Holy Scriptures and Israel

Guest (Female): Shalom. Holy Scriptures and Israel is a ministry designed to share with the Jewish people the good news of the Lord Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah, and to instruct Christians on the Jewish roots of their faith. And now, teaching God's Word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective, here is Gideon Levytam.

Gideon Levytam: The study of Daniel chapter one. Notice now, go back to Daniel. Not only this, but Nebuchadnezzar knew very well, he said, "If I'm going to get people to be influencing these people to be serving me in the palace," notice now in verse four, he says, "I'm going to teach them heathen wisdom and heathen learning and heathen language."

But not only this, notice what in verse five now, it says, "I'm going to do something else in addition to that. I'm going to give them to eat heathen food, food that had been offered to idols." Notice verse five, and the King appointed them a daily provision of the King's food, the King's meat, it says here, and of the wine that he drank. So, nourishing them for three years, at the end thereof they might stand before the king.

Now, it is common knowledge from historical facts that when the Babylonian kings had their food offered and given to them to eat, it was initially offered to idols, to their gods. So just imagine now, by taking or partaking of the food that had been the King's food that had been offered to idols and giving them after to these Jewish boys, what happened? You become a partaker of the worship, of the idol worship that the Babylonian King, or the King of Babylon, was worshipping.

And this is exactly what he wanted them to do. And I want you again to understand when God had given to Israel as a separated nation, remember Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael are still under the law of God's commandment that God had given to our people. Even though they were punished now with the nation and have gone to Babylon, they are still under the covenant of God that He had given to them, and specifically when it comes to certain foods that they were supposed to eat and not to eat.

And so God said to them in Leviticus chapter 17, certain food they were not supposed to eat, like pig, like certain food that do not chew the cud and do not have a split hoof. And there is a reason for that. The split hoof suggests for us separation. The chewing the cud suggests meditation.

There's a spiritual reason for that as well. And yet, you see these Hebrew boys, if they would take and partake of this food, they would definitely be identifying with the worship of idols, the false gods of the Babylonians. So notice what he's saying. He says, "Not only number one, I'm going to get them saturated with material that had to do with the Babylonian learning. I'm going to teach them a language that they have never learned. But in addition to that, I'm going to feed them with the food that has been offered to my gods."

But not only that, I want you to notice the third thing that they have done. In verse six and seven, he had done the third thing. The third thing that he had done in verse six and seven, he had given them different names. Notice, let me read you verse six and seven. "Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, unto whom the Prince of the Eunuchs gave names. He gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar, and unto Hananiah, Shadrach, and unto Mishael, Meshach, and to Azariah, Abednego."

Now, you see what happened here? What happened? There is a complete conformation, or to be conformed to the Babylonian lifestyle, language, learning, and even the Babylonian names. By the way, if you write down, let me give you the four Hebrew names and their meaning.

Daniel simply means God is my judge. Every time you call Daniel, "Daniel, Daniel," what you really say is "God is my judge." Hananiah, his name means Jehovah is gracious. Hanan-Yah. It's two Hebrew words. Yah stands for Jehovah. Hanan means gracious or merciful. Jehovah is gracious.

Mishael is again, notice just like Daniel, Mishael, the last two letters is El. Mishael means who is what God is. In other words, who is like God? Who is what God is? Mishael. Very close to Michael, or Mikha'el. Who is like unto God? Who is what God is?

And then Azariah, or Azar-Yah, whom Jehovah helps. In other words, Jehovah is helping, a helper. You notice by the way the two of them have the name of El, God. Two of them have the name of Jehovah, Yah. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah. Now notice the change what happened now. Look at what they have done. They said, "If we are going to conform them to becoming like us Babylonians, we are going to not only that we are going to have them in learning in their mind to be fully filled with the learning of the Babylonians.

"We are going to have their mouth filled with the language of the Babylonians. We're going to have their inside filled with the food of the Babylonians that has been offered to idols. But also, whenever we're going to call them, we will have them forget the name of their God, and we're going to give them a name that has to do with the gods that we worship." That's what they are saying.

And so to Daniel, from "God is my judge," they gave him the name Belteshazzar, which is really "May Bel protect his life." Belteshazzar means "May Bel protect his life." To Hananiah, they gave him the name Shadrach. And notice what Shadrach means: command of Aku. One of their gods was Aku. Shadr-Aku comes from the word Aku, command of Aku.

Mishael's name was changed from Mishael to Meshach, from "Who is what God is" to "Who is what Aku is." And Azariah, which means "Whom Jehovah helps," was changed to Abednego, which means "The servant of Nego or Nebo." Some suggest it is Nego-Nebo, should be with a B, the servant of Nebo, one of the gods that the Babylonians did worship.

But what is happening here basically, beloved? These young children were influenced by heathen wisdom and learning, heathen foods and drink, and heathen names. That's exactly what happened. Now you and I, beloved brothers and sisters, as believers today just like Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael are called to have the same call: not to allow the influence of the world to creep into our mind and our thought pattern, because we are no match for the world and its influence and for Satan and his influence.

Now, I want you for a second to turn to one verse so we can have an application. While we are studying Daniel, I want to read Romans chapter 12, just for an application for us, and we're going to go back to Daniel. Romans chapter 12 and verses one and two. And I think it is the same thing what Moses would have said and the leaders of Israel would say to Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael when they had been taken to Babylon.

He would say to them, Romans 12, verses one and two, "I beseech you therefore, brethren," people of Judah he would say to them, "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."

You see, those Jewish boys could say very well, just like you and I can say very well, "We are away from home. Our temple has been destroyed. Our people lost. Our mom and dad do not know where we are. What's the use of maintaining what God told us since anyway we are away from home? Why don't we become like the Babylonians? Why don't we learn their language, learn their books, change our names, eat their food, drink their wine, offer to their gods, and be like them because we anyway lost the battle, we are already in Babylon?"

That's exactly what Nebuchadnezzar wanted them to do. And by the way, that's exactly what the devil wanted them to do. And by the way, that's exactly what the devil wants you and I to do as believers as we are here in this world. That's what the flesh, who is weak, the world and its influence, and Satan and his desires want.

And now you can see that's what makes it so classic, this book and this man by the name of Daniel and those three friends. What makes them so special is the fact that they have trusted in God in the midst of the chaos that they have been under. They still trusted God. That's what makes believers so special in a time of pressure, when they still cling to the truth of the Word of God, no matter what.

How often times we lack spiritual strength when we deviate and we start to say, "Well, you know, what's the use? What's the use?" Now I want you to go back to Daniel chapter one and notice what's happened from verse eight to verse 16. From verse eight to verse 16, this is the third division here. We have really the abstention of Daniel and his friends, or the testing of Daniel and his friends.

Notice from verse eight to 10, the request of the Prince of the Eunuchs. Look what Daniel does, and I think it's so precious. I'm reading Daniel chapter one and verse eight. "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the King's food, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the Prince of the Eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

"Now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the Prince of the Eunuchs. And the Prince of the Eunuchs said unto Daniel, 'I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your food and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? Then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king.'"

Now, you notice that in verse eight, first of all, how beautiful Daniel's commitment not to defile himself. Notice how beautiful. Imagine, this is a young boy. There were many boys and not everyone, by the way, even of the Jewish boys at that time who went to Babylon, not everyone of them made a commitment and devotion to the Lord.

It's a purpose of our heart. "I'm here in Babylon. I cannot change my situation, but a purpose of heart to say, 'Listen, I want to maintain true to God, to the God of my fathers, to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.'" And then Daniel as a young man made a purpose of heart. Imagine the age. If he had been throughout the whole 70 years of the Babylonian captivity, he must have been a very young man, probably 15, 16, maybe even 20 if you want.

The devotion that he had and the commitment to the truth that he had learned from the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And it says here he purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the King's food, nor with the wine which he drank. Just I want to highlight that here for a minute: the purpose of heart.

No matter what the other Jewish boys are going to do, no matter what the other Gentile boys are going to do that have been taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar and his people, Daniel in his own heart says, "It's an individual devotion to the Lord." He purposed in his heart.

It's a New Testament language of exactly what Daniel had done here in verse eight. With all the influence that was coming in his own way, inside King Nebuchadnezzar could not touch the heart. He could feed the mind with learning with the book of the Babylonian. He could even give the food, if you will, he could do everything he could, but he could not change the devotion of the heart of Daniel and his friends.

Do you know somebody had done it very similar? If you just go to the book of Ezra, please, it's after second Chronicles. Ezra chapter seven. Ezra came a little bit later with Israel with a Jewish remnant back to Israel, back to Jerusalem. Ezra was one of these scribes that wanted so badly to restore the law to the people of Israel, that Israel will come under a godly order.

Ezra chapter seven, notice what we read about Ezra in verse 10. "For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments." Notice the same thought here that we have in verse one, "And Ezra had prepared his heart."

That is one of the most important things for those who have gone before us with devotion to the Lord. Where do you think it came from? It didn't come from any human strength. It came from a preparation and a purpose of heart. "God, I want to continue to follow You. I need You to help me because I cannot do it on my own." The same thing we have here in the man by the name of Ezra. He prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, to do it, and also to teach that to Israel.

You know, there is a verse in the book of Proverbs that says that we are to guard our hearts because out of our hearts come the issues of life. That's what the proverb said. And so here is this man that they were so devoted to the Lord, and this is exactly what Daniel, Daniel's commitment not to defile himself from the portion of the King's food.

Now go back to Daniel, please. Daniel chapter one and verse eight. Now notice what does he do. Not only that it says that he purposed in his heart, there was unashamed boldness that he had here. Secondly, notice it's an uncommon standard. He says, "Listen, the King wants to give me the food that is offered to idols. The King wants to give me the wine that is offered to his idols."

He says, "Listen, I do not want to defile myself with the King's food." So what does he do? Notice, he doesn't go about and stand strong and say, "I'm going to fight you." Notice what he does. He is taking it in a gracious way to the one that he was under.

First of all, in verse nine, it tells us it's like a sideline. All of a sudden, you find out that God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the Prince of the Eunuchs. Now, it is amazing that all of a sudden you have here like a little comment here or like a little clause that all of a sudden we read in between the verses.

God says, "Hey, listen. I am the one that's working behind the scenes. I am the one that is in control." You know, sometimes we think that we are in control, but we find out that really behind the scene God is working. God is working. Just the same like in verse two, it says that the Lord gave Jehoiakim the King of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

Here we find in verse nine that God brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the Prince of the Eunuchs. I don't know if Daniel was a lovable person. We know that he was a lovely man, but God made the Prince of the Eunuchs love him tenderly.

In our day-by-day life that we are living, we are going to work, we are going to school, we are rubbing shoulders with people, and God is working behind the scene. God is the one that is in control, even though we should behave properly, and Daniel did behave properly. But in addition to that, God had brought Daniel into favor.

God brought Daniel into favor. God is the one that was working behind the scene on behalf of this man and his three friends: Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael. So notice what Daniel does in verse 10. He is going and it says here in verse 10, he came to the Prince of the Eunuchs and he asked him to do that, that he did not want to eat anything like that.

And so the Prince of the Eunuchs said unto Daniel, he says, "Listen, I might love you, but I have a problem. What is my problem?" He's telling him, he said, "I fear, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your food and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? Then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king."

"I have a problem. Why should I, why should the King look at you and he look at the other children, and if you're not going to receive the food that the King told me to offer you and to give you and you're going to eat vegetables, and then the others will eat proper food, the King's going to find out there is a different look that you have, appearance that you have. You know what the King is going to do to me?" he says, "I'm going to endanger my head to the king."

You know what's going to happen to this guy if the King will find out the wrong that is happening? He's going to chop his head right off his body. So you know what Daniel does? Again, I want you to notice he does not act. He says, "Well, I'm bold. I'm not going to eat it." You know, sometimes we behave... he is very wise and I'm sure he took it to the Lord in prayer.

And notice what he finds in verse 11 now. Verse 11 to verse 16, he gives the request now to another person who was below the Prince of the Eunuchs. It says here in verse 11, he speaks now to the stewards. It says in verse 11, Daniel said unto Melzar—in Hebrew word "melzar" means servant or steward—and he went to the Melzar whom the Prince of the Eunuchs had set over Daniel.

So you see this person was a little bit further than the Prince of the Eunuchs. He went to him and he said to him in verse 12, "Prove your servants, I beseech you, for ten days; and let them give us pulse," vegetables, "to eat, and water to drink." In other words, he just went to him and he said, "You know, try it. Let's see what's going to be the result. Just prove your servants for ten days."

And you know oftentimes the number 10 in the Scriptures had a meaning of responsibility. "Prove us for 10 days," he says, "And you will see the result. Give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. Try us for 10 days." Now apparently that Melzar, or that steward, was a little bit further than the Prince of the Eunuchs, so he would have the... he would try, he's taking a chance.

And it says here in verse 13, "Let our countenance be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the King's food: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants." "Try it and do as it pleases you. You see the results of it and you try, see what's going to happen."

And so in verse 14 now, "He consented to them in the matter, and he proved them for ten days." It's amazing how the Lord even work in a heart of this steward to allow him to agree, to consent to what they have asked for. And he agreed to that and notice now the results, by the way, in verse 15 and 16 of this same portion. Thank you.

Notice the results now in these verses. It says in verse 15 and 16, "Thus Melzar took away the portion of the food, and the wine that they should drink; and he gave them pulse," or vegetables. "As for these children," again I want you to notice, "God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams."

Now you notice by the way that he allowed them to try it in verse 16. He allowed them, he gave them those 10 days at trial. He took away from them the food, he gave them water to drink, he gave them vegetables to eat. And you know, there is a great lesson here. You know just by thinking about food, before the flood came, before the flood came, God gave instruction to Adam and Eve, before the flood, that they could eat all kind of vegetation, whatever they want.

Once the flood came and judgment came upon this world, Noah and his sons came outside and his family came outside of the ark, then God allowed them to eat everything that was on the earth, everything, including pig, including everything. Then the law came and God had allowed Israel to eat only certain food. There are certain food that they were not supposed to eat, Leviticus chapter 17, to our people, and that is found in the Old Testament.

And then once the Messiah came and the age of grace has entered in, then in the book of Timothy, in the fourth chapter, God have allowed us to eat everything again. In every dispensation God have dealt with regard to the food in a different way. Only vegetables before the flood, everything after the flood, certain food to be abstained from in the time of the law, and every good thing that comes from above, God allowed it in this present day, the dispensation of grace, to eat. These boys were still under the law, and they wanted to obey the law that God had given to them. And so by obeying the law, God had brought them into favor and here we find that Melzar, this servant, this person, took away from them the food and the wine.

Guest (Female): You have been listening to Holy Scriptures and Israel with Gideon Levytam. Gideon teaches God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective. For more information about this ministry, write to Holy Scriptures and Israel, Box 1411, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, L0S 1J0. Or visit our website at HolyScripturesandIsrael.com. You are also invited to Gideon's weekly Bible teaching on Fridays at 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM, and Saturdays at 1:00 PM at Willowdale Christian Assembly Hall, 28 Martin Ross Avenue in Toronto. Holy Scriptures and Israel is made possible by your prayers and financial support. If you would like to support the program, visit HolyScripturesandIsrael.com. God bless you. Shalom, Shalom.