A Long and Winding Road

1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. 3 Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, 4 youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. – Daniel 1:1-4 ESV

This book is an enigma to many. It is filled with familiar stories like Daniel in the lions’ den and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego surviving the furnace of fire. Still, it also contains bizarre eschatological imagery that rivals the Book of Revelation. In part, it's a story of a nation’s fall and a young man’s journey to a foreign land where he rises to a place of prominence and power. It’s a classic Horatio Alger story with a biblical twist to it. Yet, the Book of Daniel is far more than a rags-to-riches tale. It is a divinely inspired work that chronicles the life of a real-life man named Daniel whom God used to reveal the future fate of the nation of Israel.

The story begins with Daniel and three of his fellow Israelites who have been deported to the land of Babylon. They were part of a contingent of Jewish citizens who had been captured during the fall of Jerusalem and transported to Babylon as slaves. But the story goes back much further than that, all the way to the days of Moses when he was leading the people of Israel from their captivity in Egypt to the land that God had promised them as their inheritance: The land of Canaan.

They were the descendants of Abraham and heirs to all the promises God had made to him. Their patriarch, Abraham, had once been a pagan living in Ur of the Chaldeans, far to the east of the land of Canaan. He was an idol worshiper and a Gentile. Yet, God appeared to Abraham and delivered a surprising and life-changing message.

“Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” – Genesis 12:1-3 ESV

This was the first time Abraham had heard from God, yet he obeyed the call. With his family and servants in tow, he made his way to Canaan, the land God had promised would be the new home of the great nation Abraham and his wife would produce. But there was a problem; Abraham’s wife Sarah was barren and unable to bear children. Over the decades, this aging couple tried to produce an heir, but their attempts failed and their hope began to waver. But God eventually blessed them with a son named Isaac who would later father a son named Jacob. As the story unfolds, Jacob and his two wives produce 12 sons. While far from a “great nation,” Jacob’s growing family was proof that God was fulfilling His promise to Abraham. Yet, another important part of the promise was yet to be fulfilled.

Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” – Genesis 15:13-16 ESV

When a famine struck the land of Canaan, Jacob and his family were forced to relocate to Egypt where food was plentiful. Little did Jacob know that a son whom he had long thought to be dead was actually alive and well in Egypt. Joseph had always been Jacob’s favorite son, but he had been killed by a lion while tending sheep – or so Jacob thought. Joseph had actually been sold into slavery by his jealous brothers and transported to Egypt. But through a series of divinely ordained events, Jacob rose from obscurity and became the most powerful man in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. The reason Egypt had food during a time of famine was that Joseph had orchestrated a years-long conservation plan to ensure that Egypt’s storehouses were full. So, when Jacob and his seventy family members arrived in Egypt, not only did they find food, but they were reunited with their long-lost son and brother.  

But this story didn’t have a particularly happy ending. In time Jacob and Joseph died, and the Book of Exodus reveals that “there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph” – Exodus 1:1 ESV). During the intervening years, the descendants of Jacob had greatly increased in number, causing the new Pharaoh to view them as a threat to the nation’s well-being. As a result, he issued a series of edicts designed to enslave and demoralize this rapidly growing foreign population. Once welcomed with open arms and awarded their own land within Egypt, the descendants of Jacob now found themselves living as slaves in a foreign land, just as God had predicted. “But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad” (Exodus 1:12 ESV). Over time and under immense pressure from the Egyptians, the descendants of Jacob were becoming the “great nation” God had promised He would produce. They even had a new name: The People of Israel.

Years earlier, long before Jacob had moved his family to Egypt, God had changed his name to Israel (Genesis 32), which can be translated as “one who struggles with God.” During their time in Egypt these “Israelites” had been fruitful and multiplied, eventually exceeding well over a million in number. But while they had become a great nation, they were living as slaves. Then God stepped in and rescued them. He sent His servant Moses to deliver them from slavery and lead them back to the promised land.  The Book of Exodus records the amazing story of Israel’s deliverance and journey to Canaan. It was a difficult trip filled with tests and trials, most of which the Israelites failed miserably. They proved to a stubborn and rebellious people, who regularly tried the patience of Moses and God. But eventually, they arrived in the land of Canaan and, with God’s help, they conquered and occupied it. In time, God gave them kings to rule over them, but this period of Israel’s history was no less problematic. Due to the disobedience of Solomon, the Son of David, God split the kingdom of Israel in two, creating two independent nations with Israel in the north and Judah in the south.

A succession of kings ruled over both nations and the list of their accomplishments and crimes can be found in the books of 1 and 2 King and 1 and 2 Chronicles. Many of these kings proved to be far from faithful to God; they led the people of God into apostasy and idolatry. Eventually, God sent the Assyrians to conquer the northern kingdom of Israel, destroying the capital city of Samaria and taking the population back to Assyrianas captives. Hundreds of years later, the southern kingdom of Judah would face a similar fate, falling to the Babylonians, whom God used as His agents of judgment against His unfaithful and apostate people.

That’s where the Book of Daniel picks up the story. In 605 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabopolassar, the king of Babylon, invaded Judah as part of a larger campaign to conquer the land of Palestine. During the reign of King Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar and his troops subjugated the people of Jerusalem and took the young king captive.

Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar also carried part of the vessels of the house of the Lord to Babylon and put them in his palace in Babylon. – 2 Chronicles 36:5-7 ESV

It was on this fateful occasion that Daniel and his three friends were deported to Babylon. They were “youths without blemish,” the sons of Jerusalem’s privileged upper class. Separated from their families, these young boys were transported hundreds of miles to the capital city of Babylon where their lives would be radically altered. But Daniel and his friends are not the focus of the story. Daniel’s relocation to Babylon had a far more important purpose behind it than he or anyone else could have imagined. His rise to power and prominence will be stunning, but the messages he receives from God will be the real point behind his life and the whole purpose behind the book’s existence.

What we are about to read is the story of God’s redemptive plan for His chosen people. It goes all the way back to Abraham and includes the lives of Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Joshua. Kings will come and go. Nations will rise and fall. The faithfulness of the people of Israel will ebb and flow, rise and fall, and eventually be met with the righteous judgment of God. Yet, His love and faithfulness endure and His promises are unwavering. His plan for their well-being remains unchanged.

“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29:10-11 ESV

But God has far more in store for His rebellious people than their return to the land after 70 years in exile. His plan of redemption is far greater than they can imagine, and Daniel will play a vital role in revealing what God has in store for them, and it is yet to be fulfilled.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New English Translation (NET)NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

Shoddy Shepherds.

“Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness,
    and his upper rooms by injustice,
who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing
    and does not give him his wages,
who says, ‘I will build myself a great house
    with spacious upper rooms,’
who cuts out windows for it,
    paneling it with cedar
    and painting it with vermilion.
Do you think you are a king
    because you compete in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink
    and do justice and righteousness?
    Then it was well with him.
He judged the cause of the poor and needy;
    then it was well.
Is not this to know me?
    declares the Lord.
But you have eyes and heart
    only for your dishonest gain,
for shedding innocent blood,
    and for practicing oppression and violence.” – Jeremiah 22:13-17 ESV

This particular section of Jeremiah’s message from God continues to focus on the kings of Judah. When Jeremiah had begun his mission as a prophet of God, it had been during the reign of Josiah, who happened to be a good and godly king. The book of 2 Kings tells us: “he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left” (2 Kings 22:2 ESV). It was during his reign that they rediscovered the book of the Law while doing restoration work on the temple. When Josiah heard what the law said, he was convicted about the immoral activity of his people and instituted a series of radical reforms in the land. He ordered the destruction of all the high places where false gods were worshiped. He had the priests purge the temple of God from all the vessels used to worship false gods like Baal and Asherah. Josiah also ordered the rounding up of all the priests who led in the worship of false gods. “And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah” (2 Kings 22:7 ESV). So, Josiah took the law of the Lord seriously and attempted to set things right in Judah. He even restored the celebration of Passover, which had been abandoned by the people. But his reforms ended up being far from successful, because he could not change the hearts of the people. They remained unfaithful to God and it was not long before the idols entered their way back into the land. And after Josiah was killed in battle against the Egyptians, things took a dramatic turn for the worse. Upon his death, Josiah was replaced as king by his son, Jehoahaz. And Jehoahaz would prove to be nothing like his father. His reign would last only three months, before Pharaoh Neco took him captive and replaced him with his brother, Eliakim, whose name he changed to Jehoiakim. He ended up being nothing more than a vassal to the Pharaoh, paying him tribute in order to keep the Egyptians from destroying Jerusalem. And the Scriptures tell us, “And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done” (2 Kings 23:37 ESV).

It was to these sons of Josiah that Jeremiah addresses his message from God. The section we are looking at today addresses Jehoakim, the son of Josiah who replaced his brother Jehoahaz (Shallum), who had been taken captive by Pharaoh. These verses are a continuation of verses 11-12. God warned:

“…in the place where they have carried him captive, there shall he die, and he shall never see this land again.” – Jeremiah 22:12 ESV

Which is exactly what had happened to Jehoahaz. But Jehoakim would learn little from his brother’s experience. And God had some very harsh words to say to him. He accused Jehoakim of building his personal palace with forced labor, refusing to pay those who did the work, even though they were fellow Jews. This was injustice at its worse. It was ungodly because it was against the revealed will of God. Jehoakim was out to build himself a huge palace filled with expensive cedar and precious metals. But God warns him: “a beautiful cedar palace does not make a great king!” (Jeremiah 23:15 NLT). Jehoakim may have looked and lived like a king, but he was far from one in God’s eyes. Unlike his father, Jehoakim did not practice righteousness and justice. And as a result, Jeohaokim did not enjoy the blessing of God as his father had. God reminds Jehoakim that his father had taken care of the poor and needy, and his efforts had resulted in God blessing him. And God rhetorically asks Jehoakim, “Isn’t that what it means to know me?” (Jeremiah 23:16 NLT). In other words, Josiah’s just and righteous behavior revealed how well he knew God. His actions gave evidence of his relationship with God. He did what God wanted and was rewarded for his actions. All went well for him. But that was not the case of Jehoakim. His reign was all about him. He built himself a fine temple, using the labor of his own people to make himself comfortable and rich. He taxed the people in order to pay his tributes to Pharaoh. He was a cruel, unjust and unfaithful king. And God describes in less-than-flattering terms:

“But you! You have eyes only for greed and dishonesty!
    You murder the innocent,
    oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly.” – Jeremiah 23:17 NLT

This kind of behavior was intolerable to God, especially when practiced by the one who was to be king over the people of God. When God had originally chosen David to be the one to replace Saul as king over Israel, He had made it clear that David was to be like a shepherd.

He chose his servant David, calling him from the sheep pens. He took David from tending the ewes and lambs and made him the shepherd of Jacob’s descendants—God’s own people, Israel. He cared for them with a true heart and led them with skillful hands. – Psalm 78:70-72 NLT

That is what God expected from all His kings. They were to care for the people of God and shepherd them tenderly and justly. They were not to “fleece the sheep” or take advantage of them. They were to guide and protect them. And the kings of Israel were never to forget that they held their roles as a result of the sovereign will of God. They answered to Him. And He would hold them accountable for their efforts on behalf of the flock of Israel. The prophet Ezekiel records some very sobering words from God concerning the shepherds of Israel.

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them—to the shepherds: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the choice animals, but you do not feed the sheep! You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled over them. They were scattered because they had no shepherd, and they became food for every wild beast. My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over the entire face of the earth with no one looking or searching for them. – Ezekiel 34:1-6 NLT

This was an indictment of all the leaders of Israel, including the kings and priests. But it is particularly pertinent to the message Jeremiah is delivering to Jehoakim. He was supposed to have been a shepherd to the people of Judah. But he was guilty of each and every one of the things mentioned by Ezekiel. And God makes it clear what He is going to do:

This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand my sheep from their hand. I will no longer let them be shepherds; the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore. I will rescue my sheep from their mouth, so that they will no longer be food for them. – Ezekiel 34:10 NLT

Jehoakim may have looked like a king and lived in a palace fit for a king, but he was far from being the kind of king God required. And so, his days would be numbered. He would not have a long and prosperous reign. He would answer to God for his failure to shepherd the flock of God well.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson