The Butcher and the Beauty: An Impossible Biblical Romance about Nebuzaradan of Babylon

Could Nebuzardan, the Babylonian general who destroyed Jerusalem, and a God-honoring Hebrew noblewoman ever fall in love? Could a woman under siege ever give her heart to the man responsible for her starvation, fear, and misery?

Destroyer + Destroyee = love?

An unlikely formula. But how cool if it were true.

When readers hear the premise of my latest biblical fiction series, Yoke of Babylon, that’s usually their first reaction—doubt coupled with intrigue.

It was mine, too.

After all, General Nebuzaradan of 2 Kings 25 and Jeremiah 39–52 destroyed Jerusalem. More than that, he dismantled God’s dwelling place, the temple itself.

Babylon’s destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC is one of the darkest periods in human history. While King Nebuchadnezzar remained in Riblah, the commander of his armies, Nebuzaradan, besieged Jerusalem for two years. Famine, disease, and periodic assaults on the walls and gates brought the city to its knees. When the walls finally fell, Nebuzaradan, known as the king’s Chief Executioner (or Butcher), broke through and unleashed his world-conquering army upon the survivors. Thousands died. Thousands more were rounded up and hauled in chains to Babylon.

Nebuzaradan. The Butcher of Babylon.

Talk about a challenging male lead for biblical romance.

But buried in all that brutality and tragedy, the Lord provides a glimmer of hope.

Five verses in Jeremiah often stop readers in their tracks. They record Nebuzaradan’s only spoken words, delivered to Jeremiah himself shortly after the fall.

The Lord thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place. 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. 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. (Jer. 40:1–3)

Nebuzaradan not only acknowledges the God of Israel, but he also attributes its fall to Judah’s sin. Following that, he entrusts the prophet’s care to the newly appointed governor of Judah, feeds him, gives him a reward, and lets him go (Jer. 40:4–5).

For centuries, readers have wondered if King Nebuchadnezzar’s brutal captain of the guard converted to worshiping the One True God. Scripture doesn’t say, but it does give us the possibility. And God’s unchanging character, one of mercy and grace, supports that possibility.

He spared Ninevah.

He transformed Saul of Tarsus from murderer into apostle.

He included Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute, in the lineage of Christ.

He even allowed King Nebuchadnezzar, reputedly the most wicked king of the age, to write a chapter of praise in Daniel, all because he lifted his eyes to heaven and acknowledged the Most High.

And best of all, God redeemed me and you.

So, yes. I choose to believe in redemption for the man God used to destroy His holy city.

And that changes everything for my male lead, Nebuzaradan, because the real question isn’t whether a Hebrew noblewoman could ever love a Babylonian general. It’s this: Can He, would He transform the soul of a Butcher?

Read A Beauty Unbroken for free: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/1ioafdfpfj

If so, Nebuzaradan’s chances of winning the heart of the Beauty of Jerusalem, Liora bat Chesed, a woman who is his opposite in every way, have just gone up. Liora is wholesome, untainted by bitterness, a light in the darkness—a woman of unshakeable devotion to Yahweh. She does not bow to Babylon’s gods, its king, or its Butcher.

So, what might happen when two such characters encounter one another outside the ruins of Jerusalem?

That’s the question that inspired the series and that carries readers through page after page of slow-burn romance. But more important than that delicious, impossible love story is its underlying spiritual truth:

Without God’s redemption, there’s no possibility of love, but without God’s love, there would be no redemption.

God loved us while we were deep in our sins. Loved us so much He sent His Son to a broken, wicked world to die for his enemies. And because of His impossible love, we are redeemed (Rom. 5:8–10). There is no greater love story than that.

And maybe, just maybe, with that mighty Divine love within reach, a Butcher and a Beauty aren’t such an impossible love story after all.