The Lord said to me…”I will test my people with a Plumbline,
Amos 7:8 (TLB)
# 2 Daniel now
of Babylon (Personal History of Daniel)
Daniel 1:3-5 (NLT) 3 Then
the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, to bring to the palace some of
the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been
brought to Babylon as captives. 4 “Select only strong, healthy, and
good-looking young men,” he said. “Make sure they are well versed in every
branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good judgment, and are suited
to serve in the royal palace. Train these young men in the language and
literature of Babylon.” 5 The king assigned them a daily ration of food and
wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for three years, and then
they would enter the royal service.
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| The Alpha and Omega |
These captives
were choice young men both
physically and mentally and as such, they could be an asset to the king’s palace. An attempt was made
to assimilate them into the culture of the court for they were compelled to
learn both the language and the literature of the people among whom
they now dwelt. They were to undergo a rigorous three-year course of training after
which they were to enter the king’s
service. That educational program probably included a study of agriculture,
architecture, astrology, astronomy, law, mathematics, and the difficult
Akkadian language.
No mention was made of how many
captives were taken but four are mentioned here by name because of their later
significant role in Babylon. Because all four bore names that honored Yahweh,
the God of Israel, their names were changed. El means God and -iah (or
-yah) is an abbreviation for Yahweh,
thus suggesting that the young men’s parents were God-fearing people who gave
them names that included references to God.
Daniel 1:6-7 (NLT) 6 Daniel, Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of
Judah. 7 The chief of staff renamed them with these Babylonian names: Daniel
was called Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael was called
Meshach. Azariah was called Abednego.
Daniel, whose name means “God is my
Judge”, was given the name Belteshazzar
(Bēlet-šar-uṣur), which means “Lady,
protect the king.” Hananiah, meaning
(“Yahweh has been gracious”) became Shadrach,
meaning “I am fearful (of a god).”Mishael
(“Who is what God is?”) was given the name Meshach,
which means “I am despised, contemptible, humbled (before my god).” Azariah (“Yahweh has helped”) was renamed
Abednego, “Servant of Nebo” a name
for a Babylonian god.
Thus the chief court official
(Ashpenaz, v. 3) seemed determined to obliterate any testimony to the Living God
of Israel from the Babylonian court. The names he gave the four men signified
that they were to be subject to Babylon’s gods.[1]
We will be studying in our next
edition Daniel’s heartfelt desire NOT to be blended into the Babylonian
culture. The Apostle Paul put it beautifully to the Romans – in Romans 12:2 (NKJV) “…do not be conformed to this world, but
be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that
good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
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