T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
952
September 24, 1922. REVIEW: THE EXILE AND THE RESTORATION Golden Text.— The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof 'we are glad. Ps. 126:3.
would be to assign different characters to the students for a character study, a succinct biography or a summary of their religious and ethical teachings: Ezekiel, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Es ther, Maiachi. The lessons of the Quar ter are the most orderly and coher ent in their arrangement of any lessons we have had for some time and, there fore, yield themselves readily to a logi cal review. and some have regarded him as a type of the Sun of Righteousness, inasmuch as he brought -light and healing to the Jews. The decree of Cyrus relating to the return of the Jews to Palestine and the rebuilding of the temple was issued in the first year of his reign at Babylon, B. C. 536. There are some remarkable things to be noted in connection with it. It recognizes the Lord God of Heaven. Although promulgated by a heathen king, • it seemed to be the result of Divine influence on his mind. It de clares that the supreme God had charged the king to rebuild the temple. It urges the return o f .the captives to their own land and blesses them in the name of the Lord God of Israel. It di rects that gifts be made for the build ing of the temple. The secret of God’s government of the world is revealed here in a measure, and we see how events of national and international im portance are brought about by His ac tion on the hearts of men. Prov. 21:1. Though Cyrus was a disciple of Zoroas ter, we may infer that the Persian re ligion, like that of the Jews, was mono theistic or else that Cyrus through con tact with the Jews had come to know the true God of heaven and earth.
The lessons of this Quarter cover a period of one hundred seventy-four years, from 604 B, C. to 430 B. C. Four lessons have to do with the Exile and eight with the Restoration. A good way to review the lessons would be to bring out the central truth of each les son. It would be well to assign a les son to each scholar in the class and require a brief written report on the lesson. Another helpful method of review The willingness of Cyrus to let the Jews return, to tbeir own land may be accounted for in various ways. Usually when a country was invaded and con quered, the captured DEVOTIONAL; people were taken Into COMMENT exile. When Cyrus By F. W. Farr took Babylon, he was aided by a revolt of part of its population. He knew by ex perience, therefore, the danger of allow ing a dissatisfied people to be kept in a country open to foreign invasion, so he adopted the policy of allowing all exiles to return to their homes and to take with them the images of their gods. In the case of the Jews it was the sacred vessels of their temple that he willingly restored. It is possible that the prophecy of Isaiah, written one hundred and fifty years before, in which Cyrus is called by name, Is. 44:28; 45:1, had been brought to his attention, or God may even have spoken to him in a dream. It was the Lord’s doing in any case. The Tabernacle had been built of spoils taken from the Egyptians. The first temple had been erected by the labors of Phoenicians to a great extent, and now the second temple, was built by contributions from the Chaldeans. This suggests the part that the Gentiles were to have in building the church of Christ. The word “ Cyrus” means “ sun”
The prophecy of Maiachi properly comes into the history of the return at Neh. 13:10. The word “ Maiachi” , meah- WILL YOU HELP? 100,000 SUBSCRIBERS
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