All nations, friends and enemies alike, take great pangs to spy-out the intrinsic wealth and defensive capabilities of other nations. That’s just what nations do, driven by plain ole human nature. In doing so, envy, a most pervasive human trait, is likely triggered, but it’s generally tempered, that is… until an opportune moment arises!
Such a moment arose for Babylon about 125 years after an earlier king’s son and his entourage, visited Hezekiah, King of Judah in Jerusalem. They were treated to a fabulous display—a ‘static parade’ of sorts, of ALL Judah’s treasures, including its armory! About 125 years later, Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, invaded Judah, raided and destroyed Jerusalem and its temple, and carted off to Babylon, ALL of its treasures, plus the best remnants of its population to serve as slaves.
Where there any connections
between these two events??
Any connections between Hezekiah’s ‘parade’ of Judah’s excessive wealth, and Babylon’s invasion, might not have been causative, but were plausibly confirmative! The Lord had long warned Judah to turn from its grossly sinful ways, or else, it would suffer His similar, severe judgments that Israel (the 10 northern tribes) had suffered – years of siege by Assyria, ending in a final invasion and capture of most survivors who became slaves in Nineveh. (NB Over time, the descendants of these people became known as the 10 lost tribes of Israel.) So in The Lord’s perfect timing, He declared He would mobilize Babylon to invade Judah, destroy the temple, and capture the best of the survivors to serve as slaves in Babylon.
Hezekiah was regarded as righteous, trusting in The Lord, both spiritually and physically. (NB: Prior to the above-noted visit, The Lord had healed Hezekiah of a deadly illness.) I wonder whether his parade of Judah’s wealth and armory to perfect strangers, may have revealed the level of his trust and pride in his small nation’s vast wealth and battle-tested defensive weapons and capabilities? For centuries, the tremendous wealth in Solomon’s Temple alone, had likely ‘caught the eyes’ of many envying nations, both across the region and beyond!
Judah’s ‘Show and Tell’,
Became her ‘Show, Then Fell!’
Nations, beware what you pridefully parade
before your friends and enemies!
The U.S. president ordered a military parade (the biggest, most unique in the country’s history). It was for his birthday, which coincides with the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. Complete with thousands of uniformed soldiers reflecting past and present eras, musical performances, parachuting bravado, plus lots of heavy weaponry, equipment, and fly-overs of vintage and newer aircraft, all to celebrate and display to the onlooking world, the army—the country’s first military service to be established. Across the nation, this order triggered lots of resistance and derision, much of which relates to the excessive cost, at a time when the administration is undertaking severe austerity measures, imposing across-the-board tariffs on imports, and deporting countless, undocumented migrants who make-up a growing proportion of the labor force in jobs that do not attract Americans.
In light of that and Judah’s experience, I pondered what and how much might America and Judah have in common??
Stay tuned for Part 2
Commonalities between Judah and America
