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2 Kings 25:27-30-Now it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. 28 He spoke kindly to him, and gave him a more prominent seat than those of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin changed from his prison garments, and he ate bread regularly before the king all the days of his life. 30 And as for his provisions, there was a regular ration given him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.
One of the amazing things about our God is the way that He is able to bring great good even out of the most terrible of circumstances. A good example of this may be seen in the tragic case of Daniel and his friends who were taken caprice to Babylon by the wicked king Nebuchadnezzar in the year 606 B.C. We read about a wicked Jewish king named Jehoiachin who rebelled against God (2 Kings 24:8-9), and how Nebuchadnezzar took him captive back to the land of Babylon (2 Kings 24:10-12). At that time, thousands of other Hebrew slaves were likewise taken captive.
2 Kings 24:14-17-Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land. 15 And he carried Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. The king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the mighty of the land he carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 All the valiant men, seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths, one thousand, all who were strong and fit for war, these the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon. 17 Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
Daniel and his friends were also taken to the land of Babylon:
Daniel 1:6-7-Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7 To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego.
Now, here is the amazing thing: something happened to cause king Nebuchadnezzar’s son to release Jehoiachin from his many years of confinement!
What could have caused such an event?
Cooper enlightens us:
“This decision by Amel-Marduk to release the king of Judah was directly opposed to his late father’s policies regarding the captive kings. It earned him the disdain of Babylon’s historians, and possibly led directly to his murder in 560 BC. But what, we may ask, had led to this extraordinary departure from Nebuchadnezzar’s policies? The answer lies in the person whom Amel-Marduk engaged as his private secretary. The Istanbul Prism tells us that this was none other than Ardi-Nabu, or as we know him from the Bible, Abednego. As the crown prince of Babylon, Amel-Marduk had undoubtedly been present at the Convocation at Dura, and afterwards, when Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego were cast into the fiery furnace. Now curiously, he had been named Nabu-suma-ukin at his birth, yet later we find him with this new name, Amel-Marduk-Man of Marduk. Had he changed his name at the oath-taking ceremony at Dura, to assure his father Nebuchadnezzar that he was a man devoted to his father’s chief ‘god’, Marduk?-and hence devoted to his father’s cause? It is very likely. As crown prince, he would have been under some suspicion of involvement in the rebellion. But whether it was at Dura that he changed his name or no, he was sufficiently impressed by Abednego’s faith and abilities to employ him as his private secretary. 11 This was a post of the utmost confidence and was only ever given to the most trusted of men. This Ardi-Nabu and he had doubtless talked of many things, and Ardi-Nabu would surely have pleaded Jehoiachin’s cause to his master. We know also from the Yale and Florence inscriptions that Daniel was Amel-Marduk’s chief minister–shaqu sharri–who, sensing the difference between this present king and Nebuchadnezzar, doubtless also pleaded Jehoiachin’s cause. 12 Amel-Marduk knew both to be excellent men and specially blessed of their God. It is all a matter of record, of history, and of joining up the dots. 13”. (Bill Cooper, The Authenticity of the Book of Daniel, 736-751 (Kindle Edition): Creation Science Movement)
Think of it: it was Abednego that God worked through to show mercy to king Jehoiachin, who had been a prisoner for many long years.
What to take from all this?
First, God is always able to bring good out of even the most horrible suffering and heartache. He has a reason for allowing the pain in our lives that He does, and He is always working for good.
Second, trust that you are exactly where you need to be in your life and situation. Sometimes we feel like God could not have a reason for allowing whatever we are facing in this life, and that He is either indifferent to our suffering or capricious. But as we see through God’s nature and work in the world, He is good and He does good.
Psalm 119:68-You are good, and do good; Teach me Your statutes.
Third, trust that God can work through you. Maybe you have been called to where you are for just such a time as this (Esther 4:14)!
Lord, thank You for being the good God that You are, and for doing the good things that You do. Guide me today in all things. Help me to be Your instrument in this world. Amen.