Daniel Part #1-Attack on ID in a Bad Harvest 2-15-09
Daniel Part #1
Attack on Identity in the
Midst of a Bad Harvest
2-15-09
Has happened often in my 20+ years of ministry
· Counseling
· Reap what sowed—ignore God’s laws—ouch
· Need to Outlast old harvest—take time—
· Sow for NEW harvest—grace released into present harvest
Going to look at Daniel and friends—Daniel Chapter 1
· Fascinating study—outlasting bad harvest
· Navigating hostile season
o US/world—bad harvest
o US/world—hostile season
o War natural—spiritual
Daniel and friends give us keys to understand how war is working (develop)
· In middle of outlasting old harvest
· Sowing for new one
· God met them in POWERFUL ways
Historically—II Chron rebellion
· Cultivates Captivity
· Babylon—lies
More than just bad harvest
· Babylon poised to ERADICATE their
o Faith—identity—all hope
o Absorb nation—ASSIMILATE
Resistance is FUTILE—reaping a bad harvest
But God had a plan
· Had not abandoned—even in midst of bad harvest—still working
· Keys in lives of Daniel and friends are powerful for us today
Some of you in bad harvest—
* God says, ‘I have a way out for you . . .’
Two Strategies in Daniel:
· The Enemy’s STRATEGY TO DESTROY
· God’s Strategy to Protect Advance
3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility— 4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.b 5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service. [1]
Came against the young generation of leaders
· Enemy attacks youth—Emerging generation of leaders
· Young men—smart—teens—leader
· Nebuchadnezzar targeted the EMERGING leaders of Judah
- One of the most effective ways to subdue a NATION is to steal the emerging generation and MENTOR them in the ways of the captors
- They gut their leadership structures by stealing the very best
- Cut OFF from FAMILY—From GOD
- And bringing them into false alignment with lies
- Over time Old die—young rise up—lead new GENERATION
Classic scheme of enemy today:
· Fragment youth
· Separate them from God/family
· Mentor them in sin and deception—MTV—Reality TV
· Watch society change
o America’s 60’s
o Reaping fruit
o Parents: Can’t be PASSIVE
o Young People: can’t be passive
When you grab them young
· Can exploit--manipulate
· Hitler started with youth--and almost conquered all the major nations of the western world
Obviously, attack on youth
· Fracture—destroy families
· Bring false mentors—education—media—false family structures
That’s why at River
· Strengthen family—generations
· YM/YW—mentoring opportunities—AWANAS
How does enemy work?
· Target youth—maybe you’re not so young
· Enemy attacks INNOCENCE
Come against the Royal Family and the Nobility
‘Royal Family and the nobility . . .’
- Targeted on the Royal blood line
- The Royals carry authority in their very blood—DNA * It’s WHO they are
- Attack royal IDENTITY
- Strip it of it’s authority
- FEAR of the ROYALS discovering or REMEMBERING who they REALLY are
One of BIGGEST attacks on believer ID
- Today—enemy attacks the ‘royal priesthood’ of believers
- Causing us to ‘settle for a prisoner’s life’
- When we were called to rule and reign
Personal application—live like REJECT—when meant to live like PRINCE
· Even in times of bad harvest
Change the way they THINK
VERSE: It's fascinating that the strategy for subduing the generation
· Was through changing the way they THINK
- Literature—language—culture
· Make them absorb the culture--mindset—understanding
· Re-programming in Babylon
In Babylon selected Israelites were given specialized education. Those chosen were the most likely to be natural leaders (from the royal family and the nobility), (3) and had already demonstrated intellectual prowess. They were to be re-educated intellectually and treated royally. Several aims were in view, e.g. religious reprogramming (language, literature and diet all carried religious as well as cultural meanings) and a ‘brain-drain’ which would simultaneously weaken the prospect of a capable future leadership among the Israelites and potentially strengthen Babylonian society when the process was completed (5b).
Reprogram
· Simultaneously weaken future leaders
· While strengthening Babylon society
· Mindset
o Change the way they think so they THINK like a Babylonian
o Neuter leaders’ strength/ID
o While POISONING their THINKING
o STRONGHOLDS
When enemy can poison way of thinking—
· he can BLOCK you from going forward
·
African Choir
· Backstory—Zimbabwe—Dictator—darkness
· Change think—pretty crazy
· Nation that failed—runaway inflation in the million percentage
· Greatest leaders/strength in church—government coming to them
· Teaching—powering in Kingdom thinking/operating—turning generation
· Daniel and friends didn’t embrace world’s way of thinking
· Every time—tested—threatened—stood ground—advanced
Change their IDENTITY
- Strip them of identifying with God * Align them with false gods
Verse: Name changes
Their Hebrew names, which they received at their circumcision, had something of God, or Jah, in them: Daniel—God is my Judge; Hananiah—The grace of the Lord; Mishael—He that is the strong God; Azariah—The Lord is a help. To make them forget the God of their fathers, the guide of their youth, they give them names that savour of the Chaldean idolatry. Belteshazzar signifies the keeper of the hidden treasures of Bel; Shadrach—The inspiration of the sun, which the Chaldeans worshipped; Meshach—Of the goddess Shach, under which name Venus was worshipped; Abed-nego, The servant of the shining fire, which they worshipped also[2]
[3]Henry, M. (1996, c1991). Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible : Complete and unabridged in one volume (Da 1:1). Peabody: Hendrickson.
1:7 The name Daniel means “God Is My Judge.” Daniel’s Babylonian name Belteshazzar means “Lady Protect the King,” referring to the goddess Sarpanitu, wife of Marduk. The name Hananiah means “The Lord Is Gracious.” Hananiah’s Babylonian name Shadrach means “I Am Fearful of the God.” The name Mishael means “Who Is What God Is?” Mishael’s Babylonian name Meshach means “I Am of Little Account.” The name Azariah means “The Lord Has Helped Me.” Azariah’s Babylonian name Abed-Nego means “Servant of (the god) Nebo.”
[4]
[5]Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson's new illustrated Bible commentary (Da 1:7). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.
Their Hebrew and Babylonian names had these meanings: Daniel (“God is my judge”) was changed to Belteshazzar (“May Bel protect his life”); Hananiah (“Yahweh is gracious”) was changed to Shadrach (“command of Aku”); Mishael (“Who is what God is?”) was changed to Meshach (“Who is what Aku is?”); Azariah (“Yahweh helps”) was changed to Abednego (“servant of Nebo”).
[6]
[7]Hughes, R. B., Laney, J. C., & Hughes, R. B. (2001). Tyndale concise Bible commentary. Rev. ed. of: New Bible companion. 1990.; Includes index. The Tyndale reference library (315). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
The re-programming was inaugurated by the giving of new names, each of which was religiously significant as the suffixes of the Hebrew names indicate—Daniel means ‘God is my judge’; Hananiah, ‘Yah has been gracious’; Mishael, ‘Who is what God is?’ and Azariah, ‘Yah has helped’. While the forms in which their Babylonian names appear may be deliberate corruptions (a signal to the reader of the untruth involved in them), the names of pagan gods (e.g. Bel, Nabu and possibly Aku) are enshrined in them.
So every time they were TALKED to
- False ID was proclaimed on their lives
Quote
· Add names—‘you’re stupid’; ‘NOT GOOD ENOUGH’
· Curses—“That’s Not For Me”, “You’ll Never Make ityou are ‘loser’, ‘not enough’
Careful how you to others
· Gender attacks—‘wuss’; attacking femininity; if not macho on steroids (with shrinking genitals)—or size ZERO anorexic (with heart failure)—not feminine or masculine?? Stop the madness!
· And to SELF
· David ENCOURAGED himself in the Lord
A change of identity (no longer God’s children) and of destiny (Babylon, not Jerusalem) was in view, both of which would be reinforced by constant use.
1
Take them out by getting them to OPEN the subtle doors to Darkness
· Quote
5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. [8]
Daniel spiritual man
defile himself: Daniel’s refusal to eat the king’s delicacies had nothing to do with the consumption of rich food or wine. There were two problems with the king’s menu: (1) It no doubt included food forbidden by the Law and food not prepared according to Mosaic regulations (see Lev. 11). (2) The meat had probably been dedicated to idols, as was customary in Babylon. To partake of the food would have been to recognize the idols as deities.
[9]
· Understood SPIRITUAL Realm
o I can’t do this thing
o Something in Spirit man said, “NO!”
· Doors open—some may say—I can handle it—beware
· I won’t/I can’t
Develop—Drinking door
· Darkness door—Jennifer Walton—Darkness
What might have happened if they hadn’t?
· Picked off
Land Mines—Kit—explain
· Tiki testimony—Kit and Gene
· Jennie Walton—demonic fake cross—broke in four pieces
Review 5 Parts: Youth, Royalty, Thinking, ID, Subtle Doors to Darkness
· Apply
Review Enemy’s Strategy to Destroy :
· Young—Royal—How you think—False ID—Open Subtle Door
o IN order to make it in a BAD HARVEST really had to SHUT some doors!!!!!!!!!
----
b Or Chaldeans
[1]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Da 1:3-5). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[8]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Da 1:5). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.