The northern kingdom of Israel has already been taken into captivity by the Assyrians.
Now it is the southern kingdom of Judah's turn to be deported from their own land into exile in a foreign country.
God's instrument in this punishment is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
The Babylonians/Chaldeans have by this time
The great prophets of this time are Jeremiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel.
Jeremiah predicted the fall and tribulation of Judah and what would take place thereafter.
Ezekiel inspires and gives hope to the exiles.
Daniel was one of the exiles who also saw beyond the captivity all the way to
Judah's punishment was bad enough, but it could have been worse. God moderated the punishment in at least three ways...
Firstly, he limited it to seventy years so that the people could have assurance that future generations would return to the homeland.
Secondly, he allowed some of the exiles to have much influence over the authorities. Daniel in fact became ruler in Babylon, much like Joseph was in Egypt.
Thirdly, God enabled the prophets to see into the distant future, and speak encouragingly of the coming of Christ and the kingdom of heaven. When God disciplines those who belong to him, he always tempers it with mercy and love.
His way with Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar was, by the king's own account, similarly just and merciful, as terrible as Nebuchadnezzar's punish,ment was.
God may let us be humbled, but always for our good
We now come to the second captivity, that of Judah. The people were taken into exile in the land of the Chaldeans of which the chief city was Babylon.
The great empires: At this point you should be aware of the succession of superpowers in the latter Times of Israel. These were the...
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