Return of the Exiles

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Previously on The Chosen People This wasn't just a conquest. It was uncreation. Genesis in reverse. The undoing of Sinai. It felt like the very end of the Covenant. The priests were slaughtered. The scrolls reduced to floating flecks of carbon. The temple, now just broken stone and melting gold. A God-shaped hole was carved into the city. In the city square, what remained of the people were bound in chains. Bakers, stonecutters, scribes, poets, singers, every voice that once defined the soul of Judah now herded like cattle toward a future they did not choose. The God who still holds the power to reverse every fate. Ash still covered Zion like a burial cloth. Bones still littered the valley. The temple was still gone. The king was blind. The ark was missing. The songs were faint. But hope, hope was eating dinner in Babylon. And the Lord was not done, not even close. In the years before Queen Esther's courage saved her people, the elders of Israel still carried the weight of the past, haunted by memories of their temple in flames and Judah's final king in chains. And then there were those who were born in captivity in the years of Babylonian exile who had only the stories, stories of the rolling hills of Judah, the famed walls of Jerusalem, Solomon's once golden gleaming temple. But it was all rubble and ruin now. The once great house of David had allowed their hearts to be led astray and the whole of Israel with them. Jerusalem had fallen, handed over to her enemies at last. But despite the years and years of decline, betrayal and abandonment, the word of the Lord did not fall. The words of prophecy, once whispered to the last kings in the stone halls of Jerusalem and now echoed through the hushed whispers of captives, became the frail hope of God's chosen people. The words of Jeremiah, almost 70 years to the day, hung in the air like the unrelenting force of fate, guiding the decisions of kings. 00:02:57 Speaker 2: Hear the words of your God, O Israel. 00:03:00 Speaker 3: When 70 years are completed for Babylon, I will send for you. 00:03:05 Speaker 2: I will set you free and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you. 00:03:12 Speaker 4: Plans to prosper and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me. Come and pray to me and I will listen. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you, and will bring you back to my arms. 00:03:49 Speaker 1: And hope and seek and cling to the words of their long-dead prophet, the Jews did in the long years of their exile. They murmured them in the markets, whispered them in the fields, and when they cried or prayed, they became like a hymn, But the new king of Babylon did not fear their hymns or prayers. He saw them as tools for peace in his vast empire. When his name was uttered on the lips of their oppressors and his fame rose to prominence, the Jews were stunned at the truth of the prophecies of the famed Isaiah, who lived hundreds of years before the king called Cyrus ever ruled. 00:04:33 Speaker 5: The Lord says this to Cyrus, his anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and disarm kings to. 00:04:45 Speaker 2: Open doors before. 00:04:46 Speaker 6: Him, and even city gates. 00:04:49 Speaker 4: Will not be shut. 00:04:52 Speaker 1: Cyrus had been a king and conqueror for over two decades before finally becoming the king of Babylon. and he did not become the most powerful ruler in the known world by happenstance or luck. He carved out and took the territories he desired, but then he also allowed his subjects to worship their gods, so long as they still observed Persian rule. Cyrus was not a true believer or follower of Yahweh, but yet he was stirred by him and answered his promptings, issuing a decree that would restore order and loyalty among his subjects. He sent for his scribes and issued a decree throughout his vast kingdom. 00:05:40 Speaker 2: I am Cyrus, king of Persia, king of Babylon, ruler of the four quarters of the earth. 00:05:48 Speaker 3: The Lord, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. 00:05:55 Speaker 2: And has appointed me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah. 00:06:01 Speaker 3: Any of his people among you, may his God be with you, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem. Let every survivor, wherever he resides, be assisted by the men of that region with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along with a freewill offering for the house of God in Jerusalem. 00:06:30 Speaker 1: Yahweh moved Cyrus, as he had once moved Pharaoh, to finally let his people go. The Lord did not turn Cyrus' heart to a true conversion, but instead used his political mind to act in the interest of the Israelites. He desired loyal and grateful subjects as opposed to a conquered enemy plotting to rise up against him. And it was through that policy that the Lord worked in his people's favor. Through every province and dusty outpost the scrolls of destinies were carried and read aloud in town squares, hope igniting like wildfire in a dry field. It spread and spread until finally it reached the heart of exile in Babylon, where the so-called Prince of Judah lived. The moniker mocked Zerubbabel. Born in captivity in the years of exile, he was the descendant of kings, but he was also a strategic hostage for the Persian government. He was appointed to lead his people and keep them subdued and assimilated to Persian life. Zerubbabel held the title of governor But the position boasted no real power, and he often wondered if he was truly made of the stuff of kings as his lineage proclaimed, or if he was just an empty figurehead. But then the scroll arrived, and everything changed. 00:08:05 Speaker 2: Read it again. 00:08:06 Speaker 7: Any of his people among you may go to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, and let every survivor be supported by neighbors with silver and gold and goods and livestock. 00:08:21 Speaker 1: Zerubbabel gaped at Jeshua, a priest of Yahweh, as he read from the worn parchment in his hands. It was evident he had read and reread it dozens of times before he finally caught up to Zerubbabel. He had been on his way home from the city gate, where he had been listening to the disputes of his people, when Yeshua came huffing and puffing after him, a triumphant expression on his face. 00:08:49 Speaker 8: He said, we can go back and rebuild the temple? We can go home? 00:08:56 Speaker 4: Yes! 00:08:57 Speaker 6: Can you believe it? We'll finally see Jerusalem! We'll finally see the place the elders have told. 00:09:04 Speaker 7: Us about since we were children! 00:09:06 Speaker 6: We'll finally be able to worship our God in a house worthy of him, a proper temple, not those shabby altars hidden in corners or shared with false gods. No, we'll be able to teach the word of the Lord from the gleaming steps of Solomon's temple instead of in cramped workshops and alleyways. Can you imagine it? The days Jeremiah spoke of are finally here, and we're the ones alive to see it. 00:09:36 Speaker 1: Zerubbabel, usually stern and serious, felt his soul stirred by the earnest, heartfelt words of Jeshua. Too many thoughts to count flashed through his mind. The logistics, questions, doubt, fear, but also hope, triumph and joy. The Jews were permitted to go home at last, and it would all fall on him to get them there. 00:10:04 Speaker 6: Say something nice, my friend. I can see the wheels turning in that stoic mind of yours. I had to read it half a dozen times myself before I believed it. 00:10:17 Speaker 2: I can hardly believe it. 00:10:19 Speaker 7: This is what we've been waiting for all our lives. 00:10:23 Speaker 8: I can't wait to see everyone's reaction when they hear the news. 00:10:27 Speaker 1: Zerubbabel's face split into a wide smile to match the one on Jeshua's. Jeshua was slightly younger than Zerubbabel, and like Zerubbabel, he too had only known life in the gilded cage of captivity that was life in Babylon. It was said to be the grandest city in the world, It was a city of mighty temples and towering ziggurats, of hanging gardens and golden idols. Every corner steeped in the illusion of luxury and prosperity. But to the careful, watchful eyes of both Zerubbabel and Yeshua, they saw the allure of Babylon for what it was, yet another trap of idolatry for the Israelites to fall into. as if the slow decline and eventual collapse of their kingdom wasn't warning enough. Jeshua and his band of trusted priests had worked tirelessly to set up synagogues throughout the city and organized the reading and studying of the law so that the Jews would not be tempted to stray away from their God in the city of temptations. Zerubbabel admired Jeshua's fervent dedication over the years. And now that they were faced with the prospect of leading the people home at last, he would need men like Jeshua at his side to accomplish this sojourn. 00:11:53 Speaker 8: Gather the elders. Send word to the other priests and Levites. Tell them it's time. 00:12:04 Speaker 1: Word spread like wildfire through Babylon. At first, disbelief. Then, questions. Could it really be true? Were they really allowed to return? To rebuild? And memory can often be a double-edged sword. Some remembered the glory. Others remembered the ruins. 00:12:26 Speaker 2: Been seventy years. 00:12:29 Speaker 3: The city's gone. Foreigners have taken our homes. Bandits roam the hills. 00:12:35 Speaker 1: The hopeful Jeshua gawked in disbelief at the bitterness he was hearing from the gathered elders. and leaders of the Jews, but Zerubbabel was more measured. He could sense what the elders and other onlookers were not saying aloud. They were afraid. Though this was what they had been hoping for all these years, for many of them all their lives, it was still frightening to leave the world you knew. There would be unknowns and hardships on the road ahead. Zerubbabel gently placed a hand on Jeshua's shoulder, to quiet whatever hasty words were surely forming on his lips. 00:13:15 Speaker 8: Then we'll plant vineyards on those hills. We'll rebuild the ruins with our bare hands. And even if there's not a foundation left on the Temple Mount, we'll raise an altar because our worship need not wait on a building. We will go and praise the Lord for all that he will restore. And then we will get to work rebuilding Zion, the Holy One of Israel, the city of God. 00:13:39 Speaker 1: The elders took his measure then. They were all gathered in the modest Jewish quarter of Babylon discussing the king's decree. Perhaps this prince of Judah would lead them yet. Perhaps he was not just a figurehead of nobility installed to subdue them. The bent and aging elder who led the doubting majority sighed and inclined his head towards Zerubbabel. 00:14:06 Speaker 3: We will go. We will follow you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, grandson of King Jehoiachin, the last heir of the kings of Judah. 00:14:18 Speaker 1: The people stirred and similarly inclined their heads respectfully before Zerubbabel. 00:14:25 Speaker 2: He nodded and. 00:14:26 Speaker 1: Fought back the gnawing doubt that threatened to consume his mind. His distant heritage loomed over him like a dark shadow. His forefathers had failed and fell before their enemies, those from within and those from beyond their borders. Was he doomed to follow in their footsteps? As if sensing his hesitation, Yeshua turned and gave him an encouraging nod. And Zerubbabel then spoke to the fear in his own heart, assuming it would be the very same fears the people would have about the unknown. 00:15:01 Speaker 8: Do not be afraid. If the Lord is with us, even rubble can become holy ground. We go not to reclaim power, but to restore worship. That is where we begin. 00:15:14 Speaker 1: With that, men gathered their tools. Women packed their woven baskets. Elders dusted off family scrolls and whispered prayers of gratitude they hadn't thought would ever come. Children ran through alleyways wide-eyed, overhearing talk of a city they'd only ever heard of in stories. Jerusalem. As the day of departure drew near, neighbours and onlookers came forward with silver, gold, livestock and goods, just as Cyrus had decreed. Even Gentiles gave freely, moved by something they couldn't quite name. From dusty courtyards to market squares, families began to form clusters. Heads of households, sons of priests, Levites and servants, singers and gatekeepers. Every name remembered, every clan recorded. The list went. 00:16:13 Speaker 2: On and on. 00:16:14 Speaker 1: 42,360 people not counting the servants and livestock, every one of them stepping into history. The articles stolen from the temple decades before, silver basins, golden bowls, sacred vessels, were brought out of storage and placed carefully into the hands of Zerubbabel, the appointed prince of Judah, and entrusted for the journey. These treasures, once defiled, were returning home And so they departed, not as captives, but as pilgrims, not as the forgotten, but as the remembered, returning to a land they had only heard in stories, to become the next chapter in the story themselves. Steve Gatina, Max Bard, Zach Schelleberger and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of The Chosen People, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwald, Sylvia Zaradoc, Thomas Copeland Jr., Rosanna Pilcher and Mitch Lashinsky. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith. Written by Aaron Salvato, Brie Rosely and Chris Baig. You can hear more Prey.com productions on the Prey.com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People, please rate and leave a review.