[43. The Kingdom of Judah, Hezekiah and Isaiah]
In Judah kings of the house of David always reigned; many of them were wicked and served strange gods; but a few were pious and served the Lord, and thus idolatry did not come to such power as in the kingdom of Israel.
The most pious of the kings was Hezekiah. Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, came against Jerusalem and used great words, saying: Believe not that your God can deliver you, for the gods of the heathens were not able to deliver their countries from the king of Assyria. Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and prayed for deliverance. The prophet Isaiah sent this message to him: The Lord has heard your prayer. The angel of the Lord passed through the camp of the Assyrians and smote in one night 185,000, and Sennacherib was compelled to return home in disgrace.—Shortly after this Hezekiah became sick. Isaiah promised to prolong his life fifteen years. The king of Babylon sent messengers with gifts and greetings to Hezekiah, for he had heard that he had been sick. Hezekiah was glad, and showed the messengers all his treasures. Then Isaiah came and said: These treasures shall all be carried away to Babylon, and thy sons shall be servants in the palace of the king of Babylon. (2 Kings 10-20.)
Isaiah has written many prophecies. Of our Savior Jesus Christ he wrote: Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. He was oppressed, yet when He was afflicted He opened not His mouth, as a lamb that is led to the slaughter. (Isaiah 53.)
[44. The Kingdom of Judah Overthrown]
(588 years before Christ.)
The people fell off from the Lord, and King Manasseh sacrificed his own children to the idols, and the punishment had to come upon the kingdom of Judah also. The king of Babylon, the mighty Nebuchadnezzar, took Jerusalem, burned the temple and the city and tore down the walls. Zedekiah, the last king, was forced to look upon the slaying of his own children; then his eyes were put out, and he was placed in chains and together with the people brought to Babylon in captivity 588 years before the birth of Christ. (2 Kings 21-25.)
[45. The Babylonian Captivity]
The sins of the Jews were great, and their punishment was heavy. Now, when they were compelled to live among the heathens, they longed for the Holy City and the worship in the temple of the Lord. Yet the Lord left them not without consolation. From the prophecies of the prophet Jeremiah they knew that when 70 years were passed the Lord would have compassion on them and bring them back to the land of their fathers. And the Lord sent two great prophets to them to console and strengthen them. These were Ezekiel and Daniel.
Nebuchadnezzar had a dream which he could not remember. Daniel prayed to the Lord, and both the dream and the explanation of it were shown him in a vision in the night. The king had seen a great image. The head was of gold, the breast and arms of silver, the belly and thighs of brass, and the legs of iron and of clay. A stone which was not thrown by the hands of man struck the image and broke it to pieces; but the stone became a great mountain which filled the whole earth. Daniel interpreted the dream thus: There shall arise four great kingdoms after each other; afterward God will establish a kingdom that shall overthrow all these, but shall itself remain forever.—The king said: Thy God is a God above all gods, since he can reveal secret things. Daniel was now made ruler of the wise men of the country and remained in great respect and honor even after the death of Nebuchadnezzar. But he had enemies, and these caused one of the following kings to throw him into a den of lions; but the Lord sent him His angel who shut the mouths of the lions. The next day Daniel was pulled up from the den unhurt, and the men that had accused him were cast into it; but they had not even reached the bottom of the den before the lions seized them and broke their bones. (Book of Daniel 2-6.)