Today's Scripture Reading (September 13, 2026): Jeremiah 52
I am convinced that some people like to argue.
If you pick a position, they will choose the opposing side. (If I am being
transparent, I have been accused of that very thing.) Sometimes it is because
the discussion is fun (my reason for arguing an opposing opinion), but other
times it is because people's personalities clash. Agreeing with someone seems
to validate their stance on a whole range of issues. This concept of validation
describes our contemporary political saga: political groups take opposite sides
on an issue for no other reason than that they oppose each other politically. If
I am a conservative or right-leaning individual, by definition I must oppose
everything that the political left does. If someone confronts me on the dangers
of Christian Nationalism on the extreme right, my immediate response is prescribed
to be about the dangers of antifa on the extreme left. However, if we are going
to accomplish anything, we have to be able to admit when those we oppose
politically do something correct. The reality is that I don't have to agree
with everything to agree with something.
Sometimes history is shrouded; there are too
many things that we don't know. And this is the case with the story of
Awel-Marduk (or the man from Marduk). As far as we can tell, Awel-Marduk is the
son of Nebuchadnezzar. Indications suggest that Father and Son did not get
along well. Nebuchadnezzar and Awel-Marduk actually shared the throne for a
while before Nebuchadnezzar died. Most reports suggest Awel-Marduk did not
necessarily agree with his father's policies, though the reasons for the
disagreements vary.
Jeremiah tells us that Awel-Marduk released
King Jehoiachin from prison. Beyond the fact that the Judean King was released,
we argue over why. Some argue that Awel-Marduk released Jehoiachin from prison
for humanitarian reasons. He thought his father was wrong to imprison the King
of Judah for so long, but little evidence suggests Awel-Marduk was a
humanitarian. Most describe him as an evil egotist. It would be more in keeping
with what little we know of Awel-Marduk to argue that he overturned his father's
decision for no other reason than that he opposed everything his dad, Nebuchadnezzar,
did.
In some stories, Awel-Marduk releases
Jehoiachin from prison and is then thrown into prison himself by his father as
the conflict between Father and son continues. However, this theory has
problems. One of them arises right out of the biblical record itself. The
question is, if this is true, would Nebuchadnezzar allow Jehoiachin to stay
free and pay him an allowance for the rest of his life? The logic would be that
Nebuchadnezzar would most likely throw Jehoiachin back into prison.
A more colorful possibility, but one with a
ring of truth, places this event after Nebuchadnezzar's death. In this tale,
the evil son digs up the bones of his god-fearing father and parades them
through the streets of Babylon as he reverses all of his father's decrees.
Jehoiachin, rather than being freed for humanitarian reasons, is freed only
because Father Nebuchadnezzar imprisoned him.
The story stands as a strange example of what
can happen when we make decisions for no better reason than personal opposition
to another person. History records Nebuchadnezzar as an extremely successful
king. At the same time, Awel-Marduk has almost disappeared from the pages of
history, and it was probably his son (Nebuchadnezzar's grandson) who presided
over the downfall of the Babylonian Empire. Opposing someone without good
reason can never take us to a good place, and will never carry us to
success.
Tomorrow's
Scripture Reading: Psalm 74
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