Daniel

Daniel Chapter 1

Daniel 1:1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.

Nebuchadnezzar became king of Babylon after his father died. He removed Jehoiakim as king by killing him (Jeremiah 46:1,2) because he rebelled and resisted the Babylon take over. His son Jehoiachin became king. Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin captive to Babylon and replaced him with Zedekiah. All three were evil kings in the sight of the Lord. Zedekiah rebelled and had his eyes put out and was carried to Babylon blind after Nebuchanezzer killed his sons. 11 Kings 24 is a reference for this. Jehoiachin was later freed from prison by a future king of Babylon and treated kindly. The bible doesn't tell us why.

Jeremiah 52:31 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison,
32 And spake kindly unto him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon,
33 And changed his prison garments: and he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life.
34 And for his diet, there was a continual diet given him of the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life.

As the prophet, Jeremiah, Isaiah and others had warned, the king of Babylon came as God said he would. The prophets that prophesied good things and tickled the ears of the listeners were wrong. The Jewish people were going into 70 long years of captivity. The two kings, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah had bad endings but for some reason Jehoiachin was released and treated kindly. Perhaps it was because he didn't resist the Babylon take over and surrendered. My speculation here.

Usually God seems to send judgment as a last resort and it does come if people hear warning after warning and no one listens or repents of that warning. God is a just God. Had Judah been right in the sight of God, no matter how powerful Babylon was, they wouldn't have been able to bring Judah into captivity. They were defeated because of doing evil and rebelling against God. God gave them prophets to warn but they didn't repent. They caused their own suffering. Unfortunately innocent people suffer too but we see that God was with Daniel and his three friends all through their days of captivity.

Daniel 1:2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.

Here we see the goal of many who come from one land to take over another. Not only do they desire conquest and power but they desire to accumulate riches. If only......If only nations would fear and serve God, no army, power or might could defeat them. If only Israel had of stayed with God this would not have happened. United States of America, please, I love my country but take heed. God is still the same God as in the days of Daniel.

How did the king of Babylon know what wealth was in the house of God?

2Kings 20:12 At that time Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.
13 And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and showed them all the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not.
14 Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon.
15 And he said, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not showed them.
16 And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD.
17 Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD.

When Hezekiah showed the king of Babylon all these treasures, this king most probably spoke of this to those back in Babylon. By the time Nebuchadnezzar became king, the treasure in the house of the Lord in Israel was well known of. This was probably the main motive for the siege of Jerusalem. The sins of Judah removed God's hand of protection and this captivity was allowed to happen.

Hezekiah's pride in those treasures was a means to bring about the captivity of Israel although the main reason for the captivity of 70 years was the nation of Judah's disobedience to God and the false worship of other gods that God forbade. That commandment has never changed. We are not supposed to mix the worship of God with the ways of the heathen. Idolatry and image worship is an insult to the real living God that created us. The ways of the heathen were very evil. Sacrificing live children into a fiery belly of an idol was part of the worship of idols. Israel was instructed never to be part of that.

We cannot compromise our faith with the ways of the world around us. Compromise will lessen religious persecution and make life easier for a short time but it will not please God. Sooner or later even those we thought to please instead of God, will turn against us and cause harm. Our relationship with God will suffer if we compromise to please society or even other nations that we fear are greater in power and wealth. Remember God is greater than any nation past, present or future. The children of Abraham were very brilliant. I'm thinking that their wisdom may have been well known by other countries. My speculation here on that. They are well skilled though even today. However, the wisdom of the world is not quite as great as what Daniel and his three friends possessed. They had the wisdom that came from the Lord as well as the knowledge in things that would benefit someone like the King of Babylon.

Daniel 1:3 And the king spoke unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes;
4 Children in whom was no blemish, but well favored, and skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.

I believe God put the desire in the heart of this king so Daniel and his friends could be placed in a position to influence the king and bring about the will of God. God was providing for those that stayed faithful to Him even in this land of captivity.

Daniel 1:5 And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.
6 Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:
7 Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abed-nego.
8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

The ones chosen were to be skillful in science, good looking and what would call smart. They were to learn the language of the Chaldeans. Names were changed to show honor the gods of the Babylonians rather than the real God who Daniel and his friends served.

The names of the Hebrews were:

Daniel - meaning God is judge. His name was changed to Belteshazzer. That name was; The chief diety of Babylon.
Hananiah - Gift of the Lord. His name was changed to Shadrach: Meaning in the command of Aku, the moon god of Babylon.
Mishael - Who is what God is. He was renamed Meshach, Aku the moon god.
Azariah - Whom Jehovah helps. Renamed Abednego- servant of Nebo, the god of science and literature.

These prescious men stayed faithful to their own God in spite of being surrounded by a false religious system.

Babylon was originally built by Nimrod. Nimrod was the son of Cush. Cush was the son of Ham, the son of Noah. From that line of Noah came the rebellion at the tower of Babel. This region became the kingdom of Babylon.

Genesis 10:8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.
10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

There term, mighty hunter before the Lord actually meant against the Lord. Nimrod was in rebellion against God.

Daniel and the 3 Hebrew men that were with him were Jews and were under the law of God. God's laws commanded that they only eat certain meats. Perhaps pork or some other forbidden meat was given to them. Notice that Daniel did not want to drink the wine. Perhaps the wine was intoxicated or some kind that would override the conscience of Daniel. That is my speculation. It could be this food was offered to the false gods of Babylon which would have made it wrong to partake of the table of idolatry. Whatever the meaning we know that Daniel purposed in his heart to not compromise his faith in God to please those that held him in captivity. He was indeed a person who feared God rather than man. He is an example of one who is faithful along with the other 3 who we will read more about in chapters to follow this one.

Daniel 1:9 Now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.

God does not leave His faithful followers without friends. These eunuchs no doubt saw something different in Daniel than they saw in their own fellow countrymen. Daniel was a man after God's own heart and could be trusted. Eunuchs were those that had to be castrated and put in charge of harems or other businesses serving kings.

Daniel 1:10 And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king.
11 Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
12 Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.

Daniel did not desire to get these men in trouble and jeopardize their lives so he allowed them to put them to the test and see if they could survive on water and vegetables like beans. We know today that the kind of food Daniel ate would have been better for them, but at that time, they thought rich meats and wine were the better food.

Daniel 1:13 Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.
14 So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days.
15 And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat.

That God blessed them in this is of no doubt for usually they would have lost a little weight but not in an unhealthy way. The old school of thinking was the fatter one was, the healthier one was. Until recent times that was the thinking most had.

Pulse was Zeroin seeds consisting of wheat, barley, rye, peas, beans and lentils. Today we would consider it very healthy eating. I'm guessing Daniel knew this but that is my speculation.

Daniel 1:16 Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse.
17 As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

This was not a natural trait of Daniel's but one that came from staying faithful in prayer night and day. Daniel prayed 3 times a day faithfully and did not stop even if it meant he could be put to death for doing so.

Daniel 1:18 Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.

Kings in that day really were exalted above common people. To come into their presence one had to be prepared. They could not just waltz in uninvited or without being clean and presentable.

Daniel 1:19 And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king.
20 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.
21 And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus.

Daniel lived to see Babylon overthrown and a new king arise that was instrumental in allowing the Jews to return to their own land. He lived to see part of his vision come to pass concerning the image that Nebuchadnezzar dreamed covered in later chapters. He was a young man in this chapter so he had to have been in his nineties or later when he died since the captivity was 70 years. This captivity must have broken the hearts of the Jews that lived then so God in His mercy may have allowed some to live to see the captivity ended.

All these things that happened to Israel and Judah was because of sin. Also prophecy of restoration followed by the the Greek then Roman oppression was leading up to the time when Israel was to give birth to the Messiah which we know now as Jesus Christ.

The Jewish nation that rejected the Messiah was again overthrown by the Roman armies in 70 AD. Until 1948 there was no Judah or Israel in existence. All this fulfills Daniel's visions. We are now living in the time of Daniel's vision that is at the bottom of Nebuchadnezzar's image of clay and iron mixed. We see the different nations in Europe that do not really mix as yet until the arise of the anti-christ. The stone that destroys the image that we will study later is the return of Jesus Christ. We are living just before the latter day fulfillment of the time of Jacob's trouble described in Daniel and in Revelation.

I sometimes wonder what the world would be like if Israel had of believed in their Messiah. Because of their rejection though the gospel came to the Gentiles as prophesied in the Old Testament. We now are living in the time when the gospel is returning to the Jews. The time of the Gentiles is gradually coming to a close as we see God's attention returning to His original people of the promise. Is it because we have taken that gospel lightly and are becoming lukewarm with His message? Or is it getting close to the rapture of the church or faithful believers in Jesus and the great tribulation is about to begin? Something to think about.

The 144,000 sealed in the book of Revelation is all Israelis. They no doubt will be the latter day preachers of the gospel. DC

Daniel Chapter 2

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