Captivity and Deliverance from Babylon

May 17 – 23, 2026

Key Text

“Flee from the midst of Babylon, and everyone save his life! Do not be cut off in her iniquity, for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance; He shall recompense her.” Jeremiah 51:6

Study Help: Prophets and Kings, 452–463; Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 2, 1040

Introduction

“With what tender compassion did God inform His captive people of His plans for Israel!” Prophets and Kings, 441

Sunday

1 THE GREAT APOSTASY

1.a. Describe the great apostasy in Judah shortly before the Babylonian captivity. Ezekiel 8:7–12

Note: “In the sixth year of the reign of Zedekiah, the Lord revealed to Ezekiel in vision some of the abominations that were being practiced in Jerusalem, and within the gate of the Lord’s house, and even in the inner court. The chambers of images, and the pictured idols, ‘every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel’—all these in rapid succession passed before the astonished gaze of the prophet. Ezekiel 8:10

“Those who should have been spiritual leaders among the people, ‘the ancients of the house of Israel,’ to the number of seventy, were seen offering incense before the idolatrous representations that had been introduced into hidden chambers within the sacred precincts of the temple court. ‘The Lord seeth us not,’ the men of Judah flattered themselves as they engaged in their heathenish practices; ‘the Lord hath forsaken the earth,’ they blasphemously declared. Verses 11, 12” Prophets and Kings, 448

1.b. What were some of the still greater abominations practiced in the temple of God? Ezekiel 8:13–17. Today, how may we who profess the three angels’ messages likewise be in danger of following after Baal, the sun-god?

Note: “In the exaltation of the human above the divine, in the praise of popular leaders, in the worship of mammon, and in the placing of the teachings of science above the truths of revelation, multitudes today are following after Baal. Doubt and unbelief are exercising their baleful influence over mind and heart, and many are substituting for the oracles of God the theories of men. It is publicly taught that we have reached a time when human reason should be exalted above the teachings of the word.” Prophets and Kings, 170

Monday

2 CONSEQUENCES OF APOSTASY

2.a. What punishment did God permit to come upon Judah as a result of their apostasy? 2 Chronicles 36:14–20

Note: “At the time of the final overthrow of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, many had escaped the horrors of the long siege, only to perish by the sword. Of those who still remained, some, notably the chief of the priests and officers, and the princes of the realm, were taken to Babylon and there executed as traitors.” Prophets and Kings, 459, 460

2.b. How does Jeremiah describe the beginning of the Babylonian captivity, and why did this punishment have to be administered? Jeremiah 25:5–11

Note: “The children of Israel were taken captive to Babylon because they separated from God, and no longer maintained the principles that had been given to keep them free from the methods and practices of the nations who dishonored God. The Lord could not give them prosperity, He could not fulfill His covenant with them, while they were untrue to the principles He had given them zealously to maintain. By their spirit and their actions, they misrepresented His character, and He permitted them to be taken captive. Because of their separation from Him, He humbled them. He left them to their own ways, and the innocent suffered with the guilty.

“The Lord’s chosen people proved themselves untrustworthy. They showed themselves to be selfish, scheming, dishonorable. …

“Why did He [the Lord] permit His people to be overcome by their enemies and carried into heathen lands?—It was because they had failed to be His missionaries.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 2, 1040

Tuesday

3 PRELIMINARY TRIALS

3.a. What inducements did Nebuchadnezzar use in order to try to convert four young Hebrew captives to the worship of the Babylonian gods? Daniel 1:3, 7. What similar temptations can the youth face today?

Note: “The king did not compel the Hebrew youth to renounce their faith in favor of idolatry, but he hoped to bring this about gradually. By giving them names significant of idolatry, by bringing them daily into close association with idolatrous customs, and under the influence of the seductive rites of heathen worship, he hoped to induce them to renounce the religion of their nation and to unite with the worship of the Babylonians.” Prophets and Kings, 481

3.b. How was the faith of the young Hebrews tried at the very beginning? Daniel 1:8–14. Explain how and why they revealed a decided advantage over the other students. Daniel 1:17–20

Note: “A portion having been offered to idols, the food from the king’s table was consecrated to idolatry; and one partaking of it would be regarded as offering homage to the gods of Babylon. In such homage, loyalty to Jehovah forbade Daniel and his companions to join. Even a mere pretense of eating the food or drinking the wine would be a denial of their faith.” Prophets and Kings, 481

“This request [from Daniel] was not preferred in a defiant spirit, but was solicited as a great favor. … Daniel and his companions … were courteous, kind, respectful, possessing the grace of meekness and modesty. And now as Daniel and his fellows were brought to the test, they placed themselves fully on the side of righteousness and truth. They did not move capriciously, but intelligently. They decided that as flesh meat had not composed their diet in the past, neither should it come into their diet in the future.” In Heavenly Places, 261

Wednesday

4 TRIAL BY FIRE

4.a. What test came upon three of the young Hebrews after the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream? Daniel 3:12–18, 23–25

Note: “The appointed day came, and a vast concourse from all ‘people, nations, and languages,’ assembled on the plain of Dura. In harmony with the king’s command, when the sound of music was heard, the whole company ‘fell down and worshiped the golden image.’ On that eventful day the powers of darkness seemed to be gaining a signal triumph; the worship of the golden image bade fair to become connected permanently with the established forms of idolatry recognized as the state religion of the land. Satan hoped thereby to defeat God’s purpose of making the presence of captive Israel in Babylon a means of blessing to all the nations of heathendom.

“But God decreed otherwise. Not all had bowed the knee to the idolatrous symbol of human power. In the midst of the worshiping multitude there were three men who were firmly resolved not thus to dishonor the God of heaven. Their God was King of kings and Lord of lords; they would bow to none other.” Prophets and Kings, 506

4.b. How will the essence of Daniel 3:6 be repeated in these last days? Revelation 13:11, 14, 15

Note: “Trial and persecution will come to all who, in obedience to the word of God, refuse to worship this false sabbath. Force is the last resort of every false religion. At first it tries attraction, as the king of Babylon tried the power of music and outward show. If these attractions, invented by men inspired by Satan, failed to make men worship the image, the hungry flames of the furnace were ready to consume them. So it will be now. The papacy has exercised her power to compel men to obey her, and she will continue to do so. We need the same spirit that was manifested by God’s servants in the conflict with paganism.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 7, 976

Thursday

5 DELIVERANCE FROM BABYLON

5.a. How is the Babylonian captivity of Judah similar to the captivity of God’s people under spiritual Babylon? Matthew 24:21, 22

Note: “For many centuries God’s people suffered a restriction of their liberties. The preaching of the gospel in its purity was prohibited, and the severest of penalties were visited upon those who dared disobey the mandates of men. As a consequence, the Lord’s great moral vineyard was almost wholly unoccupied. The people were deprived of the light of God’s word. The darkness of error and superstition threatened to blot out a knowledge of true religion. God’s church on earth was as verily in captivity during this long period of relentless persecution as were the children of Israel held captive in Babylon during the period of the exile.” Prophets and Kings, 714

5.b. When the Babylonian captivity was to end, what message came to the Hebrew exiles? Jeremiah 51:6, 45. How does this message include today a solemn duty for all who accept God’s gracious deliverance from spiritual Babylon? 2 Corinthians 6:17, 18

Note: “As the captive exiles heeded the message, ‘Flee out of the midst of Babylon’ (Jeremiah 51:6), and were restored to the Land of Promise, so those who fear God today are heeding the message to withdraw from spiritual Babylon. …

“The hour of God’s judgment has come, and upon the members of His church on earth rests the solemn responsibility of giving warning to those who are standing as it were on the very brink of eternal ruin. To every human being in the wide world who will give heed must be made plain the principles at stake in the great controversy being waged, principles upon which hang the destinies of all mankind.” Prophets and Kings, 715, 716

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

In fleeing spiritual Babylon, what are we called to do?
What warnings should we heed from the Babylonian captivity?
In what ways can the four young Hebrews encourage us?
By what means are the flames of persecution to be rekindled?
How is the joy of deliverance from Babylon a call to action?