Shalom, dear brothers and sisters. We have the privilege to study together the book of Daniel prophetic word that is found in the scripture to study together chapter by chapter verse by verse and we are now beloved brothers and sisters we are in the first chapter of the book of Daniel and in this ministry meeting we will deal with verses 9 to the end of the chapter verse 21. Daniel chapter 1 verse 9 to 21. And so I'm reading. Now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, withappointed your meat and your drink.

For why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? Then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king. Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Prove thy servants I beseech thee ten days, and let them give us pulse to eat and water to drink. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and a countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat. And as thou seest, deal with thy servants. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days.

And at the end of ten days, their countenance appeared fairer and fetter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat. Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat and the wine that they should drink and gave them pulse. As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king communed with them. And among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

Therefore stood they before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm. And Daniel continued even unto the first year of King Cyrus. And I'm going to stop here with the reading, beloved brothers and sisters. We are studying this wonderful book of Daniel. And this session, I would like to share with you of this topic that we will call it the faithfulness of the Hebrew boys in the land of Babylon. This chapter 1 of the book of Daniel presented before us thus far in the first eight verses that the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, was allowed by God to come to the city of Jerusalem, to the land of Israel, to besiege Jerusalem, and also to take some of the vessels of the house of God to his country, to his land, or called the land of Shinar.

That happened in 605 BC, when Nebuchadnezzar came and took these boys and others from among the children of Israel, and also vessels from the house of the God of Israel. We have also learned that when he took these Jewish boys to the land of Shinar, to the land of Babel, Nebuchadnezzar had entrusted them to a person that is called here as the one that was the prince of the eunuchs. The prince of the eunuchs. He was the one, in Hebrew it's called Rav HaSarisim. he was the one that all those boys that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon brought from any other country including the country the nation of Israel these prince of the eunuchs had to castrate them and cause them to become suitable to serve in the king's palace of course he was to select the best of the best He was to select the one that he sought them to be suitable to serve in the king palace.

And we have already learned in chapter 1 and verse 4 that the king requested from the prince of the eunuchs that he will choose children of Israel of the king's line.

namely that they were to be part of the line of david melech israel david the king of israel and of the princess of israel they were royal line from among the people of israel they were to have no blemish verse 4 they were well favored they were skillful they had cunning in knowledge and they had an understanding of science in other words nebuchadnezzar want the best of the best from among the people of Israel but even more he would teach them the language of the Kaladins Aramit namely the language of the Babylonian also that he will teach them not only their learning but also their language to learn to know Babylonian Kaladins Aramaic but overall

to give them food that was offered to idols which the king ate royal food wine that was offered to idols Babylonian royal food but even more to change their name from the biblical godly names Daniel Hananiah Mishael and Azariah to change their name from the Hebrew name that remind them of of el yisrael the god of israel that will remind them of the mercy and the grace of jehovah that will remind them of the who is like unto the god of israel and also that jehovah is their help and to give them different babylonian pagan names to daniel he gave the name Belt Shazar to Hananiah he gave the name Shadrach to Mishael he gave

the name Meshech to Azariah he gave the name Eved Nigo in other words he totally wanted to cause them to be disassociated with their people with their God with their language with their book with the Torah and totally to be assimilated and actually much more than being assimilated to be totally pagan worshippers now beloved friends here we have learned in our last ministry that daniel purposed in his heart daniel 1 verse 8 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 eunuch that he might not defile himself and what a beautiful purpose of heart daniel had

and not only daniel but also his friends hananiah mishael and azariah they had a purpose of heart they sought to please the lord they sought to live for the god of israel even in the midst of a time when israel was judged by God there in the land of Babil well we have covered the first eight verses and notice from here on after the purpose that Daniel had in his own heart remind us also as we have also made point to mention Ezra who was also far away from the land of Israel who also in chapter 7 of the book of Ezra in verse 10 we read that he prepared his heart to seek the

law of the Lord and to do it and to teach in Israel statues and judgment.

Ezra came from the dispersion and he wanted so badly to teach the people of Israel to restore them back to the Lord.

This has happened after the 70 years of captivity in the days of ezra when the remnant returned back the remnant of israel returned back to the land but now we are here in bavell in chapter one with these four boys four hebrew boys in bavell to remind you that from here on in verses nine to the end of the chapter we learn of the faithfulness of these Hebrew boys while they were away from the land of their forefathers we have also made a point to mention that here from 605 BC already the times of the Gentiles began most believe that it happened began at 605 when the first deportation of the Jewish people others believe

that it began from 586 bc when the temple was destroyed by the same men nebuchadnezzar but whichever year we are choosing the times of the gentiles began god was no longer leading his earthly people israel and governing them in the land already the portion of the temple began to be carried at 605 bc to bavell already the judgment of god fell upon his own people israel the jewish people he brought nebuchadnezzar and he carried some of the boys of the children of israel to bavell so we can see that the beginning of the time of the gentile where there is no more god ruled directly over his people israel in the land of israel in

the city of Jerusalem right now we see that the Jewish people are carried away from the land of Israel into Babel and as we will enter into the second chapter we will notice that the times of the Gentiles was already there when King Nebuchadnezzar became the first monarch the first one that was in the process of the four kingdoms that are described to us in the second chapter when King Nebuchadnezzar became the head of this time of the Gentiles.

Well, look what we read here in verses 9 to 21. First of all, you notice in verses 9 to 16 that even though the Jewish people were far away from their land, Yet God always protected his own, even away from the land of Israel. And so you notice that God is finding pleasure with these godly boys, such as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. And he is showing his favor upon them. And he is, as we read in verse 9, Now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. Notice how God is in complete control over all that which is going on. We do read in chapter 1 verse 2 that the Lord gave Yoachim, king of Judah, into the hand of king Nebuchadnezzar.

We do read that the Lord gave parts of the vessels of the house of God to Nebuchadnezzar to carry to Babylon, to Shinar. Well, at the same time when God judges His own people, as a sovereign God who has planned for His own people, He always maintains and protects His people, and especially these godly in the midst of an ungodly nation. Notice that we see Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, Mishael, all are in Babel, but they were godly boys, godly young men. They were not part of the rest who had disobeyed the Lord, and they were not guilty in the judgment that God fell upon the people of Israel.

Yet, as part of the nation of Israel, they were also taken to Babel. But, right there, God is still sovereign. He's overseeing all the affairs of his people. He's watching over them. He's protecting over his people. And notice what we read, that God had brought Daniel into favor and turned their love with the prince of the eunuchs.

That prince of the eunuchs was the one that castrated these boys no more to have the possibility of having a family and he is the one that made sure that they will be prepared to be used by King Nebuchadnezzar in the palace there in the land of Shinar so the favor of God was upon them and in the midst of their trial he is watching over his own it reminds us doesn't it of Genesis chapter 39 of Yosef joseph was also had the favor of god upon him when he was in the land of egypt you notice in verse 21 of genesis chapter 39 we do read but the lord was with joseph and showed

him mercy and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison you see the lord is watching over his people and he's taking care of them even though they are now under discipline in the case of joseph he was sold by his brethren in the case of daniel hananiah mishael and nazariah they came down to shinar along with the rest of the the people of israel because of the discipline of god and yet beautiful to see in verse 9 that god brought daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs this expression in verse 9 favor is come from the hebrew word chesed chesed come from the word grace

and tender love come from the hebrew word rachamim mercy so mercy and compassion in some translation here in the king james favor and tender love but in the hebrew it is hesed verachamim grace and mercy before the sarah sarisim the prince of the eunuchs and notice because daniel purposed in his heart and god saw that the heart of daniel was devoted to him so what does he do he brought favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs concerning daniel hananiah mishael and azariah because immediately in the next verse verse 10 we have the response of the prince of the eunuchs because you remember in verse 8 Daniel asked him he said to him

open-heartedly he said I do not want to defile myself with the king's food I'm a Hebrew we under the Torah under the Torah Elohim the law of God we are commended not to eat food that is offered unto idols we ask you to not allow us to defile ourselves with the food that is offered unto idols i want just to remind you beloved brothers and sisters that the lord have already worn israel through moshe in the days before even israel entered into the promised land in Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 36 we do read listen to these words for the Lord shall judge his people and repent himself for his servant when he sees that

their power is gone and there is none shut up or left and he shall say where are their gods their rock in whom they trusted which did eat the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offering let them rise up and help you and be your protection in other words God already knew before even Israel entered into the promised land that in the future day when Israel will turn away from him and they will follow after other gods because that was the reason that they were carried to Babel he already knew that there will be a time when his people will be helpless and after even they will drink of the

wine of the idols to whom the wine was offered and will eat of the fat of the sacrifices which they have eaten that was offered unto idols God already said let these idols rise up and help you and be your protection see God already prepared Israel for the time that will come and beloved friends it is so true that when we turn away from the truth of God and try to find satisfaction elsewhere even today the church age in which we live in today whenever we turn away from the Lord to other idols other gods other things that keep our hearts away from the Lord sooner or later we will find that we cannot find

any help in anything else because nothing will be able to restore a relationship a joy in our hearts unless god himself is the one that turn our hearts and encourage our hearts and therefore the warning was given already in the book of exodus and the book of deuteronomy but here we see that here's the time where some perhaps have taken of the food that were offered to idols and drank of the wine that were offered to idols but not Daniel not Hananiah not Mishael and not Azariah because Daniel purposed in his heart that he should not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat nor with the wine that he drank therefore he requested

of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself well between verse 8 and verse 10 between the request and between the response in verse 10 of the prince of the eunuch God is working God is working and he brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs but notice that the prince of the eunuch responding now to Daniel he loved him and apparently he cared for Daniel but he was scared for his life and that's why in verse 10 you notice there are three things that he's saying the prince of the eunuchs to daniel and hananiah azariah and mishael we can see that they are connected here as

we go along with this chapter the prince of the eunuchs said unto daniel i fear my lord the king with appointed your meat and your drink for why should he see your faces not as plural worse liking than the children which are of your sort then shall you make me endanger my head to the king you see beloved brothers and sisters the prince of the eunuchs responded and he said first of all i am afraid of the king secondly why should he see your faces will be worse than the faces of the other children who will receive and will take of the king's food and the king's wine.

And thirdly, he said in verse 10, then you will make me endanger my head to the king. You see, the prince of the eunuchs was responsible to submit to the king's word and to simply do what he asked him to do. He could not change what the king had said unto him. And therefore he responded, even though if he could, without to endanger his life, he may have given Daniel and Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, the privilege of just eating and not defiling themselves, eating something else and not being defiled by the king's meat and the king's wine. Again, to remind you that when Daniel was in Babel, he was still under the law of God, under the Torah.

Israel was still as a nation under the law. They were called to submit to the law of God. They were called to obey the word of the Lord. And therefore, they could not violate the law of the Lord, even if they are away from the land. Now, mind you, the nation did violate. That's why they were taken to Babel. But the godly within the rest of the nation of Israel still sought to submit to the word of God. With all the failure, yet they wanted to submit to the word of God.

And so we read now, in the next verses, verses 11, 12, and 13, Daniel now moving from requesting from the prince of the eunuchs, this time from the what he called here melzar melzar is simply the servant that was under the prince of the eunuchs so you can just imagine king nebuchadnezzar have given all the children that came from all the nations including the people of israel have entrusted to his hand in order to prepare them to serve him to castrate them to make them sarisim meaning that they are eunuchs unable to have a family to have physical relationship with a wife and build a family just simply to devote their life to the service

of the king of Babel and then they are now entrusted from the king to the prince of the eunuchs and in turn the prince of the eunuchs gave various children to various servants princes or individuals that are responsible over the children so you notice in verse 11 daniel now said to melzar the hebrew word here melzar is really a steward in hebrew the word ham melzar it's someone who is a steward he's a servant so he was a servant of the prince of the eunuchs and now daniel turned to him i presume in suitable time and now daniel asked from him the steward to respond to his question so we read in verse 11 that

daniel now came to him and he said daniel said unto melzar whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over daniel verse 12 prove thy servants i beseech thee ten days and let them give us pulse to eat and water to drink then let our countenance be looked upon before thee and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat and as thou seest deal with thy servant so now daniel beloved brothers and sisters in a simple way trusting the lord he's now approaching melzah the steward and he's asking him now to simply give the four boys daniel chananiah mishael and azara simply a test just to try it to

see whether they will look better than the other children who eat the portion of the king's meat you notice again in verse 12 he says prove thy servant i beseech thee 10 days and then let them give us pulse the hebrew word is zeroim it's simply seeds let them give us seeds and notice daniel is speaking on behalf of all the four boys the word us is mentioned here let them give us pulse to eat and water to drink so daniel requested a test of 10 days from the steward who was under the prince of the eunuchs and he says give us just seeds to eat water to drink then let our countenance be looked

upon before thee and the countenance of the children that eat the portion of the king's meat and as thou seest deal with thy servant so daniel simply requested to have a trial for these 10 days to remind you dear brothers and sisters and dear friends that in days of old God commanded the people of Israel not to eat certain foods.

You remember in the book of Leviticus, in chapter 11, the whole chapter is devoted to what the Jewish people can eat and what they could not eat. That was given to Israel by divine design. It was not instigated by the children of Israel. It was part of the Torah, part of the law. There are certain food that they could eat, certain food that they could not eat. For example, in Leviticus 11, verse 4, we read, These shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, of them that divide the hoof, as the camel, in verse 4, and the coney, in verse 5, and the hare, in verse 6, and the swine, in verse 7, and so on, and so on.

God gave instruction to Israel what they could eat and what they could not eat from the beast of the field, from the fowl of the air, from the fish that is in the sea. And imagine the kind of food that the king was eating that was definitely what is known to us today, unkosher food, also offered to idols even the wine was offered to idols and daniel a purpose in his heart not to defile himself with the portion of the king's meat nor with the wine which he drank well the request was given to melzar who is really the steward who serve under the prince of the eunuchs and he says let us simply be tested for 10 days.

And then he said that you watch us and our countenance and then watch the countenance of the children that did eat of the king's meat. And you notice that he committed things to the Lord. And as you see, deal with thy servants. You notice that Daniel did not have here any rebellion, any protest, any argument in that sense. He committed himself to the Lord. He used the opportunity to ask these requests from Melzar, from the steward, and we see now how Melzar will respond.

You notice, by the way, that in the next verses, it's beautiful to see that in the next verses verses 14 to 16 we have the steward responds to Daniel request first of all you notice in verse 14 Melzar the steward consented it says here so he consented to them in this matter and proved them for 10 days beautiful to see now that the Lord worked in his heart as the lord worked in the heart of king nebuchadnezzar he worked in the heart of the prince of the eunuchs because we do read that the lord brought daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs even though he did not want to give

daniel this opportunity to be tested and not to eat of the food of the king because he was afraid for his life even though he would love to have done so to help Daniel because the favor of God was upon Daniel and his Hebrew boys and so here we see how God work now in the heart of the steward which is called here in verse 14 he consented to them in the matter and he proved them for 10 days now imagine Instead of now eating of the food that was offered to idols and drink of the wine that was offered to idols, now Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah now were able to simply eat Zerroim,

pulse, and to simply drink water instead of that which was the portion of the king's food.

for 10 days. Interesting because in scripture, the number 10 is a number that speaks about responsibility. It's interesting. Oftentimes in the Bible, we learn about the number 10 because the number 10, we have 10 fingers on our hands. We have 10 toes on our feet. And that reminds us of the responsibility that we have. We have the 10 commandments which God gave to our people of israel and so the number 10 speaks about responsibility the number 10 tells us that daniel was tested for these 10 days and he was responsible to be faithful to the lord and the lord have opened the door for him by allowing him to be tested for these 10 days And so we read in verse 15 that at the end of the 10 days, their countenance appeared fairer and fetter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat.

Very interesting that God somehow protected Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and their faces, their countenance appeared to be better and fatter than those who have eaten perhaps the best food in the palace that the king himself is eating. and it is fascinating to see that they just ate seeds and these 10 days they were not looking less in their appearance than the children that have eaten of the king's meat at the end of the 10 days their countenance appeared notice fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat. So you know what Melzar did according to verse 16? He completely stopped.

Melzar took away the portion of their meat, the food, and the wine that they should drink, and he gave them pulse. He gave them zeronim. Now, of course, beloved brothers and sisters the lesson for us here it's not that there is something wrong with eating meat or enjoying a glass of wine with a meal but the lesson here that that obedience of these Jewish boys show us that obedience is better than sacrifice God delight in obedience it doesn't mean now that we all need to be now eating only seeds and drinking only water, even though it is probably a healthy diet. But the point, the lesson here is that these four children of Israel obey the word of God.

They did not want to defile themselves with that which was offered unto idols. And Therefore, God has blessed them, watched over them, protected them, and ultimately allowed them to even look fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat. You can just imagine the food that comes from the palace, probably the best food that one could enjoy. And yet, because it was offered to idols, these children, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah simply did not want to defile himself. And they chose to obey the Lord, and the Lord blessed them, even in their appearance, fairer and fetter than the children which did eat of the food that was offered by the king.

So, beloved brothers and sisters, verses 9 to 16, we see that God placed a favor upon these children, and that God honored their decision to follow after Him, and that God had blessed them, and ultimately God had a respect towards them, and He responded unto them.

there is a verse that is found in proverbs chapter 19 we read that solomon was writing in those days for the people of israel and he said in chapter 19 and we read there in verse three the foolishness of man perverteth his way and his heart freteth against the lord and you see what king solomon was teaching the people of israel to seek to be wise in their decision making and god have honored their decision to not defile themselves with the king's portion and so now as we move along in daniel chapter 1 as we go towards the end of the chapter we head towards the end of the chapter in verses 17 to verse

21 we see how God now not only that he had placed favored upon them but he also gifted these boys for the benefit of course of king of Babel but for the protection and the blessing that they can provide even though they were there in the land of babel and notice the gifting of god to these four hebrew boys we read in verse 17 of this chapter one as for these four children god gave them notice that knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom and then above that to daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams so god not only brought daniel into favor before the prince of the eunuchs but also we learn

that god have now gifted these four children he gave them knowledge the ability to know how to behave and to know things that were helpful in their life and the word here for knowledge in verse 17 is the knowledge of science madda to know to have knowledge beyond the normal knowledge that he gave to all of us in addition to that also skill the skill is the skill in all learning and wisdom in other words their ability to learn they had to learn the language of the caladins and they had to learn they have wisdom in how to handle themselves there in the land of shinar god have gifted them knowledge skill in learning and

wisdom but you notice to daniel he also gave the ability to understand visions and dreams and you notice the the words here is plural visions and also dreams you know we must distinguish between the visions and the dream the dream is what you dream when you are asleep but chazon or visions receive as daniel received as even the apostle john on the island of patmos received the vision concerning the person of our lord jesus the messiah to be able to have understanding through visions and that's how we will learn as we study the book of daniel that daniel was gifted in understanding all visions and dreams which the lord had given that's how he could

be a help to nebuchadnezzar the king of babylon and to show him that the most high god ruling in the affairs of men we can continue and read in verse 18 that at the end of the three years the four hebrew children were now brought before the king and you notice that at the end of the days these are the three years according to verse 5 at the end of the three years the king velotted that the prince of the eunuchs brought them before Nebuchadnezzar now just a point that I think will be very important for us to bear in mind let's remind us of the time in which Shlomo Solomon the son of David

you remember we read in scripture that he was the wisest man on earth King Solomon as long that he was submitted to the Lord He was the wisest man gifted by God to be a king that ruling over the nation of Israel.

In 1 Kings chapter 3 and verse 11, we read concerning Shlomo, Solomon. And God said unto him, because thou had asked this thing. What did he ask, King Solomon? He asked to discern between good and bad. he asked God to help him to rule over the nation to judge over the nation of Israel he said who is able to judge over this thy people this great people of thine here his heart was as Daniel in his early day he purposed in his heart to lead the people of Israel aright and God blessed him and that's why we read the response of God in 1st King chapter 3 verse 11 And God said unto Solomon, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself a long life, neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment.

He continued here in verse 12, Behold, I have done according to thy words. And so we read, actually, a little bit later in this chapter, we read how Solomon was one of the wisest men on earth. In fact, we do read in verse 28 of 1st King chapter 3, And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged, and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was with him to do judgment. How wonderful it is, beloved brothers and sisters, when one submits to the Lord, and the Lord is blessing his servant. In 1st King chapter 4, we read in verse 29, And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding, exceeding much and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the seashore.

And Solomon's wisdom excelled, the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt, for he was wiser than all men.

wiser than all men in verse 23 and verse 24 of 1st Kings chapter 10 we read just one or two more verses 1st Kings chapter 10 and verse 23 and 24 so King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom and all the earth sought to Solomon to hear his wisdom which god had put in his heart well god had gifted shlomo solomon god had gifted daniel god had gifted hananiah mishael and azariah god is the one that had gifted his people this is amazing to remind us beloved brothers and sisters that you and i today are part of the assembly of the ecclesia of the church of god god

also in the power of the spirit of god had gifted believers to have this wisdom this a gift that come from god we read in first corinthians chapter 12 and verse 8 for to one is given by the spirit the word of wisdom to another the word of knowledge by the same spirit in other words today god also in the power of the spirit of god giving you and i gifts of the spirit of god but the usage of these gifts must be in the power of the spirit of god as one is submissive to the lord and have a purpose of heart to live for the lord jesus the messiah and so as we

continue here in the next verses beloved brothers and sisters daniel 1 verse 18 at the end of the day this is the three years that passed by that the king had said he should bring them in then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar and so we read after three years now, imagine, three years Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah ate pulse and drank water they did not defile themselves with the portion of the king's food and the wine of the king's wine that was offered unto idols, they devoted themselves to the Lord they lived a separated godly life in the midst of their trial in the land of Shinar amazing this is

teaching us that God is able to preserve his people even during a time when they are away from the promised land in other words during the times of the Gentiles God always have godly people among the people of Israel who will seek to maintain the will of the Lord and the Lord will preserve them because remember, even though now these boys and many others have been taken away from the land later on the temple will be destroyed in 586 BC and the Jewish people will be scattered in the Babylonian empire to remind you that God still has in mind to restore the people of Israel and to establish the kingdom in a future day.

As we will learn this when we arrive to the latter chapters of the book of Daniel. And so God preserving his people in the midst of a time when they are away from the land. And so after these three years they are presented before Nebuchadnezzar and notice what we read in verse 19 20 and 21 of Daniel chapter 1 King Nebuchadnezzar listen he found none like these four Hebrew children it says in verse 19 and the king communed with them and among them all was found none like Daniel Chananiah, Mishael and Azariah notice this King Nebuchadnezzar spoke and he talked with them he watched them, he observed them he heard what they were saying this is amazing beloved brothers and sisters because these godly boys had wisdom had skill, they were learning, they were wise, they were able to communicate They were able to present themselves before the king in such a fashion that the king was so impressed.

But then, to remind you once again that God brought Daniel in favor before the king, before the prince of the eunuchs, before Melzah, wherever they were, they had the favor of God upon them. Isn't it amazing when you think how wonderful when God has His favor upon His people? This is so precious because when man's way or please the Lord, He even works in the hearts of their enemies in order to bring about blessing upon them. You know, it reminds me of our blessed Lord Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah, Who of him we read in scripture how he grew so much in grace and in favor before God and before men.

Notice what we read in Luke chapter 2 and verse 40. And the child, this is Yeshua, Jesus, verse 40 of Luke 2. He grew, and he walked strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. Notice how wonderful that he grew. We read in verse 52 of Luke chapter 2, And Yeshua and Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men. Well, of course, we know very well that the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, is the eternal Son of God. He is the perfect one. He is undefiled. He is separate from sinners. He is the promised Messiah, God who became a man. God the Son who became a man.

But, beloved brothers and sisters, he as a boy in the land of Israel, among his people Israel, he himself grew and he worked strong in spirit. He was filled with wisdom and grace. The grace of God was upon him. He increased in wisdom. He increased in statutes. He increased in favor. Both before God, with God, but also with men, before men. The Lord Jesus, the Messiah, is the greatest example that all of us to learn from. But here we see these Jewish boys. They, as we read here, communed with them. And among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. And I want to point to you, beloved brothers and sisters and dear friends, that once and again the Word of God is emphasizing before us the Hebrew names of these boys.

Verse 6, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Verse 7 gives us their name, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, but it also gives us the pagan name that the prince of the eunuchs gave them in order to seek to draw them and to change even their name, to have them occupied with the pagan god. But once and again, the Bible continued to present before us the Hebrew name that represents the God of Israel. Verse 11, we read, Daniel said to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Again, Daniel means God is my judge. Hananiah means Jehovah is gracious. Mishael means who is like unto God.

Azariah means Jehovah is my helper. Jehovah is a helper. And once again, in verse 19, the king himself communes with them. And again, the Bible is clearly presented before us their Hebrew name. None was found like them, like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. And the purpose behind it, of course, to show us that in any dispensation, in any period of time in human history, when God's people seeking to please the Lord, God will bless them. Whether it was before Israel became a nation, in a day like Noah, God have blessed his people who sought to please him. In the days in which we live in today, in the church age, any godly men and women who seek to follow the Lord, God will bring blessing upon them, and they will be a testimony to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

Therefore, notice we read in verse 19 at the end, they therefore stood they before the king when the word stood before the king in verse 19 simply mean that they became servers there in the king's palace the word vayamdu in hebrew and they stood it speaks of the fact that they were there now to serve the king to represent the king to do his bidding there in the palace of the king of Babel. Now notice as we conclude this interesting chapter 1 of the book of Daniel in verse 20 and 21 we head towards the conclusion of this first chapter but I just want to make one more reference to a verse that is found once again in the book of proverbs in proverbs 22 and verse 29 seest thou a man diligent in his business he shall stand before kings and he shall not stand before mean men if you see a man that have diligent and he is diligent in his own business in his own activity king solomon said in proverbs 22 and verse 29 you will see that he will stand before kings and he shall not stand before mean men in other words a man that have diligence and wisdom a man that has knowledge skill in learning and wisdom such as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, they will be used by others because they know that there is benefit in using them for themselves.

And so we read in verse 20 and 21 of Daniel chapter 1, and in all matters of wisdom and understanding that the king inquired of them he found them 10 times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm verse 20 we see that these boys had far greater wisdom better in understanding that even the magicians in hebrew we read hartumim and the astrologers these are the ashafim these are those that were occupied with the stars and those that are so-called the wise men of babylon these four young children after three years of learning and after three years of being tested And after three years of being in Babel, they were found by the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar.

They were ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm. And why, beloved brothers and sisters, we know very well. As we read in verse 9 and verse 17. In verse 9, God brought Daniel into favor and tender love. Verse 17, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom. And Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. It's not a matter of even human ability. Though I'm confident that they had natural and human ability. but it was the favor of God. The favor of God was upon them. Beautiful to see here, beloved brothers and sisters. And so we read in this last verse of Daniel chapter 1, and Daniel continued even unto the first year of King Cyrus.

To remind you that King Cyrus in Hebrew, Koresh, Koresh was the one that in Ezra chapter 1, he was the one that God used him to have the children of Israel return back to the promised land, to the city of Jerusalem, and to rebuild the temple there again. Cyrus according to Ezra 1 and verse 1 we read now the first year of Cyrus king of Persia that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled the Lord stir up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and put it also in writing saying thus says Cyrus king of Persia the Lord God of heaven.

this is the god of israel he has given me all the kingdom of the earth and he has charged me to build him a house at jerusalem which is in judea who is there among you of all his people his god be with him and let him go up to jerusalem to jerusalem which is in judea and build the house of the lord god of israel he is the god which is in jerusalem so what we really learned beloved brothers and sisters that when king cyrus gave this proclamation it was in the year 539 bc In other words, Daniel was in Babel throughout the whole 69, 70 years of the deportation and the time where the Jewish people were in captivity.

For the 70 years captivity of the people of Israel, Daniel continued even unto the first year of King Cyrus. And the king Koresh in Hebrew, Cyrus, is the king that made this announcement because the God of heaven, having trusted him with the responsibility to allow the Jewish people to return to their own city, Jerusalem, in the land of Yehudah, to build the temple, the house of the Lord, the God of Israel. And so 69, 70 years that Daniel was the whole captivity of the Jewish people from 605 to 539 BC when the command to go to send to Judea, to Jerusalem, the people of Israel to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.

In fact, this was his first year, notice that, in the first year of King Cyrus. Now, if we go a little bit further in Daniel chapter 10, you notice that Daniel even continued to the third year of King Cyrus. According to Daniel chapter 10, in verse 1, In the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar. In other words, he was even beyond the 70 years of captivity of the Jewish people, which means that by now Daniel must be 70 years, 72 years, plus whatever age he was taken to Babel from his own homeland. Maybe if he was 15 years of age, he was by now at about 85, 87 years of age.

He did not come back to the land, but nevertheless, he was there in the land of Babel. There all the way, as we read here in verse 21, until the first year of King Cyrus. Wonderful to see how Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were people that devoted themselves. There were faithful children there to the Lord, even in the diaspora. May the Lord help us, especially in the days in which we live in. In the Laodicean days of the church, in which God is still calling his own people. The Lord Jesus, the Messiah, calling his own people to be faithful in the midst of a time of unfaithfulness during the church age.

The Apostle Paul could say, and I would like to close with this, he could say when he was writing to Timothy and to Titus, he was encouraging these younger believers, he was encouraging them to continue on and to follow the Lord Jesus the Messiah, even in a time of decline. Paul said in 2 Timothy 1, verse 12, For I know whom I have believed, and then persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. This is a day when the Lord will come to take his own people home, and he will reward the Apostle Paul, he will reward anyone who is faithful to him during a time of decline, as he was faithful to preserve the Hebrew boys Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah during a time of Israel decline when these boys were in the land of Baveil.

Well, beloved brothers and sisters, God bless you. Until the next time, we will begin with Daniel chapter 2. May the Lord bless us and encourage us and lead us on. We pray for this. Until the next time, God bless you. Shalom, shalom.