The Makers and Teachers of Judaism Part 6

It is he who bringeth princes to naught, The rulers of the earth he maketh as waste.

Scarcely have they been planted, scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely hath the stock taken root in the earth, But he bloweth upon them and they wither, And a whirlwind carries them away like stubble.

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:25, 26]

To whom then will ye liken me That I should equal him? saith the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who hath created these?

He who bringeth forth their host by number, And calleth each by his name; Of the many mighty and strong, Not one is missing.

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:27-31]

Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel: My way is hid from Jehovah And my right is unnoticed by my G.o.d?

Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard?

An everlasting G.o.d is Jehovah.

The creator of the ends of the earth.

He fainteth not, neither is weary, His wisdom cannot be fathomed, He giveth vigor to the fainting, And upon the powerless he lavisheth strength.

Young men may faint and grow weary, And the strongest youths may stumble, But they who trust in Jehovah renew their vigor, They mount on pinions like eagles, They run but are never weary, They walk but never faint.

[Sidenote: Isa. 41:1-4]

Listen to me in silence, ye coastlands, Let the peoples come near; then let them speak; Together let us approach the tribunal.

Who raised up that one from the east Whose steps victory ever attended, Giving up peoples before him, And letting him trample down kings?

His sword made them as dust, And his bow like driven stubble; He pursued them, pa.s.sing on in safety, Not treading the path with his feet.

Who hath wrought and accomplished this?

He who called the generations from the beginning, I, Jehovah, who am the first, And with those who come after I am the same.

[Sidenote: Isa. 41:8-10]

And thou, Israel, my servant Jacob, whom I have chosen, Offspring of Abraham, my friend, Thou, whom I brought from the ends of the earth, And called from its most distant parts; To whom I said, Thou art my servant, I have chosen and have not rejected thee.

Fear not, for I, indeed, am with thee, Be not terrified, for I am thy G.o.d.

I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; Yea, I will uphold thee with my righteous hand.

[Sidenote: Isa. 42:1]

Behold, my servant whom I uphold, My chosen, in whom I take delight; I have put my spirit upon him, That he may set forth law to the nations.

[Sidenote: Isa. 42:2-3b]

He will not cry aloud nor roar, Nor let his voice be heard in the street.

A crushed reed he will not break, And a dimly burning wick he will not quench.

[Sidenote: Isa. 42:3c-4]

Faithfully will he set forth law; He will not lose vigor nor be crushed, Until he establish law in the earth, And for his teaching the coastlands are waiting.

[Sidenote: Isa. 42:5-7]

Thus saith the one G.o.d, Jehovah, He who spread out the heavens and stretched them forth, Who created the earth and its products, Who giveth breath to the people upon it, And spirit to those who walk upon it: I, Jehovah, have called thee in righteousness, I have taken thee by the hand and kept thee, I have made thee a pledge to the people, a light to the nations, To open eyes that are blind, To bring captives out from confinement, From the prison house dwellers in darkness.

[Sidenote: Isa. 42:13-50]

Ye who are deaf hear, And ye blind look up that ye may see, Who is blind but my servants, deaf as their rulers?

Much have ye seen, without observing it, Though your ears were open, ye did not hear.

[Sidenote: Isa. 42:21, 22]

Jehovah was pleased for his righteousness' sake To make his teaching great and glorious, Yet it is a people spoiled and plundered, They are all snared in holes, And hidden in prison houses, They have become a spoil, with none to rescue, An object of plunder, with none to say, Restore.

[Sidenote: Isa. 42:23-25]

Who among you will give ear to this, Will attend and hear for time to come?

Who gave up Jacob to plunderers, And Israel to those who spoiled him, And poured out upon him the heat of his anger, And his violence like a flame, So that it scorched him round about, but he knew it not, And it burned him, but he laid it not to heart?

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:1-2]

And now thus saith Jehovah, He who created thee, O Jacob, and formed thee, Fear not, O Israel, for I redeem thee, I call thee by name, thou art mine.

When thou pa.s.seth through the waters, I will be with thee, Through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; When thou goest through the fire, thou shalt not be scorched, Neither shall the flame burn thee.

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:3, 4]

For I, Jehovah, am thy G.o.d.

I, Israel's Holy One, am thy deliverer; I give Egypt as thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.

Because thou art precious in mine eyes, Art honored and I love thee, I will give lands in thy stead, And peoples for the sake of thy life.

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:5-7]

Fear not for I am with thee, From the east I will bring thine offspring, And from the west I will gather thee; I will say to the north, Give up!

And to the south, Withhold not!

Bring my sons from afar, And my daughters from the ends of the earth, Every one who is called by my name, Whom for my glory I have created and formed.

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:10, 11]

Ye are my witnesses, is Jehovah's oracle, And my servants whom I have chosen, That ye may acknowledge and believe me, And that ye may perceive that I am ever the same, Before me no G.o.d was formed, Nor shall there be after me, I, even I, am Jehovah, And beside me there is no deliverer.

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:12, 13]

It was I who announced and brought deliverance, And I declared, and there was no strange G.o.d among you, Ye are my witnesses, is Jehovah's oracle, I am G.o.d, yea, from henceforth the same; And there is none who can s.n.a.t.c.h from my hand, When I work, who can reverse it?

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:14, 15]

Thus saith Jehovah, Your redeemer, Israel's Holy One, For your sake I have sent to Babylon, And have brought them all down as fugitives.

Even the Chaldeans with their piercing cries of lamentation, It is I, Jehovah, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King.

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:22-24]

But thou, O Jacob, hast not called upon me, Nor hast thou wearied thyself about me, O Israel; Thou hast not brought me the sheep of thy burnt-offerings, Nor honored me with thy sacrifices.

With offerings I have not burdened thee, Nor with incense wearied thee.

Thou broughtest me no sweet cane with thy money, Nor with the fat of thy sacrifices sated me.

Rather thou hast only burdened me with thy sins, And wearied me with thine iniquities.

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:25-28]

But it is I alone who blot out thy transgressions, And I do not remember thy sins.

Remind me, let us plead together, Do thou set forth the matter that thou mayest be justified: Thy first father sinned, And thy mediators rebelled against me.

Thy rulers profaned my sanctuary, And I gave up Jacob to the ban, And Israel to revilings!

[Sidenote: Isa. 44:1-3b]

But now hear, O Jacob, my servant, Israel whom I have chosen; Thus saith Jehovah, thy maker, Even he who formed thee from the womb, who helpeth thee: Fear not, my servant Jacob, And thou, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen; For I will pour water upon the thirsty land And streams upon the dry ground.

[Sidenote: Isa. 44:3c-5]

I will pour out my spirit upon thy children, And my blessing upon thy descendants, So that they shall spring up as gra.s.s in the midst of waters, As willows by water-courses.

One shall say, "I am Jehovah's,"

And another shall call himself, "Jacob,"

And another will inscribe on his hand, "Jehovah's,"

And receive the surname, "Israel."'

I. The Seventy Years Following the Rebuilding of the Temple. Regarding the seventy years which intervened between the rebuilding of the temple in 516 B.C. and the appearance of Nehemiah in 445 the biblical historians are silent. This silence is probably because there were no important political events in the life of the Judean community to be recorded. During the latter part of his reign Darius bridged the h.e.l.lespont and undertook the conquest of the western world. Later, under the reign of his son Xerxes, the mighty hordes of eastern warriors were turned back, and the growing weakness of the great Persian Empire was revealed. In 486 Egypt rebelled, and Persian armies marched along the eastern sh.o.r.e of the Mediterranean, probably levying heavy taxes for their support upon the Jews as well as upon the other peoples of Palestine. The suppression of the rebellion in Egypt ill.u.s.trated how impossible it was for any of the eastern peoples to withstand even the decadent power of the Persian Empire.

In Palestine the Jews were still the prey of their hostile neighbors. No walls protected the temple and city of Jerusalem. The Jews were probably ground down under their greedy Persian governors. With the disappearance of Zerubbabel the local control fell naturally into the hands of the high priest and his followers, whose civil authority from this time on constantly increased. The words of II Isaiah well describe the lot of the Jews of Palestine during this period: