The Egyptians, from whose bondage the people had been delivered, were again permitted to oppress Israel. Shishak, king of Egypt, captured Jerusalem--the city of David and the site of the Temple--"and he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord."[12] Part of the aforetime sacred furniture left by the Egyptians was taken by others, and bestowed upon idols.[13] The work of desecration continued through centuries. Two hundred and sixteen years after the Egyptian spoliation, Ahaz, king of Judah, robbed the Temple of some remaining treasures, and sent part of its remnant of gold and silver as a present to a pagan king whose favor he sought to {9} gain. Furthermore, he removed the altar and the font, and left but a house where once had stood a Temple.[14] Later, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, completed the despoiling of the Temple, and carried away its few remaining treasures. He then destroyed the building itself by fire.[15] Thus, about six hundred years before the earthly advent of our Lord, Israel was left without a Temple. The people had divided; there were two kingdoms--Israel and Judah--each at enmity with the other; they had become idolatrous and altogether wicked; the Lord had rejected them and their sanctuary. The Kingdom of Israel, comprising approximately ten of the twelve tribes, had been made subject to Assyria about 721 B. C., and a century later the Kingdom of Judah was subdued by the Babylonians. For seventy years the people of Judah--thereafter known as Jews--remained in captivity, even as had been predicted.[16] Then, under the friendly rule of Cyrus[17] and Darius[18] they were permitted to return to Jerusalem, and once more to rear a Temple in accordance with their faith. In remembrance of the director of the work, the restored Temple is known in history as the Temple of Zerubbabel. The foundations were laid with solemn ceremony; and on that occasion living veterans who remembered the earlier Temple, wept with joy.[19] In spite of legal technicalities[20] and other obstructions, the work {10} continued, and within twenty years after their return from captivity the Jews had a Temple ready for dedication. The Temple of Zerubbabel was finished 515 B. C., specifically on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. The dedicatory services followed immediately.[21] While this Temple was greatly inferior in richness of finish and furniture as compared with the splendid Temple of Solomon, it was nevertheless the best the people could build, and the Lord accepted it as an offering typifying the love and devotion of His covenant children. In proof of this Divine acceptance, witness the ministrations of such prophets as Zechariah, Haggai, and Malachi, within its walls.