Nebuchadnezzar, Servant of Yahweh
King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, conquered Judah and destroyed the first temple in Jerusalem in the sixth century BCE. It is regarded as one of the greatest tragedies in the history of the Jews. Yet the Book of Jeremiah, 27: 6, says, "And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant." He calls Nebuchadnezzar his servant in Chapter 25, verse 9, also. His servant? This must mean that Yahweh orchestrated the Babylonian conquest of Judah, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the 70-year exile of many Judahites to Babylonia. In other words, Yahweh is the villain of the piece. Why? According to the prophets, it was divine retribution because the Children of Israel repeatedly sinned by worshipping other gods besides Yahweh. This raises an uncomfortable question. If Nebuchadnezzar was Yahweh's servant, which other antagonists of the Israelites were also just carrying out Yahweh's orders? We can assume that when the Assyri...