Our scripture reading, to which I invite you to turn with me at this time, is found in the Old Testament book of Daniel, the prophecy of Daniel, beginning in the first chapter, beginning in the first verse. It's in the Old Testament, after the books of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, you'll soon come to the major prophecies of Ezekiel, Daniel, Daniel, chapter one. We begin this evening a series of messages on the prophecy of Daniel. As I mentioned this morning, the Lord seemingly has laid this on my heart and kept this burden there for quite some time. And while at times it is a very difficult book to interpret, to apply, many of the stories are familiar with the boys and girls from Sunday school days and Christian school days and homeschool days and the like. It is a book that is very timely for our times. And so I pray that the Lord would bless you through it. And I pray that you would pray for me as I seek to lead you through it, entrusting all things to the sovereignty of our blessed God. We're going to read this evening just the first two verses of the first chapter. Those verses will constitute our text for tonight. But I give you a forewarning that we will be looking at a fair amount of other scriptures this evening, which will help shed light on these two verses, which we read as these verses are very critical for a proper understanding of the entire prophecy of Daniel. As we turn to those verses, as I say, generally, if you would rather just listen, that's fine. But otherwise, I would encourage you to turn and simply allow the scriptures to speak about the historicity, the import, the implications of these couple of verses that we'll be looking at together tonight. And so let us hear God's Word as recorded in Daniel 1, beginning in verse 1, reading through verse 2. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his God in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his God. Thus far, the reading of God's holy word. And as always, dear friends, I ask and urge you to keep your Bibles open and handy as you look to God's word together this evening. Dear congregation of Jesus Christ, the headline of the Saturday, February 3, 2018, yesterday edition of the North Jury Herald News reads as follows. Memo released, memo released. Subtitled, GOP document claims FBI DOJ improperly spied on a Trump campaign aide, end of quote. This accompanying article reads in part, and again I quote, out of Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump on Friday approved the release of a controversial memo alleging that the FBI and Department of Justice abused their surveillance authority to target Trump campaign advisor Carter Page in 2016. Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Devin Nunez of California, who had staff write the memo, made it public within minutes. White House made no changes to the memo, spokesman Raj Shah said, and declassified the document in full. The president repeated his charges of bias by investigators after signing off on the memo's release. Quote, I think it's a disgrace, Trump told reporters, a lot of people should be ashamed of themselves. Trump had tweeted earlier Friday that the top leadership and investigators of the FBI and the Justice Department have politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats and against Republicans, end of quote. Now friends, think about that and think about similar headlines such as these. Think about these kind of news items and then let's add to those kind of news headlines such items as the seemingly endless conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Let us add to those reported Russian involvement in our national elections. Let us add to those the supposed stealing of our intelligence by the Chinese. Let us add to these reported terrorist attacks in Afghanistan and the lack of cooperation by Pakistan. And let us add to this the nuclear saber rattling by North Korea and so on. And we could go on and on and on and we could talk for many hours about these kinds of things. And as we consider these kinds of news headlines and news events, We might be inclined to ask ourselves the question, how in the world could things possibly ever be any worse? Have you ever asked yourself that question? I know that I have. Friends, interestingly enough, as we turn to God's Word tonight, we find that the answer to that very personal and practical and passionate and piercing question is that Well, yes, well, yes. Things indeed have been and indeed could be a lot worse, a lot worse. In fact, interestingly enough, in his very excellent commentary on the book of Daniel, the great reformer John Calvin writes as follows, and I quote, listen carefully, please. Calvin writes, if matters were so disturbed in the world that one could suppose God to be asleep in heaven, To be forgetful of the human race, surely such were the changes of these times." The times in the book of Daniel. Calvin continues, "...and so various were they that even the most daring would be confounded since there was no end to the wars." End of quote. Think of that. And consequently, Calvin adds, and again I quote, we can barely comprehend how useful and fruitful this book of Daniel is to us today. I'm gonna read that again. Calvin said, consequently, we can barely comprehend how useful and fruitful this book of Daniel is to us today. End of quote. And indeed, my dear brothers and sisters, that's true, that's true. And I believe that's why the Lord has laid this particular prophecy on my heart. And as we begin to work our way through what I believe will probably be a fairly lengthy series of messages on the book, on the prophecy of Daniel, I want us to take heart and I want us to be comforted and I want us to be encouraged by the fact that just as was true in the days of Daniel some 2,600 years ago, so too today. in the days of great political chaos, in the days of great international intrigue, in days when the Lord our God also is punishing His people and seeking to purify and refine them for His purposes. As He is working among all of the leaders of our nation and all of the leaders of the world and moving them, so to speak, as so many pieces on a chessboard, accomplishing His redemptive plans throughout history, building His church, establishing the coming of His kingdom, seeking to glorify the name of our blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. All my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, I pray that the Lord will whet our appetite, so to speak, and give us this evening just a taste, just a small taste of his glory, of his sovereignty, of his majesty throughout history and among the nations of the world today. Again, all to the glory of his name and the coming of his eternal kingdom. And so, as we begin to pursue those ends by His grace and for His glory, we're going to look at again just those first two verses of Daniel chapter 1. And as we do so, we find that we are introduced to three key characters at the very beginning of the prophecy. Again, a proper understanding of which is necessary for us to properly interpret the rest of the book of Daniel. Now as we go to the words of our text, you will see right off the bat that we are introduced first of all to someone named Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim. And so let's look to verse 1 with me if you would. Here we read, In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Boys and girls, Israel was divided into two kingdoms. The northern kingdom of Israel, the southern kingdom of Judah. The northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians in 722 BC. The southern kingdom of Judah endured for a time. And now we're talking here about the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah. The third king from the end of the fall of that kingdom. Now, I need to comment on something very, very specifically here. In fact, it's noted as a footnote in my Bible. And the reason this is so important, what I'm going to read to you, is because for a lack of understanding of this point that I'm going to share, people have denied the authenticity and reliability of the scriptures. And they say this is a book that is filled with errors. It's filled with historical inaccuracies. And the reason is because here in Daniel 1.1 it says, "...in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah." And as we're going to see in some cross-referencing, elsewhere it says, "...in the fourth year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah." And people go, well, the Bible can't be trusted. It's not even consistent within itself. So listen very carefully to this footnote that I am going to read. It says, in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah. My footnote reads, that is according to the Babylonian system of computing the years of a king's reign. Daniel was captive in Babylon, as we hope to see in our next study together. He wrote from a Babylonian vantage point, in a Babylonian style, if you will. And so it was the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim according to the Babylonian system of computing the years of a king's reign. The third year of Jehoiakim would have been the year 605 BC. If you're taking notes, jot that year down because it's a very important reference point. The third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, according to the Babylonian way of reckoning a king's reign, would have been 605 BC, since his first full year of kingship began on New Year's Day after his ascension to the throne in 608 BC. But, listen carefully, According to the Judaite, or Jewish system, which counted the year of ascension to the throne as the first year of His reign, this was the fourth year of Jehoiakim. This would have been the fourth year from the Jewish reckoning. And if you're taking notes, it is mentioned that way in Jeremiah 25 verse 1 and Jeremiah 46 verse 2. So friends, again, I just wanted to set that up right at the beginning, lest any of us fall prey to false charges that the Word of God cannot be trusted, it has full of errors, and it is inconsistent within itself. And so we understand properly. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah. Now that begs the question, who was Jehoiakim? What do we know about him? What do the Scriptures tell us about him? Why is he mentioned here in the book of Daniel? Well, if you would care to turn with me again, if you want to just listen, that's okay. But otherwise, let's go to 2 Kings chapter 23, 2 Kings chapter 23. As I said earlier, I'm just going to let the scripture speak tonight and try to give us insight into the prophecy of Daniel. 2 Kings 23. 2 Kings 23 beginning in verse 29 and if you're taking notes I'm going to read through verse 37. 2 Kings 23 beginning in verse 29 and I'm going to read through verse 37. Here we read. while Josiah was king and boys and girls remember Josiah was a king of Judah who brought about great reformation he reclaimed the law and the word of God and so when Josiah was king and he became king by the way when he was only eight years old imagine that when Josiah when Josiah was king pharaoh Nico king of Egypt went up to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria King Josiah marched out to meet him in battle, but Neco faced him and killed him at Megiddo. Now again, if you're taking notes and you would be interested in reading about the death of King Josiah in battle, that is recorded for us more extensively in 2 Chronicles 35, verses 20 and following. 2 Chronicles 35, 20 and following is where we can read about the death of King Josiah. But back here in the text, verse 30. Josiah's servants brought his body in a chariot from Megiddo to Jerusalem. and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz, son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in the place of his father. Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. Well, it's not a very long reign. What happened there? Well, his mother's name was Hamutai, daughter of Jeremiah. She was from Libna. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his fathers had done. Pharaoh Necho put him in chains at Riblah in the land of Hamath so that he might not reign in Jerusalem. And he imposed on Judah a levy of 100 talents of silver and a talent of gold. Now stay with me, critical point. Pharaoh Necho having deposed Jehoahaz, it says here in the scriptures, verse 34, Pharaoh Nico made Eliakim, son of Josiah, king in place of his father. Eliakim is a name which means God, El, raises up, establishes, or sets in place. But notice the name change. Pharaoh Nico made Eliakim, son of Josiah, king in place of his father Josiah, and changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim, whose name means Yah, Jehovah, the Lord, raises up, establishes, sets in place. But he took Jehoahaz, his brother, and carried him off to Egypt, and there he died. Jehoiachin paid Pharaoh Necho the silver and gold he demanded. In order to do so, he taxed the land, his own people, and exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land according to their assessments. Jehoiakim, the one we're reading about in our text, was 25 years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem 11 years. His mother's name was Zebida, daughter of Pedaiah. She was from Rumah. And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his fathers had done. Friends, underscore that in your own Bible, verse 37. Jehoiakim did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father had done. Now, what is wrong with that picture? What is wrong with that picture? Well, what is wrong with that picture is that Jehoiakim had the blessedness of having Jeremiah as a prophet in the land of Judah during his reign. He was a beneficiary of the preaching and the prophecies of Jeremiah. And yet here we read, in spite of that, that he did evil in the eyes of the Lord just as his father had done. Friends, think about that. Now, as a result, let's go over to the prophecy of Jeremiah. It's to the right, after Psalms and Proverbs and all that. We've got to go to the prophecy of Jeremiah, and turn there with me, please, to verse 7 of Jeremiah 12. I'm going to read verses 7 through 9 of Jeremiah 12. Jeremiah receives a word from the Lord, while Jehoiakim is king of Judah, doing evil. And the word of the Lord in Jeremiah 12, 7-9, which Jeremiah received from the Lord, said this, I will forsake my house, Jeremiah 12, 7, abandon my inheritance. I will give the one I love into the hands of her enemies. My inheritance has become to me like a lion in the forest. She roars at me, therefore I hate her. Has not my inheritance become to me like a speckled bird of prey that other birds of prey surround and attack? Go and gather all the wild beasts, bring them to devour. Consequently, flip over to Jeremiah 25 with me, if you would please. Jeremiah 25, beginning in verse 1. And I will read through verse 11. Hear the word of the Lord. Jeremiah 25.1, the word came to Jeremiah concerning the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim. See there it's mentioned the fourth year, not the third year of his reign, but now we understand that. The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year, 605 BC, of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah and to all those living in Jerusalem, for 23 years, from the 13th year of Josiah, son of Ammon, king of Judah, until this very day, the word of the Lord has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. And though the Lord has sent all his servants, the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. You can see the precarious state, don't lose your place, of the church of Christ when the people of God are not willing to hear the word of God and heed the will of God that is revealed in the word of God. But I continue. They said, turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the Lord gave to you and your fathers forever and ever. God's offering them an olive branch, if you will. Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them. Do not provoke me to anger with what your hands have made, then I will not harm you. But you did not listen to me, declares the Lord. And you have provoked me with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves. Therefore, the Lord Almighty says, the Hebrew says, Yahweh Sabaoth declares, the Lord of hosts, the God that Calvin refers to as the God of armies, think of this, Therefore, Yahweh Sabaoth, the Lord Almighty says, because you have not listened to My words, I will summon all the peoples of the north, and mark this down, and My servant Nebuchadnezzar, critical point, and My servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, declares the Lord, and I will bring them against the land and its inhabitants, and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn and an everlasting ruin. I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole country will become a desolate wasteland and these nations will serve the King of Babylon seventy years." Seventy years. As a result, Let's go over to Jeremiah 26, verses 7 through 9. Jeremiah 26, verses 7 through 9, where we read, "...the priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the Lord. But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the Lord had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets, and all the people seized him and said, you must die. Why do you prophesy in the Lord's name that this house will be like Shiloh, and the city will be desolate and deserted, and all the people crowded around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord? How would you feel if you were Jeremiah? How would I feel? The Lord gives you a message to deliver to His people, and you preach it with all that you're worth and the power of the Holy Spirit, and they tell you you ought to die, and they seize you. Think about that. Oh, by the grace of God, if you'll drop down to verse 16 of Jeremiah 26, he was spared this time. It says that the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, this man should not be sentenced to death. He has spoken to us in the name of the Lord, our God. And yet if you'll flip over, brothers and sisters, to chapter 36 of Jeremiah and just skim that, we find that Jehoiakim, after having heard this word, takes the scroll of the prophecy of Jeremiah. Can you imagine this? And he cuts it to pieces. He's sitting in his living room, and he's before a fire, and he throws the scroll in the fire, and he burns it. Think of that. Jehoiakim burns the very word of the Lord. And so down around Jeremiah 36 verses 27 through 31, follow with me if you would, Jeremiah 36, 27, we read, After the king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch, that was Jeremiah's secretary, that Baruch had written at Jeremiah's dictation, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. Take another scroll and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll which Jehoiakim, king of Judah, burned up. Also, tell Jehoiakim, king of Judah, this is what the Lord says. You burned that scroll and said, why did you write on it that the king of Babylon would certainly come and destroy this land and cut off both men and animals from it? Therefore, this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim, king of Judah. He will have no one to sit on the throne of David. His body will be thrown out and exposed to the heat of day and the frost of night. I will punish him and the children in his attendance for their wickedness. I will bring on them and those living in Jerusalem and the people of Judah every disaster I pronounced against them because they have not listened. Friends, that's the introduction. That's the introduction to King Jehoiakim of Judah. Just a few critical insights of what the scriptures say about this man mentioned in verse 1 of Daniel 1 of his prophecy. Let's go back to our text then in Daniel 1 verse 1, where we are introduced to a second key character in the entire prophecy of Daniel, and that is King Nebuchadnezzar. Verse 1, Daniel 1, look with me, please. In the third year, the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it. Now boys and girls, a siege essentially is a military blockade. A siege essentially is designed to cut off a city or a group of people from any supplies, from food, from water, from assistance, others coming to help them. And the entire city of Jerusalem had a siege put around it by King Nebuchadnezzar. Now, I looked up this name, Nebuchadnezzar, in the original, and it means something like, may Nebo, not Nemo, it means may Nebo protect the crown, or Nebo has protected my inheritance. As we're going to see, Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians were polytheists. That means they worshipped many different gods. And his name references one of his gods. May Nebo protect the crown, or Nebo has protected my inheritance. Now stay with me. Nebuchadnezzar was not always king. We read about King Nebuchadnezzar in the Scripture. He was not always king. There was a time, and I never learned this before, I'm learning along with you. There was a time when Nebuchadnezzar was the crown prince of Babylon. And by the way, do you know where Babylon was located? Babylon was located on the banks of the Euphrates River. And do you know where Babylon would be located today? It would be in Iraq. If you look at a map, Babylon would be right along the Euphrates in modern day Iraq. But Nebuchadnezzar was the crown prince of his father Nabopolisar, who founded the Babylonian dynasty. And the scriptures, interestingly enough, tell us a bit of history. In 605 BC, the year we're talking about, Nebuchadnezzar, on behalf of his father, waged war against the Egyptians in the Battle of Carchemish in the spring of 605 B.C. Secular historians talk about that. And so do the sacred Scriptures. In fact, let's read about it very briefly. Let's go to the prophecy of Jeremiah once again, the 46th chapter. Jeremiah 46, verses 1-6. Jeremiah 46, verses 1-6. Note this word of history. Here we read, this is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations, concerning Egypt. This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah. Prepare your shields, both large and small, and march out for battle. Harness the horses, mount the steeds, take your positions with helmets on, polish your spears, put on your armor. What do I see? They are terrified, they are retreating, the warriors are defeated, they flee in haste without looking back, and there is terror on every side, declares the Lord." Well friends, interestingly enough, Nebuchadnezzar, as crown prince of his father, defeats the Egyptians at Carchemish, and shortly thereafter he learns that his father had died. He learns that his father had died in August of that year. His father had died on August 8, 605 BC. And so King Nebuchadnezzar gathers a few friends and he makes a rapid race, historians tell us, across the desert to get back to Babylon and seize the throne so that he would be declared king throughout all the land. And that is exactly what he does. That is exactly what he does. Thereafter, he makes Jehoiakim his servant. He makes Jehoiakim his vassal. And Jehoiakim needs to start paying tribute now to Nebuchadnezzar. But he does so for only three years. And then he rebels against the council and the prophecies of Jeremiah. And this is recorded for us in 2 Kings 24. Let's go back to the book of 2 Kings before the Chronicles with me, if you would please. We go back to 2 Kings 24, verses one through four. And again, if you're taking notes, you may wish to jot down that as his father Nabopolazar had died on August 8th, 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar assumed the throne on the first day of Elul, Elul, E-L-U-L, which is our September 6th or 7th in 605 BC. But anyway, here in 2 Kings 24, one through four, notice what we read. During Jehoiakim's reign, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, invaded the land. And Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. But then he changed his mind and rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. The Lord sent Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against him. Think of all the different nations of the world today. We see armies moving, we see terrorist attacks, we see ISIS getting land and then not getting land. The Lord is orchestrating it all, just as he did here. He sent the Babylonians, Arameans, Moabites, and Ammonite raiders against him, against Jehoiakim, he sent them to destroy Judah in accordance with the word of the Lord proclaimed by his servants, the prophets. Surely these things happened to Judah according to the Lord's command in order to remove them from his presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all he had done, including the shedding of innocent blood, for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood and the Lord was not willing to forgive. I really didn't remember too much about Manasseh. And I was wondering how seriously God was going to judge Jehoiakim if he tolerated the sins that Manasseh had established in the land. And so I did a little research here. And if you'll flip back with me just a page or two to 2 Kings 21, 1-6, we see how bad Manasseh was. 2 Kings 21, verses 1-6, look with me please. Manasseh was 12 years old. It's amazing how young some of these kings were. Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king and he reigned in Jerusalem 55 years. His mother's name was Hevzibah. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed. He also erected offers to Baal and made an Asherah pole. Boys and girls, young people, Asherah was basically Mrs. Baal, as Ahab, king of Israel, had done. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshipped them. You think of all the astrology and all the psychic astrologers and all that in our day. He built altars in the temple of the Lord. Think of this. of which the Lord had said, in Jerusalem I will put my name. In both courts of the temple of the Lord he built altars to all the starry hosts. He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, provoking him to anger. And Jehoiakim basically just let it all go. He followed in his footsteps. And so as a result, if you will flip over with me please to 2 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles chapter 36, we read this about Jehoiakim in relation to Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Chronicles 36 verses 5 through 7, verses 5 through 7. Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem 11 years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, his God. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, attacked him and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar also took to Babylon articles from the temple of the Lord and put them in the temple there. Jeremiah lived this. He witnessed this. He was alive during this. And that prophecy of Jeremiah, as we allow scripture to interpret scripture, which is called by theologians, using the analogy of faith, allowing scripture to interpret scripture, affirms what we read here in the words of our text. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it. That's our introduction to King Jehoiakim, and that is our introduction to King Nebuchadnezzar. Ah, but wait, but wait. There's a third and final, critical, major, other character who is introduced to us in the words of Daniel 1, 1 and 2. And he is going to loom large over the entire prophecy in an innumerable amount of ways. And that concerns the Lord himself, the Lord himself. Verses 1 and 2, look with me again. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his God. The Hebrew could also read his gods, plural, in Babylonia, which was the land of Shinar. Some of the translations say Shinar. And put in the treasure house of his God. And again, the Hebrew could also be translated gods. Now friends, stay with me here. A few very important points. It says here in verse two, and the Lord delivered Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand. Notice it is not all capital letters, Lord. It's capital L and then small o r d. And that is because this is not the name Yahweh. This is the name Adonai. The name Adonai. And the name Adonai in the Hebrew emphasizes God's sovereignty and His majesty and His authority and it reminds us that He is the ruler and master of the nations. He is Adonai. He is Lord over all. Notice secondly that it says, and the Lord delivered Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand, that is the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar. And so Nebuchadnezzar was not the one who was in control of what was happening to Jehoiakim, even though he thought he was. And remember that critical text that I had you highlight earlier, Jeremiah 25 verse 9, where God speaks of his servant, Nebuchadnezzar. His servant, Nebuchadnezzar. And a third and final, well, it's not a final point right yet, we're getting near the end, so stay with me, but I wanted to point out something else very critically here. When it says that the Lord delivered Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand along with the articles of the temple and carried them off, he carried him off, he carried them off to the temple of his God in Babylonia, there's something very critical to remember, and I had missed this for most of my period of studying the scriptures, and it has to do with this. We referenced earlier the fact that God was going to sentence his people to captivity in Babylon for 70 years. That's recorded, for example, in Jeremiah 25, verses 10 and 11, Jeremiah 25, 10 and 11, and Jeremiah 29, verse 10. 70 years captivity in Babylon. Many of us have heard that since the days of our youth. But now think about this. Jerusalem fell in 586 BC. The first captives returned to the promised land under Zerubbabel in 536 B.C. How many years do we have from 586 B.C. to 536 B.C.? That's 50 years. That's not 70 years. And I confess to you that I just, you know, I just took it for what it was worth. Is it God said 70 years captivity? It must be 70 years captivity. The fact that that's only 50 years, it's just 50 years. I really didn't think about it. But people use that to contradict the scriptures and say, the scriptures are not true. They are not reliable. They are full of errors. That is why it is so critical for us to realize that this is glorious. There were three different deportations of Jews from Judah into Babylon. There were three different deportations. There were three different major times the people were brought out of the land. For example, My very excellent study Bible here helps me with this, and I can help you with it. It says this, carried off. The first deportation was in 605 BC, what our text is referencing. It was in 605 BC, and that deportation included Daniel. There was a second deportation in 597 BC, and that included Ezekiel. There was a third deportation that took place in 586 B.C. and that was when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. And friends, the beautiful thing about that, of course, is that that 70-year captivity that is repeatedly prophesied in the scriptures comes into full bloom, if you will, because it was from 605 B.C. to 536 B.C. when the first remnant returned, there's your 70 years. And also, interestingly enough, and I had never noticed this before, that from 586 B.C. in the fall of Jerusalem, To 516 B.C., when the second temple was rebuilt, there's another 70 years. And so the Word of God is just so gloriously true. It's inspired by the Holy Spirit. If we seem to have contradictions, it's because we're not understanding something culturally, historically, politically. We don't get it. The problem is not with the Word of God. The problem is with us. And so I just rejoice in being able to dig out some of these things that would counteract many accusations against the authority and the inspiration of Scripture. But friends, one final thing. Why do you suppose it is so significant, not simply to realize that it was the Lord who was controlling Nebuchadnezzar, not only to realize the 70 years of the three deportations and all that, what is significant about the fact that not only the king, Jehoiakim, but the articles in the temple of God were taken out of that temple and brought to a pagan land? What is wrong with that picture? What's wrong, seemingly, with that picture? Especially when we consider, for example, what we read in Psalm 80, verses 1 through 3. Psalm 80, verses 1 through 3, a Psalm of Asaph. Hear us, O shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock, you who sit enthroned between the cherubim. Shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Awaken your might. Come and save us. Restore us, O God. Make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved. Well, it kind of begs the question, people may wonder, how powerful Can a God be, how can a God provide for his people when he can't even defend his own temple and he can't even prevent his own property from being trashed and taken to a temple of a pagan God? Wow. What are we to make of that? What we read in Daniel 1 verse 2. How powerful is God? His own temple was trashed. The article's brought to the temple of the gods of Babylonia. What are we to make of that? Well, again, the answer, very critically, is found right in the words of our text. In that word, those words, the Lord delivered. The Lord delivered. And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his God in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his God, you see. Adonai, was in control, Adonai was in control. God was about to punish his people, think of this, in order to begin purifying a remnant for himself that he knew he would return to the promised land in order to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah so that his church would increase, his people would be saved, People like you and I living in 21st century America could be redeemed by the blood of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Oh, my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, think of it, think of it, think of it, and all glory be to God, all glory be to God. That is why, listen, when you and I read headlines like memo released, GOP document claims, FBI DOJ improperly spotted a Trump campaign aide, When we read or hear about a terrorist attack in Afghanistan, a lack of cooperation by Pakistan, when we read of God's people being persecuted in Iran, when we read of nuclear proliferation in North Korea, when we read whatever the headlines may say, let us never forget that the Lord our God is pursuing his purposes for the redemption of his people, the Lord our God is purifying himself for himself his own, the Lord our God is building his church, he is establishing his kingdom, and he is preparing the way for the coming of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whose name is to be glorified, magnified, honored above all, not only in time, but for all eternity. the introduction to the book, the prophecy of Daniel. Amen. Let's bow our heads and our hearts in prayer together. Oh, Father, again, our mighty God, our merciful Father, some 3,000 years ago, The psalmist Asaph again prayed, saying, O God, the nations have invaded Your inheritance. They have defiled Your holy temple. They have reduced Jerusalem to rubble. They have given the dead bodies of Your servants as food to the birds of the air, the flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth. They have poured out blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury the dead. We are objects of reproach to our neighbors, of scorn and derision to those around us. Help us, O God, our Savior, for the glory of Your name. Deliver us and atone for our sins for Your namesake. And we, Your people, the sheep of Your pasture, will praise You forever, from generation to generation, and we will recount Your praise. And, O Father, we make that our prayer also in this day. And in the words of Scripture at the close of Revelation, we pray, even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus, in your most high and holy name. Amen.