Conduct in Exile

Continuing our look at The King on His Throne. How God is the one who is in control of all things that are happening.

Today we are looking at how The sovereign God who is faithful in preserving His people in exile. We have seen how God brought them into exile, now we will see how God is preserving them while in exile. An important thing to look at is what their conduct is while they are in exile.

While we think of the exiles of Israel in Babylon, keep in the back of your minds the parallels that it will have to us since we are living in a land that isn’t our home as well. We are foreigners and strangers here in this world and must have the conduct of citizens of heaven until we finally part ways with this world and go to our true home in heaven.

What we are going to see in this chapter is that the king tries to give them a completely new identity with the goal of turning them for Yahweh. We will see them comply to a point, then say no more. We will also see, that through it all. God is in control.

v.2

God gave Jehoiakim in his hand

We looked at this last week so I’m not going into detail on it.

A reminder that God allowed Jerusalem to be conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar.

Chaldean Education

v.4

This isn’t the king taking poor deprived Israelite children who have no education and teaching them to read.

This is a re-education. The king in order to distance the Hebrews from their history and their roots is giving them a new education based on the Chaldeans.

He is trying to transform the way they think, moving them away from Yahweh and towards the god’s of Babylon.

Education is incredibly important. Knowing history, science, English, Math, and also how God presides over it all.

Who are your children’s teachers, and what are they teaching them?

When your children get home do you continue their education and teach them about God? Do you teach them what how Christian values tie into everyday life? Or do you expect the school system to do all the education for you? If so, your failing your children. You need to have an influence on how their minds are being shaped.

King Nebuchadnezzar saw this. He realized that if he shaped their education he could shape their outlook on life and make them into good Babylonians.

Changed their Names

v.7

A name change is significant. It isn’t just so that they had names the Babylonians could pronounce. The one who names another exercises dominion over the one being named. That is why Adam’s first job when he had dominion over the animals was to name them.

By changing their names king Nebuchadnezzar was trying to Change their identities.

Belteshazzar- May Bel Protect his life

Bel referring to the head Babylonian god Marduk.

Trying to influence Daniel saying that Marduk protected him, not Yahweh.

Shadrach- The command of Aku

Aku the moon god. A name to have Hananiah believe that his life was commanded by Aku.

Meshach- Who is what Aku is

Mishael was given a name to believe that his fate was tied to Aku instead of Yahweh.

Abednego- Servant of Nebo

Nebo the Babylonian god of agriculture.

A name given to make him forget that he was the servant of Yahweh, and instead was a servant of Nebo.

No matter what Neb did, he never changed their identity. Never made them forget who they were, that they were servants of God.

Nothing New Under the Sun

The enemies tricks haven’t changed. Satan will do whatever he can to re-educate you, to get you to follow after the things of this world rather than pursuing things of glory.

He will do whatever he can to make you forget your identity. To make you forget that you belong to Jesus.

Your identity isn’t found in your job, your money, your horoscope, it isn’t found in your political affiliation, it isn’t found in being an american. Your identity, as Paul says it time and time again, is “IN CHRIST.”

As we face persecution, remember that you are first and foremost a Christian. One who should desire God more than anything else in this world.

Gave Them Rich Food

v.5

We are told that the king assigned them a daily portion of the food he ate.

This is where Daniel drew the line.

Daniel had gone along when they were taken to Babylon, when they were educated in the ways of the Chaldeans, when they were given new names, even when they made him a eunuch. But he drew the line at the rich food.

Daniel was Resolved

v.8

We all have that line in the sand. We are called to obey governing authorities. This is exactly what we see Daniel doing but he has a breaking point. A point where he believes he will be violating the laws of God.

We will be looking at this in greater detail on the 24th and 7th.

What caused this breaking point?

The Hebrew Dietary Laws

According to Leviticus 11 and 17 they had a very strict diet not to eat anything that was “unclean” or kosher.

Even the things that were clean it would have had to had been prepared properly and the blood drained out or it to would have been unclean. One problem.

Wine wasn’t unclean no matter how it was made. Unless they had taken a Nazarene vow they were allowed to drink wine, but Daniel was refusing.

Food Sacrificed to Idols

There is a chance that the food that they were being given was food that had previously been sacrificed to Marduk, Aku, and Nebo.

Them eating the food would have been a form of worship.

This would make sense for the king to do. He has been re-educating them, renamed them after their gods, now they just need to slowly ease them into worship of their gods by eating food sacrificed to them. Slowly pushing the thought of Yahweh out of their minds and conforming them into Babylonians.

Resolve

Daniel was far from family, friends, he could have though “I’m far from home, time to adapt to this new life.”

Remember we talked about how we are foreigners in this land, or citizenship is in heaven.

We may not be filling ourselves on the food and wine sacrificed to Marduk but are you so drunk on the things of the world, so full from eating the plenty that america has to offer that you are full and their is no room for the greater. No room for the things of God which will actually satisfy.

v.9

God gave Daniel favor in the eyes of the chief of eunuchs.

God was working on his heart, but Daniel still had to step out in doing what what was right.

He gets told no.

How many times do we say, “well God I tried, I guess not.”

v.11

Daniel goes to his boss to get permission.

The Test

v.12-15

The Daniel diet, I find it funny that they gained weight on the Daniel diet.

Them gaining weight was a provision of God, a miracle in sorts.

King Cyrus

v.21

God protected Daniel and he outlived the Kings and the empire of Babylon that had taken him captive.

The Provision of God

God brought them into exile, he gave them favor, he made a way for them to still worship Him alone, He gave them knowledge and wisdom.

God is the one who takes care of us through all things.

Do we trust God? Do you trust Him to the point that no matter what happens, we remember that He is still on the throne, that whatever we have to face He has a plan for our growth? He has a plan for our His glory and our good.

We are not to be conformed to this world that we are not citizens of, we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

We may face persecutions, but we are to hold fast to the word of God.

Revelation 2:10 ESV

10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.