As good parents to our own children, we tell them about Jesus and teach them from stories in the Bible.
What child does not love hearing about Jesus and want to learn more about Him?
But it seems as they grow and mature into teens and then young adults, most have lost that enthusiasm for God's truth; they've been captured by the persuasions of the world.
Since the time of Adam, man has rejected God's rule over him and has continued to desire forbidden fruit.
This is just what happened when the Israelites told Samuel they wanted a king as the nations around them had. They weren't content with a heavenly King and gave Samuel the excuse that it was because of his wicked sons.
Let us turn to 1 Samuel, Chapter 8
After praying to God for guidance the Lord said unto Samuel, "Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them."
God knew their hearts and told Samuel to warn the people what a heavy price they would have to pay in their desire of earthly man to rule over them.
"Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; that we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles." 1 Samuel 8:19-20
Thinking that their own works were not wicked, notice one of the things these people wanted, "that our king may judge us."
God gave these people who did not want to serve Him their own earthly king(s).
What happened throughout the Babylonian captivity will be our main focus, keeping in mind that much of what is revealed to us from Old Testament scriptures concerning this subject will point us ultimately to the Babylon and the remnant of our day. By seeking to understand this captivity through God's Word we ourselves should benefit from it and come to a better understanding of Who God is, His ways, and how He works in the lives of His children.
Proverbs 23:26 "My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways."
God allowed Babylon to capture Israel and carry them away to a strong country.
There Nebuchadnezzar became their new king. He put a yoke of iron upon the necks of all nations he ruled over.
Let us consider some things about this king who would rule over them.
Nebuchadnezzar (more accurately Nebuchadrezzar)
We will read some very interesting scripture verses concerning him, yet at first they can be difficult to understand and even confusing.
Who was this mysterious person Nebuchadnezzar that God would give him power over the whole earth? In Jer. 25:9 The Lord calls him 'My Servant', and yet he is King of Babylon! One thing is important to understand: God rules over the whole earth and gives to whomever He wills to govern it, but as followers of the One true God we must always obey Him rather than man.
Nebuchadnezzar was a heathen king, meaning Gentile, not an Israelite; and although Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom seem to have been shown favor, it is important to remember he is an enemy to the Israelites.
By the time of Zedekiah (Israel's last king) the Israelites had sinned worse than their fathers who forsook the Lord and walked after and worshipped other gods. Their children walked after the counsels and in the imaginations of their own heart.
Jeremiah 7:24 "But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward."
When God brought Babylon against Israel Jeremiah counseled the Jews to come under Nebuchadnezzar's yoke. His counsel from God was in essence: don't fight against Nebuchadnezzar but rather bear this oppression. If you don't come under the yoke to Nebuchadnezzar you'll be destroyed. Yet Israel continued to rebel against God, they fought against Nebuchadnezzar and were taken into captivity by Babylon.
The message to the Jews was that they ought to accept this chastisement from God.
God's desire was that they acknowledge their iniquity and return back to Him in repentance and contrition.
We find throughout the earlier history of the Israelite people that God constantly brought heathen nations against His elect to trouble them and chasten them so they would hearken more diligently to Him. When God's people are slack in seeking His face and obeying Him, God chastises.
Understanding this captivity can be confusing, not because the Israelites are punished for their disobedience but because of how God accomplishes His will in them. His commandment to them is, 'to come under the yoke' of Nebuchadnezzar and the heathen nation of Babylon.
Isaiah 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD."
When God brought Babylon to chastise Israel, Jeremiah's counsel was not to bow to the wickedness and tyranny of Babylonian Laws, but to accept God's chastisement through the captivity of Babylon. We find in Jeremiah's letter to Israel (Chapter 29) a message from God carefully instructing them on how to live while in their captivity.
We also see the principle that when sin is discovered in the camp all are punished until it is removed.
In a raid by Nebuchadnezzar a few years earlier, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were brought to Babylon along with others but purposed in their hearts they would not offend God.
Hence they did not eat of the portion of the King's meat. This 'meat' is a figure of the Abomination (false gospel).
God raised them up as prophets in the land of Babylon.
Daniel and his three friends represent how all true believers should live in the world.
Babylon, a figure of the unregenerate church is also pictured as the world. Many see the world ruling in the churches today, replacing God's Word with the teachings of Man.
Let us turn to Jeremiah 43:10
"And say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them."
Incredibly, we see a type of Christ in Nebuchadnezzar!
'My Servant' can only be a revelation of Jesus Christ. (God's elect are 'these stones that I have hid').
Nebuchadnezzar can be seen as God's Perfect Law. He comes against a rebellious Israel with his Holy Law, the yoke of iron (hard bondage).
(The New Testament saints, who are also Israel circumcised of heart, are chastised by the Spirit as he uses this rod of correction upon them).
Proverbs 3:11-12
"My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:
For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth."
Traditionally we think of Satan as the Adversary, the accuser of the brethren. Nebuchadnezzar is also a picture of the adversary (though not of the fallen, angelic being), as God's Holy Law it accuses and convicts the sinner.
The Law of God because of sin is the enemy of man. The Holy Law is an adversary (an accuser) because of sin.
God uses His Law for humbling purposes. It is the power of God's Word which destroys the workings of the flesh (indwelling sin).
"For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished." Jer. 30:11
Let's find out what this chastisement from God accomplished in the Israelites, once again, keeping in mind Mystery Babylon and the small remnant remaining in our day.
Turning to 2 Chron. 36:13-21 we find some lengthy but detailed verses important to study and understand,
13 And he (Zedekiah) also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the LORD God of Israel. 14 Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.
The reason God sent them to Babylon. Listen carefully!
15 And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:
16 But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.
17 Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand.
We have just read the compassion the Lord had upon the Israelites. How could this be compassion?
To slay with the (S)word through God's Law, His Word, accuses the sinner and convicts all who are in rebellion. It is this which 'slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary'. In other words, when God's people come together, in the house of their sanctuary (Church or wherever two or more are gathered) to hear His Word, it brings conviction to the sinner.
"For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword." -Hebrews 4:12
The Elect, the vessels of God's mercy:
18 And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon.
19 And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.
The only thing that destroys the workings of the flesh is the Law of God. It is the power of God's Word which aids in the destruction of the flesh. It is "the flesh and the pride of life" which the Lord brings destruction upon and is a correcting discipline.
20 "And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:"
Those who are not of His seed He gives up to their own depravity and the power of sin. Within the great assembly called the Church are both the unregenerate and the true saints. His chastisement is brought about for the true saints only, that they may profit from it. This remnant will persevere and return to God in contrition and repentance.
Reading on, 70 years later; Cyrus, the King of Prussia, sounds very much like Nebuchadnezzar as he proclaims, "all the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord given me". God stirred up Cyrus to free the Israelites with a remnant returning to Jerusalem. In Cyrus also is a picture of Christ…the Savior of His people. I believe many times God both teaches us and continually reminds us of His spiritual truths through the physical pictures He gives us throughout the Bible.
"Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up". 2 Chron. 36:23
The Elect are the 'stones' God uses to build His spiritual house in Jerusalem.
In Ezra, Chapter 2 you can see how this captivity brought a remnant of many thousands back to the Lord; the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.
Ezra 3:11 "And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid."
What did God accomplish by this captivity and why did it change some hearts and not others back to God? For one thing, it brought humbleness back to God's people, His Elect. That they would seek after Him with all their hearts. It also separated His Own from the unregenerate of the world, bringing the remnant back into the land. (spiritually, into His kingdom).
God will not have His heritage associated with the abominations of the world, nor His Land (kingdom) defiled,
Jeremiah 2:7 "And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination."
Listen to Ezra's beautiful prayer of repentance found in Ezra 9:5-15
5 And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God,
6 And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.
7 Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.
8 And now for a little grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.
9 For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
10 And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments,
11 Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness.
12 Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever.
13 And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this
14 Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?
15 O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.
What happened next was a great multitude came and wept before the Lord.
"Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore." Ezra 10:1
Nebuchadnezzar's praise of God,
Daniel 4:37 "Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase."
Christ's life, death, and resurrection was sufficient to secure the salvation of man.
He succeeded in saving all those for whom He died and not one was lost or in vain.
There is no flesh that will glory in God's presence, the Law of works cannot save. The salvation of man is by God alone and for the glory of God.
We have just seen throughout these scriptures how Babylon was used by God for chastisement through the Law, but there is coming a time when God will bring Judgment upon Babylon. Let us take a closer look at that subject next time.
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jer. 29:11
