29. Daniel 1:10-26 TEST your servants for 10 Days Part 1

Time:  605 BC

Place:  King's court

Daniel 1:10-16

10 and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.”

11 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 

12 “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 

13 Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king's food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” 

14 So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. 

15 At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food. 

16 So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.

Notice Daniel was NOT passive in this matter of 'not defiling himself.'

• Daniel saw through the difficult situation of the steward and then addressed his legitimate concerns

• Daniel was not unreasonable and insistent

• Daniel was firm, gracious and persistent with his principle

• Daniel took the initiative to suggest a workable plan that would not put the steward in crisis

• Daniel was a man of faith.  This seed of faith springs forth from a pure heart of 'not defiling' himself. 

How is Daniel's Faith manifested?

1. 'put us to the test' - our faith needs to be put to the tested
2. time is needed for the test - 10 days
3. he gives a proposal: instead give us vegetables and water 

The steward then consented to Daniel regarding this new proposal.

When we face awkward situations, we must look to God for wisdom not to be insistent, but have the wisdom to be flexible enough to let our faith be tested and come up with a wise proposal.

:)

28. Dan 1:9 - 21 And God Gave.....

Time:  605 BC
Place: King's Court

Today, I want to share with you how God acts when His people dares to stand up to live a holy life and not defile themselves.

Daniel 1:8 - Daniel takes the step of faith to live up to the holy calling. He resolves not to defile himself and so refuses the pleasure of food from the King.


Step of faith often requires some actions on our part.

1.  Daniel Spoke Up
2.  Daniel Asks


**Whenever we act in faith and stand up for God, God responds**

God always responds!

1.  Daniel 1:9  God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the enuchs.
2.  Daniel 1: 17 God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom...


I will be short today because I want you to meditate on these 2 verses: "God gave..."


In later articles, I will be expounding more on God's actions in blessing His people when we respond to Him in faith.




God responded and blessed Daniel and his 3 friends remarkable ways.

The same for you if you resolve not to defile yourself and live a live a holy life.

:)

25. Daniel 1:8 Resolves not to defile himself Part 1

Time:  605 BC
Place:  King's Court
Scripture:  Daniel 1:8


Here is a Spiritual Challenge to all of us:

Daniel 1:8  -  Daniel 'resolved' that  he would 'not defile himself' with the King's food or with the wine that he drank.  Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him 'not to defile himself.'

Dan 1:6 "Among these....."  There was a  small group of captives offered with the King's food and wine, not just 4 of them.

So here are these young captives being fed with the same meat the King eat!  Imagine!  And they get to drink the wine that he drinks!  The king's food and wine can be compared to a buffet of food in hotels where you get a variety of the best choice of food and wine.  Wine was expensive in those days, so Daniel and his friends could have just let loose, and let themselves enjoy the pleasure of life which they were entitled to, just like all the others.

Why would anybody object to this?  Would you object to eat the King's meat and drink the King's wine?  All this is paid for and you don't even need to pay one cent.  They can dine and feast like princes and sons of the monarch.

They are given the golden opportunity to live a royal life of plenty and luxury.  It is a living standard far above what they had back home in Jerusalem.

Here is Daniel in the new world.   He could have chosen to live this new luxurious lifestyle and nobody would question him.  There was nobody to watch over him from his past.  After all, it was the king's offer for him to have the best food and wine for the 3 years to come.


Would you object to this great offer?  When in Rome we do what the Romans do.  When in Babylon, do what the Babylonians do.  Follow the customs, the lifestyle, the food and the fashion of the day.  What they do, we do. What they think we think.  How they act, we act.  Where they go, we go. We all want to be accepted in the 'norm'.


Look at the 2  different reactions in this group:

1.  Most of the captives in this group did NOT give it much thought and accepted the king's offer.

2.  But Daniel declined the offer!

     Why?  Why?  Tell me Why.

The answer is in Dan 1:8 ... he resolved he would not defile himself.  "Defile" is a very strong word.  Why would the king's food defile him?

What does it mean when it says "Daniel resolves not to defile himself"?  

We will look into this tomorrow.

24. Daniel 1:6-7 Daniel & 3 Friends

Time:  605 BC
People:  Daniel and his 3 friends


Daniel 1:6-7

Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah.  And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.


Please note that there were other Israelites in this group.  The author just wants to focus on these 4 people in the rest of the chapter.

First, let's take a look at their names.  

Their Hebrew names are meaningful to them for they represented God.  

• Elohim is God 
• Yahweh is God's Name.

You will see either 'el' or 'yah' attached to their names:

Daniel -      God is my Judge

Hananiah -  Beloved of Yahweh

Mishel -     Who is as God

Azariah -     Yahweh is My Help

Obviously these children had godly parents who gave them names reminding them of Yahweh Himself and His goodness.




Now, King Nebuchadnezzar changed their identities by giving them Chaldean names in order to assimilate them quickly to the Chaldean culture and their gods. 

Previously their names proclaimed their allegiance to God ( the "el" and the "iah" in their names).  Now, their new names identified them with the gods of the Chaldean .

In each instance of the Babylonian substituted names, they all exalted the heathen idols and names of Chaldean gods.  


With new identities, the king hope that these youths would forget about Yahweh God and wipe out their spiritual heritage back home in Jerusalem.  

With new names given, they would forget their roots and adopt to the new Chaldean philosophies and the paganistic idolatrous life-style.

King Nebuchadnezzar did all he could to "indoctrinate" these young captives to forget about their past and wipe out their memory of Jerusalem.  Daniel and his friends were to be 'Babylonianized' into the pagan culture.  Pressure was put upon them to totally conform and shape into the 'Babylonian' mold of life.

They were under a spiritual pressure cooker to worship the pagan gods.  They were pressured intellectually, psychologically and socially to compromise to go for the world.

:)

But Nebuchadnezzar failed!  


Daniel and his 3 friends were wise people and did not allow the bombarding of outward & environmental changes to stray their hearts from remaining loyal to God.  The Babylonians could change their names, education, diet, and homes, but  they could never change their hearts and devotion to God unless they allow it to happen. The world wants to 'conform' us.  God 'transforms' our hearts.   As the wisdom of Proverbs say, "Keep you heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life." Proverbs 4:23


:)

20. Daniel 1:1-2 Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem

Time:  605 BC
Place: Jerusalem to Babylon
Scripture:  Daniel 1:1-2


The Book of Daniel begins with the King of Babylon conquering Jerusalem, deposing its king, and taking some of its royal and noble young men captive.

"And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand." (Daniel 1:2)

This phrase has deep spiritual significance.  Read this sentence carefully.

Here is the historical context:  God had prophesied long ago to the earlier King, Hezekiah, that the nation would be delivered to Babylon.  (2 Kings 20:16-17; Isaiah 39:5-6).  And the years had passed.  Did people take God's word to heart?  In fact, a century has passed.  People had forgotten God's words.  God sent prophets continuously to Jerusalem to warn the nation of their disobedience.  The people were stiff-necked and did not repent.  Continuous warnings were given that if they continued to disobey, judgment would come on the nation.

The time has come -  Judgment is at hand.

Judgment has coming upon Jerusalem.  "And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand." (Daniel 1:2)  The people of God were delivered into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.

Imagine!  God actually delivered His people into the hands of the enemy.

This is the consequence of sin of disobedience.  Can you feel the pain in God's heart?


Nebuchadnezzar plundered the temple and took "part" of its treasures "to decorate the house of his own god"(Dan 1:1-2).  Nebuchadnezzar not only was an enemy to Israel but he was also an enemy to Yahweh God.

Nebuchadnezzar did not have in mind to destroy the temple at this time. He wanted the nation of Israel to surrender to Babylon. So this was not a complete conquering of Jerusalem as "only part" of the vessels were taken back to Babylon.

God was giving time for the nation of Israel to repent.  Jeremiah warned the nations that they either completely surrender to Babylon or they will be wiped out in Jerusalem which eventually was the path they chose.

From history, we know what happened to the nation of Israel. They did not heed God's warnings. 

• It was a sad page in history when the Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed by fire finally 19 years after this first siege in Jerusalem.

• For the next 19 years, Jeremiah continued to warn the nation to repent.  Before God's judgments come, He warns again and again to give time for individuals and the nation to repent.  No judgment of God ever comes without warnings.

• There were 19 years for the Israelites to repent!  Time was given to them!  How quickly those 19 years pass by and Jerusalem finally fell in 586 BC.

How readily are we to heed to these warnings and repent quickly of our ways before the judgment comes?


:)

15. The Three Dates of the Exiles

Time:  622 - 586 BC
Place: Jerusalem & Babylon
People:  Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel

When we study Daniel, we need to be aware of the 3 prophets that Yahweh God raised up to shepherd His people during this tumultuous time.

They all experienced the three dates of the Babylonian captivity when Israelites were driven out of their land to Babylon:

605 BC 1st Exile - Daniel 1:1-7

Daniel and other members of Judah's elite were taken into captivity.

597 BC 2nd Exile - 2 Kings 24:10-11, 13; 2 Kings 24:14,16; 2 Chron 36:9,10

Ezekiel along with 10,000 men of valor were taken into captivity.  King Jehoiachin along with other members of the royal family were taken to Babylon.

586 BC 3rd Exile - 2 Kings 25; 2 Chronicles 36:17-21

After a siege of lasting approximately one and a half years, Jerusalem was conquered and destroyed. Most of the people were taken into captivity along with articles from the temple. Jeremiah and  the poorest people remained.

Take out your Timeline Graph and fill in Ezekiel and Daniel's age when Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 BC.  While we know Ezekiel's age, Daniel's age is an approximate estimation.

Ezekiel's age: 36
Daniel's age:  34

Please Take Note:  This is the first time in history when Israel as a nation was driven to a Gentile world.


:)

4. Daniel is among the First Exile - 605 BC

Daniel 1:1-6

In the 3rd year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ... Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility,  youths without blemish....to stand in the king's palace....Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah.


Time: September 605 BC
Place: Jerusalem

In 605 BC,  Nebuchadnezzar deported the first group of Israelites to Babylon.

The Bible tells us that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah were among the first exiles.  They came from royal and noble families and were given an oppportunity to be trained to serve in  King Nebuchadnezzar's palace.

These were mainly teenagers.

We can guess that they must have been in their growing teenage years.

Homework:

Take your Timeline Graph out to put "Daniel" in the timeline.

• While we do not know the exact age of Daniel, the Bible tells us that he is in his youth.  Let's take an educated guess and say Daniel is approximately at the age of 15.  

• It's important that you see the age of Daniel as we move along in the Book of Daniel.

• So if Daniel was around 15, we can project backwards that Daniel was born around the year 620 BC in the land of Judah. This is why in my Timeline graph, I started Daniel's strip at around 620 BC.

You know, Daniel lives in a 'special time' of the days of Judah. My beloved, a significant event happened in 622 BC.  Do you know what it is?  God did an amazing act in that year for the Israelites!  You need to bear these important insights to heart to get involved into the life of Daniel.  Daniel did not become a man of God by accident at all!  :)

We need to look into the history not for the sake of history knowledge but to gain spiritual insights into the "special time" in which Daniel lived and how God worked out His salvation plan for His people.  In this way, we will be able to draw spiritual principles to understand how God works out His salvation plan in our times.

:)

3. 605 BC - The Book of Daniel begins at Jerusalem

Daniel 1:1

In the 3rd year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.

The Book of Daniel begins at Jerusalem.

Place:  Jerusalem
Time:  September 605 BC 

Daniel 1:1 tells us a significant event - Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, came to besiege Jerusalem. This took place in September, 605 BC. How do we know?  It is the  3rd year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah.

Here are the following series of events in Nebuchadnezzar's life in the year 605 BC.

• 605 BC -  Nebuchadnezzar leads an army against Egypt in the Battle of Carchemish.  Egypt is defeated. 

• 605 BC May-June - Carchemish destroyed.  

• 605 BC August - Nebuchadnezzar learns of his father's death so he returns to Babylon to assume the crown as king of Babylon.

• 605 BC September - Nebuchadnezzar returns to Palestine, attacking Jerusalem and takes a few of the choicest of the people back to Babylon.  This is known as the  "1st Exile".

Take out your timeline graph and fill in the 605 BC Box.

The 1st exile takes place in the year Nebuchadnezzar was crowned as King of Babylon - 605 B.C. 

:)