Shalom Talk

Mark out Two Roads for the King of Babylon

Dan

It was my observation in Ezekiel chapter 21 (also in Jeremiah 39) that the end of Jerusalem came to pass. The very idols pursued by Babylon and the rebellious Hebrews were consulted to decide what the King of Babylon should do next. When you read this passage, savor each sentence. Notice how Elohim can use anyone and anything to bring about His plan. He owns everything!

Ezekiel must have chuckled a bit when he first heard this message from Elohim. He was well aware that intense hardship was coming for his people, but the specific details caused him to think deeply. In Ezekiel’s mind, he could see the Babylonian army on the move, marching toward the walls of Jerusalem.

The Hebrews confidently believed their walls would hold, as noted in Lamentations 4:12. But Ezekiel knew better. He could see the decision point coming for the Babylonians. He could see the literal fork in the road. He could see the liver of a sacrificed animal being examined by pagan soothsayers. He could see the Babylonians scratching their beards, gradually deciding which city to attack first.

We should be clear in our thinking; this was not an “either-or” decision for the King of Babylon. It was a “who is first” decision. The King’s army was on the road to crush a widespread rebellion. Both target groups were part of that rebellion. From a tactical view, the King made the correct military decision: cut off the head of the leadership first, and the rest of the rebellion will collapse in time.

Consider how the Israeli military handled its strategy in 2024. Did they not do the exact same thing, minus the liver analysis? Did they get the tactical idea from this ancient passage? Perhaps. The strategy remains highly effective: neutralize one major threat, then systematically move to the next.

Ezekiel 21:19-24 outlines the scene perfectly: “Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same country. Make a signpost where the road branches off to the city. Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites and another against Judah and fortified Jerusalem. For the king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: he will cast lots with arrows, he will consult his idols, he will examine the liver. Into his right hand will come the lot for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to give the command to slaughter, to sound the battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp and to erect siege works. It will seem like a false omen to those who have sworn allegiance to him, but he will remind them of their guilt and take them captive. Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you people have brought to mind your guilt by your open rebellion, revealing your sins in all that you do—because you have done this, you will be taken captive.” (NIV)

This is what I think, never doubt the awesome power or the deliberate will of Elohim to achieve His objectives. Never assume you know the only way He will work to solve a problem or cause an event to happen. Never underestimate His creative methods to execute His will and demonstrate His absolute control over history. Do we have free will? Yes, we do. Can our actions and our surroundings be influenced by the Almighty? Absolutely. Selah!

It is notable that King Nebuchadnezzar faced the exact same decision-making issues we face today: incomplete data to render a sound judgment. So, what did he do? He leveraged his soothsayers. Even though he was a ruler with great foresight and sharp political acumen, he had very little knowledge of what was actually in his own best interest. We are reminded by this history to avoid relying on powerful men who stand with their heads held high, wallowing in self-perceived strength. Even the world’s greatest leaders seldom know what truly needs to be done.

I suspect Nebuchadnezzar might have been a bit embarrassed to resort to animal innards to make a military choice. Consider the implication: he was deciding the fate of entire empires based on the ancient equivalent of a modern-day coin toss or the roll of a few dice. His grand decision tools were reduced to a couple of arrows and the random markings on animal organs. What a sad reality.

I say to you, is that the way you want to live your life—making random decisions based on happenstance, or resting secure in Elohim’s plan? Look closely at this situation. The Hebrews experienced a devastating day because they misused their right to exercise free will. Goodness!

As for me, I choose Jesus.

Standing in Awe of God

Dan

It was my observation while reading the 28th chapter of Job. The Book of Job is a vital part of what is known as Scripture’s Wisdom Literature, and fittingly, these books closely associate true wisdom with the fear of God.  This is no small thing.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 implores us to “hear the conclusion of the whole matter,” instructing us to “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Proverbs 9:10 reminds us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

Walking in the fear (deep respect) of the Lord yields incredible spiritual fruit:

  • It grants us deep wisdom (implied in Psalm 111:10).
  • It shields us from falling into transgression (implied in Exodus 20:20).
  • It emboldens us during evangelism (implied in 2 Corinthians 5:11).

But what does it really mean to fear God? It does not mean being terrified of Him. It means having an internal attitude of profound reverence and awe toward Him because we earnestly respect His absolute power and holiness.

When the Chips Are Down

Consider the incredible moment when Elohim spoke to Lucifer regarding Job’s character (implied in Job 1:8 and 2:3). The Lord said, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”

Think about that for a moment. All throughout his immense trials, Job stood in awe of God. Now, when the chips are down, the Almighty Himself vouches for Job’s integrity. Can you think of anything grander?

Unfortunately, Job’s friends lacked this humble awe. They approached his suffering as if everything were a “known known.” They were absolutely certain they knew exactly why these tragedies were happening to Job. They presumed to fully understand Elohim’s hidden purposes and formed their rigid answers based on their own limited perspective.

Twice in this chapter, Job asked: Where is wisdom? One thing was absolutely certain—it was not to be found in the words of his friends. They completely misread Job’s troubles.

The Natural vs. The Supernatural

When Job spoke so eloquently about nature and creation, he seemed to be delivering a message to his friends: If you do not even understand the natural world—such as the complex paths of rain and thunder—how can you claim to understand the supernatural? If you cannot explain the physical and temporal, how can you presume to explain the spiritual and eternal things of God?

Clearly, his friends were completely unable to comprehend Job’s suffering. To them, it remained an incomprehensible unknown unknown.

(Note to readers: If you want to dive deeper into this concept, please review my previously posted essay, “Figuring out the Unknown Unknowns,” to fully glean the meaning behind that phrase!)

When Job’s friends pretended to understand the mind of Elohim, they did not display divine wisdom—merely flawed human wisdom. Instead, they portrayed arrogance and presumption. That is precisely why Elohim’s anger was kindled against them. Job 42:7-8 records:

“After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, ‘I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.’” (NIV)

Twice, Elohim explicitly stated that their message was wrong. In a beautiful twist of grace, God then asked Job to pray for the very friends who had misjudged him.

True Wisdom Defined

Here is the deeper truth at the heart of it all: Only Elohim knows why certain things happen. Only He knows why He permits specific trials. They are “known knowns” to Him, but most of the time, they are complete “unknown unknowns” to us.

So, this begs the final question: What is wisdom?

Wisdom is remaining in awe and reverent fear of God regardless of what is happening in our lives—even when we do not understand a single bit of it. Job was completely vindicated before his friends and shown to be truly wise, not because he finally figured out what Elohim was doing, but because he continued to trust Elohim even when he did not understand what Elohim was doing.

Let us look at Job’s definitive words one more time. Job 28:28 states: “The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom” (NIV).

Wisdom is realizing that there are a lot of unknown unknowns out there in this life. It is choosing to stand in awe and trust Elohim through every single one of them. We may not know or understand the issue, but we rest in the fact that God does—and He has it completely under control.

As for me, I choose Jesus.

It Is Not Where You Are Looking

Dan

It was my observation while reading the 28th chapter of Job, I noticed a central question that the writer asks: Can wisdom be found outside of God?  Twice, in Job 28:12 and Job 28:20, we read the echoing question, “Where is wisdom?” The short answer is simple: Elohim is the source. True wisdom as a spiritual gift only exists because it is inherent in Elohim and reflects one of his atributes. That is precisely why it cannot be dug up or discovered in the natural world.

While the natural world can and does point us toward wisdom, simply gaining power from natural resources does not make us wise. True wisdom is spiritual, not earthly.  As Colossians 1:9 says: “We have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom.”

Ultimately, wisdom is about yielding to God and the scripture he has written in our heart so that we may know His will.  We are getting there (close to embracing Elohim’s wisdom) when we are able to see things from his perspective rather than our own perspective.

The Blueprint of Creation

Job 28:24 tells us, “He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.” God is omniscient, which means He sees and knows everything. He does not have to search the earth or scan the skies to discover what is there. He already knows it all because He is the very definition of wisdom (as implied in Romans 16:27).

Job 28:25 continues, “When He gave to the wind its weight and apportioned the waters by measure…” God has the perfect wisdom required to adjust the atmospheric pressure of the wind and measure the exact amount of water vapor in the sky. If these cosmic proportions were changed even a tiny fraction, we would experience catastrophic disturbances in our environment.

Furthermore, Job 28:26-27 states: “…when He made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the thunder, then He saw it and declared it, He established it and searched it out.”

Elohim commands the rain and guides the path of every storm as it moves across the globe. Flashes of lightning and peals of thunder may seem completely random and arbitrary to us, but Elohim controls every single one of them. This shows us that Elohim’s wisdom is applied knowledge.

Trusting the Architect of Our Lives

Elohim’s invisible attributes are woven directly into the fabric of creation. This is especially true of His wisdom, which is clearly demonstrated by how perfectly structured our universe is.

Romans 1:19-20 reminds us: “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse.”

As Job considered Elohim’s absolute sovereignty over the universe, it caused him to see God’s sovereignty over the painful events in his own life. Even though his current circumstances looked completely chaotic, he looked at how perfectly Elohim orders nature. This realization, I believe, allowed Job to accept that Elohim had permitted everything he was experiencing.

Job saw Elohim ‘s wisdom resting at the very bedrock of creation, enveloping all of life. This wisdom was established at the very beginning of Elohim’s work, as the first of His ancient acts (implied in Proverbs 8:22). Psalm 19:7 confirms this power: “The instruction of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise.”

This is what ultimately led Job to ask for an audience with Elohim. If God can control all of creation—in its vastness, complexity, and majesty—how much easier can He control our individual circumstances? If we can trust Elohim to order all of nature so perfectly, how much more can we trust Him and yield to Him to order our daily lives?

The Only Reasonable Conclusion

We can learn a great deal about wisdom by analyzing Elohim’s sovereignty over physical things. When we do, we arrive at the only logical conclusion. Job 28:28 states: “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.”

The world warns us against relying on our own understanding. Proverbs 12:15 says, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.” And 1 Corinthians 3:18 cautions, “Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become ‘fools’ so that you may become wise.”

Earlier in the chapter, Job told us where to find wisdom: it comes from Elohim. But here in verse 28, he tells us what wisdom actually is: fearing God. But what does fearing God really mean? In my final essay on this topic, I want to explore the depth of that famous phrase—the Fear of the Lord.

As for me, I choose Jesus.