Ezekiel had foretold with absolute certainty the ultimate return of the Judæans to Palestine, but also their return to a purer state of morality. Many of the captives, however, in consequence of their repeated misfortunes, began to despair of the new birth of the nation, and looked upon it as a mere dream. They said, "Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost: we are quite cut off." The greatest of all evils is for a nation to despair of its future and to give up every hope. Ezekiel considered it a most important duty to banish this gloom from the hearts of his people. In a beautiful simile—that of the dry bones restored to life—he placed before them a picture of their new birth.
But there was another group of exiles who despaired of the restoration of the Judæan people. They felt themselves utterly crushed by their sins. For centuries the nation had tempted the anger of its God by idolatry and other misdeeds. These sins could not be undone, but must meet with their inevitable result—the death of the sinner. These unfortunate people exclaimed, "If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how then should we live?" But the prophet Ezekiel also combated this gloomy belief, that sin and its punishment were inseparably connected, and that crime must necessarily lead to the death of the sinner. In eloquent words, he laid before the people his consolatory doctrine of the efficacy of repentance.
Often and in varied terms Ezekiel spoke of the future deliverance of the exiles, and painted it in ideal colours. So deeply was this prophet of the exile impressed with the certainty of a return to the old order of things in his own country, that he actually devised a plan for the building of a new Temple, and for the ordering of divine service and of the priesthood. Ezekiel was far from thinking that such a brilliant and glorious future was near at hand. The ideas, the feelings, and the actions which he daily observed in the exiles were not of a kind to justify such a hope. But he and other holy men helped to make a small beginning. Not long after the death of Ezekiel and Jeremiah, an unexpected change for the better commenced. The captivity which, notwithstanding the kind treatment at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar and his son, was attended with much suffering, but more especially the influence of their peculiar literature led to a change in the disposition of the people. In the very midst of the idolatrous abominations of the kingdoms of Ephraim and Judah, the flowers of a higher morality had blossomed. "The Spirit of God had dwelt amidst the uncleanliness of the people." The sublime thoughts of the prophets and the psalmists, awakened during the course of centuries, had not vanished into thin air with speech and song, but had taken root in some hearts, and had been preserved in writing. The priests of the sons of Zadok, who had never been idolatrous, had brought with them into captivity the Torah (the Pentateuch); the disciples of the prophets had brought the eloquent words of their teachers; the Levites had brought the sublime Psalms; the wise men, a treasure of excellent sayings; the learned had preserved the historical books. Treasures, indeed, had been lost, but one treasure remained which could not be stolen, and this the exiles had taken with them into a strange land. A rich, brilliant, and manifold literature had been carried into exile with them, and it became a power that taught, ennobled, and rejuvenated. These writings were replete with wonders. Had not the prophecy been realised to the letter, that the land of Israel would spew forth its people on account of their folly and their crimes, just as it had thrust out the Canaanites? Had not the menacing words of the prophets come to pass in a most fearful manner? Jeremiah had prophesied daily, in unambiguous words, the destruction of the nation, the city, and the Temple. Ezekiel had foretold the terrible war and subsequent misery, and his words had been fulfilled; and earlier still, Isaiah, Hosea, Amos, and even Moses had warned the people that exile and destruction would follow upon the transgression of the Law. Yet in spite of all their terrible misery, the people were not entirely annihilated. A remnant existed, small indeed, and homeless, but this remnant had found favour in the eyes of the conquerors. It was clear that even in the land of their foes, God had not entirely rejected them; He did not "utterly abhor them, to destroy them and break His covenant with them."
Another miracle took place before their own eyes. A part of the descendants of the Ten Tribes, scattered for more than a century in the Assyrian provinces, and looked upon as lost, had asserted their nationality. Though long separated by jealousy and artfully whetted hate, they approached their suffering brethren with cordial affection. Those Israelites who had dwelt in the capital of Nineveh had, without doubt, left that doomed city at the destruction of the Assyrian empire, and had fled to Babylonia, the neighbouring kingdom. Thus the words of the prophets were again fulfilled, "Israel and Judah shall dwell together in brotherly love."
Those who were able to read eagerly studied the rescued manuscripts, and anxiously sought instruction and consolation in their pages. The prophecies and words of Jeremiah were especially studied, their pathetic and elegiac tone being peculiarly adapted to men living in exile. Jeremiah's writings, which had probably been brought by Baruch from Egypt, became a popular book. The effect which the living words, fresh from the prophet's own lips, had failed to produce was accomplished by the written letter. The spirit of the prophets passed into the souls of their readers, filled them with hopes and ideals, and prepared them for a change of mind.
In order to make the conversion a lasting one, the spiritual leaders of the people chose a new method of instruction. One of them, probably Baruch, wrote (about 555) a comprehensive historical work for his readers, relating the events from the creation of the world and the commencement of Israel as a nation down to the time when Jehoiachin was released from his prison, and loaded with marks of the royal favour. This collection embraced the Torah (Law), the Book of Joshua, the histories of the Judges, of Samuel, Saul and David. To these Baruch added his own redaction of the history of the Kings from Solomon to Jehoiachin, whose downfall he himself had witnessed. He gave his own colouring to these events, in order to demonstrate that the decline of the kingdom, from the death of Solomon, was owing to the apostasy of the king and the people.
The historical work that Baruch compiled has no equal. It is simple, yet rich in matter and instructive, unaffected yet artistic; but above all things it is vivid and impressive. It was the second national work of the Babylonian exiles, and they not only read it with interest, but took it to heart, and listened to its lessons. Levitical scribes applied themselves to copying it. This literature gave a new heart to the people, and breathed a new spirit into them. What Ezekiel had commenced, Jeremiah's disciple, Baruch, continued.
Influenced by the study of these writings, the exiles began to devote themselves to self-examination. This was followed by contrition for their constant disobedience and idolatry. Those who were moved to penitence by the consciousness of their great sins longed to wash away the bitter past in tears of repentance. They acknowledged that all the misfortunes that had befallen them were well deserved, for just as "the Lord of Hosts had purposed to do unto them according to their ways and according to their doings, so had He dealt with them." Many atoned sincerely; four days in the year were set apart, at first by a few, and later on by a large number of exiles, as days of mourning. These occasions were the anniversaries of Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem in the tenth month, of the conquest of Jerusalem in the fourth month, of the destruction of Jerusalem in the fifth month, and of Gedaliah's assassination in the seventh month. At these times it became customary for the people to fast and lament, wear garments of mourning, sit in ashes and bow their heads in deep contrition. These days of mourning heralded the people's awakening; they were signs of repentance, and the first institution of national anniversaries after the captivity. This keen feeling of remorse gave birth to a new kind of psalm, which we may call the Penitential Psalm. Those who had forsaken their evil ways in turn converted others; former sinners showed other evil-doers the way to God. The number of the faithful, "those who were eager for God's word," those "who sought after God," thus gradually increased. Naturally, the Patient Sufferers (Anavim) formed the nucleus of this new party. They mourned the destruction of Jerusalem and its former glory; they were "contrite in heart," and "meek in spirit." They bore outward signs of mourning, and called themselves "the mourners of Zion." With them were associated members of noble families, who held some office or dignity at the Babylonian court. All their thoughts dwelt upon Jerusalem. They loved the stones of the Holy City, and longed to see its very ruins, lying in the dust. (Psalm cxx. 14–15.) The Levite, who, in the name of his companions in captivity, described so poetically this faithful remembrance of Jerusalem, gave utterance, in the 137th Psalm, to the sentiments of "the mourners of Zion."
While praying for deliverance or confessing