And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. [Jeremiah 29:7a (NLT)]
Jeremiah’s instructions to work and pray for the welfare of Babylon was a unique and completely unprecedented concept in the ancient world. Rather than praying for retaliation and Babylon’s collapse, God commanded them to pray for their Babylonian captors and work for the peace and prosperity of the land! Rather than rebels and a source of trouble and insurrection, the exiles were to become reliable and valuable members of the community. It seems they took God’s command to heart.
Mere youths when they were taken to Babylon, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were trained for royal service. Learning the culture, literature, and languages of Babylon (Sumerian, Assyrian, and Babylonian) was no easy task and learning the 600 to 1,000 symbols used in the writing of cuneiform was even harder. Nevertheless, Nebuchadnezzar found no others with the same abilities as the four Judean captives and they rapidly came to positions of power and influence. Calling Daniel chief among his “wise men,” Nebuchadnezzar kept him at court and put the other three in charge of the province of Babylon. Daniel continued to faithfully serve both Babylonian and Persian kings into his eighties.
The book of Esther tells of the Jewish woman who became King Xerxes’ queen. Her uncle Mordecai served as a palace official at the king’s gate. When he overheard a plot to assassinate the king, Mordecai reported it to Esther who reported it to the king and the plot was foiled. Later, Mordecai served as Xerxes’ prime minister.
Consider the men who led the exiles back to Judah. We don’t know what Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel did in captivity and, since people seemed to have both Babylonian/Persian and Hebrew names, they may have been the same man. In any case, he/they most likely served the king in an official capacity because Cyrus entrusted him/them with all the Temple’s treasures and tasked him/them with rebuilding Jerusalem’s temple and serving as Judah’s provincial governor. 80 years later, after faithfully serving as a scribe in the court of Artaxerxes, Ezra led the second group of exiles back to Judah. Prior to rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls and serving as Judah’s governor, Nehemiah ensured the health and safety of King Artaxerxes by acting as his cup-bearer.
While these people faithfully served their pagan captors, they never forgot their God. Daniel and his friends refused to defile their bodies by eating food prohibited to Jews and they willingly risked their positions and lives to stay true to Jehovah. Daniel continued to openly pray to Jehovah even when it was prohibited and his three friends refused to bow down to an idol. As loyal as Mordecai was to Xerxes, he was more loyal to God’s law and refused to bow down to Haman as if he were a god. Esther displayed her Jewish faith when she told Mordecai and the people to fast and pray before she broke Persian law by approaching the king. Although Sheshbazzar/Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah were born in Babylon and never saw the land of their fathers, they knew Judah was their homeland and Jehovah their God.
Obedient to the Lord’s command to seek the welfare of their captors, the exiles accepted their 70 years of captivity and made the best of a bad situation. Having lost their Temple, the ability to make sacrifices, and their freedom, they never lost their God. They developed a system of synagogues, retained their Jewish identity, and continued to live out their faith. Surrounded by unbelievers, Daniel and the others lived, worked, and flourished in an ungodly culture. Nevertheless, they never allowed their pagan surroundings to undermine their relationship with the Lord. Although the Babylonians and Persians were their captors, they always belonged to God!
We may not live as captives in a foreign land but, like these Biblical heroes, we are surrounded by unbelievers in what also could be called an ungodly culture. The Judean exiles met the challenge, will we?
When writing about the Annunciation of our Lord, I came upon some articles by women who take offense at the story of Jesus’ conception. Interpreting Mary’s response as involuntary, they picture the angel Gabriel’s visit to Mary as some weird sort of supernatural rape. This is inconsistent both with Scripture and God as we know Him. The Archangel didn’t say, “Surprise, you’re pregnant!” and leave nor did he physically impregnate her. Read the words as reported by Luke; Gabriel told Mary what would happen, not what had already occurred. It was only after Mary asked how the angel’s words would be fulfilled and Gabriel explained that the Holy Spirit would make it possible that she accepted God’s invitation to motherhood. It was then that the miraculous power of God—the “Most High”—came upon her.
We tend to think of fasting during Lent as abstaining from certain foods, drinks, or activities. Several years ago, however, I was asked, “What if you fasted regret? What if your friends fasted comparison? What would be the fruit of fasting stinginess?” Those questions proposed an entirely different kind of fast than refraining from sweets or social media. In truth, fasting from things like self-righteousness, discontent, and criticism is probably harder (and more meaningful) than giving up energy drinks or dining out.
Every evening, a man went to the local pub and ordered three beers. When asked why three, he explained that he ordered the two extra beers in honor of his two dear brothers who lived far away. One evening, when the man ordered only two beers, the bartender assumed the worst and extended sympathy for the loss of a brother. Correcting the bartender, the man said his brothers were both fit as fiddles and the beers were for them. “It’s me that’s not drinking tonight,” he explained. “You see, I’ve given up beer for Lent!”
Mark tells of a time when a hungry Jesus cursed a fig tree and caused it to wither and die simply because it had no figs. As the only destructive miracle done by the Lord, His action is difficult to understand, especially since we’re told “it was too early in the season for fruit.” The same power that brought Lazarus back to life and turned water into wine easily could have given the tree ripe figs, so why did Jesus kill the fruitless tree?
While putting away our nativity, I looked at the figure of Joseph. For the man who played a pivotal role in the Christmas story, once Christmas is packed away, Mary’s husband rarely gets a second thought until the next December. Neither Mark nor John mention the man who served as step-father to Jesus and the author of Hebrews didn’t even list him in its “Hall of Faith.”
Devotions of the Heart 