33. Dan 1:18-20 "None were equal" & "10 Times Better" Part 3

Time:  605 BC
Place:  King's Court
Scripture:  Daniel 1:18-20

Daniel 1:18-20

At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.  The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service.  In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.

I cannot help but think of Daniel & his 3 friends as 'faithful remnants' all the way from Josiah's revival. 

While Josiah's spiritual revival of the recovery of the Book of the law made absolutely no impact on his sons and grandson  (Jehohaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin,  Zedekiah - the last 4 kings of Judah and they were bad kings), it made a 'lasting spiritual impact' on Daniel and his 3 friends.  

Think about this!  In every generation, God raises up a faithful remnant to carry on His mission.


How true this is! Many people go to church. Many Christians are religious. Many give up their faith along the way.  Many end up going back to he world.   Who is willing to remain true to the end?

Today, may God find in our church a Daniel,  a Hananiah,  a Mishael, and an Azariah.  

Ah my beloved, let us look up and pray for God to raise up this kind of faithful remnant in these last days for His glory and purpose.

:)

32. Dan 1:18-20 "None were equal" & "10 Times Better" Part 2

Time:  605 BC
Place:  King's Court
Scripture:  Daniel 1:18-20

Daniel 1:18-20

At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.  The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service.  In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.

Daniel and his 4 friends - none were equal to them & they were 10X Better


We must remember that Daniel and his 4 friends were outstanding  because God acted for them on their behalf.  

• Dan 1:9 And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the steward.
• Dan 1:17 God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom.  

They were 'found worthy' in the sight of God, so God acted for them.


God acted on their behalf so that the steward and even the King were  kind and gracious to Daniel.  

When we stand up uncompromisingly for the truth, God always takes up our defense and works out His purpose.  

Proverbs 16:7 says that "when a man's way please Yahweh,  he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him."


From the life of Daniel and his 3 friends, they portray to us what God can do to people who are faithful to God. 

• They never make themselves to be the victims of unfavorable circumstances.  
• After all, Nebuchadnezzar was a fierce and angry king.  
• God performs miraculous work in their lives that even the heathen king is highly impressed with their quality of life.  

Yahweh God blesses people who are totally committed to Him. How precious this is indeed!

Where are these faithful people today?

:)

31. Dan 1:18-20 "None were equal" & "10 Times Better" Part 1

Time:  605 BC
Place:  King's Court
Scripture:  Daniel 1:18-20


Daniel 1:18-20

At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.  The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service.  In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.

 
The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah;


Chapter 1  tells us that Daniel and his friends are on a different level from the others.  

• These 4 people go past the minimum and they reach standards for themselves that exceed the norm.  
• These 4 people stand above the crowd.  
• These 4 people don't choose the good.  They choose the best.  
• These 4 people  stand firm in their convictions and beliefs to please God above all else.  
• They are uncompromising people that go past the crowd.  
• Their performance and wisdom are a cut above the rest because they choose to live at a level of total commitment to God that is beyond the rest of the other Israelites who were also there for the 3 years of training.  
• Even the older magicians and enchanters with all their experiences in the whole kingdom do not match up to them.

What a testimony!  

They just shine out like the stars forever.

• The king only needed to talk to these young men to recognize their great character and quality of life.  From his conversation with them, he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.

• The king questioned them in every matter of wisdom and understanding and discovered they were 10 times better than the others.

Tomorrow, we will look at Part 2 :)

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.

:)

27. Daniel 1:8 Resolves not to defile himself Part 3

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



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.'

"Not to defile oneself" means "to live a holy life."  It is 2 sides of the same coin.

Daniel resolves to  live a "holy life"

We must commit to live a life of  holiness.  Daniel has the spiritual insight to see through the cunning of the enemy and the world's temptation to stray him from living a holy life, thus there must be this commitment - to live a life of purity.

Remember Daniel is a growing youth.  It is especially needful for youths today to keep themselves pure.  Our beloved young people, have you made a commitment to live a life of purity?

Today, make this decision to live a life of purity like Daniel! :)

God calls us to live a holy life and to be "saints of the Most High" in this world.

• "saints of the Most High" is a peculiar phrase in Daniel
• "saints of the Most High" - 4 X (Dan 7:18,22, 25, 27)

As you can see, there is this overall theme in Daniel - to be saints of the Most High.  Saints in the Bible means 'the holy ones.'  Our calling as Christians are to be saints of the Most High.

Dan 7:25 mentions that Satan shall wear out the 'saints of the Most High".  While Satan sometimes attacks suddenly, often times his attacks are gradual and slow.  He wants to work on you to wear you out slowly until you are so worn out completely over an extended period of time.  Why? To get you to throw in the towel and give up!

Holiness does not come about by chance. It is fought with many long spiritual battles.  We must fight them with purpose.  You must be on guard.  You must fight with fear and trembling.  You must fight against the downward pull of Satan to knock you out.  Battles will come one after another to tire you out, to wear you out.  Holiness renews your spiritual life with strength and power!

My beloved ones, let us  be careful and  hold fast to God's calling of a "holy life", to be worthy to be "saints of the Most High" in these last days.  

God is raising up "Daniels' in these last days!  Will you be a Daniel?

:)

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.

23. Daniel 1:5 King's Food & Wine

Time:  605 BC
Place:  King's palace in Babylon


Daniel 1:5

The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. 

The king truly well treated these young men by providing them 2 great benefits:

• 'the King's food and wine' everyday 

This was no cafeteria food that we ate in our college days.  They were given the opportunity to eat gourmet food every day!  The Hebrew captives would be physically well nurtured with the best Babylonian food and wine.  Not only was it just 'food and wine' but that they would learn the Chaldean social manners of eating and drinking in the king's court. This is the best way to assimilate them to the Chaldean paganistic culture.

• 3 years of  the 'best' education and 'it's free' 

They would be under a rigorous program of training in the Chaldean education which would have included science, mathematical astronomy, astrology, divination, magic and rituals of all kinds.  The best education was provided for them in the king's court.

The purpose of all this is to train up these young people  to serve in the king's court with all the other high ranking officers.

Wow!!  Isn't this the dream of  many young people?  Isn't this the dream of becoming successful in this world?  What great benefits!  Isn't this what many Christians look for in their jobs?

As you can see, all this presented both an opportunity and a spiritual challenge to Daniel and his friends.  

• The opportunity of working for the king and his government meant that they would be well provided for with good lives for all their years.

• They would be spared from slavery and hard labor.

• The spiritual challenge now is whether they are able to stand firm before Yahweh God and not compromise to worship the gods of the Chaldeans in the pagan world.  

Will they be able to stand up for their faith?  We will find out tomorrow.

If you were in their shoes, how would you handle such a situation?

Where are the people of God today who know how to act wisely to make the right decision that pleases God?  Are you one of them?

:)

22. The Aramaic Language

During the 70 years in Babylon, Daniel and the captives spoke Neo-Babylonian which eventually evolved into Aramaic.  





When the captives returned home to Jerusalem 70 years later, most of them had forgotten their mother tongue Hebrew and spoke Aramaic.  Their children and children's children never spoke Hebrew but Aramaic. Aramaic became their native language.  Few people learned Hebrew because they wanted to understand the Law of Moses.

Later when Ezra read from the Book of the Law in Hebrew to the Israelites, it was necessary to translate the readings to Aramaic (Neh 8:8).  When Ezra read it in Hebrew, the people could not understand it.  Ezra had to give the meaning in Aramaic. 

Eventually even  Old Testament Scripture had to be translated and explained in Aramaic called the "Targums".  

Aramaic actually displaced  Hebrew as their everyday language.   In the times of Jesus, Aramaic was the spoken language.

Hebrew was a lost language for nearly 2500 years until the State of Israel came into existence on May 14, 1948.   Hebrew became the official language.  At that time, many immigrants going back to Israel from all over the world spoke different languages, and now they had Hebrew as their common language.  If you go to Israel today, Modern Hebrew is the language they speak.   It is not identical to Biblical Hebrew but it is similar. 

This is remarkable!  A language that went dead in Daniel's time actually came back to life in our times.  


Book of Daniel - Structure

It's interesting that in the Book of Daniel that a certain section (around 6 chapters) was written in Aramaic - Dan 2:4 to Dan 7.  The other 6 chapters (Dan 1, 8-12) were written in Hebrew.  If we read the context of these chapters, we will discover that the sections concerning the Israelites were written in Hebrew and the sections concerning the Gentile world were written in Aramaic.

:)

21. Daniel 1:3-4 Young Exiles

Time:  605 BC
Place:  Babylon
People:  Daniel and his 3 friends; King Nebuchadnezzar; Ashphenaz


Daniel 1:3-4

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, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.

This first group taken to Babylon were those in the kingly line descended from David. It is possible that Daniel had royal blood in him.  This was prophesied a hundred years ago by Isaiah to Hezekiah in Isaiah 39:1-8.

1.  The requirements for this 1st group of exiles:

• youths
• no blemish, ie. no physical defects
• well favored
• good looking
• skilfull in all wisdom and knowledge, ie. the top of their class
• competent to stand in the king's court

King Nebuchadnezzar was selective and chose the cream of the crop from Jerusalem to go for 3 years of training in the hope that they can serve him in his kingly court in Babylon.  These were children of captivity.  The anguish and grief of the youth separated from their homeland must have been indescribable.  They were not going for a 3 year holiday. It could be a permanent separation from their family and homeland forever. 

2.  Learn a new language - they were to learn the language of the Chaldeans and their literature.

"Chaldeans" is a term used interchangeably with "Babylonians".   As the Babylonian Empire grew, the Chaldean science and astrology dominated the Babylonian Empire. The Chaldeans had a powerful language in that day. They comprised of two dialects of Sumerian and Kassite which is similar to the Hittite language.

This was not easy at all for these young people. They had to begin all over again in a new school of Chaldean learning in this new environment.

As we study the Daniel Chapter 1, bear in mind that these young people did not have parents or pastors around to guide them in their growing up teen age years now.  They could be the most rebellious and unhappy teens to complain about their situation in a pagan world.  While they were well protected at home in Jerusalem with spiritual nurturing and guidance from spiritual elders, they are now put in an environment that is spiritually hostile to the Most High God, Yahweh.

Do you remember what it was like in your teens?

Or perhaps you are in your teens now, tell us what it is like growing up in this world?

When I grew up in my teens, I asked myself these searching questions:

• Who am I?
• What am I doing here?
• Who is God?
• What does God want me to do?
• What is the meaning of life?
• Why is life so tough as a teens?
• How do I make friends?
• Why do I want to be popular?
• How do I make the most of my life for God?
• What is God's will in my life and how do I participate?

The answers to these questions did not come right away. I went through long years of searching and questioning to finally experiencing God, letting go of my will and let God's will be done in my life.

There was a small book that had made a profound impact on me as a growing up teenager.  The book is called  "Bloom where you are planted." 

Often times, our ideals and thoughts carry us to faraway places and lands thinking that we are "better off" with "better education", "better opportunities", "better family background", "better friends", "better this" and "better that" etc.  It is all 'romantic' thinking.

I have long discovered that the 'better place" to be is to be content to 'bloom where God plants us' wherever and whenever. This is where God's will is manifested.

Daniel and his friends are embarking on this spiritual journey of 'blooming where God plants them' in Babylon.  Is Babylon a "better place" to grown up?  Is it going to be an easy road?  

We shall see that the road to eternal life is truly 'narrow' and 'hard'.  And Daniel proved faithful all the way through to the end when he was thrown into the 'lion's den' for his uncompromising faith to Yahweh God at an old age in his 80's.   

How urgent it is for us to study Daniel and follow his steps to love God with all our hearts to the end of our days.  "Bloom where you are planted by God."

:)

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?


:)