The History of Judaism and Its Corruption: Pt. 5--Judah, Idolatry, and the Imprisonment of the Prophets

As discussed previously in this series, the northern kingdom, called Israel, was sent into captivity for their many sins. The southern kingdom, Judah, did not learn from the north's sins and became far worse (Jeremiah 3). In the southern kingdom, the Torah was lost and forgotten. Although the kings had been commanded to each make a copy of the Torah and keep it with them at all times, and it seems from the Psalms that at least David did so, by the time of the 16th king of Judah, Josiah, no one knew what the Torah said any more.
While renovating the Temple of Solomon, Hilkiah the Priest found a scroll. It is believed from what is written in 2 Chronicles 34 that the scroll contained the last chapters of Deuteronomy. It was read before the king, who ripped his clothes and sent to the prophetess Hulda for instruction. The prophetess told him that Judah would be sent into captivity for their sins, but not in his lifetime. These events occurred around the year 622 BCE. Josiah's son, Jehoiakim, did not follow his father's footsteps but instead rebuilt the altars of idolatry that his father had destroyed. Although the prophet Jeremiah was sent to him, he did not heed instruction.
In Jeremiah ch. 36, Jeremiah (who was imprisoned at that time) sent his scribe Baruch to the king with a scroll containing the message of God, warning the king and his people of the impending judgment to fall on them for their many sins. Instead of repenting when warned, the king grabbed the scroll, cut it into small pieces with a penknife and threw it into the fire. Soon, the punishment foretold by Jeremiah fell on the Jewish people. A large percentage of the people were carried away by Nebuchadnezzar, but the rest still did not repent. In defiance of the message of God, they killed the regent the king had put over them and then fled to Egypt, bringing Jeremiah with them by force.
When they reached Egypt they began sacrificing to the Egyptian gods. Jeremiah confronted them and told them to return to God. They told them that when they offered sacrifices to the queen of heaven, they met with prosperity, but that Josiah's reforms had brought them to poverty. They told Jeremiah that they would continue their sacrifices to the queen of heaven (the Egyptian Isis). Enraged, God swore that the Jews who were in Egypt would never pray in His name again, and they were forever lost to idolatry. Many years later, a portion of the Jews who had gone into Babylon returned to Israel to rebuild the Temple and restore the worship of God, led by Ezra.