The American Wisdom Series

Presents
Pamphlet 5011 KC Daniel 1-3 xxx

If you wait on and trust your heavenly Father,
He can make things happen.

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.

Please keep in mind what Paul tells us in 1 Cor. 10:11 that the things that happened of old happened as "ensamples
and that they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come."

To that end, this one Nebuchadnezzar was raised up by our Father,
"chosen" to be His servant (Jer. 27:6), and given to us as a type of the king of Babylon of the last days.

You "see", God can and will use whomsoever He so chooses
to carry out His wondrous works both in a positive and negative sense.

We as students of God's Word should also know that the names of people and locations, etc.,
are all significant and their meanings give us a deeper understanding of that which is written.

(Of course one has to take the time to dig out those meanings if he or she wants to be enriched further.)

For example, the name "Nebuchadnezzar" means "May Nebo protect the crown".

Nebo was a deity who presided over learning and letters
and so it was that Nebuchadnezzar built libraries and schools
and was really into knowledge and education. However,
the fact is that no matter how much knowledge and learning man absorbs from the world,
if it is apart from the wisdom and knowledge of our Father's Word,
he can never preserve himself nor even achieve serenity and peace of mind, much less attain salvation.

* For proper chronology concerning the times, see appendix 50 in the back of the Companion Bible.

[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.
Notice who is charge here. The Lord "gave" Jehoiakim into his hand which shows that the king of Babylon can do only that which our Father allows. When the king of Babylon (Satan) in the Book of Revelation comes to besiege the world, he also will only be permitted to do that which is written, one of which is that he cannot touch one hair of those who have the seal of God in their foreheads.

By the way, do you know where the land of Shinar is located? "Shinar" means "country between two rivers" which in this case are the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the land of Babylon, which today is where Iran and Iraq are located. How interesting indeed as we watch the current events of today.

[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;
Ashpenaz can mean either "horse like" or “I will make prominent the sprinkled”.

Either way, he was instructed by the king of Babylon to bring "certain" of the children of Israel,
and of the king's seed, and of the princes or nobles.

In other words, he was to told cull out certain ones from those in captivity.

Notice carefully the qualifications he was looking for.

[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.
You "see", Nebuchadnezzar wanted only the "richest",
the "cream of the crop", of the "royal" and "noble" captives of Judah.

Yes, historically he wanted to learn all he could from them,
including their language so that he could communicate with them,
but you see, the king of Babylon of these last days will also be interested in those well favoured,
unblemished servants of God who are rich in wisdom and knowledge and understanding.

Did you know there are those blessed servants who fit that category in these last days?

They are those spiritually rich servants of the church of Smyrna.

Let's check it out.

Rev. 2:8-9
And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

[9] I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

Understand from 1 Cor. 10:13 that God will not give unto His servants
"to be tempted above that they (ye) are able;
but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that they (ye) may be able to bear it."

In other words, God is not going to choose those who are not spiritually and mentally fit,
those who are not rich in the oil of His spirit, His Word,
to be delivered up to stand before the king of Babylon in his palace and give witness, lest they fall!

Now notice what the king of Babylon appoints for the children of God.

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.
Historically these three years would have been from 497, 496 & 495 BC
where he appointed a steady daily diet of unclean meat along with his wine!

Woe, would you eat of Satan's unclean birds or drink his wine of fornication?

Not if you wish to remain spiritually healthy, you won't!

We are to eat our daily bread from the table of the Lord and drink solely from His fountain of living water.

[6] Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:
Again, these children of God were of the house of Judah. In Hebrew, as our Father sees them, we have:
Daniel = God is Judge
Misha-el = Who is as God?
Azari-ah = God has helped!
Hanani-ah = God is gracious
Certainly these are fitting and proper names when you consider what happens to these three lads.
[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.
In Chaldean, as the spiritually blind servants of the king of Babylon see them, we have all references to pagan gods:
Belteshazzar -protect thou (O Bel)
Shadrach - command of Aku, the moon god
Meshach - who is Aku?
Abednego - servant of Nego
Now gather strength and encouragement from the example of Daniel.
[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.
Daniel "purposed in his heart" which means he made up his mind
that he would not defile himself with the unclean meat
and intoxicating wine of the king of Babylon.

How about you?

Our people right now are being fed a steady diet of Satan's garbage
from all four of the hidden dynasties
and they have become spiritually sickly and undernourished to the point of spiritual death as a result.

[9] Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.
God is in control and He can even change the minds of those who come in contact with His servants.

Remember He harden the heart (mind) of Pharaoh before the exodus,
meaning He caused him to become stubborn.

Here He softens the heart of the prince of the eunuchs to find favor with Daniel.

The point is, if you wait on and trust your heavenly Father,
He can make things happen.

You "see", God takes care of His own and furthermore,
since He has all power in both heaven and earth,
He is quite capable of doing so!

[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.
Those who serve the king of Babylon
and walk after the flesh are fearful for their lives and will follow his commands
even if they know they are profane.

Keep this in mind when you later see the spiritually rich servants of God, i.e.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedneggo,
delivered up and forced under penalty of death to do as the king commands
and bow down to the image he has set up.

Do you think they will bow a knee?

They will not!

[11] Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
Melzar is a title meaning the steward or the butler, as in the wine server.

Notice the wisdom used by Daniel in dealing with this one Melzar.

[12]Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.
Pulse means food that is sown, like vegetables or grain,
and is symbolic to us in these last days of the pure nourishing food
that comes only from our Father's table, just as the water is symbolic of that living water of life.

Here is what Daniel tells the minister of the prince of the eunuchs,
because Daniel knows what the result shall be of fasting on the pure truth of Father's Word
as compared to eating unclean meat from the table of the king of Babylon
and drinking his spiritually intoxicating wine.

[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.
And so it is today that those Christians who abstain from eating the meat of the king of Babylon
and from drinking his wine,
but instead fast on the pure food and drink only of the living water of life,
do outshine their brothers and sisters who have become deathly ill (spiritually speaking)
from a daily diet of the king's portion.

Nevertheless, Daniel found favor with Melzar,
thanks be to his Father's intervention, who agreed to the 10 day period of testing.

[14] So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days.
"Proved" means "tested", "assayed", as in "tried",
and these 10 days of proving, repeated here several times,
should remind you once again of the church of Smyrna in Revelation chapter two
which we shall pick up on in our next study!

We will also find out how these steadfast young servants of God faired after their 10 day trial was fulfilled.

Live Link to- The Book of Daniel Table of Contents
It is important that YOU Read it all!

Jesus said, "the book of Daniel was where one could go read and gain understanding"

Jesus Christ told us in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 when He sat upon the Mount of Olives and gave His disciples the seven seals concerning the knowledge and the events that would transpire during the final generation of the fig tree, that the book of Daniel was where one could go read and gain understanding concerning the abomination of desolation, that abominable desolator (antichrist) who would come stand in the holy place claiming to be God.
The book of Daniel is the Apocalypse of the Old Testament
and a sister book to the Apocalypse of the New Testament,
the book of Revelation.

To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you accomplish both.


The "American Wisdom Series"

is

Published by:

Rhine Publishing Co.
E-mail address - americanwisdomseries@verizon.net

If you would like to have your essay published
as part of the American Wisdom Series
submit your manuscript to Rhine Publishing Co
at the address above for consideration, or e-mail us
at the address shown on our home page.

Click Here to Return to "The American Wisdom Series" home page.