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PERIOD VII.]

DANIEL REPROVES BELSHAZZAR.

silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone. In that same hour a hand appeared writing on the wall of the palace. The king called for the wise men of Babylon, and said unto them, "Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom." But none of them could read the writing. The queen spoke of Daniel to the king. He was sent for, and the king asked him to interpret the writing, and promised him the rewards which he had offered to his wise men. Then Daniel answered the king, "Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: and for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: and he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will. And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified." He then declared the interpretation of the writing; "God hath numbered

THE INTERPRETATION OF THE WRITING.

[606-400 B.C.

thy kingdom, and finished it.-Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.-Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. The king immediately exalted Daniel to great honour.

The Medes and the Persians had for two years besieged Babylon without being able to take the city. But this very night, while the inhabitants of Babylon were revelling, the besieging army, under Cyrus, turned off the waters of the river into another channel, and then marched into the city through the bed of the river which was left dry. When they came to the palace they slew Belshazzar and many of his princes, made prisoners of his soldiers, and took possession of the city, which was then included in the kingdom of Darius the Mede.

LESSON 127.

DANIEL vi; ix. EZRA i. 1-11; ii. 64, 65.

Daniel Accused. The Decree of Cyrus.

Darius, king of the Medes and Persians, placed over his kingdom one-hundred-and-twenty princes; and over these he appointed three presidents, of whom he made Daniel the chief. The presidents and princes envied Daniel, but could find no error nor fault in him of which to accuse him. Then said these men, "We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God." So they got the king to sign a decree, that if for thirty days, any one should ask a petition of any God or man except the king, he should be cast into a den of lions. The decree was made and signed. Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber towards Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. Then these men assembled,

PERIOD VII.]

DANIEL CAST INTO THE DEN OF LIONS.

and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God; wherefore they accused him to the king of doing contrary to the decree. The king was displeased with himself for having made the decree, and he set his heart to deliver Daniel till the going down of the sun, but the decree could not be changed, because the decrees made by the kings of the Medes and Persians were unalterable. As the sun went down, the princes assembled, and required of the king to cast Daniel into the den of lions. The king was obliged to consent; but as they were about to cast him in, he said unto Daniel, "Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee." Daniel was then cast into the den of lions. The king passed the night in fasting, and slept not; and in the morning he arose early, went to the den, and called upon Daniel, who answered that his God had sent his angel, and shut the lions' mouths. Daniel was taken out of the den, and no hurt was found on him, because he believed God. His accusers were then cast into the den, and the lions destroyed them. Then Darius made a decree, which he sent into every part of his kingdom. He said, "I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions."

Daniel knew that the time appointed for the captivity, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah, was nearly expired. He made confession of the sins of his people to God, and he prayed earnestly for their restoration to Jerusalem. While he was praying, the angel Gabriel appeared to him, and informed him of many things that should happen in future years in Judea and in Jerusalem. In the first year of the reign of Cyrus, who succeeded Darius, he made a proclamation to the Jews throughout all his kingdom that

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THE DECREE OF CYRUS. THE REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE.

they should return, and rebuild their city, and the house of God in Jerusalem. Thus the prophecy of Isaiah respecting Cyrus was fulfilled. Cyrus brought forth the vessels of the house of the Lord, and numbered them to Sheshbazzar, (Zerubbabel) the prince of Judah. All the vessels of gold and silver were five-thousandand-four-hundred. Sheshbazzar brought them up to Jerusalem, together with the people who returned from the captivity. The whole congregation, together with their servants and maids, were about fifty-thousand.

LESSON 128.

Rebuilding of the Temple.

EZRA iii-vi.

Zerubbabel, the governor, and Jeshua, the high priest, forwarded the rebuilding of the temple; they engaged masons and carpenters to execute the work, they also gave meat, and drink, and oil to the people of Zidon and Tyre to bring cedar-trees from Lebanon to Joppa, as Cyrus had granted them. And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever towards Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping; for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.

PERIOD VII.]

THE OPPOSITION OF THE SAMARITANS.

The rebuilding of the temple was delayed fourteen years by the Samaritans, whom Esar-haddon had placed in Samaria. Zerubbabel and Jeshua said they had nothing to do with the people of Judah, whom Cyrus had commanded to build the temple. Then they strove to hinder them all the days of Cyrus. The prophet Haggai reproved the Jews for delaying the building; he also prophesied that the glory of the second temple should be greater than the glory of the first.

Tatnai, the governor of the province, saw the work in which the Jews were engaged, and he wrote to Darius to ascertain if Cyrus had made the decree of which the Jews informed him. The decree was found at Achmetha: and Darius wrote to Tatnai not to let the work be hindered, but to help them in money, bullocks, oil, rams, and lambs for their offerings. Tatnai obeyed this decree of the king. The temple was finished; the priests and the Levites were appointed for its service; large offerings were made at its dedication; and the feast of the passover was held by all who had kept themselves from the idolatries of the heathens.

Some years after, while the Jews were employed in completing the city, the Samaritans conspired against them, and accused them to Ahasuerus, king of Persia, of being a rebellious people, unwilling to pay tribute, for which cause the city had formerly been destroyed. The king sent commandment to the Jews to cease from building, and the Samaritans went up to Jerusalem and forced them to discontinue the work.

Achmetha-the capital of Media; it was also called Ecbatana, and is now called Hamadan.

LESSON 129.

ESTHER i, ii; Ezra vii.

Vashti Deposed. Esther made Queen. Ezra's Mission. Ahasuerus, another king of Persia, reigned over a hundred-andtwenty-seven provinces, from India even to Ethiopia. In the third year of his reign he made a great feast to all the people in Shushan:

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