Hello
Friends!
Welcome
back
to our Encouraging Concepts Bible
study series focused on the powerfully PROPHETIC picture portrayed in the Old Testament book
of Daniel painted as a panoramic
landscape of World History in FIVE successions “written” in
ardent ADVANCE some 2,600 years ago…
“The Book of
Daniel: Prophecy PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE!”
The Book of Daniel: Prophecy PAST,
PRESENT & FUTURE (Chapter 1: Verses 3-7)
3 And the king spake 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 favoured,
and skilful 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. 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 Abednego – Daniel 1:3-7
OPENING POINTS TO PONDER: The book of “Daniel” begins with a somber sojourn
concerning THREE of his “Hebrew“ friends as “children
of Judah” named “Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah” of whom were ALL
taken captive unto the mighty “Babylon”
for forced “learning” of the wicked “ways” and tyrannical “tongue”
of the sooth-saying “Chaldeans”
in fickle fortune telling flair within the “land
of Shinar” abroad. And “God’s” Divine JUDGMENT of which had been PROMISED for so long by the “prophets
of God” had finally FALLEN upon “Judah”
and was executed by His Divinely CHOSEN instrument “Nebuchadnezzar”
the frightful “king of Babylon” himself. The cantankerous “city”
of jaundice “Jerusalem” within the
trustless “tribe” of jaded “Judah” has indeed – Finally
fallen!
Captured Compadres!
BIBLICAL BACKGROUND: The fickle FALLOUT of
sensuous “sin” certainly has its CONSEQUENCES to
come and is most often realized at the HIGHEST price. And the fallen “evil” king
“Jehoiakim” along with his “seed” and “princes”
of judged “Judah” were promptly taken
away into “captivity”
of which was in complete final FULFILMENT of God’s PROMISED prophecy given by the prophet “Jeremiah” in
kind…
Zedekiah was one and twenty years
old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his
mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did that
which was evil in the eyes of the Lord,
according to all that Jehoiakim had done… – Jeremiah
52:1-2
And as a RIGHT
result, these “certain”
chosen “children of Israel” from
among the fallen “king's seed” and
the “princes”
posterity, were adamantly ADDED to king “Nebuchadnezzar’s”
collected “court” to rightly RECEIVE special “Babylonian”
royal favor and instruction in the worldly “wisdom,” kindred “knowledge”
and tangled “tongue” language of the “Chaldeans” along with the distinctly
honored privileges of his personal provisions in
kind:
And the
king spake 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; Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful 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 – Daniel 1:3-4
These “Hebrew”
select “Children” were
finely found by “Nebuchadnezzar” to be
without “blemish” and
were capably “cunning” in
their minds and full of undying “understanding”
which would prove to powerfully PROVIDE for them the “ability” to
sufficiently “stand in the king's palace” of
which they were now HONORED additions deposited within his – Dutiful Dynasty!
CONTEXTUAL COMMENTS: This cunning “King
Nebuchadnezzar” in many respects was an enlightened ruler and serious statesman
in kind. And he perhaps pondered upon this “appointed”
advancement as an OPPORTUNITY for the expansion
of his “court” and vast empire to personally hand-pick
the very BEST of the “young” men of EVERY surrounding
“nation” to which would bring their individual
national “knowledge” bases along with them. And being
sprightly in BODY and nimble in MIND should be
thus “taught” by brandish BRAINWASHING to become counselors
and advisers
as to be PREPARED to fill important offices
as they became VACANT under the king’s deranged
discretion – Righteous REPLACEMENTS!
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 – Daniel
1:5
By
treating “them” all quite exceedingly
well, perhaps this maniacal “king”
believed that the delight of a “daily
provision” of his very fine food and bubbling beverage
that they would consume might help to “nourish”
their THOUGHTS for the specific work of which he had
assigned
them. And it is no doubt that “King
Nebuchadnezzar” wanted to fully TRANSFORM them all into true “Babylonian” pagan “Chaldeans”
as such. Therefore, they must eat of the “meat” he “ate”
and drink
of the “wine” he “drank” accordingly for the dank duration
of a full “three years” of trite TRAINING within the ultimate – University of Babylon!
And
it was a Sovereignly ordained opportunity
for the “children of
Judah” proper to be Divinely ENROLLED
in the sooth-saying school of sorcery in the HIGHEST order abroad:
Now among
these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah – Daniel 1:6
Incidentally,
these particular four “children
of Judah”
were approximately 17 years old when they were torridly TAKEN
to boisterous “Babylon” and manically MADE into emasculated “eunuchs” ensured. And they were to be
formally formed by the “master
of his eunuchs” as caustically “captured” and castrated by
bleakly BECOMING the personal protégé’
of the pagan “Chaldean”
sooth-saying fortune telling guild known as the so-called "wise men" in king “Nebuchadnezzar's” royal caustic court – Co-opted Chaldean College!
THEOLOGICAL THOUGHTS: These honored “Hebrew” names
of these four “children of Judah”
indeed closely CONTAINED the
magnificent NAME of our
great “God” wrought into their very NATURES and
there was a signification about EACH individual
name connecting
it with His RIGHTEOUS character…
In TWO of them
the sound
of “El“ represents
the mighty
Name of “God” Himself:
“Daniel”
~ His “Hebrew” name means: “God is my judge!”
“Mishael” ~ His “Hebrew” name means: “Who is
as God!”
In TWO of them
the suffix
of “IAH“
represents the mighty Name of “Jehovah” in
kind:
“Hananiah” ~ His “Hebrew” name means: “Beloved
of the Lord!”
“Azariah” ~ His “Hebrew” name means: “The Lord
is my help!”
And
as a rank RESULT of their newly “besieged” beginning in BONDAGE these godly young “Hebrew” men were then RENAMED by the “prince
of the eunuchs” accordingly:
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 Abednego – Daniel
1:7
These
HORRIBLE heathen “names”
consisting of “Belteshazzar,”
“Shadrach,” “Meshach” and “Abednego” were rank references
to the feared FALSE dark deities of the “Babylon” brigade:
“Daniel”
was CHANGED to
the “Babylonian” name “Belteshazzar” of which means: “Bel's Prince”
“Hananiah” was CHANGED to the “Babylonian”
name “Shadrach”
of which means: “Illumined sun-god Rach”
“Mishael” was CHANGED to the “Babylonian”
name “Meshach”
of which means: “Who is like Shach”
“Azariah” was CHANGED to the “Babylonian”
name “Abednego”
of which means: “The servant of Nego”
These NEW names that
were “given” unto them were NO doubt
directly CONNECTED with dead “idols” of
beguiled “Babylon” itself. This ABSTRUSE
action was indeed a satanic ATTEMPT
to blatantly blot out their very memory of the Great “Jehovah” Himself as Righteous “God” of all “knowledge” and “wisdom” from “heaven”
above and thus REMOVE their chosen “Jewish”
heritage – Hostages of Honor!
PROPHETIC PROMISE: This looming land of “Babylon” was NOW their new homeland of which
their Great “God” had righteously CHOSEN for
them as PROPHECIED by the prophet “Isaiah”
nearly 100
years BEFORE this fateful event had finally “taken” place – According
TO God’s WORD!
Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah,
Hear the word of the Lord of
hosts: Behold,
the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have
laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be
left, saith the Lord. And of
thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take
away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon – Isaiah 39:5-7
However,
these FUTILE efforts of “King Nebuchadnezzar” would eventually “wax wane” for CERTAIN
and within “seventy years” of testing “time” become futilely “found wanting” in kind – To NO avail…
In
closing:
REAL REFLECTIONS: The twelve chapters of “Daniel” are powerfully PROMISED prophecies depicting the unfolding
of the HISTORIC events of which will take place leading up to
the literal “time” of the SECOND awaited
physical “coming” of our loving “Lord Jesus Christ” back to the earth:
And in the days
of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be
destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall
break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever – Daniel 2:44
And
our SERIOUS study of these PROPHECIES will
rightly REVEAL to each student of God's wonderful “Word” that the events FORETOLD
some 2,600 years ago could
possibly be FULFILLED in the seemingly near future…
We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!
If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com
I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!
Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><
Encouraging Concepts
Truth for Today
"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"
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