Daniel 2:1-49

 Daniel 2:1-49 (ESV) "In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. And the king said to them, 'I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.' Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, 'O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.' The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, 'The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. But if you show the dream and its interpretation.' They answered a second time and said, 'Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.' The king answered and said, 'I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm- if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.' The Chaldeans answered the king and said, 'There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.' Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. He declared to Arioch, the king's captain, 'Why is the decree of the king so urgent?' Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. And Daniel went in and requested the king to approach him a time, that he might show interpretation to the king. Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said: 'Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness and the light dwells with him. To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter.' Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: 'Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.' Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him: 'I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.' The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, 'Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?' Daniel answered the king and said, 'No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made know to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.' 'You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.' 'This was the dream. Now we tell the king its interpretation. You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all-you are the head of gold. Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix wiht one another in marriage, but the will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.' Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. The king answered and said to Daniel, 'Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.' Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king's court."

Clues to interpretation...

Vs.28 "What will be in latter days..."

Vs 29 "What is to be..."

Vs 42 "God has made known to the King what shall be after this."

So the interpretation is about

    1. Future events

    2. Future kingdoms

The dream addresses 5 kingdoms, described as parts of a image...

    1. Head of gold

    2. Chest of silver

    3. Belly and thighs of bronze

    4. legs of iron (feet mixed with clay)

Universal interpretation....almost

    1. Gold head is Babylon

Daniel 2:38 (ESV)  "and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all-you are the head of gold." Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom would stand for 60 years. The empire fell to Cyrus the Great in 539 B.C.

    2. Silver chest is the Medo-Persian Empire

 (Bible characters in this empire...Cyrus/Darius/Xerxes/Artaxerxes) It was prophesied by Daniel/2 Chronicles/Ezra/Isaiah. This empire lasted about 200 years.

    3. Bronze belly is the Greco-Macedonian Empire (Greeks). 

Alexander the Great was able to conquered from (present day) Yugoslavia to India. He died in 323 B.C (at the age of 32). The kingdom was divided among 4 generals slowly, gradually fell to Rome-lasted 250-300 years.

    4. Legs of Iron (feet mixed with clay) is the Roman Empire. 

This empire was very powerful. However it had many weakness and fell apart by internal decay. Daniel 2:42-43 (ESV) "And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay." The empire's weakness included moral decay/political corruption/unemployment in the middle class (due to excessive slavery)/high taxes to support military (a vast empire)/eventual invasions by Germanic tribes/ the rise of Christianity which opposed many Roman practices and traditions.

This leads to the 5th kingdom...The Kingdom of God 

The big question... Daniel 2:44 (ESV) "And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever."  Who are those Kings?

Theologians differ...    

    1. 10 toes are the 10 Emperors of the Roman Empire (Past/fulfilled)

or 2. 10 European nations that come from the Roman Empire (future/not yet fulfilled)

OR... 1. Was God's Kingdom established during Roman era- in reference to Christ's 1st coming (the birth of Christ/eventual success of the Kingdom)

OR... 2. Smashing of Kingdoms is still in the future; fulfilled at the 2nd coming of Christ

So God's Kingdom came gradually or suddenly.

Gradual...

Daniel 2:35b (ESV) "But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth."

Matthew 13:31-33 "He put another parable before them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.' He told them another parable. 'The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.'

In 313 AD edict of Milan legalized Christianity in Rome. 380 AD edict of Thessalonica Christianity became the state religion of Rome

Sudden....

Matthew 24:27 (ESV) "For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man."

1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 (ESV) "Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, 'There is peace and security, ' then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape."

It is both the growth of the kingdom over time and the 2nd coming of the Lord.  

The "toes" are not explained. It could be fulfilled or not yet 

Revelation 17:12-14 (ESV) "And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beasts. These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beasts. They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful."

So the debate continues...but there is no debate on the primary message.

Daniel 2:44 (ESV) "And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,"

God's Kingdom....

1. Shall never be destroyed.

2. Shall not be left to "another people".

3. Shall put all earthly kingdoms to an end.

4. It shall stand forever.

Application

    1. When things looked hopeless (for God's people) God gave us a vision of a future hope!

Jeremiah 27:5 (ESV) "It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me."

We Christians are recipients of that HOPE!

    2. Many powers have ruled...but all human kingdoms fall!

Matthew 16:18 (ESV) "Simon Peter replied, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the /living God.'"

Babylon/Persian/Greece/Rome/Nazi Germany & Japan/ Russia/ China/USA will fall before God.

No human kingdom will stand before God. God has an orchestrated plan.

    3. Word events (bad news) should not bring Christians to despair! 

Isaiah 46:8-10 (ESV) "Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purposes,"

Isaiah 46:11b (ESV) "I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it."

    4. God is in no hurry to establish His final kingdom. 

These events occurred 2600 years ago (600 years before Christ). All these kingdoms oppressed the Jews. 400 years of silence before Messiah. We are in a hurry, but God is not.

    5. You want to be apart of THAT Kingdome  (God's Kingdom/Eternal Kingdom)

    6. You CAN be apart of that Kingdom!

John 1:11-13 (ESV) "He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."

John 3:5-7 (ESV) "Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again.'"

Closing Scripture: Hebrews 12:28 (ESV) "Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,"

Daniel 1: Conviction, Courage, and Confidence

 Recap: Judah was invaded in 605 B.C. many were sent off into exile in Babylon. Jeremiah 52:28-30 (ESV) "This is the number of the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year, 3,023 Judeans; in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem 832 persons; in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Judeans 745 persons; all the persons were 4,600." 2 Kings 24 tells us that 10,000 men were taken into exile. Only a few Judeans were left in Jerusalem. 50-75 young men were taken and enrolled into "The University of Babylon". It was hoped that these men would learn how to be Babylonians and would teach the other exiles how to be Babylonians.

Daniel 1:8 (ESV) "But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself."

I. Conviction 

We can learn a lot from Daniels conviction. Daniel was given a clear command, but chose not to eat from the king's table. Why? This food had been offered up to idols first, not "clean" it did not meet God's dietary restrictions for his people. Daniel and his friends would not defile their bodies. 

Christians must stand for truth. Some have gotten wishy washy on this.

James 4:4 (ESV) "You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." 

Proverbs 25:26 (ESV) "Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked."

Do not apologize for God! We don't have authority to change God's word, nor should we want to. We  should honor God. Daniel didn't sugarcoat it. He says the food/wine would defile his body. He stood for truth.

    A. Conviction can make life hard 

    Daniel 1:9-10 (ESV) "And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, 'I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.'"

The eunuch thinks he will be harmed if Daniel and his friends don't eat from the king's table. Daniel's plan is that they only eat veggies and water for 10 days. He wasn't planning on this diet forever. Daniel did uncommon things with great results...Faithfulness

Eric Liddel- the pride of Scotland- in 1924 refused to race on Sundays. People did not understand his conviction.

Jaelene Hinkle a US female soccer player. Was chosen to play for the US National team. She decided that she could not wear a "Pride" jersey with the rest of the team in 2017. She believed it went against her beliefs. Jaelene was removed from the US National team and never played for the US. 

We may not always see it, but God honors obedience.

John 14:23 (ESV) "Jesus answered him, 'If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him."

Do we make compromises?

II. Courage 

Daniel had an uncommon courage. He brought a request before an evil king. Only one boy was willing to act upon his belief.

    A. Courage comes from a clean conscience

Proverbs 28:1 (ESV) "The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion."

Our problem is that we don't have a clear conscience. How do we get a clean conscience?

1 John 1:9 (ESV) "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Proverbs 28:13 (ESV) "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy."

Repentance leads to life- Acts 11:18 (ESV) "When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, 'Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.'"

Disobedience leads to deceit and kills relationship with God and people.  Luke 13:3&5 (ESV) "No , I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." "No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

    B. Courage comes from time with the King

Who kneels before God can stand before any man. Daniel a man of prayer we will see late at the lion's den, but we see the effects of it here. Do we really spend time with God? Do we really know him? Is his Spirit really working in us?

2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV) "for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."

Courage comes from confidence that God will deliver.

III. Confidence 

Daniel 1: 11-13 (ESV) "Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 'Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king's food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see."

Daniel was saying that they were going to honor God and then they could test them and see if they were better off. God was working through Ashpenaz (the eunuch). He had guts. He could have been killed if Daniel wasn't stronger than the others. God is working even when it doesn't seem like it. Daniel knew that God was going to come through. We do that when we tithe. We trust God to provide. We do that when we share the Gospel with someone. In Daniel 3 we see that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stand up to the king and say that they would not bow down to him, but they would honor God even if he didn't rescue them.

Daniel 1:14-16 (ESV) "So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food. so the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables."

George Muller 1800's Germany/England built 5 orphanages in England. He helped thousands of orphans, gave away 250,000 bibles. He paid tuition for hundreds of children to go to school. During his lifetime in answer to prayer he raised the equivalent of $129,000,000 which he gave away, and when he died he had only a little money left. The trust he set up continues to support missionaries around the world. It also holds the record for the most of nearly 18,000 children cared for during the 150 year life of the orphanage. One morning, Muller awoke to the news that the orphanage, which housed 300 children, had no food. Muller instructed the housemother to seat all the children in the dining room. He thanked God for the food, and they waited for God to provide, as He always did. With in minutes, a baker knocked at the door, "Mr. Muller", he confessed, "last night, I could not sleep. Somehow, I knew that you would need bread this morning. I got up and baked three batches for you. I will bring it in." The next knock revealed a milkman whose cart was broken down in front of the orphanage. The milk would spoil by the time the cart was fixed, the milkman explained, so would the children like some free milk? Mr. Muller helped 10,024 orphans during his life time. When children became old enough to be independent, Muller prayed with each individually, placing a Bible in their right hand and money in their left. He explained to the children that if they held onto what was in their right hand, God would always make sure something was in their left.

Daniel 1:17-21 (ESV) "As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus."

The Revelation of God is ALWAYS better than the wisdom of men.

The Babylonians were skilled, but they could not understand the dreams of the king. God gave Daniel the gift of interpreting dreams.

Proverbs 30:5 (ESV) "Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him."

1 Corinthians 1:20 (ESV) "Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?"

1 Corinthians 1:25 (ESV) "For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."

We are not smarter than God. Seek to honor God and trust him with the result. Confess...repent...spend time with God....trust him...stand firm....be courageous.

Closing Scripture

Psalms 147: 7-11 (ESV) "Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre! He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills. He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry. His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love."

Daniel 1: The Exile Begins

 Through bible stories we see God's faithfulness played out in people's lives. We can learn so much through much these stories.

Daniel was taken captive around 605 B.C. . He was a teenager. Israel was divided into the 10 northern tribes (Israel) and the 2 southern tribes (Judah). The northern tribes had been taken into exile by the Assyrians 100 years earlier.

Daniel 1:1-2 (ESV) "In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim King of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god."

Why would God do this to his people? The people had become so wicked to the point of child sacrifice. The leadership was wicked, there was no justice. They were defying God's law of the sabbath, they were mocking the prophets.

Psalms 106:37 (ESV) "They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons;"

Jeremiah 25:3-11 (ESV) "For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, to this day, the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken persistently to you, but you have not listened. You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the LORD persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets, saying, 'Turn now, every one of you, from his evil way and evil deeds, and dwell upon the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers from of old and forever. Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, or provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.' Yet you have not listened to me, declares the LORD, that you might provoke me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm. 'Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the LORD, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. Moreover, I will banish from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the grinding of the millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years."

I. God used the wicked to discipline his people. 

He can still do that. We are not promised smooth sailing. We should always examine our lives and repent when we are wrong.

II. God disciplines his people out of love and for their good.

Jeremiah 24:4-7 (ESV) "Then the word of the LORD came to me: 'Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not pluck them up."

The exiles would ultimately be blessed. God was wanting his people to love him more.

Proverbs 3:11-12 (ESV) "My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights."

God has a good plan. We may not always see it in the moment, but we will see that his plan works.

Matthew 10:28 (ESV) "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

III. Fear God Most  

We as believers need to fear God the most. We need to respect and honor our leaders but our highest/ultimate allegiance should be to God.

Daniel was taken captive during the first exile. The Babylonians would return twice more and destroy the city and the temple during the 3rd siege. The "land of Shinar" was the location of Babel in Genesis 11:2 and is modern day Iraq. They were ruled by a pagan king who worship Marduk/Bel who was the chief god and accompanied by a serpent/dragon. They took the items from the temple in Jerusalem and used to serve food and wine in the pagan temples. God's plan was to discipline his people and to eventually humble the Babylonians. God is working even when it seems like he is not.

Daniel 1:3-4 (ESV) "Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans."

The boys that were taken captive and sent into exile may have been descendants of King Hezekiah.

Isaiah 39:7 (ESV) "And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."

Isaiah warned the people of Judah. These boys were nobles and the best of the best. They were handsome, intelligent, teachable. The plan of the Babylonians was to change these boys to fit their society and then influence the other exiles. They tried to take their identity in God and enrolled them into the "University of Babylon" where they stripped them of their identities, changed their names, their diets, and tried teaching them the "ways of the Babylonians" and the Babylonian world view. These boys were taught the language and literature of the Chaldeans, divination and knowledge.

The Babylonians were known for:

- Tracking and plotting of the stars. They believed that the stars could predict things. Some believe that the Magi that came at Jesus' birth were from Babylon.

- They were know to study sheep liver markings to determine the future.

- They kept detailed records of the dreams of royalty and would match them up with events that happened to find a connection. Divine communication.

- God can interpret dreams. He did that with Joseph in Egypt and with Joseph and Mary before Jesus' birth. Here he did that with Daniel. There is no doubt teachings and practices contradicted YHWH. 

- The point of this was to strip the identity and give them a new identity. This is the goal of Satan today through social media, the media to get people to stop identifying with the truth. 

Daniel 1:5-7 (ESV) "The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego."

These boys names were "God honoring" like "God is my judge" and the Chaldeans gave them names in which they twisted them to say the similar thing but to honor their gods Abu, Bel and Nebo. They were stripping their identities and mocking them, their God, their families, their heritage. The enemy loves to confuse and harm youth.

IV. Are we preparing our children for opposition? 

It is real easy to become complacent where we live, because we don't see the threat. Our kids will fight some of these things.

Proverbs 22:6 (ESV) "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."

V. Are we prepared for opposition? 

Are we firm in our faith? It is important to train our children, but also ourselves.

1 Peter 5:8-9 (ESV) "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world."

Ephesians 6:10-13 (ESV) "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm."

The best way to prepare is to REALLY know God, spend time getting to know truth and the one who gives truth.

VI. How do we prepare? 

We need accountability. We need to be plugged into Sunday School, plug into groups at church. 

There weren't many that stood firm, but these 4 boys did.

Daniel 1:8 (ESV) "But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself."

If there was ever a time for Daniel to go along to get along in would be at this time, but Daniel did not.

Lord, help us to be faithful, stand firm in the faith, turn from our sin and to you. Let us grow together.

Closing Scripture

Ephesians 6:14-18 (ESV) "Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and , as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,"