Daniel 1:6
Now among these were of the children of Judah:
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
The Book of Daniel begins with a war and a kidnapping. Not a very auspicious beginning, is it? But we miss a very important point here: The Lord allowed it to happen (verse 2). Sometimes when bad things happen to us, we wonder where God is and why this is happening to us. When instead we should keep our hearts and our eyes on God and respect His will for us, even when our world has been turned upside-down.
Of all the children of Israel, only four were found to meet the king's requirements for them to be in his court, in his service. Verse 4: unblemished, goodly to look upon, wise, knowledgeable, understanding in science; young men who they would be able to teach their ways and their language to.
Young men who would be fed meat and wine for three years, that they might be presentable to the king: Verse 5. And their names were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Daniel: God is My Judge. Hananiah: The Lord is Gracious. Mishael: Who Is Like God? Azariah: God Has Helped.
They were the children of Judah, the people of 'praise to our God'. Though The Spirit may have held their tongues when captured, their hearts continued to glorify God. How could they not? God blesses His people with goodness and adversity. He it is Who makes us ready to walk through the trials and come out on the other side. It is God we praise.
And yet, in their captivity, the king tried to change even their identity in God. He gave them new names that represented his god. Daniel was given the name Belteshazzar, which means 'Bel Protects'. Bel is a form of Ba'al which means 'lord, master, owner' and was their god of the storms and god of fertility. Though Daniel had to answer to this name while in captivity, he remained faithful to God throughout.
Hananiah was given the name Shadrach, meaning 'Command of Aku'. In the Babylonian culture renaming was common, so as to assimilate strangers and prisoners into their way of life. Yet, Hananiah, too, remained faithful to God.
Mishael was given the name Meschach, meaning, 'Who Is Like Aku'. A mocking name meant to insult the name Mishael had been given at birth. A name that changed by one word: from God to god. I believe Mishael was aware of the mockery, yet that only enforced his desire to remain faithful to his God. And he stood strong in his faith.
Azariah became Abednego, meaning 'Servant of Nebo', the god of writing and wisdom, prophesy and announcing. Azariah's name change meant nothing to him, yet he, also, had to learn his new name and respond to it.
In their faithfulness to their God, they were able to learn not only the language and customs of Babylon, but God put them in a place where they would thrive because of their faith in Him. What the enemy means for our downfall, God will use to raise us up. And raise them up He did.
Regardless of the names we are called in the territory of the enemies of God, we choose to remain faithful to our God. We will be called liars for proclaiming The Truth of The Word of God. We will be named Intolerant and Hater. We will be called Divisionist, for division will be evident in our relationships, which will be broken because we will not back down from The Truth.
Yet, in the face of all the backlash from those who do know God, nor do some want to know God, we will stand on The Word of God and hold our place in the line of battle. For this type of warfare goes beyond being spoken of vilely, or being attacked physically, even beyond being killed for His Name's sake. This is spiritual warfare and we need to be as prepared as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were.
Now is the time to prepare our hearts and our minds to focus on God and God's Word through God's Holy Spirit. Today is the day we strengthen ourselves with The Word of God. We are armed and dangerous underneath this calm exterior. We are not afraid, nor are we alone. Our God is With Us. And our name is Christian.
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