THE DOERS OF THE WORD

 

(Art: Daniel's Answer to the King by Briton Riviere 1890)

I don’t think we understand how important we are in making the Plan of Salvation work to everyone’s advantage. When we read scriptural prophecies we tend to think that God will miraculously make things happen or that someone else will suddenly appear to fulfil the promises God has made when in fact it is the ordinary people like us who are ‘the doers of the word’ that are instrumental in God’s hands of making marvellous things come to pass.

Daniel of the Old Testament is a good example of making things happen. Daniel lived in Babylonian captivity in service to heathen kings for most of his life. He was very much devoted to the God of Israel and had Israel's welfare at heart. He eagerly hung onto the Lord's promise that Israel's captivity would last only 70 years (Jeremiah 29:10).

I mentioned in my previous post on Cyrus that historians attribute Daniel with the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 44:28-45:1-5). Imagine this man who loved God, being so familiar with the scriptures and knowing of a man called Cyrus who would free the Jewish nation, see him walk through Babylon’s gates! How could he not use his position in government to tell him of the prophecy that contained his name?

When Cyrus sent the first wave of the Jews to Jerusalem and they began rebuilding the temple, they encountered bitter opposition from the Samaritans who reasoned that they should be involved in the project. Samaritans were Assyrians who intermarried with left-over Israelites in Samaria, following the conquest of the Ten Tribes. Because they were not pure Israelites and had practiced a variant religion of Jehovah worship heavily intermingled with pagan and other unauthorized religious practices, the Jews refused.

 

In retaliation the Samaritans influenced the Persian kings who succeeded Cyrus to halt the rebuilding project for 17 years. In steps Daniel again. In the first year of King Darius, Daniel again petitioned the Lord about Jeremiah's prophecy. Daniel 9:17-19 shows Daniel's prayerful concern for the unfinished temple and the city of Jerusalem. The Lord answered Daniel and raised two prophets in Jerusalem: Haggai and Zechariah.

 

You might wonder how prophets could finish construction of anything. You might wonder why God didn't send someone with political clout, negotiation expertise or even military power....but instead he sent two of his servants to finish the job....and finish they did....Haggai alone showed the Jews exactly why they were not able to finish the project. He taught them that all temporal problems arise out of spiritual weakness and that if they would put God first, they would extricate themselves from abject poverty they were in which was their main problem.  It makes for compelling reading.

 

These two prophets instructed the governor Zerubbabel, the high priest Jeshua and the Jewish people how to complete the temple in spite of persecution, poverty and governmental red tape (Haggai 1:1-5, 12-14; Zechariah 4:9, Ezra 6:14). Even though these two prophets got the job done, in reality, this began with Daniel, the doer of the word.

 

“By small and simple things are great things brought to pass……[and] by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.”  (Alma 37:6,7)

 

We might be the small and simple things but He is the mighty one who fulfils……

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

THE COMFORT OF BONDAGE

 

 

It always amazes me how the Saviour never washes His hands of Israel no matter how unfaithful they have been. Even when they fall into captivity, He plans and puts into place the process of rescue well before it is supposed to take place. He is a God of order and success.  The return of the Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem 70 years after their captivity began, as predicted by Jeremiah in his book (25:11,12; 29:10) is the prime example of this.

Behind the fulfilment of this prophecy was a Persian king that Jehovah prepared who conquered Babylonians by the name of Cyrus. It is suggested by historians that when Cyrus conquered Babylon that he found Daniel there in his governmental capacity, and that Daniel pointed out to him the prophecy of Isaiah that was given 140 years before the fall of Jerusalem (Isaiah 44:28, 45). Adding seventy years after the fall, makes 210 years of prophecy before Cyrus even appeared in Babylon. Astonishing, isn’t it?

The prophecy states that the Lord would raise up a mighty king who would free the Jewish captives in Babylon and allow them to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the holy city. Cyrus was so impressed with this prophecy about himself that he sent out the proclamation amongst the Jews in Babylon that ‘the Lord God of heaven had charged [him] to build him a house at Jerusalem’ (Ezra 1:2) and asked who among all of God’s people wanted to return. He actually offered freedom to anyone who wanted it.

Now this is the most astonishing bit. Approximately 50,000 people chose to return to Jerusalem while MOST chose not to return having been absorbed into the Babylonian way of life and the comfort of bondage. And this is why. In 605 BC King Nebuchadnezzar of the Neo-Babylonian Empire (now Iraq) was the beginning of Babylon’s greatness and glory. Using slaves from various areas of the empire, he inaugurated a massive building program to make Babylon the greatest city in the world. Opulence, greatness and glory was the object.

The grandeur of Babylon was incredibly impressive but with such opulence and wealth also came moral decay, wickedness and iniquity. Will Durant, a secular historian wrote that “even Alexander [the Great], who was not above dying of drinking was shocked by the morals of Babylon (Our Oriental Heritage, p 244).

Babylon became the antithesis of godliness. The very name of this city stood as the symbol for worldliness, spiritual wickedness and Satan’s kingdom. Scripturally it is known as: “the great whore” and “the mother of harlots and abominations (Rev 17:1; 5; D& C 133:14; 1:16; 1 Nephi 13:5-9; Babylonia and the Conquest of Judah, Old Testament Student Manual p 244).

There is one thing that stands out to me regarding Israel who fell into bondage with Babylon. God himself was in charge of this catastrophe promising Israel that He would bring a nation against them  because of their sins and rejection of Him as their God (Jeremiah 25:7-9). So this is what stands out…..He did not give them into bondage to just any nation but the worst there was, Babylon, a nation so spiritually corroded that it stands out as an obvious product of Israel’s idol worship.

In other words, if they wanted to worship false idols and gods, this is what they got…..spiritual decay and spiritual bondage. This is a classical example of cause and effect. You want other gods? You get what other gods can give you!

The name “Babylon” is today synonymous with ‘the world’. In Section 133 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the saints are commanded to ‘come out of Babylon’ in preparation for the Second Coming (v 5,7). So powerful is its grip that ancient Israelites did not want to leave it.  I wonder how many of us will heed the call this time…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

THE GATHERING

 

Israel’s exodus from Egypt was epic. So momentous and powerful was it that it has been remembered as an unparalleled act of God’s power to this day but something much bigger is yet to happen to show the mankind who is in control of this project we call ‘earth’.

Subsequent Prophets to Moses both in the Near East and the Americas spoke often of the Exodus to keep this momentous deliverance of Israel fresh in people’s minds. They used the event as remembrance of Jehovah’s power and His mercy toward the covenant people. I am reminded of Nephi bringing Moses to his brothers’ remembrance when faced with the challenge of recovering the brass plates from Laban (1 Nephi 4:2,3).

Besides the Exodus, another sensational and dramatic example of Jehovah’s deliverance is found in the book of Daniel. I was reading the other day of Daniel’s prayer for forgiveness on behalf of the exiles in Babylon and I was enthralled with the beauty of his words through which he acknowledged Jehovah’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt (Daniel 9:15).

And herein is the beauty of it all. Daniel prayed because he knew that God would deliver the exiles from Babylon too and he knew it because of Isaiah’s prophecy (2 Chr 36:22-23; Isaiah 44:28; 45:1).

It is suggested by historians that when Cyrus conquered Babylon, he found Daniel there in his governmental capacity,  and that Daniel  pointed out to him the prophecy of Isaiah that was given 140 years before the fall of Jerusalem, that the Lord would raise up a mighty king who would free the Jewish captives in Babylon and allow them to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the holy city. Isaiah even named Cyrus by name.....180 years before he even appeared in Babylon.

Astonishing isn't it? It certainly was to Cyrus because he sent out the proclamation amongst the Jews in Babylon that ‘the Lord God of heaven….had charged [him] to build Him a house in Jerusalem’ (Ezra 1:2) and asked who among all of God’s people wanted to return home. He actually offered freedom to anyone who wanted it. Proof that God always accomplishes His purposes in miraculous ways because nothing is beyond His power. It was no parting of the Red Sea but think about it…a Persian king liberating the Jews….just for some perspective - ancient Persia is modern day Iran.

In our day, the Lord will perform another miracle of restoring those that are lost. As early as 1831 the Lord revealed to Joseph Smith that the translated Apostle John was fulfilling a mission among the Ten Tribes preparing them for their journey to Zion (“Essentials in Church History, p 126).

This will be an event of enormous proportions, greater than the dividing of the Red Sea. So much so that ‘the boundaries of the everlasting hills shall tremble at their presence…’ (D&C 133:31-33). 'The boundaries of the everlasting hills' being North America (Orson Pratt, in “Journal of Discourses”, 18:167-68; see also Genesis 49:26).

So great will this event be that ‘it will no longer be said “The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt but, the Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands whither he had driven them…” (Jeremiah 16:14,15) because “this is the blessing of the everlasting God upon the tribes of Israel …”  who proclaims:

“I am he who led the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; and my arm is stretched out in the last days, to save my people Israel.” (D&C 133: 34; 136:22)

We will come to Zion

With songs of everlasting joy

To worship our Lord and our King

And to Him forever our praises we will sing. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Joyful by Graphic Arts Design)

BABYLON THE GREAT

 

I was so eager to once again start studying the return of the Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem 70 years after their captivity began, as predicted by Jeremiah in his book, 25:11,12; 29:10. I got as far as the first chapter of Ezra before I was overcome with emotion. 

 

Behind the fulfilment of this prophecy was a Persian king that Jehovah prepared who conquered Babylonians by the name of Cyrus. It is suggested by historians that when Cyrus conquered Babylon that he found Daniel there in his governmental capacity,  and that Daniel  pointed out to him the prophecy of Isaiah that was given 140 years before the fall of Jerusalem, that the Lord would raise up a mighty king who would free the Jewish captives in Babylon and allow them to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the holy city. Isaiah even named Cyrus by name.....210 years before he even appeared in Babylon. Astonishing isn't it? It certainly was to Cyrus because he sent out the proclamation amongst the Jews in Babylon that ‘the Lord God of heaven….had charged [him] to build him a house at Jerusalem’ (Ezra 1:2) and asked who among all of God’s people wanted to return. He actually offered freedom to anyone who wanted it.

 

Now this is the most astonishing bit. Approximately 50,000 people chose to return to Jerusalem while MOST chose not to return having been absorbed into the Babylonian way of life. It tells you where their heart was, does it not? Scripturally, Babylon is a symbol of worldly wickedness. The opulence and extravagance and decadence of this ancient city at the peak of its grandeur is hard to describe. A historian, Will Durant, wrote that ‘even Alexander the Great who was not above dying of drinking, was shocked by the morals of Babylon’ (Our Oriental Heritage, The Story of Civilization, vol 1, p 244). Enrichment G in the Old Testament Student Manual will give you an overview of this city that will amaze you. 

 

As I read this first chapter of Ezra, I couldn’t help but think how easy it is to become caught in the world’s web of wickedness. It reminded me of Alma who said: “Come ye out from the wicked, be ye separate, and touch not their unclean things” (Alma 5:57). It made me reflect on how much of the world is in me and to what extent am I entangled in its’ web. If I was in Babylon at the time of Cyrus, I hope that I would have been one of the returned eager to re-build His temple that I might worship Him, the one and only true and living God, the God of Israel, the God of my heart.  

 

I lift, I lift,

Above the reach of the world below;

To Thee in praise I sing,

My God that I adore. 

 

 

 - CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Guiding Them Home by Yongsung Kim)