We come now to the final turbulent two decades before the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of Judah. It is a time of great rivalry between the powerful empires of Babylon in the north (originally a part of the Assyrian empire but had split off and grown more powerful than its predecessor) and Egypt in the south. In between was the tiny state of Judah surrounded by other small nations all in a panic to secure their survival in these turbulent times. Under God’s protection Judah might have been protected, but sadly, beginning with Jehoahaz’s reign, the nation turned away from God. As a result, Judah was engulfed by Egypt and then Babylon. Jehoiakim tried to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, but Nebuchadnezzar crushed his revolt and took Jehoiakim and others, including Daniel, back to Babylon. This was the first deportation of captives from Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar is the only foreign king recorded in the Bible to have turned wholly to Yahweh. A large section (chapter 4) of the book of Daniel consists of the first-hand testimony of Nebuchadnezzar relating his conversion. It is amazing to see how such a powerful king, whose military dominance we see portrayed in this chapter of Kings, is eventually subdued by one young faithful Jewish boy. So, while the nation of Judah would be crushed in this period, the flame of God’s purpose would remain. It never goes out and we all have the opportunity to be its torch bearer as Daniel was.
Ask God to make you a ‘Daniel’ in your everyday activities so that people will meet God through you.
Read 2 Kings 23:31-24:17 and Daniel 4
