Daniel 1:1-2 -- Defeat
The opening words of the book of Daniel is a record of defeat. The
defeat of God’s chosen people by a pagan nation. Daniel 1:1 In the
third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. But Jerusalem’s
defeat should have come as no surprise. Prophet after prophet
foretold this event. Long had they given counsel, first on how to
avoid such a fate, and when that was no longer possible, how to
make the best of a bad situation. But the prophets preached to the
wind. Twice again the Jews would revolt against Babylonian rule,
and twice again the city would be captured by Nebuchadnezzar. And
the Jews would find themselves more heavily oppressed each time,
and finally at last the city itself would be burned to the ground -
and for that they had none but themselves to blame
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. Nebuchadnezzar of
course attributed the success of the conquest to his gods, but the
Bible sets the record straight. Jerusalem and Judea were conquered
not because of the powers of any heathen gods, nor by the military
ability of the Babylonian armies, but because, and only because God
GAVE the nation and the city to the Babylonians. But how could God
give His nation, His chosen people, into the power of a heathen
king? As far as the Jews had backslidden, were not the Babylonians
even worse? The answer to this question reveals insights uniquely
important about the character of God. So then, why did God allow
Judah to be taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar?
Jeremiah 2:11 Has a nation changed its gods, Which are not gods?
But My people have changed their Glory For what does not profit. 12
Be astonished, O heavens, at this, And be horribly afraid; Be very
desolate," says the LORD. 13 "For My people have committed two
evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And
hewn themselves cisterns-broken cisterns that can hold no water.
The Bible tells us the God had selected the Israelites in a special
sense to be His people. They were to be witnesses to the nations
around them. They were to be a blessing to the world, a light in
the darkness of this world. But they turned away from God, who
alone is the source of light. They turned away from their only
source of spiritual strength. Destitute of the power of the Spirit,
destitute of the living waters, they could not fulfill God’s
purpose for them. But nonetheless, they were loved by God, and it
is written that those who God loves, he chastises. The chastisement
was severe, but then their case was desperate. But through it all
(not withstanding their sins) they were in the hands of a loving
God. It was to Abraham that God first spoke of his purpose for His
people.
To Abraham God said, speaking not only of Abraham but also of his
spiritual descendants: Genesis 12: 2 I will make you a great
nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be
a blessing. In order to witness effectively about God’s goodness,
to be the blessing God desired them to be, the Israelites would of
necessity have had to live in harmony with His laws, walking in His
light, walking in His Spirit - seeking to reflect His pure and
gracious character. But God does not compel obedience. He left the
Israelites to make their own choice. Sad to say, more often than
not they desired nothing more than to be like the nations around
them. Like many Christians today, they often refused even to get
along with one another, ultimately dividing into two separate
quarreling nations. And as if that was not enough, Israel, the
northern kingdom, officially adopted a kind of paganism, the
worship of golden calves. Even so, God did not immediately or
willingly “give up” Israel. He sent prophet after prophet - Elijah,
Amos, Hosea, and others - over a period of centuries, to plead with
the nation -- offering complete pardon if only the people would
repent. But God shows no partiality.
Acts 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth and said: "In truth I
perceive that God shows no partiality. They may have been His
chosen people, but that would not excuse their sins. If Israel
insisted on going her own way God would have no choice but to let
her go and suffer the consequences - just as other nations had to -
just as we also must if we willfully turn our back on God to go and
do our own thing. But God, because of His great love for us, does
not easily let people go. Listen to the anguish in His words as He
contemplates “giving up” Israel. Hosea 11:7
My people are bent on backsliding from Me. Though they call to the
Most High, None at all exalt Him. 8 "How can I give you up,
Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like
Admah? How can I set you like Zeboiim? My heart churns within Me;
My sympathy is stirred. But finally He was left with no choice. God
“gave up” Israel to the Assyrians. Hosea 4:17 "Ephraim is joined to
idols, Let him alone. How sad these words. What can be more awful
than having God just give up on you? And yet, does not the same
hold true today - even among Christian churches? How long will it
be before God just gives up on us?
Note verse 7 of Hosea 11. Look at these two phrases from that
verse: “My people are bent on backsliding from Me. Though they call
to the Most High” Do you see the contrast? Hell bent on
backsliding, on going their own way, doing their own thing, while
at the same time presuming to call on the Most High. That’s called
presumption. Read Revelation 3:14-16, the message to the Laodiceans
http://prophecyandnews.ning.com/profiles/blogs/2111450:BlogPost:1701--
God last day message to His last day church. Truly we have a work
of repentance before us. Here again we see a people complacent,
self satisfied in their presumed relationship with God, and yet
clearly, they too are blindly going astray - and like the nation of
Israel before them, in danger of being cast out from the presence
of the Lord. Revelation 3:14 "And to the angel of the church of the
Laodiceans write, 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and
True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 "I know your
works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were
cold or hot. 16 "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither
cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. But all is not
lost. Read the rest of the chapter too - As bad as things are, God
still holds out hope for those who are willing to humble themselves
and receive his counsel. Some of the most glorious promises made to
any of the seven churches are made to the Laodiceans. Finally, when
no more could be done for them, God gave Israel up, and its people
were scattered to the four winds. This should have been a lesson
for Judah, but in time Judah’s apostasy became even worse than
Israel’s had been. And a list of their sins sounds like a recital
of today’s headlines. Dishonesty, injustice to the poor, murder,
breaking the Sabbath, persecuting the prophets, favoring preachers
who promised prosperity without condemning vice, worship of Baal --
which included a variety of “alternative sexual lifestyles” such as
premarital, extramarital, homosexual and bestial. Romans 15:4 For
whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our
learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures
might have hope. We would do well to learn the lesson.
God says to us: Isaiah 58: 1 "Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your
voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the
house of Jacob their sins. By the way, did you catch the phrase
“Tell My people.” This is not a call to point fingers at the world
and tell them how bad they are. This is a call for preachers to
speak plainly to their own people, to their own churches. It is a
call to call sin by its right name - in the church itself. Ezekiel
33:11 "Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no
pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from
his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should
you die, O house of Israel?' Prophet after prophet appealed to the
southern kingdom of Judah as others had appealed to the northern
kingdom of Israel. Micah, Isaiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Jeremiah and
others offered pardon in exchange for repentance - but they
preached to the wind. But whether they hear or not, we are still to
present Christ Crucified, a living hope, the only power to turn
from sin and death to righteousness and life. We may be preaching
to the wind, but we are to lift up Jesus before a dying world, tell
them that there is power in His blood to wash away all sin.
Some will hear. 2 Chronicles 36:15 And the LORD God of their
fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early
and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on
His dwelling place. 16 But they mocked the messengers of God,
despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of
the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy. 17
Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who
killed their young men with the sword in the house of their
sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the
aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand. When God “gives
up” a person or nation it is not so much that God has separated
Himself from them, but rather it is they who have separated
themselves from Him. Isaiah 59:1 Behold, the LORD'S hand is not
shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot
hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And
your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.
