Daniel 1[i]
Genesis 10
tells of the descendants of Cush. If you
remember, Noah had three sons with him on the Ark: Shem, Ham and Japheth. Cush was the son of Ham. One of Cush’s descendants was a mighty
warrior named Nimrod. According to
Genesis 10:10, Nimrod built his kingdom in the land of Babylonia.
Immediately
after the flood, everyone on earth spoke the same language. God told Noah, “Be fruitful and
multiply. Fill the earth.” (Genesis 9:1)
However, we learn in Genesis 11 that the descendants of Noah decided not
to fill the earth. In the land of
Babylonia, they built a tower saying, “Come let’s build a great city for
ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from
being scattered all over the world.” (Genesis 11:4) Humanity wanted to make a name for itself. Humanity wanted to make itself, great.
God
intervened and spoiled their plans by confusing their language. This incident is known as the “Tower of
Babel,” and Babel is where the name “Babylon” comes from. A man named “Nimrod” led the people who built
the Tower of Babel and the city of Babylon.
His name sounds like the Hebrew word for “rebel.”[ii] (Nimrod = name of Babylonian king or prince:
Nu-marad = 'Man of Marad' compare Genesis 10:8[iii] “marad
= rebel[iv]) Babylon plays the rebel role in history and
in prophecy. Babylon represents the
efforts of humanity to reach up to heaven for itself. Babylon represents the efforts of humanity to
make itself, great.
The height
of the power and glory of the Babylonian Empire was during the reign of King
Nebuchadnezzar. King Nebuchadnezzar marched
his army against Jerusalem three times. Babylon
defeated Jerusalem in 605 BC, in 597 BC and in 586 BC, burning Jerusalem to the
ground the third time.
It seemed
the rebellious city had triumphed over the “City
of Peace.” However, Daniel 1:2 says,
“The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah and permitted him to
take some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God.”
Now, I am
getting way ahead of myself, but I am going to take some time here to point out
that when Jesus hung on the cross, it seemed as if the world and the devil had
won. However, He was handed over
according to God’s prearranged plan and foreknowledge. (Acts 2:23)
At the time
the Lord gave Nebuchadnezzar victory over Jerusalem, Daniel and his friends Hananiah,
Mishael and Azariah were taken captive, and were moved by King Nebuchadnezzar
to Babylon. They were moved from the “City
of Peace” to the city of “confusion.” (Genesis
11:9, Babel sounds like the Hebrew word for confusion. However, the Babylonian word means “gate of
God.” This idea of a human-built “gate
of God” shows the rebellious nature of the city. There is only one “Gate of God,” the man
Christ Jesus.)
The “City
of Confusion” immediately began trying to squeeze Daniel and his friends into
its mold.
The first
line of attack was their identity.
These were
Hebrew young men. Their names honored
the God of the Hebrews. Daniel means, “God is judge.” Hananiah
means, “Yahweh is gracious.” Mishael means, “Who is what God is?” Azariah
means, “Whom Yahweh helps.”
The “City
of Confusion” gave them names in order to change their identity. Daniel (God is judge) became “Belteshazzar,”
meaning “May Bel protect his life.” Hananiah (Yahweh is gracious) became
“Shadrach,” meaning “command of Aku.” Mishael (Who is what God is) became
“Meshach,” meaning, “who is what Aku is.”
Aku was the “Moon god.” Azariah (whom
Yahweh helps) became “Abed-nego,” meaning “servant of Nebo.”[v]
In each
case, the Hebrew name contains a reference to the true God, and the Babylonian
name changes this for a reference to a false god.
The
parallel for the Christian living in the world is astounding. When a person believes in Jesus and receives
Him as his or her Savior, that person becomes a new person. (2 Corinthians 5:17) He or she is born again. (John 3:3ff)
He or she is given the right to become a child of God. (John 1:12, 1 John 3:1)
The “City
of Confusion,” in which we live, attacks this identity in subtle ways.
First, it
tells us we are not good enough. “If you
are a child of God, why do you still sin?”
It tells us, “You call yourself a Christian, and yet you lost your
temper with xyz.” Of course, some truth is contained in these
accusations. A child of God should not
continue to sin. However, God has made a
provision for our weakness. He says, “But
if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”
(1 John 1:9) The fact that we
acknowledge our sin shows that we have the Spirit of God within us. (1 John 1:10, John 16:8)
Even more
insidious than this attack in our confidence is the subtle trick of getting us
to put our confidence in something other than the one true God. We see this in Daniel’s case in the changing
of the names. However, in our “City of
Confusion,” another tool is used. We
have catch phrases or truisms that are accepted by the masses without real
question or thought. One such catch
phrase or truism is, “You must believe in yourself.”[vi]
The person
in the mental ward of the hospital, who thinks he is an egg, has the utmost confidence
in himself, and will put together a rather sound logical argument in defense of
his position. Believing in one’s self is
nonsense. Which one of us, by believing
in his or her self, can change one hair from white to black? Which one of us, by thinking, can make his
(or her) own heart beat? Did David
defeat Goliath by believing in himself?
Of course not! David defeated
Goliath because his confidence was in God.
When the
disciples faced the biggest test of their lives, Jesus told them, “Don’t let
your hearts be troubled. Trust in God,
and trust also in me.” (John 14:1)
I am not
speaking against confidence. We
Christians ought to be the most confident people in the world: not confidence
in ourselves, but confidence in our Savior.
“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13, ESV[vii]) The Bible asks us a question. It says, “If God is for us, who can ever be
against us?” (Romans 8:31)
Putting our
trust in anything other than God, is a wicked evil trap, and we fall prey to it
without thinking. If God is on our side,
who can ever stand against us? This is
our true identity as children of God.
Daniel and
his friends were also attacked in their understanding. In Daniel 1:4, Nebuchadnezzar gives these
instructions, “Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon.”
Verse 5 tells us that they were to be trained for 3 years. For 3 years, these men were immersed in the
superstitions, the confusing lies, and the language and culture of the Babylonians. It was in the air they breathed. Every newscast, every magazine, every book
and every movie was filled with Babylon.
However, they came out unscathed, and, when tested, came out faithful to
God.
We need to
learn how they did this.
Every
newscast, every magazine, every book and every movie in our lives is filled
with Babylon. How can we stay faithful
to God in this environment?
Daniel and
his friends did it with food. They
remained faithful by controlling their diet.
Now, do not jump to conclusions.
The answer for you and me is not in our diet. The significance of the diet for Daniel and
his friends was in their identity.
The first
and strongest attack Babylon made on Daniel and his friends was on their
identity. Therefore, their first and
strongest counterattack had to do with their identity. They had to remember who they were. They were Hebrews. They were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and
Azariah, not those silly Babylonian names.
Their tool, method or strategy for remembering their true identity was
to keep a kosher diet. It worked to
their advantage by maintaining health and vigor along with setting them apart
and keeping them from conforming without expressing rebellion or obstinacy.
The New
Testament teaches us believers in Christ a different method. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to
this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you
may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
(ESV)
We are not
to conform to the world. God has made us
participants in our growth. Philippians
2:12-13 says, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is
God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (ESV) This
expresses that we are to work and at the same time says that it is God who is
working. Our confidence is in the work
of God in our lives. It is God who will
perform a good work in us. (Philippians
1:6) It is this confidence that gives us
courage and strength to work. 2 Timothy
2:15 says, “Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his
approval.” We are not passive. “Do not be conformed,” and “be transformed,”
are commands to be obeyed.
Start with
your identity. Do you know who you are
in Christ? 1 Peter 2:11 puts it this
way, “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions
of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.”
Daniel and
his friends never forgot that they were sojourners and exiles in a foreign
land. As Christians, we also must never
forget that our citizenship is in heaven.
As citizens of heaven, we must eat the food our heavenly Father has
given us. This food is the Word of God,
found in the Bible. Do not give up this
heavenly food for the fluffy stuff Babylon calls food.
How often
do you eat?
Daniel and
his friends ate every day and every day they were reminded who they were.
[i]
Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New
Living Translation. Copyright © 1996,
2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
[ii]
Dyer, Charles. The Road to
Armagedddon. Word Publishing, Nashville,
TN. 1999. pg 109.
[iii]
http://biblehub.com/hebrew/5248.htm
[iv]
http://biblehub.com/hebrew/4775.htm
[v]
Ryrie, Charles. The Ryrie Study
Bible. Moody Press, Chicago. 1978. pg
1307.
[vi]
For a better treatment of this subject see:
Orthodoxy, by G. K. Chesterton, Chapter 2.
[vii]
Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good
News Publishers. Used by
permission. All rights reserved.
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