The Restoration from Babylonian Captivity
The Restoration from Babylonian Captivity
The Babylonian captivity lasted about fifty years. Although the exiles had been forcibly deported from their homes, they seem to have enjoyed considerable freedom. Jeremiah had written a letter to the first contingent of exiles, telling them to “build houses and settle down,” “plant gardens and eat what they produce” and “marry and have sons and daughters” (Jer. 29:5–6).
Their hardest trial was religious, for they felt spiritually lost in their separation from temple and sacrifice. But Ezekiel was among them to guide them. He still spoke to them the word of the Lord. He even claimed to have seen the glory of the Lord “among the exiles by the Kebar River” (Ezek. 1:1)—the very same glory which had dwelt in the temple—so God could not after all have entirely abandoned them.
In the year 559 BC Cyrus II ascended the throne of the nearby Persian kingdom. Nine years later, by overcoming the Median army he became King of Media as well, and “the Medes and Persians” (a familiar expression to readers of the Book of Daniel) became united. But this was only the beginning of Cyrus’ brilliant military career. In 546 BC he defeated that byword of wealth, Croesus King of Lydia, and all Asia Minor was added to his empire.
The Jewish exiles must have heard of the exploits of Cyrus with growing expectation that their own deliverance from Babylon would not be long delayed. They knew that God was going one day to redeem them, for their prophets had always added visions of hope to their warnings of doom. In these promises of Yahweh the exiles put their trust.
The clearest and most immediate of such promises of salvation are to be found in Isaiah 40–55. There is a continuing debate among biblical scholars whether these chapters were really written 150 or 200 years previously by Isaiah or came from the pen of some anonymous contemporary prophet. If the authorship is in dispute, however, the message is not. Yahweh is not like the heathen idols. He is the living God, the Creator of the world, and he rules in the kingdoms of men. Even heathen rulers are the instruments of his power. It is he who had raised up Cyrus to deliver his people.
Who has stirred up one from the east,
calling him in righteousness to his service?
He hands nations over to him
and subdues kings before him.
He turns them to dust with his sword,
to windblown chaff with his bow….
Who has done this and carried it through,
calling forth the generations from the beginning?
I, the LORD—with the first of them
and with the last—I am he. (Isa. 41:2, 4)
This is what the LORD says to his anointed,to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of
to subdue nations before him
and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
so that gates will not be shut:
I will go before you
and will level the mountains;
I will break down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron….
For the sake of Jacob my servant,
of Israel my chosen,
I call you by name
and bestow on you a title of honor,
though you do not acknowledge me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other;
apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you,
though you have not acknowledged me. (Isa. 45:1–2, 4–5)
In the year 539 BC the longed-for salvation was given. Belshazzar King of Babylon saw the handwriting on the wall, and that very night Babylon fell into the hands of the Persians. Immediately Cyrus issued two decrees, authorizing the Jewish exiles to return home and to rebuild their temple. The actual text of the second decree, including the materials and measurements of the temple to be built, has been preserved in Ezra 6:3–5. That Cyrus should have issued such an edict is fully consistent with his known policy. As Professor F. F. Bruce has written:
Cyrus’ conception of empire was widely different from Assyria’s. The Assyrians imposed the worship of their chief gods on their subjects, and boasted in the subjugation of their subjects’ gods. Cyrus … had no intention of offending his subjects’ religious susceptibilities by such a policy; on the contrary, he would conciliate their susceptibilities by playing the part of a worshipper of their various gods.7
It is hard to imagine the relief, the joy, the exultation of the Jewish exiles when the news of their deliverance reached them:
When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion,
we were like men who dreamed.
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy. (Ps. 126:1–3)
Indeed, as the Israelites reflected on their past history and on the steadfast love of their covenant God, they linked together three outstanding examples of his mercy. In each case he took the initiative in his sovereign grace, and in each case he called his people to the land of promise. In the first he brought Abraham from Mesopotamia, in the second the twelve tribes from Egypt, and in the third the exiles from Babylon.
Not that all the exiles took advantage of Cyrus’ decree and accepted repatriation. A large number remained. The Book of Esther tells a dramatic story about some of them during the reign of Ahasuerus (Xerxes I), who ruled the Persian empire from 486–465 BC.
The restoration took place in three clearly defined stages. Not all scholars agree about the order of events, but I give the traditional view. First, Zerubbabel left (538 BC) to restore the temple, then Ezra (458 BC) to restore the laws and lastly Nehemiah (445 BC) to restore the city wall.
The first and main party of Jews left Babylon for home in 538 BC, a year or so after Cyrus’ edict. They were led by Zerubbabel, grandson of King Jehoiachin, and Joshua the high priest. No sooner had they arrived in Jerusalem than they built the altar of burnt offering and laid the foundations of the temple. But then the Samaritans, on being refused the opportunity to collaborate, began to oppose the reconstruction. And the work ceased for about fifteen years.
That it restarted was due largely to the encouragement of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Haggai reproved the people that they had built their own houses, while the Lord’s house still lay in ruins:
“Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,” declares the LORD. “Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,” declares the LORD, “and work. For I am with you,” declares the LORD Almighty. (Hag. 2:3–4)
Zechariah added his word of exhortation:
The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. (Zech. 4:9)
So the work began again in the year 520 and was finished in 515, some seventy years after the destruction of its predecessor.
We now jump nearly seventy-five years in the story to the second stage in the reconstruction of Israel’s national life after the exile. This was led by Ezra, who was a priest and a scribe, and (as several scholars have described him) a kind of “Secretary of State for Jewish Affairs” in Babylonia. He was sent to Jerusalem by the Persian King Artaxerxes I (465–423 BC), with royal instructions “to inquire about Judah and Jerusalem with regard to the Law of your God” (Ezra 7:14). It was his task to regulate Israel’s religious and moral responsibilities in accordance with the law.
Thirteen years later came Nehemiah, also sent by King Artaxerxes, with authority to rebuild the city, and in particular its walls. On arrival he lost no time, but said to the local officials:
You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace. (Neh. 2:17)
In spite of opposition and threats the task was accomplished in 52 days. Then a great public assembly was held, at which Ezra and the Levites read God’s law aloud and expounded it to the people. There followed a public confession of national sin and a renewal of the covenant to keep God’s law in the future. Finally the rebuilt wall was dedicated amid much rejoicing, and “the sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away” (Neh. 12:43).
Unfortunately, as with previous national reformations, not all the undertakings of the people were kept. For when Nehemiah paid a second visit to Jerusalem a little later he found several sad irregularities, such as a failure to pay tithes, keep the Sabbath and avoid intermarriage with the heathen. But Nehemiah dealt faithfully with these matters according to God’s law.
It may well be that the prophecy of Malachi belongs to this period, for reference is made in it to identical or very similar malpractices—for example, mixed marriage and divorce, laxity in the payment of tithes and the offering of blemished sacrifices to God.