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: In the study of Daniel chapter six, they say, "Wait a minute. He is coming from Judea. He is merely one of those captives. Oh yeah, he is coming from another land. He is worshipping a strange God. This person becoming our superior? Is he going to be placed above us, above me?" And I believe it was their loss because even if he was coming from another place, if he is a man like Daniel, an honest, genuine man, I would want him at any time to be over me because I know he will treat me right.

But no, jealousy and envy bring about conspiracy. And notice that all of a sudden, when it comes to hatred and enmity, everybody gathers together. They have one common goal. They probably were not so satisfied with each other during the time that they received responsibility, but when it comes to conspiracy against the right man, the man of God, all of a sudden, everybody has one mind.

And so we find out in verse four, the presidents and the princes gathered together, and they sought to find occasion against Daniel. Notice where they wanted to find it. They wanted to find it against Daniel concerning the kingdom. They would look to see how he was treating people. They would find out to see if he was honest in his dealing. They would try to find out if he was maybe giving some favoritism to his family or friends or whatever. They would find some occasion to find some fault in Daniel.

I know some people are going to try to find occasion to find in me. They are going to find plenty. And I am sure, beloved, if they will seek to find occasion with you, I am sure they will find some as well. But the Bible tells us because Daniel is a picture also of the Messiah, of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. And we find out that with Daniel, they couldn't find any occasion of fault against him. They couldn't find it. And it says here, notice the reason it says here in verse four: "Forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him."

I just want for one minute, and more than one minute, to elaborate on the thought: faithful. The word: faithful. I want you to turn to the gospel of Luke for a minute. Put your finger here. Turn to the gospel of Luke chapter 12. Yeshua, Jesus, the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, said many years ago when he was here on earth in chapter 12, speaking with Peter about faithful servants. Peter was speaking to him in verse 41. Luke 12, verse 41. Peter was speaking to the Lord, and he said unto him, "Lord, do you speak this parable unto us, or even unto all?"

Remember, in verse 31, he says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you," and so on. And he speaks about the faithful servants. In verse 37, he says, "Blessed are those servants," and so on. But just go down in verse 42. Listen to what the Lord is saying. And the Lord said, "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord shall make him ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find him so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath."

What we learn here from this chapter and from this passage, verses 41 to 44, is that the Lord Yeshua, God, is really expecting from us simply to be faithful. I remember last night after I finished the Yom Kippur meeting, the Day of Atonement meeting in Toronto, in our outreach Holy Scriptures and Israel Bible fellowship. At the end of the meeting, one lady, one sister, came to me and she told me, "You know, Gideon, many years ago, I felt that unless I lead souls to Yeshua, to the Messiah, unless I make sure that not only that I speak to them, but I push them and I tell them as much as I can that they will come to the Lord, I felt like I was not really pleasing God."

But she said after quite a few years, she discovered that all what God wants from her is to seek to be faithful. She knows that he is going to be the one that is going to bring the increase. And that's what God is expecting from us. He simply wants us to be faithful. It doesn't mean that we are going to succeed in every area to do the very things that we really aim to get to do, but what he is requiring from the believer is to be faithful.

And so he is saying, "Who is he that faithful and wise servant whom his lord shall make him ruler over his household, to give them their portion and meat in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his lord when he cometh shall find him so doing." We have the same responsibility that Daniel has had, and the same thing that the Lord Yeshua is expecting from Peter. We are responsible just to seek to be faithful. We may at times stumble, we may at times go wrong, but if our heart is desiring to be faithful, God is going to bless it and God is going to honor that.

That is what is required from a servant, and that is exactly what Daniel did. He was faithful in whatever responsibility he received from the king, Darius. He was simply faithful. The king told him to do something, he sought to do that with a true heart, faithfully to the Lord and to his master there, the king. And they tried to find faults in him. They could not find them because he was simply faithful.

Turn to first Corinthians also, please, chapter four. First Corinthians chapter four, and verse one and two. "Let a man so account of us as for the servants of Messiah, the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God." Paul is saying to the Corinthians, "Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of the Messiah and stewards of the mystery of God." When people look at us and when people see us and hear us, they can look at us and express that these are the stewards of the mysteries of God. They are representing the Lord Jesus, the mysteries of the Messiah. Now notice what it says in verse two. "Moreover, it is required in stewards or in servanthood that a man be found faithful."

What is required? It's simply required that a man may be found faithful. Every one of us that is in a position of authority, let's say you are a boss in a certain place, you own a store, or you have anything that the Lord has entrusted into your hand and you hire individuals that you are going to entrust them with the work and the responsibility. One thing you at least expect from them: simply do the job that I've entrusted into your hand. That's all.

And when you see some stewards, some servants, doing that faithfully, it's in a natural way that that particular individual becomes that person that you would like to entrust even more. And you are satisfied. You can leave the responsibility in that particular individual and you can go. Your heart and your conscience feel satisfied because you are at peace and you're at ease. The particular steward, servant, or responsible person is going to do the job that I have given unto him. And this is, beloved, exactly what we find in that man by the name of Daniel. They could not find fault in him because he was simply doing his job. He was faithful to the responsibility that he was entrusted to do.

I want you to go back to the book of Acts now. Acts chapter 24 and verse 16. Paul is speaking, and how interesting it is. Look at the kind of a man was the apostle Paul, Sha'ul. His Hebrew name is Sha'ul. "And herein do I exercise myself to have always a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men." The apostle Paul wanted to have a conscience that is void of offense toward God and also toward men. In other words, he wanted to be faithful toward God in his accountability to God and also toward men.

How many times we do not have that kind of a conscience which is void of offense? It is because we have failed. God knows that. And he always can help us and pick us up. He understands and he knows that. He has expected better for us, but nevertheless, we do not have a conscience which is void of offense because of the way we conducted ourselves and the way we behaved.

One more verse before we're going to go back. Philippians, please. Philippians chapter 2, verse 14 and 15. I'm just making this practical application for us because we need that. That's why we have the instruction from the Bible. We learn from a man like Daniel, but how many people are like Daniel? How many people are like Joseph? How many people are like Paul? There are far many in between them. And so these are unique individuals that God has set before us in the Scriptures.

Listen, in Philippians chapter 2, verse 14 and 15, Paul is writing to the Philippians, and he said to them, "Listen, do all things without murmuring and disputings. Stop murmur, stop dispute, do things without murmuring and disputings." And then he said, "That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world."

Do all things without murmuring. Sometimes we wonder, murmuring is the first thing I do in the morning. Sometimes, unfortunately. Complaining, disputings. While the apostle was writing this to Philippians, to believers in a local assembly, apparently they were murmuring and complaining and grumbling among themselves. And he says, "You got to be shining light in a world which is a perverse and crooked nation. And in other words, that you may be blameless and harmless as the sons of God without rebuke."

Oh yes, they were saved. Oh yes, their sins were forgiven. Oh yes, they were going to heaven. But all along the way to heaven, instead of enjoying a relationship with each other, they were fighting and murmuring and complaining, and they could not be a shining light to the world around them. But Daniel, what a lesson we learn from him. They could not find fault with him. He was doing things the right way. He had an excellent spirit. He had an attitude that was very much pleasing to the Lord.

Now go back to Daniel chapter 6. While in verse 4, the presidents and the princes in their jealousy were gathering together. They sought to find an occasion against Daniel. And now notice it says in verse 5, because they could not find any wrong with him concerning the kingdom, so in verse 5, they were saying, "We're going to find some fault with him concerning his God or the law of his God."

Notice verse five says, "Then said these men, 'We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.'" We could not find something wrong with him because in the kingdom he was faithful. Well listen, what we're going to do? We're going to try to find something wrong, some fault in him concerning the laws of his God because he was faithfully occupied with his God, seeking to please his God. They say, "We are going to find something wrong with that particular man somehow. And if we cannot do it against him because of his kingdom, we're going to do it concerning the law of his God."

And so in verse 6, look at the plot against Daniel. In verse 6 we read, "Then these presidents and princes assembled together," I want you again to notice this, they assembled together, "they consented together to the king, and they said thus unto him, 'King Darius, live forever.'" So now notice they all gathered together, the president and the prince. And now they're all coming to the King Darius, and in one accord they are coming united together. And notice how they start: "King Darius, live forever." This is one of the things that they had to say.

And then notice of course in verse 7, the flattery that they give King Darius. They said to him, "All the presidents of the kingdom, and the governors, and the princes, and the counselors, and the captains have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for 30 days, except of thee, oh king, he shall be cast into the den of lions."

I don't know about you, but if somebody going to come to me and say, "Brother Gideon, or Gideon, you know what? Why don't we make a rule, a law in this world that you are the only one that can receive worship and praise?" And the human heart would say, "Wow, I am going to be like God." Everybody cannot worship any other God. They got to worship only me. And that was a flattery to King Darius. He listened to that, and his head got big, if you will. All of a sudden he says, "Wow, I am going to be the one that receive worship."

And by the way, notice how they started with a lie. It says in verse 7, "All the presidents of the kingdom and the governors of the princes." Somebody apparently who was a president was not there. It was not true that all the presidents and all of the kingdom and the governors and the princes have consulted together and the captain. Why it was not true? Because Daniel apparently was not one of them that consulted together with them.

And so what we learn here from this particular verse is that they began with a false representation. They already when they came to him, to the king, and they say the presidents of the kingdom, the governors and the princes and the counselors and the captains have consulted together to establish a royal statute, they really were saying a lie. They were not saying the truth because the "together" here is twice mentioned. In verse 6, they assembled together, and now in verse 7, they consulted together and they approached the king. Apparently all this togetherness had nothing to do with Daniel's involvement, but in fact they were trying to find an occasion to cause this particular man by the name of Daniel to stumble and not to succeed.

Notice what they have said: "To make a firm decree that whosoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for 30 days, for a whole month, except of thee, oh king, he shall be cast into the lions' den." That reminds me exactly of the first verses in the Bible, in actually the earlier verses of Genesis chapter 3, when Satan came to Eve in the garden of Eden and where Satan said to her, "Has God said?" And then she said that God have said not to touch. And then what he said? He said that, "No, you shall be like gods, knowing good and evil." Immediately she was willing to. She thought, "Oh, I'll be like gods knowing good and evil, I'll be able to know good and evil." And she did take of the fruit, and she gave it to her husband and he did eat.

There is something here that we learn because what we learn is exactly what is going to happen in a future day in the tribulation period, when the Antichrist will go into the temple in Jerusalem, into what we call the tribulation temple, and he will sit in the temple and he will claim to be God because he wants to have worship set upon himself.

Turn to second Thessalonians for a minute, chapter 2. Second Thessalonians 2. I'll read from verse one. Paul is writing to the Thessalonians and he says to them, "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled..."