When Nebuchadnezzar attacked the temple of God, did God ran away without defending it?
Those sentences which are colored in orange are from Maharishi Dayananda Saraswati book Satyarth Prakash (The Light of Truth) and those which are colored in black are Jerry Thomas’s response.
"And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came Nebuzar-adan captain of the guard, a servant of the kind of Babylon unto Jerusalem: And he burnt the house of the Lord, and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great men's house burnt he with fire. And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls of Jerusalem and round about." (25:8 – 10.)
C. ~ The God of the Christians is indeed to be pitied. He had a house built for him by David to dwell in. He must have been living comfortably in it but Nebuzar-adan burnt it to ashes. God and his army of angels could not do anything against him. This God used to fight and win great battles before, but now He let Nebuxar-adan completely destroy His house.
One wonders why He sat quietly (and did nothing to defend His house) and where His angels ran away. At such a critical moment no one was of any use (to him). Besides what became of the Omnipotence of God? Did it take wings and fly away? If what is stated here is true, all that has been said before in the Bible about the victories of God will have no meaning. Did His bravery and valor consist in killing Egyptian children only? By such a behavior the Christian God brought disgrace and dishonor on Himself. The book is simply full of thousands of such silly stories.
Answer: Maharishi views the destruction of the temple of God by King Nebuchadnezzar as a question on the omnipotence of God.
Is it? Or is it a clear lesson that Yahweh God of the Holy Bible cannot be appeased by a mere building and what pleases Him is a righteous heart and deeds?
Let us first read what the Holy God Yahweh spoke about the temple when it was first constructed by King Solomon.
1 Kings 9:6-8 But if you or your sons at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and THIS HOUSE which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss, and say, 'Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?'
Yahweh God not only forewarned Israel, He through His prophet Jeremiah precisely prophesied this destruction of temple of God when Israel disobeyed the LORD God.
Jeremiah 26: 2-9 “Thus says the LORD: 'Stand in the court of the LORD's house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD's house, all the words that I command you to speak to them. Do not diminish a word. Perhaps everyone will listen and turn from his evil way that I may relent concerning the calamity which I purpose to bring on them because of the evil of their doings.' And you shall say to them, 'Thus says the LORD: "If you will not listen to Me, to walk in My law which I have set before you, the words of My servants the prophets whom I sent to you, both rising up early and sending them (but you have not heeded), then I will make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth." ‘So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD. Now it happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded [him] to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, "You will surely die! Why have you prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, 'This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without an inhabitant'?" And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.”
Thus we see that the LORD God did exactly as He forewarned and prophesized. No one except shallow and biased mind can ever conclude that when LORD God acts as He foretold, He is weak.
Further, if God used King Nebuchadnezzar to execute His judgment, He judged Nebuchadnezzar when the king became arrogant. King Nebuchadnezzar had to repent and fall at the feet of LORD God of the Holy Bible.
Daniel 4:34-37 “And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, "What have You done? At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me, I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.”
In the context of this very attestation from the King Nebuchadnezzar, does not the Maharishi’s question look laughable and biased?
In the destruction of the temple of God, King Nebuchadnezzar acted just as God had foretold. However, there was a king after him who thought he could do anything with the articles of the temple of LORD God. Let us see what happened to him.
Daniel 5: 1-30 “Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone. In the SAME HOUR the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the jo
ints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other. The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke, saying to the wise [men] of Babylon, "Whoever reads this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and [have] a chain of gold around his neck; and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” Now all the king's wise [men] came, but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation. Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were astonished. The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke, saying, "O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change. There is a man in your kingdom in whom [is] the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your father–your father the king–made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, [and] soothsayers.Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation." Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke, and said to Daniel, "[Are] you that Daniel who is one of the captives from Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? I have heard of you, that the Spirit of God [is] in you, and [that] light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. Now the wise [men], the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not give the interpretation of the thing. And I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations and explain enigmas. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and [have] a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom." Then Daniel answered, and said before the king, "Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation. O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling [was] with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses. "But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who [holds] your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified. Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written. "And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This [is] the interpretation of [each] word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and [put] a chain of gold around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain.”
Conclusion:
(a) King Nebuchadnezzar could destroy the temple of God because that was what LORD God foretold.
(b) However, when King Nebuchadnezzar became haughty, LORD God humbled him and he became a worshipper of Yahweh God.
(c) King Belshazzar attempted to do what LORD God of the Bible did not command. In that very hour, in the palace of the king, judgment came up on Belshazzar. In that very palace, that very hour, omnipotent God punished Belshazzar in front of all his lords, concubines and queen.
In the light of these evidences, we have to confess like King Nebuchadnezzar and say “He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, "What have You done?”
All powerful, omnipotent, sovereign God is the God of the Holy Bible. O Vedic believers, and our fellow country men, we urge you to reject the impotent gods of the Vedas and worship at the feet of Yahweh God.
