Holy Scriptures and Israel

Guest (Male): 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: In our study of Daniel Chapter 1, we see that the Lord told the people of Israel they would come under a godly order. In Ezra Chapter 7, Verse 10, we read about Ezra, who prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, to do it, and to teach Israel statutes and judgments. Ezra had prepared his heart, which is one of the most important things for those who have gone before us with devotion to the Lord. This did not come from human strength; it came from a preparation and a purpose of heart. Ezra was saying, "God, I want to continue to follow you. I need you to help me because I cannot do it on my own."

We find the same thing in Daniel. He prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, to do it, and also to teach that to Israel. There is a verse in the book of Proverbs that says we are to guard our hearts because out of our hearts come the issues of life. In Daniel Chapter 1, Verse 8, Daniel had a commitment not to defile himself with the portion of the king's food. He demonstrated unashamed boldness and an uncommon standard. The king wanted to give him food and wine that were offered to idols, and Daniel did not want to defile himself with those things.

Daniel did not go about it by acting strong or saying he would fight them. He took a gracious approach to the one he was under. In Verse 9, it tells us that God brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. It is amazing that in between the verses, we read how God is the one working behind the scenes. God is the one in control. Just as in Verse 2, where it says the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, in Verse 9, we find that God brought Daniel into favor and tender love.

In our day-to-day lives, we go to work and school, rubbing shoulders with people, but God is working behind the scenes. He is the one in control. Daniel behaved properly, and in addition to that, God brought him into favor. In Verse 10, when he came to the prince of the eunuchs and asked not to eat the king's food, the prince expressed his concern. He said, "I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink. For why should he see your faces worse-looking than the children who are of your sort? Then you shall make me endanger my head to the king."

If the king found out something wrong had happened, he would chop the prince's head right off his body. Daniel was very wise and took the matter to the Lord in prayer. In Verse 11, he speaks to the steward, or Melzar in Hebrew, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over him. He went to the steward and made a request in Verse 12: "Prove your servants, I beseech you, for ten days; and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink." He told him to try it and see what the result would be.

Oftentimes in the scriptures, the number ten has a meaning of responsibility. Daniel said, "Prove us for ten days, and you will see the result." In Verse 13, he suggested that their countenances be looked upon after those ten days and compared with the children who ate the portion of the king's food. The steward was willing to take the chance. In Verse 14, he consented to them in this matter and proved them for ten days. It is amazing how the Lord worked in the heart of this steward to allow him to agree and consent to what they asked.

Notice the results in Verses 15 and 16. Melzar took away the portion of food and the wine they were supposed to drink and gave them pulse, or vegetables. As for these children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. There is a great lesson here just by thinking about food. Before the flood, God gave instruction to Adam and Eve that they could eat all kinds of vegetation. Once the flood and judgment came upon this world, God allowed Noah and his family to eat everything on the earth.

Then the Law came, and God allowed Israel to eat only certain foods. There were foods they were not supposed to eat, as found in Leviticus. Once the Messiah came and the age of grace entered in, God allowed us to eat everything again, as noted in the book of Timothy. In every dispensation, God dealt with food in a different way: only vegetables before the flood, everything after the flood, certain foods to be abstained from under the Law, and every good thing from above during this present day of grace.

These boys were still under the Law and they wanted to obey the law God had given to them. By obeying the Law, God brought them into favor. Melzar took away the food and wine and gave them vegetables to eat. God worked in a mysterious way. Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, did not need to lose their lives because the steward allowed them not to eat that food. In the final portion of the chapter, from Verse 17 to 21, we see the blessing that Daniel received.

There is a summary of what God gave these four Jewish boys: knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom. Daniel was specifically distinguished because he received understanding in all visions and dreams. This is important because Daniel would later be the one to provide the interpretation for various visions and dreams that King Nebuchadnezzar would have. God gave him a specific ability for that. In Verse 18, after their three years of training, the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before King Nebuchadnezzar.

In Verse 19, the king communed with them. Among them all, none were found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore, they stood before the king. After three years of eating only vegetables and drinking water, nobody could be compared to these four Jewish boys. Some might suggest that we should not eat meat anymore and should only eat vegetables, but the lesson here is that obedience is better than sacrifice. This is not about vegetables being better than meat. We learn that lesson elsewhere.

When we obey the word of God, God is going to enable us to succeed and be blessed. For reference, in 1 Samuel Chapter 15, we remember King Saul. Instead of killing Agag and all the Amalekites, he took the animals and kept them, disobeying the word of the Lord. In Verse 22, Samuel said to King Saul, "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams."

Obedience is a beautiful principle. God desires obedience from His people. We might give him gifts and do many things in action, supposedly sacrificing for the Lord, and yet remain disobedient. God desires obedience above all. Remember when Cain brought a sacrifice of vegetables to God and God did not accept him? Cain should have obeyed God and brought the offering God wanted him to bring, which was the blood sacrifice. Obedience speaks to us of the person of the Messiah, Yeshua, who was the only man who totally and completely obeyed God to the fullest.

By obeying the Law, God blessed Daniel and his friends. In Verse 19, the king began to speak with these boys. No one was found to be like them because they obeyed the word of the Lord. They said that even if they were away from home, their country, their city, the temple, and their parents, they would still seek to obey God. In Verse 20, the king found the Hebrew boys were ten times better in all matters of wisdom and understanding than all the magicians and astrologers in his realm.

The king was so pleased that he gave them a position in the palace of the Babylonian kingdom. In Verse 21, the closing remark says that Daniel continued even unto the first year of King Cyrus. The first year of King Cyrus was when he gave the challenge to the Jewish people for whoever among them had it on their heart to return to the land to rebuild the city and the temple. That was about 70 years later. Daniel continued throughout those 70 years until the Babylonian kingdom ended and King Cyrus the Persian became the next king.

Daniel received such a privilege because of his simple obedience to the word of God. There are two lessons we can learn from this chapter. The first is that there is always going to be a remnant among the Jewish people in every generation. While the rest were taken to Babylon, there was a remnant of faithful, believing Hebrews. Even in this present generation, the days of grace, there is always a believing remnant among the Jewish people. Romans 11 says that God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew.

Just as in the time of Elijah, when God reserved 7,000 men who had not bowed the knee to Baal, in this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. The Jewish believers are the remnant of this present day. The second lesson is that the remnant of Israel always suffers the fate of Israel the nation. Even if they are believers, they will still suffer. Daniel and his friends were godly young men who loved and obeyed the God of Israel, but they were doing so in Babylon.

They did not remain in Jerusalem. Jeremiah and Ezekiel also suffered the fate of the rest of the nation. It has been recorded that six million Jewish people died in the Holocaust in Europe, and 250,000 of them were believers in Jesus the Messiah. Approximately one-quarter of a million Jewish people who believed Yeshua was the Messiah suffered. There will always be a remnant who will believe and follow God, and they will suffer the consequences when the whole nation is punished. Yet they remained faithful in the midst of the trial. Daniel and his three friends obeyed God, and because of their faithfulness, God blessed them and promoted them to a favored place. Obedience is better than sacrifice.

Guest (Male): You have been listening to the 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!