The Monarch Butterfly—An Illustration of Transformation—Part 18

Monarch Butterfly

Introduction and Review

The previous part of this series examined the number four and its connection to categorizing themes of change, transition, and transformation as they apply to the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel, Judges, and Ruth.

This installment will study the same connection in the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, Esther, and Job.

Cyrus Restores the Vessels of the Temple Taken by Nebuchadnezzar
The Holy Scriptures in Picture and Story
Foster William A
The Library of Congress

Ezra—Nehemiah

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah record the return of the remnant of exiles from their 70-year captivity in Babylon. Artaxerxes signed the decree to do so in 444 BC. The people begin rebuilding and repairing the temple. Upon their return, they stayed in Jerusalem for three days, and on the fourth day, a transition took place.

Now on the fourth day, the silver and the gold and the articles were weighed in the house of our God by the hand of ...

1. Meremoth, the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was
2. Eleazar, the son of Phinehas; with them the Levites,
3. Jozabad, the son of Jeshua and
4. Noadiah, the son of Binnui,

... with the number and weight of everything. All the weight was written down at that time. The children of those who had been carried away captive, who had come from the captivity, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel:

1. Twelve bulls for all Israel
2. ninety-six rams
3. seventy-seven lambs
4. and twelve male goats as a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord.

And they delivered the king’s orders to the king’s satraps and the governors in the region beyond the River. So they supported the people and the house of God.

— Ezra 8:33-36

In the first event, concerning weighing the articles, we see four of the priesthood mentioned. The children of Israel offer four types of animal offerings. In this transition, we see the establishment of worship before the rebuilding project begins.

In chapter 6, his conspirators sent Nehemiah a message four times before they appeared to him in person.

Sennachrib and His Entourage

Hezekiah and Sennacherib

Isaiah 37 records events just before the 70-year Babylonian captivity. King Hezekiah, King of Judah (the Southern Kingdom), witnessed the Assyrian takeover of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. In light of this, he was well known for his repentant reform of the Kingdom.

As the reformation began, King Sennacherib of Assyria came to confront Hezekiah and frighten him and the people into surrender and submission by recounting his previous worldly self-reliant victories over all the other "gods" and nations. He names four Kingdoms.

Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed,

1. Gozan
2. and Haran
3. and Rezeph,
4. and the people of Eden who were in Telassar?

— Isaiah 37:11-12

In this case, four reveals that this king relied solely on his natural physical strength and ability, which seemed successful when confronting other natural physical targets. But he was no match for the God of the Hebrews, who delivered the children of Israel from the threat and harm that Sennacherib had plotted, and they didn't have to do a thing. Hezekiah prays and spreads the situation, both literally and figuratively, in the form of a scroll before the Lord.

"... Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord, You alone.”
—Isaiah 37:20

In his devotional commentary titled "Psalms," Herbert Lockyer observes that at this time of judgment and captivity.

Four kings of Judea reigned but a short time, and either died by the sword or in captivity.
1. Jehoahaz - reigned only three months, and died a captive in Egypt
2. Jehoikim - reigned only eleven years, was delivered to the Chaldeans, who put him to death and flung his body into a common sewer
3. Jehoikin - reigned three months and ten days, and became a captive in Babylon. Latterly released, he was never invested with power.
4. Zedekiah - reigned only eleven years, when his eyes were put out, and loaded with chains, he was carried to Babylon."

Daniel's Visions

Daniel

This section begins with Scofield's notes on the four divisions of the book of Daniel.

"Daniel is in four broad divisions:

1. Introduction. The personal history of Daniel from the conquest of Jerusalem to the second year of Nebuchadnezzar, 1:1-21.
2. The visions of Nebuchadnezzar and their results, 2:1-4:37.
3. The personal history of Daniel under Belshazzar and Darius, 5:1-6:28.
4. The visions of Daniel, 7:1-12:13."

There are four central men of God in these narratives that God will use in the Gentile kingdom of Babylon to begin the preparations for their return to their homeland after seventy years of captivity:

Daniel
Hananiah
Mishael
and Azariah

Whose names were changed to

Belteshazzar
Shadrach
Meshach
and Abednego

The decree to return was signed in 444 BC by Artaxerxes.

God gave these four young men four things.

1. Knowledge and
2. understanding in every kind of literature
3. and wisdom.
4. Daniel also understood the visions and dreams of every kind.

— Daniel 1:17

In chapter two of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar had a disturbing dream that he wanted to be interpreted. He threatens to kill his counselors because they can't tell him what the dream is, let alone its meaning. Daniel gets wind of the situation, understanding that he and the other three men of God are also in danger, and therefore seeks God for an answer. God does indeed give him the interpretation. When Daniel appears before the king, He asks the king about his four incompetent earthly sources of wisdom.

Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the

1. wise men
2. the astrologers
3. the magicians
4. the soothsayers shew unto the king;

— Daniel 2:27

Daniel insisted that the king understand that the wisdom and interpretation he was about to give did not come from a limited worldly source, as would the king's own four sources of counsel.

The vision the king had was that of a statue that consisted of four layers, the top being gold

1. the top being gold,
2. the arms and chest of silver,
3. the belly and thighs of brass,
4. and the calves and feet of clay and iron

This foretold a transition of Gentile world powers.

Babylon
Medo-Persian
Greek
and Roman

Rome was the fourth empire and the one that would rule during the Messiah's first coming.

There is also an incident concerning Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in chapter three of Daniel. They were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow to the golden image that the king had built. When they are thrown into the fire, it is observed that four men are in the furnace rather than three.

He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

— Daniel 3:25

In this passage, the word for Son is not the common word for "son," which is "ben," but it is instead the word bar meaning chosen Son. He is none other than the Messiah Himself with them. In verse 27 of this account, four natural things are also observed by four worldly kings and worldly counselors concerning this supernatural event.

And the

1. princes,
2. governors,
3. and captains,
4. and the king's counselors,

being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose

1. bodies, the fire had no power,
2. nor was a hair of their head singed,
3. neither were their coats changed,
4. nor the smell of fire had passed on them

— Daniel 4:27

The sun, moon, and stars were created on the fourth day. These heavenly bodies measured and signaled time. Daniel, chapter four, names four things that God does on the earth, beginning with "signs," in four poetic verses.

How great are his signs!
And how mighty are his wonders!
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And his dominion is from generation to generation.

— Daniel 4:3

Daniel chapter four then continues with a significant change that will occur with the king. He will become like a beast because he pridefully exalts himself rather than acknowledging God. He will be transformed back to himself once he humbles himself and acknowledges this.

Belshazzar and the Writing on the Wall by Rembrandt
National Gallery in London

The Handwriting on the Wall

Daniel chapter five records the event of King Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar's son, who had decided to party hearty using sacred temple objects taken from Jerusalem. This scene possibly demonstrates another culture and time that would complacently take the things of God and use them for personal exaltation, lust, or gain. A four-word warning and prophecy appear in "The Writing on the Wall."

MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

— Daniel 5:25

... the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

— Daniel 5:26-28

In this warning, Daniel reminds Belshazzar, son of Nebuchadnezzar, who established the first of four world kingdoms, that it was God who gave his father four things in his rule and reign on the earth.

O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father
1. a kingdom
2. and majesty,
3. glory
4. and honor

— Daniel 5:18

The second mention of this observation is that this phrase occurs four times alongside God's sovereignty over all that He has made.

... the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses."

— Daniel 5:21

This recitation is the fourth and final occurrence before the written judgment on the wall.

Daniel, chapter seven, records a vision in which Daniel saw "the four winds of heaven that strove upon the great sea" and "four great beasts came up from the sea ... " The fourth beast was noted as a terrible one. The great beasts later get interpreted as four kings.

Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings that arise out of the earth.
— Daniel 7:17

This fourth kingdom alters the fourth-day creation purposes of the sun, moon, and stars, which signal time and events. Four things are listed, and this Anti-Christ kingdom will do four things according to the next verse. "Time" also receives four mentions in this portion of the text.

1. He shall speak pompous words against the Most High,
2. Shall persecute the saints of the Most High,
3. And shall intend to change times and law.
4. Then the saints shall be given into his hand

For a time, times, and half a time.

— Daniel 7:25

This fourth kingdom emerged from one of the four kingdoms into which Greece was divided after Alexander the Great died. The Roman Empire was its leader, who honored a no-god with four things.

But in their place, he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know, he shall honor.

1. with gold
2. and silver
3. with precious stones
4. and pleasant things

— Daniel 11:38

Sandwiched between the vision and its interpretation is a description of the Messiah. At the end of all things, He opens the books of judgment. Four features are described.

“I watched till thrones were put in place,
And the Ancient of Days was seated;

1. His garment was white as snow,
2. And the hair of His head was like pure wool.
3. His throne was a fiery flame,
4. Its wheels a burning fire.

— Daniel 7:9

Scofield notes a historical order of four in chapter seven of Daniel.

1. The investiture of the Son of Man with the kingdom Daniel 7:13 Daniel 7:14; Revelation 5:6-10
2. the "vexing" of Psalms 2:5, fully described in Matthew 24:21, Matthew 24:22, Revelation 6.-18.
3. The return of the Son of Man in glory to deliver the "smiting" blow of Daniel 2:45; 7:9-11, Revelation 19:11-21.
4. The judgment of the nations and the setting up of the kingdom Daniel 7:10 Daniel 7:26 Daniel 7:27; Matthew 25:31-46; Revelation 20:1-6.

The Messiah, being God, is stamped with the number four, considering He came to the created earth and became one of us.

In chapter 9, Daniel sets himself to pray and confesses four things, which could be a progression of where sin leads us in its spiral downward.

We have

1. sinned
2. and committed iniquity
3. We have done wickedly
4. and rebelled even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.

— Daniel 9:5

He then names the four people groups God tried to reach through His prophets.

Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name

1. To our kings
2. and our princes,
3. to our fathers
4. and all the people of the land.

— Daniel 9:6

Shame is then attributed to the four who refused to hear and repent.

O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—

1. to the men of Judah
2. to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel
3. those near
4. and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them

... because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.

— Daniel 9:7

In his observation of four, Bullinger notes that there are four prophetic world powers at the end of the age.

In Daniel 7:2, 3 we read, "The FOUR winds of the heaven STROVE upon the great sea, and FOUR beasts came up from the sea DIVERSE one from another." Such is the history of man's power in the world—strife and division!

Relative to four's expressions of world kingdoms, there are four kings listed in the Book of Daniel:

Nebuchadnezzar
Belshazzar
Darius
and Cyrus

During this period, four men in the kingdom followed God.

Daniel
Shadrach
Meshach
and Abednego

There were also four men in the fiery furnace.

Shadrach
Meshach
Abednego
and the Son of God

Christ, who came to the earth, stands with us through the fiery furnace of this world that despises Him and those who follow Him.

Queen Esther Exposing the Evil Haman and His Plot to Kill the Jews
Ernest Normand (1857-1923)

Esther

The Book of Esther records a time in Israel's history (fourth century BC) after they had spent 70 years captive to the Babylonians. Some of those in exile were released to return and rebuild in Jerusalem, and some remained in what had now become a kingdom ruled by the Medo-Persians.

An evil anti-Christ type figure arises in this story, who attempts to destroy the Jews. He is identified as the wicked Haman, whose name receives 52 (4x13) mentions—a significant number of mentions in such a small book consisting of only ten short chapters.

Esther's name is mentioned 56 times (4 x 14). It is fascinating that 13, the multiple in Haman's mentions, is the number of rebellion, and 14, as with Esther's name, is associated with Passover and the concept of sacrifice, and is connected with deliverance. These themes accurately reflect the events and themes of this story.

The Median king in this biblical account is mentioned 192 times (4 x 4 x 4 x 3).

Four years after Esther is crowned queen, the Haman incident occurs.

The story begins with a king and his kingdom celebrating the beauty and majesty of their kingdom. The feast for the nobles lasted 180 days (4 x 45), as recorded in chapter one of the book of Esther, signaling a change in events. Next, a seven-day feast was held for the rest who were present in Shushan in the garden court. It contained the first two mentions of silver in a detailed description of its decor.

There were white and blue linen curtains fastened with cords of fine linen and purple on silver rods and marble pillars; and the couches were of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of alabaster, turquoise, and white and black marble.
— Esther 1:6

In this particular story, their destruction was purchased with silver. Silver, as studied previously, symbolized the price of redemption in the Bible.

If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand (4 x 2500) talents (about 100 pounds) of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king's treasuries. So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. And the king said to Haman, “The silver and the people are given to you, to do with them as seems good to you."
— Esther 3:9-11

Esther reveals this transaction to the king at a specified moment to reverse an obnoxious decree against them.

Then, Esther the queen, answered and said, If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request:
For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage.
— Esther 7:3-4

Esther appeals to the king for help, considering there is no other help or hope. The king cannot reverse his original decree, but grants them the right to issue new decrees to protect and save them. We find ourselves in a similar predicament when we view this through the lens of Jesus, our Messiah, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. We were sold into the slavery of sin for a price that we cannot afford, and it is to Jesus that we make our appeal for salvation.

They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceases for ever:) That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.
— Psalm 49:6-9

The "Pur" used for casting lots were quadrangular prisms with four numbers on each side: 1, 2, 5, and 6.

Stained Glass Tetragrammaton (four-letter name of God)
Grace Episcopal Church
Decorah, Iowa

God's Name Hidden in Esther Four Times

The following is borrowed from E.W. Bullinger's elaborate numeric and literary studies, which identify God's four-letter name (yod, hey, vav, hey) hidden in the book of Esther four times. He includes many intricacies of this revelation as it concerns our study. It is so detailed that I have chosen to copy his writing, which is also available online and copyright-free. As you will notice, Bullinger mentions five hidden names, but the fifth occurrence is "I am that I am," which uses different letters.

Companion Bible Appendix #60

60. THE NAME OF JEHOVAH IN THE BOOK OF ESTHER.

Many have observed that no Divine Name or Title appears in the book of Esther.

This is the more remarkable, since, in this short book of only 167 verses, the Median King is mentioned 192 (4x192) times, his kingdom is referred to 26 times, and his name "Ahasuerus" is given 29 times.

Jehovah had declared (Deut. 31:16-18) that if His People forsook Him, He would hide His face from them. Though the book reveals Him as overruling all, His Name is hidden. It is there for His People to see, not for His enemies to see or hear.

Satan was at work, using Haman to blot out the Nation, as once before he had used Pharaoh for the same purpose. Jehovah's counsel must stand. His promise of the Messiah, the coming "Seed" of the woman (Gen. 3:15), must not fail. Therefore, He must overrule all for the preservation of His People, and of the line by which that "Seed" was to come into the world.

His working was secret and hidden: hence, the name of "JEHOVAH" is hidden secretly four times in this book, and the name "EHYEH" (I am that I am) once. The Massorah has a rubric calling attention to the former fact, and (at least) three ancient manuscripts are known in which the Acrostic letters in all five cases are written Majuscule (or, larger than the others) so that they stand out boldly and prominently, showing the four consonant letters of the name JeHoVaH. In Hebrew, y, h,w, h, or, as written in Hebrew from right to left, h, w, h, y. In English, L, O, R, D. Also, the five letters of the fifth Acrostic, "EHYH".

THE FOUR ACROSTICS.

The following phenomena are noticed in examining the four Acrostics which form the name "Jehovah":

1. In each case, the four words forming the Acrostic are consecutive.
2. In each case (except the first), the form a sentence complete in itself.
3. There are no other such Acrostics in the whole book, except the fifth Acrostic at the end; though there is one other, forming another Divine Title, in Ps. 96:11.
4. In their construction, there are not two alike, but each one is arranged in a manner quite different from the other three.
5. Each is uttered by a different speaker. The first by Memucan (1:20); the second by Esther (5:4); the third by Haman (5:13); the fourth by the inspired writer (7:7).
6. The first two Acrostics are a pair, having the name formed by the Initial letters of the four words.
7. The last two are a pair, having the name formed by the Final letters of the four words.
8. The first and third Acrostics are a pair, having the name spelled backward.
9. The second and fourth are a pair, having the name spelled forward. They thus form an alternation:

A Backward.
B Forward.
A Backward.
B Forward.

10. The first and third (in which the name is formed backward) are a pair, being spoken by Gentiles.
11. The second and fourth (in which the name is spelt forward) are a pair, being spoken by Israelites. They thus form an Alternation:--

C Spoken by a Gentile (Memucan).
D Spoken by an Israelite (Esther).
C Spoken by a Gentile (Haman).
D Spoken by an Israelite (the inspired writer).

12. The first and second form a pair, being connected with Queens and Banquets.
13. The third and fourth are a pair, being connected with Haman.
14. The first and fourth are a pair, being spoken concerning the Queen (Vashti) and Haman, respectively.
15. The second and third are a pair, being spoken by the Queen (Esther) and Haman, respectively. They thus form an Introversion:--

E Words concerning a Queen.
F Words spoken by a Queen.
E Words spoken by Haman.
F Words concerning Haman.

16. It is remarkable also that, in the two cases where the name is formed by the initial letters, the facts recorded are initial also, and are spoken of an even in which Jehovah's overruling was initiated; while in the two cases where the name is formed by the final letters, the events are final also, and lead rapidly up to the end toward which Jehovah was working.

Thus, in the two cases where the name is spelled backward, Jehovah is seen overruling the counsels of Gentiles for the accomplishment of His own; and where the name is spelled forward, He is ruling directly in the interests of His own People, unknown to themselves.

THE FIRST ACROSTIC (1:26) is formed by the initial letters, for the event was initial; and the name is spelled backward because Jehovah was turning back and overruling the counsels of man. The whole clause reads as follows: the words forming the Acrostic being put in italic type:--
"And when the king's decree, which he shall make, shall be published throughout all his empire, (for it is great,) all the wives shall give to their husbands honor, both to great and small." The four words we give, 1st, in the Hebrew type (with the Majuscular letters at the beginning of each word); 2nd, with the Transliteration; and 3rd, in English paraphrase, reproducing the sentence in the word LORD with the initial letters backward, it and all the wives shall give
"Due Respect Our Ladies shall give to their husbands, both to great and small."

THE SECOND ACROSTIC (5:4). is formed, as before, by the initial letters, for Jehovah is initiating His action; but the name is spelled forward because He is ruling and causing Esther to act, and take the first step, which was to lead up to so great an end.

The four words are:

let-come (י)
the-king (ה)
and-Haman (ו)
this-day (ה)

The name of Jehovah is read in the invitation, intimating that there would be a fourth at that banquet.

THE THIRD ACROSTIC (5:13) is the beginning of the end; for Haman had gone forth from that banquet "joyful and with a glad heart" (5:9) "that day." Yet it was to be his last. Hence, the third Acrostic is formed with the final letters, for the end was approaching; and the name is spelled backward, for Jehovah was overruling Haman's gladness, and turning back Haman's counsel.

This (ה)
nothing (ו)
availeth (ה)
to me (י).

THE FOURTH ACROSTIC (7:7). is formed, like the third, by the final letters, for Haman's end had come. But it is spelled forward like the first, for Jehovah was ruling and bringing about the end He had determined. Haman saw there was cause for fear. A fourth is there -- Jehovah Himself! And when Esther pleads for her life (7:3), the king asks, "Who is he and where is he?" (7:5) which brings in Jehovah's own ineffable name -- the Acrostic of the five final letters spelling in Hebrew "I am." Esther replies: "The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman." The king, filled with wrath, rises and goes forth into the palace garden. Haman, filled with fear, rises, "to make a request for his life to Esther the queen, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king." This was the climax; the end had come. Hence, the name is spelled by the final letters: that evil was determined against him. Translated, as before, the Acrostic appears in English thus:

"For he saw that (י)
there was (ה)
determined against him (ו)
evil by the king." (ה)

(7;7)

Job's Tormentors by William Blake 1793

Job's Four Catastrophes

In the course of one day, Job receives four messages, each bearing separate news that his livestock, servants, and ten children have all died due to marauding invaders or natural catastrophes.

— Spark

Another observation from the book of Job: Job was counseled by four men (Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu). Four informs us that their perspectives concerning Job's sufferings were severely limited to a subjective earthly perspective. When God begins his confrontation, His first question is this.

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
— Job 38:4

Then, several examples follow of how complex all that He created is and how beyond our human understanding it is. God tells us that because of these limitations, we are to trust Him no matter what.

Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.
— Job 13:15

The account of Job's unraveling is the following.

... and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house.
— Job 1:19

Understanding of the number four and its meaning, this wind of destruction affected every sphere of Job's physical life and existence.

God is establishing something redemptive in the earth. God founded, through Abraham's faith in the possibility of God resurrecting his only promised son, Isaac, the legal right for Himself to bring His one and only Son as a sacrifice for sin. Here in Job, we see Job's faith paving the way for an "innocent" man to bear the consequences of sin and iniquity as he submits to suffering not connected to his personal sin. This faith would ultimately be the fair price of redemption, where Christ, our Messiah, is concerned.

“Oh, that my words were written!
Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!
That they were engraved on a rock
With an iron pen and lead, forever!

For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God,

— Job 19:23-26

Ultimately, God redeemed Job and extended his life to 140 (4x35) years.

... and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations.
— Job 42:16

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