“The Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.” - A commentary on Daniel chapters 2, 3 and 4
Introduction
![]() After centuries of religious infidelities, and repeated warnings given through many prophets, Yahweh allowed his people’s transgressions to be punished by means of the rising military power of the Neo-Babylonian empire. “Therefore thus says Yahweh of Armies: Because you have not heard my words”,”behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the LORD, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation.” (Jeremiah 25:8, 9 WEB, ESV) The hebrews were deported to Babylon, and, according to the prophecy, “Israel and her neighboring lands will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.” - Jeremiah 25:11 Despite the hard disciplinary punishment that God caused to his people Israel using the Babylonian king as a tool - metaphorically as ‘His servant’ in the sense that he was accomplishing God’s purposes - this didn’t mean that the babylonian Kings were given limitless “carte blanche” to lord over the hebrews as their slaves, nor that such punishment would last forever. Yahweh would bring accountability over the Babylonian empire for the excessive harsh treatment dispensed to his people while on their exile of captivity. This is indicated by the prophetic utterances: “It shall happen, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, says Yahweh, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it desolate forever.” (Jeremiah 25:12 WEB) The prophet Isaiah also foretold: “When the LORD has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: “How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury ceased!” “For the LORD has crushed your wicked power and broken your evil rule. You struck the people with endless blows of rage and held the nations in your angry grip with unrelenting tyranny.” (Isaiah 14:3-6 ESV, NLT) From God’s point of view into the future, the Babylonians would become guilty of wicked “insolence” and excessive “opression”, and “unrelented tyranny”, and therefore, punishment would be brought upon them in due time as well. The word “everlasting” in the Old Testament doesn’t have the contemporary meaning of “infinite time”. Rather, the hebrew term “olam” derives from a root verb that means “to hide”, and indicates a time, past or future, whose limit is hidden from sight, and, therefore, unknown. The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon includes the rendition “indefinite futurity” and “long duration” among the meanings attributed to “olam”. Therefore, the literal hebrew expression “from olam” (looking into the past) or “to olam” (looking into the future) means that something in the timeline is beyond the time horizon, either of an individual person, or of the whole human race. Beyond the time horizon, backwards or forwards, everything is hidden. We may compare this with the sea that stretches beyond the horizon. How far beyond that does it go? We dont know. It might go a little beyond, or it might go on for ever. The horizon is as far as we can see. If the sea has an end, we cannot see it. It is the same with what is described by the word "olam". Whether it be God, or the hills, or the destruction of an ancient city, we can see no limit to it. It disappears beyond the horizon of our vision. This is the meaning of “olam”. In the case of the hebrew expression לְחָרְבֹ֖ות עֹולָֽם׃, translated “everlasting desolation” of the land of the Jews, the actual duration of the time granted to Babylon to rule over the Hebrews would be limited to 70 years, but this was beyond the horizon of the lifespan of the prophet Jeremiah. - Jeremiah 25:9 Keep in mind this notion about “olam”, for it will be crucial to discern certain tenets regarding the interpretation of the book of Daniel. Therefore, the proud Babylonian king should not exalt himself too much, for the true ‘ruler of the kings of the world is Yawheh’, and He gives the power ‘to anyone he chooses’. The account of Daniel chapters 2, 3 and 4 is the impressive record of a lesson in humility that Yahweh taught to the chaldean King Nabuchadnezzor II. (Continued ...) by Eden << Back to Articles | To Part 1 >> |