2024-09-06
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week it was promised that I would have more to write about the prophet, Daniel. In 602 BC, he was forcibly taken from his home in Israel to the palace of King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylonia. At only 15 years old, he and his friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were taken with Daniel. This was at the very beginning of the first exile of the Jews from Israel. Jerusalem would fall to the Babylonians in 586 BC. They were taken to the king’s palace in Babylon to serve him there. We can get some hints about God’s place in their lives and the will of their captors from the meanings of their names. Daniel’s friends’ Hebrew names were Hananiah (“Yahweh is gracious”), Mishael (“Who is like God?”), and Azaria (“Yahweh is my Help”). I’ve alluded to the fact that the main reason there is separation between Jewish people and the rest of the world is their justifiable fear of assimilation. One need only study their history to see why. The first thing that happened to these four was their captors changed their names to the ones with which we are more familiar: Hananiah became Shadrach (“Champion of Aku”), Mishael became Meshach (“Involved with Aku”), Azariah became Abednego (“Servant of Nebo”). Aku, Nebo, and Bel were Babylonian gods. Daniel was known as Belteshazzar (“Bel will protect”) by his captors. However, the Bible retains his Hebrew name, which means “God is my Judge/Vindicator.” I’m sure you are wondering what this has to do with patience, but their story is a demonstration of it and God is at the core of it.
RO 2: 1-4 figures into what happened in the beginning of the captivity of Daniel and his friends. “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment one someone else, for whatever point you judge one another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now, we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So, when you a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, forbearance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” While Daniel didn’t have the NT or know about Jesus, we can be sure that this principle had been conveyed to Daniel and the others from the time they were young lads. DN 1 tells us that the palace official had assigned these teenagers the food and drink they would have and that they quickly learned the language of the Babylonians. Daniel quicky convinced the official that they should run a 10-day test that would show that the foods they ate were producing healthier bodies than what the others in the palace were given. The results were that these four were right. They also showed that they were well educated and that they could interpret dreams even better than the king’s magicians and enchanters [DN 1: 1-22]. This convincing took patience to be sure.
King Nebuchadnezzar had a complicated giant statue dream in DN 2, due to all the things that were on his mind. The statue had a golden head, silver shoulders and chest, bronze belly and thighs, and feet of combined iron and clay [DN 2: 32-33]. While the king was watching, a rock was cut out mysteriously, fell and stuck the statue smashing it, then became a huge mountain filling the whole earth [DN 2: 34-35]. The king summoned his astrologers, magicians, enchanters, and sorcerers to interpret this dream, but all they could offer was claptrap, which angered the king. They claimed no one could interpret this dream. The king ordered their execution. Arioch, a palace official, explained what happened to Daniel, who shared this story with his friends. During the night, this mystery was explained to Daniel by God, Whom he praised and thanked. He encouraged the king not to execute the wise men and to let him explain the dream. In characteristic humility, Daniel explained that the dream was revealed to him for the sake of explaining it to the king, not because he himself was so special. The God of heaven will destroy human-crafted kingdoms represented by the different metals in the course of establishing His Kingdom, which will last forever (represented by the mountain that filled the whole earth). Daniel was wise enough to say that the presence kingdom of this king’s was the head of gold. The combination of iron and clay represented a divided kingdom that will be partly strong and partly brittle. This was God’s way of showing the king the future. Finely an explanation that made sense to the king had been provided. In response to that, Nebuchadnezzar appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained at the royal court [DN 2: 1-49].
PRAYER: O Lord, the stories in the book of Daniel prove that when we obey Your teaching, You will communicate to us through the Holy Spirit to bring about unforeseen blessings. Daniel didn’t take the easy way out and give in to his initial emotions to fight back against His captors. He remembered God’s teaching that we should be humble, forbearing, and patient. We should let go and let You take over as Daniel did when faced with provoking interpersonal actions. Later in the book of Daniel, You let us see that Daniel never lost his faith or obedience to You. He patiently prayed facing Jerusalem three times every day [DN 6: 10]. All who believe in our Lord have that same access. We thank and praise You for giving us access to Your teaching through Christ in us [COL 1: 26-27; COL 2: 2-3], in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I can’t resist using more stories from Daniel to demonstrate this man’s patience and humility next week. We must be less and make God more in our lives to approximate God’s will for us. DN 7: 13-14 in last week’s devotion was the moment when the Father appointed Jesus to be the Judge to whom we must all make our final account. We are told we must do that all over the Scriptures, repeated many times because of its extreme importance to us. Faithfully obedient people to God are those who will be saved for eternity, eternally forgiven, and justified. It is they whose names are in God’s Book of Life, right there with Daniel and his friends [JN 3: 16; REV 20: 12].
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2024. All Rights Reserved.
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