Chapter 52 Cyrus dies

But look! The door is open, but few captives will take the opportunity to go home. Most remained quietly in Babylon, or moved to Amazonas, Nippur, Shushan, or one of the other great settlement centers of the Neo-Persian Empire.Few people make the long and treacherous journey across the desert.They were devout men who took their religious responsibilities very seriously. Now they have built a new nation on the ruins of Jerusalem, eradicated all foreign influences and dedicated to Jehovah. It would be only natural if Daniel led these returnees to Palestine. But Daniel was too old for the long journey.The Persians treated him well and kept him in his service.After a while, he was suspected of disloyalty, because the king had ordered that he was not allowed to pray to God or anyone for a month, but Daniel still prayed to the Lord.For his disobedience, he was condemned to death and cast before lions.

But these beasts would not devour such a holy prophet.In the morning, Daniel walked out of the lion cage unscathed.Since then, he lived in peace. Surely Daniel would not be able to make the long journey, the Persians tried to find another man to serve as governor of the newly created province of Judah. They chose a man named Zerubbabel, a distant relative of the former king of Judah.Zerubbabel arrived in Jerusalem, and together with Joshua, the high priest, began the rebuilding work. This is not an easy duty.The whole city has to be rebuilt.Much of the surrounding territory was seized by the Samaritans and turned into farms and pastures.Of course they are unwilling to give up the place they occupy, so they do everything possible to make life uncomfortable and difficult for the newcomers.

They hoped to earn some hard-earned money while building the temple, and the answer was that no heathen was hired for the temple project. In retaliation, they anonymously wrote to Cyrus, saying that someone conspired to rebel and make Judah an independent kingdom once the temple was completed. Cyrus was a busy man.He didn't have time for such trivial matters as the Jewish revolt, but as a precaution, he ordered that the construction of the temple be suspended until the investigation was clear. Shortly afterwards Cyrus died, and the matter was forgotten.As the years passed, weeds began to grow on the walls of the half-constructed temple.Then the prophet Haggai came forward.He accused Zerubbabur of being cowardly and incompetent, and told him to continue working regardless of the king's approval.

Zerubbabel just needed someone to support him, so he agreed.He told the workers to come back to work. But at this time he had a conflict with Darnay, the governor of Samaria. Darnay asked him what right he had to build this temple, which looked more and more like a regular fortress.Zerubbabel replied that he had been sanctioned by Cyrus some years before.Danai reported this answer to the headquarters.Meanwhile, Cyrus' successor died and was succeeded by Darius.Darius ordered a search of the old archives.Things get complicated.Fortunately the original decree was found, signed by Cyrus. Danai no longer objected, and four years later the temple was completed.

Slowly, some exiles returned to their home countries.However, most Jews continued to live in the commercial centers of Egypt, Babylon, and Persia.Whenever circumstances permit, they celebrate great religious festivals within the Holy City.They recognize and honor the old city as their spiritual home.But this small inland town, with its narrow, dirty streets and shabby factories, did not have enough chance for worldly success. Once the last sacrifice has been served and the last hymn sung, visitors from afar rush back to the business districts of Shushan or Dafona.They are proud to be Jewish and they love Jerusalem if they don't have to live there all year.

Thus a strange double loyalty arose, which caused much trouble and misery for the next four centuries.For although the Jews were scattered among the Persians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, they never conformed to the customs of the land. Everywhere they form a state within a state. They live in their own ghetto. They go to their temples. They forbade their children to play with pagan children.They would rather kill their daughters than marry pagan husbands. They eat different foods and cook them differently. They are careful to obey the laws of the land, and in addition to some very strict and complicated precepts of their own.

Out of hobbies, they wear different clothes from others. They celebrate certain festivals in a stereotype that is completely incomprehensible to others. People are always suspicious of their incomprehensible neighbors.The distinctiveness of these ghettos, the open contempt of all Jews for pagan gods, and the willingness of Jews to work only with their own people made them unpopular among their neighbors and often caused bitter disputes. As early as five centuries before the birth of Christ, the Jews in Persia were unlucky and were in danger of being wiped out. The underlying cause of this sudden event is unknown to us.But we find the whole story in the Book of Esther.

"Esther" is the last volume of the "Old Testament" history books. Like "Daniel", it was written several hundred years after Xerxes' death. This event is not recorded in the Persian history books.There are many historical materials about King Xerxes, who almost destroyed the new civilization in continental Europe.He's weak and worthless, and what he does to his wife is completely in character. Xerxes, known to the Jews as Ahasuerus, divorced his wife after a dishonorable quarrel.The king drank too much, and the queen drank too much.Both of them spoke too much, and as a result his wife, Vashti, was forced to leave the palace.

Xerxes immediately searched the whole country for a new queen, and he chose the young Jewish girl Esther.Esther was an orphan, adopted by her cousin Mordecai.Mordecai had quite a position in society and was very famous in the court. After Esther entered the palace, Mordecai often visited her.