May 2: CARRIED BY THE WIND

And the LORD gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into [Nebuchadnezzar’s] hand, with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god. Daniel 1:2

Too often, the very ones who readily accuse the LORD of wrongdoing are also those who stubbornly refuse to live in accordance with His word. He finally allowed the powerful pagan king to overtake the Jews after patiently issuing many reminders to them regarding the safe and right path. Consistently, God demonstrates His love. He continually presents us with choices, clearly laying out the potential consequences, whether for good or for bad. “I spoke to you in your prosperity, But you said, ‘I will not hear.’ This has been your manner from your youth, that you did not obey My voice” (Jeremiah 22:21).

Farther back, the LORD had spoken to His people through Isaiah to King Hezekiah of some of the consequences of Judah’s general refusal to be set apart from worldliness. And though Hezekiah was generally considered to be a good king, he was woefully shortsighted. For after he was graciously granted an additional fifteen years to live following his illness, he made a proud show of all of the treasures of Judah to a delegation of Babylonian ambassadors (see 2 Kings 20:12-19). This information was certainly catalogued in the Babylonian “CIA”. Following the siege of 605BC, treasures were seized by order of Nebuchadnezzar and carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god… Pagan temples were, in some ways, looked upon by pagan worshippers as banks: safe places to store wealth and guarded by their gods. It was common for pagan kings to be worshipped as gods, so the confiscated wealth stored in a pagan temple was at the disposal of the king. The land of Shinar designates the area of the world’s massive rebellion against God after the Great Flood; the site of the Tower of Babel. Therefore, the land of Shinar is associated with Babylon itself (see Genesis 10:10; 11:2). The seventh (and last) mention of Shinar in God’s Word symbolically refers to the establishment of a worldwide, last-day religion hiding inside a basket under a heavy cover (a lead disc). She is briefly exposed to the world by the early Reformers, but then conceals herself again by working behind the scenes to counteract the Reformation. She is supported by other churches (symbolized by women) who carry her corrupted message throughout the world. These women are compared to storks (unclean birds) and the wind in their wings is like a whirlwind of false doctrines (see Zechariah 5:1-11).

Today, choice articles have been taken from God’s divine treasure house – the Bible – and mixed in with cleverly disguised false doctrines all over the world. Jesus knew that this would happen and warned His followers (see Matthew 24:5,24-25).  Daniel’s writings are prophetic as well as descriptive of the happenings of 605BC: …and he [Nebuchadnezzar] brought the articles into the treasure house of his god.  

So I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they carrying the basket?” And he said to me, “To build a house for it in the land of Shinar; when it is ready, the basket will be set there on its base.” Zechariah 5:10-11

For further study: 2 Chronicles 36:5-7; Isaiah 4:1; Ephesians 4:14; Revelation 18:2