Tiglath the Pillager

The Israelites had often longed for pagan gods, so the true God had abandoned them to these gods’ protection. He even raised up a pagan king to carry them away. They who long for pagan gods would surely long to live in pagan lands. In 1 Chronicles 5:25, we read:

And they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. So, the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, that is, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He carried the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into captivity. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan to this day.

This wall relief from 728 BC shows the armies of Tiglath-Pileser attacking middle-eastern cities and carrying off their gods. It was excavated by archaeologists at Nimrud’s Central Palace; Tiglath the Pillager had it constructed to show off his exploits, and it is now displayed in the British Museum. An interesting relic, it serves also as a reminder that God hands us over to the overlord of our choice. We can accept His lordship, or any number of beings who would seek to rule us. Worse still, He hands us over to ourselves:

Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves. (Romans 1:24)