Daniel

My mom did the Beth Moore Bible study on the book of Daniel with Petra Christian Fellowship last year and thought it was so good that she bought the DVDs and a workbook for my sisters and me. Last week week was on the first chapter of Daniel, which I've put below in purple for you to read so you know what I'm talking about:

Daniel 1
Daniel's Training in Babylon

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 [a] and put in the treasure house of his god.

3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in 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. [b] 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 these 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. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your [c] food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you."

11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.

15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

18 At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king's service. 20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.

21 And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.

The main verse that stuck out to me this week was verse four. We learned that we are in our own kind of Babylon - the things valued that day were youth, wealth, beauty (no physical defects & handsome) and intelligence. What are things that we value in our culture? Um... the same things, right? It was eye-opening for me as I've been praying for things related to these cultural values, especially right now for health and physical fitness. One of the verses we looked at this week also included 1 Timothy 4:8 "For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." While it's not wrong to want some of these things, we have to look at our focus. Are we focused on dieting or are we focused on becoming more like Jesus in our walk with Him?

Beth Moore suggested we do a fast of no "choice meats" for the first six weeks of the Bible study to show our 'resolve' in not defiling ourselves with the things of this world. We seek to be culturally relevant (we're not going to look like the Amish and still be able to speak to this world!) without becoming Spiritually irrelevant. Now the reason Daniel gave up meats was because for him being Jewish they were unclean, and we're not bound by the old law but the new covenant. I didn't think I wanted to give up red meat for six weeks, but in re-reading the passage, I saw that Daniel asked to be tested for 10 days. So, I made a commitment to eat fruits & veggies (or that which is sown of a seed, as it literally translates from the Bible) and drink only water for ten days. I talked to Shawn about it afterward, and he told me that to help me, he would also abstain from things I couldn't have during evenings and on weekends so I wouldn't be tempted. [Is he an amazing husband or what?] It's one of the hardest things I've ever done, I think, and I realize how much emphasis I've placed on food in my life. (Think it sounds easy? Try it! Temptations abound!) But, I'm on day eight of ten, and I feel great. While I miss meats and sweets and various no-calorie drinks, my body feels really, really good for the most part. And I've enjoyed a variety of fruits & veggies that I may not have bought otherwise.

I also found it interesting that we know Daniel as Daniel, but when I learned of Daniel's three friends, I always knew them as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Why, I wonder? (This was not part of the Beth Moore study...just something I've thought about). These Babylonian names turned names that were linked to God in Hebrew into Aramaic names that were linked to false gods. So, how did Daniel keep his name in our minds and the others get shifted (Daniel 1:11)?

It was also intriguing for me to see how the passage of Isaiah 39 came to pass 100 years later... I won't put that all here, but the Lord prophesied through Isaiah that Judah (the bottom half of Israel at the time) would be taken captive due to Hezekiah's self-worship and the people's worship of idols. Sometimes God tells us to do something or not do something and there are consequences for our actions. While we think "He's a loving God" and "He'll forgive us," He's also faithful to His word and righteous/just when He speaks clearly...just as I must discipline my children if I love them, He knows what we need and keeps His word to us as well. Thankfully He has far greater love and mercy, which triumphs over justice. Still sometimes when we sin, the consequences of our sin still reach us. See that it says "The Lord delivered them into his hand..." God is still God in the midst of our circumstances!

The last verse was also interesting...Daniel never got to go home!

I'm currently on the second week of the study, and it's interesting about the four Gentile kingdoms that were to reign before God's kingdom was completely established on earth. Beth Moore showed how those four kingdoms have already come to pass, so we're just waiting for the ending...

So far Daniel has been a challenging study, but I love learning about God's word. May He grant us wisdom, knowledge and discernment (Daniel 2:21).