“Leave Babylon, flee from the Babylonians! Announce this with shouts of joy and proclaim it. Send it out to the ends of the earth; say, ‘The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.’” – Isaiah‬ 48‬:20‬ ‬‬‬‬

Babylon the Great – It is as much a spiritual entity as it is a natural one. It is the most pervasive power on the planet and everyone serves its interest including Christians. Babylon to us is like water to a fish. We don’t recognize it for what it is and we can’t imagine life without it. 

When the Israelites were sent as captives to Babylon, the Lord tells them in Jeremiah 29 to settle there, to build homes and to plant gardens and to raise sons and daughters and to pray for the nation to be blessed so that they would be blessed. 

Likewise, we find ourselves serving Babylon at the Lord’s pleasure, but just as the Israelites were to remain there for only 70 years, we also are to remain here only for a season. And when our time is up, we are to flee Babylon with shouts of joy before she is judged.

Today, Babylon is not a geographic place, but it is the social, political and economic infrastructure of the world. We serve it without knowing that it even exists. It just is. But, the Lord is now opening the eyes of his church and he is about to separate us just as he separated Israel from Babylon  – by his mighty right arm – his Holy Spirit.

Origins

Nimrod, the great grandson of Noah, is identified in Genesis chapter 10’s Table of Nations.  He is said to be “a mighty warrior before the Lord”.  Babylon is one of Nimrod’s first kingdoms along with other great cities such as Assyria, Nineveh and Ir.  

Social Influence

In Genesis 11, Nimrod is credited with the construction of the historic Tower of Babel (the origin of Babylon). God commanded the people to disperse and populate the earth after the flood, but Nimrod convinced his followers to build a tower and a city where they would “make a name” for themselves and not “be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”  This displeased the Lord, so he confused their language so they could not understand each other causing them to scatter throughout the earth. The very origin of Babylon was to defy God. 

Financial Influence

Babylon is not again mentioned until Joshua 7:21 where a man named Achan coveted the Babylonian wares inside Jericho where everything was to be destroyed and no plunder was allowed.  Instead Achan said, “When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them.”  This is the second mention of Babylon’s seductive influence, and its wealth was now spreading throughout the Earth. 

Political Influence

In 2 Kings 20, Israel’s king Hezekiah recovers from a serious illness and the king of Babylon sends visitors with letters and gifts when he heard Hezekiah had been sick. Hezekiah pridefully invited the visitors into his house and showed them all the precious treasures in his kingdom.  

“Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord: The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” which was fulfilled three years into his son’s reign. 

What happened here?  This is a painful foretelling of the nature of the Babylonian system.  It wants to look into your life so it can take it from you, enslave you and keep you and your children in bondage to it for generations to come. 

Babylon next appears in 2 Kings 25:13, when the king of Babylon invaded and pillaged the temple of the Lord and took Israel captive.  Babylon is doing the same thing to this very day.  Today, even churches are paying significant interest payments into Babylon for their own debt and losing their properties if they fail to pay.  Churches are just as indebted (enslaved) as are their congregations.  As our leaders go, so go the people.

Reversing the Tide

Fast forward to the book of Ezra chapter eight where we see it is time for the Israelites to leave Babylon and return to Israel. God put it into the heart of the king of Babylon to surrender all the wealth that had been taken from Israel and the temple.

The process is interesting in its detail and it identifies a pattern for us.  We see that Ezra organized and led the Israelite’s exodus just as we are being called to organize and lead Christians out of Babylon as it is now time to end our captivity. And similarly, the Lord will reverse the tide and restore the wealth of the people of God taken by Babylon from previous generations. 

The King of Babylon opened up its treasury and gave to Ezra 3.75 tons of gold and 28.75 tons of silver. Taking responsibility is not an easy or simple task. Our King has also stored up for us all that is needed to accomplish what he is calling us to do. It will come to us as if he himself is handing it to us. Likewise, it will not be an easy or simple task.

Accountability

Ezra was very diligent in ensuring that every article was weighed, counted and delivered to Jerusalem where it was weighed and counted again to make sure it all got to where it was supposed to go. We likewise must be accountable with the wealth that he gives us to distribute to others so that they may get free from the grip of Babylon as well. We cannot allow Achan’s sin to disqualify us from the mission the Lord has for us. We are to take what we need to get out of debt to Babylon and then allow the rest to flow through us for others to do the same. God has been preparing the heart of our generation for this task.  It would be tragic to covet anything for our own purposes that was designated for someone else.  

These are the most exciting times to be a servant of the Lord. Let’s be as faithful as Ezra and the rewards will be greater than we can imagine. 

The Endgame

Ezra, Nehemiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Esther and others faithfully served the authorities of Babylon during the 70-year exile while maintaining their love of Israel and for their people. Their stories are so compelling because their lives were not easy. The same is true for us.  But just as they were only meant to be there for a season – so it has been with us.

Jeremiah 29:10-14 tells us:

“This is what the Lord says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

The Lord knew all along that we would live in covenant with Babylon and share in her ways but that he would bring us out before he would take us home.  And he has provided the most wonderful way for us to enjoy our deliverance.  He gave us each other to work as Paul taught, as one, under one head – Jesus.  

If this message resonates with your spirit, please let us know. God’s intentions are being made clear but his plans are fuzzy. We would love to hear what he is making clear to you. Together, we will see the whole picture. 

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