I. We must distinguish between the =Captivity of Is'ra-el= and that of
=Ju'dah=.
1. The captivity of Is'ra-el took place B. C. 721, that of Ju'dah B. C.
587. The southern kingdom lasted one hundred and thirty-four years
longer than the northern.
2. Is'ra-el was taken captive by the As-syr'i-ans under Sar'gon; Ju'dah
by the Chal-de'ans under Neb-u-chad-nez'zar.
3. Is'ra-el was taken to the lands south of the Cas'pi-an Sea (2 Kings
17. 6); Ju'dah to Chal-de'a, by the river Eu-phra'tes (Psa. 137. 1).
4. Is'ra-el never returned from its captivity, which was the end of its
history; but Ju'dah was brought back from its captivity and again became
a flourishing state, though subject to foreign nations during most of
its after history.
II. There were =Three Captivities= of Ju'dah, all in one generation and
all under one Chal-de'an king, Neb-u-chad-nez'zar:
1. =Je-hoi'a-kim's captivity=, B. C. 607. Je-hoi'a-kim was the son of
Jo-si'ah, placed upon the throne after the battle of Me-gid'do, in which
Jo-si'ah perished (2 Kings 23. 34). For three years Je-hoi'a-kim obeyed
Neb-u-chad-nez'zar; then he rebelled, but was speedily reduced to
subjection, and many of the leading people among the Jews were carried
captive to Bab'y-lon (2 Kings 24. 1, 2). Among these captives was
Dan'iel the prophet (Dan. 1. 1-6). From this event the _seventy years_
of the captivity were dated (Jer. 27. 22; 29. 10), though the kingdom of
Ju'dah remained for twenty years longer.
2. =Je-hoi'a-chin's captivity=, B. C. 598. Je-hoi'a-chin was the son of
Je-hoi'a-kim (called Jec-o-ni'ah, 1 Chron. 3. 16; Jer. 24. 1; and
Co-ni'ah, Jer. 22. 24). He reigned only three months, and then was
deposed by Neb-u-chad-nez'zar and carried to Bab'y-lon. With the young
king and the royal family were taken thousands of the people of the
middle classes, whom the land could ill spare (2 Kings 24. 8-16). Among
these captives was E-ze'ki-el, the prophet-priest (Ezek. 1. 1-13).
3. =Zed-e-ki'ah's captivity=, B. C. 587. He was the uncle of
Je-hoi'a-chin and the son of the good Jo-si'ah (2 Kings 24. 17), and had
been made king by Neb-u-chad-nez'zar. But he too rebelled against his
master, to whom he had taken a solemn oath of fidelity (2 Chron. 36.
13). The Chal-de'ans were greatly incensed by these frequent
insurrections, and determined upon a final destruction of the rebellious
city. After a long siege Je-ru'sa-lem was taken, and the king was
captured while attempting flight. He was blinded and carried away to
Bab'y-lon, the city was destroyed, and nearly all the people left alive
were also taken to the land of Chal-de'a (2 Kings 25. 1-11). After this
captivity the city lay desolate for fifty years, until the conquest of
Bab'y-lon by Cy'rus, B. C. 536.
III. Let us ascertain the =Causes of the Captivity=--why the Jews were
taken up bodily from their own land and deported to a distant country.
1. Such deportations were a frequent =policy of Oriental conquerors=.
The Orientals had three ways of dealing with a conquered people: that of
extermination, or wholesale butchery, which is frequently described upon
the As-syr'i-an monuments; that of leaving them in the land under
tribute, as subjects of the conqueror; and that of deporting them _en
masse_ to a distant land. Frequently, when the interests of the empire
would be served by changing the population of a province, this plan was
carried out. Thus the ten tribes were carried to a land near the
Cas'pi-an Sea, and other people were brought to Sa-ma'ri-a in their
place (2 Kings 17. 6, 24). A similar plan regarding Ju'dah was proposed
by Sen-nach'e-rib (2 Kings 18. 31, 32), but was thwarted by the
destruction of the As-syr'i-an host.
2. We have already noticed another cause of the captivity in the
frequent =rebellions of the kings of Ju'dah= against the authority of
Bab'y-lon. The old spirit of independence, which had made Ju'dah the
leader of the twelve tribes, was still strong, and it was fostered by
the hope of universal rule, which had been predicted through centuries,
even while the kingdom was declining. The prophets, however, favored
submission to Bab'y-lon; but the nobles urged rebellion and
independence. Their policy was pursued, and the unequal strife was
taken up more than once. The rebellions always failed; but after several
attempts the patience of Neb-u-chad-nez'zar was exhausted, and the
destruction of the rebellious city and the deportation of the population
were ordered.
3. But underneath was another and a deeper cause--in =the rivalry of
E'gypt and Bab'y-lon=. Pal'es-tine stood on the border of the
As-syr'i-an empire toward E'gypt; and in Pal'es-tine there were two
parties, the As-syr'i-an and the E-gyp'tian: one counseling submission
to As-syr'i-a, the other seeking alliance with E'gypt against As-syr'i-a
(Isa. 31. 1-3; 37. 6). After Bab'y-lon took the place of Nin'e-veh the
Chal-de'an party took the place of the As-syr'i-an, as the Chal-de'an
empire was the successor of the As-syr'i-an empire. The prophets, led by
Jer-e-mi'ah, always counseled submission to Bab'y-lon, and warned
against trusting to E'gypt, which had never given anything more than
promises; but the nobles were of the E-gyp'tian party, and constantly
influenced the kings to renounce the yoke of Bab'y-lon and to strike for
independence by the aid of E'gypt. The necessity of making the frontier
of the Chal-de'an empire safe on the side toward E'gypt was the
political cause for the deportation of the tribe of Ju'dah.
4. There was underlying all these political reasons a moral cause in
=the divine purpose to discipline the nation=. The captivity was a
weeding-out process, to separate the precious from the vile, the false
from the true, the "remnant" from the mass. There had always been two
distinct elements in Is'ra-el and Ju'dah--the spiritual, God-fearing
few, and the worldly, idol-worshiping many. The worldly and irreligious
took part in the resistance to the king of Bab'y-lon, and the worshipers
of Je-ho'vah, led by the prophets, urged submission. As a result the
nobles and the warriors, for the most part, perished; while the better
part, the strength and hope of the nation, were carried away captive.
Notice that the captives were mainly of the middle class, the working
element (2 Kings 24. 14-16). Those who had submitted to the Chal-de'ans
were also taken away (2 Kings 25. 11). The prophet expressed greater
hope for those taken away than for those left behind (Jer. 24. 1-10).
The captives were the root of Ju'dah, out of which in due time a new
nation should rise; and, as we shall see, the captivity in Bab'y-lon
proved to be the most benign experience in all the history of God's
chosen people.