back the captivity of Jacob, and have compassion upon the whole house of
Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name. And they shall bear their
shame, and all their breach of faith which they committed against
Me."(1171) These words are echoed in the harrowing admonitory chapter of
Leviticus, which, however, closes with words of comfort: "And they shall
confess their iniquity ... if then perchance their uncircumcised heart be
humbled, and they then be paid the punishment of their iniquity; then will
I remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and
also My covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the
land."(1172) This view of divine justice as external and punitive was
basic to the Synagogue liturgy and the entire rabbinic system. The
priestly idea of atonement, that sin could be wiped out by sacrifice, made
a profound impression, not only upon individual sinners, but also upon the
nation. Hence it was applied especially to the people in exile when they
could not bring sacrifices to their God. Still, one means of atonement
remained, the exile itself, which could lead the people to repentance and
finally to God's forgiveness.(1173) Thus the people retained a hope of
return from their captivity. They were assured by their prophetic monitors
that the faithful community of the Lord would again be received in favor
by the God of faithfulness. They even built their hope upon the portions
of the Law, which was read to assembled worshipers that they might know
and observe it on their return to the land of their fathers. Israel could
say with the Psalmist: "Unless Thy law had been my delight, I should then
have perished in mine affliction."(1174) According to a Palestinian
Haggadist, "Israel would never have persevered so long, had not the Torah,
the marriage contract of Israel with its God, pledged to it a glorious
future on the holy soil."(1175) Wait patiently for God's mercy, which in
His own time will rebuild Israel's State and Temple!--this is the keynote
of all the prayers and songs of the Synagogue.

3. But the great seer of the exile, whose anonymity lends still greater
impressiveness to his words of comfort, stood on a higher historical plane
than that of Ezekiel the priest. He witnessed the transformation of the
entire political world of his time through the victory of Cyrus the Mede
over the Babylonian empire, and thus was able to attain a profounder grasp
of the destiny of his