The Patriot Post® · The Enemy Is at the Gate: Part II
Last week I wrote about the fall of Babylon by the huge army of Meade and Persian soldiers led by the Persian King Cyrus. It’s a remarkable story; this virtually impregnable city fell to the Persians without a fight. King Belshazzar had everything going for him. In military terms, he had the tactical advantage.
The walls were 350 feet high and the moat was 150 feet wide. You couldn’t batter the walls or gates down. The gates had been closed, like drawbridges. How did this happen? I mentioned Belshazzar’s grandfather King Nebuchadnezzar’s humbling due to pride and arrogance (Daniel 4).
Some current leaders (not naming names) could learn a lesson from Nebuchadnezzar’s experience! Daniel rebuked Belshazzar because he knew all about it, but it did not change his pride or arrogance. He held a party when his city was surrounded by an enemy army. His arrogance was noticed by God in Heaven.
Here’s the backstory. As Cyrus surveyed the situation, he realized Babylon could not be taken … until God gave him a plan. Really? God gave a pagan king a plan to conquer Babylon? Yes! The proof is in Isaiah 45:1-3, written nearly 100 years before Cyrus was born. God called him by name and promised Cyrus the gates would be open and the treasures accumulated would be given to him.
With God’s divine plan, Cyrus built a channel to divert the waters of the Euphrates River that ran through the city. This probably took months, as it had to be done away from the eyes of the soldiers on the walls. Finally, the work was finished, and Cyrus gathered his generals and gave them their marching orders.
Under the cover of darkness, the waters of the river were diverted onto the flat river valley. As the water fell, troops marched from both directions. There was only one problem. There were iron bars/gates where the water flowed in and out of the city, too small for a person to get through.
The night Cyrus launched his plan was the same night Belshazzar threw his party. The whole city rejoiced and celebrated along with their king and his nobles. Somehow, 15 miles apart, on opposite sides of the fortress, the soldiers forgot to close the river gates. As Belshazzar partied, and then heard Daniels words of pending judgment on him and the city, the Persians walked right into the city and captured it without a fight. Records show that because of their drunkenness, most of the city did not know they had been captured for several days!
You might ask, “So what’s the point?” I’m glad you asked. Belshazzar lived in an impregnable fortress; he had nothing to fear. Many of us in America are doing the same thing. Our fortresses may be wealth, talent, degrees, athletic ability, or position. Yet we look around and can see that the judgment on this country is at the gate. We are in danger of losing what generations of Americans fought to protect. Communism/Marxism is wrapping its tentacles around so many government agencies and leaders. But we are NOT without hope!
We need to wake up and do our part to reclaim the country we once knew and love. Voting for godly men and women is part of it. Millions of “Christians” cannot just stay home. Then we need to humble ourselves before a Holy God and ask for His mercy (II Chronicles 7:14). There’s still time!
Something to pray about!