Day 256—We are in the NINETH month of Bible reading, with more of Israel’s history and future visions in DANIEL’S prophecy.

    Day 256 – Daniel 1 – 3 (Daniel & friends in Babylon, prosperity & persecution)

Daniel and his three friends (from noble Jewish families) were taken captive in Nebuchadnezzar’s first of three mass deportations. The boys were probably around 15 years old. Daniel lived there through the entire 70 years of captivity and possibly longer. He rose high in the government of several powerful kings but never turned from the LORD his God. 

Daniel 1.  The Babylonian king instructed Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch in charge of the eunuchs, to prepare some of the wise, good-looking, skilled, well-learned, and courtly young men of the royal and noble Jews to learn the Babylonian ways and language.  Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were some of the chosen. They all received Babylonian names and began a rich diet of the king’s food and wine.

Oops! Not kosher!!

These faithful Jewish youth did not want to defile themselves according to Jewish dietary laws and asked Ashpenaz if they could just have veggies and water. Despite his fear that the boys would look skinny before the king and he would lose his head, Ashpenaz gave them 10 days as a test.  After eating vegan for the test, the four boys looked better and were more alert than all the others, so the chief eunuch allowed them to continue to eat kosher.  GOD gave them learning, skill, and wisdom, and to Daniel, He gave understanding in all visions and dreams.  In fact, when Ashpenaz brought them before Nebuchadnezzar at the end of three years, the king found them 10X better than all the magicians and enchanters in his kingdom.  

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Daniel 2.  Now, Daniel’s dream skills were to be tested. Nebuchadnezzar had a night of nightmares and the following day, commanded all the Chaldean magicians, enchanters, and sorcerers to come and tell him the meaning of his dream. They arrived and asked the king what he dreamed so they could “concoct” a favorable interpretation.  But no!  The king required them to TELL HIM THE DREAM TOO, which they could not.  “You shall be torn limb from limb and your houses destroyed!!!” shouted the king. After denying “anyone’s” ability to do what the king wanted, he sentenced them all to death.

Fortunately for them, when Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard came to arrest Daniel, he calmly asked what the big rigamarole was. He then made an appointment to see the king and tell him ALL HE WISHED TO KNOW.

Then he asked his three friends to “seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so they might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men.”  That night, God revealed the mystery to Daniel.  “Oh, blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might…”  “To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for YOU have given me wisdom and might and have now made known to me what we asked of you.”  

Then, Arioch brought Daniel to the king.

“Can you make the dream and its interpretation known to me?” demanded the King.

“Not me, but the God of Heaven can do it,” answered Daniel.

So, Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar his dream of a giant statue made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and iron mixed with clay. He shows the king how this image represents the world’s kingdoms, beginning with Babylon as the head of gold.  He also tells the king that a stone will strike the image’s feet, destroy it, and then grow into a mountain that fills the whole earth. This represents how the great God of Heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed.

Wow, and double wow! 

The king is flabbergasted, falls on his face, and pays homage to Daniel. “Truly your God is God of Gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries.”  The king gives Daniel all kinds of promotions to top Prefect in Babylon. (At Daniel’s request, the king appoints his three friends to govern the provinces.) 

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Daniel 3.  The king becomes enamored with the statue he dreamed about and that the golden head represents “him.”  He commands an entire image of gold be made – that no doubt looks remarkably like him.  Then he commands ALL people everywhere to bow to this image when he begins to play his favorite tunes on Spotify. They do.  EXCEPT Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. (And Daniel, but he’s not in the picture here.)  

Okay, remember those wizards and wise men who were demoted when Daniel revealed the king’s dream?  They are royally aggrieved with the Hebrew youngsters taking over their key spots. So they spy on the three governors and tattle to the king about their now bowing to the statue. 

Nebuchadnezzar is now also “royally” aggrieved and sends for the three.  He thinks that maybe his instructions aren’t clear, so he tells them again. 

“Worship my golden image when the music plays, or you’ll be thrown into the furnace.”  How clear can he get? 

But the three refuse. “Not on your life, er, on our lives, will we bow to another besides our great God of Heaven?  Even if you roast us. Hey, our God may save us!!  But even if not, we won’t bow to a golden image.  WE KNOW why our people are here in Babylon instead of in Judah. Worshiping stupid idols!

Music. Upright boys. King’s fury. Three hurled in. The guards fried on the spot. Four in the furnace. No ropes. Walking around praising God. HUH???  Yep, the king thinks he’s seeing things again. He commands they be drawn out of the furnace. They aren’t scorched or even singed. They don’t smell of smoke. 

Of course, now, Nebuchadnezzar turns his back on the image and worships “the Most High God,” the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego…. because of their witness.  They willingly yielded their bodies to be burned rather than worship any God except their own God, the LORD. 

Nebuchadnezzar made a decree that it was illegal to speak anything against their God, punishable by being torn limb from limb and their houses destroyed. “For there is no other God who is able to rescue in this way.”

(And the three were promoted even higher in the province of Babylon.)