In our study today, we take a look at verses 3-8 where we find Daniel and his friends being reeducated as eunuchs in the palace of Babylon, and their desire to remain faithful to God.
Verses 3-4: “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.” This is fulfilled prophecy! We find its fulfillment in Isaiah 39:1-7 where it says, “At that time Merodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered. And Hezekiah was glad of them, and shewed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not. Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon. Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them. 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.” And, of course, among those selected were Daniel and his three friends.
It was customary practice for Babylon to take some of those from a conquered nation and train them to be ambassadors to that same nation. That makes sense since they would know the language, religion, and customs.
Reeducation
101
Verse 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.” The young men were to be reeducated for three years before being brought before the king of Babylon. Understand that the schooling of these three young Hebrews was completely pagan in nature.
Sounds like the public school system today. I take my hat off to the public-school teachers who are trying to stay true to their faith. Quite frankly, it is a losing battle. I really do not know how much longer Christians are going to be able to work in any arena of the public school system without totally having to compromise their faith. Sadly, most already have and just will not admit it.
Paganization
Verses 6-7: “Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: 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.” Interestingly, all four of these young men were from the tribe of Judah.
Their names were changed to pagan Babylonian names. Daniel in Hebrew means "God is Judge,” while Belteshazzar in Chaldean means "Bel's Prince." Hananiah in Hebrew means "Beloved of the Lord," while Shadrach in Chaldean means "Illumined by the Sun." Mishael in Hebrew means "Who is as God?" while Meshach in Chaldean means "Who is like Shach?" Azariah in Hebrew means "The Lord is my help" while Abednego in Chaldean means "The Servant of Nego".
Defilement
Rejected
Verse 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 was about 15 years old at that time, and yet he was determined to live a life of purity and commitment to God. That is an awesome thought.
It has been said, “If a man is wretched, vile, and defiled on the outside, it is first because he is that on the inside." "If a man is godly, holy, and righteous on the outside, it also first began inside." In the end, Daniel was a godly, holy, and righteous man inside and out.
Good Treasure
Jesus spake of this in Matthew 12:34-35 when He said, “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” Can you just imagine, for a moment, the pressure Daniel and his friends were under to conform? Everything that the Babylonians did by renaming them, forcing them to eat of the king’s diet, and forcing them to learn the Babylonian language was all part of trying to break their commitment to God. They were forcing them to conform.
Constant Pressure
That pressure is on us all the time as well. Think about your job, school, and even your church. The world wants us to conform as well. But we as Believers in Christ must resist that temptation, though it be great at times and may cost us something.
Resist the Conformation
The Apostle Paul said in Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
