God dealing with Pagan Kings
Image of Pagan King
Below is the Message Audio link
Pharaohs of Egypt. Throughout the Old Testament, various Pharaohs interacted with God’s people, often unknowingly serving God’s broader plan.
Pharaoh during the time of Joseph
Joseph was the son Jacob, the son if Isaac, the son of Abraham.
God’s Purpose: To preserve the family of Jacob (who would become the nation of Israel) during a severe famine and position them for growth in Egypt before the Exodus.
Joseph’s brothers who despised him sold him to Egypt. Genesis 37:23-28.
Pharaoh’s Role: An unnamed Pharaoh recognizing Joseph’s wisdom which God gave Joseph who interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams and elevated him to a position of immense power in Egypt. Genesis 41:15-16 “And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it. And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”
This allowed Joseph to manage the famine and bring his family to Egypt. This pagan ruler unknowingly played a crucial role in the early development of God’s chosen people. They were there 400 years.
God had told Abraham that his seed would be stragers in a land and servants for 400 years. Genesis 15:13-14: “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.”
Pharaoh of the Exodus (15th Century BC): God’s Purpose: To deliver Israel from slavery and demonstrate His power to both Israel and Egypt.
God says to Pharaoh in Exodus 9:16 “But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Pharaoh resistance to Israel return to the Promise Land became a vehicle for God’s glory.
God deliverd them from slavery in Egypt. Exodus 14:21-22 “And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.”
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (7th-6th Century BC)
Nebuchadnezzar was a powerful and often ruthless pagan king, yet God used him as an instrument of judgment against Judah. The people of Judah had consistently disobeyed God, engaged in idolatry, and rejected His prophets’ warnings. God determined to punish them through exile. Jeremiah 25:8-9 “Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations.” Nebuchadnezzar led multiple invasions of Judah, ultimately destroying Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple in 586 BC and deporting the Jewish population to Babylon.
God didn’t condone Nebuchadnezzar’s paganism or cruelty, but He leveraged Nebuchadnezzar’s ambition and power to fulfill His disciplinary plan for His people. This shows that God can use even the actions of wicked rulers to achieve His righteous ends.
Darius the Mede a Title for Cyrus, King of Persia
Darius the Mede became the ruler of Babylon and the king of the new empire, Medo-Persia. Daniel 5:31 “And Darius the Mede took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.”
Darius Placed 3 major princes over the kingdom, including Daniel. They hated Daniel and his God and set a trap for Daniel. They found Daniel praying to his God and demanded that he be “cast into the den of lions”. The king was reluctant to do this but they insisted and Daniel was cast into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, “Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.” Daniel 6:11-12,16.
Daniel 6:18-23 “Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?” Then said Daniel unto the king, “O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.” Then was the king exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.”
Cyrus the Great founded the Persian Empire. 600-529 BC
God used Cyrus to restore the Nation of Judah from the 70 years of Captivity in Babylon to their homeland, the Land God promise to Abraham and his seed. Genesis 12:1-3.
This was prophesied by Isaiah 45:4-6: “For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.”
Cyrus in his firs year decreed that the house of God at Jerusalem be built. Ezra 6:3.
“In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits…”
King Darius 1 of the Persian Empire 522-486 BC
King Darius plays a critical role in supporting the Jewish return from exile, primarily by facilitating the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem [Ezra 6:1–12]. Darius I is historically known as a key Persian emperor, the Bible also features "Darius the Mede" in Daniel 6:1, who honors Daniel's God after sparing him from the lions' den.
Artaxerxes I (465-425 BC) commissions Ezra & Nehemiah to return and rebuild Jerusalem and God’s Temple. Ezra Ch 7:11-13 “Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even a scribe of the words of the commandments of the Lord, and of his statutes to Israel. Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time. I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee.”
God used many Pagan Kings in dealing with the People of Israel to prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ to redeem sinful man.
Below is the link to the underlined Notes pdf