God Is Not Yet Done

22 And over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, governor. 23 Now when all the captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite. 24 And Gedaliah swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid because of the Chaldean officials. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.” 25 But in the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah and put him to death along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 Then all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

27 And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. 28 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king’s table, 30 and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived. – 2 Kings 25:22-30 ESV

The scene in Jerusalem was one of utter destruction and devastation. The once-formidable city walls had been reduced to rubble. The massive doors that hung at the gates into Jerusalem had been torn from their hinges and burned. The homes of both the rich and the poor had been destroyed, leaving the city virtually uninhabitable. Even the king’s royal palace had been ransacked and turned into a smoldering ruin, and the Babylonians had not spared the house of God either. It had become a place of refuge for many trying to flee from the bloodthirsty Babylonians, but they found no help or hope within the walls of the Temple they had long neglected.

The Babylonians killed Judah’s young men, even chasing after them into the Temple. They had no pity on the people, killing both young men and young women, the old and the infirm. – 2 Chronicles 36:17 NLT

The grand house that Solomon had constructed, the long-standing symbol of God’s presence and power among His people, was desecrated and then destroyed.

The king took home to Babylon all the articles, large and small, used in the Temple of God, and the treasures from both the LORD’s Temple and from the palace of the king and his officials. Then his army burned the Temple of God… – 2 Chronicles 36:18 NLT

And none of this should have come as a surprise to the people of Judah. On the very day that Solomon had consecrated the newly opened Temple, God had warned him:

“I have answered your prayer and your request for help that you made to me. I have consecrated this temple you built by making it my permanent home; I will be constantly present there. You must serve me with integrity and sincerity, just as your father David did. Do everything I commanded and obey my rules and regulations. Then I will allow your dynasty to rule over Israel permanently, just as I promised your father David, ‘You will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

“But if you or your sons ever turn away from me, fail to obey the regulations and rules I instructed you to keep, and decide to serve and worship other gods, then I will remove Israel from the land I have given them, I will abandon this temple I have consecrated with my presence, and Israel will be mocked and ridiculed among all the nations. This temple will become a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by it will be shocked and will hiss out their scorn, saying, ‘Why did the LORD do this to this land and this temple?’ Others will then answer, ‘Because they abandoned the LORD their God, who led their ancestors out of Egypt. They embraced other gods whom they worshiped and served. That is why the LORD has brought all this disaster down on them.’” – 2 Kings 9:3-9 NLT

More than three-and-a-half centuries had passed since Yahweh issued that warning to King Solomon. During that time, the majority of the kings of Judah had chosen to abandon Yahweh for the false gods of the nations around them. They led the nation into idolatry and apostasy, and now, as the people of Judah made their way in chains to Babylon, they could look over their shoulders and see the fiery fulfillment of God’s words to Solomon.

As Nebuchadnezzar and his forces departed Judah, they left a destroyed city and a decimated populace behind.

King Nebuchadnezzar took all of Jerusalem captive, including all the commanders and the best of the soldiers, craftsmen, and artisans—10,000 in all. Only the poorest people were left in the land. – 2 Kings 24:14 NLT

Nebuchadnezzar appointed a man named Gedaliah to serve as governor over the greatly diminished and demoralized citizenry of Jerusalem. They would no longer have a king to rule over them. Gedaliah was a Jew, but not a descendant of Solomon. He had no royal blood and would wield no kingly authority. He served at the behest of Nebuchadnezzar and was under the watchful eye of the ever-present Babylonian garrison. His was a thankless job that was more managerial than magisterial. In time, he would come to be seen as nothing more than a puppet of the occupying Babylonian forces.

The commanders of Judah’s army who had fled from the city of Jerusalem when the walls were breached returned when they heard that Gedaliah had been appointed governor. But they didn’t like the pro-Babylonian rhetoric that Gedaliah was spouting.

Gedaliah vowed to them that the Babylonian officials meant them no harm. “Don’t be afraid of them. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and all will go well for you,” he promised. – 2 Kings 25:24 NLT

This compromising stance ultimately cost Gedaliah his life. Ishmael, one of Judah’s former military commanders, orchestrated the assassination of Gedaliah. It’s not clear what Ishmael hoped to accomplish by the murder of the Babylonian-appointed governor, but it seems obvious that this was an act of rebellion against the occupying forces. Ishmael murdered Gedaliah and his Jewish officials, along with members of the Babylonian garrison, and this resulted in a swift reprisal from Nebuchadnezzar. Ishmael’s attempt to drive the Babylonians out of Judah backfired on him. Instead, “all the people of Judah, from the least to the greatest, as well as the army commanders, fled in panic to Egypt, for they were afraid of what the Babylonians would do to them” (2 Kings 25:26 NLT).

This scene is intended to convey a strong sense of irony. The disobedient people of God were returning to the very place from which He had freed them centuries earlier. While some of their friends and family members had been deported to Babylon as slaves, this remnant of God’s chosen people would seek refuge in the land where their forefathers had been served as slaves for more than 400 years.

Once again, all of this had been predicted by God. Centuries earlier, as the people of Israel stood on the shore of the River Jordan, preparing to enter the Land of Promise, He had told them that if they would faithfully obey Him, they would experience His blessings. But if they chose to disobey Him, they would experience “long-lasting afflictions and severe, enduring illnesses” (Deuteronomy 28:59 NLT). Moses went on to warn them, “He will afflict you with all the diseases of Egypt that you feared so much, and you will have no relief. The LORD will afflict you with every sickness and plague there is, even those not mentioned in this Book of Instruction, until you are destroyed.” (Deuteronomy 28:60-61 NLT).

And Moses had been very specific when outlining the devastating nature of the curses they would encounter should they fail to “fear the glorious and awesome name of the LORD your God” (Deuteronomy 28:58 NLT).

The LORD will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods of wood and stone. Among those nations you will have no rest, nor will there be a place of peaceful rest for the soles of your feet, for there the Lord will give you an anxious heart, failing eyesight, and a spirit of despair. Your life will hang in doubt before you; you will be terrified by night and day and will have no certainty of surviving from one day to the next. In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening!’ And in the evening you will say, ‘I wish it were morning!’ because of the things you will fear and the things you will see. Then the LORD will make you return to Egypt by ship, over a route I said to you that you would never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.” – Deuteronomy 28:64-68 NLT

Some 850 years after God had redeemed the people of Israel from their captivity in Egypt, a remnant of their still rebellious descendants would return. But it's interesting to note that these poor, disheveled exiles would find no hope in Egypt. They won’t even be able to sell themselves as slaves. They will become paupers and aliens living outside the Land of Promise and under the curse of the God they chose to reject.

But despite all the dire imagery portrayed in this closing chapter of the book of 2 Kings, there is a silver lining on the dark cloud of Judah’s history. The author ends his book with a new king ascending to the throne of Babylon. These closing verses seem to be a mirror image of the scene found in the book of Genesis that preceded Israel’s 400-year enslavement in Egypt. Exodus 1:8 records, “Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.” This new Pharaoh came to power and, having no first-hand knowledge of Joseph and the people of Israel, decided that they were a threat to his administration. So, he launched a campaign to afflict and enslave them. This would lead to four centuries' worth of unprecedented misery and maltreatment.

But when Evil-merodach replaced Nebuchadnezzar as the ruler over the Babylonian empire, he made a decision to release King Jehoiachin of Judah from his enslavement. He released him from prison and “spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a higher place than all the other exiled kings in Babylon” (2 Kings 25:28 NLT). For the remainder of his life in Babylon, Jehoiachin lived like a king. He was given royal robes to wear and was allowed to dine at Evil-merodach’s table.

But why is this important? It foreshadows something highly significant. Back in the book that bears his name, the prophet Jeremiah pronounced a curse on Jehoiachin, who was also known as Coniah.

“Why is this man Jehoiachin like a discarded, broken jar?
    Why are he and his children to be exiled to a foreign land?
O earth, earth, earth!
    Listen to this message from the LORD!
This is what the LORD says:
‘Let the record show that this man Jehoiachin was childless.
    He is a failure,
for none of his children will succeed him on the throne of David
    to rule over Judah.’”– Jeremiah 22:28-30 NLT

And yet, if we fast-forward to the gospel of Matthew, we find the following words in his genealogy of Jesus.

Josiah was the father of Jehoiachin and his brothers (born at the time of the exile to Babylon).
After the Babylonian exile:
Jehoiachin was the father of Shealtiel.
Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel.
Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud.
Abiud was the father of Eliakim.
Eliakim was the father of Azor.
Azor was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Akim.
Akim was the father of Eliud.
Eliud was the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar was the father of Matthan.
Matthan was the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah. – Matthew 1:11-16 NLT

Here, in the genealogy of Jesus, we find Jehoiachin’s name. The very man who was told that none of his children would succeed him as king is listed as a progenitor of the King of kings. Of Jehoiachin’s seven sons, not one of them would ascend to the throne of David, but Jesus would. Yahweh would graciously reverse the curse, producing a royal heir who would reign in righteousness and deliver His people from their enslavement to sin and death.

Notice one more name in the lineage of Jesus: Zerubbabel. This descendant of Jehoiachin would later become the governor of Judea when the exiles returned from their captivity in Babylon. The prophet Haggai would pronounce a blessing from God on Zerubbabel that foreshadowed a great reversal of fortunes for His chosen people.

“Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother. On that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the LORD, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the LORD of hosts.” – Haggai 2:21-23 NLT

The Book of 2 Kings ends on a positive note because God’s will concerning the people of Israel was far from done. The story of the redemption of His chosen people and the restoration of the world He created was not yet over. The Messiah, the Savior of the world, would one day come, and His arrival would usher in a new day and a new hope for the people of God and the nations of the world.

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.

A Divine Eviction Notice

1 And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it. 2 So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 4 Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by the king’s garden, and the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 6 Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they passed sentence on him. 7 They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains and took him to Babylon.

8 In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 And he burned the house of the LORD and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. 10 And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile. 12 But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

13 And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the LORD, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon. 14 And they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service, 15 the fire pans also and the bowls. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. 16 As for the two pillars, the one sea, and the stands that Solomon had made for the house of the LORD, the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. 17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and on it was a capital of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits. A latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were all around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with the latticework.

18 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; 19 and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and five men of the king’s council who were found in the city; and the secretary of the commander of the army, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the city. 20 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken into exile out of its land. – 2 Kings 25:1-21 ESV

Zedekiah, formerly known as Mattaniah, received his new name and his right to rule over Judah from King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He replaced his nephew, Jehoiachin, who had surrendered to the Babylonians to end the siege of Jerusalem. Rather than allowing Jehoiachin’s son, Coniah, to become king, Nebuchadnezzar chose Mattaniah, who became a vassal of the Babylonian state. But Mattaniah’s new role and newly acquired Babylonian name did not make him amenable to Nebuchadnezzar’s plans for Judah. So, he decided to rebel against the Babylonians. But in doing so, Zedekiah was actually rebelling against the will of Yahweh. The prophet Jeremiah had warned Zedekiah to submit to the Babylonians as divinely ordained agents of judgment.

“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: With my great strength and powerful arm I made the earth and all its people and every animal. I can give these things of mine to anyone I choose. Now I will give your countries to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who is my servant. I have put everything, even the wild animals, under his control. All the nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until his time is up. Then many nations and great kings will conquer and rule over Babylon. So you must submit to Babylon’s king and serve him; put your neck under Babylon’s yoke! I will punish any nation that refuses to be his slave, says the LORD. I will send war, famine, and disease upon that nation until Babylon has conquered it.” – Jeremiah 27:4-8 NLT

But King Zedekiah received bad advice from false prophets who told him, “The king of Babylon will not conquer you” ( Jeremiah 27:14 NLT). Yet Jeremiah warned the king not to listen to these men.

“This is what the LORD says: ‘I have not sent these prophets! They are telling you lies in my name, so I will drive you from this land. You will all die—you and all these prophets, too.’” – Jeremiah 27:15 NLT

These charlatans had even prophesied that all the golden articles plundered from the temple would soon be returned. They assured the king that everything was going to be okay. But Jeremiah delivered the painful truth to Zedekiah, informing him that it was actually going to get much worse.

“For the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has spoken about the pillars in front of the Temple, the great bronze basin called the Sea, the water carts, and all the other ceremonial articles. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon left them here when he exiled Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, to Babylon, along with all the other nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. Yes, this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says about the precious things still in the Temple, in the palace of Judah’s king, and in Jerusalem: ‘They will all be carried away to Babylon and will stay there until I send for them,’ says the LORD. ‘Then I will bring them back to Jerusalem again.’” – Jeremiah 27:19-22 NLT

But all these warnings fell on deaf ears; Zedekiah and his royal administrators refused to heed the prophet’s counsel. 

“…neither King Zedekiah nor his attendants nor the people who were left in the land listened to what the LORD said through Jeremiah.” – Jeremiah 37:2 NLT

Yet, Zedekiah would have the audacity to beg Jeremiah to pray for God to reverse His plans to destroy the city. The sudden arrival of the Egyptian army had encouraged and emboldened him. It seems that their unexpected appearance caused the Babylonians to call off their siege of Jerusalem, and Zedekiah saw this as a good sign and proof that the false prophets had been right all along. So, he asked Jeremiah to seek confirmation from Yahweh that the city of Jerusalem had been spared. But Jeremiah refused to tell Zedekiah what he was hoping to hear.

“This is what the LORD says: Do not fool yourselves into thinking that the Babylonians are gone for good. They aren’t! Even if you were to destroy the entire Babylonian army, leaving only a handful of wounded survivors, they would still stagger from their tents and burn this city to the ground!” – Jeremiah 37:9-10 NLT

Infuriated by the prophet’s message, Zedekiah eventually had the prophet flogged and imprisoned, falsely accusing him of treason. But undeterred by this treatment, Jeremiah later gave the king another ultimatum.

“This is what the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender to the Babylonian officers, you and your family will live, and the city will not be burned down. But if you refuse to surrender, you will not escape! This city will be handed over to the Babylonians, and they will burn it to the ground.’” – Jeremiah 37:17-18 NLT

In the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, his worst fears were realized; the Babylonians returned. For two long years, they laid siege to the capital. In time, conditions inside the walls of Jerusalem became so bad that the people began to starve to death. When the Babylonians eventually breached the walls of the city, King Zedekiah and some of his troops attempted a nighttime escape. But as soon as they got outside the walls of Jerusalem, Zedekiah’s men abandoned him, leaving him completely defenseless and an easy target for the Babylonians.

They captured the king and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where they pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah. They made Zedekiah watch as they slaughtered his sons. Then they gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon. – 2 Kings 25:6 NLT

Zedekiah suffered a fate worse than death. He was forced to watch the execution of his own sons, then was blinded and led away in captivity, never to see the city of Jerusalem again. But had he been able to look upon the devastating scene taking place on Mount Zion, he would have been appalled. The great city of David was aflame, and in every quarter of the capital, the Babylonians were enacting a reign of terror. Those who were not killed were taken captive, soon to be transported as slaves to Babylon. And King Nebuchadnezzar ordered the systematic destruction of all the city’s infrastructure. The walls were torn down, and the royal palace and all the administrative buildings were destroyed. There wasn’t a single house left standing, including the house of God. The Babylonians plundered every last item of value from the Temple, just as the prophet Jeremiah had said they would.

The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars in front of the LORD’s Temple, the bronze water carts, and the great bronze basin called the Sea, and they carried all the bronze away to Babylon. They also took all the ash buckets, shovels, lamp snuffers, ladles, and all the other bronze articles used for making sacrifices at the Temple. The captain of the guard also took the incense burners and basins, and all the other articles made of pure gold or silver. – 2 Kings 25:13-15 NLT

Then they burned the Temple to the ground. For the Jews, this scene would have been incomprehensible. For generations, the Temple had stood as the symbol of Yahweh’s power and presence. To watch it be plundered and then go up in flames would have been inconceivable. But Yahweh had warned them that this would happen.

“‘Don’t be fooled into thinking that you will never suffer because the Temple is here. It’s a lie! Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and burn incense to Baal and all those other new gods of yours, and then come here and stand before me in my Temple and chant, ‘We are safe!’—only to go right back to all those evils again? Don’t you yourselves admit that this Temple, which bears my name, has become a den of thieves? Surely I see all the evil going on there. I, the Lord, have spoken!’” – Jeremiah 7:9-11 NLT

They had placed their hope in a building rather than in the one for whom it was built. Yahweh had warned them that He would destroy the Temple because they had turned it into an idol or a replacement for Him.

“I will now destroy this Temple that bears my name, this Temple that you trust in for help, this place that I gave to you and your ancestors.” – Jeremiah 7:14 NLT

Not only did God commission Nebuchadnezzar to destroy the Temple, but He also ordained the execution of those men who had been responsible for its care and for the spiritual well-being of the people. Yahweh had cleaned house, purging the land of its idolatry and apostasy, and with the smoke of the city rising up behind them, the disheveled and demoralized citizens of Judah began their long march to Babylon and back into captivity. Their ancestors had originally entered the land of Canaan as freed men, having been delivered from their captivity in Egypt by Yahweh. Now, generations later, the people of Judah found themselves enslaved once again, all because they refused to remain faithful to the one who had set them apart as His treasured possession. 

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.

Blind Man’s Bluff

5 Now the rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 6 So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. 7 And the king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.

8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done.

10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it, 12 and Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign 13 and carried off all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the Temple of the LORD, which Solomon king of Israel had made, as the LORD had foretold. 14 He carried away all Jerusalem and all the officials and all the mighty men of valor, 10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained, except the poorest people of the land. 15 And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon. The king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials, and the chief men of the land he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 And the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor, 7,000, and the craftsmen and the metal workers, 1,000, all of them strong and fit for war. 17 And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 19 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 20 For because of the anger of the LORD it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence.

And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. – 2 Kings 24:5-20 ESV

Eliakim was the second son of Joash to sit on the throne of Judah. The reign of his younger brother, Jehoahaz, had only lasted three months before he was deposed and taken captive by Neco, the king of Egypt. He became the puppet-king of the Egyptians and was forced to pay an exorbitant annual tribute to secure his throne. He even faced the indignity of having his name changed to Jehoiakim. But the time came when his Egyptian overlords were displaced by the new bully on the block, the Babylonians. The army of King Nebuchadnezzar defeated the combined forces of the Assyrians and Egyptians at the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC. This decisive victory dramatically altered the political landscape of the Middle East and set the stage for Judah’s eventual fall.

The Babylonians’ defeat of the Egyptians provided Jehoiakim with a brief reprieve, but it was not long before he found himself facing yet another Gentile superpower with aspirations of global dominance. Nebuchadnezzar eventually set his sights on Judah, and for three years, he forced Jehoiakim back into his familiar and just as unpleasant role as a vassal. For eight years of his 11-year reign, Jehoiakim had served as Pharaoh’s virtual slave. Now, after three more years of Babylonian oppression and control, he decided enough was enough and rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar. But Jehoiakim failed to realize that this entire scenario was the handiwork of God Almighty. Yahweh had sovereignly appointed the Babylonians to be His agents of judgment against the rebellious nation of Judah. So, when Jehoiakim rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, he was really attempting to resist the will of God.

Yahweh had repeatedly warned His rebellious people that their fate would be far from pleasant if they continued to reject His calls for repentance.

“Go back to King Zedekiah and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will make your weapons useless against the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are outside your walls attacking you. In fact, I will bring your enemies right into the heart of this city. I myself will fight against you with a strong hand and a powerful arm, for I am very angry. You have made me furious! I will send a terrible plague upon this city, and both people and animals will die. And after all that, says the Lord, I will hand over King Zedekiah, his staff, and everyone else in the city who survives the disease, war, and famine. I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and to their other enemies. He will slaughter them and show them no mercy, pity, or compassion.’” – Jeremiah 21:3-7 NLT

But despite Jeremiah’s dire predictions of Judah’s fall, the people of Judah remained unrepentant, and their leaders continued to doubt the reality of Yahweh’s sovereignty, until it was too late. 

Then the LORD sent bands of Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Judah to destroy it, just as the LORD had promised through his prophets. These disasters happened to Judah because of the LORD’s command. He had decided to banish Judah from his presence because of the many sins of Manasseh… – 2 Kings 24:2-3 NLT

The fall of Judah was inevitable because God had ordained it, and there was nothing Jehoiakim could do to avoid or escape it. And eventually, God repaid Jehoiakim for his stubborn resistance to His will by allowing the Babylonians to capture the capital city of Jerusalem.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and captured it, and he bound Jehoiakim in bronze chains and led him away to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar also took some of the treasures from the Temple of the Lord, and he placed them in his palace in Babylon. – 2 Chronicles 36:6-7 NLT

Jehoiakim, dethroned and disgraced, was replaced by his 18-year-old son, Jehoiachin. And just like his father and his uncle before him, “Jehoiachin did what was evil in the LORD’s sight” (2 Kings 24:9 NLT). Not only did Jehoiachin offend God by encouraging idolatry and apostasy, but he also attempted to resist God’s will by rebelling against the Babylonians whom God had sent. This forced Nebuchadnezzar to lay siege to the city of Jerusalem, which he eventually captured. With Jerusalem’s fall, Jehoiachin found himself without a capital city or a throne. He and the royal family were taken captive and deported to Babylon.

Then King Jehoiachin, along with the queen mother, his advisers, his commanders, and his officials, surrendered to the Babylonians. – 2 Kings 24:12 NLT

And none of this should have come as a shock to King Jehoiachin because God had warned that it would happen. He had repeatedly sent His prophets to deliver His message of impending destruction, but they would not listen. The prophet Jeremiah had given Jehoiachin’s father, Jehoiakim, a stark description of what God had planned for the nation of Judah.

“You made me furious by worshiping idols you made with your own hands, bringing on yourselves all the disasters you now suffer. And now the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Because you have not listened to me, I will gather together all the armies of the north under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whom I have appointed as my deputy. I will bring them all against this land and its people and against the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy you and make you an object of horror and contempt and a ruin forever. I will take away your happy singing and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard. Your millstones will fall silent, and the lights in your homes will go out. This entire land will become a desolate wasteland. Israel and her neighboring lands will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.” – Jeremiah 25:7-11 NLT

And in the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, the prophecy of Jeremiah was fulfilled.

King Nebuchadnezzar took all of Jerusalem captive, including all the commanders and the best of the soldiers, craftsmen, and artisans—10,000 in all. Only the poorest people were left in the land. – 2 Kings 24:14 NLT

But this would prove to be just the beginning of the end. Over time, there would be far more people deported from the land of Judah to Babylon. Despite the fall of Jerusalem, the stubbornness of the people of Judah was not yet abated. Those who remained in the land still refused to bow their knees to Yahweh. And when Nebuchadnezzar placed Jehoiachin’s uncle, Mattaniah, on the throne, they seemed to assume that life would go on as usual. But when Nebuchadnezzar changed Mattaniah’s name to Zedekiah, the people should have realized that they were far from an independent nation. They were little more than slaves of a foreign power, and, in time, many of them would find themselves joining their exiled brothers and sisters in Babylon.

The people had a new king, and that king had a new name, but little else changed in the nation of Judah. They continued in their old rebellious ways, and Zedekiah proved to be just as evil as all those kings who had occupied the throne before him. The author of 2 Kings makes it painfully clear that their persistent and pervasive rebellion had finally brought upon them the righteous wrath of God.

These things happened because of the LORD’s anger against the people of Jerusalem and Judah, until he finally banished them from his presence and sent them into exile. – 2 Kings 24:20 NLT

But even Yahweh’s judgment failed to get the attention of the king and his people; they remained stubbornly unrepentant and persistently unfaithful, right to the bitter end.

Zedekiah was a hard and stubborn man, refusing to turn to the LORD, the God of Israel. Likewise, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful. They followed all the pagan practices of the surrounding nations, desecrating the Temple of the LORD that had been consecrated in Jerusalem. – 2 Chronicles 36:13-14 NLT

Zedekiah had been given ample warning, but he refused to listen. The prophet Jeremiah had delivered to Zedekiah Yahweh’s very clear warnings.

“…you must submit to Babylon’s king and serve him; put your neck under Babylon’s yoke! I will punish any nation that refuses to be his slave, says the LORD. I will send war, famine, and disease upon that nation until Babylon has conquered it.” – Jeremiah 27:9 NLT

Jeremiah had even advised the king to submit to King Nebuchadnezzar as an agent of God Almighty.

“If you want to live, submit to the yoke of the king of Babylon and his people. Why do you insist on dying—you and your people? Why should you choose war, famine, and disease, which the LORD will bring against every nation that refuses to submit to Babylon’s king? Do not listen to the false prophets who keep telling you, ‘The king of Babylon will not conquer you.’ They are liars. This is what the LORD says: ‘I have not sent these prophets! They are telling you lies in my name, so I will drive you from this land. You will all die—you and all these prophets, too.’” – Jeremiah 27:12-15 NLT

But Zedekiah refused to heed the words of Yahweh’s prophet, and in the ninth year of his reign, the stubborn king of Judah would learn the painful lesson that resistance to the will of God never ends 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 Will of God and the Ways of Men

28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 29 In his days Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. King Josiah went to meet him, and Pharaoh Neco killed him at Megiddo, as soon as he saw him. 30 And his servants carried him dead in a chariot from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father’s place.

31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco.

36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done. 

1 In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. 2 And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldeans and bands of the Syrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by his servants the prophets. 3 Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the LORD, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, 4 and also for the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD would not pardon. – 2 Kings 23:28-24:4 ESV

In his ongoing attempt to redeem the spiritual soul of the nation, King Josiah had bitten off more than he could chew. His many reforms and his ongoing battle against idolatry and apostasy were more than enough to keep him busy. But as the king of a powerful nation, he also had the responsibility to keep abreast of all the military and political machinations taking place in the region. At this point in history, the Assyrians were still the dominant force in the region, but the Babylonians were beginning to exert a formidable influence. They were an up-and-coming superpower that posed a real threat to Assyria’s global empire.

Josiah received word that the Egyptian army was on its way to Carchemish on the Euphrates River, where they were to join Assyrian forces in a battle against the upstart Babylonians. For some reason, Josiah made the fateful decision to oppose this military alliance between Egypt and Assyria.

After Josiah had finished restoring the Temple, King Neco of Egypt led his army up from Egypt to do battle at Carchemish on the Euphrates River, and Josiah and his army marched out to fight him. But King Neco sent messengers to Josiah with this message:

“What do you want with me, king of Judah? I have no quarrel with you today! I am on my way to fight another nation, and God has told me to hurry! Do not interfere with God, who is with me, or he will destroy you.” – 2 Chronicles 23:20-21 NLT

Perhaps Josiah was hoping that the Babylonians would bring an end to Assyria’s longstanding stranglehold on the region. Long after the Assyrians had called off their siege of Jerusalem, they remained a constant threat to Judah. So, Josiah rallied his troops and intercepted the Egyptian army as it made its way to Carchemish. But King Neco, the Pharaoh of Egypt, warned Josiah not to interfere, claiming to have a divine mandate from God.

But Josiah refused to listen to Neco, to whom God had indeed spoken, and he would not turn back. Instead, he disguised himself and led his army into battle on the plain of Megiddo. – 2 Chronicles 23:22 NLT

Josiah refused to believe that Yahweh was behind this unholy alliance between the Egyptians and the Assyrians. He couldn’t see any reason why Yahweh would direct the pagan king of the Egyptians to join forces with the already powerful and deadly kingdom of Assyria. It made no sense. But Josiah failed to understand that Yahweh was orchestrating His sovereign will and raising up the nation of Babylon as His agent of judgment against Assyria for its role in the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel. Josiah was also unaware that God was preparing to use Babylon to destroy the nation of Judah.

Ignorant of God’s plans, King Josiah decided to take matters into his own hands and led his troops into battle against the Egyptians. They intercepted the Egyptian army at a place called Megiddo, and in the ensuing battle, King Josiah was killed. The author of 2 Kings states that “Pharaoh Neco killed him at Megiddo, as soon as he saw him” (2 Kings 23:29 ESV). But in 2 Chronicles 35, we’re told that Josiah had disguised himself before going into battle. It seems that Josiah’s little ploy to hide his kingly identity failed. King Neco recognized Josiah instantly and ordered his death.

But the enemy archers hit King Josiah with their arrows and wounded him. He cried out to his men, “Take me from the battle, for I am badly wounded!” – 2 Chronicles 35:23 NLT

The wounded king was placed in another chariot and evacuated to the city of Jerusalem, where he died. After giving their fallen king a state funeral, the people chose Jehoahaz as his replacement. This choice seems a bit odd because Jehoahaz was Josiah’s middle son and, therefore, not the next in line to the throne. But it seems that the people were looking for a king who would bring back the old way of life to which they had grown accustomed. They missed the days of Manasseh and regretted all the reforms that Josiah had instituted in Judah. So, they chose the one son of Josiah who represented their best chance at bringing back the good old days. And it appears that they picked just the right man for the job becaise “he did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, just as his ancestors had done” (2 Kings 23:32 NLT).

But Jehoahaz’s reign would be short-lived. The people failed to take into account that King Neco might have something to say about who took Josiah’s place on the throne of Judah. Just three months into his reign, Jehoahaz was deposed by the Pharaoh and taken captive to Egypt, where he died. Neco filled the vacancy with Eliakim, the older brother of Jehoahaz, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. This young man became little more than a puppet king who was forced to make an annual tribute payment to the Egyptians. To do this, he imposed a debilitating tax on the people of Judah. The prophet provides a brief but sobering summary of the sad state of affairs in the southern kingdom of Judah after the death of Josiah.

Do not weep for the dead king or mourn his loss. Instead, weep for the captive king being led away! For he will never return to see his native land again.

For this is what the LORD says about Jehoahaz, who succeeded his father, King Josiah, and was taken away as a captive: “He will never return. He will die in a distant land and will never again see his own country.” – Jeremiah 22:10-12 NLT

With Josiah’s death, the period of reformation in Judah came to an abrupt end. He had been the heart and soul behind all the changes that had taken place, and, without him, the people quickly reverted to their old ways. Virtually overnight, the conditions in Judah took a dramatic turn for the worse. Judah was now a vassal state, ruled by a powerless king who answered to the Pharaoh of Egypt.

Josiah’s attempt to stop the Egyptians from joining forces with the Assyrians had failed. In 605 BC, just four years after Josiah’s death, these two armies were defeated by the Babylonians at the Battle of Carchemish. This unexpected victory by the Babylonians over the Egyptians and Assyrians proved to be a game-changing event in the history of the Middle East. It catapulted King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon into the role of the most powerful ruler on earth. With his defeat of the Assyrians, Nebuchadnezzar took over all the lands they had conquered, dramatically increasing the size and influence of his empire.

Eventually, the Babylonians would wrest control of Judah from the hands of King Neco of Egypt, and Jehoiakim would find himself answering to yet another, more powerful, king. But Jehoiakim will try to resist his new overlord, refusing to submit to his authority. Like his father, Josiah, Jehoiakim will fail to see the sovereign hand of God behind all that is taking place. His outlook is short-sighted, and he will attempt to make the most of his less-than-ideal circumstances.

The prophet Jeremiah records God’s stinging condemnation of Jehoiakim’s arrogant and self-centered approach to leadership.

And the LORD says, “What sorrow awaits Jehoiakim,
    who builds his palace with forced labor.
He builds injustice into its walls,
    for he makes his neighbors work for nothing.
    He does not pay them for their labor.
He says, ‘I will build a magnificent palace
    with huge rooms and many windows.
I will panel it throughout with fragrant cedar
    and paint it a lovely red.’
But a beautiful cedar palace does not make a great king!
    Your father, Josiah, also had plenty to eat and drink.
But he was just and right in all his dealings.
    That is why God blessed him.
He gave justice and help to the poor and needy,
    and everything went well for him.
Isn’t that what it means to know me?”
    says the LORD.
“But you! You have eyes only for greed and dishonesty!
    You murder the innocent,
    oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly.” – Jeremiah 22:13-17 NLT

Unlike his reform-minded father, Jehoiakim had no heart for Yahweh. He was a self-obsessed man who used his power and position to improve his own lot in life while allowing the nation of Judah to continue its slide into apostasy. When Neco was forced to abandon his hold on Judah, Jehoiakim saw it as an opportunity to assert his independence, but he failed to understand the gravity of his situation. He had no clue that Yahweh had divinely ordained Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians to bring judgment against the nation of Judah. In attempting to resist the Babylonians, Jehoiakim was actually opposing the sovereign will of God, and he would pay dearly for his obstinacy.

For three years, Yahweh sent the Babylonians, Arameans, Moabites, and Ammonites against the rebellious nation of Judah. And the author leaves no doubt as to the purpose behind these raids.

These disasters happened to Judah because of the LORD’s command. He had decided to banish Judah from his presence because of the many sins of Manasseh. – 2 Kings 24:3 NLT

Little did Jehoiakim know that he was facing the beginning of the end. The coming judgment of Judah was imminent and unavoidable.

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 Self-Delusion of “Self-Made” Men

1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem will I put my name.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. 6 And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger. 7 And the carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the LORD said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. 8 And I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander anymore out of the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the Law that my servant Moses commanded them.” 9 But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel.

10 And the LORD said by his servants the prophets, 11 “Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols, 12 therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. 13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, 15 because they have done what is evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.” – 2 Kings 21:1-15 ESV

When reading the opening lines of 2 Kings 21, an old proverb comes to mind that states: “All good things must come to an end.”

With the end of Hezekiah’s life, the fortunes of Israel took a decidedly dark turn for the worse. While Hezekiah was far from a perfect king, he had proved to be faithful to Yahweh, doing “what was right in the eyes of the LORD” (2 Kings 18:3 ESV). As a result, “the LORD was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered” (2 Kings 18:7 ESV). Hezekiah had been an ambitious reformer who attempted to restore and reinvigorate the worship of Yahweh in Judah. But the last 15 years of his reign, which were marked by peace and great prosperity, became fertile ground for Hezekiah’s pride to take root and grow. In time, he developed an unhealthy preoccupation with his own success and self-importance. 

Hezekiah was very wealthy and highly honored. He built special treasury buildings for his silver, gold, precious stones, and spices, and for his shields and other valuable items. He also constructed many storehouses for his grain, new wine, and olive oil; and he made many stalls for his cattle and pens for his flocks of sheep and goats. He built many towns and acquired vast flocks and herds, for God had given him great wealth. He blocked up the upper spring of Gihon and brought the water down through a tunnel to the west side of the City of David. And so he succeeded in everything he did. – 2 Chronicles 32:27-30 NLT

It is important to remember that those years of life and prosperity had been a gracious gift from God, in answer to Hezekiah’s humble prayer as he lay near death. God heard and restored his health, then granted him another 15 years of life. During the last 11 years, up until the day of his death in 686 BC, Hezekiah’s son, Manasseh, had served as his co-regent. But upon Hezekiah’s death, Manasseh assumed the burden and responsibilities of leadership as the king of Judah at the age of 23.

Manasseh had begun his co-regency at the young age of 12. So, for 11 years this young man had been able to serve alongside his father, learning valuable life lessons on everything from leadership and diplomacy to fiduciary responsibility and spiritual fidelity. But unfortunately, Manasseh was exposed to some of Hezekiah’s less flattering years in office. He served alongside his father at a time when Judah was prospering and Hezekiah was more interested in building his kingdom and reputation than in promoting the worship of Yahweh.

It appears quite obvious that Manasseh’s 11-year apprenticeship under his father’s tutelage failed to prepare him to be a godly king. His ascension to the throne ushered in one of the darkest periods in Judah’s long and tumultuous history, and his reign would reverse most, if not all, of the religious reforms his father had implemented. Virtually overnight, he radically transformed the kingdom of Judah into a spiritual wasteland by systematically rescinding all of his father’s earlier reforms.

He did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the LORD had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had destroyed. He constructed altars for Baal and set up an Asherah pole, just as King Ahab of Israel had done. He also bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them. – 2 Kings 21:2-3 NLT

This ambitious young man seemed determined to eradicate all vestiges of Yahweh from the hearts and minds of the people. He erected altars to false gods inside the Temple, rendering it unholy and unfit for Yahweh’s presence. He encouraged the practice of sorcery and divination, and even promoted the use of human sacrifices as an acceptable form of worship, offering up his own son as a payment to his false god.

Everything he did was in direct violation of God’s commands and seemed to be part of a well-calculated plan to destroy all that his father had accomplished. He purposefully dismantled the spiritual legacy his father had left, but the text does not explain as to what prompted Manasseh’s actions. His mother is mentioned, but we know nothing about her or the role she may have played in his spiritual formation. However, it is painfully clear that while Manasseh inherited his father’s throne, he did not inherit his father’s love for Yahweh. In fact, he led the nation of Judah to “do even more evil than the pagan nations that the LORD had destroyed when the people of Israel entered the land” (2 Kings 21:9 NLT).

This young king led the nation of Judah in a wave of apostasy and spiritual infidelity that would have shocked the land’s former pagan occupants. During this period of spiritual decline, Yahweh used men like the prophet Jeremiah to communicate His displeasure and warn of His pending discipline for their egregious behavior.

“Go west and look in the land of Cyprus;
    go east and search through the land of Kedar.
Has anyone ever heard of anything
    as strange as this?
Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones,
    even though they are not gods at all?
Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God
    for worthless idols!
The heavens are shocked at such a thing
    and shrink back in horror and dismay,”
    says the Lord.
“For my people have done two evil things:
They have abandoned me—
    the fountain of living water.
And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns
    that can hold no water at all!” – Jeremiah 2:10-13 NLT

All that his father had spent years building, Manasseh painstakingly and systematically destroyed. But while Manasseh was busy dismantling the spiritual legacy bequeathed to him by his father, Yahweh was far from silent. The author of 2 Chronicles states that “The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they ignored all his warnings” (2 Chronicles 33:10 NLT). God didn’t sit idly by, watching in silence as the young king led an insurrection against His sovereign will and authority. He sent His prophets to warn the king and his compliant subjects that their insubordination would have dire consequences. Jeremiah would deliver a particularly stinging indictment against the people of Judah for their willing participation in Manasseh’s apostasy.

“I will send four kinds of destroyers against them,” says the LORD. “I will send the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, the vultures to devour, and the wild animals to finish up what is left. Because of the wicked things Manasseh son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem, I will make my people an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.” – Jeremiah 15:3-4 NLT

Jeremiah would go on to record God’s words concerning the capital city of Jerusalem, where Manasseh instigated his wicked and rebellious anti-reform measures.

“Who will feel sorry for you, Jerusalem?
    Who will weep for you?
    Who will even bother to ask how you are?
You have abandoned me
    and turned your back on me,”
    says the Lord.
“Therefore, I will raise my fist to destroy you.
    I am tired of always giving you another chance.” – Jeremiah 15:5-6 NLT

Yahweh declared Manasseh to be more wicked than the pagan nations who had previously occupied the land of Canaan before the arrival of the Israelites. This leader of God’s chosen people managed to out-sin the godless Amorites. Rather than follow in his father’s footsteps, Manasseh decided to emulate the behavior of Ahab, the infamous king of Israel who, with the help of his wife, Jezebel, led the northern kingdom into such depths of moral and spiritual decay that God eventually destroyed them. Now, under Manasseh’s leadership, Judah was headed down the very same path and facing a similar outcome.

“I will judge Jerusalem by the same standard I used for Samaria and the same measure I used for the family of Ahab. I will wipe away the people of Jerusalem as one wipes a dish and turns it upside down.” – 2 Kings 21:13 NLT

Manasseh may have been the sovereign ruler over the kingdom of Judah, but he would soon discover that he was no match for the King of the universe. His ongoing disregard and disrespect for Yahweh would not be tolerated.  God would not be mocked, and those who refused to honor their covenant commitments would not go unpunished. Yahweh’s blunt assessment of Judah leaves no doubt concerning their guilt and well-deserved condemnation.

“…they have done great evil in my sight and have angered me ever since their ancestors came out of Egypt.” – 2 Kings 21:15 NLT

Manasseh believed that he had the freedom and authority to replace Yahweh. After all, he was king. But he was about to learn the same painful lesson that Yahweh taught to Ahab, Sennacherib, and so many other human kings: there is but one King over all the earth, and He alone decides who rules and reigns over its inhabitants. Manasseh served at God’s discretion, and he would soon discover that his ego was no match for God’s divine will. Years later, another pride-filled king would learn the same timeless lesson from the lips of another prophet of God. Years after the fall of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians, the prophet Daniel would inform King Nebuchadnezzar, “the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world. He gives them to anyone he chooses—even to the lowliest of people” (Daniel 4:17 NLT).

Neither Nebuchadnezzar nor Manasseh was a match for the Almighty. While they both allowed their power to go to their heads, it was Yahweh who ruled, and it was He who would determine the destiny of their dynasties.

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.

Repentance Must Precede Restoration

A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

1 I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever;
    with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever;
    in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”
3 You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
    I have sworn to David my servant:
4 ‘I will establish your offspring forever,
    and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah

5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD,
    your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
6 For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
    Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord,
7 a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,
    and awesome above all who are around him?
8 O LORD God of hosts,
    who is mighty as you are, O LORD,
    with your faithfulness all around you?
9 You rule the raging of the sea;
    when its waves rise, you still them.
10 You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
    you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
    the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.
12 The north and the south, you have created them;
    Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
13 You have a mighty arm;
    strong is your hand, high your right hand.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
    steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
15 Blessed are the people who know the festal shout,
    who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face,
16 who exult in your name all the day
    and in your righteousness are exalted.
17 For you are the glory of their strength;
    by your favor our horn is exalted.
18 For our shield belongs to the LORD,
    our king to the Holy One of Israel.

19 Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said:
    “I have granted help to one who is mighty;
    I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 I have found David, my servant;
    with my holy oil I have anointed him,
21 so that my hand shall be established with him;
    my arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him;
    the wicked shall not humble him.
23 I will crush his foes before him
    and strike down those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him,
    and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
25 I will set his hand on the sea
    and his right hand on the rivers.
26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,
    my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’
27 And I will make him the firstborn,
    the highest of the kings of the earth.
28 My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,
    and my covenant will stand firm for him.
29 I will establish his offspring forever
    and his throne as the days of the heavens.
30 If his children forsake my law
    and do not walk according to my rules,
31 if they violate my statutes
    and do not keep my commandments,
32 then I will punish their transgression with the rod
    and their iniquity with stripes,
33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love
    or be false to my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant
    or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
35 Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;
    I will not lie to David.
36 His offspring shall endure forever,
    his throne as long as the sun before me.
37 Like the moon it shall be established forever,
    a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah

38 But now you have cast off and rejected;
    you are full of wrath against your anointed.
39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant;
    you have defiled his crown in the dust.
40 You have breached all his walls;
    you have laid his strongholds in ruins.
41 All who pass by plunder him;
    he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
    you have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
    and you have not made him stand in battle.
44 You have made his splendor to cease
    and cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short the days of his youth;
    you have covered him with shame. Selah

46 How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever?
    How long will your wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my time is!
    For what vanity you have created all the children of man!
48 What man can live and never see death?
    Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah

49 LORD, where is your steadfast love of old,
    which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
50 Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked,
    and how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many nations,
51 with which your enemies mock, O LORD,
    with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.

52 Blessed be the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen. – Psalm 89:1-52 ESV

The author of this psalm was Ethan the Ezrahite, who, according to 1 Kings 4:31, was a wise member of King David's royal administration. He and his brother Heman, the author of Psalm 88, also served together as Levitical musicians and singers. His song begins by praising Yahweh (the LORD) for His unfailing love and faithfulness.

I will sing of the LORD’s unfailing love forever!
    Young and old will hear of your faithfulness.
Your unfailing love will last forever.
    Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens. – Psalm 89:1-2 NLT

His psalm includes a reminder of the covenant promises that Yahweh made to David.

“Now I will make you as famous as the great men of the earth. I will establish a place for my people Israel and settle them there; they will live there and not be disturbed anymore. Violent men will not oppress them again, as they did in the beginning and during the time when I appointed judges to lead my people Israel. Instead, I will give you relief from all your enemies. The LORD declares to you that he himself will build a dynastic house for you.” – 2 Samuel 7:9-11 NLT

For 25 verses, Ethan sings Yahweh's praises, declaring His supremacy and incomparability. Yahweh has no equal, and His power is limitless. The Creator of heaven and earth rules over all with justice and righteousness, displaying His glory for all to see.

But Ethan knew that God had His limits. Despite His unfailing love and faithfulness, Yahweh would not tolerate spiritual infidelity and disobedience in His people. His covenant with David was intended to be ongoing, extending to future generations of David's descendants. 

“When the time comes for you to die, I will raise up your descendant, one of your own sons, to succeed you, and I will establish his kingdom. He will build a house for my name, and I will make his dynasty permanent.” – 2 Samuel 7:12-13 NLT

But Ethan knew Yahweh would hold each succeeding generation accountable for their actions. He would demand obedience to His law and submission to His will, and if they failed to do so, they would experience His judgment and wrath.

But if his descendants forsake my instructions
    and fail to obey my regulations,
if they do not obey my decrees
    and fail to keep my commands,
then I will punish their sin with the rod,
    and their disobedience with beating. – Psalm 89:30-32 NLT

Yahweh warned David that this would be the consequence of future unfaithfulness. David’s heir to the throne would experience God’s love, but he would also come under God’s loving discipline if he refused to follow his father's example of faithfulness.

“I will become his father and he will become my son. When he sins, I will correct him with the rod of men and with wounds inflicted by human beings. But my loyal love will not be removed from him…” – 2 Samuel 7:14-15 NLT

Ethan went out of his way to recall the covenant Yahweh made with David, almost as if to remind Him of its binding promises. He repeats Yahweh’s words back to Him in an attempt to hold Him to His word.

“No, I will not break my covenant;
    I will not take back a single word I said.
I have sworn an oath to David,
    and in my holiness I cannot lie:
His dynasty will go on forever;
    his kingdom will endure as the sun.
It will be as eternal as the moon,
    my faithful witness in the sky!” – Psalm 89:34-37 NLT

And Ethan has a purpose behind the rather lengthy opening to his psalm. The first 37 verses have served as the preface to his opening remarks in what appears to be a trial of Yahweh. In verse 38, he accuses God of violating the terms of His covenant agreement.

But now you have rejected him and cast him off.
    You are angry with your anointed king.
You have renounced your covenant with him;
    you have thrown his crown in the dust. – Psalm 89:37-38 NLT

Ethan provides no hints as to which descendant of David he has in mind or what event has caused his concern. Obviously, something tragic has taken place, forcing Ethan to draw the conclusion that Yahweh has broken His covenant promise. Whoever the king is, his reign is at risk, and the future of the kingdom is in jeopardy. It seems likely that Ethan is recounting the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem. Over a period of years, King Nebuchadnezzar and his forces had threatened to destroy the southern kingdom of Judah. A series of Davidic kings had attempted to hold off the Babylonian threat and failed. Jehoiachin’s father, Jehoiakim, had reigned for 11 years, but it all came to an end when Nebuchadnezzar took him back to Babylon in chains. Jehoiachin ascended to his father's throne at the age of 18, but he only lasted three months before he too was taken captive to Babylon.

Ethan describes the scene of Jehoiachin’s fall and places the blame on Yahweh. 

You have ended his splendor
    and overturned his throne.
You have made him old before his time
    and publicly disgraced him. – Psalm 89:44-45 NLT

But he conveniently leaves out an important part of the narrative. Both Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin had been guilty of sinning against Yahweh.

Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the LORD his God. – 2 Chronicles 36:5 NLT

Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the LORD. – 2 Chronicles 36:9 NLT

Ethan doesn’t seem to remember that Yahweh had promised to punish David’s descendants for their sin. His judgment was inevitable but it was never to be taken as a sign that God had reneged on His covenant promises. In fact, God's judgment was in keeping with His covenant commitment.

But speaking on behalf of the fallen king, Ethan writes, “LORD, where is your unfailing love? You promised it to David with a faithful pledge. Consider, LORD, how your servants are disgraced! I carry in my heart the insults of so many people. Your enemies have mocked me, O LORD; they mock your anointed king wherever he goes” (Psalm 89:49-51 NLT). 

There is no evidence of brokenness or repentance. The king displays no remorse and offers no confession of his sins. It must have been demoralizing for Jehoiachin to leave Jerusalem draped in chains and treated like a common slave. The city must have mourned as they watched yet another king led away in defeat and ignominy. The Babylonians had arrested their king and plundered their Temple, and Yahweh seemed to be AWOL. 

But Yahweh was there and simply waiting for someone to take ownership for the sins of His covenant people. He wanted someone to have the attitude that David had.

The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
    You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
Look with favor on Zion and help her;
    rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit—
    with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings.
    Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar. – Psalm 51:17019 NLT

But all Ethan could muster up was a weak line of praise at the end of his somber song.

Praise the Lord forever!
    Amen and amen! – Psalm 89:51 NLT

He expects God to do something. In fact, he conveys the idea that God is obligated to fix their problem because He has broken His covenant commitment. But where is the broken spirit? What evidence of repentance does Ethan give? He wanted to experience Yahweh’s deliverance, but is unwilling to admit that their suffering had been self-inflicted. A whole succession of kings had led Judah to disobey Yahweh and now they were paying the consequences for their actions. But the faithful, always loving Yahweh stood ready to restore His people when they were ready to confess their sins.

“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT

Confession is the key to experiencing God's deliverance. Repentance must precede restoration. David knew that and so did his son Solomon. The promise recorded in 2 Chronicles 7:14 was spoken by God at the dedication of the Solomonic Temple. And God had warned His people that disobedience would bring discipline in the form of their nation’s fall and the Temple’s destruction.

“If you or your descendants abandon me and disobey the decrees and commands I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, then I will uproot the people from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make it an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations” – 2 Chronicles 7:19-20 NLT

But Yahweh was ready and willing to forgive their sins and restore their land — as soon as they were ready to humble themselves and turn from their wicked ways.

Father, we love the idea of forgiveness and count on the reality of Your unfailing love. But we take these gracious gifts for granted and treat them with contempt because we fail to acknowledge our sinfulness. We fully expect You to keep Your covenant promises, but seem to believe we are under no obligation to do our part. Somehow, we have determined that faithfulness is Your responsibility, not ours. But You still expect Your people to display humble hearts and a willingness to take ownership for our sins. Your love for us came at a high price; You sacrificed Your Son on our behalf. So, forgive us for making Your grace cheap and our faith as if its optional. Amen

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.

God of the Impossible

9 Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. 10 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.

11 So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. 12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. 13 I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. 15 Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. 16 And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.

17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” 18 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. 19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.” – Nehemiah 2:9-20 ESV

The time came for Nehemiah to leave behind his comfortable life in Persia and begin the 800-mile journey to Jerusalem. Nehemiah was accompanied by a contingent of royal guards who provided protection for the traveling party, which appears to have been small in number. Once they crossed the Euphrates River and entered “the province Beyond the River” (Nehemiah 2:7), Nehemiah presented the governors of the region with the letters of safe passage Artaxerxes provided.

Once Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, two local officials, Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite, disclosed their displeasure.

…they were very displeased that someone had come to help the people of Israel. - Nehemiah 2:10 NLT

When these two men became aware of Nehemiah’s intentions to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, they couldn’t hide their anger. As Nehemiah’s building plans progressed, they would be joined by a third governor, Geshem the Arab, who assisted them in mocking the Jews.

But when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard of our plan, they scoffed contemptuously. “What are you doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” they asked. – Nehemiah 2:19 NLT

These disgruntled governors were hoping to demoralize the Jews by accusing them of insurrection. They were hoping to turn the local Jewish population against Nehemiah by questioning the wisdom of his actions. If they could raise doubt concerning the viability of Nehemiah’s plans, he would lose his labor force. This intense pressure to intimidate and discourage the Jews was relentless. Chapter Four reveals that Sanballat and his fellow governors continued to ridicule Nehemiah and his grandiose plans.

Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews, saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices? Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap—and charred ones at that?” – Nehemiah 4:1-2 NLT

Tobiah joined in the sarcasm-laced rhetoric, stating, “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!” (Nehemiah 4:3 NLT). When their words failed to dissuade the Jews, they would begin to consider violence as their only other option.

…when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the work was going ahead and that the gaps in the wall of Jerusalem were being repaired, they were furious. They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion. – Nehemiah 4:7-8 NLT

But just three days after his arrival, Nehemiah and a few companions made a late-night inspection tour of the city’s walls. He had not yet disclosed his plans to anyone, including the local Jewish leaders, so this excursion was a fact-finding mission designed to determine the scope of the project. As he carefully navigated the rubble-strewn passage around the long-fallen walls, he could have become discouraged at the extent of the damage. At one point, the debris field was so dense that his donkey was unable to pass through. But despite the abysmal condition of the walls, Nehemiah did not lose heart. Upon completing his inspection, he gathered “the priests, the nobles, the officials, or anyone else in the administration” (Nehemiah 2:16 NLT) and presented them with an unexpected and unprecedented challenge.

“You know very well what trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and end this disgrace!” – Nehemiah 2:17 NLT

For these men, Nehemiah’s words must have sounded like madness. What Nehemiah was suggesting was impossible. Had the darkness prevented him from seeing the full extent of the situation? Did he really believe he could do what no one else had done for nearly 150 years? The walls of Jerusalem had lain in ruins since 586 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar’s forces leveled them as part of their long-standing siege and eventual takeover of the city.

…on January 15, during the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon led his entire army against Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and built siege ramps against its walls. Jerusalem was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah’s reign. – 2 Kings 25:1-2 NLT

On August 14 of that year, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard and an official of the Babylonian king, arrived in Jerusalem. He burned down the Temple of the Lord, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the important buildings in the city. Then he supervised the entire Babylonian army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side. – 2 Kings 25:8-10 NLT

It had been 142 years since the walls fell and during that time, no attempt had been made to rebuild them. It was a project of such epic proportions that no one ever dared to take it on – until Nehemiah showed up on the scene.

This newcomer brought with him a renewed sense of hope and expectation. He told the people about his plans but made sure to disclose God’s role in it all. He wanted them to know that he was on a mission sanctioned by Yahweh Himself. The sovereign LORD had even moved the heart of King Artaxerxes to put the full weight of his royal authority behind the project. Nehemiah’s words had an immediate impact on his audience, causing them to declare, “Let us rise up and build” (Nehemiah 2:18 ESV). They were pumped and ready to begin. Nehemiah’s pep talk had left them so enthused that they conveniently overlooked the sheer size of the project and the relentless determination of their enemies.

But as verse 19 reveals, the enthusiastic Jews were soon reminded that their efforts would not come without opposition. Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem launched an immediate public relationship campaign designed to discourage and dissuade the Jews from accomplishing their God-ordained task. Yet, Nehemiah countered their attacks with a reminder of God’s presence and power.

“The God of heaven will help us succeed. We, his servants, will start rebuilding this wall. But you have no share, legal right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.” – Nehemiah 2:20 NLT

Nehemiah saw Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem as what they were – enemies of God who had no right to question God's people and no claim on the land that He had given to the Israelites as their inheritance. These men weren’t just opposing the efforts of Nehemiah and his fellow Jews, they were directly violating the will of God Almighty.

Sanballat was probably a Moabite from Horonaim, a city of Moab. Tobiah was an Ammonite. Geshem was an Arab who governed over the region south of Judah. It is interesting to note that these three men represent three distinct people groups that had a love-hate relationship with Israel. The Moabites were descendants of Moab, the son born to Lot as a result of his incestuous relationship with his eldest daughter (Genesis 19:37). The Ammonites were descendants of Ben-ammi, the son born to Lot through his incestuous relationship with his younger daughter (Genesis 19:38). The “Arabs” mentioned in this passage is likely a reference to the Edomites who controlled an area east of the Arabah, from the Zered to the Gulf of Aqaba. They were the descendants of Esau, the twin brother of Jacob. So each of these nations was made up of people who were blood relatives of the Jews but they were not heirs of the promise God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

As Nehemiah makes clear, they had “no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem” (Nehemiah 2:20 ESV). These nations had long ago compromised their spiritual standards and comingled with the pagan nations that lived in and around Canaan. They were idolatrous and polytheistic. During Israel’s 70-year exile in Babylon, each of these groups had taken advantage of the situation by claiming Israelite land as their own, and for the last 142 years, they had done everything in their power to oppose the Israelite’s repatriation of the land.

But Nehemiah had come to set things straight. The walls would be rebuilt and the security of Jerusalem would be restored. Despite the odds, Nehemiah knew they had Yahweh on their side.

“The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build…” – Nememiah 2:20 ESV

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

Out of Sight But Never Out of Control

1 Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in Babylonia, in the house of the archives where the documents were stored. 2 And in Ecbatana, the citadel that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found on which this was written: “A record. 3 In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king issued a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where sacrifices were offered, and let its foundations be retained. Its height shall be sixty cubits and its breadth sixty cubits, 4 with three layers of great stones and one layer of timber. Let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. 5 And also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and brought back to the temple that is in Jerusalem, each to its place. You shall put them in the house of God.”

6 “Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and your associates the governors who are in the province Beyond the River, keep away. 7 Let the work on this house of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site. 8 Moreover, I make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God. The cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province from Beyond the River. 9 And whatever is needed—bulls, rams, or sheep for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, or oil, as the priests at Jerusalem require—let that be given to them day by day without fail, 10 that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons. 11 Also I make a decree that if anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of his house, and he shall be impaled on it, and his house shall be made a dunghill. 12 May the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who shall put out a hand to alter this, or to destroy this house of God that is in Jerusalem. I Darius make a decree; let it be done with all diligence.” – Ezra 6:1-12 ESV

The letter was sent and received, prompting King Darius to order a search of the royal archives for any record of a decree issued by his predecessor, King Cyrus. Much to the surprise of Tattenai and Shethar-bozenai, a scroll was found in Ecbatana, the citadel that is in the province of Media. This long-forgotten document contained the following statement from King Cyrus:

“In the first year of King Cyrus’s reign, a decree was sent out concerning the Temple of God at Jerusalem.

“Let the Temple be rebuilt on the site where Jews used to offer their sacrifices, using the original foundations. Its height will be ninety feet, and its width will be ninety feet. Every three layers of specially prepared stones will be topped by a layer of timber. All expenses will be paid by the royal treasury. Furthermore, the gold and silver cups, which were taken to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar from the Temple of God in Jerusalem, must be returned to Jerusalem and put back where they belong. Let them be taken back to the Temple of God.” – Ezra 6:3-5 NLT

Tattenai and Shethar-bozenai had assumed that the Jews’ claim of having an official edict from King Cyrus was a figment of their imagination. They believed that the Jews had fabricated this official decree to justify their return to the land and their rebuilding efforts. But there it was in black and white, written on an official document and stored in the royal archives. The Jews had not been lying.

The discovery of Cyrus’ decree left King Darius with no choice but to ensure its enforcement. He was obligated by what was known as “the law of the Medes and Persians” (Daniel 6:8 ESV). This ancient law code stated that edicts authorized by the king were irrevocable and unchangeable. Not even a future king had the authority to countermand a previous edict. In their estimation, the king was the law, and the law could not contradict itself. Darius himself had fallen prey to the binding nature of this legal code when he passed a law that prohibited the worship of anyone or anything but himself for a period of 30 days. His high officials and straps had given him the idea and convinced him to carry it out.

“Long live King Darius! We are all in agreement—we administrators, officials, high officers, advisers, and governors—that the king should make a law that will be strictly enforced. Give orders that for the next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human—except to you, Your Majesty—will be thrown into the den of lions. And now, Your Majesty, issue and sign this law so it cannot be changed, an official law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked.” – Daniel 6:6-8 NLT

In signing his name to the document, Darius made the law official and irrevocable, which proved to be a problem when he discovered the intentions of his royal counselors. Their motives had been self-serving and designed to entrap another of the king’s royal counselors. Daniel was a young Jewish boy who had been taken captive when the Babylonians invaded Judah and destroyed Jerusalem. Through a series of divinely-orchestrated events, Daniel had risen to prominence in the administration of King Nebuchadnezzar. Now, he served as a high official in the court of King Darius. But his fellow administrative companions were jealous of his success and less than enthusiastic about his worship of the Hebrew God. So, they devised a trap which the king inadvertently signed into law. When Daniel violated the king’s edict, he was forced to face the consequences. He was thrown to the lions and there was nothing Darius could do to save him. But God intervened and Daniel was miraculously spared.

When this very same Darius discovered the edict of Cyrus, he knew he was obligated to enforce it, which he did. He even added a word of warning to Tattenai, Shethar-bozenai, and all the local administrative officials in Judah.

“…stay away from there! Do not disturb the construction of the Temple of God. Let it be rebuilt on its original site, and do not hinder the governor of Judah and the elders of the Jews in their work.” – Ezra 6:6-7 NLT

The very same men who had sent the letter to King Darius were given an order to cease and desist. They were to avoid any and all contact with the Jews, allowing them to carry out the decree of Cyrus with no interference or harassment. He also ordered them to use the royal treasury to fund the construction work and the king’s herds to supply animals for their sacrifices. The governor and his companions must have been stunned by this unexpected turn of events. This was not what they had expected. But they were not alone. Even the Jews must have stood by in wide-eyed wonder as they heard the content of the king’s letter.

Ever since their return to Judah, they had faced ongoing opposition, leaving them to wonder if God was really with them. There are times when it appears as if God is not around. Because of our circumstances, we assume that He must be busy somewhere else or is simply unaware of what is happening in our lives. But that is not the God of the Bible. He is never distracted, disinterested, or distant. He is always there, always watching, and always completely aware of what is going on – every moment of every day.

The people of God who returned to build the Temple and restore Jerusalem would learn that truth from personal experience. Things had not gone well for them upon their return. They faced opposition and constant threats. At one point they were forced to halt construction because of a royal edict. When they started back up again, their enemies relaunched their attacks and did everything in their power to demotivate and distract God’s people from their task.

It would have been easy for them to assume that God was unaware of their plight or disinterested. But nothing could have been further from the truth. We can’t judge the faithfulness or nearness of God based on our circumstances. We read in verse five that "their God was watching over them." He had not taken His eyes off of them. He had not removed His hand of protection from them. From their limited perspective, it looked as if God had abandoned them. But He was there and He cared. He was still in control. And despite the attempts of their enemies to stir up trouble, God had other plans.

When Tattenai and Shethar-bozenai wrote their letter to King Darius, they had expected a royal decree commanding the Jews to cease and desist in their rebuilding efforts. But to their shock and surprise, the message from Darius contained an official edict to "let the Temple be rebuilt" (Ezra 6:3). Not only that, the very men who had attempted to thwart the efforts of the Jews to rebuild the Temple and reconstruct the walls of Jerusalem, were commanded to provide assistance.

What a God we serve. He was not only aware of what was going on, but He used the plans of the enemies of Israel to accomplish His will. He turned what they meant for evil into good. The Jews received unexpected funding and assistance from an unlikely source, the very people who had been trying to put a stop to their efforts.

It would have been natural for them to take a look at their circumstances and assume that God had abandoned them, or that He was somehow punishing them. But they would have been wrong. God was working behind the scenes in ways they could never have imagined. Assuming God's absence or indifference is a dangerous thing to do. When we do, we doubt the faithfulness of God and reject the promises found in His Word. God is constantly faithful and ever-present. His love endures forever. We must judge God based on His Word and His character, not our circumstances. What is visible is not always an accurate indicator of what is going on. God’s efforts are not always visible to our eyes or apparent to our senses, but that doesn’t mean He is attentive or active. Our God is always watching out for us and working on behalf of us, whether we see it or believe it. No matter what difficulty we face, He is always there and He is always working on our behalf.

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

Moved By the Almighty

5 Then rose up the heads of the fathers' houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem. 6 And all who were about them aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered. 7 Cyrus the king also brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods. 8 Cyrus king of Persia brought these out in the charge of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. 9 And this was the number of them: 30 basins of gold, 1,000 basins of silver, 29 censers, 10 30 bowls of gold, 410 bowls of silver, and 1,000 other vessels; 11 all the vessels of gold and of silver were 5,400. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem. – Ezra 1:5-11 ESV

More than a century before the events of Ezra 1 took place, the prophet Isaiah recorded God’s divine prediction that they would.

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,
    who formed you from the womb:
“I am the Lord, who made all things,
    who alone stretched out the heavens,
    who spread out the earth by myself,
who frustrates the signs of liars
    and makes fools of diviners,
who turns wise men back
    and makes their knowledge foolish,
who confirms the word of his servant
    and fulfills the counsel of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’
    and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built,
    and I will raise up their ruins’;
who says to the deep, ‘Be dry;
    I will dry up your rivers’;
who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,
    and he shall fulfill all my purpose’;
saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’
    and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’” – Isaiah 44:24-28 ESV

God pre-ordained the eventual fall and exile of Judah, handpicking the not-yet-existent Cyrus as His chosen servant to carry out the judgment He had planned for His rebellious and unrepentant people.

Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
    whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
    and to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
    that gates may not be closed… – Isaiah 45:1 ESV

God sovereignly orchestrated Cyrus’ rise to power so he might carry out the plan for the Israelites’ return to the land of Judah.

“For the sake of my servant Jacob,
    and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
    I name you, though you do not know me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other,
    besides me there is no God;
    I equip you, though you do not know me,
that people may know, from the rising of the sun
    and from the west, that there is none besides me;
    I am the Lord, and there is no other.” – Isaiah 45:4-6 ESV

God had used Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army to bring about Judah’s fall and Jerusalem’s destruction. Years later, God arranged for the Medo-Persian forces to defeat the Babylonians, setting the stage for Cyrus’ rise to power and prominence.

“Cyrus inherited the throne of Anshan, a small state near the Persian Gulf, in 559 B.C. Due to his great leadership ability he was able to unite the Persian people. He then attacked the neighboring Medes and took their capital city, Ecbatana, without a battle. The Median soldiers abandoned their king to side with Cyrus. He then welded these two great peoples into the Medo-Persian Empire. He next conquered Lydia and Anatolia (in the western part of modern Turkey) in 547-546 B.C. The Babylonian Empire was then in a weakened condition. Cyrus invaded its capital, Babylon, by diverting the waters of the Euphrates River that ran through the city and marching under the city wall on the riverbed. This took place in 539 B.C. This victory enabled Cyrus to establish Medo-Persia as the major political power in the ancient Near East.” – Thomas L. Constable, Study Notes on Ezra

Ezra’s rather brief and matter-of-fact description of Cyrus’ decree fails to convey the magnitude of God’s well-planned and carefully orchestrated oversight of Judah’s fall and eventual restoration. This was not a case of karma, kismet, good luck, good fortune, or blind fate. God had ordained and ordered every single facet of Judah’s exile and eventual repatriation. Nearly 150 years before Nebuchadnezzar’s forces descended on Jerusalem, Jeremiah recorded God’s prophetic forewarning.

“Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the Lord, and for Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations.

“This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord, making the land an everlasting waste. I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings shall make slaves even of them, and I will recompense them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.” – Jeremiah 25:8-9, 11-14 ESV

God eventually repaid the Babylonians for their role in Judah’s fall, orchestrating the rise of the Medo-Persian empire under Cyrus and their defeat of the Babylonians in 539 B.C.

Verses 2-4 might leave the impression that Cyrus was a worshiper of Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But Isaiah’s prophecy clarifies that Cyrus had no personal knowledge of or relationship with Israel’s God.

“I call you by your name,
    I name you, though you do not know me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other,
    besides me there is no God;
    I equip you, though you do not know me…” – Isaiah 45:4-5 ESV

Cyrus was a polytheist and an equal-opportunity idolater. His primary god was Marduk but he believed in and embraced other deities, including those of the nations he had conquered. His reference to “the LORD, the God of heaven” (Yahweh) should not be interpreted as a statement of faith or allegiance. If anything, it is intended to convey God’s sovereign control over Cyrus’ life and kingdom. It may even indicate that Cyrus was aware of Jeremiah’s prophecy and viewed himself as the chosen servant of this foreign deity. Notice that Cyrus describes Yahweh as “the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem” (Ezra 1:3 ESV). This conveys the common understanding that gods were territorial and relegated to particular regions or domains. According to Cyrus, Yahweh’s influence was confined to a geographic location, so he sanctioned the return of the Israelites to Judah so they could rebuild Yahweh’s Temple – “the house of God that is in Jerusalem” (Ezra 1:4 ESV).

This powerful world ruler had no obligation to accommodate the Israelites or to underwrite their efforts to reclaim their lost homeland. But Cyrus was being motivated by forces beyond his control. Like Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus was unwittingly being used as an instrument in the hand of God to accomplish His divine will concerning the people of Israel. Cyrus’ decree provided the impetus and legal authorization for the Jews to return to Judah, but it was Yahweh who moved their hearts to take the next step.

God stirred the hearts of the priests and Levites and the leaders of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple of the Lord. – Ezra 1:5 NLT

After seven decades in the land of Babylon, the Israelites would have become comfortable and complacent. They had acclimated to their surroundings and had few memories of what life had been like in Judah. Yet, God moved their hearts to go and motivated their friends and neighbors to underwrite their journey.

…all their neighbors assisted by giving them articles of silver and gold, supplies for the journey, and livestock. They gave them many valuable gifts in addition to all the voluntary offerings. – Ezra 1:6 NLT

God ensured they would have adequate resources to make the long journey home and the funds to begin the painstaking and expensive process of rebuilding Jerusalem and the Temple. He even prompted Cyrus to return “the articles that King Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Lord’s Temple in Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his own gods” (Ezra 1:7 NLT). During their destruction of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar’s forces pillaged the Temple and confiscated all the holy vessels used in the sacrificial system and the worship of Yahweh.

The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars in front of the Lord’s Temple, the bronze water carts, and the great bronze basin called the Sea, and they carried all the bronze away to Babylon. They also took all the ash buckets, shovels, lamp snuffers, ladles, and all the other bronze articles used for making sacrifices at the Temple. The captain of the guard also took the incense burners and basins, and all the other articles made of pure gold or silver. – 2 Kings 25:13-15 NLT

These sacred items had been preserved for seven decades in the royal treasury. They had not been lost, repurposed, or melted down. The Book of Daniel records a time when King Belshazzar used some of these sacred treasures to entertain guests at a royal feast.

King Belshazzar gave a great feast for 1,000 of his nobles, and he drank wine with them. While Belshazzar was drinking the wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver cups that his predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar, had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem. He wanted to drink from them with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines. So they brought these gold cups taken from the Temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. While they drank from them they praised their idols made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. – Daniel 5:1-4 NLT

Yet, God preserved these holy vessels and orchestrated their safe return to Jerusalem. No detail was overlooked. God had set apart those vessels for His use and had protected them for 70 years so that they might once again be used for His glory.

God was moving behind the scenes, orchestrating every facet of the plan so that His will would be accomplished concerning His chosen people. Their days of exile were coming to an end and it was time to return to the land of promise. But the only way that could happen was if God stepped in and used His sovereign power to move hearts and motivate pagan kings to do His will.

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

A Divine Decree

1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:

2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.” – Ezra 1:1-4 ESV

The book opens in the first year of Cyrus’ reign as the king of Persia, 538 B.C., and the people of Israel have been in exile in Babylon for 70 years. It is unclear when the book was written or who the author was. Tradition places Ezra as its author, but his name is not mentioned until chapter seven.

Now after this, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest—this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him. – Ezra 7:1-6 ESV

This has led some scholars to divide the book into two halves, the first featuring chapters 1-6 and the second, chapters 7-10. They suggest that this composite book was written by two authors and then compiled by a “chronicler” at a much later date. Those who hold to Ezra as the sole author of the book that bears his name put the date of its writing at around 446 B.C., nearly 100 years after the events recorded in the opening chapter. This later date is based on the mention of a decree issued by King Artaxerxes in chapter 4.

“I made a decree, and search has been made, and it has been found that this city from of old has risen against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it. And mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, who ruled over the whole province Beyond the River, to whom tribute, custom, and toll were paid. Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me.” – Ezra 4:19-21 ESV

This later decree by King Artaxerxes stands in stark contrast to the one made by his predecessor and recorded in chapter one. King Cyrus had made a royal proclamation authorizing the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, which had been destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C., just 48 years earlier. Cyrus claims to have received direct orders from the God of the Israelites.

“The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.” – Ezra 1:2 NLT

Cyrus’ decree was implemented and a remnant of the people of God made the long journey back to Judah to begin rebuilding Jerusalem and the Temple. However, upon their arrival, they encountered opposition from those who had occupied the land in their absence. A diverse amalgam of disparate people groups had made the land their own and greeted the arrival of the Israelites with less than open arms. The Israelite’s ongoing efforts to regain their ancestral homeland and rebuild their holy site eventually resulted in a letter of protest to the new king, threatening civil unrest or worse, if the project was put on hold. Artaxerxes succumbed to their demands and issued his decree.

As the book opens, things are looking up. Unlike his successor, Cyrus extends mercy to the long-suffering Israelites, outlining a government-sanctioned program for their repatriation of Judah.

“The message is addressed to the post-exilic community of Jews who wonder if there is any hope of political and religious restoration. Its central thrust is that there indeed is hope but that hope must be incarnated in the rebuilding of the Temple, the cultus, and the priesthood. Only as the remnant people became the theocratic nation, founded on and faithful to the covenant Yahweh made with their fathers, could they revive the Davidic house and anticipate the resumption of their mediatorial role among the nations of the earth. Ezra and Nehemiah are therefore burdened to clarify (1) the Person and works of God, (2) Israel’s own identity and function as a covenant people, and (3) the nature of that covenant in postexilic times.” – Eugene H. Merrill, “A Theology of Ezra-Nehemiah and Esther,” in A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, p. 190

God is about to lift His hand of judgment and restore the people to the land and back into His favor. The amazing thing is how God chooses to bring this all about. When He punished the people 70 years earlier, He had used Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, to accomplish His will. This Babylonian king was like a puppet in the hand of Almighty God – accomplishing His will and fulfilling His plans for the people of Judah. Now, 70 years later, Cyrus, the king of the Medo-Persian Empire which had defeated Babylon, becomes the next pawn in the hands of God. This powerful leader has his heart stirred by the Spirit of God and issues a decree allowing the Jews to return to the land of Israel. Not only that, he recognized that God had given him the responsibility of rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem.

God used Babylon to defeat Judah, demolish Jerusalem, and destroy the Temple. Now He was going to use Persia to return the people to the land, restore Jerusalem, and rebuild the Temple. What an amazing God. This powerful pagan king will be an instrument in the hands of God to accomplish His will and fulfill His promises to the people of God. What a wonderful reminder that God is in control.

So Cyrus issued his decree, commanding those who chose not to return to financially support the remnant who would be making the trip back to Jerusalem. As will become evident, Cyrus would also return all the items plundered from the Temple during the days of Nebuchadnezzar. Thousands of bowls, basins, incense burners, and other articles will be placed in the hands of God's people, so they might be restored to their original purpose: the worship of God. All of these items had at one time been dedicated to the worship of God through the sacrificial system. Now they were going to be restored to their original intent. They had been set aside for a time due to the sins of the people, but now they were being restored. The same thing could be said of the people of God. They had one time been set apart for the glory of God, but sin led to their being set aside. They were God's chosen people, His instruments, dedicated to His use and designed to bring Him glory among the other nations of the world. But they had been set aside for 70 long years. Now they were being restored. They were being given a second chance by God. What incredible grace. What amazing love. What an unforgettable reminder of how much God loves us and desires to restore us to fellowship with Him when we stray. God had told the people that if they failed to serve Him faithfully, He would be forced to punish them, and He did. But He had also promised to restore them, and now He was. Just as He said He would.

In the future, when you experience all these blessings and curses I have listed for you, and when you are living among the nations to which the Lord your God has exiled you, take to heart all these instructions. If at that time you and your children return to the Lord your God, and if you obey with all your heart and all your soul all the commands I have given you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes. He will have mercy on you and gather you back from all the nations where he has scattered you. Even though you are banished to the ends of the earth, the Lord your God will gather you from there and bring you back again. The Lord your God will return you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will possess that land again. Then he will make you even more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors! – Deuteronomy 30:1-5 NLT

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

A Simple Lesson Hard Learned

34 At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever,

for his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
    and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;
35 all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
    and he does according to his will among the host of heaven
    and among the inhabitants of the earth;
and none can stay his hand
    or say to him, “What have you done?”

36 At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” – Daniel 4:34-37 ESV

No details are provided regarding Nebuchadnezzar’s seven-year stint of psychological suffering. The text simply states that he “was driven from human society. He ate grass like a cow, and he was drenched with the dew of heaven” (Daniel 4:33 NLT). To put it bluntly, Nebuchadnezzar lost his mind, he went crazy. One minute, he stood on his palace rooftop surveying his vast domain and proclaiming his only glory, then, without warning, he was relegated to living like a wild animal. According to his own recollection, “He lived this way until his hair was as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails were like birds’ claws” (Daniel 4:33 NLT).

Seven years passed before Nebuchadnezzar “came to his senses” and recognized the error of his ways. For some unexplained reason, this beast of a man looked up to heaven and his reason returned. After seven years of living more like an animal than a man, he suddenly snapped out of it. But Nebuchadnezzar realized that his sudden mental restoration had not resulted from good fortune; it had been the work of God – the God of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He confesses, “My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored the one who lives forever” (Daniel 4:34 NLT). His mind fully restored, the king articulated the insights about God he had gained from his experience.

“His rule is everlasting,
    and his kingdom is eternal.
All the people of the earth
    are nothing compared to him.
He does as he pleases
    among the angels of heaven
    and among the people of the earth.
No one can stop him or say to him,
    ‘What do you mean by doing these things?” – Daniel 4:34-35 NLT

But what would cause the pagan king of one of the most powerful nations on earth to sing the praises of the God of Israel – the nation he had defeated and whose people he had taken captive? Why would this man praise, glorify, and honor Yahweh as the King of Heaven? The answer is simple. God had humbled him. Nebuchadnezzar had learned the power and prominence of God the hard way. Seven years earlier, God had given Nebuchadnezzar a dream in which He had predicted the king’s not-too-distant and far-from-pleasant future.

It took Daniel to interpret the dream, but the meaning was clear. Because of Nebuchadnezzar's pride, God would have to humble him. Nebuchadnezzar refused to acknowledge that God was responsible for putting him on his throne. He couldn’t bring himself to consider or acknowledge subordination to anyone else, including God. After having conquered virtually every nation in the region, he became drunk on his own success. He had a powerful army, lived in a beautiful palace, and enjoyed a life of ease and prosperity. He had power, possessions, and a massive pride problem.

Nebuchadnezzar had overlooked one important factor; it was God who had given him his throne and the ability to conquer all the surrounding nations. God had raised up Babylon for his own divine purposes and Nebuchadnezzar was simply a tool in the hands of the Almighty. So God took this pride-filled pagan king and humbled him. Daniel advised the king to take the dream seriously and to, "stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor. Perhaps then you will continue to prosper" (Daniel 4:27 NLT). But Nebuchadnezzar refused to listen.

But seven years later, Nebuchadnezzar was a new man. He went from worshiping himself to worshiping God. He went from praising himself to praising God. Through his tragedy, he came to understand God’s rule “is everlasting, and his kingdom is eternal” (Daniel 4:34 NLT).

Pride is a powerful force in the hands of the enemy. He uses it to take our eyes off of God. Satan does not require men to worship him; he just wants to make sure that they worship ANYTHING other than God, and the worship of self is the ultimate form of idolatry. When we read our own press clippings and begin to believe our success is self-made, we are in danger. Self-exaltation is ultimately self-destructive. It can be bad for your health because God does not share His glory with anyone.

The Scriptures remind us, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6 NIV). The lesson Nebuchadnezzar had to learn was that God is sovereign over everyone and everything. He had to understand that God rules over ALL the kingdoms of Earth, including his own. He had to learn that God was the only true King and had no equals or competitors. He had to come to grips with the fact that God was the consummate conqueror, not him. Nebuchadnezzar had learned the lesson that James simply reiterated: "All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud" (Daniel 4:37 NLT).

The amazing part of the story is Nebuchadnezzar’s admission of God’s greatness was accompanied by his own restoration to power and prominence. During the seven years Nebuchadnezzar suffered from insanity and lived in lonely isolation from the rest of humanity, God preserved his kingdom. No coup took place. Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t de-throned or written off as a lost cause. His kingdom remained intact and as soon as word got out that he had been healed, his advisors and counselors restored him to power and showered him with greater honor than ever. And Nebuchadnezzar recognized that it was all the handiwork of God.

The lessons in this story are profound and echo across the ages. Pride is at the root of all sin and continues to plague humanity at every level. Even as modern-day believers we can begin to believe that any success we enjoy has been self-made. We convince ourselves to believe we are the masters of our souls and the sole arbiters of our fates. Our accomplishments and achievements are the work of our hands. But in this passage, God reminds us that the only thing that separates us from the wild beasts in the field is His divine, sovereign hand. He can lift us up and He can bring us down. He will not tolerate self-worship. He will not put up with self-exaltation. We are to keep our eyes focused on Him alone. May we learn from Nebuchadnezzar’s mistake and acknowledge God’s power and sovereignty so we don’t have to learn it the hard way.

Every man and woman must one day face the reality that God alone reigns. There are no other gods, either large or small. There are no self-made men and women. God rules over all that He has made and determines the fates of men and the futures of kingdoms.

The Lord has made everything for his own purposes,
even the wicked for a day of disaster. – Proverbs 16:4 NLT

He also has a strong disdain for those who proudly declare their independence and autonomy.

The Lord detests the proud;
    they will surely be punished. – Proverbs 16:4-5 NLT – Proverbs 16:5 NLT

God also reminds us that He not only despises pride, but He knows how to deal with it.

Pride goes before destruction,
    and haughtiness before a fall. – Proverbs 16:18 NLT

And He offers a better option for all those who will recognize their need for Him and acknowledge that submission to His will always results in soul-satisfaction rather than self-satisfaction.

Better to live humbly with the poor
    than to share plunder with the proud. – Proverbs 16:19 NLT

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.

A Mind of His Own

19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies! 20 The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, 21 whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived— 22 it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth. 23 And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven periods of time pass over him,’ 24 this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king, 25 that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. 26 And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules. 27 Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”

28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” 31 While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, 32 and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” 33 Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles' feathers, and his nails were like birds' claws. – Daniel 4:10-33 ESV

In the earlier episode, when forced to reveal and interpret the king’s dream, Daniel took the matter to God. He gathered his three friends together and they prayed, asking God to tell them the content of the dream and its meaning, and God obliged. This time, however, there is no indication that Daniel utilized prayer to discern the interpretation of the king's second dream. It appears Daniel knew the meaning of the dream as soon as the king described it, but he hesitated and was  “dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him” (Daniel 4:19 ESV). No explanation is given for Daniel’s disturbed state of mind but when the king sensed his reluctance to speak and encouraged him to reveal what he knew, Daniel replied, “I wish the events foreshadowed in this dream would happen to your enemies, my lord, and not to you!” (Daniel 4:19 NLT).

Daniel may have been well into his 50s by the time this incident occurred. He would have spent decades in Nebuchadnezzar’s employment, serving as the chief of all the king’s wise men. It’s likely that, during that time, Daniel and the king would have developed a close relationship. Despite their ethnic and religious differences, the two men would have shared a mutual respect and affinity for one another. Daniel’s hesitancy to reveal the dream’s meaning was born out of his care and concern for Nebuchadnezzar, not a fear of repercussions.

Buoyed by the king’s kind words of encouragement, Daniel broke his silence and said, “That tree, Your Majesty, is you. For you have grown strong and great; your greatness reaches up to heaven, and your rule to the ends of the earth” (Daniel 4:22 NLT). That part of the dream would have been easy to deliver because it was what Nebuchadnezzar wanted to hear. But it was the second half of the interpretation that had disturbed Daniel and caused him to hesitate. The blissful, happy image of the king’s reign would not end well. The watcher in the dream was a bad omen that signaled an unpleasant and unavoidable end to the king’s fame and fortune.

“Your Majesty, and what the Most High has declared will happen to my lord the king. You will be driven from human society, and you will live in the fields with the wild animals. You will eat grass like a cow, and you will be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.” – Daniel 4:24-25 NLT

Daniel had to be the bearer of bad news but he didn’t deliver his message with any sense of joy or vindictiveness. He found no comfort in informing Nebuchadnezzar of his fate. Daniel seems completely aware that Nebuchadnezzar was going to get what he deserved. After all his years in the king’s employment, Daniel knew from personal experience that Nebuchadnezzar had a pride problem. He would have regularly witnessed the king’s growing arrogance and overconfidence in his own self-worth. Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful man in the world and he had built an empire that was second to none. But Daniel knew that God was about to send a powerful and irrefutable message to his pride-filled boss.

What’s interesting to note is the focus of God’s judgment. He chooses to mess with Nebuchadnezzar’s mind, not his might. God could have dealt a death blow to the kingdom of Babylon but, instead, he threatens the king with temporary insanity. Babylon posed no problem for God. He was not intimidated by Babylonian supremacy and their reputation as an invincible superpower. As Daniel reveals in his interpretation of the dream, “…the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses” ( Daniel 4:25 NLT). God had chosen to use Babylon as His instrument of judgment against the nation of Judah. He had raised Nebuchadnezzar to power for the sole purpose of fulfilling His promise of divine discipline against His disobedient children.

“Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the Lord, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation.” – Jeremiah 25:8-9 ESV

But Nebuchadnezzar had grown overconfident and self-assured. In his eyes, he was a self-made man who took full credit for his own success and saw no end to his dream of world dominance. But God had other plans. Little did Nebuchadnezzar know that his 15 minutes of fame would one day come to an end. God had given Jeremiah a second part to the divine plan for Babylon’s future.

“Moreover, I will banish from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the grinding of the millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord, making the land an everlasting waste. I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings shall make slaves even of them, and I will recompense them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.” – Jeremiah 25:10-14 NLT

But that prophecy was to be fulfilled at a later date. Nebuchadnezzar faced a much more imminent problem – the loss of his mind, not his kingdom. What God had in store for him was going to be personal and painful. His kingdom would remain intact but his sanity would be removed for “seven periods of time” ( Daniel 4:25 NLT). Most scholars believe this is a reference to years. If so, then the king was going to go through a protracted period of unprecedented insanity. He would live like an animal with no recollection of his former status as king and no interaction with other humans. The once great and greatly feared king of Babylon would become a madman, and there was nothing he could do to prevent it from happening.

There is no indication that Nebuchadnezzar could forestall the inevitable. He had no power to prevent God Most High from fulfilling His edict. Daniel will plead with the king to change his ways, but even he does not seem confident that it will do any good.

“King Nebuchadnezzar, please accept my advice. Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor. Perhaps then you will continue to prosper.” – Daniel 4:27 NLT

God knew Nebuchadnezzar’s heart better than Daniel did. He knew the king would never bow the knee or renounce his pride and arrogance. Even the threat of losing his most precious possession, his mind, would not be enough to cause Nebuchadnezzar to repent.

But there was good news. While God would destroy Nebuchadnezzar’s mind, it would only be for a season. In time, God would relent and restore the king’s sanity. But it would only happen when the king had learned his lesson. God had Daniel inform Nebuchadnezzar of the meaning behind the stump in his dream.

“…the stump and roots of the tree were left in the ground. This means that you will receive your kingdom back again when you have learned that heaven rules.” – Daniel 4:26 NLT

Nebuchadnezzar’s mind would be bound by God until he was willing to admit the reality of God’s sovereignty. There was only one King and He alone rules and reigns over all the kingdoms of Earth. And despite Daniel’s desperate pleas for Nebuchadnezzar to repent, the king will continue in his stubborn, pride-filled ways.

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.

If a Tree Falls In the Forest…

10 The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. 11 The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. 12 Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.

13 “I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven. 14 He proclaimed aloud and said thus: ‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. 15 But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. 16 Let his mind be changed from a man's, and let a beast's mind be given to him; and let seven periods of time pass over him. 17 The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.’ 18 This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. And you, O Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.” – Daniel 4:10-18 ESV

On this occasion, Nebuchadnezzar shares the content of his dream with Daniel. When Nebuchadnezzar experienced his first disturbing dream, Daniel was forced to reveal its content and meaning (Daniel 2). This dream, like the first, left the king disturbed, frightened, and anxious to know what the imagery symbolized. But in recounting the details of the dream to Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar appears to have already reached his own conclusion about its meaning.

It didn’t take a soothsayer or fortune-teller to inform Nebuchadnezzar that the dream was about him. He seems to have already surmised that the tree featured in his vision was somehow meant to represent him and his kingdom. It would have been difficult to miss the symbolism and its less-than-encouraging message. The dream starts out well, as a large, healthy tree suddenly appears in the middle of the earth. This fully grown tree then began to grow ever larger, “reaching high into the heavens for all the world to see” (Daniel 4:11 NLT). So far, so good.

At this point in the dream, Nebuchadnezzar must have viewed the lush, healthy tree as an apt symbol of his own ever-expanding kingdom. After all, the tree was fruitful and beneficial to all those around it.

“It had fresh green leaves, and it was loaded with fruit for all to eat. Wild animals lived in its shade, and birds nested in its branches. All the world was fed from this tree.” – Daniel 4:14 NLT

Nebuchadnezzar would have enjoyed this part of the dream, viewing the imagery as justification and validation for his quest for global domination. He was doing the world a favor. The expansion of his kingdom had been a good thing, delivering peace and prosperity to the nations of the world. At least, that’s the way he would have seen it. But his dream doesn’t reflect the real outcome of his campaign to become the world’s reigning superpower: death, devastation, and destruction.

Nebuchadnezzar had long ago convinced himself that his conquests had been the right thing to do. After all, he had benefited greatly from his invasion of foreign lands and the subjugation of innocent people. His kingdom flourished and its melting pot of citizens lived in relative peace and harmony. The early portion of the dream seems to have confirmed the king’s sanitized view of his quest for global ascendency.

Then the dream takes a dark turn with the appearance of a “watcher.” This Aramaic term refers to one who stays awake to keep watch. Every kingdom had men who served as watchmen on the walls and played an important role as an early warning defense system, protecting the nation from threats. But in his dream, Nebuchadnezzar recognized this watcher as “a holy one, coming down from heaven” (Daniel 4:13 NLT). This was some kind of divine being who delivered a very disturbing message, transforming the king’s dream into a nightmare.

“Cut down the tree and lop off its branches!
    Shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit!” – Daniel 4:14 NLT

This would have been when the king’s heart rate increased and his blood pressure spiked. The message was not what he wanted or expected to hear. This was some kind of divine decree, ordering the tree's immediate destruction. Nothing about this message could be viewed as encouraging or uplifting. No amount of spin could make it sound beneficial or positive. Nebuchadnezzar knew full well that this message did not bode well for him or his kingdom. What made his dream so frightening was its rather obvious meaning. Nebuchadnezzar wasn't looking for Daniel to provide an interpretation as much as clarification. He knew something was coming but he had no way of knowing what to expect. That is what frightened him most.

As Nebuchadnezzar continued to relay the specifics of the dream, he noted that the watcher gave further instructions to an invisible and unidentifiable audience. These unseen agents of destruction were ordered to chase away all the birds and animals and then cut down the tree, leaving only a stump. The entire scene was to be transformed from one of peace and tranquility to one of chaos and destruction. Then the limbless, fruitless stump was to be “bound with a band of iron and bronze and surrounded by tender grass” (Daniel 4:15 NLT).

That’s when the watcher’s message takes a sudden and disturbing twist. He shifts from talking about a defoliated tree and begins referring to an unidentified man.

“Now let him be drenched with the dew of heaven,
    and let him live with the wild animals among the plants of the field.
For seven periods of time,
    let him have the mind of a wild animal
    instead of the mind of a human.” – Daniel 4:15-16 NLT

This obviously caught the king’s attention. He no longer had to doubt whether the tree represented him or his kingdom; it was now perfectly and painfully clear. But what did it mean? What was the watcher describing and how would it turn out?

The dream ends without a clear resolution. The watcher simply states that the dream is of a heavenly origin and has a divine purpose: “that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men” (Daniel 4:17 ESV). That part the king understood. But what did the rest of the dream mean? He must have assumed he was the man in the dream, but he had no idea what the watcher’s words meant. That’s where Daniel was to come in, so the king concluded his recounting of his dream with a desperate plea to his trusted counselor.

“‘Belteshazzar, that was the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now tell me what it means, for none of the wise men of my kingdom can do so. But you can tell me because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.’” – Daniel 4:18 NLT

The stage was set and the expectations were high. Once again, Daniel found himself in the unenviable position of having to deliver not-so-good news to the most powerful man in the world. But Daniel would step up to the challenge and provide the message God had for the prideful and fear-filled king.

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.

Who Is the God Who Will Deliver You?

8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. 9 They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image. 11 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” – Daniel 3:8-18 ESV

This iconic story has been a staple of Sunday School classes for generations. Every child who grew up going to church heard about the exploits of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace. But in its telling, the story tends to take on the aura of a Grimm's Fairy Tale. It becomes the fantastic recounting of three brave young men who proved their faith in God by standing up to the evil king and refusing to worship his false god. But their act of bravery didn’t come without cost. Their refusal to obey the king’s edict came with the penalty of death by fire in a blazing hot furnace. This macabre-sounding story is frightening even for adults, let alone children. But with the use of colorful cartoon-like pictures and a sanitized storyline, it has been used  to inspire young children to follow the example of its three brave characters.

Yet, is that the primary message behind the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? So often, in an attempt to make the stories of the Bible more relevant and relatable, we focus on the lives of the characters they contain. We tell our children the story of Daniel in the lion’s den and challenge them to “dare to be a Daniel.” We recount the story of Joseph’s roller-coaster-like life in Egypt but focus on the reward he ultimately received for his faithfulness. We turn his life into a Horatio Alger, rags-to-riches story that portrays God as always ready to reward the patient and faithful. The not-so-subtle message becomes: If you do the right thing, there will always be a happy ending.

The stories of the Bible recount the lives of men and women just like you and me, but they were intended to be the primary focus of our attention. Yes, we can learn a lot about faith from the life of Abraham. We can discover what it means to be a man after God’s own heart by examining the life of David. The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego can inspire us to stand up for our convictions. But by making much of men, we tend to make little of God. By focusing on the exploits of the human characters in these stories we tend to lose sight of the One moving behind the scenes and orchestrating every aspect of the narrative.

From the first verses of its opening chapter, the Book of Daniel has been about God. The entire narrative began with a retelling of Nebuchadnezzar’s capture of the city of Jerusalem.

The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah and permitted him to take some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God. So Nebuchadnezzar took them back to the land of Babylonia and placed them in the treasure-house of his god. – Daniel 1:2 NLT

The story begins with a reminder that God was in control and behind all that had happened. But He was not done. Just a few verses later, when Daniel refused to eat the king’s food, we read, “God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel” (Daniel 1:9 NLT). As the story unfolds, we’re reminded that God continued to control the affairs of men, including those of the king and the four young Hebrew boys.

God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams. – Daniel 1:19 NLT

Chapter two records the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s disturbing dream and Daniel’s interpretation of it. But as the verse above makes clear, Daniel received this ability from the hand of God, and as the story reveals, God was the source behind Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

“…there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future.” – Daniel 2:28 NLT

The dream, its interpretation, and its meaning were all the handiwork of God. Daniel was simply the instrument God used to accomplish His predetermined plan, and even Daniel recognized his subservient role in the whole affair.

“…it is not because I am wiser than anyone else that I know the secret of your dream, but because God wants you to understand what was in your heart.” – Daniel 2:30 NLT

After divulging the meaning of the dream, Daniel confessed, “The great God was showing the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain” (Daniel 2:45 NLT). Even Nebuchadnezzar recognized the divine nature of the day’s events, declaring, “Truly, your God is the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings, a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this secret” (Daniel 2:47 NLT).

When Daniel and his friends were rewarded with promotions, the story took a positive turn. Everything was looking up. God had revealed Himself in power and the pagan king had taken notice. Then chapter three opens up with Nebuchadnezzar’s decision to build a massive monument to his own glory and greatness. But it wasn’t enough that his statue loomed over the plains of Dura, he wanted all the citizens of his kingdom to bow before it. He demanded their unwavering allegiance in the form of abject worship, with death as the penalty for disobedience.

Don’t miss the message. The man who said, “Your God is the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings” was now demanding that he be worshiped like a god. He was declaring himself to be the greatest of gods. The king’s edict demanded all to “bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue” (Daniel 3:5 NLT). This was nothing less than a declaration of war. Whether Nebuchadnezzar realized it or not, he was aligning himself against “the greatest of gods.” His statue was a bold and blatant statement of superiority and supremacy. But what God did next is surprising.

In the dream, God sent a massive bolder to destroy the statue. But in real life, God didn’t order a direct hit on the symbol of Nebuchadnezzar’s power. Instead, He delivered a distinctly different but no less powerful proof of His sovereignty, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would find themselves in the middle of the conflict between God and Nebuchadnezzar.

These men were not trying to make a statement. They had not made a pact to disobey the king’s edict and were not practicing a form of civil disobedience. They were simply doing what they always did, worshiping their God and living their lives in accordance with His will. But their actions were portrayed as evidence of insubordination. Driven by jealousy and hatred for these upstart Hebrews, some of the king’s Chaldean counselors leveled charges against them that were intended to result in death.

“…there are some Jews—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—whom you have put in charge of the province of Babylon. They pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They refuse to serve your gods and do not worship the gold statue you have set up.” – Daniel 3:12 NLT

Frustrated by this report, Nebuchadnezzar ordered that the men be brought before him. He repeated the conditions of his edict and warned them of the consequences of their disobedience.

“…if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?” – Daniel 3:15 NLT

That last line is critical to understanding the nature of the conflict taking place in this story. This is not about three men standing up for their convictions and facing off with an unjust and unrighteous king. It is about God proving His power and supremacy over the kingdoms of this world. God could have struck Nebuchadnezzar down. He could have ordered a plague to destroy the Chaldeans. But Nebuchadnezzar had issued a challenge. Not only had he erected a statue to declare his glory, but he had boldly asserted that his power was greater than that of God.

Caught in the middle of this conflict between a human king who believed himself to be a god and Yahweh, the greatest of gods, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would have their faith tested. But the story is not about their faith; it is about the One on whom their faith relied. When confronted by the king and given a final ultimatum to bow down or die, they simply replied, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up” (Daniel 3:18 NLT).

Don’t miss the nature of their reply. They clearly see where the battle lines have been drawn. They know that this is a battle for sovereignty. The king had asserted his supremacy and declared his power over their lives. He believed that he held their future in his hands and could force their allegiance simply by threatening them with loss of life. But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew better because they knew their God was bigger. The king had power but he lacked true sovereignty. These young Hebrews believed that God was in control, despite the circumstances they faced. In their estimation, even the fiery furnace posed no real threat.

These young men were faith-filled because they believed their God to be faithful. In their youth, they had been exposed to the Psalms and the words of encouragement they bring.

In my distress I prayed to the Lord,
    and the Lord answered me and set me free.
The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear.
    What can mere people do to me?
Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me.
    I will look in triumph at those who hate me.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in people.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in princes. – Psalm 118:5-9 NLT

And while they lived long before Jesus took on human flesh and dwelt among men, they displayed the very outlook that Jesus encouraged.

“Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” – Matthew 10:28 NLT

The point of the story is not the size of their faith, but its source. These three young men were not super-saints or spiritual icons of virtue. They were ordinary men who believed in an extraordinary God who was all-knowing, all-powerful, and fully capable of delivering them. Their willingness to enter the furnace should not be viewed as a measurement of their faith but as a bold expression of their belief in the greatness of their God.

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.

Pride Comes Before the Fall

1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 3 Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 And the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 5 that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.” 7 Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. – Daniel 3:1-7 ESV

It is impossible to know when the events of this chapter took place. The author’s inclusion of them immediately after the events of chapter two leaves the impression that they happened in quick succession. However, some biblical scholars believe Nebuchadnezzar’s construction of the golden image occurred years later. There is speculation that the statue was erected in the later part of 595 B.C. to celebrate a failed coup attempt. Others have suggested that the statue was erected in 585 B.C. to commemorate the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem. But whatever the timing or the occasion, the golden image was intended to symbolize Babylonian supremacy over all the other nations of the earth. This image was a PR stunt designed to rally public opinion in the king’s favor and elevate his status as the king of all kings.

Whether Nebuchadnezzar ordered the image to be built immediately after hearing the interpretation of his dream or did so later in his reign, his motive seems clear. The term “image” is translated from the Aramaic word tselem and refers to an idolatrous figure. It is found nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible except chapter 3 of Daniel. The Hebrew equivalent is ṣelem, which is used throughout the Old Testament to refer to idols. The text does not provide a description of the image but the reader is led to believe that it was a physical representation of the “great image” (Daniel 2:31) Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream. Despite the disturbing nature of that dream and the less-than-optimistic meaning Daniel assigned to it, the king found ample inspiration to order the statue’s construction. His primary takeaway from the interpretation appears to have been Daniel’s opening words

“You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold.” – Daniel 2:37-38 ESV

He enjoyed hearing himself described as “the king of kings.” Discovering that Daniel’s God had given him power, might, and glory, Nebuchadnezzar’s overactive ego became more inflated than ever. But he was not satisfied with being “the head of gold.” He wanted more. While the dream portrayed an image comprised of different metals mixed with clay, Nebuchadnezzar commissioned a statue made of pure gold. When completed, it towered over the plain of Dura standing at a staggering height of nearly 100 feet. It only seems logical to assume that this statue bore the image of Nebuchadnezzar himself. This wasn’t an idol meant to represent Marduk, the primary god of the Babylonians; it was a tribute to one man’s obsession with his own self-importance.

There is little doubt that Nebuchadnezzar suffered from an overinflated ego and an overactive sense of self-worth. In the very next chapter, he will have yet another dream that symbolizes his struggle with pride and arrogance. Despite repeated warnings from God about his unjustified sense of self-importance, Nebuchadnezzar will stand on the balcony of his palace and proclaim, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30 ESV).

This man had every right to gloat over his own success because he ruled over the most powerful nation on earth. His might was unequalled and his kingdom was unmatched in size, wealth, and dominion. So, having erected this monument to his own success, he assembled all “the high officers, officials, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials” (Daniel 3:2 NLT) for its dedication. These men were there in an official capacity to demonstrate their allegiance to the king and to serve as representatives of the people.

As the leaders of the nation gathered in the shadow of this massive statue, a herald declared the king’s edict.

“People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the king’s command! When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue.” – Daniel 3:4-5 NLT

This image was not simply a monument to Nebuchadnezzar’s success and Babylonian supremacy, it was an idol to be worshiped. The king seems to have conveniently forgotten the statement he made when Daniel interpreted his dream.

“Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings.” – Daniel 2:47 ESV

The golden statue towering over the plain of Dura was not a monument to Yahweh’s glory and might; it was a blatant tribute to Nebuchadnezzar’s accomplishments. Whether the image was made in his own likeness is irrelevant because its very presence robbed Yahweh of glory. The king’s command that all his citizens bow down and worship the image he made was an affront to the God of the universe. The same God who had graciously interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was being treated with contempt and displaced by an image made by human hands. Not only that, the worship Nebuchadnezzar demanded was coerced by the threat of death.

“Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.” – Daniel 3:6 NLT

As will become clear, the king expected all people, regardless of nationality or religious affiliation, to worship his statue. Due to Nebuchadnezzar’s recent conquests and his penchant for taking captives, the population of Babylon would have been a diverse mixture of disparate people groups with their own deities and religious expressions. But they were each expected to show their unadulterated allegiance to the king and his kingdom by bowing down to his statue. This included Daniel and his companions. Despite Nebuchadnezzar’s glowing tribute to their God and their unexpected promotions, they would not escape the king’s edict and its penalty.

Nebuchadnezzar was not outlawing the worship of other gods; he was simply demanding the unwavering allegiance of his subjects – upon penalty of death. Everyone was free to worship their own gods, but they were also required to demonstrate the primacy of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian state. Their allegiance was not optional. Their submission was not a matter of choice. It was a do-or-die proposition that left the people with little choice but to comply and, according to verse seven, “all the people…bowed to the ground and worshiped.”

Or did they? As the chapter unfolds, it will become clear that there were a few conscientious objectors. Not everyone was willing to obey the king’s edict and bow the knee to his statue. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will refuse to comply and, as a result, suffer the consequences of their civil disobedience. These three Hebrew friends will stand their ground, refusing to compromise their convictions and welcoming the opportunity to trust in the faithfulness of their God.

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.

Consider the Source

46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. 47 The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” 48 Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king's court. – Daniel 2:46-49 ESV

After revealing the meaning of the king’s dream, Daniel confidently asserted, “A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure” (Daniel 2:45 ESV). The young man took the opportunity to promote the superiority of his God and the certainty of the vision and its message. Despite any aspersions the magicians, sorcerers, and Chaldeans might cast his way,  Daniel wanted Nebuchadnezzar to know that his words could be trusted because their source was divine. Unlike the gods of Babylon, Daniel’s God was all-knowing and all-powerful. He could “predict” the future because He was already aware of it. He knew it in advance. According to the Book of Isaiah, the God of Israel operates outside the limits of time and space. He is transcendent and eternal, having no beginning or end.

“Do not forget this! Keep it in mind!
    Remember this, you guilty ones.
Remember the things I have done in the past.
    For I alone am God!
    I am God, and there is none like me.
Only I can tell you the future
    before it even happens.
Everything I plan will come to pass,
    for I do whatever I wish.” – Isaiah 46:8-10 NLT

As a well-educated Hebrew, Daniel would have been familiar with the Psalms of David. In them, David acknowledged his own awareness of God’s omniscience.

O Lord, you have examined my heart
    and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
    You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel
    and when I rest at home.
    You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say
    even before I say it, Lord.
You go before me and follow me.
    You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too great for me to understand!. – Psalm 139:1-6 NLT

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream had not been the result of a poorly prepared meal or indigestion; it was the handiwork of God. It was He who created its content and orchestrated its timing. Because God was involved, it was more than a dream; it was prophetic. God used Nebuchadnezzar’s own political aspirations and dreams of world domination as the stage on which to reveal His own message of dominion. The vision was simply how God communicated His plans for Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom and the future of the world. The God of the universe was letting this power-obsessed king know that his authority was limited and his kingdom was temporary.

In a real sense, the interpretation of the dream was less for Nebuchadnezzar’s benefit than it was for Daniel, his friends, and the people of Israel. God wanted His people to know that He was in charge. It was His plans that would be carried out, not those of Nebuchadnezzar. God held the fates of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in His hands. They were not the helpless pawns of the Babylonian king. Their deportation had been God’s doing. Their recent graduations from the king’s training program had been God’s will. Daniel’s capacity to interpret dreams and visions was a gift from God.

No one in the room, including Daniel, understood the import of the interpretation. God provided little in the way of details. Even to this day, scholars debate the nature of the kingdoms represented by the statue. There is even disagreement about the dream’s climactic ending as biblical scholars continue to debate the nature of the everlasting kingdom to come.

The whole point of the dream and its interpretation is to accentuate the will and sovereignty of God. Daniel and his friends needed to know that their God was in complete control of all that was going on in their lives, the world, and the future. Kingdoms come and go, but God is eternal. The plans of men are powerless before the will of God. The gods of this world are no match for the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Once again, the writings of King David must have brought comfort and encouragement to Daniel and his companions as they attempted to acclimate themselves to their new surroundings.

In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry.
    May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.
May he send you help from his sanctuary
    and strengthen you from Jerusalem.
May he remember all your gifts
    and look favorably on your burnt offerings. Interlude

May he grant your heart’s desires
    and make all your plans succeed.
May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory
    and raise a victory banner in the name of our God.
May the Lord answer all your prayers.

Now I know that the Lord rescues his anointed king.
    He will answer him from his holy heaven
    and rescue him by his great power.
Some nations boast of their chariots and horses,
    but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.
Those nations will fall down and collapse,
    but we will rise up and stand firm.

Give victory to our king, O Lord!
    Answer our cry for help. – Psalm 20:1-9 NLT

Nebuchadnezzar was powerful but he was far from invincible. He could threaten his wise men with death but he couldn’t preserve his own kingdom from collapse. He could make plans to conquer the world but was incapable of controlling his own subconscious mind. He could not prevent his dreams of world domination from turning into nightmares of future devastation.

Daniel’s Spirit-induced interpretation reflects the non-negotiable reality of God’s sovereignty over the affairs of men and the future of mankind. Again, the words of the Psalms would have provided Daniel with comfort and security as he faced the threat of execution. He would have been reminded that, ultimately, all kings and kingdoms stand opposed to God. But God will have the last laugh.

Why are the nations so angry?
    Why do they waste their time with futile plans?
The kings of the earth prepare for battle;
    the rulers plot together
against the Lord
    and against his anointed one.
“Let us break their chains,” they cry,
    “and free ourselves from slavery to God.”

But the one who rules in heaven laughs.
    The Lord scoffs at them.
Then in anger he rebukes them,
    terrifying them with his fierce fury.
For the Lord declares, “I have placed my chosen king on the throne
    in Jerusalem, on my holy mountain.” – Psalm 2:1-6 NLT

Daniel and his friends had nothing to fear; their God was in complete control. But they weren’t the only ones who received an unforgettable lesson in Yahweh’s sovereignty.  The king was blown away by the entire experience and displayed his awe by bowing down before Daniel and worshiping him. The significance of that scene should not be overlooked. The most powerful man in the world was kneeling before a young man who was a member of a conquered and subjugated nation. It is unlikely that Nebuchadnezzar treated his magicians, sorcerers, and Chaldeans with the same respect. But the king revealed the motivation behind his genuflection.

“Truly, your God is the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings, a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this secret.” – Daniel 2:47 NLT

He knew that Daniel was nothing more than the spokesman for “the greatest of gods.” But he also knew that Daniel had access to a deity who was preeminent and all-powerful. Daniel’s God was worthy of reverence and, as his messenger, Daniel was deserving of honor.

Then the king appointed Daniel to a high position and gave him many valuable gifts. He made Daniel ruler over the whole province of Babylon, as well as chief over all his wise men. – Daniel 2:48 NLT

It’s telling to note that Daniel’s first official act in his new capacity was to request a promotion for each of his friends. He recognized that God had blessed him with the king’s favor and he used it, not to his own advantage, but to secure the future of his companions. By seeing that his friends were elevated alongside him, Daniel ensured that he would have not only their companionship but also their spiritual support. He was living out the truth found in the Book of Ecclesiastes.

A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. – Ecclesiastes 4:12 NLT

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.

A Nightmare Scenario

1 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. 2 Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” 4 Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” 5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. 6 But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” 8 The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— 9 if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.” 10 The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. 11 The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

12 Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. 13 So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. 14 Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. 15 He declared to Arioch, the king's captain, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. 16 And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king. – Daniel 2:1-16 ESV

Daniel and his three companions have been elevated to positions of honor and distinction within Nebuchadnezzar’s court. Having excelled at their training and passed their oral exam with flying colors, they are part of the royal retinue and in the king’s employment. Their rise to prominence is part of Yahweh’s strategic plan and positions them perfectly for the next task He has for them to do.

The timing of this chapter is difficult to discern. The text describes it as “the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar” (Daniel 1:1 ESV). History records that he assumed the throne in 605 B.C., the same year his father died. But his official reign did not begin until the following spring on the first of Nisan, 604 B.C. The prior year was credited to his father’s reign. Therefore, the second year of his reign would have begun in 603 B.C. and ended in 602 B.C. This would have allowed Daniel and his friends to complete their training and enter Nebuchadnezzar’s employment as the text suggests.

It is also possible that the four Hebrew young men excelled at their studies and “graduated” early, having caught their instructor's eyes and garnered the king's favor. But regardless of the timing, it would appear that they were officially trusted advisors to the king when the events of this chapter begin.

It is important to recall what the author stated in the opening chapter: “God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams” (Daniel 1:17 ESV). This almost comes across as a parenthetical statement that has no context. The reader is forced to question why God would have given Daniel this supernatural ability when no dreams or visions are mentioned in chapter one. But the author knows where the story is going and he is preparing his audience for the events of chapter two.

It just so happens that Nebuchadnezzar becomes plagued by a series of repeated dreams that disturb his sleep and unsettle his mind. These vivid and realistic dreams left him sleep-deprived and anxious to know their meaning, so he sent for his “enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans” (Daniel 2:2 ESV). These are the same men mentioned in chapter 1.

The king talked with them, and no one impressed him as much as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the royal service. Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom. – Daniel 1:19-20 NLT

But chapter two mentions another group of individuals called the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans were a semi-nomadic tribe that lived in the southern part of Babylon. Over the centuries, several Chaldeans served as kings in Babylon, including Nebuchadnezzar and his father. In time, the term Chaldean became interchangeable with Babylon. As a Chaldean himself, Nebuchadnezzar probably filled his administration with members from this elite, well-educated ruling class. It would appear that these men were known for their wisdom, not for their skills in magic, sorcery, or the dark arts. The king included them in all matters of state and commanded them to come to his chambers to help discern the meaning of his dreams.

When these wise men and their occult-practicing companions appeared before the king, they had no idea what awaited them. Exhausted from lack of sleep and the disturbing nature of his dreams, the king commanded that his counselors provide him with an explanation. He was convinced these nightmares were premonitions about the future and was determined to know their meaning.

It seems that the Chaldeans were the first to speak up. These wise men offered to interpret the king’s dream but only on the condition that he divulge the content. The text indicates that the rest of the conversation between the king and his advisors was in Aramaic, the lingua franca of the land. From verse 3 to the end of the chapter, the dialogue is in Aramaic, not Hebrew. This note seems intended to highlight the stark difference between the four Hebrew men and their Babylonian peers. While is it certain that Daniel and his friends learned to read, write, and speak Aramaic as part of their 3-year training program, they were not in the room when these conversations took place. Despite their superior “wisdom and understanding” (Daniel 1:20), they had not been summoned to the king’s presence. The entire exchange was an in-house matter, between the king and his fellow Babylonians.

But these men were caught in a dilemma. They could not tell the king the meaning of the dreams unless he told them the content. This is especially noteworthy considering that these men were renowned for their ability to speak with the dead, read the stars, and predict the future. These self-proclaimed fortune tellers were stumped.

“Please, Your Majesty. Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.” – Daniel 2:7 NLT

But Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t buying what they were selling. He demanded that they prove their powers of perception by providing the content of the dream and its meaning – under penalty of death.

“I know what you are doing! You’re stalling for time because you know I am serious when I say, ‘If you don’t tell me the dream, you are doomed.’ So you have conspired to tell me lies, hoping I will change my mind. But tell me the dream, and then I’ll know that you can tell me what it means.” – Daniel 2:8-9 NLT

Their reaction? Panic. Despite their illustrious titles, they know they can’t do what the king demands. They couldn't know what the king dreamed unless he told them. But King Nebuchadnezzar stuck to his original plan, threatening to kill them if they failed to do what he said. Under the threat of death, they finally own up and confess the obvious.

“No one on earth can tell the king his dream! And no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer! The king’s demand is impossible. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people.” – Daniel 2:10-11 NLT

What a perfect set-up. Faced with the impossible task of discerning the king’s dreams and their meaning, they admit that the request is way above their pay grade. They are out of their league. Fearing for their lives, they tell the king that this is a job for the gods, who don’t inhabit the realm of men. This admission speaks volumes because it reveals the sad reality of their theology. Their gods were distant and disinterested in the affairs of men. They were inaccessible and out of reach. Amazingly, none of these men suggested that their gods be consulted or considered as the logical solution to the dilemma. Instead, they use the gods as an excuse.

But their ploy failed. Instead of releasing these men from their obligation, the king doubled down on his threat and sentenced them all to death. But this is where the story gets interesting. The king’s edict was all-inclusive, condemning every magician, enchanter, astrologer, and Chaldean in his realm. News of this fateful death sentence spread fast and reached the ears of Daniel, who was informed that his name and those of his friends were included on the list of those to die.

When the captain of the king’s guard appeared at Daniel’s door to carry out his execution, Daniel didn’t panic. Instead, he “handled the situation with wisdom and discretion” (Daniel 2:14 NLT). Unaware of what precipitated his death sentence, Daniel asked the captain for an explanation. When he heard the details behind the king’s edict, he immediately requested an audience with the king.

There is no indication that Daniel has used his God-ordained gift of interpreting dreams and visions. Verse 17 of chapter one seems to be a premonition or prediction of things to come. It prepares the reader to expect something to happen in the chapters ahead. Daniel has never interpreted dreams before and, from the gist of the story, it is not even clear that Daniel is aware of his special gift. But he is nonplused by the king’s decree and appears confident that he can decipher the dream’s meaning.

Unlike his Babylonian counterparts, Daniel knows that his God is accessible and fully capable of assisting him in his time of need. He doesn’t panic or fly off the handle in a fit of rage. He reasons wisely and discerningly with his executioner, buying time to seek the will of God. Faced with the threat of death, Daniel will gather his three friends and seek the favor of Yahweh. Daniel and his companions would have been well-versed in the Hebrew Scriptures, including the Psalms. So, as they considered the life-threatening nature of their circumstances, they may have turned to the words of the psalmist for encouragement.

In my distress I prayed to the Lord,
    and the Lord answered me and set me free.
The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear.
    What can mere people do to me?
Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me.
    I will look in triumph at those who hate me.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in people.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in princes. – Psalm 118:5-9 NLT

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.

Divinely Appointed and Anointed

17 As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. 18 At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. 20 And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. 21 And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus. – Daniel 1:17-21 ESV

These last few verses provide a summary statement explaining the real motivation behind Daniel and his friends' success. These four young had been equipped by God to serve on His behalf in Babylon. Their selection to undergo training in the king’s indoctrination program had not been the result of blind luck or chance; it had been the sovereign will of God. They were there for a reason that none of them yet understood. But they were not alone because Yahweh was with them, and He had prepared for the ordeal they were about to face.

God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. – Daniel 1:17 NLT

For three years, they consumed their vegetarian diet as well as the academic curriculum fed to them by their Babylonian masters. When their training was complete, they were brought before the king for the final phase of their training. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would have been accompanied by all the other Hebrew young men who had been exiled with them and handpicked for the king’s training program. But as might be expected, Daniel and his three friends stood out. Their interviews with Nebuchadnezzar made an impression on him.

Their countenance and comprehension excelled that of all the other candidates. These young men were physically and intellectually superior to their peers, and they passed their oral exams with flying colors.

Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom. – Daniel 1:20 NLT

Once again, the author provides the reader with insight into the success of the four friends. Their intellectual capacity was God-ordained; not the result of a high IQ. They received the same training as their peers, yet their assimilation of the material was unequaled. As verse 17 makes clear, their aptitude was a gift from God. He had provided them with a special capacity for retention and practical application. Their wisdom exceeded that of the king’s most trusted sages and sorcerers, a fact that did not escape Nebuchadnezzar. Like any other king, he was always in need of wise and reliable counselors to whom he could turn concerning important matters of state. Up to this point, he had relied upon his “magicians and enchanters” (Daniel 1:21 ESV).

The Hebrew word for “magician” is ḥarṭōm and it refers to someone who consults the stars to discern the future or seek guidance on important matters. They were astrologers who claimed to have the ability to “read” the stars and provide hidden wisdom. The other group mentioned is the “enchanters.” The Hebrew word is 'aššāp̄ and refers to necromancers, those who claimed to communicate with the dead. They claimed to use their dark magic to speak to spirits living in the underworld who would provide them with hidden knowledge and supernatural insights.

Necromancy was a common practice in ancient Babylon, where people believed in communicating with the dead to gain insight into the future or accomplish tasks. In the pagan and polytheistic world of Babylon, priests, magicians, conjurers, and astrologers played a major role in daily life. They even had a god of magic named Marduk, who presided over justice, healing, compassion, regeneration, and fairness.

But Marduk was no match for Yahweh, the God of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. In fact, he was no god at all, and the king’s magicians, necromancers, astrologers, and enchanters were either posers or the unwitting pawns of demonic spirits. Any knowledge they gained from dabbling in the dark arts was incomplete at best. Satan and his demons don’t know the mind of God and have no way of discerning or determining the future. Only Yahweh is omniscient and sovereign over the affairs of men. He alone controls the fate of kings and kingdoms.

Little did Nebuchadnezzar know that he had four secret agents of the Almighty who had infiltrated his kingdom. In his pride, he saw these four young men as the byproduct of his elite training school. They had been properly prepared for service in his royal administration. But, in fact, they had been secretly anointed by Yahweh, the God of the Israelites, and would be used as His instruments in the land of the enemy.

Nebuchadnezzar hired them on the spot and elevated them to places of prominence in his court. It isn’t clear whether Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew that Yahweh was the source of their wisdom and subsequent promotions. Yet, as the book progresses, their faith in Yahweh will be on full display as they navigate the dangerous waters of Nebuchadnezzar’s godless kingdom. Their faith in Yahweh will be put to the test. The temptation to compromise their convictions will be unrelenting. They will soon discover that, while their promotions secure them with prominent roles in the king’s court, they will never really fit in. Their relationship with Yahweh will make it impossible to blend in. Maintaining their faithfulness to Yahweh will set them apart and put them at odds with their Babylonian peers. They will have to learn the difficult lesson of living in the world without becoming part of it. 

The last line of this opening chapter reveals that “Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus” (Daniel 1:21 ESV). This lets the reader know that Daniel would serve in the royal court for 66 years, all the way to the Persian takeover of the Babylonian empire. He and his friends would experience the ups and downs of living in a land where they would never be truly welcome. Despite their prominent positions, they would always be viewed as outsiders. Their faith in Yahweh would always put them at odds with their coworkers and create a constant tension that, at times, escalated into abject hatred and a desire for their deaths. But they served the king and stayed faithful to their God and, through it all, Yahweh would provide for and protect them.

The faith of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego will provide the reader with inspiration. But Daniel’s God-given ability to interpret dreams and visions will provide much more. He will reveal aspects of God’s divine redemptive plan that involve future events still yet to happen. God was not done with Israel and He is far from done with the world He created. The Israelite’s detour to Babylon was going to come to an end. But, more importantly, the world’s long-awaited deliverance from the curse of the fall will one day be removed.

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.

Food for Thought

5 The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. 6 Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. 7 And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. 9 And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, 10 and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” 11 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” 14 So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food. 16 So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. – Daniel 1:5-16 ESV

Since the book bears Daniel’s name, it’s easy to assume that its content is all about him. Its retelling of Daniel’s arrival in Babylon and his meteoric rise to prominence within the court of Nebuchadnezzar gives it the feel of a biography. Over the centuries there has been much debate concerning the book’s authorship, but within its own pages, the evidence points to Daniel.

In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first. – Daniel 8:1 ESV

…in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. – Daniel 9:2 ESV

While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the Lord my God for the holy hill of my God, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. – Daniel 9:20-21 ESV

In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks. – Daniel 1-:2-3 ESV

Throughout the book, Daniel switches from the first-person singular to the third-person, a common literary practice among ancient authors. The primary reason some scholars reject Daniel as the book’s author is the staggering success rate of the prophecies it contains. The fact that so many of Daniel’s predictions come true leads them to conclude that the book was written by an unknown author who lived centuries later.

The Book of Daniel predicts events of the second century before the coming of Jesus (especially the period 175-164 B.C.) with such precision that doubting critics believe it had to have been written after that period, during the time of the Maccabees (in-between the Old and New Testaments). Supposedly, the purpose for writing Daniel at that time was to inspire God’s people on to victory during the Maccabean wars. – David Guzik, Daniel: The Enduring Word Commentary

Critical scholars, unwilling to accept the supernatural nature of the book’s prophetic visions, have attempted to explain it all away by arguing for an anonymous author who used Daniel as a mouthpiece. By recasting the events of his own day as the fulfillment of ancient prophecy, the author was merely attempting to encourage his contemporary readers.  Yet, Jesus, who lived centuries after the events recorded in the book, believed Daniel was its author.

“So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand)…” – Matthew 24:15 ESV

But while this suggests that the book is actually an autobiography, Daniel is not telling his story. He is simply a player in the grand drama that began with the call of Abraham in Ur. Daniel and his companions were caught up in a much larger story that spans all the way from God’s creation of the universe to His ultimate recreation recording in the Book of Revelation. This book was not intended to set Daniel up as an icon of virtue or a model for godly living. While he and his friends exhibit admirable characteristics and demonstrate a commitment to God worthy of emulation, they are not to be worshiped as heroes. Too often, the book’s content is reduced to little more than a guide for godly living. Lessons have been written with titles like “Dare to Be a Daniel” that attempt to encourage faithfulness and discourage compromised convictions in the face of worldly pressure. But while those are worthy objectives, they can easily lose sight of the book’s primary objective.

The opening chapter sets the stage for Daniel’s arrival in Babylon. There are no details given as to Daniel’s family background or social standing in the city of Jerusalem. Verse 3 states that Nebuchadnezzar issued orders “to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility” (Daniel 1:3 ESV), so it seems likely that Daniel was from an affluent family. It also appears that a selection process was involved that culled out the less attractive “candidates.” Daniel was one of the “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” (Daniel 1:4 ESV).

Upon their arrival in Babylon, these young men were separated from their families and taken to the royal palace where they were to be trained “in the language and literature of Babylon” (Daniel 1:4 NLT). In a sense, they were enrolled in a Babylonian boarding school where they would be inculcated with the wisdom and ways of their new masters. This was nothing less than an intense indoctrination strategy designed to isolate these young men from their parents so they could be reprogrammed and repurposed.

There is no way of determining the exact number of young men who were forced to endure this three-year program of brainwashing and rehabilitation. It’s unlikely that the four individuals listed represent the entire “freshman class” of Nebuchadnezzar’s elite training program. But Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah are listed because they will play important roles as the book unfolds. Each of them is from the tribe of Judah and faces the challenge of maintaining their Jewish heritage and faith in Yahweh as they endure the pressure to adapt to the ways of their new masters.

It all begins easily enough with Daniel and his companions being offered “a daily ration of food and wine” (Daniel 1:5 NLT) from the king’s own kitchen. Rather than being treated like slaves, they were feted like royalty, eating food fit for a king. This was likely a ploy to soften up these young men so they would have a more favorable view of their Babylonian overlords. Along with fine food, they were given new names, another not-so-subtle ploy to reprogram these young men so they would forego their past and embrace their new homeland.

…the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego. – Daniel 1:7 ESV

There is far more going on here than just the designation of new Babylonian names. There was a purpose behind the eunuch’s choice of names. Daniel’s Hebrew name meant “God is my judge,” while his new name meant “the prince of Bell). Hannaniah, which means “Beloved by the LORD” was changed to “Illumined by Sun-god.” Mishael’s name (Who is as God) was changed to Meshach (Who is like Shach). Finally, Azariah had his name (The LORD is my help) changed to Abed-Nego (Servant of Nego). Each young man’s Hebrew name honored Yahweh, the God of the Israelites. But their new names honored one of the gods of the Babylonians. This was another attempt to indoctrinate these young men by removing any attachment they may have to their former religion. Everything was being altered; their diet, education, environment, names, and religious affiliation.

Yet, despite the pressure to compromise, Daniel resisted.

Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. – Daniel 1:8 ESV

There is far more going on here than Daniel refusing to eat the king’s rich and probably unhealthy diet. The text purposely uses the word “defile.” The Hebrew word, gā'al, can be translated as “to pollute” or “desecrate.” It is a word associated with unacceptable sacrifices offered to God. In the Book of Malachi, God confronts the priests of Israel, accusing them of treating His name with contempt. They declare their innocence and respond, “How have we despised your name?” (Malachi 1:6 ESV). God answers them with a specific charge that uses the same Hebrew word.

“By offering polluted [gā'al] food upon my altar. ” – Malachi 1:7 ESV

The content of Daniel’s diet is not provided, but it seems likely that it contained meat that had not been processed according to the Mosaic Law. Israelites were forbidden to eat any meat that had not first been drained of all its blood.

“If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood.” – Leviticus 17:10-12 ESV

Daniel refused to eat meat that was improperly prepared. To do so would defile himself before Yahweh. His request for a vegetarian-based diet reflects his desire to avoid the impure nature of the meat provided by the Babylonians. When Daniel informed the chief eunuch of his decision to fast, he was met with concern, not consternation. The eunuch didn’t explode with rage or threaten Daniel with discipline. Instead, he showed unprecedented concern. But the text makes clear that this reaction was God-ordained.

God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs. – Daniel 1:9 ESV

This subtle statement sets the tone for the rest of the book, revealing that Yahweh was behind every aspect of Daniel’s life and would be intimately involved in every circumstance that unfolded in the days ahead. Even within the confines of Nebuchadnezzar’s royal compound, Yahweh was providentially moving behind the scenes to accomplish His will for Daniel and His redemptive plan for the people of Israel. This was about far more than Daniel’s diet; it was about the sovereign will of Yahweh.

When the eunuch heard the decision of Daniel and his companions, he became concerned that the lack of protein might have a deleterious effect on their health and his own personal well-being.

“If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded.” – Daniel 1:10 NLT

But Daniel calmed the eunuch’s fears by suggesting a short-term trial to determine the efficacy of a vegetarian diet.

“Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said. “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.” – Daniel 1:12-13 NLT

The eunuch agreed to conduct the test and when the ten days were up, the results were all-conclusive; Daniel and his friends had not only survived but “looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king” (Daniel 1:15 NLT).

It should be no surprise that this story has been used to elevate Daniel and his friends to an almost saint-like status. This is where the “Dare to Be a Daniel” idea gets its genesis. Another strange but as-to-be-expected conclusion reached from this account is the once-popular “Daniel Diet.” Sometimes referred to as the Daniel Fast, this weight-loss program features a 10 to 21-day vegan diet plan based on minimally processed, plant-based foods, and the avoidance of all animal products, caffeine, and alcohol. While there is nothing inherently wrong with a vegetarian diet, that is not the point of this story. There is also nothing wrong with emphasizing Daniel’s faithfulness and refusal to compromise his convictions. But, once again, that is not the primary point of the story.

God was at work. The very fact that Daniel and his friends were in Babylon was the result of God’s sovereign will. The fall of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians and the deportation of its citizens had all been part of His plan. Nebuchadnezzar had not chosen these young men, God had because He had a plan to use them to accomplish His will. Their decision to refuse the king’s food was not a result of their willpower, but of God’s Spirit moving in their hearts.

When the text states that “Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself ” (Daniel 1:8 ESV), it attempts to convey more than just a cognitive decision on Daniel’s part. He didn’t use logic to reach his conclusion; it was a matter of the heart. The Hebrew could be translated as “he made up his mind” (NET Bible), or better yet, “he placed on his heart.”  This was a God-directed decision on Daniel’s part, and it was necessary so that Daniel and his friends could serve as God’s secret agents operating within the enemy camp. Yahweh had work for these young men to do and He was going to protect them and provide for them all along the way.

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.

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.