מדרש אויף מלאכי 1:6

What does the term ben Baladan mean? It was said that Merodach's father was a king whose appearance was changed to that of a dog. And his son Beladan sat on the throne. And when he used to sign his name, he did so in conjunction with his father's for the sake of his honor. And to this the passage refers (Mal. 1, 6) A son honoreth his father, and a servant his master, i.e., a son honoreth his father, as just mentioned, and a servant his master, as in (Jer. 52, 12-13) And in the fifth month on the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came Nebusaradan, the captain of the guard, (who) served the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem. And he burnt the house of the Lord, etc. (Ib., b) Was then Nebuchadnezzar at that time in Jerusalem? Behold it is written (II Kings 25, 20) And Nebusaradan, the captain of the guard, took these, and conducted them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. And R. Abahu said that Riblah is identical with Antukhia? R. Chisda and R. Isaac b. Abdimi [differed as to the explanation of the passage]; one said that the image of Nebuchadnezzar was engraved on his (Nebusaradan's) carriage, and the other said that the fear of Nebuchadnezzar rested upon him, so that it always appeared to him that he was standing by him. Raba said: "Three hundred mules loaded with iron axes which could cut iron (steel) were given to Nebusaradan by Nebuchadnezzar while going to attack Jerusalem. And all of them were swallowed (broken) at one gate of Jerusalem, as it is said (Ps. 74, 6) And now they hew in pieces the carved work thereof altogether with hatchets and hammers." Seeing this he thought to return, saying: "I fear that I might meet the same fate as Sennacherib." But a heavenly voice was heard: "Tramp, son of a tramp, Nebusaradan, jump now [to Jerusalem] for the time has come that the Sanctuary be destroyed and the Temple be burnt." At that time one axe remained with him [from all he had] and with it he struck the gate, and it opened, as it is said (Ib. ib. 5) [The enemy] is known as one that lifteth up high axes against the thickets of a forest. Then he slew every one coming under his hand till he reached the Temlpe and then kindled it. However, the Temple arose heavenward, but it was pressed down by Heaven, as it is said (Lam. 1, 15) The Lord hath trodden as in a wine press the virgin, the daughter of Judah. Nebusaradan became proud of all this, whereupon a Bath Kol (heavenly voice) was heard saying: "You slew a vanquished nation, a burnt temple have you burned, ground flour have you ground," as it is said (Isa. 47, 2) Take the mill and grind meal; uncover thy locks, strip off the train, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. It is not said, And grind wheat, but Grind meal.

This heap is witness between me and thee (Gen. 31:48). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: And crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall (Num. 22:25). The heap alluded to in our text was the very wall at which Balaam violated the promise he had made to Jacob, as it is said: I will not pass over this heap to harm you (Gen. 31:52). Balaam and Laban were one and the same,¹³Sanhedrin 105a. See Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews 6:123. for it is said of him: An Aramean was destroying my father (Deut. 26:5). Balaam was called an Aramean, because he desired to annihilate Israel, as is said: Come, execrate Israel (Num. 23:7). Hence, it was the very wall that had borne witness to the oath that he had made that called him to account, as is written: The hand of the witness shall be first upon him (Deut. 17:7). And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father, Isaac (Gen. 31:53). This righteous man did not swear by the name of the king, but rather on the life of his father. He did it just as a man who desires to prove the truth of this remarks says: “I swear by the life of my father.” He swore this oath only out of respect, as is written: A son shall honor his father (Mal. 1:6).

Another matter: “Carve for yourself” – that is what is written: “But now, Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our Potter” (Isaiah 64:7). The Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: ‘Now I am your Father? When you saw yourselves in distress, you called me: Our Father.’¹⁰You relate to me as your Father only when you need me. They said to Him: ‘Yes, as it is stated: “On the day of my distress I sought the Lord”’ (Psalms 77:3). This is analogous to the son of a prominent doctor who encountered a lowly individual and began asking after his welfare. He said to him: ‘My lord, my master, my father.’ His father heard and became angry at him. He said: ‘Let him not appear in my presence, since he called that lowly individual: My father.’ Sometime later, the son fell ill. He said: ‘Please call my father so he will see me.’ They came and told his father. He was immediately overwhelmed with compassion for [his son] and came to him. [The son] said to him: ‘I implore you, my father, look at me.’ He said to him: ‘Now I am your father? Yesterday, you were calling the lowly individual: My father. Now that you are in distress you call me: My father?’ So too, the Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: ‘Now you call me: My Father? Yesterday, you were engaged in idol worship and calling it: My father, as it is stated: “They say to wood: You are my father…but in the time of their misfortune they say: [Arise, and save us]”’ (Jeremiah 2:27). That is why it is stated: “But now, Lord, You are our Father.”
Another matter: “But now, Lord, You are our Father…” (Isaiah 64:7) – that is what is written: “A son will honor his father” (Malachi 1:6) – this is Esau, who honored his father greatly, as he would go out to the fields, hunt game, bring it [home], cook it, and go and feed his father each day. “And a servant his master” (Malachi 1:6) – this is Nevuzaradan, who was called a servant, as it is stated: “Nevuzaradan, captain of the guards, servant of the king of Babylon, came” (II Kings 25:8), as when he came to Jerusalem, he brought with him a likeness of Nebuchadnezzar and would stand before it in awe and reverence like a servant. But you did not honor Me like a father, and you did not fear Me like a master. That is, “if I am a father, where is My honor? If I am a master, where is My fear” (Malachi 1:6)? Rather, when you see yourselves in distress, you call Me your Father. That is why it is stated: “But now, Lord, You are our Father.”
What is, “we are the clay and You are our Potter” (Isaiah 64:7)? Israel said: ‘Master of the universe, You had it written for us: “Behold, like clay in the hand of the potter, so you are in My hand, house of Israel” (Jeremiah 18:6). Therefore, even though we sin and commit provocations before You, do not depart from us. Why? Because “we are the clay and You are our Potter.”’ Come and see this potter, if he crafts a barrel and leaves a pebble in it, when it emerges from the kiln, it leaks from the place of the pebble and loses all the liquid that is placed in it. Who caused the barrel to leak what was inside it? The potter who left the pebble in it. So too, Israel said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, You created in us an evil inclination from our youth, as it is stated: “As the inclination of man's heart is evil from his youth” (Genesis 8:21). It causes us to sin before You, but You do not remove this instigator from us. Please remove it from us so we will perform Your will.’ He said to them: ‘That is what I will do in the future,’ as it is stated: “On that day, the utterance of the Lord, I will gather the lame, assemble the outcasts and those whom I harmed [vaasher hare’oti]” (Micah 4:6). What is asher hare’oti? This is the evil inclination [yetzer hara],¹¹Thus, the phrase asher hare’oti is understood to mean, “the evil I have caused,” or, “those I have caused to be evil” via the evil inclination. as it is stated: “As the inclination of man's heart is evil from his youth.”
Another matter: “But now, Lord, You are our Father” (Isaiah 64:7) – that is what is written: “Lord, they sought You in distress” (Isaiah 26:16); when they encounter distress they seek You, as it is stated: “Lord, they sought You in distress.” This is analogous to a prominent official who had children; they adhered to wicked people and strayed to the evil path. He stripped them and cast them out. When they saw themselves in distress, they asked prominent people to ask for mercy on their behalf. Their father said to [the messengers]: ‘What are you requesting?’ They said to him: ‘That you reconcile with your children.’ He said: ‘They are not my children; I do not acknowledge them. Their mother committed adultery and bore them.’ They said to him: ‘You cannot renounce them. Why? Because everyone knows that they are your children, because they resemble you.’
So too, the prominent official is the Holy One blessed be He. His children are Israel, as it is stated: “You are children to the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 14:1). They mingled with idolaters and strayed to the evil path, as it is stated: “They mingled with the nations and learned their practices” (Psalms 106:35). What did He do to them? He stripped them and cast them away, as it is stated: “They will strip you of your garments” (Ezekiel 23:26), and it is written: “Send them from My presence and let them depart” (Jeremiah 15:1).
When they found themselves in distress they began asking the prophets to ask for mercy on their behalf from the Holy One blessed be He. They began asking for mercy for them, as it is stated: “Have pity upon Your people” (Joel 2:17). The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘On behalf of whom are you asking?’ They said: ‘On behalf of Your children.’ He said to them: ‘They are not My children. If they perform My will they are My children, and if not, they are not My children,’ as it is stated: “Their mother has committed licentiousness, she who conceived them has shamed herself” (Hosea 2:7). Why? “For she said: I will follow my paramours” (Hosea 2:7) – these are idols. Therefore, the Holy One blessed be He said: “Now, I will expose her repulsiveness in the eyes of her paramours” (Hosea 2:12) – these are idols, whom she calls: “Providers of my bread and my water” (Hosea 2:7). But [the idol] has eyes but does not see, ears, but does not hear, and cannot feed itself; how will it feed others? The Holy One blessed be He stripped her, as it is stated: “Lest I strip her bare” (Hosea 2:5).
The prophets said to the Holy One blessed be He: ‘You say that they are not Your children, but they are recognizable by their faces, as it is stated: “All who see them will recognize them, for they are the seed the Lord has blessed” (Isaiah 61:9). Just as it is the way of a father to have mercy on his children even though they have sinned, so too, You must have mercy upon them.’ That is, “but now, Lord, You are our Father” (Isaiah 64:7).
Likewise you find that when they crafted the calf, the Holy One blessed be He became angry at them. Moses came to placate Him, and He called them: Not My people, as it is stated: “Because your people has acted corruptly” (Exodus 32:7). The Holy One blessed be He stripped them, as it is stated: “The children of Israel were stripped of their ornament from Mount Ḥorev” (Exodus 33:6). Moses said: ‘They are Your people and You cannot renounce them,’ as it is stated: “Why, Lord, is Your wrath enflamed against Your people?” (Exodus 32:11). ‘Reconcile with them because they are Your children.’ Immediately He reconciled with them, as it is stated: “The Lord reconsidered” (Exodus 32:14). He showed Moses that He reconciled with them, as He restored the commandments to them, as it is stated: “Carve for yourself.”