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The Godly Suffer As Well...

Pastor Bill Farrow

Daniel 1:2

 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god.

(Verse 1) - The Lord gave Jehoiakim, King of Judah... We have already spoken of God's sovereign action in the lives of those who are His. God is free, because of His authority as the Sovereign of the universe, to treat and deal with His creation as He pleases. Of course, He does this in complete consistency with His character. He is never unjust or unrighteous in the way He exercises that right.

It is follows that God is free to pursue His purposes in the lives of His creatures in any way that He desires. This is a good illustration of exactly this principle. It is evident that as a part of the pursuit of those purposes, at times God causes negative things to accomplish a greater good purpose. Note that is a direct thing. It is not tha God allowed this to happen; but that He directly caused it in the pursuit of his aims and goals in history.

This is certainly seen in God's control over nations and their destiny. Nations rise and fall, not primarily on their own but in complete accord with the will of God. If a king comes to power, it is because God put him there. If a nation falls into disfavor, it is because God no longer has a use for them.

This is certainly the case with Babylon. God raised them up almost entirely to use to chasten Judah. Secondarily, they were used to judge Assyria for their treatment of the Northern Kingdom some 100 years before. When God needed them, they come to power on the world scene. When God was finished with them, they disappeared. We do not want to be simplistic but these are the two basic reasons, Biblically, for the existence of the Babylonians on the world scene.

With regard to the text of verse 2 - Jehoiakim was taken captive, and it would seem that there was an intention to convey him to Babylon (2 Chr. 36:6), but that for some cause he was not removed there, but died at Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:5-6), though he was not honorably buried there, (Jer. 22:19; 36:30).

In the second book of Chronicles (2 Chr. 36:6), it is said that "Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and bound Jehoiakim in fetters, to take him to Babylon." Some have supposed that an error has crept into the text in the book of Chronicles, as there is no evidence that Jehoiakim was taken to Babylon, but it appears from 2 Kings 24:1-2, that Jehoiakim was continued in authority at Jerusalem under Nebuchadnezzar three years, and then rebelled against him, and that then Nebuchadnezzar sent against him "bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it." There is no necessity of supposing an error in the text in the account in the book of Chronicles. It is probable that Jehoiakim was taken, and that the "intention" was to take him to Babylon, according to the account in Chronicles, but that, from some cause not mentioned, the purpose of the Chaldean monarch was changed, and that he was placed again over Judah, under Nebuchadnezzar, according to the account in the book of Kings, and that he remained in this condition for three years until he rebelled, and that then the bands of Chaldeans, etc., were sent against him.

It is probable that at this time, perhaps while the siege was going on, he died, and that the Chaldeans dragged his dead body out of the gates of the city, and left it unburied, as Jeremiah had predicted, (Jer. 22:19; 36:30).

"...with some of the articles of the house of God,..." 2 Chr. 36:7. Another portion of the vessels of the temple at Jerusalem was taken away by Nebuchadnezzar, in the time of Jehoiachin, the successor of Jehoiakim, 2 Chr. 36:10. On the third invasion of Palestine, the same thing was repeated on a more extensive scale, 2 Kings 24:13. At the fourth and final invasion, under Zedekiah, when the temple was destroyed, all its treasures were carried away, 2 Kings 25:6-20. A part of these treasures were brought back under Cyrus, Ezra 1:7; the rest under Darius, Ezra 6:5.

Why they were not "all" taken away at first does not appear, but perhaps Nebuchadnezzar did not then intend wholly to overthrow the Hebrew nation, but meant to keep them tributary to him as a people. The temple was not at that time destroyed, but probably he allowed the worship of Jehovah to be celebrated there still, and he would naturally leave such vessels as were absolutely necessary to keep up the services of public worship.

We need to note that when God chastens a nation or a group of people, it can have a grave effect on the house of God. The temple was virtually destroyed as a functional religious element. The innocent are chastened alongside the guilty. This is inevitable and inescapable.

It is frightening to consider the experience of the godly who were present in Judah at the time of the captivity. They suffered right along side of the ones who deserved to be chastened. In that light, the godly present in our own country should realize that they may undergo suffering right beside the wicked whose actions bring down the hand of God. I wonder how prepared we are for this? I wonder what the reaction of many who call themselves Christians will be when the chastening hand of God moves against our wicked and sinful culture, as it must!

I need to be sure that I am prepared for the certainly of the judgement of God on the culture I live in when it falls.