Jehovah God wanted his true worship reestablished in Jerusalem and his temple rebuilt. In fact, the decree issued by Cyrus and recorded by Ezra specifically mentioned the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple: “Whoever there is among you of all his people, may his God prove to be with him. So let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of Jehovah the God of Israel​—he is the true God—​which was in Jerusalem.” (Ezra 1:3) So faithful Jews were to leave old Babylon, return to Jerusalem, and there rebuild Jehovah’s temple and the city and begin reading Jehovah’s law to the people. They were to start offering the sacrifices to Jehovah again as commanded in his law. They were to learn all the requirements of true worship and then obey them.

15, 16. (a) Was it an easy thing for the remnant of Jews to return to Jerusalem and Judah? Explain. (b) What may have prevented many Jews from returning to Jerusalem?

¹⁵ Was this an easy assignment for those faithful Israelites? Certainly not. All of this involved effort​—hard work. It meant a long trek through semidesert land, leaving behind the comforts of a nice home in Babylon and perhaps a good job there. It meant that they were to enter a broken-down city and build houses for themselves, houses that certainly would not be as comfortable as those they had enjoyed in the more modern city of Babylon. Food might be scarce, and of little variety. Life would not be so easy. It really meant rough going for those Jews who were putting true worship first.

¹⁶ On the other hand, some Jews may have loved old Babylon too much, not appreciating the real purpose of Jehovah’s deliverance. They may have liked their good jobs and their comfortable homes in the great city of Babylon. Some may have liked these things too much to leave them behind and return to Jerusalem. Perhaps they were too settled in their ways in old Babylon to consider a move. Besides that, they may have made good friends with some of the Babylonians for business reasons. Or perhaps they had good businesses which took much of their time and they did not want to give these up to return to Jerusalem and start all over, so to speak. Yes, it may have been a bleak prospect indeed for some of those Jews who held material possessions in higher esteem than the privilege of seeing true worship restored in Jerusalem.

Jehovah God wanted his true worship reestablished in Jerusalem and his temple rebuilt. In fact, the decree issued by Cyrus and recorded by Ezra specifically mentioned the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple: “Whoever there is among you of all his people, may his God prove to be with him. So let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of Jehovah the God of Israel​—he is the true God—​which was in Jerusalem.” (Ezra 1:3) So faithful Jews were to leave old Babylon, return to Jerusalem, and there rebuild Jehovah’s temple and the city and begin reading Jehovah’s law to the people. They were to start offering the sacrifices to Jehovah again as commanded in his law. They were to learn all the requirements of true worship and then obey them.

15, 16. (a) Was it an easy thing for the remnant of Jews to return to Jerusalem and Judah? Explain. (b) What may have prevented many Jews from returning to Jerusalem?

¹⁵ Was this an easy assignment for those faithful Israelites? Certainly not. All of this involved effort​—hard work. It meant a long trek through semidesert land, leaving behind the comforts of a nice home in Babylon and perhaps a good job there. It meant that they were to enter a broken-down city and build houses for themselves, houses that certainly would not be as comfortable as those they had enjoyed in the more modern city of Babylon. Food might be scarce, and of little variety. Life would not be so easy. It really meant rough going for those Jews who were putting true worship first.