the documentary, most Israelites living in Judea were rural folk that had little contact with Jerusalem and its religious rituals. Furthermore, it's evident that they worshiped other gods, such as the goddess Asherah, besides the One True God. King Josiah, feeling such practices by his subjects were dooming his country to foreign conquest, rallied the people around a book that had just been discovered while renovating the temple - Deuteronomy. Most modern scholars feel the book had recently been written and then planted in the temple to be discovered in order to motivate a reformation. The main reform was that God could only be worshiped at one spot only - the Temple in Jerusalem. As a result, many other religious altars were burned and destroyed along with their attendants. Scholars feel that the beginnings of monotheism by the people as a whole occurred at this time. Jeremiah and the Babylonian Exile Feeling that God was on his side, King Josiah launched an attack on the Egyptian/Assyrian alliance in 609 BC. When Josiah was killed, his successors reinstituted polytheism. Jeremiah tried to warn the people of their grave mistake to no avail. Nebuchadnezzar's ease at conquering and destroying Jerusalem in 597 BC was proof of God's curse on David and his heirs. Judean society would have ceased if not for the scribes putting in writing all the legends of the people. The writings told them the reason for their exile. The message told them that God is fair and if they were being punished there was a reason for it. The message also stipulated that for those who accept their guilt and change their ways, there's hope. The Book and the Sword Temple of Yahweh In 538 BC, the Persians conquered Babylon and King Cyrus freed all of the Babylonian's captives. Not only were the Judeans allowed to return to their ancestral land, but they were given permission to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem. Many Judeans, however, had found a successful life in their new surroundings and only the adventurous and deeply devout returned. When they did so, they faced a daunting challenge. It had been 70 years since their departure and the land was inhabited by many other groups of people who viewed the returnees as rivals for control of the land. Added to that was the fact that the city of Jerusalem itself was a wasteland that had not