40. Daniel Blessed the Name of God

Time:  604 BC
Place: King Nebuchadnezzar Palace
Scripture: Daniel 2:20-23

Daniel answered and said:

“Blessed be the Name of God forever and ever,
    to whom belong wisdom and might.
21 He changes times and seasons;
    he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
    and knowledge to those who have understanding;
22 he reveals deep and hidden things;
    he knows what is in the darkness,
    and the light dwells with him.
23 To you, O God of my fathers,
    I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me wisdom and might,
    and have now made known to me what we asked of you,
    for you have made known to us the king's matter.”

Obviously Daniel knows God's Name and he never forgot God's Name, Yahweh.  

And when God answers our prayers, we must bless the Name of God just like what Daniel has done.  Blessing the Name of God is a theme that runs throughout the Bible.  

David blesses the Name of God.  

Job blesses the Name of God.  

Paul blesses the Name of God.  

Zechariah blesses the Name of God.

Ethan blesses the Name of God.

The Levites bless the Name of God.

Ezra blesses the Name of God.

The Name of God is so important.
Does the Name of God matter to you at all?

It is God's Name that is going to be glorified and magnified in this answered prayer.


God's Name, Yahweh, appears in Daniel 6X, all appearing in Daniel 9.  

Daniel 9 is Daniel's earnest prayer interceding for Israel - Daniel knows Yahweh itimately.

• Daniel 9:2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

• Daniel 9:4 And I prayed unto Yahweh my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments.

• Daniel 9:10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of Yahweh our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

• Daniel 9:13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before Yahweh our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

• Daniel 9:14 Therefore hath Yahweh watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he does: for we obeyed not his voice.

• Daniel 9:20 And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before Yahweh my God for the holy mountain of my God.

When Daniel prayed this prayer in Chapter 9, he was already an old man, around 80 years old.

We can see that Daniel in all these years of Babylonian captivity, he called on God's Name Yahweh and prayed to Yahweh God.  The Name of God was very dear to Daniel's heart.

In all that we do and pray, let our concern be that God's precious Name be blessed forever and ever.  You can visit this website on The Name of God - Yahweh.



:)

Dare To Be A Daniel

We are now preparing for the upcoming Easter camp 2014.

Our Homemakers have chosen a theme:  Dare to be a Daniel!

As I was meditating on the life of Daniel, and the situation in which Daniel was in when he was exiled to Babylon, I can picture scenes of Daniel by the River of Babylon.

As a young boy, in his teens, Daniel was taken to Babylon.  He was faithful to God  through the 4 different kings: Nebuchudnezzar, Balshazzar, Darius and Cyrus.

Daniel's faith and testimony was so great that all these 4 reigning kings (Babylon, Medes, Persia) came to recognize that Daniel's God is the God of all gods and Lord of kings (Dan 2:47).  They all came to recognize this One True God that Darius made a decree that all royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for "He is the living God enduring forever." (Dan 6:26)

Our mission too is to make known to the world "this Living God who endures forever".

Daniel was an old man, in his late 80s, under Cyrus reign where he lived to see his dream and vision coming true for the Jews to return to Jerusalem after 70 years of captivity in Babylon.

I can envision in my mind Daniel's heart in Babylon in those 70 long years where he prayed and longed for Yahweh's people to return Zion.

Psalm 137

By the waters of Babylon,

    there we sat down and wept,

    when we remembered Zion.

 On the willows there

    we hung up our lyres.

For there our captors

    required of us songs,

and our tormentors, mirth, saying,

    “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

How shall we sing the Yahweh's song

    in a foreign land?

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

    let my right hand forget its skill!

Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,

    if I do not remember you,

if I do not set Jerusalem

    above my highest joy!

Today, our situation is the same.

Singing Yahweh's Song carries Daniel through his 70 humble years of faithful service to God.  

Let Daniel's example inspire us to steadfastly trust in God to fulfill God's mission on this earth.

How shall we sing Yahweh's Song in a foreign land?

Feel free to give your feedback and comments :)