Unsung Heroes: Nebuzaradan Of Babylon

Introduction: Many unsung heroes in the Bible were Hebrews or Israelites. That wasn’t always the case, though. There were some people who were not even Jewish or from Israel, but they did some very noble things indeed. Here’s the story of one such unsung hero:

1 His kindness towards the people of Judah

Text: Jeremiah 39:8-10, KJV: 8 And the Chaldeans burned the king's house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem. 9 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the remnant of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to him, with the rest of the people that remained. 10 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.

War is awful, and there are stronger words to describe it (example, Gen. William T. Sherman’s description). It’s even worse when a nation brings destruction and war on itself, such as what happened to Judah. In less than 200 years, Judah had seen most of the ten northern tribes carried away to various parts of the Assyrian Empire (2 Kings 17) and multitudes of other national/ethnic groups brought to Samaria. One wonders how much attention Judah’s leaders ever paid to this drastic change.

Isaiah had prophesied good and bad about Judah but there were times his message fell on deaf ears—witness his appeal to King Ahaz in Isaiah 7. About 100 years later, Judah was just about in a death spiral due to the wickedness and worship of idols going on. Jeremiah’s ministry was to prophesy about the bad that was coming, but the good that would come if Judah would only repent and turn back to God.

They never did.

So for over two years (Jer. 39:1-2), Babylon had come. And waited. This was called siege warfare, meaning the enemy came, camped around your city, and waited until one of three things happened; the people inside surrendered, they were starved out, or the enemy broke through any kind of defense the city may have had.

The Babylonians did indeed breach the wall of Jerusalem but there are only a few accounts of rebels (Jews) being executed (2 Kings 25:18-21, e.g.) but Nebuzaradan did not put to death all of the people of Jerusalem. He arranged for most of the Jews to be taken to Babylon but for those allowed (choosing?) to remain, he gave “vineyards and fields (Jer. 39:10)

But his kindness also extended to Jeremiah the prophet. There are two passages to verify this:

2 His kindness towards Jeremiah the prophet

Text, Jeremiah 39:11-14, KJV: 11 Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying, 12 Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee. 13 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushasban, Rabsaris, and Nergalsharezer, Rabmag, and all the king of Babylon's princes; 14 Even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and committed him unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home: so he dwelt among the people

Text, Jeremiah 40:1-6, KJV: 1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him being bound in chains among all that were carried away captive of Jerusalem and Judah, which were carried away captive unto Babylon. 2 And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, The LORD thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place. 3 Now the LORD hath brought it, and done according as he hath said: because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed his voice, therefore this thing is come upon you. 4 And now, behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which were upon thine hand. If it seem good unto thee to come with me into Babylon, come; and I will look well unto thee: but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me into Babylon, forbear: behold, all the land is before thee: whither it seemeth good and convenient for thee to go, thither go. 5 Now while he was not yet gone back, he said, Go back also to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people: or go wheresoever it seemeth convenient unto thee to go. So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a reward, and let him go. 6 Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land.

These verses pretty much speak for themselves. Jeremiah had been kept in captivity—in Jerusalem, for preaching the Word of God to God’s own people! Much of the earlier 38 chapters in the book deal with how he was treated.

Notice how courteous Nebuzaradan was towards Jeremiah. He could have said, “You’re a dead man, prophet!” but treated Jeremiah with respect. He could also have said, “You’re in chains now and you’ll stay that way till you get to Babylon, but didn’t—he had those chains removed.

And he gave Jeremiah the free choice to either go to Babylon with this officer or to stay. Jeremiah, for reasons I’ve never understood, stayed. Nebuzaradan respected that choice, giving Jeremiah some parting gifts and freedom to go wherever he wanted.

That’s a lot, coming from an enemy, especially one of high rank such as Nebuzaradan—notice, he’s giving orders and they’re being followed. Was he a believer in the God of Jeremiah? We may never know, but one thing was for sure, he kept Jeremiah safe and gave Jeremiah plenty of choices. Unsung heroes, no matter what nationality, rank, or religion, can all do this.

Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)