Page 289 - Bible History

T A of e Cov v
262 GOD'S 'CHOSEN PEOPLE IN CAPTIVITY
Jerusalem. The important buildings were destroyed. The beautiful Temple of Solomon was in ruins. The very walls of the city were leveled to the ground. Jeremias was spared and he was permitted to remain
in Jerusalem.
While the Babylonians were plundering the city and
before they reached the Temple, Jeremias and some Levites secretly removed the Ark of the Covenant and the Altar of Incense. They carried them across the Jordan and hid them in a cave in Mount Nebo. The place where they hid them was not marked. It was the sad sight of Jerusalem in ruins that inspired Jeremias to write the Lamentations.
2. THE PROPHET DANIEL PRESERVES THE FAITH OF THE CAPTIVES
The Jewish captives were sent to Babylon and the neighboring country. Babylon had been sacked many Na · times and had to be entirely rebuilt. Nabuchodonosor ::: used the artisans and the laborers among the Jewish b on and other captives to carry out his plans. He forced them to work very hard. They repaired the old city wall of Babylon, and built a second outer wall. They dug a canal connecting the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers a short distance north of Babylon. They re­ stored nearly all the Babylonian cities. They built the
elevated terraces known as the Hanging Gardens. The Jews who belonged to the higher classes were treated more kindly. Among these were a man named Daniel and his three friends, Ananias, Misael and Azarias. They were cared for and educated as mem-