Codes for Christian Living
Taken Away into Captivity
Not a lot of people in our modern world seem to believe that God still judges sin and that He actually still holds in His hand the remote control over our lives and all history. For years, this coming Babylonian captivity had been predicted by God’s prophets in amazing detail (Isaiah 39:5–7; Jeremiah 25:8–12; 2 Kings 20:17–18). However, Judah would not repent. Warning after warning came their way, but they blindly believed they were indestructible. Before we are too quick to point a finger of accusation their way, we should examine ourselves to see if we are not sailing the seas of uncertainty in the same boat.
Once the people of Judah were taken away into captivity, we only have to read Psalm 137:1–6 to catch a glimpse into their hearts:
By the rivers of Babylon
There we sat down, yea, we wept
When we remembered Zion.
We hung our harps
Upon the willows in the midst of it.
For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song,
And those who plundered us requested mirth,
Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
How shall we sing the Lord’s song
In a foreign land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget its skill!
If I do not remember you,
Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth—If
I do not exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
Yes, it was the Lord who gave the Jews into Babylonian captivity. And why did God allow this? After all, He once called Israel the “apple of His eye” (Zechariah 2:8), but the Bible says, “Whom the Lord loves He chastens” (Hebrews 12:6). The captivity was not designed so much to scourge His people as to purge them. Many good things resulted in the aftermath. Israel never again followed idols, and that remains true to this very day. The Hebrew Bible began to come together under men like Ezra. The remnant of God’s people eventually returned to Jerusalem, and in it was the seed of our Messiah. This captivity carried God’s message of hope and love to heathen lands. A few centuries later, when the Magi came from this same region to Bethlehem to worship the Christ child, it was because their forefathers had heard of Him from Daniel and passed the account down through the generations. And all this happened because Daniel refused to give in: he stood resistant to the pressures around him. He stood for what he believed. We need many more like Daniel today.
Content drawn from The Daniel Code: Living Out Truth in a Culture That Is Losing Its Way