Daniel 2: 46-49
Daniel has just explained to the king that he had dreamed of a statue, and that the statue's varied composition represented the future kingdoms of the world, that would all be done away when the Eternal Kingdom will come to this Earth.
This so impressed the king, that he did the only thing he could:
(46) Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did homage to Daniel,
The king recognized that this God was not like any of the idols he had ever known, and was overcome with awe that Daniel would let this God work through him this way.
and gave orders to present to him an offering and fragrant incense.
The offering or oblation is the word maccekah, which is used only here in the whole Old Testament, and refers to a "pouring over" or "pouring out," like a libation as to a deity.
And the incense is also connected to worship of a deity. King Nebuchadnezzar is overcome by this revelation, and is responding in the only way he knows, how he has honored his idols.
He doesn't know how else to act toward Daniel, who is representing this great God that he's never known before.
(47) The king answered Daniel and said, "Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery."
This shows that the king was honoring Daniel's God by these offerings of oblation and incense, acknowledging that this God is greater than all the other idols that he's known, and has political authority over all earthly rulers.
(48) Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.
"It should be noted that the Babylonian method of accession-year dating made 602 B. C. (the spring of 602) the end of Nebuchadnezzar's second regnal year, even though he may have captured Daniel and his three companions in the Palestinian campaign of 605 and had them enrolled in the Royal Academy before that year was out. Thus 602 would have been their third year of schooling, even though it was [considered] his second full year of reign." -- Gleason L. Archer, Jr: The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Frank E. Gaebelein, General Editor, Volume 7, pages 41-42.
This means that Daniel and his friends were coming to the end of their schooling, or may have even just passed their Final Exam (1: 18-21), but still not actually assigned their full duties, but had "entered the king's personal service."
Now, since Daniel had so decisively proved himself a true prophet with access to the great God he worshiped, it was only logical for Nebuchadnezzar to put him in charge of all the diviners at the court of Babylon. Hence he officially became "ruler" or "appointed one" over the whole bureau of "wise men."
The king also fulfilled his original promise (in 2: 6) and loaded him with gifts and royal honors.
Then he went on, and even appointed Daniel civil governor of the entire capital province of Babylon; a post of highest importance in the political structure. This was indeed noteworthy, as normally this would be reserved for a Chaldean nobleman, a member of the Master Race, like Nebuchadnezzar. For a Jew who had been captured as a slave to be so honored was unprecedented, and shows how deeply his intelligence and integrity had impressed the king.
(49) And
Daniel made request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abed-Nego over the administration of the province of Babylon, while
Daniel was at the king's court.
Daniel's loyalty to his friends was shown by his request that they too be given high appointments. This was a wise move, for it also strengthened Daniel's hand to have his three trusted friends help him in his administrative duties.
God had placed Daniel in this place at this time for His purposes. God wanted to use Daniel to show Nebuchadnezzar who He is, and there will be other times when God is shown further to him. God is already laying the groundwork at the beginning of their captivity for bringing them back to their own land after the 70 years, just as He had planned.
And Daniel's faith and the faith of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah was strong and was not diminished even through their immersion into this new pagan culture. They got along with their neighbors and coworkers, but we will see, when they could not compromise a basic premise, they stood their ground. But only when it was a foundational principle. They had wisdom and discernment in where they drew the line.
We also, as royal sons and daughters of the King living in the godless and wicked cultures and societies of the world need to have wisdom and discernment to distinguish where to draw our lines, also.
There is so much going on around us all the time, it's easy to pick at and complain about everything we don't approve of, and lose our focus on what's important. We can go along to get along, but we still need to know where to stand our ground.
And where we need to stand our ground, God will be with us, just as He was with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. God is the same God, and His love and care for His own has not changed.
They were willing to give their lives to the fire or the lions rather than give worship to any other god. This was their standard, and should also be ours. But they also got along and went along with whatever other stuff that was going on around them.
When they came down to the wire, they knew God could rescue them, but were in His hand to save
them or let them die. We need to have the same mind-set. He
also may or may not miraculously save us from the violent deaths others
desire for us, as He did them, but whether we live or die, we are the
Lord's.
O my Father, You are great. You are good. You are the same, yesterday, today, and forever. Your faithfulness does not waver. Your compassion never wanes. Your strength never weakens. Your great Plan of the Ages is marching on, every moment closer to the denouement when our King returns to conquer all His enemies and rule the world with His iron scepter, in absolute righteousness.
O Father, send out Your children as Your messengers and missionaries, to broadcast Your good news to every living creature in all nations. Draw all of Your chosen ones to the birth into Your family, and leave the rest with no excuse for their rebellion.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Daniel 2: 25-30
Daniel had "taken a chance" and told Arioch to hold off on the executions, because he would tell the king what he was asking (yesterday). This was a very dangerous step, but it shows that he trusted that God would answer his prayer.
Then when God gave him the same dream, he had the commander bring him to the king.
(25) Then Arioch hurriedly brought Daniel into the king's presence
This Chief over the king's body-guards was in a hurry to bring Daniel in, so he wouldn't be accused of delaying his obedience to the king's order.
and spoke to him as follows: "I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!"
Then he took credit for finding this lad who could give an answer!
(26) The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, "Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?"
The king was probably surprised first thing in the morning to meet this boy and he asked him if he really could tell him what he dreamed and what it meant.
(27) Daniel answered before the king and said, "As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians, nor diviners are able to declare it to the king.
Daniel was quick to deny credit, because no human person could answer what the king asked.
(28) "However, there is a God in Heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days.
He made sure the king would know it was the Lord God, not any of the idols in Babylon, who was able to reveal mysteries. Because He is the only God.
This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed.
(29) As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts turned to what would take place in the future; and He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will take place.
Only God is the One who reveals mysteries, like this dream the king had. And He alone can reveal what will happen in the future.
The king had gone to bed thinking about what would happen in the future, so God told him in this dream. That's why the king was so anxious to find out what it means.
(30) But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me for any wisdom residing in me more than in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind."
Daniel again makes sure that the king knows it isn't Daniel who has this wisdom, but only the Lord God of Israel. And He is the One who decided to reveal to the king what would happen in the future, to understand what he had been thinking about as he laid down.
Daniel was only the channel through which God would give this information to the king. God was revealing Himself to King Nebuchadnezzar, and it will take a few more times dealing with him for this king to honor God. This is only the first.
Because Daniel was committed to the Lord, he was used of the Lord in the king's life, even as a mere student.
I think that God gave this dream to Nebuchadnezzar and caused him to forget it just so He would learn about the Lord God of Israel. Why else would He have done so? This way, He could have a good influence in the whole society, and prepare the way for a future Cyrus to allow the Jews to go beck home.
You can read about the statue in the dream here, and the kingdoms it represents here. Then the end of the dream, and the end of these kingdoms here.
This is a most fascinating story! Let's see what the king did for Daniel for telling him. Tomorrow.
O my Father, please let us trust You as Daniel did, and to rely on You and be used of You, as Daniel did. And his friends, too. They did not know you as we do today, after You revealed Yourself to human-kind through the years, and in Your Son, Jesus. Thank You, Father, for Your written Word, also, to describe and explain so much of Your ways.
These four lads had a very strong faith and trusted You with their lives. And we know so much more, and even have Your own Spirit living in us to teach us. May we depend on You even more.
O Father, as we find ourselves going through the times we are in, let us lean on You, trusting that the wrath You pour out on the world will not touch Your children; because what we are due was already poured out on Jesus as the Lamb of God on our behalf. Even though a thousand fall at our side, ten thousand at our right hand, it will not approach us; we will only see with our eyes what the wicked people have called upon themselves (Psalm 91: 7-8).
Father, thank You for Your greatness, Your goodness, Your love for us all, and Your grief over the deaths of the wicked, because they refused Your generous, gracious gift. Thank You for Your compassion to have Your messengers share Your wonderful good news to every living person.
Send us out, Father, as Your missionaries, to our families, our co-workers, our neighbors, our neighborhoods and cities and nations. Send us out to every nation, Father, to broadcast the good seed of Your Gospel, so that all Your children will be brought to the birth into Your family, and no one else will have any excuse.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come soon, Lord Jesus!
Daniel 2: 13-24
King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that upset him, but he couldn't remember the dream; and he asked his wise men to do the impossible.
(13) So the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they looked for Daniel and his friends to kill them.
Daniel and his friends were still in the Royal Academy, so they weren't among the wise men who were called to the king, they were still in training.
(14) Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to Arioch, the captain of the king's bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon;
(15) he said to the king's commander, "For what reason is the decree from the king so urgent?" Then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter.
So Daniel found out what was going on with the king. Then he was able to formulate a plan of action. This was a very wise response, instead of just reacting to the crisis.
(16) So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would give him time, in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king.
The first thing he did was to put in a request for a continuance, to put off the executions; for the reason he boldly declared, that he would give the interpretation the king was asking for.
(17) Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, about the matter,
(18) so that they might request compassion from the God of Heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
The next step was to enlist his friends in prayer and fasting, no doubt, because only God would be able to help him do what he proposed. They probably had an intense prayer meeting that night, as their lives depended on God.
(19) Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision.
They didn't stay up all night in prayer, they trusted God enough go to bed to rest. And while he slept, God gave Daniel the same dream, so he could face the king with the answer!
Then Daniel blessed the God of Heaven;
And the first thing he did in the morning was to give praise to God! During his quiet time he journaled his prayer of thanksgiving and praise to God.
His prayer tells us some things about God.
(20) Daniel said,
"Let the Name of God be blessed forever and ever,
For wisdom and power belong to Him.
God is Almighty, all power belongs to Him. And He is all-wise in knowing how to apply His all-knowing (omniscience).
(21) It is He who changes the times and the epochs;
God has decided the tropical and ice ages; He has determined the climate changes that happen on our planet.
He removes kings and establishes kings;
God sets up governments and kings and rulers, and He will change them at His own discretion. He is the One who decides. He has already planned it all out ahead of time.
He gives wisdom to wise men
And knowledge to men of understanding.
God is the One who gives wisdom to those who seek Him, and He will teach those who search for His ways, how He has designed this world to work.
(22) It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things;
What God has hidden, only He can reveal; we cannot find out anything that He hasn't decided to show us. And He has decided to show Daniel the dream He gave to Nebuchadnezzar, to reveal ahead of time the future history of the governments of the world, as He has planned it out.
He knows what is in the darkness,
And the light dwells with Him.
God knows everything about everything. Daniel had read Psalm 139: 12 that says, Even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.
And all light comes from Him, because He is Light.
(23) To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise,
For You have given me wisdom and power;
Daniel gives all the credit to God, to praise and thank Him for granting their prayer to give him the wisdom and power to save them from the destruction decreed by the king.
Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You,
For You have made known to us the king's matter."
God gave Daniel the same dream he'd given the king, so that God would have the glory and honor, being the only God. He did this to begin to promote His own reputation among the population of this pagan nation.
(24) Therefore, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and spoke to him as follows: "Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon! Take me into the king's presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king."
So Daniel went back to the commander over the king's personal body-guard and asked him to take him to the king, to give the king the impossible information he had originally asked for.
This was very bold of Daniel. He had faith in God already, to even have suggested that he could answer the king; then he trusted God to show him, and enlisted his friends to pray together with him, to seek God. Then he went to bed, trusting God and expecting His answer. This increased his faith and trust even more.
So even while he was studying in depth all these pagan ideas and philosophies, he remained strong in his faith in the Lord God of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He never did relinquish his identity as a Hebrew Israelite Jew.
O my Father, may we also, no matter what is going on around us, or what books we are studying, retain our faith and trust in only You. Strengthen us, Father, through this time of enforced sequestration. Help us to not waste any moments of these re-arranged days You have granted us, but to use every minute to learn and grow, in every area we need more maturity: spiritual, intellectual, physical, emotional, relational, financial, and evangelical. And in every other way.
My Father, help us to grow up, to reach the maturity of the full stature of the Son of God, of whom we are the body.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, our Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Daniel 2: 1-13
(1) Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him.
Remember, Daniel and his friends were taken to Babylon in Nebuchadnezzar's first year of his reign, and their schooling was for three years. So this dream story actually happened while they were still doing their studies.
(2) Then the king gave orders to call in the magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams.
So Daniel was not among those who were called to counsel the king, he was still a student.
(3) The king said to them, "I had a dream and my spirit is anxious to understand the dream."
(4) Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic: "O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation."
This looks like a reasonable request: tell them the dream and they'll interpret it for him.
(5) The king replied to the Chaldeans, "The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb and your houses will be made a rubbish heap.
(6) "But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and a reward and great honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation."
Obviously the king has forgotten what the dream was. He just was left with the uneasy feeling that it had to be important. But he's a king, and he doesn't want to look weak or forgetful, so he puts onto these advisers to come up with the dream itself, then tell him what it means.
(7) They answered a second time and said, "Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation."
So they again asked the King to tell them the dream.
(8) The king replied, "I know for certain that you are bargaining for time, inasmuch as you have seen that the command from me is firm,
(9) "that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only one decree for you. For you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt words before me until the situation is changed; therefore tell me the dream, that I may know that you can declare to me its interpretation."
This king doesn't want to admit that he forgot the dream, so he states that if they are so smart, then they should be able to tell him what he dreamed. Then he would know that they can interpret it accurately.
But if they don't already "know" what he dreamed, then they must suffer consequences. It looks like in his pride he's digging himself a hole that he will push them into.
(10) The Chaldeans answered the king and said, "There is not a man on Earth who could declare the matter for the king, inasmuch as no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any magician, conjurer, or Chaldean.
(11) "Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh."
Now these "wise men" are calling him out on this foolishness. No person can know what another person has dreamed or is thinking inside his head. Only some spirit being who doesn't have a mortal body would be able to get inside his head to know this.
(12) Because of this the king became indignant and very furious and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
They pushed him, and he's not going to relent. He has to maintain his own royal pride, even if it means depriving himself of all the wise counsel he will need in the future. He's a rock up against a hard place, and he will suffer if this goes on.
(13) So the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they looked for Daniel and his friends to kill them.
Even youths being educated to be "wise men" have fallen under this order. So what's going to happen to Daniel and his friends?
O my Father, please show us how giving in to pride will cause us to harm ourselves, as well as others. Teach us to be humble before You and to put others' needs and importance before our own. Even if we're kings and presidents and prime ministers. Which most of us aren't!
But, Father, we still tend to think our own importance demands recognition by others. Just as Satan convinced Eve that she could be her own god, and not need to bother God any more; so he uses the same tactic with every one of her children. He hasn't changed his methods, he just uses all the new stuff Mankind invents to present it in different ways. And we still fall for it.
My Father, teach us to be like Your Son, Jesus. He did not consider His being Your Son, just as much God as You are; but He humbled Himself even to death on a cross. Show us how to humble ourselves as He did. Strengthen us to be firm in our trust in You to do what You know is good for us, even when it appears that we will be taken down a peg.
O Father, pride is one of those things You hate (Proverbs 8:13; 6:16-17; 16:5). Help us to divest all pridefulness from our hearts, and see ourselves and one another as You see us. We are the work of Your hands, now we are Your hands doing Your work for the Kingdom.
Jesus is Your Son, and He shows us what You, the Father, are like. And He was humble. Teach us to be humble like Jesus.
Help us, Father, to show the world who You are, and how much You love all of us so much! Lead us to Your chosen ones, to draw them to the birth into Your own family, and let no one have any excuse for not choosing You.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!
Easter is the lynch pin that holds the Christian faith together. It is the day Jesus was Resurrected from the dead, when He rose from the grave, alive. If He'd not risen, we would have no basis for our faith, and it would have died out before it started!
Jesus died to pay the eternal debt we all owe for sin, the sin-nature as well as all the sins that originate in and emanate from it. He fulfilled the personal sacrifice on behalf of each of us, because we all are the criminals who deserve execution.
But death could not hold Him, because He is the only One who doesn't deserve to die! So He rose from the grave, having conquered and gained the victory over death. So He didn't just resuscitate, He Resurrected. The difference is, He came back to life with a different kind of life, not the one He died with.
He died in our place, and was Resurrected with a new life. Now He gives us that same new life, when we admit that we deserve death and let Him take our place, individually.
That's when God puts His Spirit into our spirit, causing us to be born spiritually, as members of His own family. Then we also will Resurrect, with a spirit-body like His, because we already have that Spirit in us.
II Corinthians 5: 15
And He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
And while we are still living this mortal life, just because we still have these flesh bodies, we don't have to be slaves to them, giving in to all the worldly cravings. We also have that new life, God's own Holy Spirit living in our spirit, so we can go in His strength to serve our Lord and promote His Kingdom.
I want to wish all my readers and subscribers a very blessed and happy Resurrection Day!
Even so, come soon, Lord Jesus!
Daniel 1: 18-21
Daniel and his friends have finished their three-year course of studies. Not only did they master every branch of Akkadian and Sumerian scholarship, but Daniel also mastered oneiromancy, the interpretation of dreams. This was no doubt a gift from God, similar to Joseph's ability; and since the king expected his wise men to be able to do this (chapter 2), he may have had opportunity to hone this skill in his course of study.
(18) Then at the end of the days which the king had specified for presenting them, the commander of the officials presented them before Nebuchadnezzar.
Now Final Exam day came, and the king himself will administer the oral exam. Ashpenaz was doubtless very proud to present his students to the king.
(19) The king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; so they entered the king's personal service.
Out of the entire group of brilliant young men, the king found that the four highest scorers on all the exams were none other than Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Mechach, and Abed-Nego.
So these four got the jobs, they were appointed to be the king's own personal advisers, very responsible posts in his government.
(20) As for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm.
And the king's judgment on their "grades" was vindicated, as in their positions of authority they proved to be superior to all the other government officials, and even, ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers in the whole realm. These were considered the smartest, most learned men, and these Jews outshone them all.
God honored their faith and their commitment to His ways, and they served with distinction.
(21) And Daniel continued until the first year of Cyrus the king.
We're not told how long the four lads lived, but at least Daniel lived to a ripe old age. The first year of Cyrus would probably be calculated as 536 B. C. when Daniel retired. So if he had been about 15-20 years old in 605 when he was deported out of Judah, then he probably lived to be at least 90 years old, because he was still kicking two years after his retirement, in "the third year of Cyrus" (10: 1).
O my Father, this story concerning these four of your children of Israel is so amazing and fantastic. It almost reads like a fantasy novel. But Your Truth is so much better than any dime paperback. All the ideas for the world's storylines seem to have come from the true biographies You have chosen to preserve.
To know these four young men and the wonders You worked in and through them in the pagan society You placed them in, is a real treat to enjoy. We're not told of their family lines and they had no descendants after them, they just stand alone in this epic. But they stand tall, faithful to the only One that is True. And they did not have any of the advantages we have: Your completed Scripture, which supplies everything we need to know to do Your will.
And the Time to live after Your Son has fulfilled all the Law, and history has almost finished playing out. We can see the whole story, and we will receive the promises that all these ancient people hoped for and never saw (Hebrews 11).
O Father, You are so good! You have been so good to me, to have chosen me and drawn me to Yourself through all the troubles and heartaches, and caused me to be born into Your own family. And even allowed me to live where I do and be in the human family I have.
My Father, help me to grow in my appreciation of You in the midst of all the troubles that surround us all in this vale of tears. Be our strength when we're weak, be our supply when we are impoverished, be our light that we can shine in the darkness.
And let our stories go out, our experiences of what You are doing. And we will gain the victory through the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
(Today is Holy Saturday. Go here to see what Jesus was doing while His body was in the grave.)
Daniel 1: 14-17
Daniel and his friends were chosen to participate in the King's program of education to make them world-citizens and erase any specific nationalism.
So they qualified for the king's Royal Academy and were given new, Babylonian names to change their identities.
But Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were Israelites, chosen by God, and they worshiped only God, not any of the many idols in this foreign land.
They realized that this is their new reality, and that God had purpose for them here. They looked at how they could have the most influence in this pagan society, so they accepted the advantages offered to them, while still maintaining their identities as Jews. This could bring many conflicts and problems with this ungodly culture, which it did.
So they decided to pick their battles carefully. Dietary requirements were very foundational to their faith in Yahweh.
What do you think would have happened if Daniel had simply refused to eat the food that wasn't Kosher? If they adopted this adversarial attitude, they would have been expelled from the school and kicked out of any possibility of having an influence on the culture at all.
Daniel was wiser than that. He negotiated for the four of them, and they were willing to abide by whatever decision the commander made concerning the food.
(14) So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days.
This meek attitude and reasonable request allowed this "professor" to consider this test, and allow them to do it.
(15) At the end of ten days their appearance seemed better and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king's choice food.
I
can imagine how fresh and vibrant these four looked after their ten-day
cleanse! I think it was the best idea Daniel could have come up with,
so I would contend that God put him up to it.
(16) So the overseer continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables.
They didn't have to eat anything that would be unhealthy, and that battle was won. So they could eat all the plant-based foods that provided all the good nourishment they needed, and they flourished.
(17) As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams.
Doing things God's way will bring God's provision. These were highly intelligent guys, and with the clear thinking that resulted from the non-processed foods they consumed, they were able to apply themselves to learn all these new languages and concepts, with understanding and discernment.
And Daniel's gift of vision and dream interpretation will help him to become indispensable to the king. Also part of God's plan.
Today Christian kids can learn all about atheistic evolution while believing that God created it all; and Christian theologians can study the Koran and distinguish the conflicts it presents against Scripture. We can learn all about the world's ways and wisdom, while still growing in our knowledge of our God and His ways.
This is what Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah did. Their faith in Yahweh never wavered, but grew stronger through this time. And they still learned everything there was to learn from all the ancient manuscripts, scrolls, and tablets.
O my Father, please help us to know You and Your written word so well that we will also grow in our faith and holiness even as we study this world and see everything that is happening around us. Father, help us to understand where other people are coming from, to discern what they are already believing, so we can gently and compassionately draw them out of the deceptions that have gotten hold of them, and shine Your light of Truth into their lives.
O Father, lead us to all Your embryonic children to bring them to the birth in Your family, to fill Your house with Your uncountable family, and surround Your Great Banquet Table to fellowship with You and one another forever!
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
