Timeless Truths. Living at the Intersection… Daniel 1
1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god.
3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility—4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. 5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that, they were to enter the king’s service.
6 Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7 The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.
Daniel 1:1-8
| KOG – Kingdom of God | KOM – Kingdom of Man |
I. God’s people (KOG) living in a fallen (KOM) world are subjected to:
HOPELESSNESS. The situation of the Hebrews is bad
ISOLATION. They were separated from “all God’s people.”
INDOCTRINATION. Their names were changed from God to those of the inclusive gods of the time. It was an entirely new worldview for the Hebrews.
- Daniel’s Chaldean name was Belteshazzar – “Beltis [a form of the name of the god Bel] protect the king!” https://goo.gl/qBXQVr
- Their real names were Hananiah - "God is gracious," Misha'el - "Who is like God?", and Azariah - "God has helped." The new names could mean Shadrach - "Command of the Moon God," Meshach - "Who is what Aku is?" and Abednego - "Servant of Nabu" (Nabu is the Babylonian god of Wisdom and Nebuchadnezzar's favorite god). https://goo.gl/riNJhY
COMPROMISE. This began with dietary regulations.
II. (The red terms correspond to the bold terms above.) Remaining KOG people in a KOM world required
FAITH. God had not changed in spite of the circumstances.
COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY. The four Hebrews stayed together. In essence, they formed a synagogue in Babylon.
INSTRUCTION. They completed an intensive study of Scripture.
CONVICTION. The Hebrews chose their battlegrounds.
- When given new names, they were okay
- When provided with a new world view, they were okay.
- When expected go against God’s Holy Law, they resisted!
“Daniel resolved not to defile himself.”
How are things in your intersection?
Special thanks to Dr. Dan Copp for the primary teachings in this post.
The next Timeless Truth is Living at the Intersection… with real hope!
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