"Many scholars focus exclusively on Nebuchadnezzar’s
devastations in Judah (2 Kings 24:10‑16; 25:1‑21; Jer. 39:10),
the setting up and worship of his golden image (Daniel 3),
or his pride in the beauty and impregnability of Babylon (Dan. 4:30),
as deserving of punishment. There is no complete record of Nebuchadnezzar’s sins and iniquities, although Daniel 4:27 suggests that he had some moral problems.
Nebuchadnezzar’s actions against Judah were actually commissioned by Yahweh the God of Judah (Jer. 25:9; 27:6; 43:10).
Nebuchadnezzar, wittingly or unwittingly, is the “servant” used by God to discipline the disobedient Judah.
It is God who delivered King Jehoiakim and the temple resources to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (Dan. 1:2). In this instance, Nebuchadnezzar was simply an instrument used by God to carry out His will.
For reasons known only to him, he failed to build a relationship with the God who thus revealed Himself. The king accomplished God’s mission without making a personal commitment to this God. This failure created a relational problem between Nebuchadnezzar and the God he worked for. Unfortunately, his actions betray him. His words about God should have been matched by his life.
devastations in Judah (2 Kings 24:10‑16; 25:1‑21; Jer. 39:10),
the setting up and worship of his golden image (Daniel 3),
or his pride in the beauty and impregnability of Babylon (Dan. 4:30),
as deserving of punishment. There is no complete record of Nebuchadnezzar’s sins and iniquities, although Daniel 4:27 suggests that he had some moral problems.
Nebuchadnezzar, wittingly or unwittingly, is the “servant” used by God to discipline the disobedient Judah.
It is God who delivered King Jehoiakim and the temple resources to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (Dan. 1:2). In this instance, Nebuchadnezzar was simply an instrument used by God to carry out His will.
Nebuchadnezzar is attested as a servant of various deities on duplicate clay cylinders recovered from the ziggurat of Borsippa. The inscription on these cylinders is no doubt Neo‑Babylonian and archaic, and it reads:
“Nebuchadnezzar,
“Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon,
the loyal shepherd,
the one permanently selected by Marduk,
the exalted ruler,
the one loved by Nabû,
the wise expert who is attentive to the ways of the gods,
the tireless governor,
the caretaker of Esagil and Ezida,
the foremost heir of Nabopolassar,
king of Babylon,
I,
when Marduk, my great lord,
duly created me to take care of him,
Nabû, the administrator of the totality of heaven and the netherworld,
put in my hands the just scepter.”
For reasons known only to him, he failed to build a relationship with the God who thus revealed Himself. The king accomplished God’s mission without making a personal commitment to this God. This failure created a relational problem between Nebuchadnezzar and the God he worked for. Unfortunately, his actions betray him. His words about God should have been matched by his life.
Nebuchadnezzar served at least two masters,
Yahweh and Marduk.
His allegiance was divided."
PatrickMazani
Now all these things happened unto them for examples:
and they are written for our admonition,
upon whom the ends of the world are come.
1 Corinthians 10:11
