Show The GRAPHIC BIBLE By LEWIS BROWNE J Q McClure Newspaper Sf Syndicate Service Ser L. L t Ch ChASIA o S I S ASIA MINOR s. s was I Ic II r s 1 R P t 4 i e bES RT r L 1 t a l 4 I w x r t f Nt A t p. p t f a p S. S ll liw The Colony in Egypt thousands of ot T THE left In the despoiled land landwere landwere landwere were the very dregs dreg'S of the population A man of at fine fino character named was appointed appointed appointed ap ap- pointed governor go over them and he the tried with all his might to give the poor wretches some sort of gov gov- But a rascally adventurer ad arose nrose assassinated the noble nOhle Ge Geda- Geda alIah a- a llah lIah and tried to fa organize a fresh revolt a against Babylonia Dreading the certain consequences the more energetic of the population population population tion straightway tied fled from rom the land forcibly taking the old prophet Jeremiah Jeremiah Jeremiah Jere Jere- miah with them They escaped to Egypt and settled down do In the cItIes cities cit cIt- ies les of and which were commercial centers situated on the main caravan route going goIng- to Mesopotamia Others of the fugitives settled In Memphis while still sUll others others others oth oth- ers went far up the Nile to tine And thus the Jews vs as erstwhile erstwhile erstwhile erst erst- while shepherd people now perforce became traders But with the vast change from pastoral life In the lulls of at Judah to commercial life In the market marketplaces marketplaces pl places ces of ot Egypt there came an equally vast change In the whole outlook of the people They began to fall away awny from the religion of ot their forefathers and took tool to the religion of the heathen people around them Soon they began to cultivate the manners and vices of the Egyptians The last recorded words of Jeremiah Jere- Jere minh nilah are a bitter attack ahac on his fellow fellow fellow fel fel- fel- fel low Jews In Egypt for their apostasy apostasy apostasy apos apos- tasy and according to tradition the heroic old prophet was beaten to death for uttering them It Is significant that when the Inhabitants of Israel were deported deport deport- ed they disappeared as a n separate people But nut years later when the far fewer Inhabitants of or Judah were deported not alone did thc they disappear but on the contrary they became even more distinctively a ai i separate people people and and lived And Andi i that seems to have been due duo altogether altogether altogether alto alto- gether to the prophets of Judah who had preached and been persecuted persecuted persecuted perse perse- for their preaching In those years preceding Judah's Judah's Judah's Ju- Ju dahs dah's deportation the prophets had hac managed to breathe Into the tIn tiny nation a spirit which served servell to make It quite Indestructible For Ju Judah ah did not go Into exile feeling that Its sufferings were accidental It It Is Important to realize Just how tiny Judah actually was for tor then the miracle of Its survival becomes becomes becomes be be- comes even more Impressive After the catastrophe that occurred In the Inhabitants of Judah were left divided into three main frag trag- ments First there was the dispirited dispirited dispirited dis dis- dis- dis remnant left behind In Palestine Pal Pal- estine poor poor benighted p peasants who were harried constantly by wild tribes from the desert Then there were the fugitives who had hod congregated congregated congre congre- gated In scattered settlements In Egypt Finally there was the community community com corn of exiles In Babylon But all three groups together probably would not have sufficed to people an ordinary sized fair American Amer Amer- American ican lean city like Paterson N. N J. J or orDes orDes orDes Des MoInes Iowa Their total number number number num num- ber could not have b been en much moch more marc than a hundred and twenty twenty- five to a hundred and fifty thousand about half halt as many Jews as there are today In the city of Chicago alone And yet that little nation dispersed dispersed dispersed dis dis- persed across the Orient tossed about In the welter of empires like a cork In a n furious whirlpool managed managed man man- aged to live on and come out triumphant tri trI- Wie lle story of at that survival Is largely t the e story of the handful that was dragged drag oft off to Babylon Bablon Ah And not even of all that handful for many of at those Jews deserted and took to the gods of the con can Babylon was a o mighty city I whose whoso outer wall was 50 miles In len length th an and so thick that four chariots char char- lots could drive on It abreast In It were mighty temples temples adorned adorned with Jewels and anil pre precious lous metals and vast palaces brilliant with colored bricks and tiles The he Life of the Exiles B BUT UT not all the exiles were s swept ept off their feet by the grandeur of Babylon and Its gods The majority majority ma nm went event the wa way of or all majori majorities ties but an heroic minority stood 1 Its ground and refused refuse to be stam Of or course course the temptation to be satisfied with things In Babylon Baby Y Ion lon was almost Irresistible The exiles were not scattered throughout through through- out the empire but settled together er on the banks bans of ot ono one of ot the ca en- en nals In this region of Babylonia Recently discovered Inscriptions Inform us that the specific canal was the which ran eastward eastward east eMt- ward ard from the city of or Babylon to the ancient shrine of ot Its waters flowed through as fertile ferUle a 11 region as was to be found anywhere anywhere anywhere any any- where In the Orient The Jews dwelt In the village along this canal ennal ca en- nal nal In the huddled little villages es which had been built bunt on low mud mounds to escape the spring floods Probably a goodly prop proportion of the exiles took to trading for the tho canals which Intersected this region region re re- re- re gion glon In ever every direction were vere used as ns much for commerce as a- a tion The prophet Ezekiel who was the spiritual a adviser of the exiles describes the place as a lOa land and of traffic a city of at merchants a n fruitful fruitful fruitful fruit fruit- ful soil sol beside many waters The Jews were allowed every opportunity opportunity opportunity op op- op- op of making making- themselves comfortable In their new home borne They were unhindered by their conquerors conquerors con can and allowed to manage their private affairs as they pleased please Chances plenty a-plenty were given g to those who desired wealth and station sta sta- tion for King of Babylonia who Babylonia who not undeservedly was called the Great put Great put no ob oh- staple stacIe In their way He had destroyed the kingdom of Judah Judith not out of any hatred for forr forthe the Jews but simply because the thee existence of ot that kingdom had men men-d men men-i aced his hold bold on Palestine He Het could not afford afford to lose Palestine for it was the one open approach from Egypt and therefore was tho the most vital region on the western frontier of the Babylonian empire Now however that Palestine was safe wished the defeated and exiled men of of or Judah all the good OO In In the tho world And rapidly many of thorn them began to get it It But always there were the few v who could not be ve at ease In Baby Baby- lonia They hated haled this strange land for It was not their own It was unclean to them And AmI longIngly longingly longingly long long- they thought though only of the little little little lit lit- tle hills whence the they had been tak tak- en In th their lr minds those hills became became became be be- came ineffably lovely and the men who once trod them seemed Immeasurably Immeasurably immeasurably Im Im- im- im measurably great Like beggars begg-ars around a fire the exiles warmed their hearts with tales of past glorIes glories glories glor glor- ies with glowing glowIng- stories which they elaborated about Moses Muses and David and Solomon Many of the exiles grew rich and forgot altogether ther the humble land laud whence they had come come But the rest plodded along In aching homesickness home home home- sickness They could not sacrifice to God In Bab Babylon lon for that would have bave meant a n violation of their Holy Law which recognized Jerusalem Jerusalem Jerusalem Jeru Jeru- salem as the only proper place for tor sacrifice The best they could do was to devote ote one day clay of the week the Sabbath to undivided thought of theIr God Perhaps on that day they prayed and fasted In little that synagogues synagogues that Is assemblies their their faces turned yearningly toward toward toward to to- ward Jerusalem And piteously they begged for the coming of ot the day of their redemption And at last the day of redemptIon redemption redemption tion seemed about to dawn A new empire was arising In the East the empire of ot Cyrus the Persian Babylonia Babylonia Babylonia Baby Baby- lonia certain to fall tor for King King- was long dead and anda a n weakling sat on the throne Feverish Feverish erish whispering went on In the little little little lit lit- tle settlement of ot the exiles and then loud and heroic agitation Finally Finally Fi FI- nally In B B. B C. C Cyrus king of the new empire of Persia captured Babylon and the power of ot Assyria 4 was destroyed forever tore Now Cyrus was a despot of the most enlightened sort and one of or his first acts after he ho conquered Babylon was to grant permission to the Jewish exiles to return If they theS' so desired to their own o ancestral i r homeland But not all of ot the he exiles took advantage advantage ad nd v vantage of or Cyr Cyrus Cyrus' s' s decree The rest found foun-d It too hard to tear themselves themselves them them- se selves sees es away away from the shops and und homes they had established In the unclean land and they remained b behind Perhaps some of them cven ev ev- even even en resented the decree deere considering It n reflection on their Babylonian citizenship They refused to think of themselves any more as IS Jude- Jude ans their boast boast- was that the they were per pcr edit Clit Babylonians Even most of ot those who n admitted admitted admit admit- ted freely that they felt felt- themselves spiritual strangers in Babylonia Babylonia- even they did not not stir Instead they gave money money and and of course much free moral encouragement to to the few daring daring- souls souls' who did make ready to go b back ck tf 1 |