. Counsels 
 were divided. Some were urging a retreat into Egypt. 
 An appeal was made to Jeremiah, who advised them to 
 remain in Palestine. This advice was disregarded, and 
 the leaders, taking with them many others, departed for 
 Egypt. It is not known whether Jeremiah was forced to 
 accompany these voluntary exiles or whether he chose to 
 remain with them to the end. At any rate, he accom- 
 panied them to their new home at Tahpanhes and was loyal 
 to the prophetic mission until he died. 
 
 Summary 
 
 A careful study of all the foregoing discourses of Jere- 
 miah in the light of their historical setting makes clear the 
 great service he rendered the world's religion. Had no 
 other voice been raised than that of the false prophets, 
 the sacking of Jerusalem would have silenced Hebrew re- 
 ligion. They proclaimed the inviolability of the state : that 
 Jehovah had taken up his residence in the Temple and that 
 he would not suffer his people to be dispersed. The reality 
 of religion was thus made dependent on the permanence 
 of the state. Jeremiah exalted Jehovah above any such 
 frail scheme. Jehovah was the divine Potter, and the 
 marred nation might be broken at the wheel, yet his pur- 
 poses not be thwarted ultimately. Jeremiah divorced re- 
 ligion and the state. He could see the state perish yet 
 proclaim that religion, in the very destruction of the state, 
 was the more truly realized and vindicated. 
 
 Amos and Hosea likewise looked for the destruction 
 of the state, but they did not look beyond the penalizing 
 blow to a reconstruction of the world's religion. Isaiah 
 too prophesied the ruin of Judah, but he was confident that 
 a remnant would arise in the midst of the overthrow to 
 reorganize Hebrew life on prophetic lines. Jeremiah was 
 
PEOPHET OF JUDAH'S DECLINE 107 
 
 the first to accept definitely for the southern kingdom the 
 same fate that had overtaken Samaria. But there was 
 a clear program for the future. The exiles were to live 
 quietly in their foreign home and keep their ideals shin- 
 ing, and in Jehovah's good time they would be returned 
 to their ancestral cities and fields. Jeremiah cared more 
 for religion than for the state. He was quite ready to 
 sacrifice political independence to win his people from a 
 demoralizing ritual of worship and anarchic social prac- 
 tices to ethical conduct and spiritual religion. Jeremiah 
 counted. 
 
 Advices to Statesmen 
 
 There are three fundamental principles upon which to 
 build an enduring state: justice, love, and brotherhood. 
 All human relations must be governed by justice. A 
 sense of unfairness and wrong, sooner or later, will dyna- 
 mite the most solidly constructed institution. But justice 
 must be prompted by love. Love must be interpreted by 
 brotherhood. Slaves and masters have loved each other; 
 but slave love and master love will damn civilization. 
 Brother love alone will consecrate the state. No institu- 
 tion, no business, no custom, no nation, can win perma- 
 nence otherwise. All institutions based on privilege, injus- 
 tice, or distrust will pass away. God is King. His rule 
 will ultimately hold sway. 
 
 Any nation's chief need is prophetic statesmen: coun- 
 selors whose first concern is not prosperity but righteous- 
 ness. It seems incredible that a twentieth-century nation 
 should debate unweariedly armaments, banking systems, 
 harbor bills, commerce, and fleets, and tolerate with so 
 much unconcern widespread prostitution, pernicious care- 
 lessness of the public health, the evils of degenerate so- 
 ciety so glaringly revealed by eugenics and the juvenile 
 courts, and the want of moral and religious education by the 
 state. What permanence is assured the state for which big 
 business is a more pressing theme than just business ? How 
 may we help to give just business its proper place ? 
 
 You may not be in any legislative body ; but neither are 
 
108 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 many of our statesmen. Public opinion is the great legis- 
 lator everywhere. If you will you may be a prophetic 
 statesman. If you are ready to endure misunderstanding, 
 scorn, social ostracism, and poverty for the sake of justice 
 and righteousness you will not live in vain. But if you 
 prize comfort and ease above the championship of Christ's 
 kingdom, God will not intrust you with that spiritual 
 vision which is essential in great leadership. 
 
 Questions to Test Knowledge 
 
 1. What assistance was given by Jeremiah to Josiah in 
 carrying out his reforms? 
 
 2. To what extent did the reforms introduced by Josiah 
 change the religious and social life of the people? 
 
 3. What political changes took place at the end of the sev- 
 enth century among the nations surrounding Palestine? 
 
 4. How much had the teaching of the false prophets to do 
 with Josiah's political policy which ended in his death? 
 
 5. What was Jeremiah's condemnation of these prophets? 
 
 6. In what manner had the priests failed to exercise a wise 
 leadership? 
 
 7. What doctrine of Isaiah's became a source of deception 
 for the nation? . 
 
 8. To what extent did Jerusalem suffer from the Babylo- 
 nians in 586 B. C? 
 
 9. Why did the Babylonians treat Jeremiah with so much 
 consideration? 
 
 10. What future did the prophet foresee for the Hebrew 
 people? 
 
 11. What did Jeremiah contribute toward the permanence 
 of Hebrew religion? 
 
 References fob Additional Study 
 
 Jeremiah, in "The Expositor's Bible," is a pleasing and 
 profitable exposition of this prophet. 
 
 Old-Testament History, Smith, pages 274-300. 
 
 History, Prophecy, and the Monuments, McCurdy, Volume 
 III, Book IX, Chapters V and VI; Book X, Chapters I-IV. 
 
CHAPTEE XI 
 JEREMIAH: PROPHET OF PERSONAL RELIGION 
 
 The preceding chapter made clear the peril in which 
 the world's religion stood during the years from the death 
 of Josiah to the sack of Jerusalem in 586. The Deuter- 
 onomic Code, the basis of Josiah's reform in 621, was 
 nominally, at least, the stay of Judah's life. The code 
 was a continuous promise of national welfare in return for 
 loyalty to the Temple and its worship and the practice of 
 certain humanitarian virtues. Josiah had made an earnest 
 effort to conform the kingdom to this code. But Josiah 
 was cut off in battle, and priests and prophets had no new 
 counsel at this strange turn of affairs. The people, neg- 
 lecting the code, revived the worship and the lawlessness 
 of the days of Manasseh. The state was drifting steadily 
 to ruin. Religion was purely a national affair, and 
 Judah's religion, like Israel's, was doomed to disappear 
 with the exile of her citizens. 
 
 It was Jeremiah who divorced religion from the state 
 and made it live, not in the Temple of sacrifice but in the 
 soul. He taught his countrymen that the state might 
 perish, and still religion could live, more vital for its di- 
 vorce from its ancient external supports. In this chap- 
 ter is traced the rise of spiritual and individual religion 
 in Jeremiah's life and teaching. 
 
 Jeremiah's Personal History 
 
 Birthplace, Family, and Character. — Of Jeremiah, as 
 of the other great prophets of the Hebrew people, there is 
 little to be known beyond that which appears in his public 
 utterances and actions. From Jeremiah 1. 1 and 29. 27 
 it is known that he was born at Anathoth, a town two or 
 three miles northeast of Jerusalem. He came from a 
 
 109 
 
110 THE RELIGION OP JUDAH 
 
 family of priests who owned land at Anathoth (32. 9). 
 In this village Jeremiah spent his boyhood and in course 
 of time might have exercised the functions of a priest. 
 Apparently he took up his residence in Jerusalem at the 
 time Josiah began to inaugurate his reforms. Jeremiah 
 early recognized the futility of reforms carried through 
 by state authority (2. 3), and his individual inheritance 
 of character, responding to the political and religious con- 
 ditions of the day, soon unfitted him for the priestly of- 
 fice. He was passionately interested in the welfare of 
 Judah. His reflections upon the conditions of the state 
 deepened within him the necessity of absolute dependence 
 on Jehovah. His beliefs consequently brought him into 
 constant conflict with the leaders of the state. Yet 
 he pursued his course unflinchingly. His own townsmen 
 plotted against his life. He had no family of wife and 
 children to enter sympathetically into his life. His 
 career became one long, lonely martyrdom. 
 
 Jeremiah's Call to the Prophetic Office. — Examine 1. 
 4-19. The beginning of Jeremiah's prophetic ministry 
 was about 626 B. C. Note the deep conviction that his 
 mission is a divine appointment. Observe too the breadth 
 of his parish. These two ideas — namely, that he is the 
 child of destiny and that he is Jehovah's mouthpiece for 
 the nations — are fundamental to the understanding of 
 Jeremiah's career. Is his conviction that Jehovah had 
 planned his life even before his birth a key to his un- 
 swerving loyalty to his mission? Why was Jeremiah re- 
 luctant to enter upon the prophetic career? Did such 
 office involve personal danger? Judging from the 
 prophets already studied, to what sort of career was he 
 summoned? With what assurance did Jehovah overcome 
 his reluctance ? What did it mean to Jeremiah to say that 
 Jehovah's hand had touched his mouth, and Jehovah's 
 words were in his mouth? What did his prophetic com- 
 mission involve? From 1. 17-19 may it be inferred that 
 Jeremiah naturally shrank from adverse criticism and 
 that, knowing his message would arouse bitter adversaries, 
 he trembled to follow the promptings of his soul? In 
 
PROPHET OF PERSONAL RELIGION 111 
 
 what way was he fortified for his work by believing him- 
 self the sent of Jehovah? 
 
 The Training of a Prophet.— Read 15. 10-21. Jere- 
 miah's straggles did not cease with his call. This experi- 
 ence takes place after several years of ministry. The 
 prophet had been received with bitter hostility. By his 
 rebuke of the people's vain trust in the Temple he had 
 aroused the opposition of priests and prophets. He had 
 assailed the luxury-loving Jehoiakim and incurred the 
 royal wrath. He had preached repentance, but the nation 
 rushed on to its doom. His pure passion for the welfare 
 of his people only alienated him from them all. Is it 
 strange that he should bewail the ills of his life ? Note the 
 words he uses to describe his isolation: "a man of conten- 
 tion to the whole earth !" How is he treated by men? 
 (15. 10). What is his prayer in 15. 15-18? What ending 
 of his struggles does he crave? What is the answer to 
 this prayer? (verse 20). What sacrifices has Jeremiah 
 made in loyalty to his call? (verse 18). In what way has 
 he found Jehovah "a deceitful brook" ? What has been the 
 effect of his complaints upon his prophetic office? (verse 
 19). What condition is imposed upon Jeremiah that he 
 may continue his ministry? Observe that there is no 
 praise for past loyalty ; the reward of service is more 
 service. 
 
 Jeremiah, loyal to his call, continued to preach that it 
 was Jehovah's purpose to deliver his people into the hands 
 of the Babylonians. Finally he was arrested by Pashhur, 
 chief officer of the Temple (20. 1), and put into the stocks, 
 where he passed the night. It is not improbable that Jere- 
 miah's complaint found in 20. 7-18 followed this indig- 
 nity. Remember that Jeremiah came from a conspicuous 
 family, that he was a man of genius, that his prophetic 
 office entitled him to confidence and respect, that he was 
 conscious of seeing clearly truths hidden from his con- 
 temporaries, and you will feel the hurt that Jeremiah felt 
 at the indignities heaped upon him by Pashhur. Read 20. 
 14-18. Note the utter sense of failure and misery which 
 these words convey. Upon what and whom is the curse 
 
112 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 invoked? In the light of his misery and his failure to 
 move Judah to repentance what is Jeremiah's meaning 
 when he exclaims (20. 7) : 
 
 "Thou hast persuaded me, and I was persuaded; 
 Thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed" f 
 
 Does he mean that Jehovah, taking advantage of his 
 ignorance and weakness, has imposed the prophetic life 
 upon him and so led him into wretchedness and fail- 
 ure ? Observe that Jeremiah feels an irresistible compulsion 
 driving him forward in his career, and that the words he 
 utters are not his own. In verse 8 what is Jeremiah's sum- 
 mary of his sermons ? What estimate of himself has such 
 preaching formed in the multitude? Verse 9 may be 
 rendered thus: 
 
 "If I say I will not think upon his word 
 Nor speak any more in his name, 
 Then my heart burns with a consuming fire, 
 And I weary with restraining his commands" 
 
 However painful the prophetic office becomes, Jeremiah 
 cannot turn aside from his lifework. Chosen before birth, 
 divinely appointed to preach a spiritual religion to a ma- 
 terialistically minded people, seeing no end of Judah's 
 blindness but the destruction of the state, his very words 
 put into his mouth, his rejection of his commission frus- 
 trated by a torturing fire in his heart making silence im- 
 possible, Jeremiah is driven through the loneliest struggle 
 by the consciousness of the impelling will of Jehovah. 
 This is Jeremiah's Gethsemane. But this conviction that 
 he is the sent of Jehovah upholds him and gives him his 
 sense of security in the face of utmost danger from his 
 fellow men. Read 20. 11, 12. See also 26. 8-15. 
 
 The Isolation of His Life. — Bearing in mind Jere- 
 miah's conception of worship, his demands for ethical 
 relations among men, and his continued predictions that 
 Judah must succumb to the Babylonians, one clearly sees 
 that Jeremiah was isolated from his world. Read 11. 
 18-22; 15. 10, 17, 18; 16. 1-3, 5-9; 18. 18-20; 20. 10; 22. 
 
 
PROPHET OF PERSONAL RELIGION 113 
 
 13-19; 26. 8, 9, and state individuals and the modes of 
 life with which Jeremiah had no fellowship. What was 
 the cause of such isolation? Judging from the references 
 already studied, what was the general effect of this lone- 
 liness and isolation upon Jeremiah's life? What did his 
 personal history contribute to the development of religion ? 
 
 Jeremiah's Conception of Religion 
 
 His Attitude to Ritual and Animal Sacrifice. — Read 
 Jeremiah 11. 1-8. Here Jeremiah appears an ardent 
 preacher of the Deuteronomic Code. There was much in 
 it with which Jeremiah would sympathize, but there was 
 much, too, which he condemned. It is not improbable that 
 at first he welcomed the code as an approximation toward 
 spiritual religion, but when he saw that its more spiritual 
 provisions were ignored he became aware of the futility of 
 all legislation to reform the individual and society's insti- 
 tutions. Read 8. 4-9. If this section refers to the Deuter- 
 onomic Code, Jeremiah believes that the code's emphasis 
 upon ritual falsely represents the true demands of Jeho- 
 vah. Jeremiah's position is made clearer in 7. 21-23. 
 Looking at the Temple ritual of his day, and reflecting 
 upon the whole history of sacrifice, and measuring the 
 religious life of which the ritual of sacrifice was an ex- 
 pression by the religion he had come to know in his own 
 life, Jeremiah felt sure that sacrifice could have been no 
 part of the original covenant at Sinai. In this view we 
 know that he is largely correct. We have seen how large 
 a part of Israel's forms of worship, even those approved 
 by the Deuteronomic Code and the Book of the Covenant, 
 is a Canaanitish borrowing. But occasional animal sacri- 
 fices are offered by nomadic peoples, and it is quite prob- 
 able that animal sacrifice was performed at times of 
 crisis and to seal the covenant at Sinai. See Exodus 18. 
 12; 24. 5-8. But Jeremiah's position that Jehovah does 
 not care or no longer cares for the sacrificial system, that 
 he now demands a more spiritual worship, is indeed a 
 triumph of true religion. 
 
 Examine 2. 8 ; 9. 3-6 and observe that Jeremiah declares 
 
114 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 that Judah does not know Jehovah. What does Jere- 
 miah mean by knowing Jehovah? See 22. 15, 16. Ob- 
 serve too that Judah's ills will never cease until the people 
 have a heart to know Jehovah (24. 7). 
 
 The New Covenant. — So Jeremiah turns from the wor- 
 ship of his times, which makes no great demands upon 
 the ethical life, to insist upon that true vision of Jehovah 
 which will transform religion from external forms into a 
 comradeship with Jehovah expressed in love and ethical 
 conduct. He demands in Jehovah's name not an out- 
 ward sign of an ancient covenant (4. 4) but an inner 
 cleansing of life. Purity and integrity of life are the true 
 signs that men have entered into covenant with God. The 
 sacrificial system (7. 21-23) obscures the character of God 
 and is no expression of his demands. Study 29. 11-17. 
 Observe the requirements Jehovah asks from the exiles. 
 What conception of religion is here involved? Read 3. 
 16 and state Jeremiah's attitude toward the ark of the 
 covenant. Read again 7. 3-15 and observe that the Temple 
 is no security of the nation's life; but, on the contrary, it 
 is to be swept away with the whole conception of worship 
 which it represents. 
 
 Jeremiah's insistence that religion is an ethical com- 
 merce of man and God climaxes in his "new covenant." 
 Examine attentively 31. 31-34. What was the first cove- 
 nant? When was it made? Who were the contracting 
 parties? What did the first covenant demand from the 
 people? What did it promise on the part of Jehovah? 
 See 7. 22, 23. What had been the history of this covenant ? 
 May it be inferred from 31. 33, 34 that in the thought of 
 Jeremiah the characteristic marks of the old covenant were 
 
 (1) that its terms were formulated in definite laws, and 
 
 (2) that these laws were interpreted and enforced by re- 
 ligious teachers and authorities? Would Jeremiah have 
 said that there were two fundamental defects in the old 
 bond between Jehovah and his people — namely: (1) that 
 its chief demand was conformity to certain definite com- 
 mands, partly ethical and largely ritual, and, therefore, 
 did not touch heartily the springs of life and conduct? 
 
PROPHET OF PERSONAL RELIGION 115 
 
 (2) and that, being national and not individual, the in- 
 dividual's life was not motived sufficiently? While Jere- 
 miah does not definitely refer to the Book of the Covenant 
 and to the Deuteronomic Code he undoubtedly regarded 
 these as expansions of the Sinaitic covenant and felt that 
 the same weakness attached to them. Does Jeremiah now 
 regard this old covenant abrogated? 
 
 Does Jeremiah regard all past achievements of religion 
 abrogated or does he mean that the formal covenant idea 
 cannot secure a spiritual and ethical life? The 
 Deuteronomic Code aimed at transforming Judah's 
 religion into a spiritual fellowship with Jehovah 
 and into ethical relations with men. Jeremiah's 
 contention is that no legislation, no stress of formal wor- 
 ship, can secure these ends; that religion is essentially a 
 commerce between man and God ; and that such fellowship 
 cannot be codified. Commit to memory these beautiful 
 lines, which sum up Jeremiah's conception of religion as 
 fellowship between man and deity unmediated by priest 
 and sacrifice: 
 
 r*j will put my teaching in their breast, and I will write it 
 on their hearts. 
 I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 
 They will teach no more every man his neighbor, 
 And every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah; 
 For they shall all know me, from the least of them to the 
 
 greatest: 
 For I will forgive their iniquities, and their sins will I 
 remember no more/' (Jeremiah 31. S3, 34.) 
 
 The Individual Aspect of Religion. — This very concep- 
 tion of spiritual religion individualized it. The student 
 will recall that worship in the past was an affair of sacri- 
 fice, in which the family participated (1 Samuel 1. 1-8; 
 20. 28, 29). As long as worship was wholly expressed 
 in ritual, the individual could scarcely think of Jehovah's 
 having dealings with him apart from his clan. Sin and 
 guilt also had their meaning in this solidarity of life. If 
 the student will read the account of Achan's transgression 
 
116 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 (Joshua 7* 16-26) or the slaughter of the priests at 
 Nob (1 Samuel 22. 16-19) he will see how deeply rooted 
 was the clan conception of guilt and sin. Beginnings had 
 been made in the administration of justice (2 Kings 14. 
 5, 6; Deuteronomy 24. 16), in the change to individ- 
 ualistic responsibility, but it remained to Jeremiah to 
 establish that the loftiest conception of religion demands 
 an individualizing of mankind's relation to God. No 
 doubt at times this principle has been stressed to the neg- 
 lect of the social aspects of religion; but fundamentally 
 religion at last roots in the individual soul. Eead 31. 29 
 and state the words Jeremiah here uses to individualize 
 guilt. Examine his prayers in 15. 15-18; 17. 14-18 and 
 observe that in Jeremiah's life the meaning of religion has 
 passed from nationalism to individualism. Eead the psalm 
 found in 17. 5-8. Here too it is the individual, and not 
 the community, with whom religion is concerned. 
 
 Jeremiah and Ourselves 
 
 It would be difficult to overestimate Jeremiah's services 
 to religion. The immediate effect of his labors was small 
 indeed. He was the loneliest of men. His conceptions of 
 religion isolated him from his people; his patriotism, 
 which exalted righteousness above national existence, made 
 him obnoxious to the rulers. His life was one long mar- 
 tyrdom. Yet after Judah succumbed to the Babylonian, 
 the exiles remembered his teaching and his life and they 
 passed from despair to hope. He had shown that religion 
 could live without the support of the state, had shown 
 that it must live in the individual soul. He became for 
 them the star of dawn. Jeremiah, too, set the pattern of 
 future piety. He made possible the Psalms, which have 
 comforted the world. Of all Old-Testament teachers he 
 most makes us think of Christ. 
 
 Think how frequently a great soul is a lonely soul. Pass 
 them before you: Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Jeremiah; 
 how many of their contemporaries were their intimate 
 associates? How few there are who have understood 
 Jesus! Not one of his disciples fully entered into his 
 
PEGPHET OF PERSONAL RELIGION 117 
 
 ideals. Paul did not clearly comprehend him. Few of 
 us to-day are brave enough to live with him. We hedge 
 at his commands; we say his ideals are impracticable; 
 •we let him live alone. Do not expect many great friend- 
 ships. To possess a multitude of intimate friends in this 
 day means that you are not living a profoundly spiritual 
 and intellectually endowed life. Even if it narrows your 
 intimacies, covet a great life. 
 
 Jeremiah abated no jot of his idealism to conform to 
 the demands of a practical state. Civilization is never 
 permanently enriched by your "practical" men. Such 
 men live for manufacture and trade. They suppose that 
 banks, railways, and mines are the chief factors of civil- 
 ization. It is its idealism, not its business, which pre- 
 serves a state. "Seek first the kingdom" is the com- 
 manding advice of life's Master. 
 
 It is a mere incident in our memory of Jeremiah that he 
 owned a farm at Anathoth; the main thing is his piety. 
 In the midst of a toppling state he was not overthrown 
 with the ruined capital. His life was not identified with 
 the Temple, palace, market, or defended walls. When 
 these fell, there was nothing in him which they could drag 
 down. He had learned to know Jehovah; he feared no 
 destruction ; he felt himself secure in the face of the crud- 
 est disaster. Oh, that we might learn to find our wealth, 
 our fame, our success, in our fellowship with God ! There 
 could be then no ruined hopes, no blasted lives, no starless 
 despair. 
 
 In religion, as in every other department of human life, 
 the greatest achievement is won through association. Jesus 
 alone could not establish his kingdom. The most devoted 
 and heroic Christian does not constitute a church. But 
 the life that is lived together is lived primarily by in- 
 dividuals. The morality of a family is the morality of 
 individuals living in the family. The religion of a church 
 or a community is the religion of the individuals in the 
 social group. Religion, in the last analysis, is the life of 
 an individual. The more true, moral, and intense this 
 life is, the more vigorous and effective is the religion of 
 
118 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 the community. Religion is individual before it is social. 
 Until individuals are redeemed, society is not secure. 
 Social movements are individuals with similar interests 
 and passions acting together. The phenomena of social 
 action never must obscure the fact that in its final analysis 
 life is lived by individuals. 
 
 Themes fob Class Discussion 
 
 1. The ease with which idolatrous worship reappeared in 
 Judah after the death of Josiah indicates that the abolition of 
 the local sanctuaries was not a popular reform. State what 
 this change must have meant to the inhabitants of the rural 
 towns and villages. 1 
 
 2. Jeremiah does not tell us why he did not become a priest. 
 State the reasons that may have led him to break with the 
 traditional employment of his fathers. 
 
 3. What considerations should determine any man in the 
 choice of his lifework? 
 
 4. What are the defects and disadvantages of a state re- 
 ligion? 
 
 5. What were the essential features of the covenant between 
 the Hebrews and Jehovah? 2 
 
 6. What were the basic ideas in Jeremiah's new covenant? 
 
 7. To what extent is religion individual? social? 
 
 8. Why a.T2 great men apt to be lonely? 
 
 Selected Readings 
 
 The Religion of Israel, Smith, Chapter IX. 
 
 The Prophets of Israel, Cornhill, the chapter devoted to 
 Jeremiah. 
 
 Hebrew Religion, Addis, pages 194-206. 
 
 Article "Jeremiah," Sections I and VI, Dictionary of the 
 Bible, Hastings. 
 
 ^Folklore in the Old Testament, Frazier, Volume III, pages 105-7. 
 3 The Religion of Israel, Ascham, Chapter VIII. 
 
CHAPTEE XII 
 
 EZEKIEL: WATCHMAN UNTO THE HOUSE OF 
 ISEAEL 
 
 Ezekiel was one of the leading citizens of Jerusalem 
 carried captive with King Jehoiachin to Babylon in 597 
 B. C. These captives were settled at Tel-abib by the 
 Kabaru Canal (Ezekiel 3. 15). Ezekiel was a priest of 
 the family of Zadok. After five years in Babylon he felt 
 called to the prophetic ministry. From this time until 
 the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B. C. he followed the 
 usual course of the prophets in denouncing the sins of his 
 people. Their sinfulness, he believed, was leading the 
 nation to destruction. He became the interpreter of pass- 
 ing events to his fellow exiles. These Hebrews, who had 
 suffered deportation in 597, kept in closest possible touch 
 with Jerusalem and watched the course pursued by the 
 leaders in Judah with deepest concern. It was EzekiePs 
 mission, like Jeremiah's, to proclaim that city and state 
 would be destroyed. He seems to have been a leader among 
 the exiles, was often consulted, and must have performed 
 an important service in adjusting the exiles to their afflic- 
 tions and the approaching destruction of Jerusalem. 
 
 After the city fell, in 586, Ezekiel ceased to denounce 
 the sins of his people and became a preacher of hope. He 
 united in himself the functions of both priest and prophet, 
 but in his earlier sermons the prophetic outlook dominated. 
 All the prophecies examined in this chapter were uttered 
 between 592 and 586 B. C. 
 
 Ezekiei/s Call to the Peophetio Office 
 
 Eead Ezekiel, chapter 1. Observe that Ezekiel, as Jere- 
 miah and Isaiah, is summoned by a vision that impresses 
 him with the glory and majesty of Jehovah. It may not 
 be possible to form a mental picture of these living crea^ 
 
 119 
 
120 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 tures, wheels, the throne, and its occupant; but the reader 
 will mark certain of Ezekiel's dominant ideas: Jehovah 
 is no longer enthroned in Jerusalem; he dwells upon a 
 celestial throne, which brings him near the exiles. Note 
 the effect of this vision upon Ezekiel. Eead closely 2. 
 1-7. Who is the speaker in 2. 1? Observe how com- 
 pletely Ezekiel is directed and upheld by Jehovah. What 
 is to be understood by the title "Son of man"? What is 
 the characteristic feature of Israel's history? (Here- 
 after "Israel" will be used of the Hebrew people without 
 reference to the divided kingdoms.) Observe that the 
 essence of the prophetic career is in the words "thus saith 
 Jehovah." Ezekiel is authorized and enjoined to speak 
 with such authority. Is this conviction of being sent 
 of Jehovah characteristic of all the prophets whom we 
 have studied ? In what way are the dangers of his mission 
 symbolized? Observe this: his commission binds him to 
 utterance, whether or not the people give heed to his mes- 
 
 Study 2. 8 to 3. 3. In what way is Ezekiel prepared 
 for this ministry? What were the contents of this book? 
 How does this conception of the prophet's message com- 
 pare with the sermons delivered by earlier prophets ? Why 
 was the roll sweet to Ezekiel? Eead 3. 4-11. In what 
 words does Ezekiel estimate the difficulty of his mission? 
 the probable results? What is his conception of the char- 
 acter of the Hebrew state ? Unto whom was he to deliver 
 Jehovah's messages ? Study 3. 12-27. Although it is not 
 stated, we may suppose that Ezekiel in his vision places 
 himself in Jerusalem at the time of his call; then, at the 
 acceptance of the call, "the glory of Jehovah [rose] from 
 his place" (verse 12) and brought him among the 
 captives at Tel-abib. It is not unlikely that Ezekiel in- 
 tends here to proclaim that Jehovah has departed from 
 Jerusalem. What is the chief duty of a watchman to the 
 house of Israel? Note the overwhelming sense of the 
 prophet's responsibility. Observe that the nation is here 
 broken up into its individual constituents : The righteous 
 are righteous individuals, and the wicked no longer is a 
 
EZEKIEL: WATCHMAN UNTO ISRAEL 121 
 
 guilty nation, but are wicked citizens and exiles. Note 
 that the wicked are to have warning before punishment 
 falls upon them. Ezekiel feels himself solemnly set apart 
 to the awful responsibility of this task of warning. Ob- 
 serve especially 3. 20. What is the source of tempta- 
 tion? What remembrance of the righteous man's life is 
 possible at this stage of Hebrew religion? Note (3. 23) 
 EzekiePs profound sense of the majesty of Jehovah. What 
 do the words "the glory of Jehovah stood there" mean? 
 Observe that at the very threshold of his ministry Ezekiel 
 is restrained from an extensive public ministry. What 
 reason is given for confining his mission to those who may 
 visit him at his home? 
 
 The Sins and Approaching Disasters of Judah 
 
 Jehovah's Rejection of Jerusalem. — Read Ezekiel 4. 1 
 to 5. 17. In what ways did Ezekiel proclaim to the first 
 exiles that they must not expect the continuance of the 
 Judaean state? Undoubtedly these first exiles, despite 
 Jeremiah's warning (chapter 29), looked for a speedy 
 return to Jerusalem. Ezekiel seeks to prepare them for 
 the certain fate that hangs over* the city. These acted 
 sermons must have deeply impressed his auditors. What 
 accusation is brought against Jerusalem? (5. 6, 7, 11). 
 Has Ezekiel's residence in Babylonia revealed to him a 
 higher morality than was to be found in Jerusalem? 
 What is the judgment upon the guilty city? Note espe- 
 cially the predicted horrors of the siege (5. 10). See 
 also Jeremiah 19. 9; Deuteronomy 28. 53; 2 Kings 6. 28. 
 What shall become of the city's inhabitants? 
 
 The judgment upon Jerusalem is further described in 
 8. 1 to 11. 12. What indication is given here of Ezekiel's 
 position among the exiles? Read closely these accounts 
 of the heathen cults practiced in Jerusalem. After all 
 the preaching of the prophets the nation, heedless of every 
 attempt at spiritualizing its religion, is plunging on to 
 its doom. What are these heathen practices? (1) The 
 image of jealousy (8. 3) — that is, the image, or an 
 asherah, of another deity, which provokes Jehovah to 
 
122 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 jealousy. Observe attentively the question in 8. 6. Je- 
 hovah proposes to abandon his sanctuary at Jerusalem. 
 This is extremely significant. It is EzekiePs way of ac- 
 counting for the destruction of Jerusalem. Jehovah him- 
 self has decreed its destruction. (2) A mystery cult 
 consisting of the worship of animals. What representa- 
 tions were on the walls? Of what did the worship con- 
 sist? What hint is there of its popularity? Had Israel 
 worshiped animal forms previously? (3) The Tam- 
 muz worship. Tammuz was a Babylonian deity, whose 
 descent into the lower world and resurrection were cele- 
 brated far and wide in the ancient world. It was at 
 the summer solstice that Tammuz died and at the turn 
 of the winter that he rose again. His festival was cele- 
 brated at the summer solstice by litanies of mourning. 
 At this season the "death of vegetation and the cessation 
 of generation is mourned." 1 (4) The sun worship. What 
 details are given? Why does Ezekiel consider this a 
 greater abomination than the preceding rites ? 
 
 Note attentively the impressive fate of Jerusalem. Je- 
 hovah is furious at these abominations and will have no 
 pity (8. 18). Those who defile the city are slain with 
 the sword. Beginning at the Temple, there is no one with 
 the mark of a mourner over the nation's sins (9. 4), and 
 Ezekiel is left alone in the midst of the Temple strewn 
 with the dead. From the burning city Jehovah rises 
 in glory and departs finally from his ancient sanctuary. 
 
 The Cause of the Nation's Blindness. — It would seem 
 that such preaching would have taken away every hope 
 among the exiles that Jerusalem would be spared. But 
 there were doubters enough, and Ezekiel was compelled 
 to preach on until the city fell. Eead 12. 1-20. What 
 symbolically acted sermon is here recorded? What ex- 
 pression of the popular disbelief in Ezekiel's prediction 
 is given in 12. 22? What did Ezekiel conceive to be the 
 source of this popular skepticism? Note that the "false 
 prophets" use the customary prophetic formula "Thus 
 
 1 See The Old Testament in the Light of the Ancient East, Jeremias, Volume 1, 
 96/., 125/. 
 
EZEKIEL: WATCHMAN UNTO ISRAEL 123 
 
 saith Jehovah/' What chance had the people of discern- 
 ing the true future under such equally emphatic divided 
 counsels? Consider the genius and the faith which sepa- 
 rated Jeremiah and Ezekiel from this crowd of mistaken 
 prophets. Examine Habakkuk, chapters 1 and 2. Here 
 are expressed prophetic views of the relation of Jehovah 
 to his people, which were denounced by Jeremiah and 
 Ezekiel. 
 
 Ezekiel's Historical Perspective. — In considering Is- 
 rael's sins Ezekiel takes a position more condemnatory 
 than any of his predecessors. Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and 
 Jeremiah regarded Israel's sins as a defection from Je- 
 hovah. In the earliest period there had been loyalty to 
 him; but after entrance into Palestine the earlier wor- 
 ship was corrupted by Canaanitish practices. Ezekiel re- 
 gards their unfaithfulness as characteristic of Hebrew 
 life from the beginning. The whole history of Israel is 
 a story of a rebellious people. Eead chapter 16 for Eze- 
 kiel's reading of Israel's life. Note (16. 3) that in Eze- 
 kiel's opinion the nation was born from Canaanitish hea- 
 thenism. He neglects or rejects all patriarchal narratives. 
 We have seen that while the worship of the days of the 
 judges and of the monarchy was a mingled worship of 
 nomadic practices and the beliefs and customs of the 
 Canaanitish agricultural communities, the people of these 
 earlier times were not aware of any settled disloyalty to 
 Jehovah. 1 The view of Hebrew history here presented is 
 not a correct reading of Israel's past; the more spiritual 
 views of a later age are supposed to have existed in the 
 earlier period, and any departure from this loftier con- 
 ception of religion is credited to the earlier times as 
 apostasy. Examine also chapter 20. Note the disloyalty 
 with which Israel is charged. Have we had any hint that 
 the charge of 20. 7, 8 is true? To what extent did Egyp- 
 tian beliefs and practices influence the religion of Israel? 
 Was the conception of the Sabbath as clearly defined in 
 the wilderness period as Ezekiel implies? Observe that 
 
 * The Religion of Israel, Ascham, Chapter XII. 
 
124 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 in earlier references to the Sabbath it is no more sacred 
 than the day of the new moon (Amos 8. 5 ; Hosea 2. 11 ; 
 Isaiah 1. 13). Both seemed to have been kept by cessation 
 from labor and by feasting at the sanctuaries, which fre- 
 quently eventuated in licentiousness. The strict theistic 
 philosophy of Ezekiel is noteworthy. Examine 20. 25, 
 26 and state EzekiePs position concerning past legislation, 
 which Israelites had accepted as divinely ordered. Bead 
 22. 1-13, 25-29. Of what sins does Ezekiel accuse Jeru- 
 salem? What additional faults are catalogued in 18. 
 1-20? 
 
 Ezekiei/s Outlook for the Future 
 
 Eead carefully 11. 13-25. Note that the inhabitants of 
 Jerusalem think that the exiles carried to Babylon in 
 597, together with the exiles of the northern kingdom 
 taken captive in 722, are far from Jehovah. What is Eze- 
 kiePs thought of this? (verse 16). What does he mean 
 by saying Jehovah is a sanctuary for the exiles? What 
 is Jehovah's plan for these exiles? What changes of wor- 
 ship will occur? In what way are the loyalty and per- 
 manence of the future state secured? Read 17. 22-24. 
 Observe that Ezekiel here expects the Hebrew monarchy 
 to be restored in Palestine, and that a prince of the house 
 of David is to be king. Read 20. 39-44. You will note 
 that Ezekiel here contemplates a return of the exiles to 
 Palestine. What suggestion of the new order of life is 
 given? Observe that the essence of the new state is that 
 the people will know Jehovah. Read Ezekiel's outburst 
 against Zedekiah in 21. 24-27 and observe the expres- 
 sion concerning Zedekiah's lost crown: "until he come 
 whose right it is; and I will give it him." Ezekiel fully 
 contemplates that the returned exiles will be ruled by a 
 Messianic prince. 
 
 Easy Paths to Ezekiel 
 
 He was a prophet among the exiles in Babylonia. To 
 clear their minds of false hopes, to awaken them to a sense 
 
EZEKIEL: WATCHMAN UNTO ISRAEL 125 
 
 of sin and righteousness, and to show them the one possi- 
 ble way of return to Jerusalem was no slight ministry. 
 
 That Jehovah religion survived the nation's fall is due 
 in large measure to Ezekiel. The Hebrews who fled to 
 Egypt, carrying Jeremiah with them, play no part in the 
 future development of Israel's religion. That the Baby- 
 lonian exiles did not yield to the religion of their con- 
 querors is due mainly to the patient, intense, and continu- 
 ous ministry of Ezekiel. 
 
 He accomplished this task through the strength of a 
 few overmastering convictions: (1) Jehovah is the abso- 
 lute Sovereign not only of Israel but of the world. He 
 has a program of righteousness. This righteousness ap- 
 pears in human society as justice, decency, and humanity 
 among individuals and a nonlicentious, nonidolatrous, and 
 unwavering worship of Jehovah. (2) Israel's history has 
 not revealed this order of life. It has been a continuous 
 rebellion. There is nothing left for Jehovah but to de- 
 stroy the nation. The destruction of Jerusalem is a di- 
 vinely ordered event. Jehovah abandons the city to the 
 arms of Nebuchadnezzar. (3) Having left his city and 
 land, he becomes a sanctuary for the exiles until such 
 time as he and his people again take up residence in Pales- 
 tine. He may be worshiped in Babylonia. All actual 
 idolatry and all longing for an idolatrous worship must be 
 put away. The Sabbaths must be rigorously kept. Sin 
 must cease, and the individual must seek a new spirit 
 from Jehovah. (4) When idolatry has been put away, 
 sin ended, and the new heart received, the new state will 
 be set up in Palestine; the exiles, refined by the awful 
 calamities endured, will know Jehovah ; and in such aware- 
 ness of him the new order will be established and secured. 
 
 Ezekiel was indeed a kingdom builder. In the fullest 
 sense he was a watchman of the house of Israel. Stern 
 moralist, abounding in faith, reliant upon God, fearless 
 of foes, patient under misunderstanding, he labored to 
 keep pure religion alive in the darkest hour of Israel's 
 life. That the labors of Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, and 
 Jeremiah were not in vain is due very much to Ezekiel's 
 
126 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 genius and his steadfastness to his vision of the things 
 that ought to be. 
 
 For Travelers to the Blessed Lands 
 
 Have you found a shining path through the darkness of 
 great afflictions to the City of Trust and Peace? Ezekiel 
 saw Jehovah rising in glory from the doomed city to 
 become a sanctuary in a foreign land. The Jewish San- 
 hedrin handed Jesus death in a cup of God. Christ's 
 grace in Paul was more than master of Satan's messenger, 
 the thorn in his flesh. Tennyson discovered in the midst 
 of his grief for Arthur Hallam "altar stairs" that "sloped 
 through darkness up to God/' 
 
 To be true and steadfast in a dark hour is not only to 
 preserve our own soul. We are proving that the labors of 
 a host of former seers and martyrs are not in vain. Had 
 Ezekiel faltered, the prophetic gains of two centuries would 
 have been lost. When any man is disloyal to his own ideals 
 he undermines all the successes of the past. 
 
 These studies of the prophets have emphasized the tre- 
 mendous worth of the individual. It was Isaiah who in 
 701 infused Jerusalem with the spirit of trust in Jeho- 
 vah so that the city weathered the Assyrian storm. Jere- 
 miah was the one counselor trusted, if not obeyed, in Jeru- 
 salem's darkest hour. Ezekiel made it possible for true 
 religion to rise from Israel's national overthrow. No man 
 dares neglect the vision of trust which God has given 
 him. His firmness, loyalty, and faith may be the needed 
 ministry his church and community require. There never 
 can be a substitute for individual initiative and boldness 
 in the cause of justice, righteousness, and love. 
 
 Let us learn from Ezekiel the supreme worth of the 
 ideal. An invincible Jerusalem would have silenced the 
 messages of Jeremiah. A ruined Jerusalem without an 
 interpreter, likewise, would have crushed the kingdom 
 of the spiritual for which Jeremiah had pleaded. Nothing 
 but a spiritual genius could have preserved the exiles from 
 sinking into the oblivion of the Chaldean world. This 
 Jeremiah was. 
 
EZEKIEL: WATCHMAN UNTO ISRAEL 127 
 
 "It takes a soul 
 To move a body; it takes a high-souled man 
 To move the masses to a cleaner sty; 
 It takes the ideal to blow an inch inside 
 The dust of the actual." 
 
 Certainly Mrs. Browning would have called Ezekiel one 
 of the world's much-needed "high-souled" men. 
 
 What gave Ezekiel his soul? "As I was among the 
 captives, ... I saw visions of God." Is this not ever 
 the experience that creates leadership in civilization? In 
 whatever way this experience is mediated it consists es- 
 sentially in an unshaken reliance upon the Invisible One, 
 whose purposes are progressively revealed in the visible 
 world. Such a conviction unfolds into a spiritual com- 
 merce with him, God ceases to be a definition, a control- 
 ling force, a far-off Person ; he becomes a King, a Friend, 
 a Father, whose will is lofty but lovable, whose friendship 
 is exalted but intimate, whose fatherliness is stern but 
 choicely companionable and comforting. He becomes per- 
 sonal. 
 
 Ezekiel felt a gripping responsibility for the manner 
 of life of his neighbors. This is a mark of greatness. 
 Nobleness ever concerns itself with meanness. Live such 
 a life that a quiet word of correction will not antagonize 
 your neighbor or friend who needs reproof, but, rather, 
 will stiffen his soul against evil. Many a man drifts into 
 a vicious life because no one at the first offense uttered the 
 corrective and restraining word. It is the duty of every- 
 one to be a watchman of his community. Keep your vision 
 of God shining true and you will find many a fine chance 
 to repress evil and encourage righteousness. To do this 
 uncarpingly is a gift of God. The rare opportunity is 
 ours. 
 
 Questions fob Students 
 
 1. What is known of the personal life of Ezekiel? 
 
 2. What does Ezekiel mean in saying that he is a watch- 
 man unto the house of Israel? 
 
 3. What sins are charged against Jerusalem hy Ezekiel? 
 Does he list any evils unmentioned by Jeremiah? 
 
128 THE RELIGION" OF JUDAH 
 
 4. In what way does Ezekiel account for the destruction of 
 Jerusalem? 
 
 5. What constitutes the teaching of the false prophets? 
 
 6. What is Ezekiel's view of Hebrew history? To what 
 extent is he correct? 
 
 7. What is Ezekiel's view of the origin of those features of 
 the sacrificial system which he condemns? 
 
 8. What new emphasis was given to the Sabbath? Why? 
 
 9. What was Ezekiel's expectation concerning the future of 
 Judah? 
 
 Helps fob the Mastebt of Ezekiel 
 
 History, Prophecy, and the Monuments, McCurdy, Volume 
 III, Book X, Chapter VIII. 
 
 The Religion of Israel, Smith, pages 196-208. 
 
 Article "Ezekiel" in Dictionary of the Bible, Hastings, 
 Volume I, page 815ff. 
 
 Ezekiel in "The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges." 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 IN THE WAKE OF THE EXILES 
 
 Preceding chapters have traced the religion of Judah 
 from the division of the kingdoms to the capture and 
 sack of Jerusalem 586 B. C. The devastation of the city 
 by a foreign power was the most tragical experience 
 through which the Hebrew people had passed, and it could 
 not be other than a turning point of much moment in 
 their life. It was the final blow that scattered the Jews 
 far and wide from the land that had come to be regarded 
 passionately as their own; an exile that, for the vast 
 majority of the race, continues to this day. It was during 
 the exilic years immediately following the fall of Jeru- 
 salem, while the city was still in ruins, that Judaism — 
 the religious beliefs and practices of the Jews against 
 which Christianity was a reaction — took its rise. The 
 present chapter exhibits something of the life of those 
 first exilic years, the effect upon them of the fall of Jeru- 
 salem, and their religious life under the changed conditions. 
 
 The Fortunes of the Jews in Egypt 
 
 Eead 2 Kings 25. 26 and Jeremiah 43 for the with- 
 drawal into Egypt of the Jews who had slain Gedaliah, 
 together with others who feared the vengeance of Baby- 
 lonia. The language in Jeremiah 43. 6 intimates that 
 Jeremiah was carried forcibly with these exiles. The 
 lesson of Jerusalem's destruction was lost upon these 
 refugees. Jerusalem had fallen because of its idolatry 
 (44. 5, 6), but the exiles, untaught by this calamity, con- 
 tinued to practice these foreign rites (44. 7, 15-19). 
 What were these practices? What was the popular ex- 
 planation of their calamities ? Does this attitude of these 
 Egyptian exiles explain their apparent failure to con- 
 tribute to the future development of Israel's religion? 
 
 129 
 
130 THE KELIGION OF JTJDAH 
 
 What future does Jeremiah promise his obdurate country- 
 men (44. 26-28) ? Excavations in recent years indicate 
 that the Jews in Egypt, instead of being destroyed, con- 
 tinued to increase in numbers. One of these Jewish settle- 
 ments was on the island of Elephantine, near the present 
 Assuan. They formed a prosperous community in the 
 midst of their Egyptian neighbors, had their temple to 
 Jehovah, their own law courts, and practiced their own 
 customs. As we shall see in later chapters, the Jews in 
 Egypt continued to multiply until they far outnumbered 
 their brethren in Palestine. They seem, however, to have 
 had little direct influence upon the rise and development 
 of Judaism. 
 
 Jerusalem and Judah During the Exile 
 
 Whatever may have been the number of the Jews who 
 fled into Egypt and were carried into Babylonia, a large 
 majority were left in the villages and dismantled towns 
 of Judah. Those who remained in the land were for the 
 most part the poorer peasantry (2 Kings 25. 12), and 
 these humble inhabitants easily mingled with the 
 Moabites, Edomites, Ammonites, and Philistines who 
 pressed into the desolated country. In the course of years 
 intermarriages occurred, and the worship of Jehovah, 
 which lingered for a time, became more and more degen- 
 erate, until it was repudiated by the returning exiles. 
 Jerusalem itself was left desolate (2 Kings 25. 9-11). 
 The destruction was intended by the Babylonians to ren- 
 der the place uninhabitable. The Temple, palaces, and 
 walls were thrown down, and the city, as much of it as was 
 possible, was burned. 
 
 Yet the ruined city, at least for a time, continued to be 
 regarded by the Jews as their holy city. Worshipers took 
 their mournful way to the sacred site to offer their sacri- 
 fices (Jeremiah 41. 5). Doubtless there were priests who 
 directed and encouraged this worship. Ezekiel (33. 23- 
 29) expresses his conviction that the Jews left in Pales- 
 tine, although they outnumber the exiles, cannot again 
 build up Jewish civilization. They worship idols, commit 
 
IN THE WAKE OF THE EXILES 131 
 
 acts of violence, do not observe the ceremonial laws in the 
 killing of animals, and make unlawful marriages. Eze- 
 kiel expects that these Jews will be utterly extinguished. 
 Jeremiah's assertion that the land is without inhabitants 
 (44. 22) does not correspond to the probable and known 
 facts. Both prophets, however, expected little from those 
 who were living in the desolate villages and towns, which 
 were infected with the same abominations that had pro- 
 voked the destruction of the city. Little could be expected 
 from those who dwelt in "strongholds and caves." 
 
 The Exiles in Babylonia 
 
 The true succession of Israel's history and religion rests 
 with the Babylonian exiles. But the course of higher re- 
 ligion advanced against heavy odds. There was little op- 
 pression of the exiles. As in Egypt, they lived in their 
 own self-governing communities. There were opportuni- 
 ties of agriculture and trade, and wealth multiplied. 
 Added to these physical inducements to forget their past 
 home, the belief was prevalent that Jehovah had forsaken 
 his land and retired to some distant northern throne 
 (Isaiah 14. 13 ; Ezekiel 1. 4). Many of the exiles, consider- 
 ing the fate of Samaria, must have given up hope of a 
 return to Palestine. It was the task of the clearer-visioned 
 to encourage their countrymen to interpret the past ca- 
 lamities and to awaken hope of a restoration to the land 
 of their fathers. 
 
 Depression and Despair of the Exiles. — Lamentations, 
 chapters 2 and 4, were written by one of the Babylonian 
 exiles in the years immediately following the destruction 
 of Jerusalem. Eead 2. 1-10. Note the desolation that 
 has befallen Jerusalem : "A cloud" covers "the daughter of 
 Zion," "the beauty of Israel" is "cast down," her palaces 
 are "swallowed up," the city's gates are sunk in the ground, 
 the Temple is destroyed. Observe in these and in similar 
 expressions the writer's passion for the city and Temple. 
 Have we met this love for Jerusalem and the sanctuary 
 in any previous study? Who is the author of this ca- 
 lamity? Observe the respect for the king. What is the 
 
132 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 effect of this catastrophe upon the exiles? (2. 6, 9, 10). 
 Observe especially what is said in 2. 10 about the prophets. 
 These are the "false prophets" of whom we have studied 
 in earlier lessons. Why are they now visionless? What 
 has occasioned this terrible blow from Jehovah ? Consider 
 here 2. 14 and reflect whether the writer was not one of 
 those who, before the city fell, believed in the attitude and 
 message not of Jeremiah but of the "false prophets." 
 This song reflects the transition from the old popular 
 conception of the relation of Jehovah and Israel to the 
 ideals of the great prophets, especially Jeremiah and Eze- 
 kiel, who declare this relation to be ethical, and, therefore, 
 that nothing but righteousness on the part of the people 
 would insure its continuance. To was this view that Je- 
 hovah himself "swallowed up Israel," not the nation's con- 
 querors, which saved ethical religion from perishing from 
 the earth. 
 
 Lamentations 4 pursues the same theme. There are 
 striking touches of the horror of the siege and sack of 
 Jerusalem. Does the author specify the sins that have 
 provoked Jehovah to punish the state? What makes the 
 writer so sure of his statement in 4. 22 concerning the 
 Hebrew exiles? Examine closely these two dirges and 
 consider the author's expectation of Israel's restoration to 
 Palestine. 
 
 The author of Psalm 137 probably witnessed the de- 
 struction of Jerusalem and was carried to Babylon in 586. 
 Note here, too, the affection for Jerusalem, even in her 
 ruins; the feeling that Jehovah cannot be worshiped in 
 Babylonia; and the hope of punishment for their con- 
 querors. Would you say this Psalm breathes the despair 
 of a hopeless exile? There are, perhaps, other Psalms 
 springing from the drear experiences of the Exile, but the 
 historical background of these songs of piety is usually so 
 dimly sketched that they cannot be used confidently for 
 this period. 
 
 Ezekiel's Prediction of a Judgment of Nations. — Eze- 
 kiel at no time experienced the hopelessness of the writers 
 of these dirges. He believed in a restoration to Palestine. 
 
IN THE WAKE OF THE EXILES 133 
 
 He believed that the first step in Jehovah's program of 
 restoration would be the punishment of the nation that 
 had contributed to or rejoiced at Jerusalem's downfall. 
 There is not space enough to study Ezekiel's denunciation 
 of these nations, but the earnest student will wish to read 
 them. 
 
 (a) Ammon (25. 1-7); Moab (25. 8-11); Edom (25. 
 12-1 k) ; Philistines (25. 15-17). — These peoples are to be 
 devastated because they have exulted and, in the case of 
 Edom, assisted at the downfall of Judah. The defense- 
 less condition of Judah was Edom's opportunity to re- 
 venge itself against the Hebrew. The more fertile ter- 
 ritory of Judah attracted the Edomites, and after the fall 
 of Jerusalem they pressed into southern Palestine, seized 
 the land, and harried the people. Ezekiel 35 is a second 
 doom pronounced by the prophet against this nation. In 
 35. 10 Ezekiel claims that the devastated country is still 
 Jehovah's country and under his immediate care. 
 
 (b) Tyre and Sidon (26-28).— Tyre is to be utterly de- 
 stroyed because it rejoiced at the destruction of Jerusa- 
 lem. The student should read at least 26. 3-6. (The 
 daughters of Tyre in verse 6 are the city's outlying vil- 
 lages.) Bead especially 28. 25, 26 for the definite state- 
 ment that judgment first must fall upon all those nations 
 which have done Israel despite before Jehovah will return 
 the people to their and his land. 
 
 (c) Egypt (Ezekiel 29).— What is the sin of Egypt? 
 (29. 3, 6, 9). Observe that the punishment of Egypt is 
 exile (29. 12), and that, although a restoration is prom- 
 ised (29. 13), the nation henceforth will play a common- 
 place role. A little more than sixteen years lie between 
 29. 1-6 and 29. 17-21. Note the latter section, in which 
 Ezekiel acknowledges that his prediction of the destruc- 
 tion of Tyre was not fulfilled. However, he stills clings 
 to his belief in the destruction of Egypt; but subsequent 
 history did not carry out Ezekiel's expectations. 
 
 Ezekiel Promises a Return of the Exiles to Jerusalem. 
 — Jehovah indeed had destroyed Jerusalem, but he pur- 
 posed likewise to restore his scattered people to their land. 
 
134 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 (a) EzeTciel SJf. — Greedy shepherds — that is, princes, 
 priests, and prophets — have slain and scattered the flock, 
 Israel. Jehovah, the Good Shepherd, will gather the sheep 
 from distant hill and mountain and bring them again to 
 their pasturages in Palestine. Observe especially 34. 23- 
 31. What very important details of the restored nation 
 are given? 
 
 (b) EzeTciel 36 is a magnificent prophecy of restoration. 
 Observe especially 36. 16-21, stating that Judah's calami- 
 ties are well deserved, and 36. 22-32, which declares that 
 the return to Palestine is determined, but not because of 
 the people's merits. What motive moves Jehovah to this 
 restoration? What assurance is given that the people 
 hereafter will be able to merit this mercy of Jehovah? 
 Observe that Ezekiel, like Jeremiah, sees that the springs 
 of genuine ethical religion are in the soul of man. Note 
 that, after the restoration and the enjoyment 'of the new 
 blessings, a new vision of their iniquitous past will insure 
 their loyalty to Jehovah (36. 31). An experience of 
 Jehovah's mercy will deepen the consciousness of sin. 
 
 (c) EzeTciel 37. — A prophecy of the resurrection of the 
 nation. Again Ezekiel seeks to awaken the hopes of his 
 fellow exiles. He concedes that the nation is dead in the 
 scattered sons of Israel. But Jehovah is not limited by 
 such disaster. Dry bones can be brought to life when he 
 wills. Observe (verse 11) that these dead are not individ- 
 uals in their graves, but the symbol of the hopelessness of 
 the living exiles. The graves of verses 12, 13 are likewise a 
 similar figure of speech. Note also that Ezekiel expects 
 the exiles of the northern kingdom to share in this restora- 
 tion. Ezekiel must have known of descendants of the 
 Samaritan exiles, who might share in the return. The 
 scattered peoples of both kingdoms are to be united into 
 one nation. What details of the new kingdom are given 
 in verses 24-28 ? 
 
 The Destruction of the Babylonians Predicted. — Eead 
 Isaiah, chapters 13 and 14. Ezekiel appears never to have 
 predicted the overthrow of the Babylonian Empire; and as 
 time passed, the hopes he had awakened were mingled with 
 
IN THE WAKE OF THE EXILES 135 
 
 gloom. It became evident that the Babylonian policy 
 contemplated no rebuilding of the Hebrew state. At the 
 same time there was evidently a growing weakness in the 
 Babylonian kingdom. These two facts stimulated the 
 prophets to predict the downfall of Babylonia as a neces- 
 sary prelude of the restoration of the Hebrew nation. 
 
 Babylon was captured by the Persians under Cyrus in 
 538 B. C. These chapters apparently are from an unknown 
 prophet a few years before the capture of Babylon. .Ob- 
 serve that Jehovah is marshaling an army not of Jews but 
 of aliens to devastate Babylon (13. 2-5). These alien hosts 
 are his "consecrated ones." They are assembling in the 
 mountains, and their hosts, marching upon Babylon, will 
 strike consternation and dismay into the proud Baby- 
 lonians, who have devastated Jehovah's city and carried 
 his people captive. The mountains are the land of Media, 
 from conquering which Cyrus led his armies into Baby- 
 lonia. The day of Jehovah (13. 9-22) is a time of dire 
 and overwhelming judgment upon Babylonia. These 
 "sinners" of Babylon are so wicked that the whole world 
 must surfer for their iniquity. 
 
 "I will make the heavens to tremble, 
 And the earth shall be shaken out of its place/ 9 
 
 (IS. 13.) 
 
 Here we meet the beginnings of the apocalyptic literature 
 which figures so largely in later Messianic prophecies. 
 Notice the fierce cruelty that the prophet believes the 
 Babylonians will surfer : men thrust through by the sword, 
 children dashed in pieces, and women ravished. The per- 
 manent desolation of the city is assured. It shall be the 
 abode of satyrs, wolves, and jackals. Cyrus, contrary to 
 this prophet's expectation, seems to have treated Babylon 
 with unusual consideration. The city was not destroyed, 
 and the inhabitants were not dealt with harshly. 
 
 Isaiah 14. 9-23 possesses exceeding interest. It is one 
 of the earliest references in the Old-Testament literature 
 to life after death. Human beings who die pass into an 
 underworld deep below the surface of the earth where 
 
136 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 they have acted their noble or unworthy parts. The de- 
 scent of the Babylonian king, the great oppressor of na- 
 tions, as this prophet regards him, stirs the whole under- 
 world into excitement. His fellow kings of the past re- 
 mind him of his weakness and rejoice at his humiliation. 
 They assure him that nothing less than "the uttermost 
 parts of the pit" await him who would not "loose his 
 prisoners to their home" (14. 17). They reproach him, 
 too, that his body has not had honorable burial (14. 19). 
 With this description of the underworld should be com- 
 pared EzekiePs judgment of the nations (32. 18-32), in 
 which the dead of various nations are grouped together 
 in Hades. The more culpable nations, from Ezekiel's 
 point of view, occupy the lower depths of the underworld. 
 In both these passages there is no conception of individual 
 immortality with moral awards according to life on earth. 
 The immortality is group immortality, and life after death 
 is conceived for all in gloomy terms. 
 
 Summaey 
 
 The wonder grows that the destruction of Jerusalem did 
 not silence the worship of Jehovah and end the rise of 
 ethical religion in the world. This lesson sets before us 
 the critical situation of the kingdom of God at this period 
 of the world's history. Palestine, though not stripped of 
 Hebrews, ceased to develop the religion of the fathers. 
 The contribution to the world's civilization of those who 
 remained in the land was slight indeed. Those who fled 
 into Egypt, though they continued to worship Jehovah and 
 multiplied in numbers, appear to have exercised no influ- 
 ence at least for several generations upon the development 
 of Judaism. It remained for those in Babylon to cherish 
 the achievements of the past, to reflect upon the meaning 
 of their calamities, to hold steadfastly to their faith in 
 Jehovah, and to follow the gleam that he flashed into their 
 expectant souls. 
 
 We have seen in Psalm 137 and in the two dirges from 
 Lamentations that the exiles generally, under the instruc- 
 tion of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, recognized that the destruc- 
 
IN THE WAKE OF THE EXILES 137 
 
 tion of Jerusalem was a judgment upon Israel's sins. But 
 the catastrophe was so overwhelming, and the exultation 
 of the nations so pronounced that there was no hope of 
 deliverance and restoration. Then there arose a series of 
 prophets whose services to ethical religion are inestimable. 
 They kept alive the faith of their countrymen in Jehovah 
 as the one true God. He had not been discredited but 
 exalted in the destruction of Israel. His program for 
 the future is a new Israel exalted above her enemies and 
 rising loftily over her own checkered history. This is the 
 service Ezekiel rendered the world. After him at least 
 three unknown prophets, one of whom is the author of 
 Isaiah 13 and 14, and two others, to be considered in the 
 next chapter, continued this ministry of faith and hope. 
 
 Stairways to Higher Civilization 
 
 No hour is dark enough to put out the torch of hope. 
 There is no need that hope ever should be extinguished 
 utterly in any man. Again and again evil ascends the 
 throne of an age, a nation, a man's own soul; but as long 
 as man feels that evil is a tyrant and usurper, the dawn 
 trembles to light the world. 
 
 The civilization of our dreams — the day of justice and 
 righteousness and love among men — can neither come nor 
 abide until man's "stony heart" gives way to a "heart of 
 flesh." This heart of flesh — this inner life of the soul — 
 is the spring of all programs of human welfare. Until 
 man loves supremely and wisely, all sagely devised insti- 
 tutions are in vain. Man's inner life never will be il- 
 lumined to see the larger welfare and never will be 
 strengthened to strive for it and maintain it until he 
 works in fellowship with God. ' There is no social welfare 
 apart from religion. 
 
 The dreamer is the builder of civilization. The man 
 who sees clearly the church and state that ought to be 
 alone knows the immediate practical thing to do. Many a 
 Christian and many a church stagnates to-day because 
 there is no commanding program. If you would make 
 your life buoyant and significant, decide what you would 
 
138 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 like to be or ought to be in ten or twenty years from to-day. 
 If you would have your church a vital factor in your com- 
 munity, determine what your church ought to be accom- 
 plishing in the next half century to maintain its intel- 
 lectual, social, and moral leadership of the community. 
 See the distant scene, and the path of the hour is il- 
 lumined. 
 
 Eemember that it is sheer optimism that saves the world, 
 Ezekiel simply would not consider defeat. Jesus in no 
 wise considered that crucifixion spoiled his plans. Huss 
 saw the fires of a world reformation in the flames that 
 burned his body into ashes. He who exclaims, "What's 
 the use ?" is a cumberer of the earth. Optimism will out- 
 law intoxicating drinks the world round, will give woman 
 her long-delayed economic and civil rights, will toll the 
 death of war, will reorganize righteously the economic 
 life of the world. Do not forget that God has a program ; 
 he is not being defeated by the foolish rebellion of men. 
 Trust and obey him, and the better days will the sooner 
 dawn. 
 
 Questions fob Discussion 
 
 1. Why was the destruction of Jerusalem a turning point 
 in Hebrew religion? 
 
 2. What made these years of Jewish exile such a critical 
 period in the world's civilization? 
 
 3. Did the destruction of Jerusalem advance the cause of 
 religion? 
 
 4. What would have been the probable course of Hebrew 
 religious life had the integrity of the state been preserved? 
 
 5. Why were the Jews who fled to Egypt so slightly influ- 
 ential in the further development of Hebrew religion? 
 
 6. What conditions during the exilic period were unfavor- 
 able to the maintenance of the worship of Jehovah among the 
 Palestinian Jews? 
 
 7. Since the rise of prophetism was essential to the con- 
 tinuance and development of Hebrew religion in the exilic 
 period, what conditions in Babylonia favored the appearance 
 of those prophets who became the saviors of religion? 
 
 8. Why did the Jews, neither in Egypt nor in Palestine, 
 produce prophets? 
 
 9. To what does the author of Lamentations (chapters 2 
 and 4) attribute the downfall of Jerusalem? 
 
IN THE WAKE OF THE EXILES 139 
 
 10. According to Ezekiel what is the first act of the drama 
 of the restoration of the Jewish state? 
 
 11. What political organization does Ezekiel conceive neces- 
 sary for the new state? 
 
 12. To what extent is Ezekiel's conception of Sheol bor- 
 rowed from or influenced by Babylonian ideas? 
 
 13. To what extent does this study of the exile impress you 
 with belief in the supreme watch and guidance of God in 
 the affairs of men? 
 
 WOBKS OF REFEBENCE 
 
 History, Prophecy, and the Monuments, McCurdy, Volume 
 III, Book XI, Chapters IV, V. 
 
 Jerusalem, Smith, Volume II, pages 266-94. 
 
 The Religious Teaching of the Old Testament, Knudson, 
 pages 385-90. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 TWO NAMELESS KINGDOM BUILDERS 
 
 The armies of Nebuchadnezzar, the Chaldean king of 
 Babylon, had plundered and destroyed Jerusalem in 586 
 B. C. At his death in 562 his son Amil-Marduk (Evil- 
 merodach; 2 Kings 25. 27) ascended the throne. The 
 Biblical statement (2 Kings 25. 27-30) that he liberated 
 Jehoiachin and provided royally for the dethroned king 
 is all that is known of this monarch's reign. Amil- 
 Marduk was assassinated, and his brother-in-law Nergal- 
 sharezer ascended the throne. The latter king, follow- 
 ing the policy of Nebuchadnezzar, checked the hope that 
 the liberation of Jehoiachin awakened among the exiles. 
 In 556 Nergal-sharezer died, and after a few months' rule 
 by his son the Chaldean house ended in this youth's 
 assassination. Nabonidus, a Babylonian, then ruled the 
 destiny of the empire. This king was a great restorer 
 and builder of temples and seems to have neglected other 
 public affairs. But it was a reign of peace and prosperity. 
 During this period the Persians, under Cyrus, arose against 
 the Medes and won the territory that once composed a 
 large part of the Assyrian Empire. Nabonidus paid no 
 heed to this rising power; and when Cyrus approached 
 Babylon in 538, the city fell into his hands without 
 resistance. • 
 
 Ezekiel's ministry belongs to the earlier part of the 
 period sketched above. Since he uttered no predictions 
 of the downfall of the Chaldean Empire, it is most probable 
 that he did not live beyond the hopes of restoration awak- 
 ened by the liberation of Jehoiachin. From Ezekiel's 
 death until the ascendancy of the Persians became ap- 
 parent, there was nothing to encourage belief in a return 
 to Palestine. Undoubtedly this was a despondent gen- 
 eration. If Israel was not to return to Palestine, then 
 Jehovah's purposes were thwarted, Ezekiel and Jere- 
 
 140 
 
TWO NAMELESS KINGDOM BUILDEKS 141 
 
 miah were mistaken, and there was little use in clinging 
 to their oft-deferred hope and the religions customs of 
 their fathers: they might as well succumb to the in- 
 evitable destiny and mingle in the civil and religious life 
 of the Babylonians. 
 
 In this dark hour arose the grandest of Israel's seers. 
 Even should there be no return to Jerusalem, Jehovah 
 was still with them and had in them and for them a 
 glorious destiny. Their mission to the world was such 
 that nothing less than this prolonged and hopeless cap- 
 tivity could accomplish it. Those who remained faithful 
 and loyal to Jehovah through their very sufferings and 
 faith, and through these alone, could bear that witness to 
 the alien world which would win their allegiance to Je- 
 hovah and accomplish their salvation. 
 
 The Great Evangelist of the Exile 
 
 His message is preserved in four oracles embedded in 
 Isaiah 40 to 55. These present a portrait of the "servant 
 of Jehovah" and his mission. 
 
 (a) Isaiah J/.2. 1-k- — Observe that somebody is Jehovah's 
 servant, in whom he delights, and in whom is his Spirit. 
 What is the mission of this servant? (verse 1). (The 
 word "justice" used here really means the whole of the 
 beliefs and ordinances of Israel's religion.) Notice the 
 method of this vast undertaking to evangelize the heathen 
 world (verse 2). This evangelist is not to conduct a 
 series of whirlwind tabernacle campaigns; it is a quiet, 
 unobtrusive, intensive, individual propaganda which is 
 here contemplated. Verse 3 indicates that there are ele- 
 ments of faith and goodness even in the midst of the 
 idolatry and superstition of the heathen world, and that 
 these are to be strengthened and fanned into flame, not 
 destroyed by bigotry and egotism. Gentleness and con- 
 ciliation, not harsh reproaches and stern denunciation, will 
 commend the religion of Jehovah. Verse 4 declares the 
 indefatigable zeal of the servant in the pursuit of his mis- 
 sion, which shall not end until the most distant lands have 
 accepted Jehovah's true religion. 
 
142 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 (b) Isaiah k9* 1-6 is the second of these servant songs. 
 Who is the speaker? Who the audience? Note the con- 
 viction of the servant that he is called to his mission by 
 Jehovah from his earliest existence. What prophet held a 
 similar belief ? How is the servant's effectiveness of speech 
 here symbolized? What words declare the certainty of 
 success for the servant's mission to the Gentile world? 
 What is the servant's own opinion concerning the success 
 of his mission? Yet observe that he recognizes that the 
 issue is with Jehovah. Verses 5 and 6 may be rendered 
 as follows: 
 
 "And now is Jehovah minded 
 (Who formed me from the womb to be his servant) 
 To bring Jacob back again 
 And gather Israel unto him; 
 And to me, honored in Jehovah's eyes, 
 And strength receiving from my God, 
 He saith, 'Slight task it is to establish Jacob's tribes 
 And bring back the preserved of Israel; 
 Rather shall you be a light unto the Gentiles 
 And my salvation be unto all the earth/ " 
 
 The student must be impressed by the splendid great- 
 ness of this sentiment. Jeremiah and Ezekiel concerned 
 themselves with the restoration of Israel to Palestine; 
 this servant of Jehovah accepts the teaching of these older 
 prophets that it is Jehovah's purpose to restore exiled 
 Israel to its ancient land. But there is a higher task for 
 the servant of Jehovah than to labor for this restoration. 
 Jehovah himself will perform this in his own good time. 
 He now commits to his servant a far grander enterprise. 
 He is to be Jehovah's light in the midst of vast Gentile 
 darkness; he is to become Jehovah's messenger of the 
 true religion which is the world's salvation. 
 
 (c) Isaiah 50. 1+-9. — This is the third song of the ser- 
 vant of Jehovah. Who is the speaker? Does he have an 
 auditory or is he soliloquizing? Verse 4 expresses the 
 servant's preparation to become the teacher of the heathen 
 world weary with its idolatry. Verse 5 states the servant's 
 
TWO NAMELESS KINGDOM BUILDEES 143 
 
 unquestioned obedience to the divine will, and verse 6 
 describes his willing submission to the insults and suffering 
 inflicted by a misunderstanding heathendom. Yet he was 
 sustained (verses 7-9) by a sublime consciousness of the 
 presence of Him who had called and commissioned him. 
 (d) These servant songs climax in the well-known pas- 
 sage Isaiah 52. 13 to 53. 12. — Here we reach the heights of 
 Hebrew prophecy. 
 
 (1) 52. 13-15.— Who is the speaker? Who are the 
 hearers ? What prediction is made of the servant's renown 
 and destiny ? Verses 14, 15 may be thus paraphrased : The 
 servant's marred and deformed appearance was little cal- 
 culated to commend him to the Gentiles, but his sublime 
 mission makes him the surprise of the nations. Kings 
 shall be awed in his presence, for they shall now perceive 
 things which hitherto they never may have seen or heard. 
 
 (2) 53. 1-10. — Who is now the speaker? The opening 
 question of verse 1 should be, as the marginal reading 
 suggests, "Who could have believed what we have heard?" 
 Jehovah's servant grew up in the presence of the Gentile 
 nations, but there was no attractiveness in him for their 
 eyes. What further statement (in verse 4) is made of 
 the way in which he was regarded by the heathen world? 
 Verse 4 is thus translated in "The New Century Bible": 
 
 "Yet our diseases 'twas he who bore, 
 And our sufferings, he bore their load; 
 While we, we thought him plague-stricken, 
 Smitten of God, and humiliated/' 
 
 What further words describe the vicarious suffering of 
 Jehovah's servant? Observe the gentle, uncomplaining 
 spirit (verse 7) in which this persecuted servant bore his 
 afflictions unto death. The text of verses 8, 9 is not clear; 
 the following probably expresses the meaning: 
 
 "By high-handed oppression was he stricken down. 
 
 Who among his people regarded his death? 
 
 Yet for their transgressions was he smitten. 
 
 His grave was made among the sinful and wealthy, 
 
 Although he was guiltless of violence and deceit." 
 
144 THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 Yerse 10, also confused, may be expressed thus : 
 
 "It was Jehovah's will to crush him 
 And to make him an offering for sin; 
 Yet his life shall not end, he shall behold posterity, 
 And the purpose of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand." 
 
 (3) 53. 11, 12.— The speaker now changes. Who is he? 
 The text here too is uncertain. The following is perhaps 
 the general sense : 
 
 "Through the travail of his soul shall he see the light sat- 
 isfying; 
 By his knowledge shall my servant bring many to right- 
 eousness; 
 The burden of their iniquities shall he bear. 
 Therefore, shall he receive his portion among the great 
 And have his share of spoil with the strong, 
 Because he poured out his soul unto death 
 And let himself be reckoned a transgressor. 
 Yet it was the punishment of the many which he bore 
 And for transgressors that he interposed." 
 
 The Servants of Jehovah 
 
 The heights of ethical religion are reached in the servant 
 songs of the older of these two unknown prophets living 
 in the latter half of the Babylonian exile. It is impera- 
 tive to determine who is to be understood by "the servant 
 of Jehovah." Many Christian writers have thought these 
 utterances were a prediction of the life and work of Jesus. 
 That this interpretation does not do these writings justice 
 is evident from any consideration of the meaning of He- 
 brew prophecy. Those great men who lifted Hebrew wor- 
 ship into ethical monotheism were not concerned about 
 the precise details of far-off events. Distant scenes were 
 not their concern. They were the interpreters of cur- 
 rent events to their own generation. It would not have 
 been of supreme inspiration to the Babylonian exiles to have 
 brought to them a foretelling of the life of Jesus, who was 
 not to be born for more than five hundred years. Nothing 
 
TWO NAMELESS KINGDOM BUILDERS 145 
 
 less than a counsel or a hope for immediate use .would 
 avail. This servant, now proclaimed to them, must be 
 one in their own times or he could not be of immediate help 
 to them. 
 
 Since there has been preserved the name of no in- 
 dividual of the Exile who in any measure could have war- 
 ranted such an ideal eulogy or achieved such a heroic 
 service, we must dismiss the thought that this servant of 
 Jehovah is an individual. The Second Isaiah's polemic 
 against idols and his thrilling summons to his people 
 to shake off the notion of Jehovah's impotence and indif- 
 ference reveal the danger to which Israel was subjected 
 in foreign lands. Undoubtedly thousands of Jews, dis- 
 couraged by repeatedly blasted hopes, must have drifted 
 into conformity with the religious and political prac- 
 tices around them. But there were others, hoping in the 
 midst of despair and meditating upon the nation's past, 
 who were molded into a true Israel in the midst of 
 heathenism. 
 
 This true Israel, misunderstood and persecuted by their 
 conquerors and adversely judged by those Jews who had 
 conformed to Babylonian life, is Jehovah's servant. It is 
 this group of exiles to whom this author speaks. He 
 wished them to understand their own high mission in 
 the world. Theirs was a vicarious suffering. The afflic- 
 tions they bore were not penal alone. There rested upon 
 them the grossness of religious beliefs and practices of 
 the whole world. They were the teachers and the atoners 
 of mankind. Eeligion at its loftiest is to put aside one's 
 immediate glory and destiny and, suffering the afflictions 
 that selfishness ever thrusts upon altruism, to go forth 
 even unto death and proclaim in heroic deed the sublime 
 satisfaction won in loyalty to one's ideal. Israel's mis- 
 sion was not to found a state but to convert a world to 
 the holy and righteous God, whom the prophets from Amos 
 to Ezekiel had proclaimed; it was to sweep away from 
 the nations the gross idolatry, the senseless ritual of div- 
 ination, sorcery, and sacrifice, and to fill human life with 
 glad acceptance of an ethical and spiritual Deity's will. 
 
146 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 Everyone who grasps this thinker's dream of mission- 
 ary service will be thrilled by its grandeur. It is little 
 wonder that his contemporaries could not follow him, and 
 that, later, Judaism found no place for his universalism. 
 It may be truthfully though regretfully said that to have 
 carried any considerable proportion of his countrymen with 
 him would have been disastrous. His age was not yet 
 ready for such a conception of religion and life. Jesus 
 of Nazareth, who sought to make this ideal the basis 
 of his kingdom, was put to death. His teaching, still too 
 lofty for the world, was distorted by his followers. Nor is 
 our age truly ripe for this dream. Yet civilization will 
 not shine with its fullest splendor until some great nation 
 deliberately sacrifices itself for truth, righteousness, and 
 peace. Bigotry, egotism, greed, reliance upon physical 
 strength, and longing for material goals are the curse of 
 modern nations. Let some great nation arise in the spirit 
 of this nameless evangelist and sacrifice all for the sake 
 of the brotherhood to be, and the world then, and not until 
 then, will be the kingdom of the Christ. 
 
 Deutero-Isaiah 
 
 The fortieth to the fifty-fifth chapters of Isaiah, with 
 the exception of the sections studied above, usually are 
 assigned to another nameless prophet of the Babylonian 
 exile, who, for want of a better name, is called Deutero-, 
 or Second, Isaiah. These prophecies were probably com- 
 posed between 546 and 538 B. C. Their author included in 
 his book these servant passages, the work of an earlier 
 prophet. The mission of this prophet was to quicken among 
 his people the hopes of a speedy deliverance from exile and 
 a return to Jerusalem. How did he undertake this task ? 
 
 (a) Deliverance from exile and restoration to Palestine 
 is at hand. Examine Isaiah 40. 1, 2; 51. 5, 12-14; 52. 
 7-12 and observe the need of such a message to relieve the 
 despondency of the exiles. How speedily does this prophet 
 expect the Exile to end? There is a short song (48. 20, 
 21) that, when rendered properly into English, conveys 
 
TWO NAMELESS KINGDOM BUILDEES 147 
 
 the spirit of urgency and expectancy characteristic of this 
 prophet. Verse 20 may be rendered thus : 
 
 "Go forth from Babylon, 
 Flee from the Chaldees; 
 With loud song proclaim it, 
 These tidings make known, 
 
 Send it forth 
 To the end of the earth: 
 Say, 'Yahweh hath ransomed 
 Jacob his slave/ " x 
 
 (b) Nearly a generation had passed since Ezekiel had 
 aroused their hopes of release, but the restoration was as 
 far off as ever. What assurance could be offered that this 
 new prophet, like Ezekiel, was not mistaken ? This Second 
 Isaiah urged upon his despondent, questioning countrymen 
 these considerations: 
 
 (1) The might and wisdom of Jehovah. — Read 40. 12- 
 17, 22, 26, 28; 42. 5, 13-17; 44. 6; 45. 9-13; 46. 13; 52. 9. 
 Observe the claims that are made for Israel's God. To 
 what extent would such beliefs be difficult for these exiles ? 
 When once accepted, what bearing would they have upon 
 their religious practices? upon their hopes of return to 
 Jerusalem ? 
 
 (2) The righteousness and holiness of Jehovah and his 
 love for Israel. — Read 41. 1-20 and observe the gracious 
 words in which doubting Israel is assured of Jehovah's 
 love and yearning to deliver his people from their dis- 
 tresses. Israel is Jehovah's people; even in exile he has 
 not cast them away. See, similarly, 43. 1-13 ; 44. 1-8 ; 49. 
 14-26. Jehovah's very holiness and righteousness impel 
 him to fulfill his ancient purpose to magnify his people 
 Israel. 
 
 (a) Granting these truths, the prophefs auditors yet 
 would ask him how these things were to come to pass. The 
 gods of the Chaldeans had shown their power over Israel's 
 God in the sack of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and in 
 
 »«The New Century Bible.'! 
 
148 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 this prolonged captivity. There was no hint of liberation 
 in the Chaldean policy. To this the prophet answered: 
 
 (1) The gods of the Chaldeans, of the entire non- Jewish 
 world, are powerless in the presence of the one true God, 
 Jehovah. Read 40. 19-26 ; 46. 8-10 and many similar ut- 
 terances in this prophet's oracles for his repeated and 
 varied affirmations that Jehovah alone is Master of the 
 nations. Note the proof offered of this superiority of 
 Jehovah in 41. 21-24. The Chaldean gods, not seeing the 
 approaching fall of Babylon at the hands of Cyrus, have 
 uttered no warning. Jehovah alone sees the coming doom 
 of the Chaldean Empire. Let the Chaldean gods show 
 their might by their foresight. Their very silence in this 
 crisis proves their impotence. Let Israel not fear them, 
 but trust Jehovah and be filled with courage and hope. 
 
 (2) The Chaldean Empire is doomed (lt8. Ik; Jf7. 1-15; 
 lf9. 24-26). The nations are in the hand of Jehovah (40. 
 15). 
 
 (8) The people, deceived by the peace and prosperity of 
 the Chaldean Empire under Nabonidus, did not conceive 
 this destruction possible. Our prophet points to the ris- 
 ing power of Persia under Cyrus and declares that he is 
 Jehovah's anointed to break the power of Chaldea and to 
 liberate the Jews from Babylon. Read 41. 2, 3, 5 ; 44. 28 ; 
 45. 1-6; 45. 13; 46. 11; 48. 14, 15. State what is said 
 about the successes of Cyrus, the relation of his victories 
 to Jehovah's purposes, his attitude to the exiled Jews, 
 and his services in their behalf. 
 
 (d) Some of the prophet's auditors, remembering the 
 teaching of other prophets that the Exile was their pun- 
 ishment for sin, must have pointed out that they dared 
 not hope for such high favor from Jehovah. Read 40. 2; 
 43. 22-28; 44. 21, 22; 54. 1-10 for the prophet's answer. 
 Does he palliate his nation's sins? Does he preach that 
 the Exile has been a punishment for sin? Does he think 
 that Jehovah is indifferent to sin? Why, then, does he 
 assure his countrymen of liberation ? 
 
 (e) The future state.— Read 42. 6-8; 43. 3-8; 44. 5, 
 26-28; 45. 13, 14; 49. 22, 23; 54. 11-14; 55. 5. What is 
 
TWO NAMELESS KINGDOM BUILDERS 149 
 
 the future mission of Israel? What is to be the nation's 
 attitude to the Gentiles? Does the author expect a com- 
 plete restoration of Jews to Palestine? What details are 
 given of the expected life in Palestine ? 
 
 In turning from the prophet of the servant passages to 
 Deutero-Isaiah one feels that he has dropped from the 
 heights. Yet somehow, in this practical world, an ideal if 
 too splendid does not grip mankind. It takes the ideal 
 to move the actual, but it is usually the modified dream 
 of a great thinker which a statesman undertakes to write 
 into laws and embody in institutions. The Second Isaiah 
 was no mere drudge. He too was moved by glittering 
 visions of the ought-to-be. But he realized clearly that 
 scattered exiles must be gathered again into a state in 
 order that Jehovah religion should continue in the world. 
 He too regarded Israel as the servant of Jehovah, but the 
 mission was in Palestine and not among the nations. It 
 required a state, and not a church, at this period of civil- 
 ization to carry forward the torch of religious progress. 
 The man who can put foundations under his air castles 
 is ever needed by the world. 
 
 Summary 
 
 In these two nameless prophets of the Exile we have two 
 widely divergent views of Israel's future. The author of 
 the servant songs does not emphasize a return to Pales- 
 tine. It is not there that Israel is to fulfill her mission. 
 It is not as a state but as a missionary that the Jewish 
 people henceforth are to follow their destiny. Her suffer- 
 ings no longer are penal but vicarious. By patience, 
 faith in Jehovah, loyal acceptance of his will, and un- 
 wearied proclamation of his righteousness, the exiles are 
 to win the heathen world to him. For this purpose the 
 nation has died and in the undertaking of this universal 
 evangelism the nation will rise again into a new and un- 
 dreamed glory. 
 
 The second prophet puts this high and difficult mission 
 aside. Israel is to go back to Palestine. This marvelous 
 deliverance of his people from the apparently certain de- 
 
150 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 struction in a foreign land will draw the attention of the 
 nations to Jehovah's grandeur, wisdom, and sovereignty. 
 Nations that Israel has never known will come submis- 
 sively to Jerusalem to learn the ordinances of Israel's 
 God. 
 
 Foe the Quiet Hour 
 
 What a hollow thing is fame beside the rendering of 
 great service ! The author of the noblest utterance of the 
 non-Christian world is unknown. His message of evan- 
 gelism made little appeal to his dejected fellow exiles. 
 His soul was too big for them. The light that gleamed so 
 gloriously in him was too distant a star to light him into 
 earthly immortality. His name, uncherished of men, is 
 hid with God. 
 
 Must not every great religious experience seek to utter its 
 message to others? Can genuine religion be other than 
 missionary and evangelistic? You can measure your re- 
 ligion not by your honesty, church attendance, or the cor- 
 rectness of your creed, but by your passion to infuse the 
 spirit of your knowledge of God into individuals and in- 
 stitutions far and near. 
 
 Do you realize the far vicariousness of human life ? Are 
 you an employer of labor? Do you recognize how much 
 of your success is due to the men who work for you ? Do 
 you give them a just share of the profit of your common 
 toil? You who are employees, do you bear in mind that 
 your employers have taken from you some of the bur- 
 dens that you otherwise would carry? Life everywhere 
 is an intricately woven web. Let us try not to harden 
 ourselves against others but to understand how much we 
 must bear one another's burdens in an ideal civilization. 
 
 Ideals, unless they are embodied in deeds and insti- 
 tutions, are no more than dreams which mock us in our 
 sleep. Deutero-Isaiah, although he missed the fine lift 
 of soul of this earlier seer, realized that the state is essen- 
 tial to an ordered civilization. He set himself to create 
 out of his despondent countrymen a new social order to 
 be realized in Palestine. His passion ever must be our 
 
 
TWO NAMELESS KINGDOM BUILDERS 151 
 
 teacher. Do not suppose that your prayer for righteous- 
 ness will avail unless you set yourself like flint against 
 evil. Be a dreamer but be a fighter too. Smash the saloon, 
 strike militarism till it dies, cry out against our present 
 social order of economic injustice until ruthless competi- 
 tion and unjust division of the profits of toil are replaced 
 by Christian brotherhood; count greed a snake and scotch 
 it pitilessly ; push civic cutthroats to the wall ; give woman 
 the suffrage and rescue her from the brute passions of 
 lust. Be a builder of the ideal state. Take great views of 
 God and help to regenerate the world. 
 
 Questions foe Discussion 
 
 1. Consider briefly the mission of the great prophets. To 
 what extent were they interested in far-off events? In gen- 
 eral, when they discussed the future, what motive led them 
 to forecast the course of events? What events did they pre- 
 dict? To what extent were their predictions fulfilled? What 
 was the great motive that impelled them in their ministry? 
 
 2. What political events suggested to the author of the 
 servant passages the need of such sermons? Whom was thfs 
 prophet seeking to serve by these messages? 
 
 3. Who is the servant of Jehovah? What new conception 
 of religion is here proclaimed? 
 
 4. What influence had this idea upon the world's religious 
 life? 
 
 5. What contribution does this author make to the problem 
 of human suffering? 
 
 6. State the various arguments offered by the Deutero-Isaiah 
 to overcome the despondency of the Babylonian exiles. 
 
 References fob Additional Study 
 
 History, Prophecy, and the Monuments, McCurdy, Volume 
 III, Book XI, Chapter VI. 
 
 Isaiah, Smith, Volume II, "Expositor's Bible," Chapters XVI, 
 XVIII-XX. 
 
 History of Religions, Moore, Volume II, page 29f. 
 
 Isaiah and His Times, Driver, pages 175-84. 
 
CHAPTEE XV 
 
 TASKS AND HOPES OF THE EETUENING 
 EXILES 
 
 Babylon fell into the hands of Cyrus in 538 B. C. His 
 first acts did not disappoint the hopes of the Deutero- 
 Isaiah. In the British Museum there is a baked-clay cylin- 
 der inscribed with an account of the capture of Babylon 
 by Cyrus. The account states that Marduk, the god of 
 Babylon, "furiously angry" at Nabonidus, the Chaldean 
 king, searched through all lands for a righteous prince 
 unto whom he might deliver Babylon. His choice fell 
 upon Cyrus. Together they marched to Babylon, and 
 Marduk delivered the city into the hands of Cyrus without 
 a blow. The first act of the new king was to send the gods 
 whom Nabonidus had gathered out of the cities of his 
 empire back to their respective dwelling places. This 
 act of his, recorded in the Baylonian annals, witnesses to 
 his general purpose to promote the local religious interests 
 of his realm. Cyrus also reversed the Assyrian-Baby- 
 lonian policy of transplanting conquered peoples and per- 
 mitted those who wished to return home to go back to 
 their former habitations. 
 
 It is a debatable question what numbers of the exiles 
 set out from Babylonia to rebuild the city of their fathers 
 at Jerusalem. Undoubtedly such as wished to return were 
 free to depart. The first generation of exiles had passed 
 away. The second generation knew no other home than 
 the fertile fields and magnificent cities of their conquerors. 
 Without question the exilic population had increased under 
 these favorable conditions of life. Not even the splendid 
 enthusiasm of the Second Isaiah was able to inspire a 
 large company to forsake the easier conditions of life to 
 undertake the difficult mission of rebuilding the city and 
 reestablishing their ancient religion among the bare mpun«» 
 
 153 
 
TASKS OF THE RETURNING EXILES 153 
 
 tains so dear to their fathers. But some responded with 
 courageous zeal to the appeal to turn again to Palestine. 
 This chapter traces the events of the first years of the 
 returning exiles. 
 
 The First Return of Exiles From Babylonia 
 
 Cyrus and the Exiles. — Deutero-Isaiah's expectation that 
 Cyrus would give the captive Jews the opportunity to re- 
 turn to Jerusalem was fulfilled. Not only were they given 
 permission to go back to Palestine, but Cyrus gave orders, 
 also, that their Temple at Jerusalem should be rebuilt. 
 He dispatched Sheshbazzar, one of his officers, to escort 
 the returning exiles and to supervise the settlement at 
 Jerusalem. Read the first chapter of Ezra. Cyrus issued 
 his decree in 538 B. C. 
 
 Among the apocryphal books of the Old Testament is 
 1 Esdras, or, as it is sometimes called, the third book of 
 Ezra. With some variations this book parallels our bibli- 
 cal Ezra. It is not improbable that 1 Esdras 5. 1-6 pre- 
 serves a fragment of a Jewish account of the journey to 
 Jerusalem; 1 Esdras 5. 1, 2 reads: 
 
 "After this were the chiefs of fathers' houses chosen to 
 go up according to their tribes, with their wives and sons 
 and daughters, with their manservants, their maidser- 
 vants, and their cattle. And Cyrus sent with them a thou- 
 sand horsemen till they had brought them back to Jeru- 
 salem safely, and with musical instruments, tabrets and 
 flutes." 
 
 This is a likely description. Cyrus would wish them 
 securely settled in their own land, and the return itself 
 awakened lively hopes in those who made the venture, and 
 the tedium of the journey may well have been relieved 
 by abundance of music. See also Ezra 2. 65 for a refer- 
 ence to professional musicians. 
 
 Character and Number of the Eepatriated. — Ezra 2 
 lists the people who came back to Jerusalem in 537. A 
 great deal of controversy has been raised over the num- 
 bers, and there have been attempts to adjust the discrep- 
 ancy in the accounts as given in Ezra 2; Nehemiah 7. 6- 
 
154 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 73 ; and 1 Esdras 5. 7-45. The number of those returned 
 probably was fewer than the figures given by Ezra 2. Ob- 
 serve, however, the various persons here listed : the leaders 
 (Ezra 2. 2), the laymen (2. 3-35), Temple officials (2. 36, 
 37), and those of doubtful Jewish descent (2. 59-63). 
 Among the leaders Zerubbabel and Jeshua (Joshua; Haggai 
 1.1) were chief. In the list of returning exiles Temple offi- 
 cials take a leading place. Examine Ezra 2. 36-62. Here 
 are named priests, Levites, singers, porters, and Nethinim. 
 The distinction between priest and Levite is interesting 
 and important. Students of earlier lessons in this course 
 will recall that in the time of the judges and under the 
 monarchy sacrifices customarily were performed by the head 
 of the family. As the sanctuaries became more elaborate, 
 caretakers were needed, who in time took over the offering 
 of sacrifice. The office eventually became hereditary, and 
 a fictitious ancestor, Levi, was provided for them, and 
 priests were called Levites. See Judges 17. 6-13. 
 "Levite" here means simply one who was trained in the 
 manipulation of the oracle. The man in question be- 
 longed to the tribe of Judah. At this period the Levite 
 apparently does not offer the sacrifice. Micah as head of 
 the household continues this function. Deuteronomy 18. 
 1, which expresses the situation in the seventh century, 
 calls all priests "Levites." By this time the Levites, or 
 priests, had charge of the sacrifices. Josiah's reform in 
 621 B. C. attempted to bring all the country Levites to 
 Jerusalem and put them on the same footing with the 
 Temple Levites. For some reason this was not accom- 
 plished. See Deuteronomy 18. 6-8 for the purpose of the 
 reformers and 2 Kings 23. 8, 9 for the failure to place the 
 country Levites on an equality with their city brethren. 
 The first distinction between priests and Levites is made 
 by Ezekiel. See Ezekiel 44. 10-16. Here the priests are 
 still called Levites. But the Levites of Jerusalem, the 
 descendants of Zadok, who championed Solomon's candi- 
 dacy for the throne (1 Kings 1. 38, 39), alone are re- 
 garded true priests by Ezekiel and in his plan of restored 
 Temple worship are to have the right of offering sacrifice. 
 
TASKS OF THE RETURNING EXILES 155 
 
 The country Levites are made menials of the Temple. 
 EzekiePs reason for this distinction is not historically 
 true. The reader will recall that country and city sanctu- 
 aries alike practiced the worship that Ezekiel here con- 
 demns. By the end of the Exile this inferiority of the 
 Levites was established, and, consequently, there was great 
 reluctance among them to return to Jerusalem, where the 
 subordination would receive greater emphasis. 
 
 This is the earliest mention of a professional class of 
 singers in Jewish worship. It is not probable that any 
 such class of persons existed before the Exile. It was dur- 
 ing the Exile that the practice arose of employing mu- 
 sicians in worship. Their task at the period of the re- 
 building of the Temple was to conduct the music of the 
 Temple services. The porters, or doorkeepers, were to be 
 placed in charge of the entrances to the Temple. They 
 probably were caretakers as well as keepers of the en- 
 trances. All the earlier sanctuaries must have had their 
 guardians. The position was a humble one. This is evi- 
 denced by the Psalmist, who exclaimed: 
 
 "I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, 
 Than to dwell in the tents of wickedness" (Psalms 84. 
 10). 
 
 The Nethinim were the lowest in rank of all the minis- 
 trants at the Temple. Little is known about them. It 
 has been conjectured that they were slaves and probably 
 foreigners. Temple slaves were a common feature of 
 Babylonian life. Later they disappear from Jewish life. 
 
 The Work op Zerubbabel and Joshua 
 
 Read the third chapter of Ezra. On reaching Pales- 
 tine the people seemed to have settled in Jerusalem and 
 the surrounding towns (Ezra 2. 70; 3. 1). What was 
 the first public act of the returned exiles ? Who were the 
 leaders in this work? Which of the two is regarded the 
 more important? See also Haggai 1. 1. In the light of 
 past chapters what written law of Moses was in the pos- 
 session of these altar builders? Ezra 3. 3 is a corrupt 
 
156 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 text. Batten proposes heroically to substitute a variant 
 reading of 1 Esdras 5. 50, as follows: "And they erected 
 the altar upon its own place" (that is, where it had stood 
 in the court of Solomon's Temple) ; "and there were 
 gathered unto them some from other nations of the land, 
 and they were well disposed toward the altar, and they 
 aided them, and they, offered sacrifices at the proper sea- 
 son aud burnt offerings to Jehovah night and morning." 1 
 This situation of good will of the mixed residents of Pales- 
 tine toward the efforts of the Jewish community is not 
 improbable. Observe carefully the reestablishment of the 
 various religious festivals of Israel's earliest life in Pales- 
 tine. The daily sacrifices are now more elaborate than 
 formerly. See 2 Kings 16. 15. 
 
 After establishing the sacrificial ritual what was the 
 community's next concern? What preparations were 
 made? To what extent were the measures for rebuilding 
 the Temple carried out? What inference may be drawn 
 as to the extent of the destruction of the city in 586 B. C. 
 and the desolation of the intervening years? How much 
 time had elapsed since the destruction of the Temple until 
 the foundations were now laid? Eead Ezra 4. 1-5 and 
 state the obstacles that now arose to prevent the comple- 
 tion of the Temple. What insight is here given into the 
 religion of Palestine during the past half century? Who 
 are these people whose help was declined ? The rebuilding 
 of the Temple, begun so joyously in 536 B. C, now dragged 
 along until 520 B. C. (A great deal of confusion runs 
 through this whole period from the return to the days of 
 Ezra and Nehemiah, and the course of events here fol- 
 lowed is not free from objection.) Cyrus died in 529. 
 Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, was a profligate despot, guilty 
 of many atrocious deeds; and, therefore, his interest in 
 Jewish Temple building was little indeed. It was not 
 until Darius Hystaspis came to the throne of the Persian 
 Empire that Jewish hopes again revived. At the accession 
 of Darius, 521 B. C, the Persian Empire was threatened 
 
 1 "International Critical Commentary," page 109. 
 
TASKS OF THE EETUENING EXILES 157 
 
 with dissolution. Various provinces nearly succeeded in 
 setting up independent kingdoms. It was under such 
 circumstances, which seemed to fulfill the Messianic pre- 
 dictions of Ezekiel (chapters 25 to 32), that Haggai and 
 Zechariah, prophets of the Jewish community in Palestine, 
 aroused their countrymen to undertake with new zeal the 
 rebuilding of the Temple. 
 
 The Mission of Haggai 
 
 Eead Ezra 5. 1, 2. To whose inspiring leadership was 
 the new effort to complete the Temple due? This was in 
 520 B. C. Who are now in charge of the Jewish com- 
 munity? Eead Haggai 1. What position is now held by 
 Zerubbabel? Zerubbabel was the grandson of Jehoiachin 
 and was therefore a prince of the house of David. It is 
 not known when he was made governor. What was Hag- 
 gar's position in the community? Observe the words by 
 which the people excuse their failure to complete the Tem- 
 ple. Verse 2 should run: "This people say, 'The time 
 has not come for Jehovah's house to be built.'" What 
 led the people to this conclusion ? What was Haggai's re- 
 tort? What insight is given into the economic conditions 
 of the past sixteen years? What is Haggai's explanation 
 of this poverty? Did the people acquiesce in his inter- 
 pretation of their wretched condition? What motive in- 
 duced Zerubbabel and his countrymen to undertake anew 
 the work of rebuilding? 
 
 Eead Haggai 2. 1-9. A month or two of building re- 
 vealed the magnitude of the task and the slenderness of 
 their resources. Solomon's Temple, destroyed sixty-six 
 years previously, was remembered by a few of the oldest 
 members of the community, and the new building seemed 
 to be nothing in comparison. The workers were dis- 
 heartened. What is Haggai's message at this state of 
 affairs ? In what way will the glory of the second Temple 
 surpass the first? Eead 2. 10-19. This sermon was deliv- 
 ered a few weeks after the previous discourse. Again dis- 
 couragement was hindering the work on the Temple. What 
 
158 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 was the source of this depression? In the previous dis- 
 course Haggai declared that if the people would be strong 
 and labor diligently, Jehovah would be with them. He 
 promised also abundance of wealth to enrich and adorn 
 the Temple. In 1. 9-11 what is the evidence which 
 Haggai offers of Jehovah's favor? If no change occurred 
 in the material conditions of the community since the 
 Temple began to be rebuilt in 520, would this continued 
 lack of prosperity discourage the builders? Note the ar- 
 gument of Haggai to encourage his countrymen: "Your 
 own negligence and coldness in the past, like contact with 
 a corpse, has rendered your sacrifices objectionable to Je- 
 hovah. His displeasure has been shown in shortage of 
 field and vineyard. But now that you have undertaken 
 the work of rebuilding in earnest you may expect his favor. 
 But since you have but sown your seed, and the grape, fig, 
 pomegranate, and olive are yet far from fruitage, you can- 
 not expect an immediate evidence of Jehovah's favorable 
 disposition toward you. But from this day forward you 
 may count upon his good will and blessing." 
 
 Haggai closes his prophetic ministry with a prediction 
 of the Messianic era. Darius, who followed Cambyses 
 on the throne of the Persian Empire, was embarrassed for 
 a time by a series of revolts in various parts of his domin- 
 ion. It appeared for a time that the Persian Empire would 
 break into pieces. This political situation encouraged 
 Haggai to believe that the Messianic age frequently pre- 
 dicted was to be ushered in. Bead 2. 20-23. Here it is 
 said that Jehovah is shaking heaven and earth and over- 
 throwing the nations. "In that day . . . will I take thee, 
 Zerubbabel, my servant, and will make thee as a signet ; 
 for I have chosen thee." In this veiled language Haggai 
 announces to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, that 
 Jehovah is about to inaugurate the Messianic age and will 
 install him as its Messianic king. Here, as in the ma- 
 jority of Jewish Messianic programs, the people are to do 
 nothing to achieve their own hopes. No social struggle 
 toward the better day is demanded. Jehovah of hosts 
 will accomplish everything. The absence of an evangelis- 
 
TASKS OP THE RETURNING EXILES 159 
 
 tic or missionary spirit in the attitude of Haggai toward 
 the Gentiles is to be noted. 
 
 Othek Religious Ideas of the Period 
 
 The sacred lot. — Examine Ezra 2. 62, 63. As long as 
 there was no direct evidence of the validity of certain 
 priestly claims, an appeal was to be made to Urim and 
 Thummim. Apparently at the earliest period of the return 
 there was no one of the priests regarded as superior in 
 rank to the others. The high priesthood became gradu- 
 ally a recognized office in Israel. Undoubtedly through 
 the eighth and seventh centuries prophetism discounted 
 the appeal to the sacred lot. With no strong prophetic 
 leadership in the restored community the older practice 
 of ascertaining the Deity's will assumed new importance. 
 
 Jurists. — The priests are the custodians and the inter- 
 preters of the law. See Haggai 2. 12. This was an old 
 function, but with the development of fuller codes the 
 priests more and more became the teachers of the com- 
 munity. 
 
 Holiness and uncleanness. — Read Haggai 2. 12, 13. 
 Note the meaning here of "holiness." Holy flesh is flesh 
 that has been prepared for sacrifice upon the altar of Je- 
 hovah. It is holy because it has been devoted to the service 
 of the Deity. As we shall see in later chapters, these holy 
 objects transmit their holiness to other objects by contact. 
 It is probable that the one who carries the flesh in his 
 skirt is a priest. In that case the garment is holy. But 
 the holiness of the garment, getting its sanctity from the 
 sacred flesh, is less holy than the meat for sacrifice. The 
 holiness is weakened in transmission. This holiness of 
 the skirt is so much less that it is not able to infect any 
 object which it touches. A corpse, like sacrificial flesh, is 
 taboo, and for the same reason. Both alike are dangerous. 
 One must not offend the Deity by any commonness of 
 treatment of anything which belongs to him; nor must 
 one treat carelessly the spirit of the dead, which is be- 
 lieved among primitive peoples to hover near the body until 
 dissolution of the flesh takes place. Hence, among primi- 
 
160 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 tive people there is no distinction between holiness and 
 uncleanness. Both are an expression of the fear that the 
 spirit, whether of man or deity, offended by lack of re- 
 spect, will revenge himself upon the thoughtless or the 
 daring. Holiness and uncleanness alike are dangerous 
 properties of persons and things which can be passed on 
 by contact. Holiness in time came to have an ethical 
 meaning and then found an enduring place in the termin- 
 ology and ideals of religion. 
 
 Timeless Tkuths 
 
 Think of the vast community of interests in which the 
 affairs of any people are involved. A Median prince's 
 ambition to rule the world unbarred the world's first 
 ghetto and made possible the resurrection of Jewish re- 
 ligion. No nation lives unto itself. Patriotism is the im- 
 mediate enemy of universal brotherhood. When any coun- 
 try's nationalism overrides its sense of loyalty to civiliza- 
 tion, that nation becomes a menace to mankind. For the 
 thoughtful man the world has become a neighborhood. 
 The quarrels of Europe, the mastery of the Far East, the 
 lift of superstition from uncivilized Africans, the spiritual 
 sterility of the Mohammedan world, are problems as near 
 the citizen as the unsanitary stench of the alleys in his city 
 or civic corruption in his town government. Our world 
 has become a universe, and a true man possesses a uni- 
 versal mind. The joys and the sorrows, the successes and 
 failures, of all peoples are his concern. 
 
 This postexilic community exhibits the barrenness of a 
 society that possesses no prophets. The chief power of a 
 prophet is his clear, ethical vision. Beside righteousness 
 the remainder of man's achievements shrinks to nothing- 
 ness. Such men have a program. Progress is an open 
 road. They possess a sense of sureness which crowns them 
 with leadership. As long as we seek God's will wholly 
 in the writings of the past, as did these returned exiles, 
 there will come no aggressive leadership among us. In 
 order that we may advance his kingdom, God ever must 
 seem to us expectant to reveal to us his new purposes. The 
 
TASKS OF THE RETURNING EXILES 161 
 
 voices that guide us must not call to us out of the past; 
 they must flash their summons upon us out of radiant 
 dawns. The past is dead ; the future alone is alive. Civil- 
 ization still wears its swaddling clothes. The universe is 
 young and undiscovered and summons us to put forth our 
 spiritual caravels from ancient ports and steer boldly into 
 the unknown. 
 
 It is a weakness of religion that it clings to material evi- 
 dences of its validity. The returned exiles were dismayed 
 by poor harvests. Even Haggai could offer no other evi- 
 dences of Jehovah's good will than full granaries and over- 
 flowing wine vats. The Temple could not help but be long 
 building and would not be permanently significant in such 
 a circle of ideas. Examine your own ideas of what are the 
 marks of your heavenly Father's good will. Does this evi- 
 dence of favor consist in a full purse, a splendid position, 
 a growing business, or a robust health ? Then you belong 
 to the life of those far-off centuries. Measured by such a 
 test, Pilate was dearer to God than Christ, Nero more re- 
 ligious than Paul, Cesare Borgia a greater saint than Savon- 
 arola, and Tetzel a greater kingdom builder than Luther. 
 It is not health of body but wholesomeness of soul, not 
 riches in the bank but wealth of moral convictions, not 
 the flattering attention of the press but that likeness of 
 soul which fits one to care for Christ, which are the supreme 
 marks of God's gracious relation to man. 
 
 Guides to the Mastery of the Lesson 
 
 1. What conditions in Babylonia made possible the return 
 of Jewish exiles to Palestine? 
 
 2. What motives induced some of these exiles to return to 
 Jerusalem? What reasons persuaded others to remain in 
 Babylonia? When did the return take place? How many 
 made the journey at this time? Who were the leaders? 
 
 3. How many priests are said to have returned? Levites? 
 State the history of the use of the term "Levite." Why did 
 not more Levites return to the land of their fathers? 
 
 4. What political organization did the restored community 
 possess? What were the relations of the returned exiles to 
 the inhabitants of Palestine? What is known of these older 
 residents? 
 
162 THE BELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 5. What is Zerubbabel's connection with the' new Jewish 
 state? Why did Haggai so intimately associate him with the 
 Messianic kingdom? 
 
 6. Estimate Haggai's services. What resemblances does he 
 present to older prophets? What are the defects of his ideas? 
 
 7. Why do the priests assume such importance in the post- 
 exilic community? The sacrificial conception of worship is 
 established more firmly than ever: why were the people so 
 little influenced by the prophetic idea of religion? 
 
 8. Why did so many years elapse before the building of the 
 Temple was completed? What is the accepted evidence of 
 Jehovah's favor? What is the defect in this conception? 
 What was Haggai's contribution to ethical religion? What is 
 his conception of the Messianic kingdom? 
 
 References foe Supplementary Reading 
 
 Jerusalem, Smith, Volume II, pages 291-304. 
 
 Article "Haggai," in Dictionary of, the Bible, Hastings. 
 
 The Postexilic Prophets, Bennett, pages 65-78. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 FKOM ZECHAEIAH TO NEHEMIAH 
 
 The rebuilding of the Temple, begun by the exiles who 
 returned in 536 B. C, slackened or ceased until 520, when 
 the despondent community, stimulated by Haggai, began its 
 task with new devotion. Zechariah, whose prophecies were 
 uttered 520-518, brought the dejected workers new inspira- 
 tion. Encouraged by the faith of these two prophets, 
 Zerubbabel and Joshua led their people to the completion of 
 the Temple in 516 B. C. From this date until the arrival 
 of Nehemiah in 445 B. C. the political history of the Jews 
 is obscure. It is reasonably certain, however, that the book 
 of Malachi and the prophecies found in Isaiah 56 to 6Q 
 reflect the discouragements, hopes, and beliefs of this 
 period. 
 
 The Teaching of Zechariah. — Zechariah's interest is in 
 the Messianic kingdom. Like Haggai he believes that the 
 rebuilding of the Temple is the first essential of the rise 
 again of Jehovah's rule in Palestine. Jehovah's residence, 
 in the thought of Israel's leaders, was not fixed again in the 
 Temple, but the Temple was the one acceptable place to 
 meet him and was the visible manifestation of his favor. 
 To rebuild the Temple, therefore, was the immediate pre- 
 lude of the Messianic kingdom. 
 
 The Messianic Kingdom. — (a) The shaking of the na- 
 tions. — Eead 1. 7-21. If you keep in mind that Ezekiel, the 
 Second Isaiah, and Haggai had expected that a shaking 
 of the nations would precede the advent of the golden age 
 in Israel, the meaning of Zechariah's first vision becomes 
 clear. Two or three months previously Haggai had sought 
 to encourage the Jewish community by asserting that a 
 shaking up of the nations within a little while would be the 
 hour chosen by Jehovah to set up his Messianic rule. But 
 political disturbances, instead of increasing, grew less. 
 
 163 
 
164 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 Darius succeeded in quelling revolts in various parts of his 
 empire. The Jews, who had come to expect catastrophic 
 disturbances as the prelude to a new Jewish age, again 
 became downhearted. Although the four horsemen who 
 patrol the earth report that the nations are at rest, Zech- 
 ariah declares that Jehovah is none the less displeased 
 with the nations and exceedingly jealous for the pros- 
 perity of Jerusalem. The prophet implies that the shak- 
 ing up of the nations is not abandoned but only tempo- 
 rarily delayed. 
 
 (b) The Messianic kingdom is founded upon righteous- 
 ness. Read 1. 3-6. Zechariah reminds his countrymen 
 that the word of the prophets who declared that righteous- 
 ness is the foundation of the state has been vindicated by 
 the afflictions that have fallen upon the Jewish people. Zech- 
 ariah does not charge his own community with specific 
 evils; but he assures his hearers that ethical holiness and 
 loyalty to Jehovah are essentials to his favor. 
 
 Read 3. 1-7. The filthy garments of Joshua symbolize 
 the defilement of the sanctuary and the priesthood by the 
 heathen during the exile. The people themselves, by their 
 contact with non-Jewish worship and by life in other than 
 Jehovah's land, likewise have become filthy. The filthy 
 garments of the high priest are symbolical of this iniquity 
 and they must be stripped from him to make him accept- 
 able to Jehovah. Joshua is assured that if he is faithful 
 to Jehovah and carefully maintains the services of the 
 Temple he shall be placed in permanent authority over the 
 Temple and shall be the representative of the people in 
 dealing with Jehovah. Read 5. 1-4. This vision of the 
 flying roll is Zechariah's assurance that Jehovah will purge 
 sinners — thieves and perjurers — from the Messianic state. 
 
 Read chapter 7. Here the true spirit of prophecy reap- 
 pears. A deputation came from Bethel to Jerusalem to in- 
 quire whether certain fasts should be observed. The visit 
 may have been occasioned by a threat of famine or by some 
 other possible misfortune. We do not know what the 
 priests of Jerusalem answered. But Zechariah implies that 
 it matters little to Jehovah whether they fast or not. Fasts 
 
FROM ZECHARIAH TO NEHEMIAH 165 
 
 and sacrifices, he says, were observed by the people for 
 themselves; they had no bearing in the determination of 
 Jehovah's purposes. They ought to have known better than 
 to raise such an inquiry. Former prophets had spoken 
 clearly enough. They had repeatedly taught the people 
 that Jehovah does not ask sacrifice. He requires justice, 
 kindness, and a daily effort to know and to obey his will. 
 He asks that men shall show compassion to their unfor- 
 tunate fellow men. The weak and dependent members of 
 the community — the widow, the orphan, the sojourner, and 
 the poor — must be the loving care of those placed in a more 
 stable social position. It is such spirit and action which 
 win the favor of Jehovah and guarantee his help in the pro- 
 motion of the peace and prosperity of the state. It is right- 
 eousness rather than ritual which enlists the help of Je- 
 hovah. It is to be noted that, according to Zechariah, the 
 Messianic age does not depend on Jehovah alone ; it is con- 
 ditioned upon the energetic practice of social righteousness 
 in Israel. 
 
 Read chapter 8. The prophet here adds some details of 
 the manner of life in the new age. Jehovah takes up his 
 residence in Jerusalem, which is to be called the city of 
 truth. Mount Zion, because of Jehovah's residence, will be 
 known as the holy mountain. In the open spaces of the 
 city men and women of advanced age shall spend their last 
 years in the quiet enjoyment of life, and the streets will ring 
 with the shouts of boys and girls at play. In 2. 1-5 the 
 prophet adds another touch to his portraiture of a peaceful, 
 prosperous city. In 8. 6-8 the complete restoration of the 
 exiles scattered in far countries is promised. Verses 12-15 
 are an assurance of agricultural prosperity in the coming 
 golden days. The people of Jerusalem and Judah must not 
 fear: Jehovah has sufficiently punished his people. His 
 purpose now is to do good to his people. Verses 16 and 17 
 require, as a prerequisite of the coming and the continu- 
 ance of the better day, that the people shall speak the truth, 
 establish justice in all their dealings, and refrain from every 
 unworthy thought and action in all their human relation- 
 ships. 
 
166 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 The Messiah. — Examine 3. 8-10. What term here de- 
 scribes the Messianic prince? The reference -undoubtedly 
 is to Zerubhabel. The verb translated "I will bring forth" 
 indicates an act taking place in the immediate future. Ob- 
 serve (4. 4-14) that Zerubbabel, although the sovereignty 
 of the people is divided with Joshua, is the leader of the 
 community and in charge of the completion of the Temple. 
 See, further, 6. 11. The text here has been altered. One 
 crown was to be made and it was to be placed upon the head 
 of Zerubbabel. This is clear from the fact that "the 
 Branch" is to build the Temple. This person, as we have 
 seen already, is Zerubbabel. In verse 13, instead of "and 
 he shall be a priest upon his throne," read "and Joshua shall 
 be priest upon his right hand." Thus, the new state will 
 have its double rulership : Joshua at the head of the system 
 of worship, and Zerubbabel, Jehovah's prince, to enforce 
 the divine government. 
 
 (a) Other religious ideas of Zechariah. — Jehovah's gov- 
 ernment of the world: Read again 1. 7-15. Where is 
 Jehovah's residence ? How does he keep in touch with the 
 world? Observe the very important statement in verse 
 15. This is the first hint in Old-Testament literature that 
 the good and evil in men and nations were not directly 
 authorized by Jehovah. Zechariah asserts that the nations 
 that chastised Israel exceeded their instructions. Is Je- 
 hovah conceived as dwelling so far above the human world 
 that he does not know its happenings until his ministers 
 inform him? Or could he not prevent these nations in 
 the furtherance of their ends? Note in many places the 
 use of angels in the divine administration. What condi- 
 tions warranted the introduction of these new concep- 
 tions ? 
 
 Examine 3. 1-3 for another new character. Who is this 
 Satan, and what is his business? What conditions made 
 possible this addition to Jewish religious ideas? 
 
 Observe that (in Haggai and Zechariah) Joshua is 
 named continually as the head of the priestly community. 
 Zechariah goes further and lifts the chief priest into the 
 high priesthood, which plays such an important role in 
 
FROM ZECHARIAH TO NEHEMIAH 167 
 
 later Judaism. See 3. 5, 8 for additional witness of the 
 growing importance of this office. 
 
 (b) Zechariah's fine hopes were doomed to disappoint- 
 ment. There was no tumult of nations. Darius set his 
 empire in better order, and his provinces were ruled in 
 peace. Zerubbabel did not wear his crown, and there is 
 no hint anywhere what became of him. The Temple was 
 completed; but if Jehovah came to dwell in it, there was 
 no outward golden age of righteousness or material splen- 
 dor to witness to his presence. For the next half century 
 the Jewish community struggled on bewildered and dis- 
 heartened. There is no record in Jewish literature of this 
 period. (It is possible that Ezra 4. 6 is an authentic his- 
 torical note. This states that at the beginning of the reign 
 of Ahasuerus — that is, Xerxes, 486-465 — somebody accused 
 by letter the people of Judah and Jerusalem before the 
 Persian emperor.) But there ever must have been a faith- 
 ful band to keep hope alive. Somewhere in the earlier 
 half of the fifth century, 475-458, there appeared another 
 prophetic voice in the silence and the darkness to witness 
 to the ideals of true religion. 
 
 Malachi 
 
 Malachi means "my messenger," and the word, there- 
 fore, may not be the name of the writer and speaker of the 
 messages of this book. 
 
 Social Disturbances. — There are at least three leading 
 evils that vitiate the religious life of Israel in Malachi's 
 day, which Jehovah will visit in judgment: 
 
 (a) The community has grown careless and indifferent 
 to the Temple worship. For Malachi, as for Haggai and 
 Zechariah, the Temple is the center of the nation's life. 
 Like theirs, his interests are greater than the worship at 
 the Temple, but he recognizes its exceeding importance 
 in these troublesome times. Read 1. 6-12 and note that 
 religion is not a dominant interest in the community. Of 
 what does Malachi accuse the priests? In what way does 
 he justify his accusation? Observe his fine perception 
 that heathen worship really is offered to Jehovah; ancl 
 
168 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 that, because pagan peoples offer their worship sincerely 
 and devotedly, although they suppose it is rendered to 
 their pagan gods, Jehovah receives it more favorably than 
 he does the half-hearted, disloyal worship of Jerusalem. 
 The people equally were remiss. Of what are they accused 
 in 1. 13, 14? What other neglect of worship is denounced 
 in 3. 8, 9? 
 
 (b) But this is not all: The old preexilic social distinc- 
 tions are reappearing, and the common weal is disregarded 
 by the strong: (1) Observe the priestly duties out- 
 lined in 2. 5-7. How have priests, custodians, and 
 teachers of the law fulfilled their responsibilities? Note 
 the charge in 2. 8. (2) Consider the foreign marriage 
 and divorce. Examine 2. 11 and state Malachr's objection 
 to marriage with non- Jewish women. Read 2. 13-16 for 
 the prophet's protest against divorce. In what words does 
 he describe the grief of the divorced wives? (3) Of what 
 other evils is the community guilty? (3. 5, 6). 
 
 (c) There is yet a worse count against Israel: Some 
 have grown skeptical regarding the love of Jehovah and 
 the worth of religion. Examine 1. 2; 2. 17; 3. 14, 15 and 
 state the nature of this doubt. What has produced this 
 skepticism? What is Malachr's answer? (1. 2-5; 3. 16 to 
 4.3). 
 
 The Messianic Kingdom. — (a) The day of Jehovah. — 
 As with the older prophets Jehovah's visit in judgment is 
 rather upon Israel than upon the nations which have af- 
 flicted the Jew. Jehovah will appear suddenly in his 
 Temple (3. 1), but his appearance will be a grievous visita- 
 tion. Examine 3. 1-6 ; 4. 1-6 and state the time, the man- 
 ner of its coming, the purpose and the results of this judg- 
 ment day. Why is Elijah thought to be the forerunner of 
 this visitation? 
 
 (b) The promise. — Examine 3. 16, 17; 4. 2, 3 and ob- 
 serve the cleavage here indicated in the Jewish community 
 and the promise that the pious, faithful members of the 
 state shall rise into control of those before whom they now 
 are abashed. What is the destined end of those who now 
 neglect or despise Jehovah's ordinances? 
 
FEOM ZECHAEIAH TO NEHEMIAH 169 
 
 Isaiah 56-66 
 
 Chapters 56 to 66 in the book of Isaiah come from one 
 of the dark hours of Jewish history. We cannot be cer- 
 tain of their authorship. They have been spoken of by 
 some as the prophecies of "the Third Isaiah." We will 
 not have time to examine them all. 
 
 (a) The dark hour. — First read Isaiah 56. 9 to 57. 13 
 for a stern denunciation of selfish and sensuous leaders 
 of the community and of religious practices with which 
 true ethical religion could have nothing to do. What sins 
 are denounced in Isaiah 56. 9-12? Examine 57. 1, 2 
 and state some of the results of misrule. See also Isaiah 
 59. 1-5 for another statement of the crimes of the leaders 
 of the community. Examine attentively 57. 3-10 and 
 observe the manifold accusations of debased worship. Sor- 
 cery, unbridled sexual license in the name of worship at 
 the high places, sacrifices to non-Jewish deities, phallic 
 rites, and necromancy are here denounced. Read also 
 65. 3, 4, 11 ; 66. 17 for an additional list of ancient super- 
 stitions and pagan modes of worship. These were no re- 
 cent importation into Palestinian life. They were partly 
 old Canaanitish practices, which never had been eradicated 
 from the life of the common folk, and partly the worship 
 of the non-Jewish people settled in Palestine during the 
 decadent period of the Jewish state. In this period of 
 despair and through mixed marriages they had crept into 
 Judaism. 
 
 (b) The coming dawn. — This prophet believes that such 
 conditions cannot endure. The wicked rulers and apos- 
 tate worshipers shall be destroyed (59. 18; 60. 18; 65. 6, 7, 
 11, 12). But fortunately there is another class in the 
 Judean community. For those faithful loyal servants of 
 Jehovah — the true Israel in the midst of these dark times 
 — Jehovah's judgment brings prosperity and peace. See 
 65. 9, 10, 17-25 for pictures of the restored Jewish state. 
 Chapters 60 to 62 are a series of songs glorifying the Mes- 
 sianic age. They are worth examining attentively. A 
 Redeemer is to come to Zion (59. 20), and Jerusalem is 
 
170 THE KELIGION" OF JUDAH 
 
 exhorted to exalt herself in the glory of Jehovah. What 
 are the elements of this golden age ? Exilic Jews and wan- 
 dering Gentiles shall resort to Jerusalem (60. 3, 4) ; the 
 wealth of the world shall stream into Palestine (60. 5- 
 17); injustice and misrule shall have ceased (60. 18). 
 State the striking conception of this City of God in 60. 19- 
 22. Who is the speaker in 61. 1-3 ? To whom does he speak 
 in 61. 5-7? In 61. 10, 11 restored Israel voices her hap- 
 piness. The prophet (62. 1-5) again resumes his predic- 
 tions of the golden age and declares that he will not cease 
 his preaching until the Messianic times dawn. 
 
 Summary 
 
 This lesson is a survey of the religious life of the Pales- 
 tinian Jews during the extremely despairing years from 
 the rebuilding of the second Temple (520-516) to the 
 arrival of Nehemiah (445). During these seventy-five 
 years the outward fortunes of the community have not im- 
 proved. Within the Jewish state two parties have arisen: 
 one with its liking for non-Jewish religious practices, its 
 disregard for justice and righteousness, its pride and 
 skepticism, and its reliance upon ritual at the expense of 
 righteousness; the other represented by the prophets, who 
 cling to Jehovah, worship him in the spirit of the old 
 Deuteronomic reformers, and believe that Jehovah will 
 reward them and justify himself by an approaching ad- 
 vent to judgment upon the nations and upon Jerusalem. 
 
 There are three phases of this judgment program which 
 dominated the thinking of this second party in the days 
 immediately preceding the arrival of Nehemiah : (a) The 
 postponement of the nation's final deliverance from its 
 troubles is due to the prevalence of evils within the Jewish 
 community at Jerusalem. "Your iniquities have separated 
 between you and your God" (59. 2) is the Third Isaiah's 
 analysis of the community's forlornness and desolation. 
 (b) Jehovah no longer will seek for a human helper to 
 usher in the better day. He alone will deliver his people. 
 "His own arm brought salvation" (59. 16) ; "I have trod- 
 den the winepress alone" (63. 3). (c) While the Jewish 
 
FEOM ZECHAEIAH TO NEHEMIAH 171 
 
 state, having suffered so long at the hands of the nations, 
 is to be ministered unto by the nations, there is an echo 
 of the "servant mission" of the nation. The people shall 
 become a priestly nation : it will be its function to mediate 
 between nations and Jehovah (61. 6). But the transformed 
 city undertakes no distant missions. Gentilic worship is 
 acceptable only when performed at Jerusalem (56. 7). 
 The Temple becomes a universal house of prayer only for 
 those who are drawn to Jerusalem by its glory. 
 
 The Progress of the Kingdom 
 
 There are dark hours for the kingdom builders in every 
 land and age. The modern Christian war cry, "The 
 world for Christ in our generation !" and the rapid po- 
 litical and social changes in non-Christian lands sent a 
 thrill of expectation and the hope of a speedy universal 
 triumph of the kingdom of God into the faintest heart. 
 The world war with the central empires of Europe checked 
 this optimism. There are weary years still to be traversed 
 by the undaunted disciples of Christ. Progress never is 
 thrust upon a man or a people. We progress by becoming 
 progressives. We live by keeping our souls alive to the 
 things worth while. Dark years there will always be for 
 the individual and the nation whose soul is not lit im- 
 periously with the splendor of the world that ought to be. 
 
 Yet no age is hopeless whose darkness is not accepted 
 apathetically. This Jewish half century following the 
 completion of the second Temple, lacking in faith and 
 heroism and wanting great statesmanship, carried at its 
 heart burning protests against social injustice, sensual 
 evils, and formal worship. The man, the city, or the civil- 
 ization whose evils awaken no condemnation within is 
 hopelessly dead. As long as sin arouses the passionate 
 protest of conscience, there is a living chance for God's 
 kingdom to come. 
 
 It seems a little thing to lift only a protesting voice. 
 To draw a sword against unrighteousness seems far more 
 worth while. To frame a law, to hale a criminal into its 
 
173 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 outraged presence, to possess executive power, seems some- 
 thing to be coveted; but to be only a voice crying out 
 against evil in a wilderness of wrong seems so futile. But 
 without unceasing moral protest the legislator draws up 
 his code in vain, the judge in vain calls his court, and 
 vainly does the executive seek to punish evil. Go, then, 
 bravely to your unending moral duty of condemning wrong 
 and praising virtue ; talk earnestly against every individual 
 and community evil. It is your protest that saves society 
 from rottenness and despair. 
 
 We must learn to value in its true proportions bold and 
 vigorous speech in the face of oppression, vice, ignorance, 
 temptation, and soulless tradition. The world learns 
 slowly to admire the patriotism of the social reformer. To 
 brave alone the oppression of a dominant social class, the 
 evils rooted in the habits of a people, the wrongs that 
 enrich the unscrupulous, requires a loftier courage than 
 to swing into battle intoxicated by its danger. The world 
 has seen no finer devotion to duty than the unwelcome 
 messages of the Hebrew prophets. Our civilization often 
 seems coarse and brutal. Measured by our ideals, the race 
 has not journeyed far from savagery. Yet when progress is 
 tested by the tears and the blood of those prophets and 
 martyrs who loved their fellow men enough to brave their 
 ignorant hate unto death, we seem to have reached the 
 hills of heaven. Our political and religious liberty is con- 
 secrated by an innumerable host of heroes. They were 
 not silent in the face of injustice and tyranny. Wicked- 
 ness could not frown them down. Their vision of what 
 ought to be inspired them to denounce existing evils, and 
 their feeling for the oppressed elected them to the general- 
 ship of the straggling army of the common man. 
 
 Test Questions 
 
 1. What is Zechariah's valuation of the sacrificial ritual? 
 
 2. Why were men like Zechariah and Malachi, who saw so 
 clearly the evils of ritualistic worship, so interested in the 
 Temple? 
 
 3. How is the rise of the belief in angels to be accounted 
 for? What is their function? 
 
FKOM ZECHARIAH TO NEHEMIAH 173 
 
 4. What is the position and function of Satan in the gov- 
 ernment of the world? 
 
 5. Why did the prophets so frequently associate the in- 
 auguration of the Messianic era with world-wide political 
 disturbances? 
 
 6. To what extent was the blessed era dependent on human 
 initiative? 
 
 7. How may the fact be accounted for that although the 
 Messianic predictions remained unfulfilled, the hope of the 
 golden age continually reappears in Jewish prophecy? 
 
 8. What prophets thus far studied expected a Messiah? 
 
 9. What are the leading characteristics of the Messianic 
 reign? 
 
 10. Why does the Messianic hope become a more prominent 
 subject of prophecy after the destruction of Jerusalem than it 
 was with the preexilic writers? 
 
 Works of Reference 
 
 Old-Testament History, Peritz, pages 246-53. 
 A History of the Jewish People, Kent, pages 144-66. 
 Jerusalem, Smith, Volume II, Chapter XII. 
 Articles "Angel" and "Satan," Dictionary of the Bible, 
 Hastings. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 NEHEMIAH: BUILDER AND REFORMER 
 
 The preceding chapter carried the story of Israel's re- 
 ligion to the year 445 B. C. The building of the Temple, 
 completed in 516, was followed by an extended period of 
 distress in the Jewish community. Chapter XVI pre- 
 sented the dominant religious ideas and leaders during 
 that period of stagnation. The present chapter is a study 
 chiefly of the mission and achievements of Nehemiah. This 
 man, whose influence was so far-reaching in the develop- 
 ment of Judaism, was one of the Babylonian Jews and 
 a cupbearer to Artaxerxes I, the Persian king. This 
 was a position of great importance and it gave Nehe- 
 miah a rare chance to advance the fortunes of his country- 
 men. 
 
 The order of events at this period is a greatly contro- 
 verted question. Whether Ezra preceded or followed 
 Nehemiah in Jerusalem is a difficult problem. No uni- 
 versally satisfactory solution of the difficulty has been 
 found. The chronological order of their labors adopted 
 here and in the next chapter assigns Nehemiah's first visit 
 to Jerusalem in the years 445-433, his second visit about 
 425, and Ezra's some years later. 
 
 The First Visit of Nehemiah 
 
 Nehemiah, Governor of Judah. — Read 1. 1 to 2. 11. 
 Who was Nehemiah? Where was he living, and what 
 was he doing? What awakened his new interest in Jeru- 
 salem ? The student will observe the emphasis* upon 
 prayer in these memoirs of Nehemiah. It seems to me 
 likely that the memoirs of Ezra and Nehemiah were used 
 by a chronicler to write the book Ezra-Nehemiah, and that 
 he found a brief prayer of Nehemiah's recorded and elabo- 
 rated it into the petition recorded in 1. 5-11. But the 
 
 174 
 
NEHEMIAH: BUILDER AND REFOEMEB 175 
 
 prayer may well express the religious convictions of 
 thoughtful Jews in the midst of the distresses of the mid- 
 dle of the fifth century. Note especially the ideas of deity : 
 character, relation to Israel, and the nature of his demands 
 from his people. Also, observe the explanation of the peo- 
 ple's afflictions. What is the immediate object of this 
 prayer? In what manner was the way opened for Nehe- 
 miah to make his request? What did Nehemiah wish to 
 do? What commission did he receive? What is said of 
 the journey? Sanballat was governor of Samaria at this 
 time, and his opposition expresses the Samaritan antago- 
 nism toward Jerusalem. 
 
 Nehemiah in Jerusalem. — (a) His first measure. — Eead 
 2. 12-20 and explain Nehemiah's need for secrecy and 
 the twofold reception of his prosposal to rebuild the walls. 
 
 (b) The building of the wall and the Samaritan opposi- 
 tion. — The third chapter of Nehemiah, describing the 
 towns and guilds at work upon the fortifications, may be 
 read only by the most studious. Eead chapter 4. What 
 were the first measures taken by the Samaritan party to 
 frustrate the purpose of Nehemiah? To what additional 
 methods did they resort? (4. 8). In what way was this 
 new danger met by Nehemiah? Note again Nehemiah's 
 resort to prayer. 
 
 (c) Further efforts to stop the fortifications of Jerusa- 
 lem (chapter 6). — What was the device of Sanballat and 
 his party to get Nehemiah into their hands ? State the man- 
 ner in which the governor avoided the trap. What was 
 Sanballat's next attempt to overthrow the work of Nehe- 
 miah, and how was the attack met? State the third 
 conspiracy and its outcome. Note especially the character 
 of the numerous prophets at this period. One other at- 
 tempt to thwart the high endeavors of Nehemiah is men- 
 tioned. Consider the statement and explain the purpose 
 of this correspondence. 
 
 (d) The defense and the repopulation of Jerusalem. — 
 In 7. 1-3 it is stated that when wall and gates were com- 
 pletely restored, gatekeepers were appointed, and the city's 
 defense placed in charge of Hananiah, captain of the for- 
 
176 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 tress, and Hanani, Nehemiah' s brother — men of un- 
 doubted trustworthiness. Sentries sufficient to guard the 
 walls were stationed at regular intervals. The city, now 
 that it was secure with walls, became suitable for resi- 
 dence, and Nehemiah called a conference of nobles, rulers, 
 and the people. The chiefs, or rulers, alone seem to have 
 resided within the city at the time of the completion of 
 the walls (11. 1). The people were asked to volunteer to 
 leave their villages to reside in Jerusalem and were highly 
 praised for their sacrifice (11. 2). But not enough volun- 
 teered to satisfy the rulers, and a tenth of the surround- 
 ing population was chosen by lot (11. 1). Since the busi- 
 ness of the Jewish community at this time was almost 
 wholly agricultural, it involved a hardship upon those 
 who lived by daily manual toil to reside in the city. 
 
 The Social Distress of the Judagan Community. — Read 
 Nehemiah 5. These conditions arose after the people 
 were induced to settle in the city and near the close of 
 the twelve years that made up Nehemialr's first visit to 
 Jerusalem. Note the three forms in which the economic 
 distress presented itself to the men and women who suf- 
 fered thereby: overcrowded population, scanty harvests, 
 and the royal tax. What measures were forced upon these 
 poorer people to meet these emergencies ? What especially 
 constituted the bitterness of the situation? In what way 
 did Nehemiah rectify these wrongs ? Note the two classes 
 upon whom Nehemiah laid the responsibility for these 
 intolerable conditions. What rare tribute to Nehemiah's 
 character is given in 5. 8? What incredible perfidy of 
 the Jerusalem nobles is narrated in this same verse? 
 Verse 10 should be corrected to read, "I myself have lent 
 the people money and grain, but I have not accepted inter- 
 est/' What definite demand does the governor now make 
 of the nobles? Observe that the nobles are made to take 
 oath before the priests to fulfill their promise to Nehemiah. 
 What further act of Nehemialr's tended to make certain 
 the restitution of property? State definitely the public 
 service rendered by Nehemiah in supporting the finances 
 of the feeble state. 
 
NEHEMIAH: BUILDER AND REFORMER 177 
 
 The Second Administration of Nehemiah 
 
 Nehemiah, who undoubtedly had remained away from 
 the court of Artaxerxes longer than either he or his mon- 
 arch had anticipated, at the end of twelve years returned 
 to the Persian capital. How long he remained at Susa 
 is not known. Since his royal patron died in 425 B. C, 
 and since Eliashib was still high priest, and Tobiah was 
 still living to arouse the antagonism of the stricter Jew- 
 ish party, Nehemiah could not have been absent from 
 Jerusalem more than four or five years. 
 
 Read Nehemiah 13. 1-9. The task of the stricter Jews 
 to build up the state of their desires was exceedingly 
 difficult. It may be assumed that Nehemiah was not slack 
 in correcting religious and moral abuses during the 
 twelve years of his first governorship. But during his 
 absence a weaker governor was unable to prevent either a 
 neglect of worship and ritual or social injustice on the 
 part of Jewish leaders. The tithes were not paid, and 
 in consequence of this fact certain rooms in the Temple 
 were not in use. Eliashib, the high priest, in violation 
 of a Deuteronomic law (23. 3-5), had altered the interior 
 rooms of the Temple to provide a dwelling place for his 
 kinsman Tobiah. This action was irregular in two par- 
 ticulars: Tobiah was not a priest nor was he a Jew. Ne- 
 hemiah curtly remarks that he was not at Jerusalem when 
 Eliashib made these arrangements. It was short work 
 for the returned governor to eject Tobiah's household 
 stuff from the Temple and restore the rooms for the pur- 
 pose intended. 
 
 The people had grown careless in the presentation of 
 tithes. As a result of the scarcity of revenue the Levites 
 and the Temple singers were forced to leave the city and 
 cultivate their fields. Nehemiah (13. 10-14) compelled 
 the resumption of payment of tithes of grain, wine, and 
 oil, and appointed trustworthy persons to distribute them 
 to the various Temple officials whose support came from 
 such tithes. 
 
 Read 13. 15-22. The energetic spirit and religious 
 
178 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 zeal of the governor is revealed further in his compulsion 
 of a better Sabbath observance. Apparently no distinc- 
 tion was being made between the Sabbath and the other 
 days of the week. Labor in fields and vineyards went on, 
 farmers brought their goods to the city for sale, and even 
 a Tyrian fish market was permitted on the day that, for 
 many centuries, had been designated a day of rest by 
 Jewish law. Nehemiah reproached the leaders for this 
 open violation of Jewish religion and warned them that 
 such conduct would bring upon the struggling community 
 the calamities that the sins of their fathers in earlier times 
 had brought upon Jerusalem. The city gates, by Nehe- 
 miah's orders, were closed during the Sabbath. But the 
 industrious merchants held their markets outside the walls, 
 and the conscienceless citizens went forth and traded as 
 usual. Then Nehemiah threatened them with arrest and 
 punishment, and the evil ceased. 
 
 Eead 13. 23-29. Other laws of Deuteronomy had been 
 set aside by the careless and easy-going community. Jews 
 had intermarried with foreigners, and these mixed mar- 
 riages were not confined to the humble citizens. Even a 
 grandson of the high priest Eliashib had married a daugh- 
 ter of Sanballat, governor of Samaria and one of Nehe- 
 mian's most persistent enemies. The governor applied 
 heroic remedies. He expostulated with the men for their 
 conduct, cursed them, struck some of them, and plucked out 
 the hair of others. The son-in-law of Sanballat was ex- 
 pelled from Jerusalem. Under such persuasion Nehemiah 
 was able to obtain a promise under oath that mixed mar- 
 riages should cease. 
 
 These various reforms — and, undoubtedly, there were 
 many others whose record has not come down to us — 
 indicate the danger into which the Jerusalem community 
 had fallen. There were probably two reasons for this 
 recurring laxness : With the destruction of Jerusalem and 
 the devastation of Judah by the Babylonians neighbor- 
 ing peoples had pressed into Jewish territory. In many 
 cases fields and villages were largely in the hands of the 
 former neighbors of Judah. Carelessness toward Jewish 
 
NEHEMIAH: BUILDEE AND EEFOEMEE 179 
 
 worship naturally would result from the presence of 
 these foreigners. Intermarriage, natural under the cir- 
 cumstances, added to the neglect of Jewish rites. Nehe- 
 miah discovered that there were children of Jews who 
 could not speak the Jewish tongue. Then, too, the re- 
 peated failure of Messianic prophecy tended toward lax- 
 ness of religion. A century had passed since a line of 
 prophets had begun to preach that the dawning of the 
 Messianic age was at hand. These hopes of a grand and 
 blessed Jewish state remained unfulfilled. Naturally, a 
 spirit of skepticism pervaded priests and nobles, and con- 
 sequently they drifted into a selfish pessimism, which con- 
 tented itself with getting out of life the best for them- 
 selves. It was of the highest moment in the progress of 
 Jewish religion that a man like Nehemiah spent a dozen 
 years and more as governor of Judah and maintained an 
 oversight of Jewish affairs through two decades in which 
 the spirit and institutions of Judaism were in greatest 
 jeopardy. 
 
 Attitude of the People Toward Nehemiah 
 
 Nehemiah was an energetic and strong-willed man. He 
 knew what was needed in Jerusalem, and his own patriotic, 
 unselfish, and unflagging devotion to religion enabled him 
 to carry through his reforms. The office of governor, his 
 position in the Persian court, his wealth, his armed re- 
 tainers, and the friends he made among the Levites by his 
 advocacy of their cause all contributed to his success. But 
 he had arrayed against him many of the priests and nobles 
 of Judah. There was much opposition to his ideas and 
 reforms. He made many enemies. There is one fine piece 
 of literary evidence of this opposition which has been 
 preserved for us in the Old-Testament canon. It is the 
 book of Euth. Nehemiah reminded the men of Jerusa- 
 lem that the marriage of Solomon with foreign women, 
 notwithstanding his greatness, was a grievous sin that 
 stained his character. Some priest, scribe, or noble re- 
 plied to this argument by writing the beautiful story of 
 Euth, the Moabitess. Marriage with foreigners cannot be 
 
180 THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 such a great offense, is the argument of this book, for 
 David himself was the descendant of a foreigner. From 
 the house of David we expect our Messianic prince to 
 come. How, then, in the light of this illustrious example 
 of Judah's kings, can our marriage with these foreigners 
 who have come to live among us be so sinful? Whatever 
 we think of the beautiful devotion of Euth, Nehemiah 
 would have seen in this story only the fact that the Davidic 
 line had been vitiated by the introduction of Moabitish 
 blood. 
 
 Summaby 
 
 Nehemiah is the leading figuie of the Palestinian Jews 
 for at least two decades (445-424 B. C). His memoirs, 
 part of which are now incorporated in the Biblical Nehe- 
 miah, possess the highest historical value. They show 
 us the spirit of Judaism at work in its earliest years. 
 Judaism is essentially a religious state, separated by race 
 and by religion from the remainder of the world, this 
 separatist policy being continually fanned by a growing 
 fanaticism for Jewish law and customs. It must be borne 
 in mind, however, that the perils of the Persian, Greek, and 
 Eoman periods of Jewish history, apart from this rise of 
 Judaism, would have crushed the political and religious 
 life of Israel. Therefore, the work of Nehemiah in re- 
 building the walls and the enforced purging of the com- 
 munity of alien elements are of great moment in the devel- 
 opment of the kingdom of God. 
 
 Consider, again, the obstacles overcome by Nehemiah. 
 The high priestly rulers and nobles, intrenched in au- 
 thority and wealth, were indifferent to the Deuteronomic 
 provisions for worship and the welfare of the poorer mem- 
 bers of the community. Many of these leaders, despite 
 remonstrance and warning, continued to marry into non- 
 Jewish families and so endangered the purity of language, 
 blood, and religion. After the destruction of the city in 
 586 B. C, Ammonite, Edomite, Bedouin, and Philistine 
 pressed in upon Judah. To what extent these neighbors 
 occupied the territory of Judah in Nehemiah's day is not 
 
NEHEMIAH: BUILDEK AND REFORMER 181 
 
 clear. But the plans of Nehemiah to give the Jewish state 
 "a place in the sun" awoke the hostility of these foreigners. 
 Into this enfeebled Jewish community, yielding to the 
 pressure of conditions in Palestine, Nehemiah came intent 
 upon building up a compact, righteous, and rigidly Jew- 
 ish state. It was no slight task. That he succeeded lifts 
 him high among the heroes and leaders of the kingdom of 
 God in Israel. 
 
 His contribution to Israel's religion wears at least four 
 aspects: As the builder of the walls, the encourager of 
 the repopulation of the city, and the upholder of strict 
 separatist views, his governorship in Jerusalem was pro- 
 foundly significant in the development of Judaism. With- 
 out a walled city there could be no check to the growing 
 impurity of race and worship. It is apparent from these 
 studies that the Babylonian Jews surpassed the Pales- 
 tinian community in their purer and finer conceptions of 
 religion. The vigorous rule and unflinching self-denial 
 of Nehemiah prepared the way for Ezra and a stricter 
 code by accustoming the Jews of Jerusalem to the deep 
 sympathy and high ideals of the Jews of the dispersion. 
 Then, Nehemiah again asserted the older prophetic identi- 
 fication of religion and ethics. Social justice again was 
 enthroned as the soul of piety. Finally, his exhibit of 
 generous, high-minded, self-reliant, courageous patriot- 
 ism and his devotion to Jehovah, expressed in a life of 
 prayer, loyalty to the Deuteronomic worship, and unstinted 
 self-sacrifice in the working out of Jehovah's purposes for 
 Israel, became a lasting benediction to the Jewish people. 
 More than two centuries later Jesus ben Sirach, reviewing 
 the fortunes of his people (Ecclesiasticus 49. 13), says of 
 Nehemiah : 
 
 "The memorial of Nehemiah is great, 
 
 Who raised up for us the walls that were fallen, 
 
 And set up the gates and bars, 
 
 And raised up our homes again." 
 
 A Blue Print for Modern Builders of Civilization 
 A man is known by his enemies. Never to arouse antag- 
 
182 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 onism is never to produce results. "If it be possible, . . . 
 be at peace with all men," is a Pauline injunction. It is 
 not possible for a man of God to be at peace with all men. 
 Progressives always arouse the distrust and wrath of con- 
 servatives. If you insist upon political righteousness, just 
 courts, equitable distribution of the profits of toil, the 
 abolition of the saloon, prostitution, gambling, and a cor- 
 rupt theater, you will make enemies. Do not worry about 
 them. Thank God that you have enough moral and spirit- 
 ual vision and enough spine to make enemies of this sort. 
 Greed is the chief enemy of the kingdom of God. Evils 
 exist because there is money in them. Selfish grasping 
 at wealth is the chief antagonist of human brotherhood. 
 "To be ministered unto" is the chief motto of far too many 
 who count themselves moral and Christian. This is not 
 the motto of the Christ, nor upon it can be founded an 
 enduring civilization. He who would be great in the civil- 
 ization yet to come must be the servant of his fellow men. 
 
 This is the supreme, essential, and insistent lesson to 
 be learned in the fashioning of great character: Self-re- 
 nunciation is the one open door to immortality. Isaiah, 
 Jeremiah, Nehemiah, Jesus, Paul — what a galaxy of Jew- 
 ish glory! Dare we forget that they won their kingdom 
 by paths of heroic ministry, self-renunciation, the choice of 
 a cause instead of the pursuit of a career? 
 
 How do men become the servants and the saviors of the 
 world? What enables them to rise above petty and mean 
 motives and ambitions ? Is it not the inspiring conscious- 
 ness of a holy cause ? They believe in a program of God. 
 They do not feel that the age — its beliefs and institutions, 
 its good and evil — is final. Seeing this high purpose of 
 God to lift the world into resplendent triumphs, they set 
 themselves to the high cause that has glowed upon them 
 from the love and will of God. Their lives and their 
 labors become consecrated to his purposes. It is this con- 
 sciousness of being God's servants which transforms them 
 into man's saviors. 
 
 There is a vast deal of cowardice in life. Sin flaunts 
 itself upon the streets, violates the laws, lays intolerable 
 
NEHEMIAH: BUILDER AND REFORMER 183 
 
 burdens upon the poor, corrupts the patriotism of the 
 wealthy and the educated; and the prophets who lift their 
 protest are jailed or jeered. We need Nehemiahs : men in 
 high position to champion causes whose opponents are 
 intrenched in wealth, political position, and social pres- 
 tige. Prosperity often kills the prophets, and social func- 
 tions dig their graves. Men are afraid of a minority. 
 They do not taste the joys of great individuality. Let 
 someone with the genius of Milton arise to write another 
 epic of rebellion. Let it not be the sad and distant story 
 of an anger's revolt in heaven, but the sorrowful and tragic 
 story of men and women in rebellion against ignorant 
 and vicious custom and tradition. This poem should 
 weave ivy around the brows of social meddlers, cranks, 
 iconoclasts, and destroyers of special privilege; it should 
 set crowns upon patriots, adventurers, discoverers, re- 
 formers, and apostles. It should sink into oblivion the 
 human stumbling stones of progress. It should pass 
 Dante's judgment upon the builders of ghettos, the de- 
 fenders of caste, the priestly custodians of ignorant tradi- 
 tion, the fomenters of class hate and class struggles, and 
 the selfish bullies who block the roads of liberty for the 
 common man. This new epic of humanity should sing the 
 heroism and the courage and the faith of the minority: 
 the few in every age unto whom God whispers his pur- 
 poses and into whose trustful and obedient souls he flashes 
 bits of bis coming golden day. 
 
 Questions to Be Discussed 
 
 1. Under what conditions did Nehemiah resort to prayer, 
 and to what extent did his praying contribute to his success? 
 
 2. Why was the building of the walls of Jerusalem so essen- 
 tial to the development of the religious life of the Jews? 
 
 3. Who were the chief antagonists of Nehemiah, and why 
 did they oppose the fortification of Jerusalem? 
 
 4. Contrast the city of Jerusalem of 445 and 425 B. C. 
 
 5. Recall the statements made in Chapter IX concerning 
 tithes, and state what changes have taken place concerning 
 tithes. Why were the people now so reluctant to pay the 
 tithe? What action in the matter was taken by Nehemiah? 
 
 6. What was the danger to Israel in the mixed marriages? 
 
184: THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 Estimate the success of Nehemiah in putting a stop to such 
 alliances. How did others of the community view such mar- 
 riages? 
 
 7. How do you account for the prevailing transgression of 
 the law of Sabbath observance? What measures were taken 
 by the governor to enforce the law? 
 
 8. To what extent in this period did the people resort to 
 the Temple and participate in its ritual of sacrifice? 
 
 9. Aside from Nehemiah what individuals and classes of 
 persons are leaders in the community? 
 
 Works of Reference 
 
 A History of the Jewish People, Kent, pages 153-94. 
 Old-Testament History, Peritz, pages 254-9. 
 Introduction to the Old Testament, McFadyen, pages 290-3. 
 Ezra and Nehemiah: Their Lives and Times, Rawlinson, 
 pages 150-82. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF JEWISH LAW 
 
 It will be recalled that the Deuteronomic Code, pro- 
 \ mulgated by Josiah in Jerusalem, 621 B. C, took prece- 
 dence over the Book of the Covenant (Exodus 21-23) and 
 all other earlier fragmentary Hebrew laws. This code 
 was regarded as the authoritative Hebrew code until the 
 destruction of Jerusalem. Many of its provisions, being 
 incompatible with the Exile, were disregarded for a time; 
 but with the rebuilding of the Temple and the city this code 
 again became the highest authority in the Jewish com- 
 munity. 
 
 Events during the fifth and fourth centuries seem to 
 demand for their explanation the statement that among 
 Babylonian Jews, beginning with Ezekiel and continuing 
 to Ezra, there was a continuous process of codifying the 
 ritual practices of - past centuries and of the issuing of 
 new laws. Not only were the exilic days bright with 
 prophecy, but the priest also was active in setting forth 
 in new codes the truths that the destruction of Jerusalem 
 had brought home to him. By the time of Ezra, in the 
 earliest years of the fourth pre-Christian century, the 
 two collections of laws in the books of Leviticus and Num- 
 bers, now called the Holiness Code and the Priests' Code, 
 were in existence, together with a historical setting nar- 
 rating the origin of the Jewish people and their sacred 
 institutions. 
 
 Ezra and the Introduction of the Priests' Code 
 
 There are no more difficult problems in Old-Testament 
 study than the questions raised in the attempt to determine 
 the facts of Ezra's mission and ministry. The importance 
 of his work is generally recognized. More than any other 
 he contributed to the development of legal religion, which 
 
 185 
 
186 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 molded the life of the Jewish world for the last four pre- 
 Christian centuries and which continues still to give Jew- 
 ish thought its characteristic features. 
 
 Chapters 7 to 10 of the book of Ezra and 8 to 10 of 
 the book of Nehemiah contain portions of the memoirs of 
 Ezra. From the most reliable portions of these chapters 
 it seems that Ezra, a Babylonian Jew, some time after 
 Nehemiah's second visit to Jerusalem, disturbed by re- 
 ports of the intimacy of the Jewish leaders with the 
 Samaritans and feeling that the religious life of the Ju- 
 dsean Jew's was not such as pleased Jehovah, obtained from 
 the Persian monarch Artaxerxes II (405-358 B. C.) a 
 firman, or imperial permit, to repair to Jerusalem, with 
 certain privileges, in order to set the religious life in 
 better order. Ezra 7. 27, 28, taken from Ezra's memoirs, 
 indicates in general terms the Persian king's firman and 
 Ezra's efforts to secure it. Pursuant to this imperial grant 
 Ezra assembled quite a company of exiles at some point on 
 the river Ahava (8. 15). Ezra 8. 15-29 is a further quota- 
 tion from Ezra's memoirs. Upon the discovery that there 
 were no Levites in the company Ezra sent messengers to the 
 Jewish settlement at Casiphia, imploring the Levites to ac- 
 company the expedition. Several responded to this appeal. 
 Since the Levites were the descendants of the country 
 priests who were compelled to give up their positions at the 
 time of Josiah's reform in 621 B. C, and because the newer 
 legislation gave the descendants of the Jerusalem priests 
 preference over these Levites, the latter were reluctant to 
 return to Jerusalem, where this difference would be ac- 
 centuated. 
 
 The journey to Jerusalem, undertaken without a guard 
 (8. 22), required about three and a half months. See 8. 
 24, 25, 28, 29 for gifts brought from Babylonia and the 
 care taken to deliver them faithfully. Ezra 8. 31-36 nar- 
 rates the end of the journey, the delivery of the treasures 
 into the hands of the Temple priests, and the sacrifices 
 of thanksgiving offered for the safe arrival. Shortly after 
 his arrival in Jerusalem, Ezra was informed that Levites, 
 priests, and other leaders of the community had married 
 
THE DEVELOPMENT OF JEWISH LAW 187 
 
 non-Jewish women. Ezra was overwhelmed at this dis- 
 loyalty to Jehovah. Eead 9. 1-11, 13-15 for Ezra's concep- 
 tion of the sinfulness of these mixed marriages. Note 
 especially verse 7. What is Ezra's reading of his people's 
 history? Chapter 10 continues the account. Just what 
 part of this chapter is quoted from Ezra's memoirs has 
 not been determined. The people in a great assembly ap- 
 pointed a commission to examine into these mixed mar- 
 riages. One hundred and three men were found to have 
 taken foreign wives. From them was exacted an oath 
 that they would divorce these non-Jewish women. No 
 statement is made that they did so. It was done, no 
 doubt, in some cases. One other act attributed to Ezra 
 seems quite probable. The event is narrated in Nehemiah 
 8. 1-12. According to this account Ezra read in the pres- 
 ence of a great assembly a book of law. The eifect upon 
 the people (Nehemiah 8. 9) was undoubtedly due to their 
 fear of the penalty for their past disobedience. One gets 
 the impression that this code of laws is now heard for 
 the first time by the Judaean community. 
 
 What is the code that is now introduced into Jewish 
 life? No answer free from objections ever has been given. 
 But the most satisfactory supposition is that the code 
 introduced by Ezra shortly after the opening of the fourth 
 century was a collection of laws made up of what are 
 now called the Holiness Code and the Priestly Code. 
 Though a vast amount of difficulty attaches to the study 
 of Jewish law, it is desirable that something should be 
 known concerning these codes. 
 
 The Holiness Code 
 
 The group of laws known as the Holiness Code is found 
 in Leviticus 17 to 26. This code was compiled during the 
 Exile by some Babylonian Jew or group of such exiles. 
 Without doubt it assembles the decisions of the priests at 
 various sanctuaries and thus reflects ancient usage. At 
 the same time it expresses the conviction that the broken 
 harmony between Jehovah and his people, evidenced by the 
 
188 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 Exile, can be restored only by the creation of a holy nation 
 in whose midst the holy Deity will be content to dwell. 
 Such sanctity of the nation can be secured only through a 
 carefully guarded ritual of sacrifice at Jerusalem. This 
 code was designed, like EzekiePs code, to be used by the 
 Jews of Judah and Jerusalem who had not been carried 
 into captivity. The compiler and author may have hoped 
 that its acceptance and use at Jerusalem would hasten the 
 return of the exiles. 
 
 Leviticus 19 illustrates the method of the compiler of 
 the Holiness Code. The chapter is made up of ancient 
 decisions given by the priests at the sanctuaries, except 
 verses 21, 22, with a few phrases added to give the point 
 of view of the compiler. This chapter should be examined 
 carefully. It has been called "a brief manual of moral in- 
 struction, perhaps the best representative of the ethics of 
 ancient Israel." The author of the Holiness Code desires 
 to secure the holiness of his people; and although he em- 
 phasizes ceremonial holiness (Leviticus 21. 16-24; 22. 3-9 
 and elsewhere), he also recognizes the necessity of right 
 personal relationships to secure the commendation of Je- 
 hovah. In this code the teachings of the prophets are 
 not wholly obscured. Keeping in mind the author's aim 
 to point out the way of holiness, read carefully chapter 19 
 and list the moral requirements here demanded. What 
 ceremonial paths to holiness are recognized in this 
 chapter ? 
 
 Observe that there are several holy things that the 
 people are warned not to profane — namely: the name of 
 Jehovah (18. 21; 19. 12; 20. 3); the various sacrifices 
 (19. 8; 22. 15); the sanctuary (21. 12, 23); and the 
 priesthood (22. 8, 9). To profane these things is to treat 
 them commonly: to set aside their connection with the 
 worship of Jehovah and to neglect to pay them the 
 regard and reverence which Jehovah deserves from every- 
 one. Two instances of the manner in which Jehovah's 
 name may be profaned — that is, treated with discourtesy — 
 are given in Leviticus 19. 12 ; 20. 3. It should be noted too 
 that the Jewish people themselves are similarly holy : from 
 
THE DEVELOPMENT OF JEWISH LAW 189 
 
 all nations they have been separated to serve the holy 
 Jehovah (19. 2; 20. 7, 26). 
 
 The Priestly Code 
 
 About the year 500 B. C. another collection, or formu- 
 lation, of Jewish law was made, quite probably among the 
 Babylonian Jews. This group of laws was set in a his- 
 torical framework designed to relate the origin of Jewish 
 religious rites and institutions. The purpose of this work, 
 like the Holiness Code, was to win the favor and protection 
 of Jehovah by raising up a holy people in whose midst he 
 could dwell. It is not easy to fix precisely the limits of 
 this code. Undoubtedly additions were made to it at least 
 during the next one hundred years. This priestly writing, 
 with its additions, however, is sharply enough set apart 
 from other Pentateuchal material. Exodus 25 to 31 is a 
 part of this Priestly Code. This section narrates the erec- 
 tion of an elaborate building for worship in the wilder- 
 ness which was moved from place to place by the Israelites 
 in their journeyings. If such a place of worship was con- 
 structed, it is strange that the books of Samuel and Kings, 
 which sketch the history of the Hebrews from the time 
 of the judges to the destruction of Jerusalem by the 
 Babylonians, make no mention of this Tabernacle. Neither 
 do the prophets refer to it in any way. The worship of 
 the Hebrews during all these centuries was not the wor- 
 ship such a structure required. The author of the 
 Priestly Code regarded this Tabernacle as the only place 
 where Jehovah was to be worshiped (Exodus 25. 8, 22 and 
 29. 42), and Aaron and his descendants to be the only 
 legitimate persons to offer sacrifice (29. 44). But our 
 studies have shown that until the destruction of Jerusalem 
 in 586 B. C. Jehovah was worshiped at many sanctuaries, 
 and that no voice was lifted in condemnation of such wor- 
 ship until Josiah carried through his reforms in 621 
 B. C. Nor was the offering of sacrifice limited to the 
 Aaronic line. It was not even the affair of priests alone. 
 Thus, at every turn the student is met by the fact that the 
 actual worship of the Hebrews for many centuries was 
 
190 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 not the worship required by the Tabernacle described in 
 Exodus 25-31, 40. The conclusion seems reasonable that 
 the Tabernacle described by the author of the Priestly 
 Code was his way of expressing an ideal of worship for his 
 own time. His contemporaries must have so understood 
 him. Our confusion in the matter could scarcely have 
 been theirs. 
 
 Exodus 35-40 also belong to this code, but they add 
 little to what is found in the previous chapters. Leviticus 
 1-16 and 27, together with Numbers 1-10; 15. 1-36; 16. 
 35; 19; 25. 6 to 36, include nearly the whole of the Pen- 
 tateuchal legislation belonging to the Priests' Code. 
 
 The Code Introduced by Ezra 
 
 While the precise limits of the legislation introduced 
 by Ezra are not known, the two codes examined above 
 must have constituted the new body of laws now formally 
 adopted by the Jewish community. The Holiness Code, 
 accepted by the author or compiler of the Priests' Code, 
 already was imbedded in the heart of the later document. 
 
 Not long after Ezra's mission ended, the whole Pen- 
 tateuch took the form in which we have it now. Accord- 
 ing to Josephus, the only Jewish historian who fixes a 
 date for the separation of the Samaritans from the Jews, 
 this event took place at the time of Alexander the Great's 
 invasion of Syria, about 330 B. C. Since the Samaritans 
 possess the Jewish Pentateuch, the completion of the 
 canon of the law occurred long enough before this date 
 to give it sanctity in the eyes of the schismatics. There- 
 fore, the priestly conception of religion, the essential char- 
 acteristic of Judaism, was fixed little later than Ezra. 
 Indeed, one may think of Ezra as having completed what 
 Ezekiel had begun: the establishment of a theocratic peo- 
 ple in whose midst the residence of their holy Jehovah was 
 secured by an elaborate system of holy ritual. 
 
 The Meaning of Holiness 
 
 Holiness and TTncleanness. — In primitive religion little 
 distinction is made between holiness and uncleanness. Ee- 
 
THE DEVELOPMENT OF JEWISH LAW 191 
 
 ligious persons, priests, chief or king, and those in some 
 temporarily unique relation to society — for example, 
 mourners, mothers at childbirth, warriors on a campaign, 
 girls at pubertal age, homicides, lepers — have imposed 
 upon them the same restrictions. There is something 
 mysterious about them. Ordinary people shrink from 
 them. Close association with their fellows would bring 
 others into the same weird, uncanny, and dreadful condi- 
 tion. Such persons are dangerous: they must be secluded 
 from the rest of the world; they are taboo. 
 
 This principle underlies much of the priestly legisla- 
 tion. Leviticus 10. 10 thus correlates holiness and un- 
 cleanness. The opposite of holiness is the common, and 
 the antithesis of the unclean is the clean. Leviticus 6. 
 27, 28 shows clearly this intimate connection of holiness 
 and uncleanness. The flesh and, especially, the blood of 
 the sin offering are holy. But the earthen vessel in which 
 this flesh has been placed must be broken, and any garment 
 touched by this sacred blood must be washed. The holi- 
 ness of jar and dress becomes their uncleanness. 
 
 Thus, holiness in its earliest usage has no moral signifi- 
 cance ; it means merely that the person or the thing counted 
 holy is restricted from common use. 
 
 The Contagion of Holiness. — Holiness in the foregoing 
 sense is contagious. It is a mysterious power that passes 
 by contact back and forth between persons and things. 
 Eead Leviticus 6. 25-30, which describes the ritual of the 
 sin offering for offenses in which the priests were not in- 
 volved. The animal presented for such sacrifice is most 
 holy. Whatever touches such flesh becomes holy by virtue 
 of this contact. Leviticus 6. 11, 18 expresses the same 
 idea. Uncleanness also is contagious (16. 15-19). Holi- 
 ness, like uncleanness, unfits one for the ordinary activities 
 of life; it is something to be guarded and to be guarded 
 against. 
 
 Holiness and Perfection. — Holiness expresses the reser- 
 vation of a thing or person for the use of deity. It thus 
 includes the idea of separation from the ordinary activi- 
 ties. It is an easy transfer from this point to the idea 
 
192 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 that persons and things set apart for divine use should 
 be the best (Leviticus 7. 25). Since any person who had 
 become unclean was barred temporarily from contact with 
 his fellows, it followed that such a one should not approach 
 the sanctuary (7. 21). These ideals are the moral turn- 
 ing point in the priestly conceptions of holiness. Jehovah 
 requires the best to serve him: physically perfect priests 
 and offerings. It was from this stage of thinking that 
 Isaiah and the prophets took their lofty departure, and 
 even priestly legislation thereafter could not wholly ignore 
 the moral meaning of holiness. 
 
 Holiness and Morality. — It was the primary object of 
 the author and compiler to fence Jewish life with such 
 provisions for worship that no other deity than Jehovah 
 should be adored, and none other than Jewish rites 
 should be used. It was believed that such strict and rev- 
 erential worship through a jealously guarded and con- 
 ducted sacrificial system would win, in behalf of the Jewish 
 state, Jehovah's unfailing favor. Therefore, the greater at- 
 tention was paid to the ritual of worship. Yet this exces- 
 sive emphasis of the cultus did not wholly obscure the moral 
 meaning of holiness. The preaching of the great prophets 
 was not wholly forgotten. Leviticus 5. 4-6; 6. 2-7; and 
 chapter 19 inculcate some of the fundamental principles 
 whose observance is necessary to achieve a stable civil- 
 ization. It should be noted, also, that an injustice done 
 one's fellow man is not merely a wrong done to a fellow 
 mortal: it is also a sin against Jehovah. It is a viola- 
 tion of the very laws of the universe ; it is an affront against 
 God. To harm a neighbor thus becomes a tragedy that 
 shakes the universe. The man who withholds the wages 
 of an employee must reckon with God. 
 
 Summaey 
 
 Ezra's contributions to the religious life of his people 
 were great indeed. He brought large reenforcements of 
 zealous, pious Jews out of Babylonia and added them to 
 the struggling Jewish community in Judah. He brought 
 to Jerusalem a code of laws, some new and some old, de- 
 
THE DEVELOPMENT OF JEWISH LAW 193 
 
 signed to secure the presence of Jehovah in the midst of 
 his people. More than any other person he contributed 
 to the development of that Judaism which weathered the 
 persecutions of Persian, Greek, and Eoman, and which, 
 in the New Testament, becomes the starting point of 
 Christianity. Ezra was the chief founder of Judaism — 
 that empire of the spirit which, however much it is ex- 
 pressed in ceremonial laws, was able to survive the destruc- 
 tion of political states and which has survived until our 
 own day. 
 
 Underlying every theory offered to explain the origin 
 and meaning of sacrifices is the fact that man in and 
 through them sought to relate himself more acceptably 
 to God. First fruits and animal sacrifices alike were 
 intended to insure for man a greater divine aid. In the 
 code introduced into the Jewish community in Palestine 
 by Ezra the slain animals were not regarded as substitutes 
 for sinful men and women. There was yet no concep- 
 tion of man's eternal death or punishment to create the 
 demand for a vicarious substitute. The ideas of the here- 
 after in the times of Ezra only faintly differentiated the 
 lot of the righteous and the wicked in the world of the 
 dead. Punishment for wrongdoing was confined to this 
 present life. Various penalties — such as fines, expulsion 
 from the nation, and death — were exacted from the 
 guilty. The death penalty was ordered inflicted for con- 
 tact with Jehovah's sanctuary by a non-Jew (Numbers 
 3. 38), desecration of the Sabbath (Numbers 15. 32-36), 
 blasphemy (Leviticus 24. 16), human sacrifice to Mo- 
 lech (20. 2-5), witchcraft (20. 27), bestiality (20. 15), 
 harlotry (21. 9), sodomy (20. 13), incest (20. 11-14), 
 adultery (20. 10), and murder (24. 17). Since punish- 
 ment for evil was regarded as being complete in this life, 
 and since these lawgivers did not set aside the death 
 penalty for certain crimes against the social order by any 
 scheme of sacrifice, it is evident that animals slain in 
 sacrifice were not regarded as vicarious substitutes for 
 man. This limitation of the sacrificial system is further 
 emphasized by the statements "that woman shall bear her 
 
194 THE RELIGION OP JUBAH 
 
 iniquity" (Numbers 5. 31) and "his iniquity shall be upon 
 him" (15. 31)* 
 
 But whatever the need and excellence of Judaism, it 
 must be held that this legal religion is a distinct retro- 
 gression from the prophetic ideal. The highest piety 
 does not now demand an immediate consciousness of God 
 revealing continually his will; the ideal now is loyalty to 
 a law. The immediate relation to God is gone. This 
 priestly law also set equal value upon ceremonial and 
 moral actions. Such valuation of moral conduct ends in 
 the ruin of ethical life. If salvation depends on obser- 
 vance of this law, it follows that salvation belongs to Jews 
 alone. Thus, at every turn this new legal religion is op- 
 posed to the ethical religion of the prophets. It would not 
 have been tolerated by an Amos, a Hosea, an Isaiah, or 
 a Jeremiah. 
 
 Beidges From the Past to the Present 
 
 Is it enough to be sincere and good ? No kingdom build- 
 ing is possible without sincerity; but sincerity can tear 
 down as well as build up. These Jewish legalists were 
 sincere, but they reached back into the past and brought 
 again to first importance in religion conceptions that 
 the prophets had done their best to make forever impotent. 
 With sincerity must go the unceasing effort to understand 
 what will make the highest contributions to life. No man 
 or age can travel forward worthily that faces the past 
 adoringly. 
 
 Yet no man or age ever is wholly bad. These legalists 
 have insisted upon the supreme obligation of religion — 
 namely, "Be ye holy, for I am holy." Likeness to God, 
 not merely belief in God, is the supreme requirement. It 
 is not so important to believe in Christ as to believe like 
 Christ. When we begin to believe his beliefs, there will 
 be born in us sufficient motives to regenerate the world. 
 
 What is the value of ritual in the development of life? 
 Ritual demands no initiative, no thought, no vision, no 
 intellectual or spiritual break with tradition. It does not 
 foster change. It clogs the progress of the moral conquest 
 
THE DEVELOPMENT OF JEWISH LAW 195 
 
 of society. It decries social reforms and political changes. 
 It lives by a stand-pat creed. Yet Judaism, clinging to 
 its ritual, has survived nineteen centuries of political an- 
 nihilation; and Christian churches, with strong accentua- 
 tion of ritual, wield powerful influence to-day. But is 
 this influence not reactionary rather than progressive ? Is 
 it alive with leadership, or is it not rather leaden with the 
 weight of a past whose curse they know not how to break ? 
 
 In one respect this priestly legislation was highly 
 ethical: It was never taught that these animals, slain at 
 the altar, were a substitute for sinful man. With all their 
 regard for ceremony they never prostituted their moral 
 sense to utter that any man's guilt could be wiped away 
 by a vicarious death. "Every man that eateth the sour 
 grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge" remained a live 
 prophetic counsel through all priestly blundering. 
 
 These priests believed that holiness is contagious. So 
 it is, although not in the sense described by them. Ethical 
 holiness ever tends to awaken similar sanctity in other 
 lives. If you live by the holiest ideals, if pure motives 
 and noble sympathies govern your conduct, there is some- 
 thing infectious in such manhood and womanhood. The 
 genuine variety is not dangerous; it is beautifully whole- 
 some and imperatively necessary. Get close to God and 
 you will catch it. 
 
 Questions 
 
 1. What is known of Ezra's personal history? What was 
 his purpose in coming to Jerusalem? 
 
 2. Why was Ezra's caravan not accompanied by a royal 
 guard? 
 
 3. What criticism is to be passed upon Ezra's historical 
 perspective? See Ezra 9. 7. 
 
 4. What reforms were accomplished by Ezra? 
 
 5. What body of law was introduced into Jerusalem by him? 
 
 6. Discuss the origin of the Holiness Code. State where it 
 is now to be found. What purpose moved its author and com- 
 piler? 
 
 7. When did the Priests' Code come into existence? 
 Where is it now to be found? What was its author's object 
 in describing so minutely the tabernacle? 
 
 8. What are holy things according to these codes? What 
 
196 THE RELIGION OF JtTDAH 
 
 does it mean to profane them? Was holiness in the priestly 
 sense desirable for a Jewish merchant or farmer? 
 
 9. What great purpose did the authors or compilers of these 
 codes have in mind? 
 
 10. Compare the services rendered to Judaism by Nehemiah 
 and Ezra. State the values of the rebuilding of the Temple, 
 the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, and the introduction 
 of the Priestly Code for the development of Judaism. 
 
 Illustrative Readings 
 
 Ezra and 'Nehemiah: Their Lives and Times, Rawlinson, 
 pages 1-74. 
 
 The Books of the Pentateuch, Eiselen, Chapter XVIII. 
 
 Article "Law," Dictionary of the Bible, Hastings. 
 
 Sources of the Hexateuch, Brightman. The Holiness Code is 
 printed on pages 293-312; the Priests* Code on pages 241- 
 93, 312-35, and 345-7. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 JOB: A STUDY IN JEWISH PIETY 
 
 Piety is essentially faith in and reverence for God. 
 The pious man is he whose life, regulated by a supreme 
 trust in a God of goodness, moves on through struggle 
 and calm, through defeat and victory, with its inmost 
 confidence in the Tightness of the divine administration of 
 the world unshaken. Piety lies at the heart of religion. 
 The creators of Hebrew religious life were pious men; 
 and our studies of the prophets, the postexilic leaders Ne- 
 hemiah and Ezra, and the authors of Jewish law have 
 been studies in Hebrew piety. But the book of Job, with 
 its poignant question of the place of evil in Jehovah's gov- 
 ernment, raises in a striking manner the question whether 
 piety, whether religion itself, is possible in our world. 
 It is a question that is never old and that has been raised 
 at numberless crises in human affairs. 
 
 The author and the precise date of the book of Job are 
 unknown. Previous chapters have shown a set of in- 
 terests that preclude this philosophic drama from an 
 earlier date than the fourth century before Christ. The 
 introduction of the Priestly Code, with its assumption 
 that Israel's failure to conduct a carefully guarded wor- 
 ship — the nation's neglect of holiness — accounted for its 
 great disasters, undoubtedly provoked the line of thought 
 found in Job. The narrow exclusiveness of this new legal- 
 ism was met by the liberal protest of Euth and Jonah. 
 The book of Job also is a protest against this legalistic 
 piety. Its author did not believe that a holy ritual could 
 avert all evil. He did not understand the disastrous course 
 of his people's life; he could find no explanation of evil 
 in the orthodox opinions. But his faith in Jehovah, un- 
 impaired by his philosophical confusion, held him stead- 
 fastly in supreme loyalty to his God. It is this piety that 
 
 197 
 
198 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 is the charm of Job and that makes the book a rich treas- 
 ure for the study and meditation of every age. 
 
 The Pkoblem of the Book of Job 
 
 Pain and death ever have seemed to man needless and 
 irrational elements in existence. They require explana- 
 tion. The earliest answer of man to his own question of 
 the function of suffering was that the gods, being all 
 powerful, did what they pleased. Among the early Baby- 
 lonians all human misfortunes were traced to the anger of 
 the gods at some human deed. But in the great majority 
 of cases, when misfortune befell men, they were ignorant 
 of those deeds which had aroused the anger of the deities. 
 The misfortune was the first intimation of the transgres- 
 sion. 
 
 "May the wrath of the heart of my god be pacified : 
 May the god who is unknown to me be pacified. 
 The misdeed which I have done I know not." 
 
 This is a typical Babylonian prayer. There is no moral 
 relation between misfortune and human conduct. In 
 some unforeseen way the worshiper has aroused the ill 
 will of some deity. He does not know even which one 
 among the many is offended. 
 
 A modified form of this conception of the cause of mis- 
 fortune is found in the earlier Old-Testament literature. 
 In the midst of a great victory over the Philistines (1 Sam- 
 uel 14. 43) Saul imposes a food taboo; Jonathan and his 
 armor-bearer unwittingly break it and stand for this un- 
 witting transgression in peril of their life. It was felt in 
 Saul's day that a violated taboo aroused the wrath of 
 deity. Similarly Uzzah (2 Samuel 6. 6, 7) violated a 
 taboo in touching the ark. In neither case was the pun- 
 ishment involved related morally to life. It was simply 
 due to a violation of divine prerogatives. 
 
 Time passed, and this nonethical interpretation of mis- 
 fortune gave place to a moral explanation. The authors 
 of the Deuteronomic Code believed that the practice of 
 the humanitarian and ritual provisions there enjoined 
 
JOB: STUDY IN JEWISH PIETY 199 
 
 would be followed by abundant rains, rich harvests, large 
 flocks and herds, and numerous children. Prosperity is 
 the reward of obedience, and calamity is the punishment 
 for indifference and disobedience. In spite of the 
 early death of the good king Josiah and the lifelong 
 afflictions of Jeremiah the doctrine that righteous- 
 ness secures prosperity and long life continued to be the 
 orthodox doctrine of Israel through the Exile. Ezekiel 
 (see chapter 18) makes this position clear. 
 
 But with the restoration of the Jewish community in 
 Palestine, the rebuilding of the Temple and the walls, 
 the introduction of the law, and the increasing strictness 
 of Jewish life it was still found that men righteous ac- 
 cording to the accepted standards suffered grievous afflic- 
 tions, and men who were openly wicked often prospered 
 through a long life. The question pressed upon at least 
 one reflective soul with undeniable persistence. Why do 
 the righteous suffer? is the query of the book of Job. 
 
 The Orthodox View of Suffering 
 
 This was expressed, first of all, by Eliphaz. Eead Job 
 4. 7-11. The theory that all affliction is the punishment 
 of sin is stated flatly in verse 7: 
 
 "Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being inno- 
 cent? 
 Or where were the upright cut off?" 
 
 What proof does Eliphaz offer for this theory that calami- 
 ties beset the wicked only? Note first (verse 8) that he 
 cites what he believes to be an observable fact. Then (4. 
 12-21) he argues that man's position is so lowly before 
 God that no man (verse 17) is really righteous according 
 to the standard of deity. Even the angels are charged 
 with folly. Before such exalted justice and purity every 
 man stands condemned. Hence (5. 7) man should accept 
 affliction as necessary and justifiable. Thus, Eliphaz ex- 
 plains the causes of misfortune which do not fall obviously 
 under the rule stated in 4. 7, 8 by the theory that the right- 
 
200 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 eons man is not absolutely righteous. But such afflictions 
 of the righteous are intended to awaken a deeper trust 
 and loyalty toward God. What does Eliphaz say he would 
 do if he were in Job's place? (5. 8). Read the splendid 
 lines (5. 17-27) in which Eliphaz assures Job that the 
 fullest trust of God lifts a man above the main disasters 
 of life and crowns him with a ripe and honored age. 
 
 Bildad repeats this argument, but with more direct 
 application to Job's case. Eead 8. 5, 6 for his brutal 
 insistence that Job had sinned. Bildad supports his posi- 
 tion by an appeal to the experience of the past. There is 
 abundance of accumulated evidence, he thinks, that af- 
 fliction besets the paths of those only who forget God. 
 Zophar holds the same view as the two former speakers. 
 He too exhorts Job: 
 
 "If iniquity be in thy hand, put it far away . . . 
 Then . . . thou shalt forget thy misery . . . 
 
 And thy life shall be clearer than the noonday ." 
 
 The Theory of Discipline 
 
 Both Eliphaz and Elihu recognize that the older view 
 is too rigid to explain the whole of misfortune. Affliction 
 is more than punishment: it is intended to warn and re- 
 strain man from plunging on recklessly into irretrievable 
 ruin. A man ought therefore to rejoice when suffering 
 comes upon him. It is an expression of God's love and 
 care. Thus, Eliphaz says (5. 17) : 
 
 "Happy is the man whom God correcteth : 
 Therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Al- 
 mighty." 
 
 Eead also 22. 21-30 and observe that Eliphaz, in urging 
 Job's repentance, maintains the opinion that the misfor- 
 tunes befallen his friend are God's method of bringing Job 
 into a better relation with himself. But observe too that he 
 wavers not at all in his opinion that genuine righteous- 
 ness is rewarded with honor and prosperity. Examine 33. 
 
JOB: STUDY IN JEWISH PIETY 201 
 
 19-28. Here Elihu asserts that pain is God's voice to 
 restrain man from sinful ways which lead him to an 
 early death. To such men in affliction he sends his holy 
 angels to interpret to the sufferer the meaning of his chas- 
 tisement. Then the afflicted one, recognizing his sin and 
 acknowledging it, is restored again to health. Thus, pain 
 is God's messenger in the discipline of the soul. 
 
 The Theory That Suffering Is the Trial of Faith 
 
 While the prose prologue does not enter intimately into 
 the movement of the drama, it does present an explana- 
 tion of the afflictions of the righteous. Eead Job 1. 1-5 for 
 a picture of Job's piety. From 1. 6 and 2. 1 it appears, 
 in the author's view, that Jehovah is a heavenly Monarch 
 surrounded by a host of angelic ministers and that, like 
 a Persian prince, he held certain court days on which the 
 heavenly officials presented themselves before their King. 
 Each of these officials has his own task in the vast admin- 
 istration of the universe. Satan is a kind of inspector- 
 general of our own planet. Job 1. 7 indicates the nature 
 of his responsibilities. Observe the satisfaction Jehovah 
 takes in Job (verse 8). But Satan avers that any man 
 would be righteous were he to be favored with Job's pros- 
 perity, and that no man's piety really can be known until 
 it is tested by the direst adversity. Jehovah does not 
 think that this is true — at least not true in Job's case — • 
 and, to put the matter to the test, gives Satan permission 
 to afflict Job except unto death. In 2. 10 the result is 
 stated. This theory assumes that afflictions come upon 
 the wicked to punish them, but those which befall the 
 righteous are a fiery test to show the strength or the 
 weakness of their character. That the author of the 
 book considers this view unsatisfactory is seen in the fact 
 that this solution does not enter into the thought of either 
 Job or his counselors. 
 
 The Agnostic Position 
 This is stated first by Elihu. He says, in effect, that we 
 
202 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 cannot really understand God : the greatness and unsearch- 
 ableness of his ways render futile any questioning of his 
 government. God is far removed from man. One fine 
 result from his remove from mankind is that he is thus 
 freed from the necessity of injustice: there is no motive 
 for it, nothing to be gained by it (34. 12, 13) ; neither 
 the praise nor the blame of men can affect his policy (34. 
 29; 35. 5-8); he has no need to play favorites (34. 17- 
 20). Elihu does not admit that injustice is a part of the 
 divine policy. He thinks that God's administration is 
 just; but he does recognize seeming injustice and offers as 
 its explanation that God's far remove from man makes 
 human understanding of his ways impossible. What proof 
 of this position does Elihu offer? See 36. 26-33; 37. 5-20. 
 Rain, snow, lightning, winds, the expanse of sky, all evi- 
 dence the far remove of God's life from human frailty. 
 It is absurd to question or to murmur at his administra- 
 tion. We have so little in common with him that we can- 
 not converse with him (37. 19) ; so majestic is he that 
 "we cannot find him out" (37. 23). 
 
 Chapters 38 to 41 present the same position — that it is 
 impossible to understand the method of divine Provi- 
 dence. These final chapters should be read attentively. 
 They present the cares and responsibilities of God's gov- 
 ernment of the universe. Does this review of God's af- 
 fairs belittle the problems of man? These speeches of 
 Jehovah assume the correctness of Job's contention: that 
 the affairs of men exhibit injustice, and life is filled with 
 unexplainable suffering. But when the "why" is asked, 
 the answer is that there is no answer : God's ways are past 
 finding out. If a man is torn with a sense of injustice 
 in the world, these final chapters say to him, "This res- 
 tiveness, this sense of rebellion against God, is unjustifi- 
 able until all the aspects of his government are known 
 to us. Since in the nature of the case this full perspective 
 is impossible, man cannot justly murmur or condemn. 
 We may not have full knowledge of his ways, but we can 
 trust him, and in this trust we find sanity, strength, and 
 peace." 
 
JOB: STUDY IN JEWISH PIETY 203 
 
 The Soul of Job Undeb Discipline 
 
 Job himself, until his calamities befell him, had ac- 
 quiesced in the orthodox theory. Now he realized that 
 it broke down utterly. He knows that he is innocent. No 
 great sins have stained his life. Eead 16. 6-17 for Job's 
 burning sense of the injustice done him on the theory that 
 suffering is the punishment of sin. Then, too, Job's suf- 
 fering has opened his eyes to the fact that the wicked are 
 not invariably punished. Bildad had asserted (18. 5, 11, 
 17, 18) : 
 
 "The light of the wicked shall be put out, 
 
 Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, 
 
 His remembrance shall perish from the earth, 
 
 He shall be driven from light into darkness 
 And chased out of the world." 
 
 Chapter 21. 7-21 should be read carefully and attentively. 
 Observe there the answer Job made to the claim stated in 
 the foregoing quotation. 
 
 Job's faith falters under this new revelation of world 
 conditions. There grows upon him the horrible feeling 
 that the world is not fundamentally just and moral. He 
 begins to feel that there is no longer an argument for 
 righteousness. Elihu represents Job as saying despair- 
 ingly and bitterly that righteousness does not get a man 
 anything (34. 9; 35. 3). Chapter 24 should be carefully 
 read. Here Job points out the ruthless tyranny of men 
 of wealth and position versus (1-4, 9-12) the wretched 
 life of the poor (5-8), the crimes of various evildoers 
 (13-17), and asserts (18-25) that the fate of these men 
 in no way differs from the end of others. There seems to 
 be no moral government of the world. 
 
 Yet Job cannot rest in this awful pessimism. While 
 he is sure that the old theory breaks down completely and 
 while he is not able to put forward any tenable view of 
 
204: THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 his own he cannot feel that his helplessness to fathom the 
 problem is the end of the matter. Bead the magnificent out- 
 burst of faith in 19. 23-27. The precise meaning here may 
 be uncertain, but the general meaning is clear. The pres- 
 ent, with its insoluble problems, is not the end of the 
 matter: there will come a day of understanding. Jeho- 
 vah will vindicate Job, but not only Job: he will justify 
 his own ways in the sight of man. So Job, although 
 he cannot know fully, can trust. Eead the two short 
 replies of Job to the speeches of Jehovah (40. 4, 5 ; 42. 2- 
 6). Observe that in the first half of verse 3 in chapter 
 42 and in 42. 4 Job is quoting the charge against him. 
 He acknowledges that the ways of God are beyond him 
 and so far as the problem of evil is concerned acknowl- 
 edges that there is no satisfactory explanation. But concern- 
 ing man's practical relation to the seeming injustice of the 
 world Job discovers that all-confiding trust in the power 
 and wisdom and justice of God is sufficient for everyday 
 life. 
 
 The Conduct Inspired by Such Piety 
 
 The book of Job is a protest against the ideal of right- 
 eousness held by the priestly legislation. In the Priests* 
 Code righteousness primarily is a right attitude toward 
 a ritual of worship; the ideal of righteousness everywhere 
 in the book of Job is Tightness of human relations. The 
 right relation between men is here stated to consist in 
 justice, in warm sympathy, in close bonds of considera- 
 tion and affection, which hold society together in loving 
 fellowship. Slavery and broad divisions between rich and 
 poor are taken for granted; but piety demands that these 
 social chasms shall be bridged with love and helpfulness 
 on the part of the rich and strong. 
 
 Note the following catalogue of wicked acts — wicked- 
 ness here is nearly altogether a ruthless and unsocial deed 
 — which the man who despises God commits. There are 
 the sins denounced by the Ten Commandments: murder, 
 theft, adultery (24. 15, 16) ; forms of theft are specified 
 (24. 2, 3) ; adultery is defined (31. 7, 9-12) ; miserliness 
 
JOB: STUDY IN JEWISH PIETY 205 
 
 (31. 24, 25), rejoicing at the destruction of one's enemy 
 (31. 29), abuse of power in dealing with slaves (31. 13), 
 falsehood (31. 5), and deceitfulness (27. 4) are counted 
 evil deeds. But for the most part wickedness is regarded 
 as hard-heartedness toward the weak and helpless units 
 of society — the orphan, the widow, the lonely childless 
 woman, and the poor laborer. Observe carefully the 
 wrongs that were done in Jewish society of this period 
 toward the widow and orphan (22. 5-9; 24. 3, 9, 21; 31. 
 16-18, 21) : the last ox of the widow, and a nursing child 
 from its mother's breast were taken away to satisfy a ruth- 
 less creditor. Note the sorrowful picture of the tragedies 
 of the poor (24. 4-12, 14; 29. 13; 31. 38, 39; 34. 28) : hun- 
 gry and thirsty in the midst of abundance, pitifully small 
 wages, the continual victim of the greedy rich and cor- 
 rupt judges, their last garment taken in pledge, so that 
 they go about naked to work, and naked they shiver in 
 sleep. The blind and lame, the sorrow-stricken, the hun- 
 gry, and the stranger (22. 7; 29. 15; 31. 32) have no con- 
 sideration shown them. It is this unhumaritarian greed 
 of power and wealth, this terrible breach of human fellow- 
 ship which riches so often create, these yawning social 
 chasms in democracy, which mark the lack of piety in 
 human hearts. Once only is wickedness an irregularity of 
 worship: The man who turns aside from Jehovah to re- 
 vere the solar and lunar divinities (31. 26-28) is given 
 over to iniquity. But the interest here is almost wholly 
 an affair of social ethics. What constitutes right- 
 eousness? Social justice (29. 14). What is piety? It 
 is that faith in God and reverence for his character and 
 will which uphold man as a just and loving brother of his 
 fellow men. 
 
 Making Fbiends With Job 
 
 What is the place of piety in religion? There is a vast 
 emphasis in religious circles upon social ethics as the test 
 of religious faith and devotion. There is a danger to 
 religion in pressing social reforms. It is quite possible to 
 forget the far-off issues in the tragic shadows of the 
 
206 THE BELIGION OP JUDAH 
 
 present hour. But when the distant interests, the issues of 
 that unseen to-morrow, are forgotten, the motive to correct 
 the abuses of to-day fades in the soul. Now, piety is the 
 root of religion; it is essentially faith in God. Unless 
 religion is first of all a deathless devotion, a holy lifting 
 of the soul unto God to know his will and to rejoice in 
 his fellowship, social religion is shorn of its life. Piety 
 is the beating heart of religious belief, of religious insti- 
 tutions, of religious-social ideals. Do not, I beg of you, 
 cease to keep your religion fervid with prayer and medita- 
 tion. 
 
 Thus, piety's contribution to life is measureless indeed. 
 The world demands from us a ceaseless struggle. Crush- 
 ing burdens are laid on many lives. Again and again 
 have tortured men and women, having lost the heart to 
 breast the pitiless storm of poverty, sickness, and besetting 
 sin, ceased to struggle and sought the shadows of the grave. 
 There is only one unfailing source of spiritual power. To 
 possess the soul with the sense of mastery, so that it rises 
 birdlike above life's ills, is the gift alone of undaunted 
 trust in God. 
 
 The faith of Job — what wonder is it that it is spoken 
 of throughout the world ! What a faith it was ! To turn 
 away from the legalistic piety of his day; to deny the or- 
 thodox explanations; to venture into the untra versed 
 realms of thought; to find, at last, in God no explanation 
 but silence ; and then to trust, to believe that God, although 
 he vouchsafed no justification of his ways to man, yet 
 ruled justly: this is faith — wonderful, glorious, and re- 
 deeming. 
 
 Job's friends teach us the mockery of some of our friend- 
 ships. Does our friendship for others mean this shallow, 
 undiscerning, unsympathetic criticism offered as superior 
 advice? No friendship is genuine unless it is an open 
 gateway between human souls. Through this unbarred 
 passage we enter each other's life and become comrades. 
 It is impossible to misunderstand, to carp, to disparage, to 
 condemn. To sit in judgment on one's friend is to draw 
 the sword against oneself. Oh, for multiplied myriads of 
 
JOB: STUDY IN JEWISH PIETY 207 
 
 human friendships to radiate the world with trust, love, 
 beautiful words, and gracious deeds! 
 
 Again, we find that the prophetic type of religion reaches 
 the heights. Legalistic piety gropes in darkness. The 
 rosy dawn haloes the brow of Job. He is a prophet's soul. 
 He speaks to God face to face; he needs no intermediary. 
 With clean conscience he clutches the skirts of the Infi- 
 nite One and asks for audience. Make way for him; he 
 has an appointment with God. 
 
 Questions foe Study 
 
 1. When was the book of Job written? To what class of 
 literature does it belong? What great question does it seek 
 to answer? 
 
 2. What is the Babylonian explanation of misfortune? 
 
 3. What is the Hebrew conception of suffering in the period 
 of the early monarchy? 
 
 4. What explanation of calamity was offered by the Deutero- 
 nomic reformers of the seventh century? 
 
 5. What was Ezekiel's doctrine of suffering? How long was 
 this doctrine held unchallenged? 
 
 6. State, by a quotation from this book, the orthodox theory 
 of suffering. What explanation is given by Eliphaz to the 
 apparent exceptions to the orthodox theory? What modifica- 
 tions of the traditional theory are made by Eliphaz and 
 Elihu? 
 
 7. State the theory offered in the prose prologue. 
 
 8. What explanation seems to be the final opinion of the 
 author of the book? Does this answer to the question of 
 why the righteous suffer contribute to the development of 
 piety? 
 
 9. What is the Christian explanation of the presence of 
 evil in the world? What is the Christian teaching on the 
 problem of the book of Job? 
 
 10. In what way does belief in Satan contribute to the 
 solution of the problem? 
 
 11. To what extent did belief in immortality with rewards 
 and punishments contribute to the author's plea for trust 
 in God? (See 3. 13-19 for ideas of life after death.) 
 
 12. Since piety is faith in and reverence for God, what are 
 the chief characteristics of God portrayed by this book? 
 
 13. What is Job's conception of a wise man? (28. 28). 
 Commit to memory this verse. 
 
 14. Where does Job place the responsibility for his suffer- 
 ings? 
 
 15. What elements in Job's piety are of present-day value? 
 
208 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 References fob Additional Study 
 
 Article "Job," Dictionary of the Bible, Hastings. 
 The Religion of Israel, H. P. Smith, pages 266-75. 
 Introduction to the Old Testament, McFadyen, pages 264-81. 
 Modern Criticism and the Preaching of the Old Testament, 
 G. A. Smith, pages 283-300. 
 The Theology of the Old Testament, Davidson, pages 466-95. 
 
CHAPTEE XX 
 JEWISH LIFE IN THE PEESIAN PEEIOD 
 
 That no nation lives unto itself alone is amply illus- 
 trated in the history of the Jewish people. National feel- 
 ing and action took their beginnings among the Hebrews 
 while they were living in Egypt. On their entrance into 
 Palestine they were influenced profoundly by the more 
 developed civilization of the Canaanites. Phoenicia and 
 Damascus lay close along the borders of the northern 
 kingdom, and they continued to influence Hebrew political 
 and religious life until they were supplanted by Assyria. 
 The Babylonians took many Jews captive, and preceding 
 chapters have shown how greatly the development of Jew- 
 ish religion is indebted to these exiles. 
 
 In 538 B. C. the Persians fell heir to the vast empire 
 of the Babylonians and Assyrians, and Cyrus and his suc- 
 cessors swayed the East until they in turn succumbed to a 
 more virile civilization. For approximately two hundred 
 years the Jews were struggling to achieve their destiny 
 under the suzerainty of these Aryans. It will be recalled 
 that Cyrus made possible a return of Babylonian exiles 
 to Jerusalem, that Artaxerxes I nobly acquiesced in the 
 desires of his cupbearer Nehemiah, and that Artaxerxes 
 II gave Ezra his opportunity to stamp legalism upon the 
 Jerusalem community. 
 
 What further influence upon Jewish life resulted from 
 the Persian control of Palestine? Were the Jews af- 
 fected directly by Persian religious ideas? These are 
 questions of much importance. This chapter is devoted to 
 their answer. 
 
 The Postponement of the Fulfillment of the Mes- 
 sianic Hope 
 
 From the time of Isaiah the hope of a golden age for 
 Israel continued to be a constant feature in Jewish life. 
 
 209 
 
210 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 This hope more and more came to be associated with vast 
 political disturbances in the nations and in the confusion 
 and overthrow of those which held in check the political 
 aspirations of the Jews. Cyrus was hailed by a prophet 
 of the Exile as Jehovah's servant, and in the overthrow of 
 the ancient Semitic Babylonia by the Persians and the 
 Medes many Jews undoubtedly believed that there were to 
 be seen the beginnings of that universal political chaos 
 out of which the glorious Jewish state was to arise. 
 
 But the Persian succeeded in doing what neither of his 
 Semitic predecessors in world empire had achieved. 
 Darius came to the throne in 521 B. C. and during his 
 reign he molded the heterogeneous elements of his ex- 
 tensive empire into a compact and regularly organized 
 body. The vast areas subject to him were divided into 
 twenty to thirty provinces — the number varied from time 
 to time — , and each was placed in charge of a governor, or 
 satrap. This official was responsible for the collection of 
 revenue, the administration of justice, and the maintenance 
 of order. In each satrapy there were also a military com- 
 mander and a secretary. These officials too were appointed 
 by the king and were responsible directly to him. There 
 were numerous military posts, garrisoned except in rare 
 cases by Persian soldiers only, in all the provinces. The 
 satrap was the "eye of the king." His task was to keep 
 his sovereign informed concerning conditions in his prov- 
 ince. The Persian sovereigns kept in close communication 
 with even the most distant provinces by a chain of cou- 
 riers maintained along the excellent post roads throughout 
 the empire. 
 
 Under such a system Jewish expectations of world-wide 
 political disturbances were almost wholly crushed. "All 
 the earth sitteth still, and is at rest," was Zechariah's (1. 
 11) dejected statement. Consequently, the Persian dom- 
 ination, so systematically organized and maintained, si- 
 lenced for nearly two centuries the Jewish expectation that 
 a prince of the house of David should sit upon the throne 
 of a gloriously restored and expanded Jewish state. Any 
 attempt at Jewish national independence, any refusal to 
 
JEWISH LIFE IN THE PERSIAN PERIOD 211 
 
 pay tribute, any training of armies, any plot to displace 
 the Persian undergovernor at Jerusalem, any hint at re- 
 bellion and a career of Jewish conquest, would have set 
 in motion the mighty forces of the Persian Empire, and 
 Judah would have been destroyed. No prophet could 
 arise to predict an immediate interference on the part of 
 Jehovah. The Persian was too securely established. The 
 Messianic state had to wait for a more propitious age. 
 
 New Devotion to the Temple 
 
 With political Messianism crushed or held in abeyance 
 during the Persian period pious Jews turned more ear- 
 nestly to the Temple and its services. We have studied 
 already Nehemiah's establishment of an elaborate Temple 
 ritual and the extensive sacrificial system inaugurated by 
 Ezra. But in addition to the new devotion to the idea 
 of atonement through sacrifice the religious aspirations 
 of Judaism also expressed themselves in a considerable 
 amount of devotional literature. This literature of devo- 
 tion, being set to music, was introduced into the services 
 of the Temple. The result was to diminish the crass 
 effect of the sacrifices and to rally about the Temple many 
 for whom the sacrificial conception of atonement was in- 
 sufficient or repellent. 
 
 Temple Music. — Undoubtedly music formed a part of 
 the acts of worship in Solomon's Temple. Since the chief 
 services of religion among the Hebrews were festivals 
 of feasting and general rejoicing, music formed a part 
 of the acts of worship at all the sanctuaries. Songs and 
 musical instruments appeared at these feasts (Isaiah 30. 
 29). So prominent was this musical feature in worship 
 that Amos (5. 23) uses it to symbolize the whole sacri- 
 ficial system which he denounced: "Take thou away from 
 me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody 
 of thy viols." The Temple at Jerusalem undoubtedly 
 continued this custom until the city was sacked by the 
 Babylonians. After the Deuteronomic reform the serv- 
 ices at Jerusalem naturally assumed greater importance 
 and undoubtedly became more elaborate. Probably in the 
 
212 THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 closing years of the southern kingdom is to be placed the 
 beginning of the custom of using professionally trained 
 musicians in the religious services. No certain descrip- 
 tions of these arrangements for music have come down to 
 us. We cannot be sure what songs they sang and we are 
 only partially aware of what instruments were used. 
 
 The matter becomes more clear after the Exile. At the 
 time of Nehemiah's second visit to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 
 13. 10) there was a numerous company of professional 
 singers who, because of lack of financial support, 
 had gone to farming. Nehemiah restored the payment of 
 tithes and recalled the Temple musicians to their tasks. 
 Evidently a considerable use of music in the services of 
 the Temple was a well-established feature in his time. 
 It is probable that at the completion of the second Temple 
 musical elements on a more elaborate scale became a regu- 
 lar feature of the Temple ritual. When Ezra arrived with 
 the new law, and under his leadership the sacrificial ele- 
 ments in the ritual were greatly expanded, music already 
 was thoroughly established as a large and integral element 
 in the services of the Temple. 
 
 The Temple musicians associated themselves together in 
 guilds. The earliest whose names have come down to us 
 were the "children of Asaph" (Ezra 2. 41), "sons of Korah" 
 (Psalm 42), and the "sons of Jeduthun" (1 Chronicles 
 25. 1). The members of these guilds were both players of 
 instruments and singers. They accompanied the daily 
 burnt offering and all other of the more solemn services 
 with singing. They were their own accompanists. The 
 instruments commonly used were cymbals; the nebel, or 
 psalter; and the kinnor, or harp. The latter two were 
 stringed instruments. The tunes were taken from old 
 popular songs sung at weddings, harvests, and vintages. 
 
 Hymnbooks of the Temple. — During the Persian period 
 the process of collecting, editing, and composing songs for 
 the services of the Temple, if not begun at this period, 
 was greatly stimulated by the need felt for a more spirit- 
 ual religion than that involved in the sacrificial system. 
 The strict legalists themselves felt the need of this music, 
 
JEWISH LIFE IN THE PERSIAN PERIOD 213 
 
 and the more spiritually minded found in the hymns an 
 outlet for their longings. The first Jewish hymnbook was 
 issued about the time of Nehemiah or Ezra. It was com- 
 posed of Psalms 3-41, with the possible exception of 
 Psalm 33. Psalms 51-72, with a few possible exceptions 
 (for example, Psalm 60), were a second collection made 
 during the continuation of the Persian rule. The Asaphite 
 Psalms (50, 73-83) and the Korahite collection (43-49), 
 although containing Psalms of the Persian period, were 
 not assembled until after the Jews had passed through the 
 deep waters of Greek persecution. 
 
 These two hymnbooks of the Persian period contained 
 Psalms written earlier than the time at which they found 
 their way into the Psalter. But their collection and use 
 indicate the religious spirit of the period and reflect in- 
 directly the Persian subjugation of Jewish national life. 
 
 While the dating of individual Psalms is exceedingly 
 difficult, and while there is much difference of opinion 
 concerning the dates of nearly all the Psalms, it does add 
 to the interest of a Psalm to be able to attach it to some 
 definite historical setting in Israel's life. Examine 
 Psalms 5, 6, 10, 12, 13, 17, and 22. These poems express 
 the distress of pious Jews at the hands of worldly and 
 arrogant leaders in their own community. But in the 
 midst of suffering unjustly afflicted their faith in Jehovah 
 sustains them, and they believe that he will break the 
 arm of the evildoer and the wicked. Read in connection 
 with these Psalms Malachi 3. 13-18 and consider whether 
 the prophet's description of the dark years in Judah im- 
 mediately preceding the advent of Nehemiah is not a 
 satisfactory historical setting of these Psalms. 
 
 Read Psalms 8, 16, 29; 57. 5-11; and 19. 7-14. These 
 Psalms also were produced in the Persian period and 
 fairly reflect the devotional life, the type of piety, which 
 obtained in the Judaean community shortly after the 
 reforms of Nehemiah and Ezra. They seem to indicate 
 that these reforms were more or less permanent and were 
 acceptable to the majority. The dissatisfaction and the 
 difference of view expressed in Ruth, Job, and Jonah, 
 
214 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 which also are voices of the Persian period, were not pro- 
 nounced enough to shake the position of the Temple and 
 its services in the affection of the people. 
 
 The Last Yeaes of the Persian Period 
 
 Artaxerxes III, through a series of murders, ascended 
 the throne of Persia in 359 B. C. During the reign of 
 his immediate predecessors Persian control of the empire's 
 vast territories had relaxed, and opportunity was given 
 for revolt. Egypt threw off the Persian yoke, and the 
 Phoenicians followed the Egyptian example. It is prob- 
 able that Judah, as of old, was enamoured by the possi- 
 bility of independence and refused the Persian tribute. 
 Phoenicia and Egypt were defeated and punished with 
 the utmost cruelty. The citizens of Sidon to the number 
 of forty thousand shut themselves in their houses and set 
 fire to their city rather than trust themselves to the cruel 
 tortures of the Persian monarch. In Egypt, Artaxerxes 
 demolished the walls of cities, plundered the temples, and, 
 leaving garrisons to hold the country in subjection, with- 
 drew with immense booty. From Josephus it is evident 
 that a Persian force under Bagoas, one of the generals of 
 Artaxerxes, severely chastised Jerusalem for its part in 
 the revolt. Many Jews were taken captive and sold into 
 slavery. Others were transported to the province of Hyr- 
 cania, to the south of the Caspian Sea. 
 
 This tragic event in Jewish history has left its mark 
 in the book of Joel. Verses 9-17 in chapter three exhibit 
 the spirit in which Judah dared to throw aside the Per- 
 sian yoke. The spirit of nationalism and Messianic hope 
 were awakened once more by the changing political events. 
 The power of Persia seemed broken by the Egyptian re- 
 volt. It might well have seemed to the fervid religionists 
 at Jerusalem that the long-waited day of Jehovah's de- 
 liverance had come. Verses 4-8 are a fragment expressing 
 the rude and cruel awakening from these dreams. The 
 Persians came, and part of the punishment was the de- 
 spoliation of the Temple. Phoenician merchants became 
 the ready buyers of Jewish captives and such plunder as/ 
 
JEWISH LIFE IN THE PERSIAN PEEIOD 215 
 
 the Persians were ready to sell. Possibly some of the 
 Psalms were born in this time of bitter humiliation. But 
 none can be placed at this period with absolute certainty. 
 
 Other Results From Contact With the Persians 
 
 Persian officials, soldiers, couriers, and merchants were 
 common in every part of the domains subject to the suc- 
 cessors of Cyrus. The Jews living in various parts of 
 the empire were brought into close contact with Persian 
 life. In the Elephantine papyri there is a record of a 
 suit at law between Mahseiah, a Jew, and Dargman, a 
 Persian. Official documents prepared by Jews at Elephan- 
 tine, an island in the Nile, and addressed to "Our Lord 
 Arsham," the Persian satrap of Egypt, are still extant. 
 There has been found also a petition by the Jews of the 
 same city addressed to Bagohi, the Persian governor of 
 Judah, who, in the absence of Arsham from Egypt, au- 
 thorized the Jews at Elephantine to rebuild their Temple 
 to Jehovah, which had been destroyed. 
 
 There is every warrant for believing that the religious 
 ideas of the Persians penetrated into all districts reached 
 by their political and military authority. In those com- 
 munities where Persian religious ideas were more ad- 
 vanced than the native religions there is every reason to 
 suppose that they were not without influence upon the 
 subject peoples. 
 
 During the period under discussion (538-322 B. C.) 
 Persian religious conceptions in some particulars showed 
 more reflection and, therefore, were more satisfactory than 
 were the Jewish. This is true especially of their beliefs 
 concerning life after death. The Jews at this time held 
 the views on the subject which were common to all the 
 Semitic East. Beneath the earth was an abode for all 
 the dead. Into this vast cavern good and bad went indis- 
 criminately. See Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 32. 18-32. There 
 was no teaching of retribution after death and no release 
 from this gloomy underworld. Job. 3. 13-19 and 14. 10- 
 12 express tfre same notion. If the author of Job raises 
 
216 THE KELIGION" OF JUDAH 
 
 the question of a happier immortality (14. 14), the idea 
 is held as a faint hope. 
 
 Zoroastrianism, the religion of the Persians, had clearly 
 outlined beliefs concerning the invisible life. Individuals 
 at death were judged, and their destiny was determined 
 according to their thoughts, words, and actions in the 
 present life. The good passed at once into the heavenly 
 abode, and the bad were cast down into hell. At the end 
 of the world was to come a final judgment. The bodies 
 of the dead were to be raised and reunited with the spirits 
 who once had tenanted them. The great and final judg- 
 ment then took place. All evil was then to be destroyed, 
 and the earth was to be renewed for the abode of the 
 righteous. 
 
 To what extent did this Persian eschatology influence 
 Judaism? In Daniel 12. 13 two characteristic Persian 
 ideas appear. By this passage there is taught a resurrec- 
 tion of righteous and wicked and a final judgment follow- 
 ing the resurrection. But this resurrection and judg- 
 ment are limited. They do not apply to all mankind; 
 they do not even include all Jews. It is possible that in 
 the teaching of Daniel, Judaism began to be formally 
 responsive to the Persian conception of the last things. 
 In the second and first centuries before the Christian era 
 a well-developed eschatology that almost completely par- 
 alleled the Persian doctrine appeared in the Palestinian 
 apocryphal literature. The conclusion is inevitable that 
 Persian ideas of the last things met a sympathetic response 
 in the harassed Judaean community, and that the more 
 pious were stimulated by these foreign notions to develop 
 their primitive eschatology into a likeness of Persian doc- 
 trine and unite it with their Messianic hopes. 
 
 Practically the same course, though in a lesser degree, 
 was taken by the development of the ideas of Satan, angels, 
 a heavenly court surrounding God, and the spiritual rulers 
 acting as satraps of Jehovah in the government of non- 
 Jewish peoples. The ideas of nations being ruled by 
 heavenly princes as underlords of Jehovah (Daniel 9. 21, 
 10. 13, 18-21) seem to have been modeled from the form. 
 
JEWISH LIFE IN THE PERSIAN PERIOD 217 
 
 of government of the Persian Empire. The same concep- 
 tion appears in Psalm 82. These spiritual beings — demi- 
 gods, they might be called — appear in other Psalms (for 
 example, 86. 8; 95. 3; 138. 1), against whose high estate is 
 manifested by contrast the greater glory of Jehovah. 
 
 Summary 
 
 Continued study of the past makes ever more clear that 
 in those far-off days, as in the present time, no nation 
 lived unto itself. After the Exile the community in Jeru- 
 salem was guided by a succession of pious leaders, who did 
 their utmost to break the contact of Jews with foreigners 
 and to exclude from Judaism non-Jewish ideas. But 
 when the day came that the appointment of the high 
 priests was in the hands of Persian officials, 1 it is easy to 
 understand that foreigners in Palestine, in the long run, 
 directly and indirectly influenced the development of Jew- 
 ish religion. 
 
 The Persians made possible the rebuilding of the Tem- 
 ple and the city; they permitted the return of influential 
 Jews to the land of their fathers; their tolerance made 
 possible a fairly prosperous Jewish community in Pales- 
 tine. But their well-established control of Judah silenced 
 its political Messianism and turned the attention of the 
 Palestinian Jews to their Temple. This strict confinement 
 of Jewish aspirations to religious ideas and activities 
 formed the setting for the development of Jewish law, 
 for new attention to the cultus, and for the new passion 
 for psalmody. Persian political organization and religious 
 beliefs more directly influenced the growth of Judasim 
 and, in the ideas of judgment and resurrection, enriched 
 Jewish religious life. 
 
 Modern Inferences From Past Events 
 
 Of what and by whom is the life of an individual or a 
 nation made? From what source have sprung the ideas 
 that make us what we are? Whence have come our be- 
 
 ■ Antiquities, Josephus, xi, 7, 1. 
 
218 THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 liefs, the color of our emotions, and the decisions that are 
 registered in deeds? How subtle and unfathomable are 
 the ways in which an individual is influenced in every 
 aspect of life ! A terrific thunderstorm frightened Luther 
 into becoming a monk; the terror of a pursued runaway 
 slave led John Brown to vow eternal enmity to slavery; 
 the sight of a criminal guillotined in Paris shook to its 
 foundations Tolstoy's belief in the greatness of modern 
 civilization; Sarah Bernhardt was diverted from the con- 
 vent to the stage by a careless remark made to her mother 
 by a friend; Matthew was transformed from a publican 
 into an apostle by the Master's "Come." It is so in every 
 life. A picture, a book, a song, a careless or an earnest 
 word, a birth, a death, an accident — and our lives are 
 turned into new paths, and we become different beings. We 
 are influenced by everybody and everything; and we, in 
 turn, influence the whole world. No individual lives 
 unto himself. Our separate lives are really composite 
 parts of the lives of all. Life is an endless process of give 
 and receive. The Persians are ever with us. 
 
 How frequently the common and unclean are trans- 
 formed into the beautiful and the pure ! When the singers 
 of the Temple were seeking tunes for their poems they 
 found them among the songs in common use. Vintage 
 songs, love ditties, and songs of revelry were robbed of 
 their melodies, and these popular tunes began to be heard 
 in the courts of the Temple. Psalm 22, from which Jesus 
 quoted when dying, was sung to the tune of a hunting 
 song: "The Hind of the Morning." Psalm 56, one of the 
 oldest in the Psalter, was set to the music of a love song : 
 "The Silent Dove." Psalm 8, one of the noblest of Jewish 
 hymns, was sung to a wine song's music. Even tunes 
 can be converted. Men and women whose lives are set 
 to sin can be reclaimed from the vulgar and vicious and 
 changed into sacred chants unto God. 
 
 The Psalms seem to have been written for all time. 
 Jew and Gentile, Catholic and Protestant, cultured and 
 ignorant, Oriental and Occidental, find in them the ve- 
 hicle of their praises and their prayers. The Psalms are 
 
JEWISH LIFE IN THE PEESIAN PERIOD 219 
 
 the utterances of human souls crying out for divine aid 
 and comfort. They are human voices — not Jewish; 
 therefore, they are universal voices. Through the centu- 
 ries they have been lifting themselves to God in the hearts 
 of vast human multitudes. Martyrs, missionaries, mer- 
 chants far from home, sailors at sea, soldiers in the thick 
 of battle, kings on their throne, stout souls defying the 
 tyranny of kings, mothers bending over their children, 
 youths and maidens in their mating time, old men and 
 saintly women facing the sunset, even our Lord at Cal- 
 vary, have used the Psalms to unite themselves the closer 
 with God. They are still our noblest expressions of wor- 
 ship. They are sufficient for the sage. They are beautiful 
 on the lips of a child. 
 
 Tests op Lesson Masteby 
 
 1. What nations influenced the Hebrews in different periods 
 of their history? 
 
 2. Discuss the political organization of the Persian Empire. 
 
 3. What was the result of this political efficiency upon 
 Jewish Messianism? 
 
 4. What use of music in Hebrew religion had been made 
 previous to the Exile? 
 
 5. What led to a greater use of music in the services of the 
 second Temple? 
 
 6. Discuss the guilds, instruments of music, and Hebrew 
 tunes. 
 
 7. Describe the contents of the earliest Jewish hymnbooks. 
 
 8. What events in the Persian Empire and in Jewish his- 
 tory inspired the prophecies of the third chapter of Joel? 
 
 9. How closely were the Jews brought into contact with 
 the Persians? 
 
 10. What were the views of the hereafter held by the Jew- 
 ish contemporaries of Nehemiah? 
 
 11. What were the Persian views at this time? 
 
 12. To what extent was Judaism influenced by Persian re- 
 ligious ideas? 
 
 References for Further Study 
 
 Jerusalem, G. A. Smith, Volume II, pages 350-66. 
 Seven Great Monarchies, Rawlinson, Volume II, pages 466- 
 74 and 526-32. 
 History of the Jewish People, Kent, pages 224-67. 
 Old-Testament History, Wade, pages 508-11. 
 
CHAPTEE XXI 
 
 THE JEWISH SAGE 
 
 When Alexander set out from Macedonia with his 
 armies for the conquest of Asia, a new epoch in the world's 
 life began. The Greeks believed themselves to be the 
 superiors of the Asiatics in the things that make civiliza- 
 tion. It was natural for them to introduce into the lands 
 of their conquest the familiar aspects of their life at 
 home. By the year 332 B. C. the Greeks had wrested 
 Syria and Palestine from the Persians. From this date 
 until 63 B. C., at which time Jerusalem was captured by 
 Pompey, and a Eoman garrison policed the city, Palestine 
 was profoundly affected by Greek civilization. Even the 
 appearance of the Kom&ns did not stop the process of Hel- 
 lenization. Pompey gave many of the cities of Palestine 
 their freedom and embellished them with new public 
 buildings after the Greek manner. From the coming of 
 the Greeks until a hundred years, at least, after the open- 
 ing of the Christian era Greek civilization was the domi- 
 nant influence in Palestine. 
 
 Greek Influence in Palestine 
 
 Since the Greeks had crossed into Asia not to ravage the 
 country but to possess it, they caused to spring up a mul- 
 titude of cities after the Greek pattern, into which were 
 carried the ideals, the interests, and the manners of the 
 homeland. No part of Asia was more Hellenized than 
 Syria and northern Palestine. Throughout Galilee around 
 the shores of Gennesaret and far across the Jordan arose 
 numerous Greek walled cities, with colonnaded streets, 
 stadiums, theaters, baths, hippodrome, and, sometimes, a 
 naumachy. Mount Tabor, looking down upon the plain 
 of Esdraelon; Sycthopolis, guarding the plain at its en- 
 trance into the Jordan valley; at least Taricheae and Ga- 
 
 220 
 
THE JEWISH SAGE 221 
 
 dara by Galilee; Paneion at the sources of the Jordan; in 
 eastern Palestine, Dion and Pella, the latter so thor- 
 oughly Greek that it was destroyed by the Maccabean prince 
 John Hyrcanus ; Gerasa, 1 Philadelphia on the site of Kab- 
 both Amnion, Abila, Eaphona, and, no doubt, many an- 
 other — such are some of the cities built by Alexander's 
 successors to spread Greek culture throughout the world. 
 All these cities were within three days' journey of Jerusa- 
 lem, and some of them were in sight of the Mount of 
 Olives. Into these Palestinian cities — there were many 
 others along the Phoenician and Palestinian coast-^-poured 
 the tides of a new and attractive life. Interests, ideals, 
 and feelings new to the Jew were dominant in these bril- 
 liant centers of life. They gave expression to that political 
 activity, artistic feeling, and physical enjoyment so char- 
 acteristic of the Greek and so foreign to the Jew. Fes- 
 tivals in which athletic games, horse races, and dramatic 
 entertainments held dominating place offered the youth 
 of Jerusalem an entirely new conception of life and the goal 
 of human endeavor. The plays of Sophocles and Eurip- 
 ides, along with much inferior stuff, were enacted in 
 these Palestinian theaters. 
 
 It was impossible that the younger and wealthier Jews 
 should not respond to this freedom and exhilaration of 
 Greek life. Greek culture offered a wider arena of life. 
 So all those Jews — they were an increasing number — who 
 aspired for either social position or- higher mental endow- 
 ments now turned to the Greek language, philosophy, and 
 letters. Nor were they longer content to remain at home : 
 the desire for pleasure, for commerce, for political ad- 
 vancement, for military service, for residence in Greek 
 cities, for fertile lands, all combined to draw multiplied 
 thousands of Jews into the Greek centers of Egypt and 
 Syria. The attractiveness of this Greek life is revealed in 
 the proposal to rename Jerusalem "Antiochia" and in 
 the rededication of the Samaritan temple on Mount 
 Gerizim as the "Temple of Jupiter Hellenius." 
 
 1 A Syrian Pilgrimage, Ascham, pages 89-94. 
 
222 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 The rigid Judaism, grown up under Nehemiah and 
 Ezra, could not wholly resist this freer Hellenic life, and 
 there appeared under Greek influence writings called Wis- 
 dom Literature. The complex ceremonial and civil law 
 that governed Judaism during the fourth century required 
 not only the priest to conduct the ritual but also the scribe 
 to teach the law. The near approach of Greek civilization 
 attracted many scribes, not only to expound the Jewish 
 Scriptures but also to observe and study universal moral 
 and religious principles. Such scribes as were attracted 
 by this universal moral truth are the sages. In Ecclesias- 
 ticus 39. 1-10 are stated the aim and function of the sage : 
 
 "He will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients, 
 And will be occupied in prophecies; 
 He will keep the discourse of the men of renown, 
 And be conversant in the dark sayings of parables; 
 He will serve among great men, 
 And appear before him that ruleth; 
 He will travel through the land of strange nations, 
 For he hath tried good things and evil among men. 
 He will apply his heart to resort early to the Lord that 
 
 made him, 
 And will make supplication before the Most High, 
 And will open his mouth in prayer, 
 And will make supplication for his sins. 
 The Lord shall direct* his counsel and knowledge, 
 And in his secrets shall he meditate. 
 He shall show forth the instruction which he hath been 
 
 taught, 
 And shall glory in the law of the covenant of the Lord. 
 Many shall commend his understanding, 
 And so long as the world endureth, it shall not be blotted 
 
 out. 
 Nations shall declare his wisdom, 
 And the congregation shall tell out his praise." 
 
 Compare with this ideal of the sage's function in society 
 the meaning and the need of wisdom given in Proverbs 
 
THE JEWISH SAGE 223 
 
 1. 2-7. This prologue states the purpose of the collection 
 of proverbs that make up the book. 
 
 This wisdom literature includes the Old-Testament book 
 of Proverbs; several Psalms, such as 73, 92, 103, 104, 
 and 107; Ecclesiastes ; and the apocryphal books of Eccle- 
 siasticus (or Wisdom of Jesus, Son of Sirach) and Wisdom 
 of Solomon. 
 
 The Teaching of the Sage 
 
 Concerning Human Conduct. — Eead Proverbs, chapter 2 ; 
 4. 13-19. Note that it is man's supreme duty to seek 
 wisdom as he would search for hidden treasures; and if 
 he does so crave to understand life he will learn that 
 man's highest virtue is obedience to the moral law. This 
 theme is amplified and illustrated in succeeding chapters. 
 Chapter 5 is a warning against sexual licentiousness. Chap- 
 ter 6 points out the evils of idleness, lying, theft, adultery, 
 and murder. Other parts of the book are warnings against 
 dishonesty (10. 9), mischief -making (10. 10), hate (10. 
 12), slander (10. 18), pride (11. 2), stinginess and avar- 
 ice (11. 24-26), social pretense (13. 7), anger (14. 17), 
 bribery (15. 27), use of wine (20. 1), quarrelsomeness 
 (20. 3), fraud (20. 17), gossip (20. 19), filial impiety 
 (20. 20), oppression of the poor (22. 22, 23; 10. 11), 
 gluttony and drunkenness (23. 20, 21), perjury (25. 18), 
 boastfulness (27. 1, 2), jealousy (27. 4), greed (27. 20). 
 These vices are pointed out many times over, and their 
 antithetic virtues are the evidence of wisdom. Similar 
 vices and virtues are the themes of Ben-Sira (Jesus, Son 
 of Sirach). This author of Ecclesiasticus anticipates 
 James in saying: 
 
 "Be as a father unto the fatherless, 
 And instead of a husband unto their mother, 
 So shalt thou be a son of the Most High." 
 
 Likewise, in other forms of rich human sympathy man 
 shows his wisdom: 
 
 "Be not wanting to them that weep, 
 And mourn with them that mourn." 
 
224 THE RELIGION OE JUDAH 
 
 Then, too, prayer and almsgiving are the marks of wis- 
 dom: 
 
 "Be not faint-hearted in thy prayer, 
 And neglect not to give alms." 
 
 For the sage, sin has little or nothing to do with cere- 
 monial law. The wise man is not he who follows with 
 devotion the Jewish ritual of worship, but he who prac- 
 tices the great moral virtues. Here, again, as in the great 
 prophets, righteousness becomes a greater thing than the 
 correct practice of a cult: it is the exaltation of truth, 
 justice, integrity, sobriety, and humanity to supreme place 
 in human conduct. The man who does these things will 
 stand right with God. Ben-Sira sums up the advantage of 
 the pursuit of moral truth in his fine saying : 
 "Strive for the truth unto death, 
 And the Lord God shall fight for thee." 
 
 In this new emphasis upon wisdom virtue and knowl- 
 edge become practically the same thing. The sinner is a 
 fool; the observer of moral law is wise. The bad man is 
 bad because he will not seek instruction. "Wisdom will 
 not enter into a soul that deviseth evil," writes the author 
 of Wisdom of Solomon. After cataloguing the sins of 
 wicked men the same writer thus accounts for their evil 
 purposes : 
 
 "Thus reasoned they, and they were led astray; 
 For their wickedness blinded them, 
 And they knew not the mysteries of God." 
 
 Compare with this the identification of wisdom and right- 
 eousness in Proverbs 8. 8. So in this new turn of Jewish 
 thought wisdom is regarded as the one thing needful. 
 Let a man become wise, and all goes well. 
 
 Concerning Wisdom as a Divine Attribute— The 
 Priestly Code held up Jehovah's holiness, meaning by this 
 his separateness from man, as the chief element in his 
 nature. The prophets emphasized his justice, righteous- 
 ness, and love. The sages put forward wisdom as the out- 
 standing characteristic of deity. 
 
THE JEWISH SAGE 225 
 
 (a) Read carefully Proverbs 8. 22-81. Observe that 
 Wisdom here asserts her primeval origin before Jehovah 
 set about the creation of the world (verses 22-26) and 
 that she was present at the creation of the earth, rejoicing 
 at Jehovah's work and being his continual delight (27- 
 31). Wisdom is here represented as a personal being, the 
 first-created companion of the Most High. It is a poet's 
 way of asserting that wisdom is the supreme attribute of 
 deity and affirming that God's providence is character- 
 istically marked by wisdom. 
 
 ( o) Ben-Sira teaches, similarly, that wisdom is the glori- 
 ous distinction of God's nature and providence: 
 
 "I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, 
 And covered the earth as a mist; 
 I dwelt in high places, 
 And my throne is in the pillar of the cloud. 
 Alone I compassed the circuit of the heaven, 
 And walked in the depth of the abyss. 
 In the waves of the sea, and in all the earth, 
 And in every people and nation I got a possession. 
 He created me from the beginning before the world, 
 And to the end I shall not fail" (Ecclesiasticus 24. 3-9). 
 
 (c) In Wisdom of Solomon (7. 25, 26; 8. l) t the same 
 assertion occurs that wisdom is the supreme meaning of 
 God: 
 
 "Wisdom is a breath of the power of God, 
 And a clear effluence of the glory of the Almighty; 
 She is an effulgence from everlasting light, 
 And an unspotted mirror of the working of God, 
 And an image of his goodness. 
 She reacheth out endlessly with strength unabated, 
 And ordereth all things graciously." 
 
 The author of this book goes further. Wisdom is not 
 only the active principle of divine Providence in nature 
 but it is the Spirit of God himself passing out into human 
 life and uniting men unto himself: 
 
226 THE RELIGION OP JUDAH 
 
 "Wisdom, from generation to generation passing into holy 
 souls, 
 Maketh men God's prophets and friends; 
 For nothing doth God love save him that dwelleth with 
 wisdom" (7. 27, 28). 
 
 "She entered into the soul of a servant of the Lord, 
 And withstood terrible kings in wonders and signs. 
 She rendered unto holy men a reward of their toils; 
 She guided them along a marvelous way, 
 And became unto them a covering in the daytime, 
 And a flame of stars through the night" (10. 16, 17). 
 
 TTniversalism. — There is little stress upon Jewish laws, 
 institutions, and hopes. There is no mention of Israel in 
 Proverbs. According to Ben-Sira wisdom is manifested 
 preeminently in Jewish law (24. 8-23), and the priestly 
 dues are obligations upon the wise man. But the wise 
 man is much more than a legalist. The great moral vir- 
 tues, found in every nation, are the equivalent of Jewish 
 ritual : 
 
 "He that requiteth a good turn offereth fine flour; 
 And he that giveth alms sacrificeth a thank offering" 
 (35. 2). 
 
 In Wisdom of Solomon this universalism is carried still 
 further : 
 
 "Thou hast mercy on all men, because thou hast power to 
 
 do all things, 
 And thou overlookest the sins of men to the end they 
 
 may repent. 
 For thou lovest all things that are, 
 And abhorrest none of the things which thou didst make ; 
 For never wouldest thou have formed anything if thou 
 
 didst hate it. 
 And how would anything have endured, except thou 
 
 hadst willed it? 
 Thou sparest all things, because they are thine, 
 Sovereign Lord, thou lover of men" (11. 23-26). 
 
THE JEWISH SAGE 227 
 
 (b) This universal religion is seen in the sage's concep- 
 tion of sin and the means for its forgiveness. Recall what 
 is said above concerning human conduct and compare the 
 conception of sin here taught with the idea of sin expressed 
 in Chapter XVIII. Here there is no ceremonial sin. All 
 sin is the rejection of wisdom and the pursuit of the well- 
 recognized immoral acts of life. The sage possesses a 
 finer sense of the ground of the forgiveness of sins. Ob- 
 serve in the foregoing quotation from Wisdom of Solo- 
 mon that Jehovah needs no sacrifice to put him in a 
 forgiving humor: his great power and love are sufficient 
 motives to move him to receive mercifully his repentant 
 children. This movement of the sage away from the 
 sacrificial ritual of legalistic Judaism is a splendid vision 
 of the true nature of God and of religion. 
 
 A Deposit Slip for the Spiritual Savings Bank 
 
 Better than gold is the knowledge of God. This is a 
 fundamental truth for the wise man. Do you believe this ? 
 Do you really believe that the kingdom of God is more 
 worthy of your thought and enterprise than the pursuit 
 of wealth and fame? Are the invisible interests of the 
 soul of greater moment than the visible needs of the body ? 
 If we are creatures who outlast time and who, by virtue of 
 this spiritual immortality, cannot hope to find comfort 
 and life in the world of things, do we not need far more 
 deeply than we hitherto have understood the help of a 
 Being who is lifted high above the pettiness and the mean- 
 ness of our lives, above our ignorance and sin, whose will, 
 in spite of our blindness and rebellion, dominates the 
 world ? A retreat we must have in the realms of the spirit 
 to save us from the littleness and misery into which the 
 strife for things ever plunges us. God is man's primary 
 need. 
 
 In religion wisdom is a primary need. Men do not 
 purposely seek wretchedness, misery, and sin; all men are 
 pursuing happiness. It is the lack of lofty discipline and 
 direction in the habit-forming years which distorts so woe- 
 fully the conception of satisfaction held by the vast ma- 
 
228 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 jority of mankind. Could the young man who lifts the 
 first glass of beer to his lips see himself mirrored as a 
 penniless outcast, ragged, filthy, blear-eyed, cursed by 
 society, he would shudder at the foaming drink as at 
 leprosy or a mad dog. The girl who harbors the first im- 
 pure thought never pictures herself a woman of the streets. 
 The task of evangelizing the world is the task of teaching 
 the world where the goals of happiness lie. Do you recall 
 the moan of Guinevere? 
 
 "Ah, my God, 
 
 What might I not have made of thy fair world 
 Had I but loved thy highest creature here? 
 It was my duty to have loved the highest; 
 It surely was my profit had I known, 
 It would have been my pleasure had I seen, 
 We needs must love the highest when we see it." 
 
 Tennyson speaks true. There is a divine necessity within 
 us to love the highest that we know. Make it your solemn 
 duty to search for the highest, the purest, and the holiest, 
 and count it your unescapable duty and divinely given 
 opportunity to exhibit the highest that you know in the 
 sight of your fellow men. 
 
 Does God know? How often that question has flamed 
 within us. We are tempted, burdened, assailed, defeated. 
 Do we struggle alone? Is the sky without an ear? Are 
 the heavens blind? We know that the universe is strong. 
 Again and again we tremble before its power. Earthquake 
 and storm, disease and death, make us well aware of a 
 power outside ourselves shaping our destiny. Is this 
 Being wise and good? How we have raised the question 
 in the midst of a dreadful overwhelming of our hopes and 
 plans ! There is one answer only which steadies us and 
 gives strength and peace : God is wise. The universe has 
 no blind alley for him. He never takes his hand from the 
 wheel. He knows the course. He sees the far-off harbor. 
 thou vast outbound soul, fearful of the night, shrinking 
 from the storm, keep the wise God steersman of thy life, 
 and thou shalt make the harbor safe at the silver dawning 
 of the morning. 
 
THE JEWISH SAGE 229 
 
 Questions foe Study 
 
 1. What is meant by the Persian period in Hebrew history? 
 the Greek period? 
 
 2. What was the ambition of the Greek conquerors of Asia? 
 
 3. Name some of the Greek cities of Palestine? What 
 public buildings were essential to every Greek city? 
 
 4. What particular feature of Greek life was expressed by 
 the gymnasium? the theater? the stadium, hippodrome, and 
 naumachy? (Consult the dictionary.) 
 
 5. Was the appeal made by these aspects of Greek life 
 necessarily evil? 
 
 6. Did the Greek, in this emphasis upon physical enjoy- 
 ment, art, and politics, have a real contribution to make to 
 the Jew of the fourth and of the third century before Christ? 
 
 7. What motives impelled the younger and wealthier Jews 
 to respond to the appeals made by Greek civilization? 
 
 8. What necessitated the rise of the Jewish sage? 
 
 9. In the quotation from Ecclesiasticus 39. 1-10 point out the 
 preparation of the sage. Observe that he becomes conversant 
 with the products of past wisdom, he visits the great men 
 and the courts of foreign lands, he is a student of the social 
 conditions of his day, he seeks forgiveness of sins from God 
 and that instruction which he alone can give. Note next 
 his mission in the world and the honors that come to him. 
 
 10. Examine also, in a similar way, the prologue to the 
 book of Proverbs (1. 2-6), and point out the preparation and 
 the mission of the wise man. What is said to be man's first 
 step toward wisdom? 
 
 11. What writings constitute this wisdom literature? What 
 is an apocryphal book? 
 
 12. Examine Proverbs 2. 1-4 and state the prerequisite to 
 wisdom which the sage here insists upon? Note that wisdom, 
 first of all, is a definite and earnest purpose to search for 
 wisdom. What is promised in verse 5 to such an earnest in- 
 quirer? Observe that here "the fear of Jehovah," "the knowl- 
 edge of God," and wisdom are identified. The student will 
 recall Hosea's demand that Israel should know Jehovah. To 
 know Jehovah is to realize his ethical character and his moral 
 demands from men. The sage, like the prophet, regards the 
 conscience and reason of man, not a body of law or a cult, as 
 the true place of God's revelation of his ethical character 
 and the duties that his moral nature imposes upon man. "We 
 have here, on the one hand, the recognition of the mind of 
 man as a source of truth and, on the other hand, the as- 
 sertion that the moral potency of the mind is the creation 
 of God." 
 
 13. In the light of the foregoing statement what do the 
 words "Jehovah giveth wisdom" (verse 6) mean? 
 
230 THE BELIGION OF JTJDAH 
 
 14. Of what benefit is this wisdom to man? See the re- 
 mainder of the chapter. 
 
 15. What is the meaning of sin to the Jewish sage? What 
 is the relation of righteousness and wisdom? 
 
 16. What does the Jewish sage add to the Hebrew concep- 
 tion of deity? Estimate the importance of this contribution 
 to theology. 
 
 17. To what extent does the natural world give evidence 
 of this wisdom? 
 
 18. Is wisdom in Proverbs 8 and in the quotations from 
 Ecclesiasticus and Wisdom of Solomon anything different from 
 the wisdom spoken of in Proverbs 2? What new function of 
 wisdom is described by the author of Wisdom of Solomon? 
 
 19. Why does the sage not emphasize the beliefs, ideals, 
 and institutions peculiar to the Jew? Why does he preach 
 no Messianic kingdom and expect no Messiah? 
 
 20. What elements in his teaching were making for the 
 overthrow of Judaism? What aspects of his beliefs about 
 God and man were preparing the way for the teaching of 
 Jesus? 
 
 Supplementary Readings 
 
 The Religion of Israel, Smith, Chapter XVII. 
 A History of the Jewish People, Kent, pages 271-322. 
 Jerusalem, G. A. Smith, Volume II, pages 367-418. 
 Jerusalem Under the High Priests, Bevan, pages 1-68. 
 
CHAPTEE XXII 
 
 THE MACCABEAN CEISIS 
 
 Jewish religious history is a series of crises. The Exo- 
 dus, the rise of the monarchy, the division of the kingdom, 
 the crushing of Tyrian Baalism, the threatened fall of 
 Samaria, the birth of ethical prophecy, the sack of Jeru- 
 salem, the rebirth of the Jewish state in the legalism of 
 Nehemiah and Ezra, all evidence that the religion of 
 Israel ever was subjected to excessive stress and strain. 
 The Maccabean age is another period of trial and victory. 
 This chapter sets forth the nature of this crisis and its 
 contribution to Judaism. 
 
 Maccabean Political History 
 
 From 168 B. C, when the aged priest Mattathias began 
 to revolt against the Syrian kings, until 63, when Pales- 
 tine fell into the hands of Rome, constitutes the Maccabean 
 period of Jewish history. The preceding chapter pointed 
 out the aim of the Greek princes who got in control of 
 Palestine through the victories of Alexander the Great. 
 Believing in the vast superiority of the Hellenistic views 
 and practices of life, they devoted themselves to the spread 
 of this Greek civilization throughout all the provinces of 
 the empire. Although Judah was the slowest of all the 
 provinces of the Syrian kings (their capital was at An- 
 tioch, the Antioch from which Paul set out on his mission- 
 ary journeys) to respond to the allurements of Greek life, 
 in the course of time there arose a party friendly to the 
 Greeks. By 168 B. C. this party embraced a majority of 
 the leading Jews. 
 
 At this time Antiochus Epiphanes, the Syrian king, de- 
 termined to force an immediate Hellenization of Judaea. 
 He proposed to abolish the Jewish worship and to es- 
 tablish, instead, the Greek religious rites, There were 
 
 .331 
 
232 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 not wanting prominent Jews who were willing to aban- 
 don the characteristic features of their religion. Those 
 who favored the proposals of Antiochus seized the govern- 
 ment in Jerusalem. A gymnasium was erected near the 
 Temple, and the young men of Jerusalem threw them- 
 selves heartily into the new life of which this building was 
 the expression. Even the priests were to be seen oftener in 
 the gymnasium than in the Temple. Many of the athletes 
 sought to remove the traces of their circumcision. Such 
 was the progress toward the Hellenization of Judasa from 
 174 to 168 B. C. 
 
 Then Antiochus began to carry out his plans in earnest. 
 He sent an arm!y to Jerusalem, threw down its walls, 
 killed or sold into slavery very many of its inhabitants, 
 brought in Greek colonists, and built a citadel to hold the 
 people in subjection. Jerusalem was made a Greek city. 
 Upon the site of the ancient place of Jewish sacrifice a 
 Greek altar was set up, sacrifices were offered to Greek 
 deities, and the Jews were compelled to participate in 
 Greek religious festivals. Throughout Judaea the observ- 
 ance of Jewish worship was forbidden on pain of death. 
 Circumcision and the observance of the Sabbath were 
 special points of Greek attack. Officers were sent into all 
 the Jewish towns to see that sacrifices were offered to 
 the Greek gods. 
 
 When the royal officer came to Modin, a town forever 
 memorable in the annals of religion, an aged priest, Mat- 
 tathias, was urged to submit to the king's decree and offer 
 the heathen sacrifice. He refused. When a renegade Jew 
 stepped forward to take his place, Mattathias rushed for- 
 ward and struck him down beside the pagan altar and slew 
 also, in the next moment, the royal commissioner himself. 
 Thus having lifted the standard of revolt, Mattathias, with 
 his five sons and some others, fled into the mountains. 
 When the news of this brave deed spread through the land, 
 other like-minded Jews flocked to Mattathias; and these 
 forces swept up and down the land, overturned the Greek 
 altars, put to the sword many of those Jews who had re- 
 nounced their religion, and enforced the observance of 
 
THE MACCABEAN CRISIS 233 
 
 Jewish worship. It is impossible in this space to narrate 
 the details of the struggle in which these noble leaders 
 engaged with the Greeks to defend Judaism against the 
 encroachments of Hellenism. Here only it may be said 
 that Judas, who took up the work of his father and who 
 was called Maccabeus (a word that probably means "the 
 hammer"), is one of the great heroes of Jewish history; 
 that Jerusalem was wrested from the Greeks and Jewish 
 worship restored; that, finally, the citadel was captured; 
 that the high priesthood was secured in the Maccabean 
 family; and that, through the heroism and devotion of 
 the Maccabees, Judaea finally won its independence from 
 the Syrian kings, and, after six centuries of vassalage, the 
 Jews once more became an independent state. The in- 
 dependence of Judaea was recognized by the Syrian kings 
 in 143 B. C. 
 
 The Book of Daniel 
 
 It was in the midst of this Greek persecution, 167-165, 
 in the judgment of most scholars, when the book of Daniel 
 was composed by an unknown Jewish writer. Its purpose 
 was to encourage the faithful Israelites to remain steadfast 
 in Jewish practices and beliefs and withstand unto death 
 the Hellenizing attempts of Antiochus Epiphanes. 
 
 First, the author assembles the examples of other Israel- 
 ites who have endured great trials for their faith and 
 their triumphs through their constancy; secondly, he as- 
 sures his distressed countrymen that deliverance is near 
 at hand. This deliverance, the author believes, will be a 
 miraculous intervention on the part of God in the affairs of 
 nations, that the Greek Empire will be annihilated, and 
 that God will give his faithful servants in Judaea the sov- 
 ereignty of the world. He believes, indeed, that the Mes- 
 sianic age is immediately at hand. 
 
 Eead chapter 1. The author, by his story of Daniel's 
 refusal to eat meat, seeks to encourage his countrymen to 
 abstain from meats prepared by the Greeks. To eat of 
 food forbidden by Jewish law, especially in the days of 
 Antiochus Epiphanes, was a striking evidence of apostasy. 
 
234 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 Such meats were almost sure to have been offered as sacri- 
 fice before partaken of as food. Hence, the eating of such 
 meats, as in Paul's day, was a species of alien and idola- 
 trous worship. Chapter 1 is thus an exhortation to be 
 true to the law. Greek civilization considered itself su- 
 perior to the life of other nations. Those Jews who yielded 
 to its allurements likewise so regarded the eminent value 
 of Hellenic culture. Chapter 2 refutes this idea by ex- 
 hibiting the superiority of Hebrew wisdom over the boasted 
 Chaldean Magians. The four kingdoms are the Chaldean, 
 Median, Persian, and Greek. All these shall pass. Note 
 especially the words in which the rise of the Messianic king- 
 dom is described (2. 34, 35, 44, 45). 
 
 Chapter 3 is designed to encourage the Jews to cling 
 steadfastly to their own religion. Its truth is worthy of 
 loyalty unto death. Keeping in mind that, under the bit- 
 ter Antiochean persecution, Jews were apostatizing on 
 every hand, the passion of this author is the better under- 
 stood, and his mission valued. Observe (3. 17, 18) the 
 sublime faith and courage of the faithful Jews in the 
 darkest months of the Maccabean crisis. 
 
 Chapter 4 is to show the utter helplessness of heathen 
 powers before the true God. As Nebuchadnezzar, because 
 of pride and arrogance, was humbled from his high posi- 
 tion, so Antiochus Epiphanes will be reduced to mean es- 
 tate. The Jews who are loyal to Jehovah need fear no 
 earthly prince. 
 
 In chapter 5 the author, using current popular accounts 
 of the fall of Babylon, encourages his countrymen in their 
 crisis. Belshazzar lost his kingdom because he profaned the 
 Temple vessels that were carried from Jerusalem to Baby- 
 lon. How much more, then, is the implied argument, shall 
 Antiochus Epiphanes lose his throne for his destruction 
 of the Temple walls and his erection of a heathen altar 
 upon the site of Jehovah's sanctuary! 
 
 Chapter 6 inculcates that death is better than apostasy. 
 It is the duty of the Jews to observe their religion under 
 all circumstances. 
 
 The four beasts of chapter 7 are again the four king- 
 
THE MACCABEAN CRISIS 235 
 
 doms — Chaldean, Median, Persian, and Greek. Note es- 
 pecially the description of the Greek Empire (7. 7, 19-21). 
 The ten horns are various Greek kings — the successors of 
 Alexander the Great. The little horn (7. 8) is Antiochus 
 Epiphanes. Note especially the words about him : "a mouth 
 speaking great things." Observe too the summary in 7. 
 25 of the Hellenizing efforts of this same Greek king. Es- 
 pecially attend to the predicted end of the Greek Empire. 
 God himself, the "ancient of days" of verse 9, sits in 
 judgment. What is the end of the Greek dominion? (7. 
 11, 26). Examine carefully all that is said about the 
 new kingdom that is to arise (7. 13, 14, 18, 22, 27). Note 
 that the "ancient of days" gives the world sovereignty 
 to "one like unto a son of man" (7. 13), and to "the 
 saints of the Most High" (7. 18, 22, 27). These saints 
 of the Most High are of course the faithful Jews. Hence, 
 "one like unto a son of man" and "the saints of the Most 
 High" are identified. There is here a Messianic people; 
 not yet a Messiah. Observe the extent of this kingdom 
 in space and time. 
 
 Chapter 8 is a further description of the Greek king- 
 dom. The "he-goat from! the west" (8. 5) is Alexander 
 the Great. The four horns of 8. 9 are the four kingdoms 
 into which Alexander's vast empire split after his death. 
 The little horn (8. 9) again is Antiochus Epiphanes, whose 
 violation of the sanctuary at Jerusalem is mentioned in 
 8. 11. The author promises that this profanation of the 
 sanctuary at Jerusalem shall last a little more than a 
 thousand days. It is believed that Greek sacrifices were of- 
 fered upon the Jewish Temple altar from December 15, 
 168, to December 25, 165 B. C. 
 
 Chapter 9 is another approach to the author's chief con- 
 tention that the dawn of the Messianic age is at hand. 
 Jeremiah (25. 11; 29. 10) indicated that the Babylonian 
 Exile would last seventy years. The author of Daniel evi- 
 dently supposed that Jeremiah meant that the Messianic 
 era, at the end of the predicted period, would be ushered 
 in. Therefore, he interprets these seventy years as seventy 
 weeks of years, since the kingdom of their hopes has not 
 
236 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 yet been realized. See 9. 24-27. Verse 27 states that 
 Antiochus Epiphanes shall afflict the Jews for seven years, 
 and that for half this period Jewish worship at Jerusalem 
 shall be cut off. Since the author writes during this period 
 of interrupted worship, it is clear that he looked for God's 
 intervention within the space of three or four years. 
 
 Chapters 10. 1 to 11. 39 are a survey of the Judaean 
 world from the beginning of the Persian period to the 
 first years of the Maccabean revolt. Chapter 11. 40-45 
 predicts the end of Antiochus and, with him, of the Greek 
 kingdom;. The author feels that this is the end of the 
 present world order. At this time will come a world judg- 
 ment (see above). Observe that it is "a time of trouble" 
 (12. 1) ; that the judgment is preceded by a resurrection 
 of those preeminent in good and evil from "the dust of the 
 earth" for their appropriate rewards (12. 2, 3). Those 
 who have distinguished themselves in neither way remain 
 in Sheol. 
 
 Maccabean Psalms 
 
 There was no period of Israel's history more fitted than 
 the Maccabean age to rouse the people into religious song. 
 In no previous calamity of the nation had the people suf- 
 fered a religious persecution from their conquerors. Jew- 
 ish worship during the Exile was not circumscribed by 
 Babylonian interference ; but now the ancestral beliefs and 
 practices, the divinely appointed worship, believed since 
 the days of Nehemiah and Ezra to be the only means of 
 preserving the Jewish nation in covenant relation with 
 Jehovah, are assailed by Antiochus Epiphanes with all the 
 influence and resources of the Syrian-Greek Empire. 
 Added to these crushing foreign antagonisms, within the 
 little nation itself there was a growing number of Jews 
 who were advocating the laxity and even the abrogation 
 of many of the requirements of the law. It was a time 
 to try the faith of earnest souls and to wring a cry of 
 protest against these destructive tendencies and an im- 
 passioned appeal to Jehovah not to forsake his afflicted 
 people. There is an increasing tendency to include a 
 
THE MACCABEAN CRISIS 237 
 
 greater number of Psalms in this Maccabean period. With 
 very few exceptions Psalms 44, 74, 79, 83 are universally 
 assigned to this terrible period of stress and trial. Psalms 
 33, 60, 88, 119, 125, 129, 144, 149 are other compositions 
 considered by many to have arisen from this same age. 
 
 Eead Psalm 74 in the light of the desecration of the 
 sanctuary at Jerusalem by Antiochus and the subsequent 
 uprising. This Psalm was likely composed between 168 
 and 165 B. C. Note in verse 1 the feeling that their 
 terrible disasters are due to God's own discipline. The 
 psalmist reminds God of the insolent desecrations of the 
 Greek and points out that these Hellenizers are his adver- 
 saries. In verses 4-8 are given details of the Greek viola- 
 tion of the Temple. A wail of despair characterizes verses 
 9-11. In verses 12-17 the author encourages himself with 
 reflections upon the might and majesty of God. The 
 Psalm ends in a plea that Jehovah will rescue his own from 
 their afflictions. Notice the appeal to the covenant (verse 
 20) and the characterization of the faithful and oppressed 
 Jews as God's "turtle-dove/' "thy poor," "the oppressed," 
 and "the poor and needy." 
 
 Eead Psalm 79. Here too (in verses 1-4) is a little 
 picture of the desecration of the sanctuary ordered by 
 Antiochus. Note the details: the entrance of the heathen 
 within the Temple inclosure, the overthrow of the city, 
 the great slaughter of the inhabitants, the unburied corpses, 
 and the scoffing and mocking of the conquerors. In 1 Mac- 
 cabees 1. 20-40 and 2 Maccabees 8. 2-4 witness is borne 
 to the faithfulness of the picture drawn by this psalmist. 
 Again these afflictions are viewed as penalty (Psalms 79. 
 5-9 ) . There is also a plea for Jehovah's help to withstand 
 and overcome their adversaries. 
 
 Psalm 119 also is Maccabean. It was written in the 
 midst of great trouble, afflictions, and persecutions. See 
 verses 28, 50, 61, 161, and many others for expressions of 
 the deep distress of those who remained faithful to Judaism 
 under the Hellenic persecutions. The author is indignant 
 at the Hellenized Jews who have apostatized (verse 53). 
 Persecution has drawn him nearer to the law and taught 
 
238 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 him its value (61, 71, 75, 92). He is conscious of no 
 wrongdoing to merit these afflictions (121) : his troubles 
 are persecutions. The law had become his delight. "Oh 
 how love I thy law!" is a recurrent mood (97, 113, and 
 many other verses). 
 
 Summary 
 
 Although only a part of the Maccabean history is here 
 presented, and only a part of the religious literature has been 
 examined, enough has been brought forward to evidence the 
 importance of these stirring times for the development of 
 religion. Greek civilization may not have had much to 
 offer to Judaism, but we have seen in the preceding chapter 
 that it did stimulate Jewish thinkers into new conceptions 
 which enriched the religious life of mankind. Here too, 
 by way of reaction, came new faith and devotion to God. 
 Also, there was more clearly outlined the Messianic hope. 
 From this time on it does not dim again. Through 
 the courage and devotion of the Maccabees the law intro- 
 duced by Ezra was more firmly fixed in Jewish life. Re- 
 ligion came to be identified with observance of law. Since 
 this law was largely ceremonial regulations of life — an af- 
 fair of festivals, sacrifices, tributes to priests — , it is neces- 
 sarily regretted that such heroism contributed to the crowd- 
 ing out of Israel the moral visions and obligations of 
 prophetic teaching. Yet nothing less than this rigid legal- 
 ism could have survived the attacks of the Hellenizers. 
 Without this heroic loyalty, which risked everything dear 
 to man and which preserved and accentuated legalistic 
 piety, nothing of Israel's glorious idealism would have 
 survived the bitter persecution of the Greek kings. Ju- 
 daism, with its profound regard for its institutions, its 
 heroic sacrifices for them, its very life centered in them, 
 prepared the way for the high demands of Jesus that God's 
 kingdom must be first of all in the interests of man. 
 
 In Fellowship With Judas Maccabeus 
 
 Judas Maccabeus is one of the world's heroes. It is 
 well for us to know such men. "We cannot look, however 
 
THE MACCABEAN CEISIS 239 
 
 imperfectly, upon a great man without gaining something 
 from him." So Carlyle would have us give a kind of 
 worship to heroes. We ought to have our heroes. A man 
 without them is poor indeed. Unless there are brave and 
 lofty-visioned men and women unto whom you look with 
 admiration and a quickening of the soul you live an im- 
 poverished life. Judas Maccabeus is worthy of your re- 
 gard. Eeligion was the supreme fact for him. It was 
 more than a quiet home, prosperous fields, fair words from 
 his neighbors : it was wine to his soul, and under its exal- 
 tation he forgot things; he lived in the realms of the spirit. 
 He threw himself at wretched odds against the material- 
 ism of his day and won gloriously. Get acquainted with 
 Judas Maccabeus. 
 
 The Maccabees have taught us that religious truth is 
 worth dying for. Men are ever ready to perish for the 
 visible. Few of us volunteer to put all in jeopardy for 
 the ideal; yet it is in this way alone that we enter into 
 life. He that loses his life is the only person who ever 
 finds it. 
 
 It is curious that so much of the world's finest work is 
 done anonymously. We do not know the author of Daniel 
 nor of these Maccabean psalms. Yet this is always the 
 spirit of great work. The doer of an ideal deed is not con- 
 cerned with himself : he cares only for the immortality of 
 his deed. Great souls never labor for the perpetuity of 
 themselves. They are careless of fame. So deeply con- 
 cerned are they that their work shall go on blessing the 
 world that they never plan for the permanency of them- 
 selves. A man's true fame lies in his deeds. 
 
 The author of Daniel believes that earth's events are 
 the shadows of heavenly realities. The clash of earthly 
 kingdoms is the reflex of the conflicts of patron angels 
 of these nations. This is a crude picturing of a great 
 truth. The meaning of our human struggles is not ex- 
 hausted in the play before our eyes. Earth's affairs are 
 bound intimately with the processes of the invisible and 
 spiritual world. I like to believe that every aspect of my 
 life must be run back to God for its final meaning. This 
 
240 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 is a God-controlled world; it is not a frightful maze of 
 warring finite wills. Through the pain and crash, the bit- 
 terness and the struggle, of our lives, Almighty God is 
 working out for us a glorious discipline of soul. We can 
 trust him. This world is no blind alley for him ; it is an 
 open thoroughfare to his own clearly perceived goal. 
 
 Let us, then, learn to trust him. Let us, too, be brave. 
 Let us never swerve from the great religious convictions. 
 Let us learn to die for the truths of God. Let us make the 
 kingdom real and glorious by crowning it with our loy- 
 alty and devotion unto death. Let us not permit ourselves 
 to be swerved from duty, from the church, from Jesus 
 Christ, neither by the sneers nor by the blows of a shal- 
 low, worldly, egotistic culture. Let us stand by the 
 Christ even if we stand in the gloom and the pain of his 
 cross. By and by we shall stand with him in paradise. 
 
 Questions fob Study 
 
 1. What is meant by the Maccabean age? 
 
 2. What results were secured in Jerusalem by the Greek 
 princes in their efforts to Hellenize the provinces of their 
 empire? 
 
 3. What new Hellenizing policy was adopted by Antiochus 
 Epiphanes? What was done at Jerusalem toward the carry- 
 ing out of this policy? What was the king's plan for the 
 country towns? 
 
 4. Where did this policy first meet resistance? In what 
 manner? 
 
 5. Who were the leaders of this revolt against the Greek 
 king? What was the nature of their successes? 
 
 6. What was the condition of Judsea in 143 B. C? 
 
 7. What canonical book was probably written in this period? 
 What was the purpose of its author? 
 
 8. What reasons did he offer his persecuted countrymen 
 for withstanding Antiochus Epiphanes? 
 
 9. What did he intend to teach by his account of Daniel's 
 refusal to eat the food provided by Nebuchadnezzar? 
 
 10. What was this author's reply to the boast of the Hel- 
 lenizers that Greek culture was superior to Jewish ideas and 
 beliefs? 
 
 11. How did he illustrate his belief that Jewish institutions 
 were worthy of sacrifice unto death? 
 
 12. How did he argue that Antiochus Epiphanes was not to 
 be feared? 
 
THE MACCABEAN CRISIS 241 
 
 13. What end did this author predict for the Greek king- 
 dom? What future did he believe belonged to the Jew? In 
 what manner was the Jews' deliverance to be achieved? When 
 did he expect this glad relief? 
 
 14. What are this author's beliefs about angels? concerning 
 life beyond the grave? 
 
 15. Why was the Maccabean age likely to produce devo- 
 tional poetry? 
 
 16. What Psalms are thought to have been written in the 
 Maccabean age? How many of these Psalms have you read 
 in connection with this lesson? 
 
 17. What impression do they make upon you with regard 
 to their faith and trust in God? 
 
 18. Do you consider that great affliction and great faith are 
 likely to go hand in hand? 
 
 19. In what ways do you consider that the Maccabean 
 struggle for religious and political liberty contributed to the 
 progress of the kingdom of God? 
 
 Works of Reference 
 
 1 Maccabees. 
 
 A History of the Jewish People, Kent, pages 323-40. 
 
 Jerusalem, G. A. Smith, Volume II, pages 419-68. 
 
 Daniel, Driver, in "The Cambridge Bible for Schools and 
 Colleges." See the Introduction, pages ix-cvi, and also the 
 commentary for difficult passages in the text. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 JEWISH EELIGIOUS PARTIES 
 
 In the New Testament Judaism presents itself in at 
 least two well-defined sects, or parties, whose existence 
 deeply molded and colored early Christian history. Yet 
 these parties, Pharisees and Sadducees, were not a new 
 rift in Judaism in the days of Jesus. They have an inter- 
 esting history and a paramount influence in the political 
 and religious life of Judaism for two centuries preceding 
 the advent of Christ. This chapter discusses the origin 
 of these parties, presents their leading religious beliefs, 
 and estimates their contribution to the development of the 
 kingdom of God. 
 
 The Sadducees 
 
 The student will recall that from the earliest appear- 
 ance of Hebrew law the priests were its custodians and 
 interpreters. Three separate codifications arose in the 
 course of Hebrew and Jewish history : the Covenant Code, 
 the Deuteronomic Code, and the Priests' Code. Each of 
 these seemed sufficient in its day. But the formulation 
 of a new code witnesses to the insufficiency of earlier legis- 
 lation to meet the changing conditions of society. With 
 the introduction of the Priests' Code, under the guidance 
 of Ezra, this process of formulating new written codes 
 ceased. However, this last code, so given over to cere- 
 monial law, could not keep pace with the developing needs 
 of the Jewish state. At least as early as 300 B. C. this 
 situation was clearly felt, on the one hand, by the scribes 
 — priests who gave themselves more to teaching and ex- 
 plaining the law than to conducting the ritual of wor- 
 ship — , and on the other by the leading priests, who, by 
 virtue of their religious headship of the Jewish com- 
 munity, were forced more and more into political position 
 
 242 
 
JEWISH EELIGIOUS PARTIES 243 
 
 by the necessity of the Jews to treat with the Greek king- 
 doms of Egypt and Syria. In the two previous chapters 
 we have seen something of the appeal of this Greek civil- 
 ization to the Jewish mind. Now, it was the Jewish aris- 
 tocracy — the rich, priestly families who had come into the 
 political as well as the religious headship of the postexilic 
 community — who responded to the allurement of Greek 
 life. The insufficiency of Jewish ceremonial law to satisfy 
 life's fullest needs the more aristocratic members of the 
 Jewish community sought to meet by a set of worldly, 
 political, and universal interests. They took a deeper in- 
 terest in the world immediately at hand. This is the char- 
 acteristic feature of the Sadducean party. 
 
 Undoubtedly the Maccabean uprising crushed out the 
 extreme Hellenists among the Jews. But when the Jewish 
 state won its political independence under the Maccabees, 
 and on under the Eomans, there was an influential number 
 of wealthy families, chiefly among the priests, who, though 
 they subscribed to the law, held fast to their worldly and 
 universalizing views. They subscribed willingly enough 
 to the law laid down in the Pentateuch, but they had little 
 patience with the new views, which were becoming more 
 and more authoritative among the Pharisaic scribes. It was 
 this class, the aristocrats, who, upheld by wealth and posi- 
 tion, were inclined to find this world a good place to live 
 in and who, feeling the narrowness of Judaistic legalism, 
 supplemented it by seeking something of the liberalism 
 of the Grasco-Roman civilization (which surged even into 
 Jerusalem), which came to be known as Sadducees. 
 
 Examine carefully the following concerning the Sad- 
 ducees, taken from Josephus: 
 
 "The Pharisees have delivered to the people a great 
 many observances which are not written in the law of 
 Moses. For this reason the Sadducees reject them and 
 say, 'We esteem those observances to be obligatory which 
 are in the written word, but are not to observe 
 what are derived from the tradition of our fore- 
 fathers/ Concerning these things great disputes and dif- 
 ferences have arisen among them. The Sadducees are 
 
244: THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 able to persuade none but the rich, but the Pharisees have 
 the multitude on their side" (Ant., xiii, 10, 6). 
 
 "The doctrine of the Sadducees is this: that souls die 
 with the bodies ; nor do they regard anything besides what 
 the law enjoins them. But this doctrine, is received but 
 by a few, yet by those of the greatest dignity " (Ant., 
 xviii, 1, 1>). 
 
 "Ananias was of the sect of the Sadducees, who are very 
 rigid in judging offenders" (Ant., xx, 9, 1). 
 
 "The Sadducees suppose that God is not concerned in 
 our doing or not doing what is evil and they say to act 
 what is good or what is evil is man's own choice. They 
 also take away the belief of the immortal duration of the 
 soul and the punishments and rewards in Hades" (Wars 
 of the Jews, it, 8, IJf). 
 
 There is to be found in the Book of Enoch a section 
 written by a Pharisee which gives something of the Phar- 
 isaic opinion of the Sadducees at about 90 B. C. Note 
 attentively the following lines: 
 
 "Woe to you, ye rich, for ye have trusted in your riches, 
 Ye have committed blasphemy and unrighteousness. 
 Woe to you who requite your neighbor with evil, 
 Woe to you, lying witnesses 
 And to those who weigh out injustice ; 
 Woe to you, sinners, for ye persecute the righteous. 
 For ye shall be delivered up and persecuted because of 
 injustice. 
 
 "And heavy shall its yoke be upon you. 
 Woe to you, ye sinners, for your riches make you appear 
 
 like the righteous. 
 Woe to you who devour the finest of the wheat, 
 And drink wine in large bowls, 
 And tread under foot the lowly in your might. 
 Woe to you who drink water from every fountain, 
 For suddenly shall ye be consumed and wither away, 
 Because ye have have forsaken the fountain of life." 
 
 From these quotations it will be seen (1) that the Sad- 
 
JEWISH RELIGIOUS PARTIES 245 
 
 ducees were a party of aristocrats, men of wealth and 
 position, mostly priests given over to the sensual living 
 and the oppression of the poor which ever characterized 
 the upper classes in Israel; (2) that they considered only 
 the written law binding — that is, the Pentateuch as we 
 now have it; (3) that they clung to older religious views 
 with regard to the resurrection and angels, denying both; 
 and (4) that they parted with the older view that every 
 act of man, good and bad, was divinely directed, and em- 
 phasized the freedom of the human will. 
 
 The Pharisees 
 
 In another way did many Jews supplement the Ezra 
 legislation. The continued failure of the postexilic Jews 
 to set up a Messianic kingdom at Jerusalem led to a the- 
 ological development in two directions. It seemed to those 
 scribes who reflected upon these successive disappoint- 
 ments that Jehovah had withdrawn from immediate su- 
 pervision of the world and given over earth's sovereignty 
 to angels: to superhuman beings intermediate between 
 God and men. Then, too, the sufferings of those who were 
 loyal to the new order of life which followed after Ezra 
 seemed so terribly to arraign the divine government of the 
 world. Job's problem was greatly accentuated in the 
 earliest Maccabean period. Hence, there appeared, as a 
 logical necessity, the belief in a new society in which the 
 persecuted righteous of the present world order would be 
 rewarded for their faithfulness. Since death comes to 
 many who ought to share this happier day, they must be 
 resurrected from the gloomy Sheol and restored again to 
 the light and joy of day. 
 
 The foregoing tendencies came to a climax in the bitter 
 persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes. We have seen 
 that Hellenism made deep inroads into the priestly aris- 
 tocracy of Jerusalem. In other circles, especially among 
 the poor in the city and in the country villages, in reaction 
 against the Hellenized Jews there were aroused a more 
 ardent piety and a loyalty to Jewish beliefs and practices. 
 
246 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 These were known as Chasidim, "the godly ones." 
 Enough prominent Jews cast in their lot among them to 
 give them the organization of a party. When the Macca- 
 bees raised the standard of revolt, the Chasidim rallied 
 around them. In the first stage of the conflict with the 
 forces of Antiochus their intense devotion to the law was 
 exhibited in their refusal to fight or to defend themselves 
 on the Sabbath. The troops of Antiochus having assailed 
 a company of a thousand men, women, and children on 
 this sacred day, these pious Jews, rather than break the 
 law, raised no hand against the Syrian forces but stood 
 with silent resignation until the last one was cut down. 
 When the Maccabees secured religious liberty, these Chasi- 
 dim were satisfied and for a time were alienated from these 
 champions of political liberty. For a brief period under 
 John Hyrcanus, who was regarded as a prophet and who 
 held the office of high priest and was called a king, the 
 Chasidim, or Pharisees, gave their support to the Macca- 
 bean party. Again there followed a period of distrust and 
 alienation until Alexandra occupied the throne. She made 
 peace with the Pharisees. From this time on affairs were 
 largely in their hands. 
 
 There is a considerable body of literature coming from 
 the Chasidim, or Pharisees, which makes clear their be- 
 liefs : 
 
 Psalms. — There are many Psalms in our present Psalter 
 which were written in the Greek and Maccabean periods 
 and which express the beliefs, the fears, the hopes, and 
 the piety of the Chasidim. Among these Psalms are 44, 
 60, 74, 77, 79, 80, 82, 83, 86, 88, 94, 109, 129, 143, and 
 144. These Psalms should be read in the light of this his- 
 torical period. Examine especially Psalms 82 and 94. In 
 82. 1, 2, 6, 7 is seen a characteristic Chasidic and Phar- 
 isaic belief. The prologue of the book of Job and the 
 prophecies of Zechariah have familiarized us with the con- 
 ception of a heavenly court. Various writings of the 
 Greek and Maccabean period enlarge upon this angelology. 
 Daniel 10. 13, 20; 11. 1 assumes a belief in a patron angel 
 for each nation. The prince of Persia is the patron or 
 
JEWISH KELIGIOUS PAETIES 247 
 
 guardian angel of Persia. Michael is the guardian angel 
 of the Jews. The gods of Psalms 82. 1 are these guardian 
 angels. In 82. 6, 7 it is asserted that these patron angels 
 shall perish. The author of this Psalm, like the author 
 of Daniel, believes that the destinies of nations are bound 
 up with their patron angels. So when the psalmist pre- 
 dicts the destruction of the angels of the nations that have 
 oppressed the Jew he is affirming in the most emphatic 
 manner the overthrow of the nations themselves. Psalms 
 82. 3, 4 is a little cry for help which reflects the sorrows 
 of the early Pharisees. 
 
 Eead also Psalm 94 for an insight into the sorrows of 
 the Chasidim, or early Pharisees. Observe verse 7 for a 
 characteristic Sadducean belief. In what way does this 
 Chasidic poet answer the teaching that Jehovah is far 
 removed from the knowledge of man's ways ? See 94. 12- 
 23 for the strong faith of these persecuted Jews in the 
 midst of dire calamities. 
 
 The Book of Enoch. — The Book of Enoch is a collection 
 of Chasidic and Pharisaic writings dating from 190 to 
 64 B. C. There are several characteristic ideas: 
 
 (a) The origin of evil is due not to man's transgression 
 but to the lust of angels. "And it came to pass when the 
 children of men had multiplied that in those days were 
 born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. And the 
 angels, the children of heaven, saw and lusted after them, 
 and said to one another : Come, let us choose us wives from 
 among the children of men." There were about two hun- 
 dred angels who took human wives. The offspring of 
 these unions were giants. The immediate result of these 
 marriages was a flood of godlessness. The giants them- 
 selves perished fighting each other. After their death 
 their angelic fathers were imprisoned to await the day of 
 judgment. At the death of the giants their souls became 
 the demons who go about the earth to cause every form 
 of evil. To them are due the vast pains and sorrows of 
 mankind. 
 
 (o) Angelology. — The Book of Enoch revels in angels. 
 "1 saw thousands of thousands and ten thousand times 
 
248 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 ten thousands, I saw a multitude beyond number and reck- 
 oning, who stood before the Lord of spirits/' The cher- 
 ubim and serapim of the older literature are now con- 
 sidered angels. There are seven archangels: Uriel is the 
 overseer of the natural world, Eaphael is in charge of the 
 departed spirits of mankind, Eaguel is prince of the stars, 
 Michael is the angelic patron of the Jews, Saraqael rules 
 the spirits of mankind who continue to sin, Eemiel is in 
 charge of the resurrection, and Gabriel is over paradise. 
 Then there are angels over the sea, hail, hoarfrost, mist, 
 and rain. In addition to Michael seventy angels are the 
 shepherds of Israel. The Pharisees had no thoroughly 
 worked-out system of angelic rule. The foregoing is only 
 typical of the vast functioning of the angels in the universe 
 according to Pharisaic thought. 
 
 (c) Retribution, judgment, and resurrection. — There 
 were pronounced Pharisaic views concerning these, but 
 they will be dealt with in the next chapter. 
 
 (d) These writers in the Book of Enoch had clear moral 
 vision. Compare the following with many of the Psalms : 
 
 "And now I say unto you, my sons, love righteousness and 
 walk therein ; 
 
 For the paths of righteousness are worthy of accepta- 
 tion, 
 
 But the paths of unrighteousness shall suddenly be de- 
 troyed and vanish. 
 
 Seek and choose for yourselves righteousness and an elect 
 life, 
 
 And walk in the paths of peace, 
 
 And ye shall live and prosper." 
 
 The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs. — This book 
 was written by a Pharisee between 109 and 106 B. C. At 
 this time John Hyrcanus was at the front in Judaean 
 affairs. "The Maccabean dynasty had now reached the 
 zenith of its prosperity, and in its reigning representa- 
 tive, who alone in the history of Judaism possessed 
 the triple offices of prophet, priest, and king, the Phar- 
 
JEWISH RELIGIOUS PARTIES 249 
 
 isaic party had come to recognize the actual Messiah. But 
 the main value of the book lies not in this province but 
 in its ethical teaching, which has achieved a real immor- 
 tality by influencing the thought and diction of the writers 
 of the New Testament and even those of our Lord. This 
 ethical teaching, which is infinitely higher and purer than 
 that of the Old Testament, is yet its true spiritual child 
 and helps to bridge the chasm that divides the ethics of the 
 Old and New Testament." 1 Consider closely the following 
 remarkable passage : 
 
 "Love ye one another from the heart; and if a man sin 
 against thee, speak peaceably to him, and in thy soul hold 
 not guile; and if he repent and confess, forgive him. But 
 if he deny it, do not get into a passion with him, lest 
 catching the poison from thee he take to swearing, and 
 so thou sin doubly. And though he deny it, and yet 
 have a sense of shame when reproved, give over reproving 
 him. For he who denieth may repent so as not again 
 to wrong thee; yea, he may also honor thee and be at 
 peace with thee. But if he be shameless and persisteth in 
 his wrongdoing, even so forgive him from the heart and 
 leave to God the avenging/' 
 
 Meditate also upon this exalted path of ethical con- 
 duct: 
 
 "If a man prospereth more than you, do not be vexed, 
 but pray also for him, that he may have perfect prosperity. 
 For so it is expedient for you. And if he be further ex- 
 alted, be not envious, remembering that all flesh shall die; 
 and offer praise to God, who giveth things good and prof- 
 itable to all men. Seek out the judgments of the Lord, 
 and thy mind will rest and be at peace." 
 
 The student will recall that the Gospels unite the love 
 of God and the love of one's neighbor as the sum of the 
 commandments. These two paramount duties of religion 
 already were conjoined nearly a century and a half before 
 our Lord summed up the commandments for the scribe 
 who questioned him (Mark 12. 28-33) : "Love the Lord and 
 
 1 Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, Charles, pages xv and xvii. 
 
250 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 your neighbor (Test: Issachar 5. 2). Issachar further 
 declares (7. 6) : 
 
 "I loved the Lord with all my strength; 
 Likewise also every man with all my heart." 
 
 Also, Dan advises (5. 3) : 
 
 "Love the Lord through all your life, 
 And one another with a true heart." 
 
 There is a beautiful spirit of universalism in the Testa- 
 ment. Consider the following: 
 
 "If ye be darkened through transgressions, what, there- 
 fore, will all the Gentiles do living in blindness ? Yea, ye 
 shall bring a curse upon our race, because the light of 
 the law which was given to lighten every man, this ye 
 desire to destroy by teaching commandments contrary to 
 the will of God." 
 
 Speaking of the Temple, this author writes: 
 
 "And the twelve tribes shall be gathered together there, 
 and all the Gentiles until the Most High shall send forth 
 his salvation." 
 
 The Essenes 
 
 At least a century before the Christian era there arose 
 among the Jews an ultra-Pharisaic sect known as Es- 
 senes. Of them Philo writes: 
 
 "They are preeminently worshiping servants of God. 
 They do not sacrifice animals but study to keep their 
 minds in a saintly frame. They reside in villages, shun- 
 ning town life on account of the lawless manners of towns- 
 folk. They do not treasure up silver and gold. You 
 would not discover among them any maker of arms or 
 war engines, any one busied in the slightest with military 
 avocations. There is not a single slave among them. 
 None ventures to acquire any private property at all. 
 They dwell together in one place and pass their whole 
 time in managing every kind of business for the common 
 good. They are taught piety, holiness, justice, the man- 
 agement of affairs, citizenship, the knowledge of what is 
 
JEWISH EELIGIOUS PAETIES 251 
 
 truly good or bad. Thus, they furnish thousands of ex- 
 amples of the maintaining of love to God by a close and 
 continuous purity maintained through life." 
 
 Josephus also felt the charm of this Jewish monas- 
 ticism: "They despise wealth, and their socialism is re- 
 markable : you cannot find any of them who has more than 
 his fellows. They never buy or sell among themselves. 
 They are peculiarly scrupulous in matters of piety. Be- 
 fore sunrise they never speak a word about profane mat- 
 ters. They work assiduously until the fifth hour, when 
 they gather in one spot and, clothing themselves in linen 
 veils, take a cold bath. They enter the dining room pure 
 as they would enter a sacred precinct and take their seats 
 quietly. No one is allowed to partake of food until the 
 priest offers a prayer; and after they have breakfasted, he 
 prays again. After this they lay aside their garments 
 as sacred and resume their tasks till evening. Before one 
 is admitted to this order he takes fearful oaths: first of 
 all to be pious to the Deity ; then to practice justice toward 
 men; never to injure anyone; always to hate the wicked 
 and to side with the just; at all times to show fidelity 
 to all men, and particularly to those in authority, for no 
 one acquires power apart from God; never, if he is in 
 power himself, to vaunt his authority or to outshine his 
 subordinates in dress or finery; always to love the truth 
 and to denounce liars; to keep his hands free from theft 
 and his soul from unhallowed gain." 
 
 There were several thousands of these Essenes during 
 the days of the ministry of Jesus. They constituted a 
 truly monastic order. Since they did not marry, their 
 ranks were recruited from those who were weary with the 
 individual conflict with the world. They were a truly 
 noble group of men, with an exalted though limited social 
 and ethical vision in the midst of bitter social evils. Of 
 them Josephus writes further: "The Eoman war showed 
 what great souls they all had; for, though racked and 
 twisted, burnt and mutilated, and subjected to every in- 
 strument of torture to make them blaspheme their Legis- 
 lator or to eat forbidden food, they stoutly refused to do 
 
252 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 either; not for a moment would they cringe to their tor- 
 mentors or shed a tear, but, smiling through their anguish, 
 they scornfully laughed at their tormentors and cheer- 
 fully gave up their souls to receive them once again." 
 
 Summary 
 
 A careful study of the foregoing material reveals the 
 diversified life of Judaism during the two centuries im- 
 mediately preceding the Christian era. This period by 
 no means is impoverished in kingdom development. Dur- 
 ing these two hundred years the Messianic beliefs, the doc- 
 trines of judgment and the future life, the vast complex 
 of angelic functions, the finer ethical ideals, and the social 
 gropings toward brotherhood which meet us in the Gospels 
 were taking shape and making it possible for Jesus to win 
 disciples for his kingdom of God. Although legalistic 
 Judaism was triumphant through these centuries, it is 
 evident that within the boundaries of this legalism the 
 spiritual and ethical was ever overflowing the material- 
 istic and the ceremonial. Two other important Pharisaic 
 writings, the Book of Jubilees and Psalms of Solomon, 
 there is no room to examine. It will be a splendid day 
 when all this literature becomes familiar to the Christian 
 student. 
 
 Fireside Thoughts and Themes 
 
 The author of the Testament of the Patriarchs believed 
 that men are saved in the process of achieving noble char- 
 acter, and not through outward ordinances; that salva- 
 tion was not a shift from hell to Paradise, from fire to 
 flowers, but in the change from envy, hate, and lust to 
 good will, love, and purity ; that it was not in the vicarious 
 sacrifice of an animal or a man, but in the death of the 
 mean and little within a man's own soul. This author 
 would say that salvation is in character, and that in the 
 deepest sense no man can save another, but every man 
 must save himself. How much truth is in this thinker's 
 position ? 
 
 The same writer says that sin is anything that breaks 
 
JEWISH RELIGIOUS PARTIES 253 
 
 up fellowship. He believes that men are to live in glad 
 and just fellowship with each other and with God. Any- 
 thing that interrupts this open communion of soul is sin. 
 Forgiveness is the healing of this ruptured fellowship. A 
 bitter word, a theft, a sense of superiority, the spirit of 
 envy, often divide men who ought to be brothers into 
 strangers. Whatever makes fellowship impossible between 
 men living near together is sin, and no man is sinless who 
 lives with a broken fellowship waiting for his consent to 
 heal it. 
 
 Is socialism possible in any satisfactory form? Have 
 not these Essenes shown us at least some elements of the 
 perfect social order? Everybody, except the sick and the 
 infirm, worked at some useful employment. The rewards 
 of toil were shared alike by the community; there was no 
 heaping up of vast amounts of privately owned capital. 
 They were intensely religious : a common meal was a sacra- 
 ment. They were obligated to justice, truth, and purity. 
 They had nothing to do with war. Work, brotherhood, and 
 religion were the foundations upon which they built their 
 order. What aspects of their life is it possible to repro- 
 duce to-day? 
 
 After the destruction of Jerusalem the Sadducees dis- 
 appear from history. Is this because their primary inter- 
 ests were politics? or because they believed that death 
 ended all? or for both reasons? Somehow life is almost 
 never lived sublimely apart from belief in the immortality 
 of the soul. It takes this belief in continued existence to 
 lift life above the trivial and the mean in human affairs. 
 Do not let the immortal hope die down in you. Do not 
 think that this world is the best world for you. If you 
 wish to be great, you must keep your soul dreaming of 
 the eternal dawn and the endless day. 
 
 Think of the struggles through which our dearest treas- 
 ures have been won. Our ideals of political and religious 
 liberty are blood-stained by myriads of martyrs. Our 
 ethical ideals, our democratic dreams, our hopes of 
 immortality, have been baptized with Pharisaic blood. 
 They were the heretics, the unorthodox, the modernists, 
 
254: THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 of their day. Orthodoxy has very much to its discredit. 
 It is usually reactionary; it travels backward; it does 
 not know the joy of adventuring. Sunrise, struggle 
 through twilight into day, the peace of great victory, it 
 will have nothing of. All the great spiritual leaders of 
 the world were modernists in their day and had to face 
 the stern blows of a rigid orthodoxy. The Hebrew 
 prophets, Jesus, Paul, Luther, Wesley, the early nine- 
 teenth-century missionaries, and our present-day leaders 
 in religious education and social reform all travel the 
 thorny road to a golden social sunrise. If we cannot march 
 with them, let us at least take off our hats while they 
 pass by. 
 
 Questions to Be Discussed 
 
 1. What political events tended to alienate the more in- 
 fluential priests from the strict observance of Jewish law and 
 custom? 
 
 2. What class of Jews had been attracted by Hellenism? 
 
 3. What were the ambitions of those who formed the Sad- 
 ducean party? 
 
 4. What were the Sadducean beliefs concerning angels? 
 resurrection of the body? immortality of soul? divine Provi- 
 dence and human freedom of the will? 
 
 5. According to the Sadducees what constituted the law? 
 
 6. What did they contribute toward the development of the 
 kingdom of God? 
 
 7. What circumstances compelled the development of Jew- 
 ish beliefs beyond the current views in Ezra's day? 
 
 8. Who were the Chasidim? At what time did they come 
 to be known as Pharisees? 
 
 9. What was the Pharisaic teaching concerning the law? 
 origin of evil? angels? resurrection of the body? immortality 
 of soul? 
 
 10. What fine conception of sin and forgiveness is put for- 
 ward by the author of the Testament of the Twelve Patri- 
 archs? What remarkable summing up of Jewish law is found 
 in the same book? What can be said for this author's uni- 
 versalism? 
 
 11. What were the chief views and practices of the Essenes? 
 
 12. What was their contribution to the kingdom of God? 
 
 Additional Lesson Material 
 
 Wars of the Jews, Josephus, Book II, Chapter VIII, dis- 
 cusses these three Jewish sects. In his Antiquities, Book 
 
JEWISH RELIGIOUS PARTIES 255 
 
 XIII, Chapter X. 5, 6, and Book XVIII, Chapter I. 1-6, there 
 are additional references to the same subject. 
 
 The Book of Jubilees, edited by R. H. Charles, throws much 
 light upon Pharisaic beliefs. It was written between 165 and 
 105 B. C. by one of the stricter Pharisees. 
 
 Examine the articles "Essenes," "Pharisees," and "Saddu- 
 cees" in the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. 
 
 A History of the Jewish People, Riggs, pages 105-39. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 THE JEWISH MESSIANIC HOPE 
 
 No subject is more fascinating or more important in 
 the study of Jewish religion than the study of the devel- 
 opment of Messianic beliefs. It is the Messianic hope, 
 more than any other element of Jewish life, which ac- 
 counts for the preservation of Israel through centuries of 
 social disorder and destructive calamities. Believing that 
 their God would at some future day chastise their enemies, 
 recompense them for their sorrows, purge them of their 
 sins, and come himself to organize their life into con- 
 formity to his will, they were able to endure a succession 
 of tidal waves of persecution which apart from this hope 
 would have swept them from the earth. This phenomenon 
 alone would make the Jewish Messianism a compelling 
 subject in the study of the world's religion. 
 
 Then, too, Christianity, and especially its Christ, offer 
 themselves as the fulfillment of these Jewish dreams. 
 John 5. 39 declares that Jesus assured a company of skep- 
 tical Jews that the Old Testament bore its sacred and 
 solemn witness to the validity of his own claims. Why 
 did not the Jews, the contemporaries of Jesus, acknowl- 
 edge his Messianic claims and see in his social program 
 the Messianic kingdom? Was it stupidity or sin? A 
 study of these Messianic beliefs will make the answer 
 clear. 
 
 Jewish Messianism had little fixed content. Two fac- 
 tors only are found in every expression of the Messianic 
 hope: (1) There is to be a new social state, primarily 
 of Israelites, in which the ills of the present order are 
 found no more. (2) God himself rules in this new so- 
 ciety; his will is done fully and joyously. The form of 
 government, the method of this new society's appearance, 
 
 256 
 
THE JEWISH MESSIANIC HOPE 25? 
 
 the duration of this ideal state, together with many other 
 details, shift from age to age and from author to author. 
 Any survey of the Messianic beliefs which reduces the 
 vast mass of material to any order is compelled to neglect 
 many details. It is hoped that the following outline is 
 clear enough to be helpful without slurring over many 
 important aspects of Jewish Messianism. 
 
 The Messianic Hope Befoke the Exile 
 
 Perhaps it may be said that the Messianic hope first 
 appears as a popular conception that was combated by 
 Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah. Apparently the people, feel- 
 ing that the times were out of joint, were looking forward 
 to a "day of Jehovah," to a time when Jehovah would 
 take up the cause of his people Israel and avenge them 
 against their foes. Amos sternly assailed this expecta- 
 tion. The nation itself needed purging: Israel's most 
 dangerous foes were within her own life. "You only have 
 I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will 
 visit upon you all your iniquities." This expectation of 
 Amos, that at some future day Jehovah would visit Israel 
 in judgment, is the starting point of prophetic Messian- 
 ism. Isaiah too expected a fiery judgment upon Israel. 
 A remnant of the nation, its dull conscience stirred by the 
 afflicting judgment of Jehovah, would turn again to him 
 and inaugurate the better day. This new social state was 
 to center at Jerusalem. Extraordinary fertility of soil, 
 a moral reorganization of life, and a Davidic line of kings 
 reigning in justice and righteousness are the salient fea- 
 tures of Isaiah's forecast of the golden age. 
 
 Zephaniah, who writes not long before the Deutero- 
 nomic reform of 621 B. C, emphasizes anew this Isaian 
 Messianism. But now the day of Jehovah is a day of judg- 
 ment for the whole world. Eead 3. 8, 11-17 and determine 
 the Messianic expectations of this prophet. Note espe- 
 cially that there is no Messiah: Jehovah himself is King 
 of Israel. The manner in which his rule is carried out 
 is not stated. 
 
258 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 Exilic Messiantsm 
 
 With Jeremiah the day of Jehovah becomes primarily 
 a destruction of Jerusalem (1. 11-16; 37. 6-10), but the 
 nations too will drink the cup of the wine of Jehovah's 
 fury (25. 15-26). As part of this judgment Israel will 
 be carried into captivity by the Chaldeans. But this dis- 
 persion is not the nation's final lot: the scattered exiles 
 shall be brought again to their own land (23. 7, 8; 24. 5, 
 6). There will be a new social order established in Pales- 
 tine, and this will be based upon a new covenant between 
 Jehovah and his people. The certainty and the eternality 
 of this new social order rest upon the people's knowledge 
 of their God (24. 7; 31. 33, 34). Examine 3. 15; 24. 
 4-7 and observe that Jeremiah looks forward to a Mes- 
 sianic kingdom. Does he expect an individual Messianic 
 King or a dynasty? Jeremiah possesses the evangelist's 
 heart. He does not limit the blessings of the new order to 
 Israel. Other nations shall desire to share in the kingdom's 
 benefits (4. 2) ; any of Israel's heathen enemies who repent 
 shall share the kingdom's glories (12. 14-17), and only 
 the unrepentant heathen shall be destroyed. 
 
 Ezekiel follows the Messianic program of Jeremiah in 
 regard to Israel, but he does not expect the salvation of 
 the heathen world. The destruction of Jerusalem is the 
 long-expected judgment upon Israel. Jehovah's next 
 move is to gather the exiles together and restore them to 
 Palestine (11. 17). The restored exiles, being possessed 
 by a new God-given spirit (11. 20), will put out of their 
 land and life the detestable things that formerly caused 
 their ruin (11. 18). Material prosperity will be the out- 
 ward setting of this new life (36. 24-30). The new social 
 order shall have its Messianic King. Eead 34. 23, 24; 
 37. 22 and observe that the two former kingdoms now 
 shall be united, and a single line of Davidic sovereigns 
 shall rule over them. After this new kingdom has been 
 established under its Messianic prince in Palestine, the 
 nations of the world will join in a vast confederation 
 against it. But the heathen hordes will be destroyed upon 
 
THE JEWISH MESSIANIC HOPE 259 
 
 the mountains of Judah by the might of Jehovah. The 
 kingdom henceforth will abide in peace. See chapters 
 38 and 39. 
 
 POSTEXILIC MESSIANTSM TO THE MACCABEAN PERIOD 
 
 Jeremiah's expectation of an all-embracing Messianic 
 kingdom was not wholly lost sight of after the Exile. Ex- 
 amine Isaiah 19. 16-25 for an extension of the Messianic 
 blessings to the Gentiles. Perhaps at about the same period 
 — that is, in the earlier half of the fifth century — the 
 author of Malachi also expressed this self-same universal- 
 ism. See 1. 11 for its expression. Several Psalms declare 
 the same hope. Read Psalms 22. 27-29; 65. 5-8; 86. 9, 
 10. The second Psalm also opens the Messianic kingdom 
 to the penitent among the nations. Read closely the beau- 
 tiful seventy-second Psalm, which so finely summarizes 
 this nobler line of prophetic Messianism. Here too a 
 line of Messianic sovereigns is understood. 
 
 Unfortunately other Jewish writers, following Ezekiel, 
 limited the Messianic blessings to Israel. By some 
 prophets a complete destruction of non-Jewish peoples is 
 expected. See Micah 4. 11-13. Here Israel is to beat the 
 nations into pieces and seize their possessions for them- 
 selves. Isaiah 59. 17-19; 63. 1-6 predict a great destruc- 
 tion of the nations. Those Gentiles who are not destroyed 
 will become the servants of the Jews in the Messianic age. 
 They will build the walls of Jerusalem (Isaiah 60. 10) ; 
 they will humble themselves before the Jew (60. 
 14) ; they will pour the treasures of their empire into 
 Jerusalem (60. 16, 17) ; they shall become Israel's herds- 
 men and husbandmen (61. 5). 
 
 Haggai and Zechariah, as we have seen in earlier chap- 
 ters, regarded Zerubbabel as the Messiah and expected the 
 Messianic kingdom to be inaugurated at the completion 
 of the second Temple. See Haggai 2. 20-23; Zechariah 
 3. 8; 6. 12. (Compare these last two references with 
 Zechariah 4. 9, and it becomes clear that Zerubbabel is 
 the Messiah.) Zechariah predicts a judgment of the na- 
 
260 THE RELIGION" OF JUDAH 
 
 tions (2. 8, 9), but after this purging there will be a turn- 
 ing of the nations toward Jehovah (2. 11). These na- 
 tions shall come to Jerusalem to worship him (8. 20-23). 
 Chapters 65 and 66 of Isaiah, written some time during 
 the fifth century, present a new feature in this postexilic 
 Messianism. Even the new physical order of life is a dis- 
 tinct break with the past. Examine Isaiah 65. 17-25 ; Q6. 
 22-24 for the details. In this new earth men shall live to 
 a grand old age : he who dies under a hundred years shall 
 be considered to have been cut off prematurely in his 
 youth. Animals lose their ferocity, and sorrow is at an 
 end. 
 
 Joel, who writes about 400 B. C, following Ezekiel, 
 brings the heathen nations to Jerusalem to be destroyed 
 (3. 1, 2). With Joel the day of Jehovah is a sifting of 
 Israel. Jehovah will pour out his Spirit upon his people, 
 and those who seek him shall be saved (2. 28, 29, 32). 
 Nature herself will shudder at his judgments (2. 30, 31 ; 
 3. 14-16). The restored kingdom is blessed with material 
 prosperity (2. 19-27). 
 
 Zechariah 9 to 14 was written some time between 300 
 B. C. and the Maccabean period. Like Ezekiel he ex- 
 pects the heathen hordes to march upon Jerusalem, but 
 they will be destroyed (12. 3-9). However, the slaughter 
 will not be complete, and the remnant of the nations will 
 then turn to Jehovah. Failure to visit Jerusalem an- 
 nually will be punished by drought (14. 16-19). 
 
 The Messianic Hope in the Second Century B. C. 
 
 Daniel was written about 168 B. C. Bead 7. 9-27 and 
 note that when the world's evils have reached their great- 
 est bitterness — that is, in the days of the Antiochean per- 
 secution, the writer's own times — , Jehovah sets up his 
 judgment throne. He is the " Ancient of Days." Ob- 
 serve that the kingdom which persecutes Israel is destroyed 
 (7. 11), and other nations lose their dominion 
 (7. 12). The "one like unto a son of man" 
 (verse 13) is the Jewish people (see 7. 27). All surviving 
 
THE JEWISH MESSIANIC HOPE 261 
 
 nations are subject to this Messianic kingdom. Observe 
 that there is nothing said about a Messianic King. It 
 is in connection with this kingdom that the resurrection is 
 first brought into prominence. Those who have labored 
 and suffered for this kingdom in an extraordinary degree 
 and who have died before its appearance are brought up 
 from Sheol to share its glories (12. 2). Those who have 
 been the foremost enemies of this coming kingdom like- 
 wise shall be brought from Sheol to have visited upon them 
 a corresponding punishment (12. 2). 
 
 From the second century comes the third book of the 
 Sibylline Oracles, with its predictions of a Messiah who 
 will subdue hostile nations and set up his kingdom in 
 peace and prosperity in Jerusalem: 
 
 "Then a kingdom over all mankind 
 Shall he raise up for ages, 
 And out of every land unto the house 
 Of the great God shall they bring frankincense 
 And gifts, and there shall be no other house 
 To be inquired of by men yet to be, 
 But what God gave for faithful men to honor; 
 For mortals 'temple of the mighty God' 
 Shall call it. And all the pathways of the plain 
 And rough hills and high mountains and wild waves 
 Of the deep shall be easy in those days 
 For crossing and for sailing; for all peace 
 On the land of the good shall come; and sword 
 Shall prophets of the mighty God remove; 
 For they are judges and the righteous kings 
 Of mortals. And there shall be righteous wealth 
 Among mankind; for of the mighty God 
 This is the judgment and also the power" (III, 954-75). 
 
 Enoch 6 to 36 was composed at about the same period 
 as the book of Daniel. Here the Messianic kingdom is 
 to be inaugurated after a judgment, and the righteous 
 dead shall arise to share with the living righteous its 
 blessings. These blessings are nearly wholly of the senses. 
 
262 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 The tree of life, which once stood in the Garden of Eden, 
 shall be transplanted to the Temple at Jerusalem. Its 
 fruit shall be food for the elect. 
 
 "And unto the holy place shall they enter; 
 And its fragrance [the tree's] shall be in their bones, 
 And they shall live a long life on earth, 
 Such as thy fathers lived: 
 And in their days shall no sorrow or plague 
 Or torment or calamity touch them" (Enoch 25. 6). 
 
 "Then shall all the righteous escape, 
 And shall live till they beget thousands of children, 
 And all the days of their youth and their old age shall 
 
 they complete in peace. 
 Then shall the whole earth be tilled in righteousness, 
 And shall be planted with trees and be full of blessing. 
 The vine shall yield wine in abundance, 
 Each measure of seed shall yield a thousandfold, 
 And each measure of olives shall yield ten presses of oil" 
 (Enoch 10. 17-19). 
 
 There are, however, the ethical blessings of truth and peace 
 to make these outward goods enjoyable. The earth shall 
 be cleansed from all defilement, sin, punishment, and tor- 
 ment (10. 22), and the Gentiles shall share in these bless- 
 ings (10. 21).' 
 
 The author of Enoch 83 to 90, who writes a few years 
 later than the book of Daniel, accounts for the excessive 
 afflictions of Israel by supposing that God committed Is- 
 rael to the care of seventy angels, who have neglected this 
 trust. In the midst of the Syrian persecution God will 
 set up his judgment-throne. He will condemn the lust- 
 ful angels who introduced sin into the world and then 
 the seventy faithless angels. The apostate Jews are then 
 cast into Gehenna. Then he will set up the New Jerusa- 
 lem (90. 29). Those Gentiles who took no part in the 
 oppression of Israel will serve Jehovah (90. 30) ; the 
 righteous dead will rise to share in the kingdom. Then 
 
THE JEWISH MESSIANIC HOPE 263 
 
 the Messiah will be born, and all the members of the 
 kingdom will be transformed into his likeness. 
 
 The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs was written 
 between 109 and 106 B. C. It teaches that the Messiah 
 comes from the tribe of Levi, and not Judah. "This 
 priestly Messiah was to be free from sin to walk in meek- 
 ness and righteousness, to be a mediator for the Gentiles, 
 to be a prophet of the Most High, to be King over all the 
 nations, to war against Israel's enemies and the powers of 
 wickedness, to open paradise to the righteous. The scene 
 of the future kingdom is the present earth, and it is to 
 last forever." 1 
 
 The writer of the Book of Jubilees (before 105 B. C.) 
 believed the Messianic kingdom already had set in. The 
 kingdom, like a grain of mustard seed, was to continue 
 to develop until it was fully consummated. The righteous 
 attained a thousand years, and sinners were prematurely 
 cut off at a hundred. The kingdom, which has only a 
 temporary duration, is ended by a general judgment. 
 There is no resurrection. When the righteous die, their 
 spirits pass at once to paradise. 
 
 The Messianic Hope in the Century Before Christ 
 
 Enoch 37 to 71, written in the first quarter of the cen- 
 tury before Christ, holds to the older notion of an ever- 
 lasting Messianic kingdom. The scene of this kingdom is 
 a transformed earth. 
 
 "I will transform the earth and make it a blessing ; 
 But I will cause my elect ones to dwell upon it : 
 But the sinners and evildoers shall not set foot thereon" 
 (45. 5). 
 
 The coming Messiah is now known as the Christ — that 
 is, the Anointed One, the Eighteous One, the Elect One, 
 and the Son of man. Sitting upon a glorious throne, this 
 supernatural Sovereign is the Judge of all men and all 
 angels. The wicked are destroyed by his sword. The dead 
 
 1 Eschatology: Hebrew, Jewish, and Christian, Charles, page 233.. 
 
264 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 are resurrected to receive their appropriate rewards: the 
 wicked to be destroyed, and the righteous to dwell eternally 
 upon the transformed earth. 
 
 The Psalms of Solomon were written between 70 and 40 
 B. C. According to these Psalms the Messiah is a human 
 Prince, the descendant of David. Only God knows the time 
 of his coming. When he appears he will overthrow the sin- 
 ners within the Judaean community and drive out the Gen- 
 tiles from the borders of Israel. He will gather the dis- 
 persed Jews in Jerusalem and restore the glory of the Tem- 
 ple worship. The Gentiles become subject to him. He is a 
 holy, just, and wise Sovereign. The following lines, taken 
 from the seventeenth psalm, present the leading features 
 of his kingdom : 
 
 "Behold, Lord, and raise up unto them their king, 
 In the time which thou, God, knowest, 
 That he may reign over Israel thy servant. 
 Purge Jerusalem from the heathen that trample her 
 
 down to destroy her, 
 With wisdom and with righteousness. 
 So that the nations may come from the ends of the earth 
 
 to see his glory, 
 Bringing as gifts her sons that had fainted. 
 And there shall be no iniquity in his days in their midst, 
 For all shall be holy, and their king is the Lord Messiah. 
 He shall bless the people of the Lord with wisdom and 
 
 gladness. 
 He himself is pure from sin, so that he may rule a mighty 
 
 people, 
 And rebuke princes and overthrow sinners by the might 
 
 of his word. 
 Blessed are they that shall be born in those days to behold 
 
 the blessing of Israel." 
 
 Summary 
 
 Despite these many details the Messianic hope was more 
 varied than it is here outlined. Enough has been given to 
 show what diversified expectations encouraged the Jews 
 
THE JEWISH MESSIANIC HOPE 265 
 
 in the many perplexing hours of their history. This hope 
 of a brighter future grew out of a bitter sense of the 
 limitations of the present world. It may be said that the 
 prevailing elements in this Messianic hope are (1) a sense 
 of the need of judgment upon the sinners within Israel and 
 upon the nations hostile to Israel; (2) a belief in the rise 
 of a new society, primarily within Israel, from which sin 
 is purged, and which hostile nations no longer oppress; 
 (3) a belief that this new society is on earth, that its cen- 
 ter is Jerusalem, and that it is blessed with many forms 
 of material prosperity; (4) a belief that God's will is done 
 completely in the new social state. Next follow two ele- 
 ments that are characteristic of many Jewish writers: (1) 
 the resurrection of the righteous dead to share these Mes- 
 sianic blessings, and (2) the presence of a Messianic King, 
 who is God's Vicegerent on earth. Then, there is an ex- 
 pansion of two elements of this scheme in the furtherance 
 of a more perfect bliss : (1) The earth is to be transformed, 
 and (2) the Messiah is regarded a supernatural Being. 
 These, in the main, are the elements of the Messianic hope 
 which were open to any meditative Jew in the time of 
 Jesus. 
 
 Putting beside these views the teaching of Jesus, it 
 becomes clear that the average Pharisee could not recog- 
 nize in Jesus the Messiah of this expected kingdom. In 
 the program of Jesus there were lacking the salient fea- 
 tures of Pharisaic Messianism. There was no judgment 
 upon wicked Jew and hostile Gentile, no convulsive natural 
 phenomena, no outward marks of material splendor, no 
 guaranty of a regenerated society in the mechanical 
 fashion in which the Messianic hope had moved. Apoca- 
 lyptic Messianism became the prevalent form of the Mes- 
 sianic hope, and it was precisely this aspect of the king- 
 dom which was chiefly lacking in the life of Jesus. Jesus 
 minimized the material setting of the kingdom, empha- 
 sized its progressive development, and passionately 
 preached that it was a kingdom of the soul. 
 
 Yet, in spite of this formal chasm between the Jewish 
 Messianism and the Messianic ideals of Jesus, it is true 
 
266 THE RELIGION OF JITDAH 
 
 that the needs out of which the Messianic hope sprang 
 are met in Jesus, for the Messianic hope is the child of 
 the sense of limitation and restriction. The soul is ham- 
 pered by sin within and hostile forces of nature and other 
 men without. The Messianic hope was an elaborate 
 scheme to win freedom of life. No one can question that, 
 were the ideals of Jesus fully accepted, these fullest needs 
 of life would be met completely. A new social order would 
 arise on earth and would yield to man great felicity. Sin 
 would cease. The individual would cease to be confronted 
 by a hostile humanity. A vast order of ills would van- 
 ish. Whatever evils still beset man from nature, the rich 
 freedom vouchsafed by the Christ spirit would be able to 
 conquer. And whenever the Jewish expectations burst 
 across the earth's barriers and demanded a heaven for 
 man and a share in its blessedness for the righteous dead, 
 the program of Jesus more than meets the wildest dream 
 of those who coveted a coming kingdom. There does not 
 seem to be a noble hope or a real want of the Hebrew and 
 Jewish world which is not adequately met in Jesus Christ. 
 While we cannot pile up a multitude of Old-Testament 
 texts that point with an unmistakable index ringer to Jesus 
 of Nazareth, we can say that every trembling aspiration 
 of a thousand years of Jewish life finds a rich fulfillment 
 in our Lord. In a very comprehensive sense all these writ- 
 ings of the Jew witness to his glorious Messiahship. 
 
 The Messianic Hope To-Day 
 
 Sometimes failure is the greatest success. Was not the 
 very failure in the realization of Jewish Messianism the 
 evidence that its hope was too grossly materialistic for 
 human happiness? Jewish Messianism did not strike 
 deep enough into an understanding of the nature of man. 
 There is in man a soul, or, better, man is soul, and no pro- 
 gram of happiness will succeed which does not reckon 
 fully with this spiritual nature of man. Jewish Messian- 
 ism broke down because its hopes were largely set on 
 things. Its failure expresses the successes of the soul's 
 demand for full recognition. 
 
THE JEWISH MESSIANIC HOPE 267 
 
 Our Christian Messianism — our conception of the 
 golden age of civilization — is it not far too materialistic 
 to succeed? For the essence of this hope is in the desire 
 to be in harmony with one's world. It is a widespread 
 heresy of many social reformers that happier conditions 
 in natural surroundings work satisfaction in man's inner 
 life. No effort at social reform, no crusade against unjust 
 conditions of toil, should be abated. But when poverty, 
 disease, and ignorance are eliminated from the social order, 
 the soul still will be struggling with a material world, and 
 any tendency to exalt things over soul ends in spiritual 
 disaster. There is no possible way of being in harmony 
 with one's world save in the minimizing of the physical 
 order of life. This freedom of life, the subordination of 
 nature to the soul, was won by Jesus and may be achieved 
 by any who will follow the selfsame path. In this manner 
 alone will the Messianic dream be fulfilled. 
 
 Jesus realized the kingdom of God in his own life. He 
 did it by building up the interests of the soul. The soul 
 comes to its own in fellowship. For Jesus life's first mean- 
 ing was to live in comradeship with God. God's will was 
 to be done. This was life's paramount issue. In the con- 
 sciousness of seeking God's will and in conforming to it 
 Jesus won a marvelous freedom from the customary tor- 
 ments of man. His soul was magnified by this masterful 
 desire of his to obey the Supreme Will. His life was en- 
 larged too by his passion for human brotherhood. Jesus 
 sought to break down the barriers that embittered society 
 and to enter sympathetically into each man's life. By this 
 passion his soul entered into peace and strength. 
 
 By this triumph of soul he becomes the world's Messiah. 
 All that is essential in the old hopes is fulfilled in him. 
 The rule of God, peace with mankind, an open door to the 
 Gentiles, freedom from sin, victory over death, everlast- 
 ing happiness, a final justification of God's dealings with 
 mankind — all these appear in the life achieved and com- 
 mended by our Lord. The world needs no other Messiah. 
 No man who really follows Jesus will feel any essential 
 detail of his Messianic desires lacking in him. 
 
268 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 Questions fob Study 
 
 1. What is meant by the Messianic hope? What relation 
 does it sustain to Israel's history? What are the common 
 factors of Jewish Messianism? 
 
 2. What form did the hope of a golden age first assume 
 among the Hebrews? What new meaning was given by Amos 
 to "the day of Jehovah"? What further advance was made 
 in prophetic Messianism by Isaiah? What was Zephaniah's 
 contribution? 
 
 3. What meaning was given to "the day of Jehovah" by 
 Jeremiah? Was the sack of Jerusalem in 586 a fulfillment 
 of the prophetic conception of the day of Jehovah? Observe 
 that the Messianic hope now for the first time demands a 
 gathering of the scattered exiles in Palestine. 
 
 4. What guarantee does Jeremiah offer that the restored 
 state will not be guilty of the same evils that wrought the 
 downfall of Samaria and Jerusalem? What does Jeremiah 
 mean by "knowing God"? What political form does this Mes- 
 sianic society assume? What is its attitude toward the Gen- 
 tiles? 
 
 5. With what ideas of Jeremiah does Ezekiel agree? What 
 is Ezekiel's attitude toward the heathen world? 
 
 6. What postexilic writers followed Jeremiah in his pro- 
 gram for the Gentiles? 
 
 7. Turn to the seventy-second Psalm and determine whether 
 the Messiah is an individual or a line of kings. 
 
 8. What are the Messiah's duties or offices? the duration 
 and extent of his kingdom? the kingdom's relation to the 
 Gentile world? the material setting of this golden age? the 
 scene of this Messianic empire? its ethical content? What 
 provision is made for those who have died before the king- 
 dom appears? 
 
 9. What writers followed Ezekiel in their attitude to the 
 Gentiles? What is their teaching concerning the heathen 
 nations? 
 
 10. What new turn was given to the hope by Haggai and 
 Zechariah? 
 
 11. What two new features appear in Joel? 
 
 12. How does the second Zechariah propose to secure the 
 worship of Jehovah by the remnant of the Gentiles? 
 
 13. What moral need first brought the resurrection to a 
 dominant place in Jewish thinking? When did the resur- 
 rection become a part of the Messianic hope? 
 
 14. According to Daniel, what is the scene of the Messianic 
 kingdom, and what is the relation of the Gentiles to it? 
 Where is the scene of this kingdom, according to the Sibyl* 
 line Oracles? What is its duration? 
 
THZ JEWISH MESSIANIC HOPE 269 
 
 15. What other items are mentioned in the lines quoted 
 in this lesson? 
 
 16. What are the main features of the Messianic hope in 
 Enoch 6 to 36? How does the author of Enoch 83 to 90 
 account for the afflictions of Israel under the Greeks? What 
 are his leading features of the Messianic age? 
 
 17. What contribution is made by the author of the Testa- 
 ment of the Twelve Patriarchs? 
 
 18. What strikingly divergent views were held by the 
 au'"ior of the Book of Jubilees? 
 
 19. What are the views of Enoch 37 to 71 concerning the 
 person of the Messiah? concerning the scene of his kingdom? 
 
 20. Who is the Messiah according to the author of the 
 Psalms of Solomon? What are the functions of his office? 
 What is the scene of his kingdom? What provision is made 
 for the righteous dead? 
 
 21. Consider very carefully these general questions: (a) 
 What specific or detailed expectations of Hebrew and Jew- 
 ish Messianism were fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth? (6) 
 What leading elements in these centuries of Messianic dreams 
 were wholly out of touch with the kingdom of God as Jesus 
 knew it? (Remember that the expected Jewish Messianic 
 kingdom is a kingdom of God.) (c) What general aspects 
 of these aspirations of Israel are realized in Jesus? May it 
 truly be said that Jesus satisfies the essentials, if not the 
 formal details, of all this longing for a golden age? 
 
 Additional Lesson Material 
 
 The Postexilic Prophets, Bennett, pages 347-60. 
 
 The Religion of Israel, Smith, pages 293-314. 
 
 The Religious Teaching of the Old Testament, Knudson, 
 pages 351-81. 
 
 The Theology of the Old Testament, Davidson, pages 356- 
 402. 
 
 Article "Messiah," Dictionary of the Bible, Hastings, and 
 in his Dictionary of the Gospels. 
 
 Israel's Messianic Hope. Goodspeed, collates the various Old- 
 Testament passages bearing upon this subject. 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES 
 
 There are four outstanding achievements of the re- 
 ligion of Israel which were taken over by Christianity 
 and which are of supreme importance in the development 
 of the kingdom of God. One of these, and first in 
 order of importance, is prophecy. Prophecy, as we have 
 seen in many chapters, is that experience of man in which, 
 conscious of immediate fellowship with God, he becomes 
 aware of new authority and new meanings in the divine 
 will and so gives expression in word and deed to this 
 new life. In prophecy religion takes on its highest reality 
 and originality. In consequence of this achievement 
 Israel's prophets enthroned the moral life as the soul of 
 religion. This fellowship with God is maintained solely 
 in common ethical ideals and goals. Therefore, it is 
 Israel's glory that she ethicized religious experience into 
 the commanding religious ideal of the world. Her third 
 gift to civilization is the Messianic hope. Her final out- 
 standing service to Christianity centers in the Old Testa- 
 ment itself. Christianity not only inherited from Israel 
 the Old-Testament writings, which preserved so much of 
 Israel's religion during a dozen centuries, but obtained 
 from Judaism the idea of a sacred canon. This lesson 
 sets forth what is meant by the canonical Scriptures and 
 the importance of this idea in the development of the 
 kingdom of God. 
 
 The Meaning of the Canon 
 
 By the Old-Testament canon is meant the collection of 
 writings now included in the Old Testament as it is printed 
 in our English Bibles. The word "canon," used in con- 
 nection with the Bible, means the list of books that have 
 been declared by some competent religious authority to 
 
 270 
 
THE JEWISH SCEIPTUEES 271 
 
 be necessary and sufficient for the religious guidance of 
 life. The word "canon" also implies that the books so 
 included have been selected out of a larger group of writ- 
 ings also treating of religion. Preceding chapters have 
 made clear that the Old-Testament Scriptures were only 
 a part of the religious writings of the Jews. Out of the 
 larger group of writings there came to be selected certain 
 books that were accepted as sacred, as having divine au- 
 thority, and, therefore, as necessary and sufficient for the 
 religious instruction of Israel. 
 
 We have seen that the teaching of the prophets was 
 accepted as the utterance of Jehovah. Consider again 
 the import of these words: "And the king commanded 
 Hilkiah the priest, . . . saying, Go ye, inquire of Je- 
 hovah for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, con- 
 cerning the words of this book that is found. ... So Hil- 
 kiah the priest . . . went unto Huldah the prophetess 
 . . . and they communed with her. And she said unto 
 them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel," etc. (2 
 Kings 22. 12-15). Compare with this incident of the 
 seventh century before Christ a scene in the stirring Mac- 
 cabean times. The Jews have possessed themselves again 
 of the Temple, which had been defiled with heathen sacri- 
 fices. It seemed to them that the altar of Jehovah, 
 having been desecrated by heathen offerings, could not be 
 used again. Yet these stones, having once been conse- 
 crated to Jehovah, could not be treated commonly. To 
 this situation the following words apply: "And they took 
 counsel concerning the altar of burnt offerings which had 
 been profaned, what they should do with it, and there 
 came into their mind a good counsel that they should pull 
 it down, lest it should be a reproach to them because the 
 Gentiles had defiled it; and they pulled down the altar, 
 and laid up the stones in the mountain of the house in 
 a convenient place, until there should come a prophet to 
 give an answer concerning them" (1 Maccabees 4. 44-46). 
 Here at widely separated periods of Israel's history is 
 expressed religion's dependence on the living medium of 
 divine revelation. This expression of God's word neces- 
 
212 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 sarily precedes the use of a book in which divine guidance 
 may be found. Before there could be a canon, a collection 
 of writings regarded as sacred and authoritative, there 
 must first be a transfer from the spoken to the written 
 word as the source of divine revelation. 
 
 The Growth of the Old-Testament Canon 
 
 The Legal Canon. — Keeping in mind that the idea of 
 the canon means an authorized selection of sacred writ- 
 ings, we turn to one of a few most significant scenes in 
 Israel's life. The account is found in 2 Kings 23. 1-3. 
 Eead these verses closely and observe that King Josiah 
 summons a popular assembly in the Temple area at Jeru- 
 salem ; that the elders of the families, priests, and prophets 
 are present, together with a great company of unofficial 
 citizens; that the king reads to the assembled Israelites a 
 certain book that demands in the name of Jehovah certain 
 moral and ceremonial regulations; that the king and his 
 people solemnly covenant to observe the demands of 
 this book and in so pledging themselves to its observance 
 they accept this book as the true word of God. This is 
 the first clearly taken step in the formation of the Old- 
 Testament canon. The book that here begins the Hebrew 
 canon was in most respects our present book of Deuter- 
 onomy. 
 
 This Deuteronomic Code held its normative position 
 from the date of its adoption, 621 B. C, through the exilic 
 period and became the law that directed the worship of 
 the second Temple until the arrival of Ezra in Jerusalem 
 at about 400 B. C. During the intervening years Jewish 
 law was still further collected, modified, and codified. 
 Ezra brought with him to Jerusalem a new code of laws, 
 which he succeeded in getting the Jewish community to 
 adopt. The account is given in Nehemiah 8. 1-12. Ob- 
 serve that Ezra reads "the book of the law of Moses" to 
 a mixed assembly ; and the people's behavior, together with 
 the formal statement (Nehemiah 9. 38) that a covenant 
 was made, indicate that this book of law, like the Deuter- 
 onomic Code of more than two centuries before, is solemnly 
 
THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES 273 
 
 accepted as canonical — that is, in this book God's will is 
 revealed, and this written revelation has authority in the 
 conduct of life. Not long after this event it is believed 
 that the Deuteronomic Code, to which in the meantime 
 had been affixed the historical narratives upon which it 
 was based, was united with the code introduced by Ezra, 
 and this union produced the Pentateuch in the form in 
 which we now have it. So the canon of the law was formed 
 near the opening of the fourth century before Christ. 
 From this time on it holds an unquestioned place in the 
 religious life of Judaism. 
 
 The Prophetical Canon. — The steps leading toward the 
 canonization of the prophetical books of the Old Testa- 
 ment cannot be traced so clearly. In the prologue of the 
 apocryphal book the Wisdom of Jesus, the Son of Sirach 
 (or Ecclesiasticus), which was written about 130 B. C, 
 it is stated, "Whereas many and great things have been 
 delivered unto us by the law and the prophets, and by 
 the others that have followed in their steps, my grandfather 
 Jesus having given himself to the reading of the law and 
 the prophets and the other books of our fathers," etc. 
 Here the threefold division of important Jewish religious 
 writings is clearly taken for granted. According to 49. 
 10 of this same book, written about 180 B. C, the books 
 of the prophets already were regarded as canonical. 
 These prophetical writings were our present books Joshua, 
 Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve 
 so-called minor prophets : Amos, Hosea, Micah, Zephaniah, 
 Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Haggai, Ze- 
 chariah, and Malachi. Between 400 and 200 B. C. these 
 books attained unto that use and eminence in Judaism 
 which warranted their entrance into the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 There is no hint that they were so accepted by any 
 formal decision. The writings of these prophets appeared 
 more and more important as prophecy grew rarer. Read 
 again the foregoing quotation from 1 Maccabees. Note 
 the following from 1 Maccabees 14. 41 : "The Jews and 
 the priests were well pleased that Simon should be their 
 leader and high priest forever until there should arise a 
 
2H THE KELIGION OP JUDAH 
 
 faithful prophet/' Examine also Zechariah 13. 3-5 and 
 observe the startling prediction that the day is coming 
 when prophecy shall be regarded as dangerous to the state, 
 and it shall be necessary for the parents of a prophet to 
 put their son to death. All these references indicate that 
 prophecy grew rarer in Judaism and that by the end of 
 the third century B. C. (and without doubt earlier) 
 prophecy ceased in Israel. When this took place, the writ- 
 ings of the earlier prophets, with their commanding "Thus 
 saith the Lord," and the historical evidence that this claim 
 of voicing the divine will was recognized by the community 
 (2 Kings 22. 12-15), seemed the more valuable and note- 
 worthy. 
 
 The Third Canon. — When the prophetical canon had ob- 
 tained recognition, at least by 200 B. C, there were other 
 greatly prized Jewish writings that at this time failed 
 of the recognition obtained by the early historical writings 
 and the books of the prophets. Such were Job, Proverbs, 
 Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles, 
 Euth, Song of Songs, and many of the Psalms. Some of 
 these failed of inclusion in the prophetic canon on ac- 
 count of their contents; others because they had been so 
 recently written; while Daniel and probably Esther were 
 not yet in existence. Under Antiochus Epiphanes the 
 order went forth to destroy the "books of the law" (1 
 Maccabees 1. 56, 57), and failure to conform to this law 
 incurred the sentence of death. This destruction of the 
 law undoubtedly enhanced the value of their national writ- 
 ings in the eyes of patriot Jews, and the destruction of 
 such canonical books was probably accompanied by an in- 
 discriminate destruction of other cherished Jewish writ- 
 ings. As a result of this persecution all their religious 
 books would take on heightened sanctity. Hence, in the 
 quieter days of the Maccabean kingdom such books as 
 had been purged by the fire of the Antiochean persecution 
 won their place of veneration in the regard of Judaism. 
 A traditionj of such a new veneration for these writings is 
 preserved in 2 Maccabees 2. 14: "And in like manner 
 Judas also gathered together for us all those writings that 
 
THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES 275 
 
 had been scattered by reason of the war that befell, and 
 they are still with us." It is quite probable that the books 
 mentioned above, and which are now a part of our Old 
 Testament, won their place in the reverent regard of the 
 Pharisees by 100 B. C. Thus, while there was no official 
 pronouncement in regard to the prophetical canon and this 
 third group of writings (known in Hebrew as the Kethubim 
 and in Greek as the Hagiographa), the limits of the Old 
 Testament were practically settled a century before the 
 Christian era. 
 
 That the third group of writings was not firmly and 
 irrevocably fixed for nearly two centuries is witnessed by 
 the counsel of Jamnia, held probably in A. D. 90. At this 
 assembly of Jewish rabbis the question of the canon was 
 raised. There seems to have been a difference of opinion 
 among Jewish teachers whether the Song of Songs and 
 Ecclesiastes were Holy Scripture. At this time it finally 
 was agreed that these two books belonged to the sacred 
 writings of the Jew. There is evidence, also, that at 
 times the canonicity of Ezekiel, Jonah, Proverbs, and 
 Esther, in addition to the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes, 
 was questioned. It was said that Ezekiel contradicted the 
 Pentateuch, hinted that Jonah was a piece of legend, sup- 
 posed that Proverbs favored heretics, that Esther omitted 
 the name of God, that the Song of Songs was a secular 
 poem, and that Ecclesiastes was unorthodox. But all 
 these points were eventually resolved, and the Old Testa- 
 ment by A. D. 100 stands forth the exclusive Scriptures 
 of Judaism and the treasured possession of the Christian 
 communities. 
 
 The Alexandrian Canon. — The three canons discussed 
 above, which include our present Old-Testament canon, 
 were the collection of Jewish sacred writings made by 
 Jews in Palestine. Among the Greek-speaking Jews of 
 Egypt there was a larger collection of writings, which 
 possessed, or nearly so, the character of Holy Scripture. 
 It was the Palestinian canon that was used by Jesus and 
 his disciples. But the Gentilic churches, built up out 
 of a Greek-speaking world, used the Septuagint, with its 
 
276 THE RELIGION OF JTTDAH 
 
 wider collection of books. This is what is called the Alex- 
 andrian canon. This so-called Alexandrian canon in ad- 
 dition to the books of our present Old Testament, in- 
 cluded the following: First and Second Esdras, Tobit, 
 Judith, seven additional chapters to Esther, the Wisdom 
 of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus (or the Wisdom of Jesus, Son 
 of Sirach), Baruch, the Song of the Three Children, 
 the History of Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, the 
 Prayer of Manasses, First and Second Maccabees. These 
 books had wide circulation among the early Christians 
 and finally, with the exception of First and Second Esdras 
 and the Prayer of Manasses, regarded by the Eoman 
 Church also as apocryphal, were included in the canon of 
 the Roman Catholic Church. By the Protestants this 
 entire list is counted apocryphal. This constitutes the 
 chief difference between the Eoman Catholic and Protest- 
 ant Bibles. Among the Greek-speaking Jews there were 
 other writings in circulation which failed eventually of 
 canonicity. Some of these are the Psalms of Solomon, 
 Enoch, and the Book of Jubilees, all of which are of great 
 importance in tracing the development of pre-Christian 
 Jewish religion. 
 
 The Importance of the Canon 
 
 Among the Jews themselves in the pre-Christian cen- 
 turies the conception and use of a collection of sacred 
 Scriptures, as we have seen, was not so prominent as it 
 has been among Jews since the opening of the Christian 
 era and within the Christian church. But during the 
 four centuries before Christ the canon was growing in 
 importance, and apart from the canon of the law the 
 Maccabean struggles would not have taken place. It 
 may be said that the Pentateuch preserved Judaism 
 through the Greek persecutions and, together with subse- 
 quent additions to the canon, enabled Judaism to survive 
 the destruction of the nation. 
 
 The Christian church began with the Old-Testament 
 canon as its only sacred Scriptures. The apostles under- 
 took to show that the life and teachings of Jesus, his deeds 
 
THE JEWISH SCRIPTUKES 277 
 
 and his destiny, were the precise fulfillment of Old-Testa- 
 ment predictions. Their whole method of early preaching 
 would have been impossible apart from the canonical con- 
 ception and use of Jewish religious writings. Then, too, 
 the presence of a Jewish canon stimulated the early church 
 to collect and reverence the writings of Christian apostles, 
 evangelists, and teachers. The very existence of a New 
 Testament rests upon the presence of the Old Testament 
 in Judaism in the time of Christ. 
 
 With the exception of the codes of law none of these 
 Old-Testament books, when they first appeared, had 
 stamped upon them, in the estimation of the people, un- 
 mistakable evidence of their divine authority. Their ac- 
 ceptance as the Word of God was a gradual appreciation 
 of their power to build up the moral and religious life of 
 men. This final Jewish estimate of their own writings 
 has been approved by the judgment of the Christian 
 world. 
 
 "If we look steadily at the contents of the Bible from 
 the point of view of an increasing purpose, they seem quite 
 worthy to have come from God. If we take them as a 
 revelation of what God himself is and of his method of his 
 dealings with mankind and if we bear in mind that this 
 revelation has been gradual and progressive, it is difficult 
 to conceive one that could have been better. There is im- 
 pressed upon the writings which make up the Bible a 
 breadth and a variety, an intensity and purity of religious 
 life, that are without parallel in any other literature of 
 the world. This is the fact which we seek to express in 
 the doctrine of inspiration. We know no other explanation 
 for it than a special action of the Spirit of God." 1 
 
 The writing of the Old-Testament books and their col- 
 lection into a canon show that Hebrew and Jewish life 
 for a thousand years was being impressed more and more 
 clearly by the Spirit of God. God was dealing actively 
 with them through all their history, and there was 
 a continual manifestation of his will. Their achieve- 
 
 1 Article "Bible," in Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Sanday. 
 
278 THE KELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 ments constitute a stream of religious revelation. Yet 
 one cannot suppose that God was not dealing actively with 
 men beyond the limits of the Bible. To do so would stifle 
 our hopes and ideals to-day. The stream of divine revela- 
 tion not only flows through Jewish minds: it courses 
 through the life of every people and will continue until 
 it empties into the sea of perfect knowledge of God. The 
 Bible shows us this stream of divine contact and revela- 
 tion flooding its channels, but unless it also points out that 
 revelation is and ought to be a constant possession of 
 the Christian church it falls short of its highest mission. 
 
 The Bible in Human Life 
 
 Our studies have shown that the Old Testament springs 
 up out of the throbbing, living experiences of men. It 
 is an intensely human book. It quivers with human trial 
 and struggle, triumph and tragedy, despair and unde- 
 feated aspiration. It voices the human soul in protest 
 against the physical world through nearly a thousand years. 
 It is a record of man's approach to God and God's recep- 
 tion of man. It points the way in which any man must 
 move to live in company with his heavenly Father. 
 
 Therefore, we must bring the Bible back into life. It 
 has gone from our homes and schools. Our youth are un- 
 familiar with its deathless lessons; our men and women 
 know few of its truths to sustain them in the crisis of 
 life. We guess at the teaching of Him we call our Master. 
 We do not know the rare and splendid triumphs of the 
 prophets, in whom religion became ethical fellowship with 
 God. We are not caught up into its mighty urging of the 
 primacy of the inner life in the affairs of mankind. 
 
 The greatest enemy of the Bible is he who will not study 
 it. The measure of the people's wisdom in these days of 
 tumbling theories and institutions is the earnestness with 
 which they turn to the sacred writings to find in them the 
 way to God. It is time that the church turned with new 
 eagerness to the Book of books. We must make the years 
 immediately at hand a Bible-studying age. Bible read- 
 ing must be reestablished in every home, and every mem- 
 
THE JEWISH SCEIPTUKES 279 
 
 ber of the church must enroll in some class for Bible 
 study. To fail to do these things is national stagnation 
 and individual death. 
 
 We cannot continue to exist in militarism, greed, and 
 materialistic ideals of worth and success. We must hear, 
 above our blind willfulness and passion, God's call to seek 
 first the kingdom of justice, righteousness, and love. There 
 always will be dark ages, whose struggles are not sacrifices 
 to usher in our long-dreamed brotherhood. Unless we 
 humble ourselves before God and ask what we must do 
 to be saved, there can be no other end to selfish nationalism 
 among the peoples of the earth than an age of darkness. 
 
 The first step to ascertain God's will is to bring back 
 the Bible into our homes and schools. Nothing less than 
 a new generation of prayer, Bible study, and obedience of 
 God will save civilization in times of trial. God 
 speaks to us in terrible warnings. The great war, which 
 filled the world with horror and which crushed the castes 
 of birth, wealth, and political supremacy, sounded one con- 
 tinuous thunderous call in the souls of men: the call to 
 search the sacred Scriptures to find in them for our suf- 
 fering, foolish, misguided world the way to God. 
 
 Questions fob Study 
 
 1. What three of Israel's contributions to Christianity have 
 been studied in previous chapters? 
 
 2. What service was rendered the Christian church by the 
 Jewish Scriptures? 
 
 3. What does the word "canon" mean? What elements in 
 a book make it canonical? Note that the very idea of a 
 canon involves the transfer from the spoken to the written 
 word as the source of divine revelation. In the light of this 
 fact what loss to religion does the possession of a canon en- 
 tail? Estimate the gain to religion through dependence on 
 canonical Scriptures. 
 
 4. What Jewish writing first won canonicity? Under what 
 circumstances did this take place? 
 
 5. At what time was the next step taken? What writings 
 next became canonical? Narrate the circumstances that led 
 to this second canon of Jewish law. 
 
 6. When did our present Pentateuch obtain its canonicity? 
 
 7. What differences in method obtain in the formation of 
 
280 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 prophetical canon? By what date was this accomplished? 
 What hooks are included in the prophetical canon? What con- 
 ditions emphasized the importance of these prophetical writ- 
 ings and so helped forward their canonicity? 
 
 8. What writings were in existence by 200 B. C, but failed 
 to get into the canon? Why were they not included? 
 
 9. What others of our present Old-Testament books were 
 not included in the prophetical canon, and why? What his- 
 torical conditions probably enhanced the value of these writ- 
 ings? When did they practically become canonical? 
 
 10. What are those Old-Testament books whose canonicity 
 was questioned? For what reasons? 
 
 11. When was the canon of the Old Testament finally set- 
 tled? 
 
 12. What is meant by the Alexandrian canon? What were 
 its contents? 
 
 13. What was the usage of the early Christians in the 
 matter of the Old-Testament canon? 
 
 14. What books are regarded as canonical by the Roman 
 Catholic Church which are not found in Protestant Bibles? 
 What is the explanation of this difference? 
 
 15. What important Jewish writings entirely failed of 
 canonicity? 
 
 16. What immeasurably important political service was 
 rendered Judaism by its canon of the law? What has been 
 the contribution of the Old-Testament canon to the Chris- 
 tian church? What reasons are there for the continued use 
 in the church of these Jewish writings as canonical? 
 
 17. Ought the use of canonical Scriptures to make need- 
 less the study of other religious writings, which are not in 
 the canon? 
 
 18. To what extent should a Christian rely upon the Bible 
 for the guidance of his life? 
 
 Selected Readings 
 
 The Old Testament in the Jewish Church, W. R. Smith, 
 Lecture VI. 
 
 Article "Bible," Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, 
 Volume II, pages 563-71. 
 
 Articles "Bible," "Canon," and "Old-Testament Canon," 
 Dictionary of the Bible, Hastings. 
 
 The Canon of the Old Testament, Ryle. This is an ex- 
 cellent discussion of the formation and growth of the Jewish 
 canonical Scriptures. 
 
CHAPTEE XXVI 
 
 THE DEVELOPING KINGDOM OF GOD 
 
 Ouk long survey of the development of religions ideas 
 among the Hebrews and the Jewish people until the be- 
 ginning of the Christian era is nearly done. It has been 
 a fascinating story in itself, but in the light it throws 
 upon the origins of Christianity its value is beyond esti- 
 mate. The present chapter summarizes the changes that 
 took place through the dozen centuries that have occu- 
 pied us in the study of Israel and Judah. We have 
 defined the kingdom of God to be the rule of God in 
 human life. During the centuries under review vast 
 changes have taken place in the spiritual structure of the 
 individual and community, and revolutionary transforma- 
 tions have been wrought in man's conception of the char- 
 acter and purposes of God. These changes have given 
 religion an indisputable position in the life of mankind. 
 We may well believe that God's sovereignty, his character, 
 and his purposes do not change their nature; but we can 
 see that man's idea of these aspects of the being of God 
 does change. In discussing the development of the sov- 
 ereignty of God we are studying only the development in 
 man's conception of his divine Overlord. 
 
 The Sovereignty of God 
 
 The Source of God's Authority. — Like other primitive 
 peoples the Hebrews began their national history with 
 power as the dominant conception of Jehovah's character. 
 He was worthy of the Hebrews' obedience because he had 
 freed them from the servitude of Egypt and given them a 
 home in Canaan. This power was the power to coerce 
 nature and to lead his people in victorious battle. It was 
 his ability to get things done by a kind of physical crush 
 
 281 
 
282 THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 of obstacles which constituted his right to the loyalty of 
 his people. Bead Exodus 15. 1-10 and note this concep- 
 tion of Jehovah's sovereignty. Examine also Judges 5. 
 4, 5, taken from another one of Israel's earliest songs, and 
 observe that Jehovah's right to Hebrew obedience is based 
 upon this physical conception of his power. 
 
 With the eighth-century prophets the supreme right of 
 Jehovah to rule in the affairs of men rests in his moral 
 character. Jehovah still rules in might, but he keeps 
 his throne because he demands justice and righteousness. 
 The student should reexamine Amos 2. 4-8; 3. 13-15; 4. 1; 
 Hosea 4. 1-3; 10. 13, 14; and Isaiah's vision (chapter 6) 
 of the holiness of Jehovah. God rules, according to pro- 
 phetic teaching, not because he can, but because, through 
 the moral splendor of his nature, he is worthy to admin- 
 ister the affairs of men. There is no possible overemphasis 
 of the importance of this contribution to religion. 
 
 The Character of God. — Something of the finer concep- 
 tions that men came to hold of the character of God is 
 indicated. Genesis 2. 9; 3. 22, 23 is a fragment of an 
 early account of man's failure to win immortality. In the 
 Garden of Eden there were many trees pleasant to look 
 upon, and whose fruits were excellent food. There were 
 also two magic trees among them: the tree whose fruit 
 made those who ate it wise, and the tree whose fruit con- 
 ferred immortality. From the reasons given in Genesis 
 3. 22, 23 for the expulsion of man from this paradise what 
 inference must be drawn concerning the character of 
 deity? Also, in the other narrative of the transgression 
 of the prohibition to eat of the tree of knowledge what 
 moral basis is there given for Jehovah's denial of the fruit 
 of this tree to man? Is it fair to say that in neither of 
 these accounts does any moral character appear in Jeho- 
 vah? Compare this early conception of Jehovah's will, 
 which brooks no thwarting, with the intensely moral char- 
 acter of his will as revealed in the prophets. In Isaiah 
 1. 2 it is said that Jehovah's children have rebelled against 
 him. This means that they have not fulfilled his will. 
 Read 1, 17 and note what constitutes the nature of this re- 
 
THE DEVELOPING KINGDOM OF GOD 283 
 
 bellion. What development has taken place in Israel's 
 conception of the character of Jehovah? 
 
 The Scope of His Kingdom. — In the earliest periods of 
 Israel's life Jehovah was not regarded the world's sole 
 Deity. Each nation or people had its own divine lord. 
 There are many evidences of this early belief in our Old- 
 Testament literature. Examine Deuteronomy 32. 21; 1 
 Samuel 5. 1-5; 26. 19; 1 Kings 16. 31, 32. Jehovah's 
 rule was confined to his own land. When David was driven 
 out of Palestine into Philistia, the worship of Jehovah 
 was possible no longer. Naaman needed to carry "two 
 mules' burden" of Palestinian soil — Jehovah's soil — with 
 him to Damascus to build Jehovah's altar thereon in order 
 to make the worship of Jehovah legitimate in a foreign 
 land. Again, the eighth-century prophets worked a revo- 
 lution in Hebrew thought. In Amos 1 and 2 Jehovah's 
 rule is extended to Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, 
 and Moab. Examine Isaiah 5. 26; 13. 17, where Assyria 
 and, later, the Median kingdom are considered to be within 
 the realm of Jehovah and subject to his authority. He 
 uses Assyria to execute vengeance upon Israel and the 
 Medes to chastise Babylonia. Later prophets (for ex- 
 ample Zechariah 14. 9) assert in unequivocal language 
 Jehovah's universal sway. 
 
 The scope of Jehovah's rule, in the thought of Israel, 
 was extended in another direction. In early Hebrew 
 thought Jehovah's rule was confined to the living. The 
 dead, who drew out their dreary lives in Sheol, were be- 
 yond his jurisdiction. He was God of the living, and not 
 of the departed shades of mankind. Examine Psalms 30. 
 9; 31. 22; 88. 5; 115. 17; 119. 175; 146. 2; Isaiah 38. 18, 
 19 for this belief : that Sheol lies outside the dominion of 
 Jehovah. But as Jehovah's rule was moralized, his sway 
 was believed to extend over the realm of departed spirits. 
 See Job 26. 6; 38. 17; Proverbs 15. 11; Psalms 139. 7, 8 
 for this inclusion of Sheol within the boundaries of Je- 
 hovah's kingdom. It was not until this extension of Je- 
 hovah's sovereignty was accepted that belief in a resurrec- 
 tion was possible. When the goal of religion was con- 
 
284: THE RELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 ceived as fellowship with. Jehovah, and the Messianic 
 kingdom became a fixed hope, the righteous dead then are 
 expected to be brought forth from Sheol to share these 
 blessings. In the canonical literature this hope of a resur- 
 rection is found in Isaiah 26. 19 and Daniel 12. 2, 3. 
 Finally, this rule of the departed spirits of men insures 
 their blessed immortality apart from the resurrection of 
 the body. 
 
 "And their bones shall rest in the earth, and their spirits 
 shall have much joy, and they shall know that it is the 
 Lord who executes judgment, and shows mercy to hun- 
 dreds and thousands and to all that love him" (Book of 
 Jubilees 23. 11). 
 
 "The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, 
 And no torment shall touch them, 
 In the eyes of the foolish they seem to have died ; 
 But they are in peace, 
 
 For even if in the sight of men they be punished, 
 Their hope is full of immortality" (Wisdom of Solomon 
 3. 1-4). 
 
 Thus, Jehovah, from being the Deity of the living He- 
 brew, comes to be believed as the Lord of the living and 
 the dead of all peoples in time and eternity. 
 
 The Nature of His Rule Among Men. — In the earliest 
 literature Jehovah is a war god who fights Israel's battles 
 until the tribes are settled in Canaan and who comes to 
 their relief in times of crisis and helps them overthrow 
 their enemies. He is little concerned in the social devel- 
 opment of his people. Again it is the prophets beginning 
 with Amos who made clear that his kingdom is not po- 
 litical superiority over the nation's enemies but is social 
 justice and righteousness. This is the beginning of the 
 conception of the Messianic hope. There shall be a king- 
 dom, Israel's teachers were constrained to hope, wherein 
 righteousness, justice, and peace shall envelop the world. 
 
 Jehovah's Purposes in Creation. — In the sixth tablet of 
 the Babylonian story of creation the following lines oc- 
 cur: 
 
THE DEVELOPING KINGDOM OF GOD 285 
 
 "When Marduk heard the word of the gods, 
 His heart moved him, and he devised a cunning plan. 
 'My blood will I take, and bone will I fashion ; 
 I shall create man, who shall inhabit the earth; 
 Let the worship of the gods be established; let their 
 shrines be built/ " 
 
 It is conjectured that "the word of the gods" is their com- 
 plaint that there is none to do them reverence. Hence, 
 man is created to build altars and to conduct a worship 
 to please his overlords. It is not unlikely that this is a 
 common Semitic conception of the purpose of creation. 
 However, there is no clear statement in preprophetic 
 literature to show that the purpose of man's creation was 
 a vital question. But Exodus 19. 5 and Deuteronomy 
 32. 8, 9; 16 and 17, 21 to 24 do indicate that as long as 
 Israel worshiped Jehovah, all went well; but as soon as 
 they worshiped another deity, Jehovah was determined to 
 destroy them. This seems to bear out the Babylonian 
 view. But with the preaching of the prophets a higher 
 view dawns. The entire teaching of the prophets is based 
 on the belief that Jehovah's purpose in man is to draw 
 him into moral fellowship with himself. "What doth Je- 
 hovah require of thee ?" asks Micah, in the name of proph- 
 ecy, of his countrymen. He answers the question: "To 
 do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with 
 thy God." It would therefore seem that the end of crea- 
 tion, according to prophetic thought, is to bring into being 
 a world of persons who shall live in moral fellowship with 
 each other. Undoubtedly such fellowship is conceived to 
 heighten the glory and satisfaction of God and to this 
 extent connects with the Babylonian view. But to con- 
 ceive creation as a process in the development of a moral 
 society certainly justifies the existence of nature and man 
 and exalts once more the Hebrew prophet as the developer 
 of the world's finest thinking and spiritual values. 
 
 God's Demands From Men. — We have seen that in the 
 earliest Hebrew centuries men felt that Jehovah's chief 
 demand from them was worship. In the earliest Deca- 
 
286 THE EELIGION OF JUDAH 
 
 logue, imbedded in Exodus 34/ among the ten divine re- 
 quirements nine deal with the obligations of worship due 
 Jehovah. This worship became more and more an affair 
 of ritual at the various sanctuaries and it made no moral 
 demand and offered no moral social guidance. As long as 
 the Hebrew felt that his Deity's supreme demand of him 
 was an animal sacrifice, the kingdom could not progress. 
 It was not until God's demands were in terms of moral 
 fellowship — "to do justly, and to love kindness, and to 
 walk humbly with God" — that the rule of God in human 
 life took on surpassing interest. Examine again Amos 
 5. 21-23; Hosea 6. 6; Isaiah 1. 11-17 for this high demand 
 for just social relationships among men as evidence of 
 the fitness for ethical fellowship with God. Undoubtedly 
 this is the finest triumph of Hebrew thought. Eeligion 
 is grounded in moral fellowship; worship is not sacrifice 
 but service. 
 
 Man's Attitude Toward the Eule of God 
 
 The Place of Worship in Religion. — With primitive ideas 
 of the character of God worship is an important factor in 
 religion. To express reverence, to exhibit the feeling that 
 deity is far beyond the rank of man, to placate him who 
 gives the rain, produces the harvests, and multiplies the 
 flocks and herds, is of the utmost importance. Eeligion in 
 the preprophetic centuries was largely an affair of wor- 
 ship. There were no sacred Scriptures to read, no prayers 
 to be said, no religious instruction given. There were per- 
 plexing questions to be answered by a seer or by an appeal 
 to Urim and Thummim. Away from a sanctuary a vow 
 might be made, but such a vow was a pledge to the Deity 
 in return for a favor, to sacrifice at an altar, at the earliest 
 opportunity. It was not until the prophets made clear 
 the ethical character of deity that worship became a sec- 
 ondary element in religion. For the prophets, worship in 
 the sense in which it was carried on at sanctuaries was 
 worse than useless : it was positively demoralizing. In th. 
 
 i Consult The Religion of Israel, Ascham, pages 68-70. 
 
THE DEVELOPING KINGDOM OF GOD 287 
 
 prophetic conception of religion worship has little place. 
 It means to the prophet a sense of humility in the pres- 
 ence of a perfectly just, righteous, and gracious Sovereign. 
 Unfortunately for the development of religion, this con- 
 ception of worship took little hold upon Israel's life. Af- 
 ter the Exile the Temple ritual was resumed and continued 
 to dominate Jewish life until the destruction of Jerusa- 
 lem by the Eomans. This idea of religion, that it is pri- 
 marily worship, made possible the elaborate development 
 of Israel's priesthood and sacrificial system. The political 
 history of Judaism, necessitating some external religious 
 object about which the persecuted nation could rally, did 
 much to foster and to perpetuate the priestly conception of 
 worship and religious life. This is Israel's chief unfor- 
 tunate gift to Christianity. The priest never has been 
 and never can be a part of purest religion. He interrupts 
 the moral fellowship of the individual with his God, and 
 this fellowship is the soul of religion. Yet, in spite of this 
 priestly worship, Israel has given us also the prophetic 
 ideal, and to this ideal the seers of the ages have turned 
 for comfort and guidance. Perhaps it was from brooding 
 over Israel's great prophets that Jesus, in his life and 
 teaching, upheld the prophetic and not the priestly ideal 
 of religion. For with Jesus, as with the prophetic 
 teachers of Israel, religion was summed up in complete 
 love of God and love of neighbor expressed in moral 
 terms. 
 
 The Meaning of Sin. — Eefusal to carry out the divine 
 requirements is sin. From the Decalogue in Exodus 34 
 we have certain early conceptions of sin. It is sin to wor- 
 ship any god other than Jehovah (Exodus 34. 14) ; to use 
 molded images in worship (carved ones evidently are per- 
 missible) (34. 17) ; the use of leavened bread in a sacri- 
 ficial meal (34. 25) ; to stew a kid in its mother's milk 
 (34. 26). The Decalogue of Deuteronomy 5. 7-21 shows 
 distinct moral advance. To commit murder, to steal, to 
 calumniate one's neighbor, to covet another's property, to 
 lie, to commit adultery, to disobey parents — these anarchic 
 irruptions into a quiet social order are sin. In the teach- 
 
288 THE BELIGION OF JTIDAH 
 
 ing of the prophets the ideal life is moral fellowship with 
 Jehovah and with men ; any act, any thought, which breaks 
 in upon this fellowship is sin. In Chapter XXIII it was 
 stated that the author of the Twelve Patriarchs believed 
 that men were to live in glad and just fellowship with each 
 other and with God, and that anything that interrupted 
 this open communion of soul was sin. It was this pro- 
 phetic — better, Pharisaic — conception of sin which leads di- 
 rectly, through legalistic Judaism, to Jesus. We remem- 
 ber that the stricter Pharisees defined sin as any breach 
 of the written law. A code of laws defines sin more 
 sharply, but its mechanical notion of sin does not lead to 
 the finest type of life. 
 
 The Forgiveness of Sins. — We have seen that forgiveness 
 was not a simple matter under Judaism. An elaborate 
 system of sacrifice and cleansing ritual was instituted to 
 set men right with God. The priest became a mediator 
 between the sinner and God. We saw too that in the elab- 
 orate angelology of Pharisaism an angel became the media- 
 tor and intercessor. Jewish Christian theology seized upon 
 this teaching of priestly Judaism and turned Jesus into a 
 Sacrifice, a High Priest, a Mediator, and an Intercessor. 
 All this assumes the reluctance or the impatience of God 
 to forgive. It must not be forgotten that the prophetic 
 ideal of the kingdom — of God's rule in human affairs — 
 is warm and trustful fellowship of man with his divine 
 Master in moral terms. No priestly mediator or inter- 
 cessor is needed in such a scheme of the relation of God 
 to man ; what is needed is man's putting away his sin and 
 his humble turning unto God to renew the fellowship his 
 selfish thought or act had broken. Thus, forgiveness in 
 the best Old-Testament thought is precisely what it is in 
 the teaching of Jesus. 
 
 Summary 
 
 It is not easy to hold the many details of Israel's re- 
 ligious life in mind or to summarize the beliefs and ex- 
 periences of the Hebrew and Jewish conceptions of the 
 kingdom of God. There is not space here even to present 
 
 
THE DEVELOPING KINGDOM OF GOD 289 
 
 the barest outline of this wonderful achievement of the 
 Jewish people. Think of the miracle that the possession 
 of these literary fragments of their faith in our Bible 
 means to the world. Of all nations of antiquity they alone 
 struggled out of crude, primitive, nonmoral religious beliefs 
 and practices into an ethical monotheism that is still the 
 inspiration of the world. What is the explanation of this 
 miracle of history? In these chapters we have followed 
 the changes in man's thought and experiences. It might 
 seem that religion was an affair only of human life. In this 
 final word let us look on the other side of this continually 
 shifting scene of religious life. Certainly we shall find 
 no explanation of our miracle on the human side. Un- 
 less there accompanied these various changes, this move- 
 ment toward a more spiritual life, a real and continuous 
 activity on the part of God, there is no interpretation of Is- 
 rael's life. Inspiration and revelation as activities of God 
 are the only explanation of Israel's unique and wonderful 
 history. It is this which is fundamental in the kingdom of 
 God. Man's ceaseless strivings toward an ideal, apart from 
 the living God as the Source and the Goal of his striving, is 
 unthinkable. Israel's experience, her centuries of upward 
 striving, her moral achievements, her Messianic hope, her 
 written Scriptures, bear witness to the presence in her life 
 of the eternal God. 
 
 Across Twenty Centuries 
 
 Across twenty centuries the Hebrew extends to you his 
 experience of God. He unbosoms his soul and shows you 
 that he has discovered God to be a just, loving, and righteous 
 Euler, Friend, and Father, and tells you that you can enter 
 into fellowship with him. You need no intermediary to 
 insure you welcome in the heart of God. 
 
 He affirms too, with unshaken optimism, that this Deity, 
 whom he came to know in the midst of searching affliction, 
 is actively constructing a world of righteousness. You 
 may sometimes doubt the coming of the golden age; our 
 ancient Hebrew dreamer sees it with his prophetic soul. 
 He passes on to you his Messianic hope. 
 
290 THE BELIGION OF JITDAH 
 
 He teaches you what varied types of men may be king- 
 dom builders. He and his brothers were dreamers : staid, 
 practical statesmen, soldiers, legislators, poets, prophets, 
 kings, priests, farmers, shepherds; but each of them, with 
 an ideal like a miner's lamp, pressing steadily into the 
 dark. 
 
 He passes on to you his finest lesson — that it is a man's 
 task and opportunity to follow the gleam of truth in his 
 own soul. Even when the explorer sees that no step ever 
 has been taken his way before, he must pursue his trackless 
 path undaunted. God's routes to the celestial city have 
 not yet all been mapped. 
 
 He urges you to use failure as a rock-cut path up diffi- 
 culty to the blue sky. His kingdom was rent in twain, his 
 capitals fell to the ruthless invader, his people were scattered 
 to the ends of the earth, his reassembled exiles were 
 harassed unto death by Greeks who would force their cul- 
 ture upon the world; but he kept his soul fixed upon the 
 eternal purposes of God. The man with an ideal is never 
 a failure. 
 
 He bids you to be no beggar in religion. The Jew was 
 always a bargainer even in his relation to God. He was 
 bound to God by a covenant, but God was bound like- 
 wise to him. This brought him at last to see that he must 
 give in order to take. He could not win the joy of moral 
 fellowship with God unless he gave the joy of moral fel- 
 lowship to God. 
 
 Across twenty centuries the Hebrew offers you his king- 
 dom of God. You modern Christian — you American 
 Christian — , with your nation strong and throbbing with 
 life, are the inheritor of his kingdom whose nation is no 
 more. Take the gift and beware the fateful history of him 
 who gives it to you. Whenever he subverted his kingdom 
 to material ends he was crushed and thrown aside; when 
 he made it the light of his soul, when it was a blessed ex- 
 perience within him, he spoke and lived a universal life. 
 Take the Hebrew's kingdom, as Christ took it, and glorify 
 it with your purest thoughts and holiest sacrifices until it 
 becomes yours and, through you, becomes the world's. 
 
THE DEVELOPING KINGDOM OF GOD 291 
 
 Lesson Questions 
 
 1. What is meant by the kingdom of God? In what sense 
 is there a development of this kingdom? 
 
 2. What subtopics are discussed under the subject "The 
 Sovereignty of God"? 
 
 3. What was the early Hebrew conception of the source of 
 God's authority? What changes occurred in this idea of 
 Jehovah's right to rule? 
 
 4. What changes took place in Israel's thought of Jehovah's 
 character? In what ways was the range of Jehovah's rule 
 expanded? 
 
 5. Give the evidence that Israel believed in the existence 
 of other gods than Jehovah? Were the Hebrews at any time 
 polytheists? What was the chief contributing element in the 
 development of monotheism? 
 
 6. Why did the early Hebrews believe that Jehovah did 
 not rule in Sheol? 
 
 7. What element in the prophetic teaching prepared the 
 way for the belief that Jehovah's realm embraced the whole 
 of creation? What relation does the resurrection sustain 
 to Jehovah's" universal reign? 
 
 8. What changes took place in the ideas of the nature of 
 God's rule? 
 
 9. What was the primitive Semitic idea of the purpose of 
 the creation? How was this purpose expressed by the 
 prophets? 
 
 10. What is the history in Jewish thinking of God's de- 
 mands from men? 
 
 11. Discuss the value and place of worship in religion. 
 
 12. What changes occurred in Israel's conception of sin? 
 What conceptions of the forgiveness of sin were developed in 
 Israel? 
 
 13. Estimate the contribution of the prophets in the de- 
 velopment of the kingdom of God. 
 
 14. What convincing reasons may be offered for the pres- 
 ence of God in human affairs? 
 
 Reference Material 
 
 Article "Kingdom of God," Encyclopedia of Religion and 
 Ethics. 
 
 Article, "Israel, History of," Dictionary of the Bible, Hast- 
 ings. 
 
 Article, "Revelation," Dictionary of the Bible, Hastings, 
 Volume V. 
 
 The Religious Teaching of the Old Testament, Knudson. 
 Any topic treated in this chapter may be examined with 
 profit in this book. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abijah, 7 
 
 Adonis, worship of, 103 
 
 Agricultural feasts, 83 
 
 Ahaz, 27, 30f. 
 
 Ahaziah, 8 
 
 Alexander the Great, 220, 235 
 
 Aliens, 92f. 
 
 Amaziah, 9 
 
 Ammon, 73, 130, 133 
 
 Anathoth, 102, 109 
 
 Angels, 216, 246ff. 
 
 Animals, kindness toward, 93f . 
 
 Antiochus Epiphanes, 231f., 
 
 236f., 246, 274 
 Artaxerxes III, 214 
 Asa, 7 
 
 Asaphite Psalms, 213 
 Assyrian influence in Palestine, 
 
 70 
 Assyrian invasion of Palestine, 
 
 36, 40f., 60 
 Astarte, llf., 13 
 Astral worship, 103 
 Athaliah, 8, 12 
 Azariah, 9 
 
 Baalism: Canaanitish, 71f., 81; 
 
 Tyrian, 12 
 Babylon, 135, 140 
 Babylonian cults in Judah, 70f. 
 Ben Sira, 225f. 
 Bible in human life, 278f . 
 Book of the Covenant, 85, 185 
 
 Canaanites, influence of upon 
 Hebrew religion, 11, 71f., 81, 
 113 
 
 Canon of Old Testament: Alex- 
 andrian, 275f.; growth of, 
 272-7; importance of, 276f.; 
 meaning of, 270f . 
 
 Chasidim, 246 
 
 Cities of refuge, 95f . 
 
 Covenant, the new, 114, 258 
 Cyrus, 135, 140, 148, 152f., 209 
 
 Daniel, book of, 233ft*.; Mes- 
 sianic teaching of, 260f . 
 
 Darius, 156, 164, 210 
 
 Day of Jehovah, 73, 135, 168, 
 257f. 
 
 Death penalty, 193 
 
 Deutero-Isaiah, 146 
 
 Deuteronomic Code, 71, 86, 96, 
 102, 109, 113, 185, 272 
 
 Deuteronomic conception of life, 
 198f. 
 
 Ecclesiasticus, 223 
 
 Edom, 130, 133 
 
 Egypt denounced by Ezekiel, 
 133 
 
 Elephantine papyri, 215 
 
 Enoch, Book of, 244, 247f ., 261f ., 
 263 
 
 Essenes, 250f., 253 
 
 Evil, origin of, 247 
 
 Exiles: encouraged by prophets, 
 141ft\; return of, 153f.; return 
 of assured by Ezekiel, 133f. 
 
 Ezekiel: call to prophetic office, 
 120; conception of Hebrew 
 history, 123; life of, 119f.; 
 teachings of, 125; view of 
 Israel's future, 132-5, 258f. 
 
 Ezra: introduces Priests' Code, 
 185ff.; founder of Judaism, 193 
 
 Feasts, 83 
 Firstlings, 83 
 
 Gedaliah, 106 
 
 God, character of, 282; demands 
 from men, 285f.; purpose in 
 creation, 285; sovereignty of, 
 281, 283 
 
 293 
 
294 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Greek influence in Palestine, 
 
 220ft\, 231f. 
 Guilt individualized, 9, 193f., 
 
 195 
 
 Haggai, 157 
 Hezekiah, 37 
 Hilkiah, 73 
 
 Holiness, 19f., 43, 159, 190ff. 
 Holiness Code, 187f. 
 Human sacrifice, 72, 90, 103 
 Hymnbooks of the Temple, 212f . 
 Hyrcanus, 246, 248 
 
 Idolatry, 103 
 
 Immortality, 135f., 193, 215f. 
 
 Isaiah, call of, 17f.; counsel re- 
 jected by Ahaz, 30; doctrine 
 of "faithful remnant," 48; 
 earliest prophecies of, 2 If.; 
 message of, 19f.; message to 
 Ahaz, 28f . ; Messianic hope of, 
 48f., 50f.; political policy of, 
 32; religious beliefs of, 33 
 
 Jamnia, Council of, 275 
 
 Jehoahaz, 101 
 
 Jehoiachin, 103, 140 
 
 Jehoiakim, 101 
 
 Jehoram, 8 
 
 Jehoshaphat, 8 
 
 Jehovah, holiness of, 19, 43 
 
 Jeremiah, 73, 100f., 258; call to 
 prophetic office, 101; concep- 
 tion of Judah's future, 104f. 
 conception of religion, 113f. 
 political messages of, 103f. 
 training and experience, 11 If 
 
 Jerusalem, 44; captured by 
 Babylonians, 101 
 
 Jews, in Egypt, 129f.; in Baby- 
 lonia, 131f., 152 
 
 Jewish parties, 242-6 
 
 Joash, 8 
 
 Job, problem of, 198; teachings 
 of, 204f. 
 
 Joel, 214, 260 
 
 Jonah, 197, 213 
 
 Josephus, 217, 243f., 251 
 
 Joshua, 154, 164 
 
 Josiah, 73f., 76, 272 
 
 Jotham, 10, 27 
 
 Jubilees, Book of, 263 
 
 Judah: alliance with Assyria, 30, 
 36, 39; alliance with Egypt, 
 38f.; vassal of Assyria, 69; 
 vassal of Egypt, 101 
 
 Judaism, 129, 193f., 252; influ- 
 enced by Greek civilization, 
 222f., 238; by Persians, 
 211-17 
 
 Judas Maccabeus, 231, 238f. 
 
 Justice, administration of, 94 
 
 King, laws concerning, 95f.; 
 
 Messianic, 51f. 
 Kingdom of God, development 
 
 of, 281 
 Korahite Psalms, 213 
 
 Law, development of, 84f . 
 
 Laws, concerning aliens, 93f.; 
 family life, 91f.; slaves, 92; 
 widows and orphans, 93; Holi- 
 ness Code, 187f.; Priests' 
 Code, 189f. 
 
 Levites, 84, 93, 154f. 
 
 Lot, Sacred, 159 
 
 Maccabean period, 231 
 
 Maccabean Psalms, 236ff. 
 
 Malachi, teaching of, 167f., 259 
 
 Manasseh, 69f., 76 
 
 Mattathias, 232 
 
 Megiddo, 102 
 
 Merodach-baladan, 37 
 
 Messiah, 166f., 249 
 
 Messianic age, worship in, 54; 
 attempts to realize, 55 
 
 Messianic hope, 48fi\, 64f., 214, 
 265ft\; postponed, 209f.; pre- 
 exilic, 257; exilic, 258; post- 
 exilic, 259f.; second century, 
 260fi\; first century, 263f. 
 
 Messianic kingdom, 163f ., 168f., 
 234 
 
INDEX 
 
 295 
 
 Messianic kings, 51f., 258 
 Messianic social order, 53f., 165, 
 
 258 
 Messianism, meaning of, 56, 
 
 256f., 265f. 
 Micah, 59f., 285; Messianic hope 
 
 of, 64 
 Moab, 130, 133 
 Monotheism, 33, 79f. 
 Mount of Olives, altars on, llf. 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar, 101 
 
 Necho, 101 
 
 Nehemiah, character and life of, 
 174f.; governor of Jerusalem, 
 175f.; services to Judah, 180f., 
 212 
 
 Persia, influence in Judah, 209f., 
 
 215-7 
 Pharisees, 243 
 Philistines, 133 
 Philo, 250 
 
 Piety, meaning of, 197, 206 
 Pompey, 220 
 
 Priest and prophet, 13f., 288 
 Priests, 84; custodians of law, 
 
 159; denounced by Jeremiah, 
 
 104 
 Priests' Code, 189f. 
 Prophecy inimical to state, 274 
 Prophetic ideal of religion, 65 
 Prophets, false, 104, 132 
 Prophets, mission of, 144 
 Proverbs, book of, 225 
 Psalms, Asaphite, 213; Chasi- 
 
 dic, 246f.; exilic, 132; Korah- 
 
 ite, 213; Maccabean, 236fl\; 
 
 Messianic, 259 
 Psalms of Solomon, 264 
 
 "Queen of Heaven," 71, 75, 103 
 
 Reforms inaugurated by Josiah, 
 
 74 
 Rehoboam, 7 
 Religion, individualization of, 
 
 115f.; prophetic ideal of, 65, 
 
 114-6 
 
 Resurrection, 236, 244 
 Righteousness, meaning of, 43, 
 
 204f., 248 
 Ruth, 179, 197, 213 
 
 Sabbath, 123f., 246 
 
 Sacrifice, human, 72, 90, 103; 
 meaning of, 193, 195; pro- 
 phetic ideas of, 113 
 
 Sadducees, 242f. 
 
 Sage, the, 222f.; teachings of, 
 223ff. 
 
 Samaritans, 175, 190, 221 
 
 Sanballat, 175, 178 
 
 Sanctuary, single, law of, 82, 95 
 
 Sargon, 36 
 
 Satan, 216 
 
 Scribes, 222f. 
 
 Sennacherib, 40, 43 
 
 Servant of Jehovah, 141ff. 
 
 Shaphan, 73 
 
 Sheol, 136, 215f., 245, 283f. 
 
 Sibylline Oracles, 261 
 
 Sidon, 133, 214 
 
 Sin, forgiveness of, 288; meaning 
 of, 287f.; for prophets, 60-2; 
 for Pharisees, 252f.; for sages, 
 224f., 227 
 
 Slavery, 92, 105 
 
 Social life in Judah: eighth cen- 
 tury, 37, 42, 60; seventh cen- 
 tury, 102f.; fifth century, 
 168ff., 176ff.; fourth and third 
 centuries, 220ff. 
 
 Social welfare, provisions for, 
 90, 94 
 
 Solomon, religious influence of, 
 lOf. 
 
 Suffering, views of, 199, 201 
 
 Sun worship, 71, 75, 103, 122 
 
 Syro-Ephraimitic war, 27, 30 
 
 Tabernacle, 189f. 
 
 Tahpanhes, 106 
 
 Temple, 8f., 13; second, 156ff., 
 
 166; worship at, 28 
 Temple music, 211f., 218 
 Temple singers, 177, 218 
 Testament of the Twelve Patri- 
 archs, 248f., 263 
 
296 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Tiglath-pileser, 27 
 Tithes, 83, 177, 212 
 Tobiah, 177 
 Tyre, 133 
 
 Unclean, 159, 190f. 
 Uzziah, 9 
 
 Wisdom, conception of, 223f., 
 
 229; divine attribute, 224f. 
 Wisdom Literature, 222 
 Wisdom of Solomon, 225f . 
 Witchcraft, 193 
 Worship, Deuteronomic provi- 
 
 sions for, 81-84; in Messianic 
 age, 54; Isaiah's conception 
 of, 44; Jeremiah's conception 
 of, 114f.; meaning of, 45; 
 Micah's conception of, 63; 
 place in religion, 286f.; under 
 Manasseh, 70f. 
 
 Zechariah, 163, 260; conception 
 of Messianic state, 163-7, 210 
 Zedekiah, 101, 124 
 Zephaniah, 73, 257 
 Zerubbabel, 154, 155f., 259 
 Zoroastrianism, 216 
 
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