1 Cor. 5:9-13; 1 John 2:15-17, Setting the Scene (3)

 Not only did Daniel and his three friends have to endure three years of education in a secular, idolatrous education system; they were also given new “identities” (names) that were meant to incorporate them into Babylonian culture and life.

Heb. Name	Meaning	Chaldean Name	Meaning
Daniel	God my judge	Belteshazzar	Keeper of Bel’s treasures
Hananiah	Grace of the Lord	Shadrach	Inspiration of the sun
Mishael	The Strong God	Meshach	Goddess Shack (Venus)
Azariah	The Lord is a Help	Abed-nego	Servant of the shining fire

When you consider the situation you can see that this might have been extremely difficult for young men who desired to be true to their God (the God of Israel). For one thing, all the aspects of the “course of this world” (Eph. 2:2; the “world system”) were present in full power: the lust of the flesh (as in the food and wine, they had the best), the lust of the eyes (the temple and many other amazing things that displayed the riches of Babylon), and the pride of life (evident in the education they were receiving and the pride associated with the Chaldean culture).  This was all on display and was considered to be a life worth living.

In addition, there were undoubtedly other captives from Israel who did not have the same resolve that Daniel and his friends had.  What other responses might Daniel have seen in his fellow-countrymen?  Perhaps …

·       1 Cor. 5:9-13: Just giving in to the Babylonian life.  After all, they are in charge, and if you succeed you can have a pretty good life.

·       Psalm 120:5-7: “Woe is me!”  Which might also lead one to be less motivated to maintain the Jewish lifestyle.

·       Psalm 126:1-4: “I want to go home.”  This is a form of, “I wish it was the way it used to be.”  This also doesn’t strengthen us to live a godly life.

·       Psalm 137: Or you might be angry all the time, and never get past a prayer of vengeance on your captors.

·       Jeremiah 29:4-7: Or you might take Jeremiah letter to the captives, to build homes and settle down, as meaning, “settle down and become a Babylonian.”

Or, you might join Daniel’s band.  In anticipation of our continuing in Ch. 1 in the next post, look as three significant statements in Daniel 1:

v 1:8: Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself with the king’s food.  They took a stand for the Lord, trusted the Lord.

v 1:9: God caused the official to look favorably on them.  And this is what the Lord did for them.

v 1:17: God gave them success in Babylonian literature.  They ended up becoming learned men in the things of godless men.  But it did not make them godless men!