Jesus
spoke when he said: The hour cometh when neither in this mountain, nor
in Jerusalem shall ye worship the Father.... But ... the true
worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

STUDY TOPICS

1. Read 2 Kings 25, or Daniel 1.

2. Mention some other temptations which must have come to the Jews, in
Babylon, besides the temptation to worship idols. Consider, for
example, their new experiences as traders.

3. What are some good ways in which we may be helped to be true to God
to-day when we are away from home.

CHAPTER XXII

UNDYING HOPES OF THE JEWS

As the Jewish exiles were led away to Babylon they asked themselves
over and over again, "Is this the end of our nation?" It seemed like
the end. Their capital city lay in ruins. Their king was blinded and
in chains. All the most intelligent people in the country were being
led to a distant land, from which most of them would probably never
return. The iron rule of the Babylonians was everywhere supreme.

There are other nations and races whose people might not have cared so
much even if this had been the end of their national existence. But
the Hebrews from the beginning were proud of their race and ambitious
for its glory. They believed that it had been promised to Abraham,
their ancestor, that they should become a great nation in their land
of Canaan. This hope had grown stronger and stronger. Stories of the
greatness of King David were handed down from fathers to their
children. To the best men and women among them the great teachings of
such prophets as Amos and Isaiah were even more worthy of pride. "We
have a knowledge of the true God," they said, "such as no other nation
has. Surely there is a great future before us." And now all these
hopes seemed lost forever.

=The discouragement of the poor people in Canaan.=--Those who had been
left behind in Canaan when the Babylonians conquered the land were
even more hopeless and wretched. The exiles soon made a place for
themselves in the busy, prosperous land of Babylonia. They earned
money and lived in comfort. But the farmers on the stony hills of
Judaea suffered untold hardships. Not only were they poor; they were
also harassed by bands of robbers. The city of Jerusalem, which had
protected them, lay in ashes. The Babylonian governor did not help
them. He was there only to collect taxes and tribute. So the old
enemies, the robber tribes from the desert, came in and burned and
mu