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We want to look at the first three verses. Very often in Daniel the chapters don’t allow themselves to be broken up.
I
want us to capture the background and scene here in the first three verses to
begin with. Daniel chapter one is really by way of introduction to the whole
book. We meet the main players and learn much about their character here in
chapter one.
I want to look firstly at
verse number one, I have called it:
Sin and its consequences.
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.
I
am sure many of you are aware of the history of the nation of Israel. If we
considered the life of David you would no doubt have noticed how the first king
of Israel, Saul was a disaster. After Saul, David was eventually proclaimed
King. Following the death of King
David, his son Solomon reigned over Israel. It was a reign of peace and prosperity
however after the death of Solomon a very sad thing happened.
Solomon’s
son Rehoboam was the successor.
Jerobaom came to King Rehoboam with a request.
1 Kings 12:4 Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.
Rehoboam
sought advice, what should he do? He
asked the old men, they advised him to listen to Jeroboam and agree to his
request. Rehoboam also asked those of his own age, they however suggested he
ignore the request and even suggested making things worse. We read of his decision in 1 Kings 12 V 8.
1 Kings 12:8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him:
Israel
became a divided nation. The northern ten tribes made Samaria their capital and
proclaimed Jeroboam as king. Judah and
the Benjamites remained loyal to King Rehoboam. Sadly we live in a day when the
counsel often of the old and spiritually mature is neglected and many who are
young and immature spiritually, seem to know what is best, no wonder the church
is so divided in these days.
Assyria
took the northern ten tribes captive. In Daniel one we read about the tribes of
Judah and Benjamin being carried away captive by the Babylonians.
I
want us not only to see what has happened but also to ask the question
why? Why did God permit his people to
be carried away into this pagan, idolatrous and wicked land?
There are two reasons why God punished the Jews, why he allowed this to happen.
1.
The word of God.
2.
The worship of God.
Firstly
they disobeyed the word of God.
Leviticus
25:1-4 And the Lord spake unto Moses
in mount Sinai, saying, [2] Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto
them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a
sabbath unto the Lord. [3] Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years
thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; [4] But in the
seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord:
thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
This
was known as the law of the land. The land should be worked for six years and
on the seventh year the land should be allowed to rest. God promised then that they would have
enough that he would supply their needs.
This was God’s “ set a side “ plan. Notice the
attached promise in Leviticus Chapter Twenty-Six.
Leviticus 26:2-4 Ye shall
keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord. [3] If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my
commandments, and do them; [4] Then I will give you rain in due season, and the
land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their
fruit.
God
warns them again in Leviticus chapter
twenty-six that they would
suffer if they disobey the word of God, he would punish them and they would
experience affliction.
For
four hundred and ninety years Israel knew better than God. They worked the land and ignored the Sabbath
year. It seemed more profitable; it made more sense. Surely they must have
figured that God would understand and he would over look their sin.
God however took
his Sabbaths let’s read 2 Chronicles 36.
2
Chron. 36:20-21 And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to
Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the
kingdom of Persia: [21] To fulfil the word of the Lord by the mouth of
Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay
desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.
Someone
described unconfessed sin like a bullet in the body. You will not have strength
or power until it is removed. If we had a bullet lodged in us we would want
surgery. Do we need spiritual surgery?
Sin is serious lets treat it so.
There
is another reason why God allowed them to be taken captive. It was due to their worship, or the object of their worship.
Jeremiah
25:6 And go not after other gods to
serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of
your hands; and I will do you no hurt.
Idol
worship is condemned in the Ten Commandments. Every Jew would have known this
but for years they had dabbled in idol worship. God warned them to turn from
their ways but they would not listen.
Jeremiah 25:8-9 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts;
Because ye have not heard my words, [9] Behold, I will send and take all the
families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon,
my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants
thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy
them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.
Do you see what God is doing here? He sends them into the land of Babylon the idolatrous capital of the world.
When
my son Matthew was about eight, he came into my study one day and said, “Daddy, you are reading a book called two
baby lions.” It was of course ‘The Two Babylons.’
Even
a cursory read of Alex Hislops’ book, ‘The
Two Babylons,’ will leave you
in no doubt that every idolatrous system in the world had its roots in Babylon.
It was the centre of mother and child worship, they celebrated Ishtar before
which they had a forty day fast. Do you see how the Church of Rome with its
worship of Mary and lent have borrowed much from Babylon? You would read about prayers for the dead
and even the very title of the Pope and so much more all can be traced back to
Babylon.
Let
me just mention something here in passing. There is a parable the Lord told in
Matthew chapter twelve about a man who got rid of an unclean spirit by his own
efforts.
Matthew 12:43-44
When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places,
seeking rest, and findeth none. [44] Then he saith, I will return into my house
from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and
garnished.
All
looked rosy. Compare this with Israel who were now rid of idols, swept and
garnished and yet when the Messiah came they rejected him. Sadly in a coming
day there is another messiah, the false messiah, the antichrist and him they
will accept initially. We will say much more about him later in this
study.
Matthew 12:45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself
seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell
there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it
be also unto this wicked generation.
Even
worse, they have no idols but accepting the Antichrist. There is surely another
practical lesson for us, sometimes we ask God for something and in spite of his
denials we keep on asking and asking, really we are determined to do our own
thing am go our own way all we want is God’s approval. Perhaps God will let you
have your own way do your own thing, in order that he might teach us a lesson.
Don’t dabble in the world God may give you your fill of it.
Worldly saints do not
capture the world but are captured by the world.
Let
us now consider verse two:
The Sovereign Controller.
Daniel 1:2 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.
I
should perhaps mention what some call discrepancies first of all. Let us read a
part of Isaiah’s prophecy for a moment.
Isaiah 39:5-6 Then said
Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: [6] 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.
Notice
in verse six it say “all that is in thine house” whereas in Daniel Chapt. 1 v 2
It reads, “ “Part of the vessels”. The
Babylonian captivity was over three stages, Daniel was part of the first
removal from the land, it wasn’t until Zedekiah was king that Isaiah’s prophecy
was completely and literally fulfilled.
While
we are on the subject of so called discrepancies compare the following two
verses.
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.
Jeremiah 25:1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning
all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king
of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon;
It was a well-known fact that the Babylonians didn’t count the first year of accession to the throne. That explains another so-called discrepancy. Let us move on as we consider verse two.
Daniel 1:2 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.
We
read what the Babylonians did in verse two, how they came and took away the
captives and some of the vessels from the house of God. Eventually they took all of Judah into
captivity. The Babylonians gave the credit to their gods. Did you notice the
reference to “his god” at the end of verse two? Look at the first four words of
verse two, “And the Lord gave.” Do you see who is really in control? Praise God
for he is always on the throne. He is sovereign and we will discover that God’s
sovereignty is a major theme of this book.
To
convince one of the sovereignty of God in this matter consider the book of
Jeremiah 25 v 9. Notice what Jeremiah called Nebuchadrezzar.
Jeremiah 25:9 Behold, I will
send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadrezzar
the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and
against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and
will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and
perpetual desolations.
Nebuchadrezzar
was but a pawn in the hand of an Almighty God. Consider some other supporting
scriptures in Daniel driving home the fact of the sovereignty of God.
Daniel 2:21 And he changeth the times and the seasons:
he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and
knowledge to them that know understanding:
Daniel 4:17 This matter is by the decree of the
watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the
living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to
whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.
Paul
reminds us of the same truth in the New Testament.
Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher
powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of
God.
Oh yes God is in control. The great potentate and King of kings is our friend. We have no need to fear for truly, Our God Reigns.
E l Langston said, “ The book of Daniel should be the text book of every modern politician.”
Recently
again there has been accusations of cash for questions in the British Houses of
Parliament. Lobby groups who have the Minister or MP’s ear, will sell that
privilege for a few pounds. “I will mention it to the minister or member
and he will raise it in the house.”
Are
you worried about Ulster? You could speak to the Lord about it. No lobbyist and no priests required. There
is only one mediator, the man Christ
Jesus and it doesn’t cost one penny.
Incidentally
in verse two the word used for Babylon is ‘Shiner’
the same word is found in Genesis, where we read about Nimrod and the Tower
of Babel, another point to emphasise the idolatry of Babylon.
Let us now look at
verse three:
Satan
and the Children.
Daniel 1:3 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;
Nebuchadnezzar
asks his prince to select some special children. The word children here is
misleading, it actually means youths. Daniel’s age has been stated as ranging
from thirteen up to twenty, most agree he was in his mid to late teens. That means that Daniel just like Joseph was
in his teens when he took his stand for the Lord. How God could really use
young people, and well Satan knows this. This is why they are the objects of
much of Satan’s interest.
Notice
from verse three that it wasn’t just any children that the King wanted. They
had to be of the King’s seed. Look
again at Isaiah’s prophecy.
Isaiah 39:7 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.
Look
again at verse three of Daniel one.
Daniel 1:3 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;
It
was the master of the eunuchs who brought the children. Don’t read too much
into the word eunuch, it may only mean noble. The thing is this prophecy was
fulfilled literally. These young ones were of royal dissent, they had royal
blood in their veins. They were heirs probably of King Hezekiah. Perhaps
Nebuchadnezzar wanted them as hostages to stop any royal uprising. Maybe, as he
watched the young royal it would remind him of his victory and act as an ego
booster. Or he just wanted good quality servants.
This
is a reminder of how important children are to Satan’s plans. We are the
children of God and heirs of a king.
Romans 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs
with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified
together.
Satan
has much to keep young people from Christ. The drugs, the alcohol, the immoral
living. So many are now just living in sin. Can you imagine the difficulty in
trying to win them to Christ? Praise
God the word impossible is not in God’s dictionary. Satan has a special interest in the young Christian because he
knows what a young life surrendered to God could do and he knows the power of a Godly testimony. If
we could find young men and women interested in the word of God and having a
real zeal for the work of God, a love for the lost souls, what a work they
could do, how God could really use and bless them.
It
is important that we try and reach young people with the gospel. It’s great when we see them saved but it is
just as important to try and teach them from the word of God because Satan
hasn’t finished with them.
A
lady was once typing a book about the Devil.
She said to the author,” I am finished with the Devil.” He replied, “ He is not finished with
you.” Because you’re saved doesn’t end
his interest, he cannot touch your soul but he can hinder your walk and destroy
your testimony. Satan is interested in
young people; he is interested in young Christians. May this encourage us to
watch and pray for our young folks.
I
believe today we are realising how successful Satan has been. Why are so many
young Christians drifting from church to church, from fad to fad? Why do they
seem to accept everything without question? Why have the churches been robbed
of their youth? There has been a lack of understanding by young people of
essential doctrines in the word of God and there doesn’t seem to be any
conviction about anything. This is perhaps due to poor teaching or maybe mature
Christians have shown no interest in them at all, or perhaps they have been
distracted by entertainment. Satan has
an interest in young Christians and how he has way led so many of them.
When a baby is
born the family rejoice but they don’t leave it to feed itself they don’t say,
“There you are baby get yourself some food, go and look a job.” They care and
protect and feed the child. That is what we must do for the newly born child of
God.
1 Peter 2:2 As
newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
The work among the
young people is very often treated as a necessary evil and any who are willing
will get the job. Sadly this is the
case in many places, how important is it to teach the young that they may be
helped as they move on to other areas
We have considered
the following, Sin and its consequences, the Sovereign Controller and Satan and
the children.
A young man was
looking at a crooked tree on one occasion.
Someone said, “ Why is that tree so crooked and twisted?” The answer
was “Someone stepped on him when he was
a little fellow.” May we be careful in shaping our young people and our
children for God?
I
think of the words of Joseph who is a wonderful type of the Lord Jesus.
Genesis
42:20 But bring your youngest brother unto me;
Let’s
not leave the youngest brother behind.
Email Pastor Ian Wilson
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