a part of the bread which they baked, found its way to the temple.  In addition a large income came through the vows made by the people or the conscience money which was paid either in currency or gifts.  Although the priests had no temporal authority by which to enforce these laws, it is evident that the people bore their heavy burdens gladly and brought willingly their offerings, that they might thereby win a definite assurance of Jehovah’s favor.  The law was to them a source of joy rather than a burden.  Their love for it steadily grew until two centuries later during the Maccabean persecutions there were many who were ready to lay down their lives for it.

Section CIII.  THE JEWISH STATE DURING THE LAST CENTURY OF PERSIAN RULE

[Sidenote:  Ps. 36:5-10]
Thy loving-kindness, O Jehovah, is in the heavens,
Thy faithfulness reacheth to the skies,
Thy righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
Thy judgments are like the great deep;
Thou preservest man and beast. 
How precious is thy loving-kindness, O God! 
And the sons of men put their trust in the shadow of thy wings. 
They are fully satisfied with the rich things of thy house,
And thou makest them drink of thy river of delights. 
For with thee is the fountain of life,
And in thy light shall we see light. 
O continue thy loving-kindness to those who know thee,
And thy righteousness to the upright in heart.

[Sidenote:  Joel 2:1, 2b]
The word of Jehovah, which came to Joel, the son of Pethuel: 
Blow a horn in Zion,
Sound an alarm in my holy mountain,
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the day of Jehovah comes,
For near is the day of darkness and gloom,
The day of cloud and thick darkness!

[Sidenote:  Joel 2:2c-6]
Like the light of dawn scattered over the mountains,
A people great and powerful;
Its like has not been from of old,
Neither shall be any more after it,
Even to the years of coming ages. 
Before them the fire devours,
And behind them a flame burns;
Like the garden of Eden is the land before them,
And after them it is a desolate desert,
Yea, nothing escapes them. 
Their appearance is as the appearance of horses,
And like horsemen they run. 
Like the sound of chariots on the tops of the mountains they leap,
Like the crackle of flames devouring stubble,
Like a mighty people preparing for battle. 
Peoples are in anguish before them,
All faces glow with excitement.

[Sidenote:  Joel 2:7-9]
Like mighty men they run,
Like warriors they mount up a wall,
They march each by himself,
They break not their ranks,
None jostles the other,
They march each in his path,
They fall upon the weapons without breaking,
They scour the city, they run on the wall,
They climb up into the houses,
Like a thief they enter the windows.