Hello, I'm Mike
Browning. This is Let God Speak.
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The year is 605 BC and
Israel has been defeated.
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Some of the people
have been carried off
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to Babylon as captives.
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And the question is,
has God been defeated?
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We will find the
answer to this question
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in the scriptures.
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Well, folks, in our panel today
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we have Rod
Butler and Nathan Tasker.
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Gentlemen, thank you
for joining us today.
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And we'd like to invite
everyone to join us in prayer
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before we open the Scripture.
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Father in heaven,
thank You so much today,
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that we can
come to You in prayer
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and we pray for Your Holy Spirit
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to open our understanding,
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lead us into a true
understanding of the scriptures
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we're studying together.
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Lead us and touch every heart,
we pray in Jesus' name, amen.
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Amen.
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So the big question was, Nathan,
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has God been defeated now
that Israel has been defeated?
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Looking at it
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from the
perspective of the people
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back then, absolutely.
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The nations of
those times had gods
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that looked after
certain geographical areas
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and the area that
was being looked after
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Israel, Judah,
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had been taken
over by the Babylonian.
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So to all external
appearances, it looked like God,
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in fact, had been defeated.
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But if we read carefully,
Daniel 1:2, it looks like God,
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the God of Israel,
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the God of all the world
actually has a bit of a plan.
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Daniel 1:2 says,
"The Lord gave Jehoiakim,
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king of Judah into his hand,"
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this is the hand
of Nebuchadnezzar,
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with some of the
vessels of the house of God.
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And he brought them
to the land of Shinar,
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to the house of his
god, "the Babylonian gods,
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placed the vessels in
the treasury of his god."
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So the God of Israel's
allowing things to happen here.
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So why is He
allowing this to happen?
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Why is He doing this?
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Boy, that's a
really good question.
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And they were really
sad to have to go this way.
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But it just so happens
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that the people of God
have chosen intentionally
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to turn away from God.
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Nehemiah 1:7-9, and
also Deuteronomy 28.
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And various passages tell
us that the people of Israel,
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the leaders of Israel knew
this is going to come upon us
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because we have
turned our backs from God.
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We've turned
away from the covenant
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that God promised us to keep.
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If we perhaps
just turn to Nehemiah.
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That's Nehemiah 1:7-9.
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This is what it says.
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This is Nehemiah
speaking, he says,
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"We have acted very corruptly
against You," that's God,
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"we have not
kept the commandments,
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the statutes,
nor the ordinances,
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which you commanded
to your servant, Moses."
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So it was very clear what have
been going on here, wasn't it?
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Very clear indeed.
They just let God down.
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And He can no
longer protect them.
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Very interesting.
Okay, thank you for that.
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Now, I'm going to read back
in 2 Kings, folks, Chapter 21
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and verse 11 and
12, we read there.
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And what we're
looking at is here,
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we're trying to understand
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how far Israel
had actually fallen,
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that God could no
longer protect them
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from their enemies.
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So 2 King 21:11 and 12.
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"Because Manasseh king of Judah
has done these abominations,
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he has acted more
wickedly than all the Amorites
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who were before him,
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and has made Judah
sin with his idols.
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Therefore thus says
the Lord, God of Israel,
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'Behold, I am
bringing such calamity
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upon Jerusalem and Judah,
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that whoever hears of it,
both his ears will tingle."
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So how far, Rod, had
Israel fallen spiritually.
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Man says they had,
but to what degree?
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Well, they'd t
actually fallen worse
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than the nations around them.
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And you'd think that they
would have learned the lessons
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of seeing the northern kingdom
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which would fall
into the Assyrians
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117 years
earlier, but they didn't.
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They saw that sin
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and they saw the
Assyrians execute judgment.
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And when you look
at the king since then,
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the seven kings
reigned from that time,
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and of those seven only
two are considered good,
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that's Hezekiah and Josiah.
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And one of the ones
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which you've just read Manasseh,
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who was an evil king,
he reigned for 55 years.
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And when you read, if I
read just from the Bible here,
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verse 16.
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It says, "Moreover Manasseh
shed innocent blood very much
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till he had filled Jerusalem
from one end to another."
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So this is a
seriously evil king.
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And we know if you
got an evil leader,
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the people follow.
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And, you know,
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unfortunately they
bought their nation into sin.
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One thing that shocked me
is it wasn't just the adults
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who are being
taken advantage of here.
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Verse 6.
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I don't really know
if we want to read it,
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but it implies here
that women and children,
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children are being sacrificed.
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His son passed through the fire.
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And it wasn't
just this one verses,
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I've got a whole
bunch of cross reference,
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I won't go to today
but there's multiple times
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where the people of God
victimizing their own children
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for the sake of
pleasing other gods.
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That's pretty messed up.
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It was terrible,
terrible, terrible thing.
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So that's why they were
in captivity in Babylon,
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let's face it,
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and the reasons we can
even understand them ourselves.
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I'm going to Daniel
now and Daniel Chapter 1,
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Book of Daniel 1:3 and 4 there,
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and I'm going to
just read it very quickly.
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It says, "The king
instructed Ashpenaz,
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the master of his eunuchs,
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to bring some of
the children of Israel
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and some of the
king's descendants
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and some of the nobles."
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So he was to select
the best and the brightest.
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Verse 4, "Young men in
whom there was no blemish,
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but good-looking,
gifted in all wisdom,
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possessing knowledge
and quick to understand,
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who had the ability to
serve in the king's palace,
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and whom they
might teach the language
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and literature
of the Chaldeans."
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The Babylonians.
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So they would have
select these young men,
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and Daniel who wrote this
book and his three friends
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and others who
were unknown by name.
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They were brought to
Babylon as a result of this.
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Rod, Nebuchadnezzar
had a strategy here.
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What was his strategy here?
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Well, his strategy was to get
the royal blood to be educated
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in the ways of Babylon.
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They would hopefully
become loyal to the king,
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they would serve in his court.
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They would have influence
on the other Jews in captivity.
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And basically that would bring
about harmony in the empire.
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So by integrating
the best and brightest
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into the culture
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that would have a big
influence on everybody else.
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We can see the sense in him.
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He's a politician, he
knows what he's doing.
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He's a politician, all right.
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Okay, so that was
Nebuchadnezzar's strategy.
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What was Daniel
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who's on the
receiving end of all this?
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What was his strategy?
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How did he response?
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So it's very
interesting to compare the two.
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If we just have a look
at Daniel 1:8, it says here,
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"But Daniel
purposed in his heart
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that he would not defile himself
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with the portion of
the king's delicacies,
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nor with the
wine which he drank,
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therefore he requested
of the chief of the eunuchs
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that he might
not defile himself."
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Although he's being
attracted and teased,
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perhaps being encouraged
to go in a certain direction,
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he says, "No, I'm
going to put a boundary"
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and I'm going to say,
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"I'm going to put
God first in my heart."
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That's what he purposed.
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That is he made a
decision, didn't he?
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That's what he was
doing. Very interesting.
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And this is an interesting
point to keep in mind
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because Jesus later
on in the Book of Matthew
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seems to have a
similar sentiment.
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I just want to
draw our attention
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to Matthew Chapter 16.
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Matthew 16:24-26.
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And this is what it says.
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It says, "Jesus
told His disciples,
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'If anyone would come
after Me, let him deny himself,
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take up his
cross, and follow Me.
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For whosoever would
save his life will lose it,
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but whosoever loses his
life for My sake will find it."
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Verse 26, "For
what will a profit a man
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if he gains the whole
world, and forfeits his soul?
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Or what shall a man
give in return for his soul?"
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And here were some young men
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who were offered the whole world
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in fact, weren't they?
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Pretty much.
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Babylon was in
control of the known world
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at that time, and so...
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And they're given positions
of influence, responsibility.
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They're going to be advisers
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to the most powerful king alive.
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And Daniel says,
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"I'm going to
purpose in my heart
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to follow another king first."
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I'll be respectful to this guy,
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but that is my
ultimate authority.
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Yeah, that was
fantastic, wasn't it?
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And I noticed in the
outcome of Daniel stand
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was quite sensational
here in Daniel 1:15 and 16,
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they had a 10 day test,
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we're going to come
back to that in a moment.
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"At the end of ten days
their features appeared better
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and fatter in flesh
than all the young men
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who ate the portion of
the king's delicacies."
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So the king, the steward
took away their delicacies
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and gave them vegetables
to eat and water to drink,
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which was really
interesting at the time.
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So what do you think of that
for a sensational outcome like?
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It's got to be impressive.
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It certainly
begs lots of questions
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and some thoughts.
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Daniel 1:17 tells us
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that God gave these
four men wisdom and knowledge
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in all literature and wisdom.
00:10:03.10\00:10:05.73
And Daniel had understanding
in visions and dreams,
00:10:05.77\00:10:09.37
a bit of a prophetic gift there.
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But the part that jumps
out at me is it's not just
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that God honors these young men.
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God appears also to be
honoring the skepticism
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and the non belief
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or the
uncertainty of those around,
00:10:23.72\00:10:25.92
you know,
obviously Nebuchadnezzar
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and his underlings
were not sure about this God
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that supposedly
defeated this God
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back in Jerusalem, right?
00:10:34.90\00:10:36.36
The God doesn't belong here,
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that God, He's
back there defeated.
00:10:37.77\00:10:39.50
But this God says,
I'll work with you.
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I'll even give an experiment
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and give you a
chance to see for yourself
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that I can engineer things.
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So God isn't just
working for the boys,
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He's working for Nebuchadnezzar
and his workers as well.
00:10:47.81\00:10:51.35
And we know he
really got through
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to the heart of Nebuchadnezzar
00:10:52.78\00:10:54.12
ultimately which
was quite remarkable.
00:10:54.15\00:10:56.35
Now let's talk
about ourselves here.
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The influence of the
world is all around us,
00:10:59.42\00:11:01.19
like the media, the music,
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the sentiments, the education,
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the whole thing is too
much like Babylon to be ignored.
00:11:05.46\00:11:11.23
Is it possible for us to
resist the pressure of values
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that are
opposed to the Scripture
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the world's values?
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Do you think we can do that?
00:11:18.44\00:11:19.77
Well, I guess the example
of Daniel is that, yes, we can.
00:11:19.81\00:11:23.98
Daniel had obviously committed
to his memory, the scriptures,
00:11:24.01\00:11:28.98
he knew the knowledge of
God, he knew his requirements,
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his obligations to God.
00:11:31.62\00:11:33.79
He knew why they're in there
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because of the
sins of the nation.
00:11:36.93\00:11:39.33
So as far as Daniel's concerned,
00:11:39.36\00:11:42.23
he was
confronted with a situation
00:11:42.26\00:11:43.80
where he knew he
just couldn't participate
00:11:43.83\00:11:46.30
in what they were doing,
00:11:46.33\00:11:47.67
but he could be involved
in what the business was.
00:11:47.70\00:11:51.67
And likewise, today, we
also through the grace of God,
00:11:51.71\00:11:55.81
if we have that
knowledge of God in our mind,
00:11:55.84\00:11:59.71
we too can become
faithful and be a witness.
00:11:59.75\00:12:03.69
It's possible to be
faithful on daily basis.
00:12:03.72\00:12:05.62
That's the point.
00:12:05.65\00:12:06.99
How involved did Daniel
and his young friends become
00:12:07.02\00:12:10.26
with this new
Babylonian culture?
00:12:10.29\00:12:12.03
How deeply did they go into it?
00:12:12.06\00:12:13.46
That's the question. Oh,
they're at the epicenter.
00:12:13.50\00:12:16.33
They would be trying
to be royal officers.
00:12:16.36\00:12:18.90
That'd be as Nathan said,
00:12:18.93\00:12:20.30
they're to be advisers to
the greatest king on earth.
00:12:20.34\00:12:23.71
So they had to have full
knowledge of the culture,
00:12:23.74\00:12:26.21
the government, the
way the system worked,
00:12:26.24\00:12:28.71
all the environments
and the other provinces,
00:12:28.74\00:12:32.38
they had to know
about the religion.
00:12:32.41\00:12:34.38
Every aspect of
that functioning empire,
00:12:34.42\00:12:36.75
they're to know about.
00:12:36.79\00:12:38.39
They're to know Acadian
and Babylonian, Aramaic.
00:12:38.42\00:12:41.79
So languages, politics,
00:12:41.82\00:12:45.19
everything about
Babylon, they had to know,
00:12:45.23\00:12:47.83
so they were absolutely involved
00:12:47.86\00:12:49.56
in Babylonian way of life.
00:12:49.60\00:12:52.33
Okay.
00:12:52.37\00:12:53.70
Everyone wanted them to
be Babylonian because...
00:12:53.74\00:12:55.60
I was thinking too for those
00:12:55.64\00:12:56.97
that wanted a bit
of extra homework.
00:12:57.01\00:12:58.34
I'm pretty sure
they had to study
00:12:58.37\00:12:59.71
The Code of Hammurabi
00:12:59.74\00:13:01.08
because that would
have been well entrenched.
00:13:01.11\00:13:02.44
And it slots the
library that we have today
00:13:02.48\00:13:06.35
of what have
become Ashurbanipal,
00:13:06.38\00:13:07.78
I'm pretty sure they
would have been studying
00:13:07.82\00:13:09.18
those journal's texts.
00:13:09.22\00:13:10.55
So for those that
like extra work to do,
00:13:10.59\00:13:12.35
we can find out
what they were studying.
00:13:12.39\00:13:13.82
Okay. Right.
00:13:13.86\00:13:15.19
So they're surrounded
and almost steeped in it
00:13:15.22\00:13:16.73
because they spend three years
studying the Babylonian culture
00:13:16.76\00:13:19.56
and history and literature
00:13:19.59\00:13:20.93
and so we've been talking about.
00:13:20.96\00:13:22.86
What did they know
that sustain their faith
00:13:22.90\00:13:25.93
and enabled them to do that
and still stay faithful to God?
00:13:25.97\00:13:29.94
Well, that's a great question.
00:13:29.97\00:13:31.31
And I'm trying
to think, obviously,
00:13:31.34\00:13:32.67
there's a few things
that come to my mind,
00:13:32.71\00:13:35.18
they had seen their city
00:13:35.21\00:13:36.54
being decimated
by the Babylonians.
00:13:36.58\00:13:39.28
They're bound to be
wondering, why would this be.
00:13:39.31\00:13:41.78
And the thing that
comes to my mind is,
00:13:41.82\00:13:43.92
I'm pretty sure that
these men had been studying
00:13:43.95\00:13:46.29
and reading through the writings
00:13:46.32\00:13:48.69
of the Prophet Isaiah
00:13:48.72\00:13:50.93
and the Prophet Jeremiah,
00:13:50.96\00:13:52.36
they must have
realized that this calamity,
00:13:52.39\00:13:55.80
this catastrophe
was being allowed by God
00:13:55.83\00:13:59.33
because we discussed earlier
00:13:59.37\00:14:01.47
because there people
have not been faithful,
00:14:01.50\00:14:04.01
perhaps God was stepping
in to protect these children
00:14:04.04\00:14:07.31
who have been victimized
by their own families.
00:14:07.34\00:14:10.01
And no doubt, as
these men themselves
00:14:10.05\00:14:13.95
put their faith in God
00:14:13.98\00:14:15.32
and allowed Him to give
them control in their lives.
00:14:15.35\00:14:18.99
They must have seen God
working and protecting them
00:14:19.02\00:14:22.42
and sustaining them.
00:14:22.46\00:14:23.79
So as I'm guessing
00:14:23.83\00:14:25.16
it was an
exercise of their faith
00:14:25.19\00:14:26.53
as they walked
through the sands of Babylon.
00:14:26.56\00:14:28.96
They were still
confident in the fact
00:14:29.00\00:14:30.50
that in the sovereignty of God
00:14:30.53\00:14:32.33
that God was still
actually in control,
00:14:32.37\00:14:34.80
even though it didn't
appear that way on the surface.
00:14:34.84\00:14:36.37
Yes, very much.
00:14:36.40\00:14:37.74
So how did God
honor their faith?
00:14:37.77\00:14:39.11
Did He not
factored on their faith?
00:14:39.14\00:14:40.48
Yeah, I think we
get on to spoil too much
00:14:40.51\00:14:43.11
for the upcoming lessons,
00:14:43.14\00:14:44.48
but we're going to find out
00:14:44.51\00:14:45.85
that God
supernaturally sustains them,
00:14:45.88\00:14:48.85
protected them who have a fire
00:14:48.88\00:14:51.39
and we have vicious animals
seeking to take their life
00:14:51.42\00:14:55.09
and through it all,
we also have detractors,
00:14:55.12\00:14:57.83
other wise men who were saying,
00:14:57.86\00:14:59.29
we don't want these
slaves to be telling us
00:14:59.33\00:15:02.43
and our king what to do.
00:15:02.46\00:15:03.83
We the locals, we
should be the advisers.
00:15:03.87\00:15:05.97
Who are these Hebrew upstarts
00:15:06.00\00:15:07.34
and even in that
jealousy and that culture,
00:15:07.37\00:15:09.44
somehow these guys got
through and other guys didn't.
00:15:09.47\00:15:13.71
We can read in Jeremiah 29.
00:15:13.74\00:15:16.38
There's two other false prophets
00:15:16.41\00:15:17.75
that actually got
killed by Nebuchadnezzar
00:15:17.78\00:15:19.68
because they were pretenders,
00:15:19.71\00:15:21.25
but they didn't pass muster
00:15:21.28\00:15:22.62
like these two did,
these three, these four.
00:15:22.65\00:15:23.99
Now, there was something,
00:15:24.02\00:15:25.35
you can pick the
genuine, can't you?
00:15:25.39\00:15:26.72
Yes.
00:15:26.76\00:15:28.09
So, now as we've already
seen, as soon as they arrived,
00:15:28.12\00:15:30.59
these Daniel, his
friends in Babylon.
00:15:30.63\00:15:34.30
They became,
00:15:34.33\00:15:35.66
they came under fire
right away, didn't they?
00:15:35.70\00:15:37.50
Their faith that has
came under fire right away.
00:15:37.53\00:15:40.37
And so I want to go
back and look more closely
00:15:40.40\00:15:42.70
what actually happened
when they first got to Babylon.
00:15:42.74\00:15:45.44
So if we can do that,
00:15:45.47\00:15:47.41
can you outline
for us what happened,
00:15:47.44\00:15:49.14
Rod, when they got there?
00:15:49.18\00:15:50.51
Well, the answer is
actually in verse 5.
00:15:50.55\00:15:54.32
"And the king appointed them
00:15:54.35\00:15:55.68
a daily provision
of the king's meat
00:15:55.72\00:15:57.72
and of the wine which he drank,
so nourishing them three years,
00:15:57.75\00:16:01.49
that at the end thereof
00:16:01.52\00:16:02.86
they might stand
before the king."
00:16:02.89\00:16:04.69
This was a
simple matter of food.
00:16:04.73\00:16:08.40
The best that
Babylonian culture could offer
00:16:08.43\00:16:12.07
was offered to the
best that the Israelis had
00:16:12.10\00:16:14.80
or the children of Israel had.
00:16:14.84\00:16:17.17
The problem was,
00:16:17.21\00:16:18.54
these particular young people
00:16:18.57\00:16:21.68
didn't want to
partake of the food.
00:16:21.71\00:16:24.01
And that in
itself was a big test.
00:16:24.05\00:16:26.98
It was a big test.
00:16:27.02\00:16:29.62
Daniel did consider this
a serious matter, didn't he?
00:16:29.65\00:16:32.09
He did.
00:16:32.12\00:16:33.46
He considered it
very serious matter
00:16:33.49\00:16:34.82
because the food
back then, firstly,
00:16:34.86\00:16:37.49
before it was actually eaten,
was presented to their idols.
00:16:37.53\00:16:41.56
And secondly, it's
likely on that table
00:16:41.60\00:16:43.97
were things that Daniel
knew he shouldn't be eating.
00:16:44.00\00:16:46.84
God had made very clear
to the children of Israel,
00:16:46.87\00:16:50.11
what food they
should eat to be healthy.
00:16:50.14\00:16:52.87
And on that table, it's
likely there was lots of things
00:16:52.91\00:16:54.78
that they shouldn't eat.
00:16:54.81\00:16:56.14
Now all this was
part of his lifestyle.
00:16:56.18\00:16:58.35
He'd grown up with
this, he'd been faithful,
00:16:58.38\00:17:01.02
he's confronted with things
that he just knows he can't do,
00:17:01.05\00:17:03.99
it would dishonor God.
00:17:04.02\00:17:05.65
And so therein
lies the big test.
00:17:05.69\00:17:07.49
Do I partake?
00:17:07.52\00:17:08.86
It's only a small
matter, or do I make sin?
00:17:08.89\00:17:13.19
Okay, okay.
00:17:13.23\00:17:14.56
And what appears
to be a small matter
00:17:14.60\00:17:17.07
may actually have large input
00:17:17.10\00:17:18.50
on understanding
verse 8 of Chapter 1,
00:17:18.53\00:17:21.04
that Daniel
purposed in his heart,
00:17:21.07\00:17:22.70
"he would not defile himself
with the king's delicacies."
00:17:22.74\00:17:25.74
So he knew that there
was, it was a serious matter.
00:17:25.77\00:17:29.48
And he decided he
wasn't going to go there.
00:17:29.51\00:17:31.48
And I think that
was a fantastic step
00:17:31.51\00:17:33.18
that he was taken.
00:17:33.21\00:17:35.45
A lot of fuss over a
plate of food, do you think?
00:17:35.48\00:17:37.82
Yeah, it could be.
00:17:37.85\00:17:39.19
I mean, we could definitely
see that at a superficial level.
00:17:39.22\00:17:41.82
But I find it ironic
00:17:41.86\00:17:43.19
that modern nutritionists
and doctors are saying,
00:17:43.22\00:17:45.39
"Hey, there are certain things
00:17:45.43\00:17:46.76
that are better to
put in there than others."
00:17:46.80\00:17:48.36
And I find it very interesting
00:17:48.40\00:17:49.73
that Daniel could
conceivably in honoring God,
00:17:49.76\00:17:54.20
not just be appeasing or
making some big God happy,
00:17:54.24\00:17:57.17
but maybe he's
actually following
00:17:57.21\00:17:59.11
the book of instructions
for a better way to live
00:17:59.14\00:18:01.44
for his own health
and for his own acumen,
00:18:01.48\00:18:03.65
maybe his brilliance was
partly because of his health.
00:18:03.68\00:18:07.18
Yeah, it's interesting too
00:18:07.22\00:18:08.55
that he didn't just look
at that food and sort of say,
00:18:08.58\00:18:10.52
"God, please save
me from this situation,
00:18:10.55\00:18:12.12
this temptation."
00:18:12.15\00:18:13.82
He proactively took action.
00:18:13.86\00:18:15.22
He went and spoke to
his supervisor and said,
00:18:15.26\00:18:18.86
"Sir, I can't eat this
food, it'll defile me."
00:18:18.89\00:18:21.36
Now just doing
that, he took a big risk
00:18:21.40\00:18:23.90
because if you go to,
00:18:23.93\00:18:25.53
you know, back then
you had absolute monarchs.
00:18:25.57\00:18:28.20
If you said, I don't like
00:18:28.24\00:18:29.57
what you're offering
me to an absolute monarch,
00:18:29.60\00:18:31.81
you could be in serious trouble.
00:18:31.84\00:18:33.17
Now, his supervisor knew this
because his supervisor thought,
00:18:33.21\00:18:35.68
if I don't give you this
food, I could lose my head.
00:18:35.71\00:18:38.11
This was really serious stuff.
00:18:38.15\00:18:40.08
Yeah.
00:18:40.12\00:18:41.45
So there's a lot more to this
00:18:41.48\00:18:42.82
that's going on
here for these boys
00:18:42.85\00:18:44.32
than just the food
which makes it even bigger,
00:18:44.35\00:18:46.76
a bigger step to say no,
00:18:46.79\00:18:48.86
because you notice
in verse 7 of Chapter 1
00:18:48.89\00:18:52.46
that it says, "The chief
of the eunuch gave names,
00:18:52.49\00:18:54.70
that is Babylonian names
00:18:54.73\00:18:56.63
to Daniel and his three friends.
00:18:56.67\00:18:58.00
Daniel was called Belteshazzar.
00:18:58.03\00:18:59.97
Hananiah Shadrach,
Mishael, they called Meshach,
00:19:00.00\00:19:04.64
Azariah Abednego."
00:19:04.67\00:19:06.78
These were all names
after the Babylonian gods,
00:19:06.81\00:19:08.94
which is rather
interesting, isn't it?
00:19:08.98\00:19:11.25
So, they changed the names.
00:19:11.28\00:19:13.31
Nathan, give me your outline.
00:19:13.35\00:19:14.98
Why would they do this,
you know, what's the strategy?
00:19:15.02\00:19:17.65
From what we can see
as Rod brought up earlier,
00:19:17.69\00:19:20.09
we're trying to
assimilate these men
00:19:20.12\00:19:21.92
into Babylonian culture.
00:19:21.96\00:19:23.49
We're trying to erase
their Hebrew heritage and say,
00:19:23.53\00:19:26.63
"You are now the best
of Babylonian advisers.
00:19:26.66\00:19:31.53
You have Babylonian
names, Babylonian gods,
00:19:31.57\00:19:34.00
Babylonian
clothes, Babylonian foods."
00:19:34.04\00:19:37.34
They had surgery to
take away their masculinity.
00:19:37.37\00:19:40.01
They were
completely being rebranded
00:19:40.04\00:19:42.34
for another worldview.
00:19:42.38\00:19:44.38
And it's quite amazing to me
00:19:44.41\00:19:46.78
that people subservient
to an absolute monarch
00:19:46.82\00:19:50.79
would dare to stand up
00:19:50.82\00:19:52.59
because the easy
solution is off with his head.
00:19:52.62\00:19:55.02
That's what was
the solution back then.
00:19:55.06\00:19:56.39
Okay.
00:19:56.42\00:19:57.76
And there were some incentives,
00:19:57.79\00:19:59.13
didn't they have
some personal incentives?
00:19:59.16\00:20:00.50
Well, the
incentives were very lucrative
00:20:00.53\00:20:02.66
because if they studied
hard, if they passed the test,
00:20:02.70\00:20:06.33
they would become royal officers
00:20:06.37\00:20:08.24
in the king's court.
00:20:08.27\00:20:09.67
Their status would go
00:20:09.70\00:20:11.04
from being a
captive to royal officer.
00:20:11.07\00:20:13.91
Now this meant the
best of everything.
00:20:13.94\00:20:15.54
Best accommodation, best
food, best of everything.
00:20:15.58\00:20:17.71
This was their pathway to
wealth, success on a glory.
00:20:17.75\00:20:21.82
It's like
winning the lotto. Yeah.
00:20:21.85\00:20:23.35
This is, you know...
00:20:23.39\00:20:25.32
So there were plenty of
appealing reasons for them
00:20:25.35\00:20:27.46
to compromise their
faith at this point,
00:20:27.49\00:20:30.36
Rod, weren't they?
00:20:30.39\00:20:31.86
And the king had
been nice to them.
00:20:31.89\00:20:35.43
Very much.
00:20:35.46\00:20:36.80
The king had been very generous.
00:20:36.83\00:20:38.17
It could be argued
00:20:38.20\00:20:39.53
that the king had
been more generous
00:20:39.57\00:20:40.90
than the slaves deserved.
00:20:40.94\00:20:42.27
There would be no question
00:20:42.30\00:20:43.64
if the king were to say
or the advisers were to say,
00:20:43.67\00:20:45.01
look in, I pull your head
00:20:45.04\00:20:46.37
and this guy's
being nice to you,
00:20:46.41\00:20:47.74
there'd be no discussions.
00:20:47.78\00:20:49.14
That's true.
00:20:49.18\00:20:50.51
Yeah, that's very true indeed.
00:20:50.55\00:20:51.88
It would be very tempting
for them just to compromise.
00:20:51.91\00:20:54.58
You know, what's a
little bit of food here,
00:20:54.62\00:20:56.22
a little bit of drink
there, a bit of alcohol here,
00:20:56.25\00:20:58.25
it's only, who's gonna know?
00:20:58.29\00:20:59.62
What's a piece of bacon?
00:20:59.65\00:21:00.99
What's a piece of bacon?
00:21:01.02\00:21:02.36
What's the big deal here?
00:21:02.39\00:21:04.13
That's true.
00:21:04.16\00:21:05.49
So how did Daniel
resolve the issue?
00:21:05.53\00:21:08.10
We need to get to that.
00:21:08.13\00:21:09.76
It seems, and I'm
very encouraged about this,
00:21:09.80\00:21:12.33
it seems that
Daniel is quite happy
00:21:12.37\00:21:14.20
to try the empirical method,
00:21:14.24\00:21:16.24
the scientific method
for the sake of skeptic.
00:21:16.27\00:21:19.61
"Hey, we believe in a God
00:21:19.64\00:21:21.01
who can do
everything, you don't.
00:21:21.04\00:21:22.81
But we'll make it work out
so you can see for yourself too
00:21:22.84\00:21:25.91
according to your standards."
00:21:25.95\00:21:27.28
And so Daniel says,
this is 1:12 and 13.
00:21:27.32\00:21:30.72
Let's take it to the lab.
00:21:30.75\00:21:32.92
Let's do a test.
00:21:32.95\00:21:34.32
"Please test your
servants for ten days,"
00:21:34.36\00:21:36.02
it says here in verse 12,
00:21:36.06\00:21:37.53
"and let them give
us vegetables to eat
00:21:37.56\00:21:40.56
and water to drink."
00:21:40.60\00:21:41.93
Verse 13, "Then let
our appearance be examined
00:21:41.96\00:21:44.50
before you,
00:21:44.53\00:21:45.87
and the
appearance of the young men
00:21:45.90\00:21:47.24
who eat the portion
of the king's delicacies,
00:21:47.27\00:21:49.80
and as you see fit, so
deal with your servants."
00:21:49.84\00:21:53.98
So Daniel is saying,
"Check it out, you decide.
00:21:54.01\00:21:57.78
The evidence will be the judge."
00:21:57.81\00:22:00.05
That was good, wasn't it?
00:22:00.08\00:22:01.75
He's also very
diplomatic to his supervisor.
00:22:01.78\00:22:04.02
He was polite and conserved.
00:22:04.05\00:22:06.65
And bring the authority.
00:22:06.69\00:22:08.42
I think he did and
he handled it very well.
00:22:08.46\00:22:10.53
Why do you suppose Daniel
00:22:10.56\00:22:12.59
was so confident
about the outcome?
00:22:12.63\00:22:16.03
There's no
question, he trusted God.
00:22:16.06\00:22:18.47
Genesis 1:29 tells us
00:22:18.50\00:22:20.04
that there's been a
series of ideal diets
00:22:20.07\00:22:23.47
that have been given originally
00:22:23.51\00:22:24.84
and this vegetable and water
00:22:24.87\00:22:27.68
was very much a part
of the earliest advice
00:22:27.71\00:22:30.78
that God had given
humans for their own benefit.
00:22:30.81\00:22:32.91
So Daniel's thinking
"Well, if God promised,
00:22:32.95\00:22:34.88
I've got good
reason to trust it."
00:22:34.92\00:22:36.25
Okay, he was
doing what God had said,
00:22:36.28\00:22:37.69
"How can you go wrong." I
mean, that was pretty good.
00:22:37.72\00:22:39.65
So I'm impressed with that.
00:22:39.69\00:22:42.92
But think about this.
00:22:42.96\00:22:44.66
Vegetables and water.
00:22:44.69\00:22:46.39
Could just eating
vegetables and water
00:22:46.43\00:22:48.03
make such a difference?
00:22:48.06\00:22:49.83
Yes, it can.
00:22:49.86\00:22:51.47
I mean, you consider
where they've come from.
00:22:51.50\00:22:53.97
We don't know the
timing too much in the story,
00:22:54.00\00:22:56.00
but they've just come
from a long march from Babylon.
00:22:56.04\00:22:58.47
A long trek. A long trek.
00:22:58.51\00:23:01.14
This could have
been very early days,
00:23:01.18\00:23:02.58
they've selected the
royal princes very early.
00:23:02.61\00:23:07.68
Vegetables and water
alone would help their recovery.
00:23:07.72\00:23:10.49
If you went straight
on to a heavy meat diet,
00:23:10.52\00:23:12.72
it would cloud their thinking...
00:23:12.75\00:23:14.39
Lots of sweets and sugar
and a lot of them, no doubt.
00:23:14.42\00:23:17.09
Plus lots of fresh water
would aid the circulation,
00:23:17.13\00:23:20.20
you can sort of see
00:23:20.23\00:23:21.56
that that would have
an impact on countenance,
00:23:21.60\00:23:24.07
their expression,
00:23:24.10\00:23:25.43
and they look fatter and fairer.
00:23:25.47\00:23:26.80
That's what the test
was, how do they look?
00:23:26.84\00:23:29.60
So yes, you can sort of
see how that would work.
00:23:29.64\00:23:32.01
Yeah, okay.
00:23:32.04\00:23:33.38
And I notice in
Leviticus Chapter 11,
00:23:33.41\00:23:35.41
they were definitely
some articles have died
00:23:35.44\00:23:40.32
that God outlined and said,
00:23:40.35\00:23:41.68
you are not to eat these things.
00:23:41.72\00:23:43.05
And I just want
to draw our attention
00:23:43.08\00:23:45.05
to Leviticus 11:2 and 3,
00:23:45.09\00:23:50.99
which says,
"Speak to the children
00:23:51.03\00:23:52.36
of Israel," saying,
00:23:52.39\00:23:53.73
"These are the
animals which you may eat
00:23:53.76\00:23:55.36
among all the animals
that are on the earth,
00:23:55.40\00:23:58.03
Among the animals,
whatever divides the hoof,
00:23:58.07\00:24:02.44
having cloven hooves
00:24:02.47\00:24:03.81
and chewing the
cud that you may eat,"
00:24:03.84\00:24:06.31
which would be the cow
and the sheep and the goat.
00:24:06.34\00:24:09.58
They are the clean ones.
00:24:09.61\00:24:11.41
And very specifically, verse 7,
00:24:11.45\00:24:13.85
"The swine, though
it divides the hoof,
00:24:13.88\00:24:16.95
it does not chew
the cud, it's unclean."
00:24:16.99\00:24:19.09
And it would be
unusual if it wasn't,
00:24:19.12\00:24:21.39
there wasn't pig on
the plates on those.
00:24:21.42\00:24:23.79
I think one thing
that jumped out at me too,
00:24:23.83\00:24:25.33
and I haven't got the
verses in front of me.
00:24:25.36\00:24:27.10
But in the Levitical Code,
00:24:27.13\00:24:28.86
there's also
fairly clear guidance
00:24:28.90\00:24:30.37
about the use of
or the non use of fat
00:24:30.40\00:24:33.60
as a primary food source.
00:24:33.64\00:24:35.87
It says, even if
it was a clean animal,
00:24:35.90\00:24:38.21
the fatty portion
was not supposed to be
00:24:38.24\00:24:41.21
consumed generally speaking.
00:24:41.24\00:24:42.64
Today, we, of course,
see the wisdom in that,
00:24:42.68\00:24:44.51
but back in those days
it would have been seen
00:24:44.55\00:24:46.35
to be a bit of a funny
role, why not have the fat,
00:24:46.38\00:24:48.42
that's the yummy
part of the meal.
00:24:48.45\00:24:50.22
But God knew before
the modern nutritionists
00:24:50.25\00:24:53.76
that we don't
need too much of that
00:24:53.79\00:24:55.62
because it can have
negative adverse effects.
00:24:55.66\00:24:58.63
If you also just
go to Exodus 15:26,
00:24:58.66\00:25:04.17
it says here,
00:25:04.20\00:25:05.77
"If thou wilt diligently hearken
00:25:05.80\00:25:07.50
to the voice of
the Lord thy God,
00:25:07.54\00:25:09.30
and will do that
which is right in his sight,
00:25:09.34\00:25:11.91
and will give ear
to his commandments,
00:25:11.94\00:25:13.41
and keep all his statutes,
00:25:13.44\00:25:14.78
I will put none of
these diseases upon that,
00:25:14.81\00:25:17.25
which I have
brought upon the Egyptians,
00:25:17.28\00:25:18.81
for I am the Lord
that healeth thee."
00:25:18.85\00:25:20.18
Okay.
00:25:20.22\00:25:21.55
So there's a
promise straightaway
00:25:21.58\00:25:22.92
that if we're faithful
to the dietary requirements,
00:25:22.95\00:25:24.92
we won't get the
diseases that others will.
00:25:24.95\00:25:26.96
It's interesting
to look at the mummies
00:25:26.99\00:25:28.32
from Egypt today,
00:25:28.36\00:25:29.89
we can actually
see how they died.
00:25:29.92\00:25:31.39
And we actually have
good records from the mummies.
00:25:31.43\00:25:35.40
Those that didn't follow
00:25:35.43\00:25:36.83
this dietary
guidance that they did,
00:25:36.87\00:25:38.20
in fact, suffer
the same diseases.
00:25:38.23\00:25:39.57
Major modern lifestyle diseases.
00:25:39.60\00:25:40.94
Yes and we don't
have the mummies,
00:25:40.97\00:25:43.44
we don't have the bodies
preserved of the Israelites,
00:25:43.47\00:25:45.27
but from the skeletons we have,
and from the records we have,
00:25:45.31\00:25:48.01
it does seem quite likely
00:25:48.04\00:25:49.38
that they did not
generally speaking,
00:25:49.41\00:25:51.61
have these conditions.
00:25:51.65\00:25:53.01
So you have records in history
00:25:53.05\00:25:55.48
and archaeology
confirming God's promise.
00:25:55.52\00:25:59.09
All right, very quickly.
00:25:59.12\00:26:00.46
Now I just got to
go to Daniel 1:18,
00:26:00.49\00:26:04.13
where we come to the
end of the 10 days test.
00:26:04.16\00:26:06.19
"At the end of the days,
00:26:06.23\00:26:07.56
when the king had said
they should be brought in,
00:26:07.60\00:26:10.53
the chief of the
eunuchs brought them
00:26:10.57\00:26:11.90
in before Nebuchadnezzar.
00:26:11.93\00:26:13.27
And the king interviewed them."
00:26:13.30\00:26:14.64
And so the king
himself was a sharpshooter,
00:26:14.67\00:26:16.37
because he was the
one who did the testing,
00:26:16.40\00:26:19.11
which is interesting.
00:26:19.14\00:26:20.48
He is skeptic. But he was.
00:26:20.51\00:26:22.01
And, of course,
00:26:22.04\00:26:23.38
a well educated
man, no doubt too.
00:26:23.41\00:26:24.75
Yes, he is very much.
00:26:24.78\00:26:26.11
So he interviewed them,
00:26:26.15\00:26:27.48
and he found among
them none like Daniel,
00:26:27.52\00:26:28.88
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
00:26:28.92\00:26:31.22
therefore they
served before the king."
00:26:31.25\00:26:33.19
And then verse 20 says
this amazing statement,
00:26:33.22\00:26:36.66
"In all matters of
wisdom and understanding
00:26:36.69\00:26:38.99
about which the
king examined them,
00:26:39.03\00:26:40.50
he found them ten times better
00:26:40.53\00:26:43.26
than all the magicians
and astrologers in his realm."
00:26:43.30\00:26:46.33
So they were outstandingly
head and shoulders above them.
00:26:46.37\00:26:49.90
But 10 times?
00:26:49.94\00:26:51.47
Well, God blessed
their faithfulness.
00:26:51.51\00:26:53.84
And He blessed
them in such a way
00:26:53.88\00:26:55.58
that they were a
powerful witness.
00:26:55.61\00:26:57.61
Yeah. That's right.
00:26:57.65\00:26:58.98
So we're encouraged by this
00:26:59.01\00:27:00.35
standing for
what is right and good
00:27:00.38\00:27:02.42
as God outlines
in the scriptures,
00:27:02.45\00:27:04.42
it's gotta be safe.
00:27:04.45\00:27:05.79
Well, we have to
finish there, folks.
00:27:05.82\00:27:07.56
Daniel does
begin, the Book of Daniel
00:27:07.59\00:27:10.53
with a disaster
of Israel's defeat.
00:27:10.56\00:27:13.23
But it moves right on to reveal
00:27:13.26\00:27:14.76
God's personal presence is
with His faithful minority.
00:27:14.80\00:27:19.03
And if those
boys can be faithful
00:27:19.07\00:27:20.64
in the court of Babylon, folks,
00:27:20.67\00:27:22.64
we can be faithful
today by God's grace.
00:27:22.67\00:27:26.17
Well, glad you are with
us today on Let God Speak.
00:27:26.21\00:27:29.01
You can watch any
past program on our website
00:27:29.04\00:27:31.15
3abnaustralia.org.au.
00:27:31.18\00:27:34.08
Teachers' notes can
be downloaded there.
00:27:34.12\00:27:36.65
You can email us on
lgs@3abnaustralia.org.au.
00:27:36.69\00:27:41.86
And we'd like to invite
you to join us again next time.
00:27:41.89\00:27:44.46
God bless truly.
00:27:44.49\00:27:45.83