MORNING MESSAGE: John Cline
Text: 2 Chronicles 35 and 36; Daniel 1
Project timeline of the fall of Jerusalem…
609 B.C. – Judah’s army fights against Assyria’s partner, Egypt, and loses with King Josiah dying on the Plain of Megiddo. Shortly after, the Battle of Carchemish results in Babylon defeating Assyria. Sensing Judah’s weakness without good King Josiah, Babylon attacks Jerusalem and its new king, Jehoiakim
605 B.C. – Babylon takes away into Babylonian exile Jerusalem’s princes/leading young men, including Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
597 B.C. – Babylon attacks Jerusalem for a second time, taking away citizens such as Ezekiel into Babylonian captivity
586 B.C. – Babylon levels Jerusalem, destroying the Temple, and taking most of the citizens into captivity. Jeremiah is left behind
538 B.C. – King Cyrus the Great of Persia defeats Babylon and gives the order allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem.
We have been preaching through the Bible for the past 14 ½ years and have come to a person whose legacy is unmatched in Jewish history. The things he did changed that nation and had effects, a long-lasting legacy, for hundreds of years. That man was King Josiah, a grandparent whose light and life changed history, but the forming-ground for his legacy started when he was just a few years old, with his own grandfather Manasseh, Judah’s formerly worst and most sinful king whom repented of his sins when God changed him.
The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. So, the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so, he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God…He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the Lord, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city. Then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. (2 Chronicles 33:10-13,15,16)
Repentant, faithful Manasseh was the grandfather Josiah knew. His example to Josiah of a person who followed God wholeheartedly impacted Josiah greatly. Here is what we read about Josiah:
Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses. (2 Kings 23:25)
Josiah became a role model for his people in Judah but also for those Jews in exile in Babylon. That Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and others were able to stay faithful to God and withstand the social and political pressures put on them by Babylonian officials who ordered them to worship other gods was due to Josiah having been their king in their formative years and teaching them that they should not worship other gods but stay faithful to YHWH God. You recall that King Josiah had gone throughout the lands of Judah and Israel and torn down every altar erected to false gods. Idolatry, the worship of false gods, was never again practiced by Jews, either in their homeland or in Babylon. Ok, let’s return to where we left off last time, with the death of King Josiah.
The people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in place of his father. Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. (2 Kings 23:30b,31)
Jeremiah the prophet was prophesying God’s word at this time, as you we learned in last summer’s sermon series on the Book of Jeremiah. But I want you to know that Hamutal the “daughter of Jeremiah” was not the daughter of Jeremiah the prophet, but of another man named Jeremiah. In any case, concerning King Jehoahaz, he got himself into big trouble with the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho:
He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his predecessors had done. Pharaoh Necho put him in chains at Riblah in the land of Hamath so that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and he imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, and there he died. (2 Kings 23:32-34)
As their country was falling apart due to three month-reign of bad leadership by the new king, Jehoiakim, what do you think might have been said in the conversations amongst the “princes”, the “leading young men” who had served in King Josiah’s court? I bet they were encouraging each other to stay strong and continue to follow the example of their beloved King Josiah, their mentor, their hero and spiritual leader. After all, Josiah was the king they had loved, grown up with, and emulated. After the horrible 3-month reign of Jehoahaz had mercifully ended, his son Jehoiakim was given the throne.
Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah; she was from Rumah. And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord. (2 Kings 23:36,37a)
Jehoiakim chose to follow the evil ways of his father Jehoahaz, rather than the righteous ways of his grandfather Josiah. This led to grief.
During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded the land, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. (2 Kings 24:1)
Judah’s and Jehoiakim’s sins ended with them being taken into Babylonian captivity the first of three waves of Jewish captives. In this first were Judah’s “princes” or the “leading young men”, a group that included Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. We read,
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god. (Daniel 1:1,2)
Imagine Daniel and his friends, carried away from Jerusalem and far across desert lands to the city of Babylon, seeing that great city and its beautiful hanging gardens that were considered one of the “Seven Wonders of the World”. The caravan of Jewish captives would have been amazed by Babylon’s beauty and majesty. Through Babylon flowed the mighty Euphrates River, the so-called, “life of the world’, and its streets gleamed with temples to gods such as Bel/Baal with roofs of cedar and altars of gold and guarded by bulls of bronze similar to the golden calves that Jews of old had worshipped. But the Jewish young men were not taken in by Babylon’s majesty nor convinced to compromise in their worship of only YHWH God. From Josiah they had learned the importance of righteous faithfulness, even when they were now serving in Babylonian exile under a new king, Nebuchadnezzar.
Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility— young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service. Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego. But Daniel resolved not to defile himself. (Daniel 1:3-8a)
Daniel refused to compromise. For example, he would not take the name of Belteshazzar for it honoured Baal. He would not eat food that had been dedicated to false gods, nor fall on his knees and worship King Nebuchadnezzar. Threats of death did not dissuade him. Being thrown into a den full of lions did not unnerve him, and when all was said and done, his spiritual resolve impressed King Nebuchadnezzar.
Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. (Dan. 2:48)
Similarly, Daniel’s three friends refused to give in or worship false gods or King Nebuchadnezzar. Idolatry would not happen with them, either. When they would not give in and worship Nebuchadnezzar, we read:
Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So, these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.” He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore, I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon. (Daniel 3:19-30)
Nebuchadnezzar was so impressed by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that he made them administrators in his kingdom, just as he had earlier appointed Daniel to be among the highest of all Babylon’s officials. Why and how did that happen? Because they were faithful to YHWH God, a trait learned from their beloved King Josiah. Meanwhile, back in Jerusalem at that exact same time, things were going badly. King Jehoiakim was reigning in sin and causing grief for all. Finally, he mercifully died, and his son Jehoiachin succeeded him as king.
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father had done. (2 Kings 24:8,9)
A new king, Jehoiachin, but the same old problems of sin and pride.
At that time the officers of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon advanced on Jerusalem and laid siege to it, and Nebuchadnezzar himself came up to the city while his officers were besieging it. Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his attendants, his nobles and his officials all surrendered to him. In the eighth year of the reign of the king of Babylon, he took Jehoiachin prisoner. As the Lord had declared, Nebuchadnezzar removed the treasures from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace, and cut up the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made for the temple of the Lord. He carried all Jerusalem into exile: all the officers and fighting men, and all the skilled workers and artisans—a total of ten thousand. Only the poorest people of the land were left. Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. He also took from Jerusalem to Babylon the king’s mother, his wives, his officials and the prominent people of the land. The king of Babylon also deported to Babylon the entire force of seven thousand fighting men, strong and fit for war, and a thousand skilled workers and artisans. He made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah. (2 Kings 24:10-17)
Among this second wave of Jewish exiles to Babylon was King Jehoiachin, his family, Judah’s 7,000 best fighting men, and others, including the prophet Ezekiel. Remaining in Jerusalem was the prophet Jeremiah and when he heard about the prospering community of Jews living in Babylon, he sent a letter to the new exiles to that place…
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (Jeremiah 29:4-7)
And, then Jeremiah added in these well-known words for the exiles:
This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” (Jer. 29:10-14)
As history tells us, and I have mentioned this before, Judaism became its purest amongst the Jews who were in Babylonian exile. The legacy of King Josiah’s faithfulness instilled in those leaders of that exiled community – Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – was so impactful that the second wave of exiles were moved to emulate it. Ezekiel, for example, in his book of prophecies written for that exiled community, pointed three times to Daniel as the one for them to admire and emulate. In Ezekiel 14, Ezekial says that Daniel – who was living there among the Jewish community in Babylon – was on a level of faithful righteousness with Noah and Job, Jewish heroes of old. Then, in chapter 28, Ezekiel asks his readers,
Are you wiser than Daniel? (Ezekiel 28:3a)
The answer was, “No!”, so learn from him and emulate his life. The people did and the Jewish community in Babylon grew in spiritual strength, and prosperity. Meanwhile, back in Jerusalem…
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the Lord. He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath in God’s name. He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord, the God of Israel. Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful, following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the Lord, which he had consecrated in Jerusalem. (2 Chronicles 36:11-14)
The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy. He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and did not spare young men or young women, the elderly or the infirm. God gave them all into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. He carried to Babylon all the articles from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the Lord’s temple and the treasures of the king and his officials. They set fire to God’s temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there. He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his successors until the kingdom of Persia came to power. The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah. In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up and may the Lord their God be with them.’” (2 Chronicles 36:15-23)
Thus, the third and final wave of Jewish exiles was sent into captivity, their capital city of Jerusalem destroyed, their temple ransacked. Meanwhile, what they found in Babylon was a faithful community of believers and followers of YHWH who were prospering and growing stronger in their faith. God sent the Jews to Babylon to humble them (because they refused to repent and change their ways while they lived in Jerusalem and Judah). God sent them to Babylon to mold them into a newly repentant, spiritually purified people. After 70 years from when Daniel and his colleagues were taken away until the Persian King Cyrus ordered their release, the Jews began to return to their land. But during their entire 70 years in Babylon, guess what had happened with King Josiah’s prodigy, Daniel?
And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus. (Daniel 1:21)
Do you see the impact of King Josiah’s legacy? There was no greater or more influential person in Judah’s history. His legacy lasted for hundreds of years right up to the first century, A.D., and time of Jesus, the first Christians, and the early church. Can you have a similar impact on your family, descendants, and friends? Certainly, you can. If you “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength”, as Jesus commanded us to do, and as Josiah did, you can have that kind of impact. You may not see it in your life – certainly King Josiah didn’t – but just as the effects of his faithful life reverberated for many generations, so can the effects of your faithful, steadfast loving of “the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength” have effects for generations to come. So, decide to live – or, continue to live – that way.
