Shalom, my dear brothers and sisters. We thank the Lord for the privilege to study together the Word of God. And we are going to continue with the study of the book of Daniel. Daniel is this prophet of Israel of whom our Lord Jesus Yeshua the Messiah said in Matthew chapter 24, when he spoke of him some 2,000 years ago, when he was among his disciples, he said of Daniel in Matthew chapter 24, When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken by Daniel the prophet, Daniel Hanavi, our Lord Jesus the Messiah shared with the disciples that Daniel was the prophet. And how wonderful it is to study the prophetic word that the Lord gave to Daniel concerning Israel, Jerusalem, and the whole world in the coming days, especially for the times that are called the times of the Gentiles.

Beloved brothers and sisters, we have already covered the introduction to the book of Daniel. And I would like today in this ministry meeting to read Daniel chapter 1 and verses 1 to 8. And so we read, And so we read in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, came the Buchad Netzer, king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, with part of the vessels of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar, to the house of his God. And he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his God. And a king spake unto Ashpanaz, the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes, children in whom was no blemish, but well favored, and skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Kaladins.

And the king appointed them daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank, so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, And unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names. For he gave unto Daniel the name of Belt Shazar, and unto Hananiah, Shadrach, and unto Mishael, Meshach, and unto Azariah, Eved Nego. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

I will stop here, beloved brothers and sisters, in this verse 8 of Daniel chapter 1. It is interesting as we are studying together this very important prophetic book, the book of Daniel, that we learn very many truths here concerning the sovereignty of God over his people Israel, and over all the nations of the world during the times of the Gentiles. Of course God is sovereign at all times. He is in control of all the affairs of this world, whether it was in the days of Noah, or whether it is in our days today. Whether it is in the days of Israel as a nation, when Israel was as a nation under the law, under the Torah, Torah Elohim, the law of God, or whether we live today in these days of the church age, in the days of the grace of God.

And in any dispensation, God is sovereign. And to remind you that we read this very interesting verse in Daniel chapter 4 and verse 17, "The Most High ruleth in the kingdom of man, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of man." In other words, the Most High God is the one that's ruling in the affair of man. He is in control. He is in charge. He is the one. God is the one. The Most High God is sovereign. And the thought that we have, and the message that we have, and the truths that we learn in the book of Daniel specifically, is the sovereignty of God over the nation of Israel, the Jewish people during the times of the Gentiles.

We have learned that the author is Daniel. We have learned that his name means Daniel, God is my judge. We have learned that this book of Daniel is the first deportation of our people of Israel, that is the Jewish, the Southern Kingdom, that they were taken to Babel by Nebuchadnezzar who came three times against the people of Judah, the people of Israel. In 605 BC, he took Daniel and some of the vessels. Later on in 597 BC, he took Yehezkel, Ezekiel, with another 10,000 of the Jewish people to Babel. And in 586 BC, Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple in Jerusalem, burned it with fire, destroyed the city of Jerusalem, carried the rest of the Jewish people to Babel.

And of this we read in the book of 2 Kings. So by the time that the temple was destroyed in 586 BC, can you imagine Daniel was already in Babel from 605 BC. So he was some 19 years already in the land of Babel by the time of the destruction of the temple in the city of Jerusalem in 586 BC. We learned that as we studied this book, we learned that the book was written in Hebrew as well as in Aramite. In the Jewish tongue, the Jewish language, the language for the people of Israel and the language of the nations of the world, of the Babylonians specifically in the Aramaic language.

We've also learned that Daniel presents before us history as well as prophetic words. So we learn of the history of the Jews and the prophetic message that God has for the Jews and the rest of the nations of the world as he gives to us the book of Daniel. And of course, we have already quoted the fact that Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, considered and presented Daniel as the prophet. When he said, "When ye shall see therefore the abomination of desolation, spoken by Daniel the prophet." Yeshua the Messiah was speaking about the tribulation period, which is yet ahead at the end of the church age, during which time the prophetic word of Daniel will come to fruition in a full sense of the word.

When Daniel's people, the Jewish people of the tribulation days will have to be recognized the word of the Lord through Daniel, through this book, through this prophetic word, and they will submit ultimately to the Lord, and they will ultimately discover that the Lord Jesus, the Lord Yeshua is indeed that promised Messiah who came once and was not accepted, who will come again and will be accepted and will establish that wonderful promised Messianic kingdom. Well, in these first eight verses that we read today, we have really the first thought that we receive from Daniel chapter 1. In fact, the whole first chapter, Daniel chapter 1, presents before us the first deportation of the people of Judah into Babel.

This is the first deportation. But yet, beloved brothers and sisters, in these first eight verses, we learn of the background of this deportation in 6 or 5 BC, and the plan of King Nebuchadnezzar for these Jewish children that he carried with him to Babylon. And so we have already covered the first two verses, and we learn in verses 1 and 2, that Jehoiakim, king of Judah, was the one who reigned. And it was in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, that Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came into Jerusalem, besieged the city of Jerusalem, and then that the Lord gave Jehoiakim, imagine the king of Judah, into his hands.

In other words, God, as a sovereign God, in discipline towards his own people, he brought Nebuchadnezzar against his own people of Israel. And he gave them the king of Judah. And not only that, he actually had given them the house of God, that they will come in and they will, you might say, defile this house of God, the temple in the city of Jerusalem. Now, mind you, the reason that the Lord have allowed this to happen is because, sadly to say, his own people, Israel, have already violated God's word, worshipped idols, didn't continue to follow their God, brought about the judgment of God upon them in 605 B.C.

And so we find out that the king Nebuchadnezzar have carried these Jewish people, which is including Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, Mishael, and many other Jewish boys and girls. And not only that, he carried some of the vessels from the house of God. And he brought them all the way to Shin'ar. Shin'ar is where Babylon began. We have mentioned in our previous introduction that Shin'ar is where we find Babel mentioned. After the flood, when the new world, you might say, began, again, men fell into sin, disobeying God. And in chapter 10 and chapter 11, a man by the name of Nimrod rose. He became a king. Nimrod means he will rebel.

We will rebel. And the human race, once again, rebel against God. They built a tower and they said, we will go, let us make a city and a big tower so we will reach to heaven. In other words, they wanted to give a name, make a name for themselves and denying and rejecting the name of the God of creation. And therefore, God said, let us go down. And if you remember, confound their languages. And that's how idolatry began specifically there in Babel. And even God himself gave that name Babel to that city which he destroyed. To remind you, we read in Genesis chapter 11 and verse 7.

Go to, let us go down. And notice the Lord used the word, let us. In Hebrew, let us, it's a plural. We have the Godhead speaking among themselves and saying, let us go down. And they confound their language that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth. And they left off the building of the city. Genesis 11 verses 7 and 8. And you notice verse 9 we read, Therefore is the name of it called Babel. Because Jehovah did there confound the language of all the earth. The judgment of God came upon sinfulness of mankind who said, Let us make a name for ourselves.

And by doing so, they have denied the God who had blessed them and called them to be multiply and replenish the earth and follow after him. And since that time, beloved brothers and sisters, It was again, once again, this whole condition that existed in the world until God chose one man by the name of Abraham. And through Abraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov and the 12 tribes of Israel, Israel, he gave us a nation called Israel. And even Israel, his own earthly people, violated his word. And therefore now, he brings upon his own people of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, the king of Babel. Now you notice, beloved brothers and sisters, in the next verses, verses 3 to verse 8, We have the Babylonian imposing upon the Jewish people who are now taken to Babel.

They impose upon them their pagan system of faith. And you notice in these verses, verses 3 to verse 8 of Daniel chapter 1, How the king of Babel, Nebuchadnezzar, does two things. He has a plan. He has a plan and he gives instruction to the one who was the master of his eunuchs. He gives him instruction. And he also, seeking to influence the Jewish boys and girls and the Jewish children who came from the land of Judah, To change their whole thinking, their whole way of life. And notice, beloved friend, how king Nebuchadnezzar does so. First of all, you notice in verses 3, 4, and 5, How, in the king's plan, he is selecting these Hebrew children.

We read in verse 3, And a king spake unto Ashpanaz, the master of his eunuchs, That he should bring certain of the children of Israel and of the king's seed and of the princes. Children, in whom was no blemish, but well favored, and skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, And such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, And whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the chaldeans. We read in verse 5, And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat and of the wine which he drank, So nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.

Now, beloved brothers and sisters, this is amazing. These verses really teach us this principle that the world is always seeking to do against God and against God's people. You remember what the apostle John said when he wrote the epistle in 1st John chapter 2, You remember what this Yohanan said? He reminded the believer in 1st John chapter 2, He says, "Love not the world." Verse 15, "Neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

And the world passes away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." John, this is Yohanan, warned the people to whom he wrote to be careful not to be influenced by the world, by the godless world. And the world in 1st John 2 is a system that denied the truth of God, a system that denied God and God's anointed one, the Mashiach, the Messiah himself. We were of the world by nature, but God had saved the believers in the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, and brought us to himself. And that's why Yeshua in John 17 said they are not of this world when he was praying to God the Father.

So believers today as Israel in Israel's historically days were people who were separated from the world and its system. In fact, not only Yohanan said this, John said this, but also the Apostle Shaul Paul said in Romans chapter 12 and verse 1, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable or spiritual or intelligent service." And then he continued. The Apostle Shaul Paul said, "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, beloved brothers and sisters, as we study together the book of Daniel, we not only learn some prophetical messages that the Lord seeks to teach us, not only historical lessons that the Lord wanted to teach us, but also practical lessons that we learn.

And this is exactly what happened in Daniel chapter 1 and verse 3, 4 and 5. King Nebuchadnezzar is the one that giving instruction to the ones that he have appointed concerning these Jewish boys. And I want you just to notice how interesting that in these verses the king is seeking to influence these Jewish boys to be completely, have their mind and the thoughts and the learning away from the God of Israel. And so you notice, first of all, you see that in verse 3 the king spake unto Ashpanaz. Who was Ashpanaz? Ashpanaz was the master of his eunuchs. Ashpanaz was the master of his eunuchs. In other words, he was the one that was, in Hebrew it's called Rav Sarisav.

He was the master of all those who were eunuchs in the court of the king of Babel. Now it is very interesting because the word eunuchs is really speaking of one that is unable to produce children. Castrated, unable to have relationship and marriage and a family. It is also very interesting that it is to him that King Nebuchadnezzar have given the responsibility over the children, the Jewish boys. And he was the master of all the eunuchs. All those who were castrated, unable to perform physical relationship, unable to have marriage, to have family. In order that they will devote all their life as a servant to the king.

But we notice that God had already warned the people of Israel. Long before King Nebuchadnezzar came, God said to the people of Judah, Look what will happen to you when you disobey me. In 2 Kings chapter 20 we read: Verse 16 And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord. Behold the day is come, That all that is in thine house, And that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, Shall be carried into Babylon. Nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, Which thou shalt beget. Listen to this. Verse 18b of 2 Kings chapter 20 They shall take away, And they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.

You notice that there was a warning by the word of the Lord through Isaiah the prophet. We also read it in Isaiah chapter 39 in verses 6 and 7, That God said to Hezekiah the king of Judah, And to all the people of Judah, Our forefathers who should have followed the Lord, And who should have lived for him, And should have had him as the one that they trust and follow. But in disobedience, Brought upon themselves the judgment of God. And here we see the day is coming, That all that is in thine house, And that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, Shall be carried into Babylon.

Nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. And of thy son that shall issue from thee, Which thou shalt beget, Shall they take away, And they shall be eunuchs, Sarisim in Hebrew, In the palace of the king of Babylon. And here we go, beloved brothers and sisters, The fulfillment of the word of the Lord, In 2nd king chapter 20 to Hezekiah, By the word of the Lord through Isaiah came, And here we see that king Nebuchadnezzar came, And now in verse 3 of our chapter 1, He says, Daniel 1:3, He gave this instruction unto Ashpanaz, The master of his eunuchs, That he should bring certain of the children of Israel.

Let me just remind you one more thing, That it is very important to understand, As we speak about the eunuchs here, In Daniel chapter 1 and verse 3, To remind you, beloved brothers and sisters, That the word of God teaches us, Of various kind of eunuchs, It was the Lord Jesus the Messiah, Yeshua himself, Who said in Matthew chapter 19, The word, these words, And listen to this, what Yeshua said, In chapter 19 of verse 12, The Lord Jesus said, For there are some eunuchs, Which were so born from their mother's womb, And there are some eunuchs, Which were made eunuchs of men, And there be eunuchs, Which have made themselves eunuchs, For the kingdom of heaven's sake, He that is able to receive it, Let him receive it.

We learn a very interesting lesson, When Yeshua spoke these words to the disciples, In Matthew chapter 19 and verse 12, That there are three types of eunuchs. The first eunuchs is the eunuchs, Which were born unable to have physical relationship, And to have children. These are eunuchs that were born eunuchs, And they are those that are unable to have a family. But then we have the second eunuch, And the second eunuch, Yeshua said, There are some eunuchs which were made eunuchs of men. These are the eunuchs, Of whom we read in Daniel chapter 1 and verse 3, When the king, that is king Nebuchadnezzar, Speak unto Ashpanaz the master of his eunuchs.

He is the one who will castrate these boys, And will cause them to become eunuchs. As Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, Spoke and said in verse 12 of Matthew chapter 19, There be some eunuchs which were made eunuchs of men. Ashpanaz made the boys, The Jewish boys and other eunuchs in the kingdom of Babylon, Eunuchs by force, by men. But then, Yeshua gave us a third kind of eunuchs in verse 12 of Matthew 19, He said, And there be eunuchs, in Hebrew Sarisim, Which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. There are those who are so devoted to the Lord, And they said that we will serve Him, We will devote ourselves, We will not get married, We will not have a family, And we will just commit and devote our life totally for the kingdom of God's sake, The kingdom of heaven's sake.

And it was in the history both of Israel in past days, As well as in the history of the church age, Those that have committed their life to serve God, To serve the Lord Jesus the Messiah, And devote their whole life, Not having family, Not getting married, Not leading a house, Not having children, But devote their life for the gospel's sake, The kingdom of heaven's sake, And they are the one that Yeshua called them, Them that made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of God. And so beloved brothers and sisters in Daniel chapter 1, This person by the name of Ash Panaz, The master of the eunuchs, He was instructed by the king Nebuchadnezzar, To take children of Israel.

Notice also, Very important to notice here also in verse 3, The king spoke unto Ash Panaz, The master of his eunuchs, That he should bring certain of the children of Israel. Notice, He doesn't say the children of Judah. In verse 1 we read, That Yoakim was the king of Judah. But for one reason or another, The spirit of God is now using the word Yisrael, Speaking about the whole nation, The whole twelve tribes, Not only the tribe of Yehudah. And it is very important to understand, That even though, The southern kingdom Judah, Was really a combination of only two tribes. Judah, Benjamin, Some of Levi were there.

But the northern kingdom, Israel, Were ten tribes. Yet we learned the lesson. That even though the Assyrians, In 721 BC, Took the northern kingdom of Israel captive, And dispersed them. Yet many of the, Ten tribes of the northern kingdom, Migrated and mingled with the people of Judah, In Jerusalem, In Jerusalem, And in Judea, And they become part of the nation of Israel, And they were called Jews, Yehudim. That's what you find in the book of Esther. Yehudim, The Jews, The Jews, The Jews, You find it in the book of Nehemiah, And other of the post-excelic books, You find these, The word Jews, Yehudim. And why? Because now all the twelve tribes, All individuals from the twelve tribes, Were part of Judah, And even though they were, Not necessarily born to the tribe of Judah.

One of the clear examples, Is found in Luke chapter 2, Of this woman by the name of Hannah. You remember? We read in Luke 2 and verse 36, And there was one Hannah, A prophetess, The daughter of Pnoel, Of the tribe of Asher. She was not of the tribe of Yehuda, She was not of the tribe of Benjamin, She was not of the tribe of Levi, She was of the tribe of Asher. And what does she do there in Jerusalem, In the temple, When Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah was born? Well, Many of Israelis from the northern kingdom, Have mingled and returned back to the land, And became part of the tribe of Judah, And they were from the ten tribes of Israel together, The twelve tribes of Israel called Yisrael.

And so we read, Certain of the children of Israel in verse 3, That master of the eunuchs, Were called to take of the people of Israel. And so while the people of Israel, The northern, The ten tribes, Many of them are still scattered around the world. A whole twelve tribes are scattered all over the nations of the world. And someday God will regather all of them back to the land. Today, In these days in which we live in, There are some seven, Seven and a half million Jews, That are called Jews in the land of Israel today. But many of them may be from many other tribes, From among the twelve tribes of Israel.

And so we continue in these verses, Very interesting verses. And so notice, The king spake unto Ashpanaz, The master of his eunuchs, That he should bring certain of the children of Israel, And of the king's seed, And of the princess. Interesting, That Nebuchadnezzar wanted, Of the king's seed. In Hebrew, The word is, The, Not only the king's seed, In Hebrew it says, Zera mi zera ha-melucha. It is the royal seed. And apparently, And also of the nobles. So, Daniel was apparently from the royal seed. And the, The other Jewish people, Have been also from the royal seed, But also of the noble seeds of Judah.

And you notice beloved, Brothers and sisters, How interesting it is, Because Nebuchadnezzar, Did not want any other seed, But he wanted specifically, The royal seed. In Hebrew, Mizera ha-melucha. Ha-melucha means, The, The kings, Those who are in line, For to become kings, In, In Judah. But also, From the nobles. In Hebrew, Min ha-per-tamim. Nobles. Then we have a list. A list. Notice, Concerning, These children. It says in verse 4, Children in whom, There was no blemish, But were favored, And skillful in all wisdom, And cunning in knowledge, And understanding science, And such as had ability in them, To stand in the king's palace, And whom they might teach, The learning, And the tongues of the, Caladins.

Aramaic. And you notice this list. Nine things that we learn about these children. Number one, They are of the royal lineage. Number two, They were young children. The Hebrew word for, Young children is, Yeladim. It's not even, Nearim. It's really youth. Yeladim. Children. Then we have, These thought of, Being without blemish. Fourthly, They were well favored. Fifthly, They were skillful in all wisdom. Sixthly, They were cunning in knowledge. Seventhly, They had understanding of science. These children. Eighthly, They are, To be able, To stand, In a king's palace. And ninthly, They are able to learn, The culture, And the language, Of the Caladins, Of the Babylonians.

Now this is amazing. These nine, You might say requirements. Royal seed. Young, Young people, Without blemish. Well, Favored. Skillful, In all wisdom. Cunning, In knowledge. Understanding, Science. Able to stand, In a king's palace. Able to learn, The culture, And the language, Of the Caladins. These Jewish boys, These Jewish boys, Were boys, That were specially selected, That were specially selected, By King Nebuchadnezzar, Who was allowed to, Go into the land of Israel, And to the city of Jerusalem. He knew very well, Whom he will take. And what does he want to do with them? He wants to indoctrinate them, And to turn them, From following the God of their father, The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The God of Israel. And to follow after his gods. And to serve him in his kingdom. And to be servants, To be those, Who become eunuchs, Who will serve him. In other words, King Nebuchadnezzar wanted, The best of Israel, To take for himself. In order that he will benefit from them, And that he will be able to rule this world. And so we will learn here, Beloved brothers and sisters, Of what happened here, When they were taken, By the king, Who gave the responsibility, To the master of his eunuchs. You notice that we read, Things such as, They were children. And the word where it says here, Without blemish.

That means that they were, Good looking children. And they were also, Well favored. And they, When you look at them, They were well favored. And they were children that, Had wisdom. And where did they receive this wisdom? Where did they receive all this knowledge, A cunning knowledge, And understanding science, And skillful in wisdom? Well we know very well, That they grew up, In the homes in Israel, Who were taught, They had godly parents, That taught them, The word of the Lord.

And you know, Beloved brothers and sisters, Teaching us an amazing lesson, Teaching us an amazing lesson, Because, While, They were, The vast majority in Israel, Have turned away from the Lord, But there was, Always a godly, Seed, Among our people of Israel, Who followed God, Who loved him, And served him, And served him, These, Important truths, To get a hold of, In every generation, In spite of the fact, The human race, Turn away from the Lord, In every generation, You always have, These godly men, And women, Who follow the Lord, And, Live for him, In spite, Of the fact, That the vast majority, Around, Them, Did not follow the Lord, Think about, In the days,

Of, Adam, And Eve, After they were punished, And went out of the garden, Of, Eden, You remember, We read of Adam, And of Eve, They had two sons, We have, Cain, The elder, And Hevel, The younger, And how God, Have, Loved, The manner, Whereby, Abel lived for him, Abel approached God, On the basis of the sacrifice, While his elder brother, Didn't, And then, He ultimately, Was murdered, By his brother, And we can look, Throughout the ages, In the days of Noah, Where God said, That he will judge the world, Because of the condition, Of the world, In Noah's day, But then Noah, Found favor, In the eyes of the Lord, In the days of Nimrod,

Let us rebel, Genesis 10, Genesis 11, Genesis 12, In those days of rebellion, God have, Found favor, In Abraham, Our father, And God had chosen Abraham, And told Abraham, In Genesis chapter 12, You remember, He called him, The Lord had said unto Abraham, Get thee out of thy country, And from thy kindred, And from thy father's house, Unto a land which I, Will show thee, And I will make of thee, A great nation, And I will bless thee, And make thy name great, And thou shalt be a blessing, And I will bless them, That bless thee, And curse him, That cursed thee, And in thee, Shall all the families, Of the earth be blessed, Genesis

12, And verses 1, 2 and 3, And then even later on, In Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Israel's generation, They were godly, Among Abraham descendants, But there were those, That were not godly, And by the time, We arrived to 605 BC, There were, The judgment of God, Came about, Upon the tribe of Judah, But they were godly, Among Israel, Such as, The families, And many others, Of Daniel, Of Hananiah, Mishael, And Azariah, And their parents, Gave them, A godly training, That's why we read here, They were without blemish, Well favored, Young people, Who were skillful in wisdom, Cunning in knowledge, Understanding science, They were able, And notice, That they will be able, To stand, You notice that

word, To stand, The word, To stand, In these verses, That we find here, Is the Hebrew word, La'amod, To stand, To stand before the king, Means to serve the king, You know, We read many times, In scripture, To stand before the lord, When you stand, Before the lord, You are, Standing there, In order to serve, Moses stood, Before the lord, Elijah stood, Before the lord, And, Those who, Are to stand, Before the lord, They are to simply, Serve, And do the bidding, Of the king, And so verses, Three, Four, And five, We read, Of these, Young, Jewish, Boys, That, They were those, That were called now, To be, Castrated, Not to be able, To have

family, Then, That they, Are called, To be, The one, That will, Stand before, The king, Of Baville, Now notice, Beloved brothers, And sisters, How interesting, Because in verses, Six, And seven, We, Learn a few things, About, The, Things, That, Ashpanaz, Was to do, With these children, In fact, In the end, Of verse, Four, We read, That they, Might be taught, The learning, And the tongue, And the tongue, Of the Canadiens, You notice verse, Four at the end, What does that mean, Because the king, Want the Jewish boy, To learn, The books, The Hebrew word, For learning, Is books, Sfarim, Instead of reading, The Torah, Instead of reading, The word of the Lord, They are called,

Now at the end, Of verse, Four, To, Be taught, Book, The book, Of the, Kaladins, Not the book, Of the word of the Lord, Not the Torah, Or the Tanakh, Of course we didn't have, The whole Tanakh, By that time, But we did have, The Torah, The law of God, And they were, Skilled, In knowing the Torah, They were men, That loved the Torah, Who loved the word of God, And so they were called, Now to be taught, At the end of verse four, By the teachings, Of the Kaladins, And not only the teaching, The books of the Kaladins, Verse four at the end, But also the, The tongue, The Hebrew word is, In verse

four at the end, Lashon, Lashon means tongue, The language of the Kaladin, Imagine, Just take a child, And you move him from one country to another, From one nation to another, Move him from one learning to another, And when they are young, You are able to teach them, To mold them, To shape them, To your own way of thinking, Now imagine to take these Jewish boys, And now to train them, Not with the Torah, With the word of the Lord, The God of Israel, No, But with the book, And the language, Of the Babylonian, Amazing, Amazing, Amazing, And how important it is to, When one is young, Already to teach one the word of the

Lord, He or she will have to make the decision, What will they do with what they are taught?

But nevertheless, The responsibility is to teach them, The word of the Lord, Thinking about what we read, In the scripture, Concerning the word of the Lord, You remember, What Moshe said to Israel, In Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 4, Hear O Israel, The Lord our God, The Lord is one, This is the famous, And one of the most important, Verses in the Hebrew scripture, Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad, Hear O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord, And there is no other gods before you, There is only one God, And thou shalt love the Lord thy God, With all thine heart, And with all thy soul, And with all thy might, And these

words which I commend thee this day, Shalt be in thine heart, And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, And shalt talk of them, When thou sittest in thine house, And when thou walkest by the way, And when thou liest down, And when thou risest up, And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, And they shalt be as a frontlet between thine eyes, And thou shalt write them upon the post of thine house, And on thy gates, And it shalt be when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land, Which he swore unto thy fathers, To Abraham, To Yitzchak, And to Yaakov, To give thee these great goodly

cities, Which thou buildest not, And houses, And so on, God said to Israel, Beware, Verse 12, Lest thou forget the Lord.

Beware, Lest thou forget the Lord. My dear brothers and sisters, This is exactly what King Nebuchadnezzar sought to do for the children of Judah. He sought them to forget the word of the Lord, And by influencing them with the books of the Babylonians, And the tongue of the Kaladins, The Babylonians, He will be able, At least he thought, To influence these Jewish boys to forget their God, To forget his word, And to follow after Nebuchadnezzar's God. But beloved brothers and sisters, We know very well that God, Even though he punishes his own earthly people Israel, Yet God has a plan for them. And God always maintained faithful individuals among Israel, That they will be the one that will be influenced among the rest of the nation, And ultimately they will be the one that will be the, Of whom descendants will come in the future there, And will be a restored nation, When the Messiah will be accepted at the end of the tribulation days.

And so we learn here to see of some of these godly Jewish boys, That were obedient to the word of God. And as Deuteronomy 6 verse 12 says, Beware lest thou forget the Lord. Here these Jewish boys did not forget Jehovah the God of Israel. And so we learn in verse 5, The king also appointed them daily provision of the king's food, The king's meat. That word here for the king's meat, It comes from the word Mipat Bag Hamelech in the Hebrew. In other words, He wanted these Jewish boys to eat of the food that is coming from the portion of the king. In other words, This food was offered to idols first, And brought to the king to eat, And these Jewish boys are now to eat from this food.

Food that was offered to idols. And not only this, Also of the wine which he drank. Again to remind you, That in the pagan worship, They would offer wine to their gods. And therefore, He, King Nebuchadnezzar, Gave this instruction to Ashpanaz, The master of the eunuchs, That not only that he will castrate these Jewish boys, Make them eunuchs, But also that he will give them the book of the Babylonians, The learning, And the godless, Idolatry, Teachings of the Babylonians, And the language of the Babylonians, Which apparently Daniel had learned very well, Because apparently he wrote half of the book of Daniel, At least much of it in the Babylonian, In the Kasdim, In the Kaladins language.

And also, He wanted the Jewish boy, To take of the food, The meat, The pag in Hebrew, It's called pat bag in Hebrew, And then the wine. And so, Nourishing them for three years, Verse 5, That at the end thereof, They might stand before the king. So amazing, My dear brothers and sisters, And dear friends, This is exactly, What the world does, In any, Period of time in human history. Always seeking to influence God's people, To follow after, The ways of the world. As, Paul, And as, Peter, And as, Many, Godly men in days of old, In the days of Daniel, In the days of Isaiah, In the days of Jeremiah, In the days of Yechezkel, In the days of Israel, They constantly warned the people of Israel.

Moshe did so in the law, Be careful, Don't forget, Beware, Lest you forget the Lord your God. Because the world, And its system, Is against God. Satan is the God of this world. Who are blind in the mind of them, Who are blind in the mind of them, That believe not. And God's people are called, To, Love not the world, Nor the things which are in the world, For all that is in the world, Is the lust of the, Flesh, The lust of the eyes, And the pride of life. It's not of the Father. God's people are called to love the human race. God's people are called to love mankind.

God's people are to love souls. God's people are to love one another, But not to love a system, That set God aside, And deny God's word, And God's anointed one, The Mashiach, The Messiah, Our Lord Jesus, The Messiah. And so you notice what happened. We find out now, Some, Notice it says, Now among these, Notice among, In other words, There were many other Jewish boys. But among them, Verses 6 and 7, There were specific children, That the Spirit of God present before us, Here, In the book of Daniel. Who were there? Notice. Among them, Among these, Were the children of Judah, Were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, And Azariah.

Now notice what the, King also, Said to, The, Master of the eunuchs to do, Not only, To instruct these boys, With the book of the Babylonian. The Babylonian. Not only, To instruct these boys, With the language of the Babylonian. Not only, To give these Jewish boys, The food of the Babylonian, Of the kings, Who are pagan food, And kosher food. Not only, To give them of the wine, That was offered to the idols. But also, Notice according to verses 6 and 7, Especially verse 7, To change their names. To change their names. You see, The, Four, Hebrew boys name, Is, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah. These four names, Are, Godly names, Given by their parents.

Each one of these names, Is linked with God himself. Daniel, God is my judge. Hananiah, Jehovah, Is gracious. Mishael, Is who is, Like, God. Azariah, Is, Jehovah, Is, Helper. This is the meaning, Of the Hebrew boys. Every time, Their mom, Their dad, Their father, Their mother, In Jerusalem, Called them. The name of God, Was in their name. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah. Notice, Two of them, Have the name, The word El, And two of them, Have the word Yah, At the end. Daniel, Mishael, Hananiah, Yah, And Azariah, Yah. God, Is my judge. Jehovah, Is gracious. Who is like God? Jehovah, Is helper. Every one of their name, Had to do with the God of Israel.

You see, They will never be able to forget God, Because, Moshe told the Jewish people, In Deuteronomy 6 and verse 12, Beware, Lest thou forget the Lord, Who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, From the house of bondage. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, And serve him, And shalt swear by his name. And notice verse 14 of Deuteronomy chapter 6, Ye shall not go after other gods, Of the gods of the people which are round about you, God said to the people of Israel. For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you. Oh beloved friend, God wanted his people to follow after him. By virtue of giving them these names, He wanted them to stay close to him.

He loved the nation of Israel, And he loved you and I today. He loved the earthly people Israel. He loved the assembly, The church, The ecclesia. He loved everyone who believed in the Lord Yeshua, The Messiah. And God so loved the world. This is the God we have. And yet, Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar, The king of Bavil, Wanted to influence and to change the names of the Hebrew boys. To change their mindset. To change their thinking. To change their language. In other words, To be conformed to this world. To be away from their homeland, And their people, And their God, Who have chosen them. And you notice what he does even more.

He give them other names. In verse 7, We read, And to whom the prince of the eunuchs, This is the same one who took this Jewish boy and castrated them. Made them now to serve there. And notice what he does. He gave them other names. To Daniel, He gave Belteshazzar. To Hananiah, He gave Shadrach. To Mishael, He gave the word, The name Meshach. And to Azariah, He gave the name Evednego. In other words, Belteshazzar, Mean, May Baal protect his life. Speaking of the gods of the Babylonian. Meshach, Shadrach, The meaning of the word Shadrach, The command of Aku. And then Meshach, Mean who is, What Aku is.

This is the gods of the Babylonian. And Evednego is the servant of Nego, The gods of the Babylonian. Oh beloved friend, Listen to what exactly, Nebuchadnezzar, Sought to completely, You might say, Gentilize and paganize, These Jewish boys. To turn their hearts away, From the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, The God of Israel. And to have them believe, And follow, His God. The God of, The Baal. Or Aku. Or Nego. All these, Gods, That the Babylonian believe in. And you notice that, We already have read in verse 2, That he took the vessels, Or part of the vessel of the house of God, Which is carried into the land of Shinar.

And he brought it to the house of his God. And so imagine, What a lesson we learn here, With these, First seven verses, Of Daniel chapter 1. But, Here we see, Beloved brothers and sisters, The devotedness, Of, Daniel. Young boy, We do not know what his age, Some suggest he was 13, 14 years of age, 15. We do not know. But one thing we do know, That according, To, This chapter, We find in verse 4, That there were youth. And in Hebrew is, Yeladin. They were children. They were children. It doesn't even say, Naarim. It doesn't even say, Teenagers. It says, The word in Hebrew is, Yeladin. They were children.

Could be even younger, Than 13, 12, 11, 10. We do not know. Daniel. But by the time, They were at that age, They knew the God, Of their fathers. And so here is Daniel, And this is very precious, Because in, Verse 8, Of our chapter, Here is Daniel's purpose of heart. It says, But, In verse 8, Ve, In Hebrew, Va, Yesem. Va, And, But, Daniel purposed in his heart, That he would not defile himself, With the portion of the king's meat, Nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore he requested, Of the prince of the eunuchs, That he might not defile himself. Notice, There is not a rebellion, He is not going against, And fighting with the, Babylonians.

He was carried captive, He knew, Understand, The measure of, Light that he had, That God had given to him, And to his, Other friends, Other Jewish boys, Is that it is from the Lord, The Lord have allowed this to happen. And so Daniel, Yet in his own heart, He had the purpose of heart. He had the purpose of heart. He purposed, The word here, Purpose is to put in your heart, Put in your heart, Vayyaseh minhibu, Daniel placed, Put in his heart, A decision making. And he said, I would not want to defile myself, With the portion of the king's meat. I do not want to defile myself, With the portion of the wine, Which he, King Nebuchadnezzar drank.

The food was offered to idols. The food was unclean food. The wine was offered to idols. Even though, Even though the Torah, The Lord did not speak about the wine, And for, To be, To forbid, The people of Israel to drink wine. Though, Forbid them to be drunk with wine. But yet, Daniel knew, That that wine was offered to idols. That food was offered to idols. It was unclean, Unkosher. Therefore, I purpose in my own heart, Not to defile myself, With the king's meat, The king's food, And the king's wine. And Daniel, He said, Therefore, He requested, Of the prince of the eunuchs, That he, Might not defile himself.

You notice that the word, Defiled, Is mentioned here, Twice in verse 8. The word in Hebrew is, Yit ga'al. Yit ga'al means, To defile. I don't want to be defiled, By the food of the king, By the wine of the king. And therefore, He approached the, Ashpanaz, The master of the eunuchs. He approached him, And he asked him, Not to defile himself, With the food, Of the king. Now it reminds us, Doesn't it? Of exactly what we learned, From Ezra, Chapter 7. Of Ezra, He was also a man of God. We read of him, In Ezra 7 and verse 10, And Ezra had prepared his heart. Ezra was a godly scribe, Among Israel, The people who returned, After the 70 years of, Captivities, Which began in the days of Daniel.

Ezra himself, Was a scribe in Israel, Who prepared his heart, Ezra 7:10, To seek the law of the Lord, To do the law of the Lord, To teach the law of the Lord, And its statues, Among the people of Israel. Notice, He prepared his heart, Number one, To seek the law of the Lord, Number two, To do it, And number three, To teach it. What an amazing statement, We read here, And how does he do that? How does any one of us, Are to do so, It cannot possibly be, Unless we are occupied, With the word of God. On our own, We cannot do so, Beloved friends, We cannot do it, Dear brothers and sisters, We really need, The Lord held by his spirit, As this Jewish boy, Whether it is Daniel, Or Hananiah, Or Azariah, Or Mishael, Or Ezra, Or any other, Of the people of Israel, We too today, Need to learn this lesson from them, And may the Lord help us to do so, And how we do so?

We do so, As we are occupied, With the Lord Jesus the Messiah, And with the word of the Lord. Listen to what the psalmist of Israel wrote, In Psalm 119, And verse 97, Oh, how I love thy law, It is my meditation all the day. Thou, through thy commandments, Has made me wiser than mine enemies, For they are ever with me. I have more understanding, Than all my teachers, For thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancient, Because I keep thy precepts. I have refrained my feet, From every evil way, That I might keep thy word. I have not departed from thy judgment, For thou hast taught me.

How sweet are thy word unto my taste, Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth. Through thy precepts I get understanding, Therefore I hate every false way. This is in Psalm 119 verses 97 to verse 104. Beloved brothers and sisters, In these first eight verses of Daniel chapter 1, We learn about the selection of Daniel, And the Jewish boys, In order to make them to serve, There in the king palace, In the land of Babylon. And how wonderful to see, That Daniel purposed in his heart, Not to defile himself, With the portion that the king meet, Nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore he requested, Of the prince of the eunuchs, That he might not defile himself.

May the Lord help us to learn from Daniel, And listen to the voice of the apostle Paul, And the apostle John, Who said to us, In these two verses, Important verses, In Romans chapter 12 and verse 1, I beseech you therefore brethren, By the mercies of God, That ye present your bodies, A living sacrifice, Wholly acceptable unto God, Which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, But be ye transferred, By the renewing of your mind, That ye may prove, What is that good, And acceptable, And perfect will of God. 1 John chapter 2 and verse 15, Love not the world, Neither the things which are in the world, If any man love the world, The love of the Father is not in him.

For all that is in the world, The lust of the flesh, And the lust of the eyes, And the pride of life, Is not of the Father, But of the world. And the world passes away, And the lust thereof, But he that doeth the will of God, Abides for ever. Well dear brothers and sisters, With the Lord's help, We will continue in the study, Of the book of Daniel, And until the next time, God bless you, And shalom, shalom.