Daily devotion – Why the 70 years captivity in Babylon?
The Book of Daniel – Lessons from Captivity
The book of Daniel is set in what is known as the Jewish Diaspora – the dispersion after the exile – during what Scripture also calls “the times of the Gentiles.”
The opening verses give us the historical setting:
“In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god.” (Daniel 1:1–2)
This describes the first deportation in 605 B.C., when Daniel himself was carried off to Babylon. Later deportations would follow, culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.
The question we must ask is: Why did God allow His people to be conquered and carried away?
1. Israel Ignored God’s Covenant
God had warned Israel through His prophets. They sinned continually against the covenant (Isaiah 24:1–6), despising His law.
2. They Neglected the Sabbath and the Sabbatical Year
Israel ignored the Sabbath laws, including the land’s Sabbatical rest (Jeremiah 34:12–22). The seventy years of captivity were in effect God claiming the Sabbaths that His people had violated (2 Chronicles 36:20–21).
3. They Gave Themselves to Idolatry
Despite repeated warnings (Jeremiah 7:24–8:3; 44:20–23), they pursued false gods. Finally, God allowed them to be carried into Babylon – a city famous for idolatry – as judgment.
It is always tragic when God lets a people have their own way.
A Warning for the Church Today
When God’s Word is ignored and violated, judgment is inevitable. Israel’s captivity is not just a story of history, but a spiritual warning to us today.
Paul warned that in the last days, many would have “a form of godliness but deny its power” (2 Timothy 3:1–5).
Too often the Church mirrors the world rather than transforms it. Instead of capturing the world with the gospel, worldly saints become the world’s captives.
What About Us in Australia?
If God judged His covenant people Israel for ignoring His Word, what should we expect for our own nation, which increasingly lives as if God does not exist?
And what about us His Church? What lessons must we learn from Israel’s failures? Will we repent, return to His Word, and live faithfully – or will we drift further until judgment falls?
God is longsuffering, but His patience has limits. How long will He withhold His hand?