Babylon by Robert Beecham
Part 3 - The Return from Babylon
Three times a day the prophet Daniel knelt in his roof chamber, with his window open toward Jerusalem, and prayed and gave thanks to God. The threat of death in the lions' den did not stop him. Was it really necessary to have his window open for everyone to see? He was a cabinet minister in a vast empire and could exercise immense influence for good. He knew the scriptures well. Why did he not follow Joseph's example and 'forget his father's house and be content to be fruitful in the land of his adversity?' (Gen 41:51,52). Why did this man want to risk his life, when, in his position, he could do so much good if he stayed alive? God had miraculously raised him like Joseph to a high position in a foreign country. Was that not enough? Had he not been serving God in Babylon? Could he not be content to use his position to help his captive people? Was it really wise to risk his life? Such questions could not move him. However much God had prospered him in Babylon, his heart was in Jerusalem, the city of God.
At the height of Israel's prosperity, almost five centuries before, King Solomon had raised his hands in prayer to dedicate the temple he had built. Prophetically he saw forward to the time of their captivity and prayed: ... 'if they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and pray to you toward their land which you have given to their fathers, the city which you have chosen, and the house which I have built for your name; then hear their prayer and their supplication in heaven your dwelling place and maintain their cause and forgive ... and make them objects of compassion before those who have taken them captive' (see 1 Kings 8:46-53).
All this had happened. The temple was destroyed, Jerusalem was desolate, but Daniel could still pray with his face towards the land and the ruins of the city where God had set his name. Prosperity in Babylon, even God-given prosperity, did not and could not satisfy him; because Israel was the land God had given to his fathers, and in Israel lay the purposes of God. So Daniel prayed; his enemies reported him and the death sentence was pronounced; he was thrown into the lions' den; but the king and the lions spent the night in fasting, and Daniel continued in prayer!
The book of Daniel does not appear to be written in order of time; Daniel's prayer and revelation in chapter 9 and his night in the lions' den in chapter 6 both occur at the beginning of the reign of Darius the Mede. We can learn much by reading these chapters side by side. Chapter 6 tells the story of the lions' den. Chapter 9 shows what was on Daniel's heart at the time. The Babylonian empire had just fallen to the Medes (Persians), and Daniel was trying to discover the purposes of God. In spite of his recent promotion as one of three ministers over the whole kingdom (6: 3), Daniel gave himself first to study of the scriptures (9: 2). Then, when he saw what they meant, he prayed and fasted (9: 3). (Sadly, such behaviour is not too common in newly appointed politicians). He found twice recorded in Jeremiah (25:11 and 29: 10) that Jerusalem would be desolate and her people in captivity for 70 years. He read the books of Moses and the prophets and saw that his people were in captivity for their sins. He then prayed and fasted and repented for the sins of his people. Politics took fifth place in the life of this man of God. Bible study, prayer, fasting and faithfulness to God were all more important.
Let me summarise what I have said. We see in Daniel firstly a deep conviction that he and his people were in the wrong place. No amount of outward prosperity could compensate for this. He would rather have swept the streets of Jerusalem than sat on the throne of a foreign empire. Secondly we see him searching what scriptures he had to know why they were in captivity and when the judgement would end. Thirdly we see him turning to God in prayer, fasting and repentance for sin, seeking forgiveness and deliverance from their captors. May God grant us the same spirit and the same faith.
The Time to Leave
His prayers did not go unheard. The angel Gabriel came to him and told him not only of the coming restoration of his people, but of God's further and greater purposes in the coming Messiah. Gabriel's message went right beyond Daniel's expectation and beyond his understanding too. These were Gabriel's words: 'Seventy sevens are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy. Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven sevens, and sixty-two sevens (9: 24,25).
This amazing prophecy had a two fulfilments. There were just 70 weeks or 490 days left till the end of the 70 years of judgement; but there were 490 years to run from the command to rebuild Jerusalem till the Messiah would come and make atonement for sin. (One day in prophecy often stands for a year).
Not many people know about time periods in the Bible. Let me explain a few facts. There are four exact periods of 490 years each, running from the birth of Abraham to the death of Jesus. However one fact hides this from our sight. Whenever God's purposes were suspended because of sin, the clock stopped and God did not record the time. Thus from the birth of Abraham to the Exodus was 505 years as man counts; but God did not count the 15 years from the birth of Ishmael to the birth of Isaac. He saw the time as only 490 years. From the Exodus to the dedication of Solomon's temple was 621 years in human time. But there were 7 periods of slavery in the times of the judges which in total lasted 131 years. Again God saw only 490 years. From Solomon's temple till the command to rebuild Jerusalem was 560 actual years; but 70 of these were the years of captivity in Babylon; and God saw 490 years only.
One solemn truth emerges from these facts: if we choose to live in captivity in Babylon, time will stand still in our spiritual lives. Physically we will grow older while spiritually we will remain infants. His great redemptive purposes will wait till we cry out for his forgiveness and obey his call, 'Come out of her my people that you may not participate in her sins ...' (Rev 18:4). The prodigal son was still a son when he was in the far country; but he was living with prostitutes (like Babylon) and enjoying none of the blessings of sonship. For more on this subject see Bible Chronology and The Year of Jubilee.
The first fulfilment of Gabriel's prophecy was the command given by Cyrus in the last verse of 2 Chronicles and more fully in Ezra chapter 1 verses 2 to 4. Cyrus told the Jews to return to Judah and build the house of the Lord, the God of Israel. He even commanded their heathen neighbours to support them with freewill offerings of silver and gold and goods and cattle.
Daniel had been a young man when the captivity began, but 70 years later when it ended he was old. He was too old for the long journey from Babylon to Jerusalem. The majority of the Jews in Babylon had grown up there and were unwilling to leave its security for a dangerous journey to an unknown land. For many of the Jews the cost was too great. They felt at home and comfortable in their exile. "Do not disturb us with your impractical idealism", they probably said. "Cyrus is a good king, and we can live good and upright lives here". Maybe; but the purposes of God were in Jerusalem, not Babylon. Jerusalem was the place for rebuilding the temple, and Israel was the land where the Messiah must come.
Many responded to the decree of Cyrus and set out for their fatherland. In Ezra chapter 2 we can read the names and numbers of each family that returned. They trod once more in the steps of their father Abraham when he had left Ur of the Chaldees to go to the land of promise. The same faith took them on the same journey.
A Restored Altar
The first act of the returning exiles was to build the altar of God and to offer burnt offerings on it (Ezra 3:2). Sacrifice is central to all God's purposes. The most important sacrifice of all time is the offering of his son Jesus. Without it we have nothing to take away our sins and we have only darkness and death without God. The departure of the Israelites from Egypt also began with sacrifice and is remembered to this day at the Passover. The acceptance of God's Lamb slain at Calvary is essential for our salvation and the only true foundation for a spiritual life.
The second sacrifice is the sacrifice of ourselves. Jesus calls us to lay down our lives for him on God's altar. Some people are willing to lay down their lives in war for their country. Some give up their lives in the service of others. Some go overseas as missionaries and believe that they have laid down their lives for God. Others give up the world to live as monks or nuns and believe that they are walking the way of total consecration. These actions may be commendable and God may ask us to do some of them, but none of these altars is the altar of God. All of these things can be done with no death of the self-life. God's altar is the place where the self-life dies. Babylon feeds the self-life. As the manmade tower ascends, so the ego and pride grow bigger too. The boasts become louder. Heathen altars are plentiful in Babylon, but it is no place to build the altar of God.
Restored Festivals
After rebuilding the altar and re-establishing the daily sacrifice, the returning immigrants celebrated the festival of Tabernacles. This was the last of the three major festivals God had ordained for his people; the first was Passover and the second was Pentecost. Leviticus chapter 23 gives full details. The Exodus from Egypt had begun with the Passover celebration. God had festivals for his people, then as now, but these festivals could not be celebrated in Babylon or Egypt.
Should Christians also keep these festivals - as Jewish people do? Or did God replace them with Christmas and Easter in the new covenant? In the new testament these festivals are not replaced - instead they are fulfilled. They have a spiritual fulfilment which we can and must enjoy. They point firstly, as do all the scriptures, to Jesus himself. He was born on the first day of the Festival of Tabernacles and died at Passover. He himself was the perfect fulfilment of the festivals, as he also was of the whole old testament.
Part 3 - The Return from Babylon
Three times a day the prophet Daniel knelt in his roof chamber, with his window open toward Jerusalem, and prayed and gave thanks to God. The threat of death in the lions' den did not stop him. Was it really necessary to have his window open for everyone to see? He was a cabinet minister in a vast empire and could exercise immense influence for good. He knew the scriptures well. Why did he not follow Joseph's example and 'forget his father's house and be content to be fruitful in the land of his adversity?' (Gen 41:51,52). Why did this man want to risk his life, when, in his position, he could do so much good if he stayed alive? God had miraculously raised him like Joseph to a high position in a foreign country. Was that not enough? Had he not been serving God in Babylon? Could he not be content to use his position to help his captive people? Was it really wise to risk his life? Such questions could not move him. However much God had prospered him in Babylon, his heart was in Jerusalem, the city of God.
At the height of Israel's prosperity, almost five centuries before, King Solomon had raised his hands in prayer to dedicate the temple he had built. Prophetically he saw forward to the time of their captivity and prayed: ... 'if they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and pray to you toward their land which you have given to their fathers, the city which you have chosen, and the house which I have built for your name; then hear their prayer and their supplication in heaven your dwelling place and maintain their cause and forgive ... and make them objects of compassion before those who have taken them captive' (see 1 Kings 8:46-53).
All this had happened. The temple was destroyed, Jerusalem was desolate, but Daniel could still pray with his face towards the land and the ruins of the city where God had set his name. Prosperity in Babylon, even God-given prosperity, did not and could not satisfy him; because Israel was the land God had given to his fathers, and in Israel lay the purposes of God. So Daniel prayed; his enemies reported him and the death sentence was pronounced; he was thrown into the lions' den; but the king and the lions spent the night in fasting, and Daniel continued in prayer!
The book of Daniel does not appear to be written in order of time; Daniel's prayer and revelation in chapter 9 and his night in the lions' den in chapter 6 both occur at the beginning of the reign of Darius the Mede. We can learn much by reading these chapters side by side. Chapter 6 tells the story of the lions' den. Chapter 9 shows what was on Daniel's heart at the time. The Babylonian empire had just fallen to the Medes (Persians), and Daniel was trying to discover the purposes of God. In spite of his recent promotion as one of three ministers over the whole kingdom (6: 3), Daniel gave himself first to study of the scriptures (9: 2). Then, when he saw what they meant, he prayed and fasted (9: 3). (Sadly, such behaviour is not too common in newly appointed politicians). He found twice recorded in Jeremiah (25:11 and 29: 10) that Jerusalem would be desolate and her people in captivity for 70 years. He read the books of Moses and the prophets and saw that his people were in captivity for their sins. He then prayed and fasted and repented for the sins of his people. Politics took fifth place in the life of this man of God. Bible study, prayer, fasting and faithfulness to God were all more important.
Let me summarise what I have said. We see in Daniel firstly a deep conviction that he and his people were in the wrong place. No amount of outward prosperity could compensate for this. He would rather have swept the streets of Jerusalem than sat on the throne of a foreign empire. Secondly we see him searching what scriptures he had to know why they were in captivity and when the judgement would end. Thirdly we see him turning to God in prayer, fasting and repentance for sin, seeking forgiveness and deliverance from their captors. May God grant us the same spirit and the same faith.
The Time to Leave
His prayers did not go unheard. The angel Gabriel came to him and told him not only of the coming restoration of his people, but of God's further and greater purposes in the coming Messiah. Gabriel's message went right beyond Daniel's expectation and beyond his understanding too. These were Gabriel's words: 'Seventy sevens are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy. Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven sevens, and sixty-two sevens (9: 24,25).
This amazing prophecy had a two fulfilments. There were just 70 weeks or 490 days left till the end of the 70 years of judgement; but there were 490 years to run from the command to rebuild Jerusalem till the Messiah would come and make atonement for sin. (One day in prophecy often stands for a year).
Not many people know about time periods in the Bible. Let me explain a few facts. There are four exact periods of 490 years each, running from the birth of Abraham to the death of Jesus. However one fact hides this from our sight. Whenever God's purposes were suspended because of sin, the clock stopped and God did not record the time. Thus from the birth of Abraham to the Exodus was 505 years as man counts; but God did not count the 15 years from the birth of Ishmael to the birth of Isaac. He saw the time as only 490 years. From the Exodus to the dedication of Solomon's temple was 621 years in human time. But there were 7 periods of slavery in the times of the judges which in total lasted 131 years. Again God saw only 490 years. From Solomon's temple till the command to rebuild Jerusalem was 560 actual years; but 70 of these were the years of captivity in Babylon; and God saw 490 years only.
One solemn truth emerges from these facts: if we choose to live in captivity in Babylon, time will stand still in our spiritual lives. Physically we will grow older while spiritually we will remain infants. His great redemptive purposes will wait till we cry out for his forgiveness and obey his call, 'Come out of her my people that you may not participate in her sins ...' (Rev 18:4). The prodigal son was still a son when he was in the far country; but he was living with prostitutes (like Babylon) and enjoying none of the blessings of sonship. For more on this subject see Bible Chronology and The Year of Jubilee.
The first fulfilment of Gabriel's prophecy was the command given by Cyrus in the last verse of 2 Chronicles and more fully in Ezra chapter 1 verses 2 to 4. Cyrus told the Jews to return to Judah and build the house of the Lord, the God of Israel. He even commanded their heathen neighbours to support them with freewill offerings of silver and gold and goods and cattle.
Daniel had been a young man when the captivity began, but 70 years later when it ended he was old. He was too old for the long journey from Babylon to Jerusalem. The majority of the Jews in Babylon had grown up there and were unwilling to leave its security for a dangerous journey to an unknown land. For many of the Jews the cost was too great. They felt at home and comfortable in their exile. "Do not disturb us with your impractical idealism", they probably said. "Cyrus is a good king, and we can live good and upright lives here". Maybe; but the purposes of God were in Jerusalem, not Babylon. Jerusalem was the place for rebuilding the temple, and Israel was the land where the Messiah must come.
Many responded to the decree of Cyrus and set out for their fatherland. In Ezra chapter 2 we can read the names and numbers of each family that returned. They trod once more in the steps of their father Abraham when he had left Ur of the Chaldees to go to the land of promise. The same faith took them on the same journey.
A Restored Altar
The first act of the returning exiles was to build the altar of God and to offer burnt offerings on it (Ezra 3:2). Sacrifice is central to all God's purposes. The most important sacrifice of all time is the offering of his son Jesus. Without it we have nothing to take away our sins and we have only darkness and death without God. The departure of the Israelites from Egypt also began with sacrifice and is remembered to this day at the Passover. The acceptance of God's Lamb slain at Calvary is essential for our salvation and the only true foundation for a spiritual life.
The second sacrifice is the sacrifice of ourselves. Jesus calls us to lay down our lives for him on God's altar. Some people are willing to lay down their lives in war for their country. Some give up their lives in the service of others. Some go overseas as missionaries and believe that they have laid down their lives for God. Others give up the world to live as monks or nuns and believe that they are walking the way of total consecration. These actions may be commendable and God may ask us to do some of them, but none of these altars is the altar of God. All of these things can be done with no death of the self-life. God's altar is the place where the self-life dies. Babylon feeds the self-life. As the manmade tower ascends, so the ego and pride grow bigger too. The boasts become louder. Heathen altars are plentiful in Babylon, but it is no place to build the altar of God.
Restored Festivals
After rebuilding the altar and re-establishing the daily sacrifice, the returning immigrants celebrated the festival of Tabernacles. This was the last of the three major festivals God had ordained for his people; the first was Passover and the second was Pentecost. Leviticus chapter 23 gives full details. The Exodus from Egypt had begun with the Passover celebration. God had festivals for his people, then as now, but these festivals could not be celebrated in Babylon or Egypt.
Should Christians also keep these festivals - as Jewish people do? Or did God replace them with Christmas and Easter in the new covenant? In the new testament these festivals are not replaced - instead they are fulfilled. They have a spiritual fulfilment which we can and must enjoy. They point firstly, as do all the scriptures, to Jesus himself. He was born on the first day of the Festival of Tabernacles and died at Passover. He himself was the perfect fulfilment of the festivals, as he also was of the whole old testament.
