"Thus saith the Lord: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping; Rachel, weeping for her children, refuseth to be comforted for her children, for they are not. Thus saith the Lord: Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears, for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy."
And not only did Jeremiah believe that the Jews would again return to their land, but he also believed in the full restoration of national independence. He declares: "Their nobles shall be of themselves and their governors shall proceed from the midst of them." Even after the first of the Jews had already been led into captivity, Jeremiah, though in prison at the time because of his prophecy that the king would be taken into exile, instructed his disciple to purchase land for him in Judea and to deliver the deed into his hands, because of his conviction that his land would again be the Jews' and that his heir could again establish his title to the property.
And to the exiles he sent the following message of hope and counsel, especially interesting to us to-day as touching upon our relations with the lands of the diaspora:
"Build ye houses and dwell in them and
plant gardens and eat the fruit of them. Take ye wives and beget sons and daughters and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters, that ye may be increased and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captive and pray unto the Lord for it, for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace . . . For thus saith the Lord, After seventy years be accomplished, I will visit you and perform my good word toward you in causing you to return to this place." It does not seem as if Jeremiah, though he advised the exiles to seek the peace of the city whither they were taken captive, was very much concerned over the "prior lien" on Babylonian citizenship that the expectation of a return to Judea involved.
Yes, Jeremiah, too, man of sorrows though he was, was yet sustained by that same hope which we Zionists to-day recognize as the one stay of our people, and the Jews who went into exile took his message of comfort with them, nor ever lost sight of the promised return. Even "by the rivers of Baylon" prophets arose who kept alive the flame of faith in the hearts of the captives. One of these prophets of the exile was Ezekiel, and to him we shall next give our attention.
(To be concluded next month.)