Fri. bef.
A. D.

462 Akafuerus, alias Artaxerxes, divorces Vafhti, and afterwards marries Efther. Efth. i. 1, &c. See Dr. PRIDEAUX'S

429 About this time Malachi prophefied, according to Dr. PRIDEAUX's Con. 428.

428 Nehemiah comes again to Jerufalem with a new commiffion. Neh. xiii. 6.

404 Socrates flourished.

296 Simon the Juft, high priest of the Jews.

CHAP.

CHA P. XXXII.

The moral Caufes of the Babylonifh CAPTIVITY; and the Propriety of that Difpenfation.

T

HE whole Jewish nation, both Judab and Ifrael, had all along a ftrong and strange propenfity to idolatry, even after the erecting of the temple, and the establishing of the worship of God there, in the moft grand and folemn manner. They erected altars to frange gods, frequented high-places and groves confecrated to idolatrous worship, and furnished them with idols and images for that purpose. 2 Chron. xiv. 3. 1 Kings xv. 11, 12, 13. And their morals were juft as corrupt as their religion, even to the degree of fodomy itself. 1 Kings xv. 12. What their peculiar temptations were, we know not. All the endeavours of good kings, and all the preaching of holy Prophets, sent by special commiffion from God, were ineffectual to produce a reformation. The pious king Hezekiah was zealous and active in rooting out idolatry: but Manaffeh, his fon and fucceffor, reftored it again in the highest and moft flagitious degree of profanenefs and iniquity, even beyond that of the dark and ignorant nations. 2 Kings xxi. 1- 10. He built up again the high-places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed, &c. He was also a grievous perfecutor of all that would not conform to his idolatrous eftablishments, and fo fhed innocent bloed very much. Amon, his fon, followed his bad example. Jofiah, his grandfon, vigorously attempted a reformation. 2 Kings xxiii. 24, 25. But the people never came heartily into it. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 14, &c. All the chief of the priests and the people tranfgreffed very much, after all the abominations of the heathen, and polluted the houfe of the Lord, which he had hallowed in Jerufalem. And the Lord God of their fathers fent to them by his messengers, rifing up betimes, and fending; because he had compaffion on his people, and on bis dwelling-place; but they mocked the meffengers of God, and defpifed his words, and mifufed his Prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arofe against his people, till there was no remedy. Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who flew their young men with the fword, in the houfe of their fan&tuary, and had no compaffion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that flooped for age; he gave them all into his hand. And all the veffels of the boufe of God, great and fmall, and the treafures of the house of the Lord, and the treafures of the king, and of bis princes; all thefe he brought to Babylon. And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerufalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and deftroyed all the goodly veffels thereof. And them that escaped from the fword, carried he away to Babylon; where they were fervants to him and his fons, until the reign of the kingdom of Perfia.

ObferveThis dreadful calamity came upon them gradually. First, good king Jofiah was, in judgment upon the land, flain in battle by Pharaoh-Necho, 2 Kings xxiii. 29. who put Jehoahaz that fucceeded him into chains, fent him prifoner into Egypt, and put the land of Judah under a

heavy tribute. 2 Kings xxiii. 33. Jehoiakim fucceeded, a wicked prince like his predeceflors. In his third year, Nebuchadnezzar took Jerufalem, and carried away part of the veffels of the houfe of God, and many of the people into captivity. Particularly, he gave order to Afhpenaz the mafter of his eunuchs, that he fhould make choice out of the children of the royal family, and of the nobility of the land, fuch as he found to be of the fairest countenance, and the quickest parts, to be carried to Babylon, and there made eunuchs in his palace, Daniel i. 1-4. whereby was fulfilled Isaiah's prediction above an hundred years before. Ifaiah xxxix. 7. Among thefe youths were Daniel, Hananiah, Mihael, and Azariah. Dan. i. 6, 7. Moreover the king was made a tributary, and the whole land reduced into vaffalage under the Babylonians. A fevere vifitation, but had not the proper effect upon Jehoiachin, the next king, who was as corrupt as his father. 2 Kings xxiv. 8, 9. He had been but three months on the throne, when Nebuchadnezzar again befieged and took Jerufalem, with the king and all the royal family; all the most valuable things in the temple, and in the king's treasures, with all the mighty men of valour, all the craftsmen and fmiths, he took away, leaving none in the land but the pooreft fort. 2 Kings xxiv. 12, 13, 14. Among the reft, Ezekiel (chap. i. 1, 2.) and Mordecai (Efth. ii. 5, 6.) were now carried captives. Yet ftill there was no amendment of the religion or morals of the nation. Zedekiah, the next and laft king, was as bad as his predeceffors. 2 Kin. xxiv. 18, 19. And in about eleven

years, Nebuchadnezzar, after a long and clofe fiege, took Jerufalem, brake down its walls, burnt the city and temple, carried away all the facred utenfils, and all the people, except a few of the very pooreft to till the ground, and reduced the whole land of Judea, in a manner, to utter defolation for the fins thereof.

The propriety of this difpenfation will appear, if we reflect,

I. That the lenity of God appeared in bringing this terrible overthrow upon them fo gradually, after a fucceffion of judgments from lefs to greater, for the fpace of twenty-two years; which fhould have been a warning to them, and by experience have convinced them, that the threatenings denounced by the Prophets would certainly be executed,

II. That it was a juft punishment of their fins; particularly of their idolatry, whereby they forfook God, and therefore God juftly forfook them, and delivered them into the hands of their enemies, as Mofes had foretold. Lev. xxvi. 30-36.

III. This dreadful calamity was the moft effectual means to work their reformation, which was the end propofed by the Divine Wisdom. Now, in their captive, difconfolate ftate, they had time, and their calamities had a natural tendency to give them a difpofition, to reflect upon the long feries of iniquity and perverseness which had brought them under the heaviest of God's judgments. Now their own wickedness corrected them, and their backflidings reproved them; now they must know and fee, that it was an evil thing and bitter, that they had forfaken the Lord their God, and that his fear had not been in them. Ifaiah ii. 19. In the land of their Captivity the fermons of the Prophets, declaiming with the higheft authority against their profane and vicious practices, would be ftill founding in their ears, and their abject, wretched condition, the confequence of fuch

I 4

CH. XXXII. fuch practices, would fink them deep into their hearts, and furely give them an utter deteftation of what they very well knew was the cause of all their grievous fufferings.

They had fuffered themselves to be shamefully infatuated by their falfe prophets, who had prophefied to them in Baal, as the most infallible oracle. Fer. ii. 8. They were prophets of the deceit of their hearts, xxiii. 26. They had encouraged a rabble of diviners, dreamers, enchanters, and forcerers, who had moft impudently impofed upon their credulity, affuring them, in the name of the Lord too, that they should not ferve the king of Babylan, Jer. xxvii. 9. xxviii. 4. xxix. 8, 9; that he should not come against them, nor against the land, xxxvii. 19. They belied the Lord, and faid, it is not He, neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we fee fword nor famine, Jer. v. 12. but I will give you affured peace in this place. xiv. 13. Thus they caufed the people to err; and their kings, princes, and priests, concurred to ftrengthen the delufion. Jer. ii. 26. v. 31. xxxii. 32. By the way, thefe prophets and priests were men of very wicked lives. Zeph. iii 4. Jer. xxii. 11. They committed adultery, walked in lies, frengthened the hands of evil doers, and prevented their returning from wickedness, Jer. xxiii. 14; they perfecuted and murdered the juft, in the midst of ferufalem. Lam. iv. 13. From them profaneness went forth into all the land, Jer. xxiii. 15. which by their means was become full of adulterers, and mourned le.aufe of fwearing, verse 10. See a more particular defcription of the wickednefs of the land, Ezek. xxii. 6—13.

But now, where were all their falfe prophets, with all their bold pretenfions, and flattering promifes? The delufion is now quite at an end, and they find themselves moft miferably deceived. Their eyes are opened, and they are thoroughly convinced they were a fet of the vileft impoftors, who had deluded them into the moft wretched circumstances. The prophets were now become wind, Jer. v. 13. an everlasting reproach, a perpetual fhame, which could not be forgotten, xxiii. 40. And in proportion as thefe deceivers were detefted, the true Prophets, who would have drawn them to just regards of God and his holy law, would be esteemed and honoured.

Doubtless the lying prophets and priefts had filled their heads with specious pretences for their idolatrous practices; and affured them, they were ftill the beloved people of God, invefted in all the diftinguishing privileges of his church and peculiar people, and fecure under his protection; with great oftentation and confidence crying out, The temple af the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, are thefe [men or buildings] Fer. vii. 4. But now they found all their fophiftry to be lying words, and could no longer take affurance from their peculiar privileges, or their magnificent temple, when their temple and city were both deftroyed, and themfelves caft out into an heathen land, where they were fo long, and fo fhamefully ftripped of all their peculiar honours. In short, no method could have been devifed more proper to give this people a fixed deteftation of idolatry, and the vile arts by which they were feduced into it. And it had this effect. They never more fell into idolatry, but retain the greatest abhorrence of it unto this day.

IV. The law of God, written by Mofes, as the rule of their conduct in all affairs civil and religious, and the ground of their happiness, they had

fo far neglected, that once it was almoft unknown and loft among them. 2 Kings xxii. 8-12. This contempt of the divine law, the Prophets had frequently and ftrongly protested against, (Ifai. v. 24. xxx. 9. Jer. vi. 19. viii. 8. ix. 13. Hof. viii. 12. Amos ii. 4. and in other places) and publicly declared that it would be their ruin. And in their ruined ftate, this must be remembered, as the primary reafon of all their sufferings; and they must be thoroughly fenfible, that a due regard to the law of God, was the only way to recover his favour, and their own profperity; and accordingly must be disposed to be attentive to it. For Ezra, after the captivity, found fe little difficulty in introducing the public reading of the law, that the people themfelves called for it. Neb. viii. 1, 2, 3, 4, 18. xiii. 1. Ezra was a ready writer of the law of God, Ezra vii. 6, 10, 11, 12, and active in propagating the knowledge of it. Doubtless he wrote, or directed to be written, feveral copies of the law, to be difperfed into proper hands. And whereas before the Captivity they had no fynagogues for public worship or inftruction, nor any places to refort to for either, unless the temple at Jerufalem, or the cities of the Levites, or to the Prophets, when God was pleafed to fend them; thus ignorance grew among the people; but after the Captivity fynagogues were erected among them in every city, where the law was read every fabbath, and other acts of devotion performed. This was the most effectual method of preferving the knowledge of God and his law, and a fenfe of their duty. This was another good effect of this difpenfation, and may juftly be given as one good reafon" of their being fo ftrongly fixed against idolatry, ever after the Babylonish Captivity.

V. This difpenfation was alfo calculated to produce good effects among the nations whither they were carried into captivity. For wherever they were difperfed in the eastern countries, they would bring with them the knowledge of the true God, now feriously impreffed upon theirhearts. But Divine Providence, by fuch fignal circumftances of his interpofition, as were published and known over all the vaft extent of the eaftern empires, raifed fome of the captive Jews to the higheft pofts of dignity and power in the courts of Affyria and Perfia. Dan. i. 19, 20. Infomuch that the most haughty monarchs openly confeffed the living and true God, as the only and fupreme God, Dan. ii. 47, 48, 49. iv. 34, &c. and made decrees, that were publifhed throughout their fpacious dominions, in favour of the profeffion and worship of him, Dan. iii. 29. vi. 25, &c. And the affair of queen Efther and Mordecai, and the decree of the emperor Abafuerus, in favour of all the Jews in his empire, confifting of 127 provinces, muft, not only give the Jews every where great diftinction and honour, but alfo render the great God more known, and his religion more refpectable; infomuch that many of the people of the land, many of the Perfians, became Jews, or profelytes to the Jewish religion. Efther viii. 11, &c. And the great CYRUS was fo well acquainted with the true God, that, as one of his first acts, after he was advanced to the empire of Perfia, he made a decree for the return of the Jews into their own country, and for the rebuilding the temple. Ezra.1-5. From all this it is clear, that the Jews, notwithstanding their depravity in their own country, during the Captivity of 70 years, muft have been a burning and a fhining light all over the eastern countries. And thus, in