Sermon Tone Analysis

Daniel 1:1-20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stephen Caswell © 1999

 

Integrity - The Honest Lawyer

 

Recently, Dr Howard Hendricks was walking the streets in San Mateo, a small town on the San Francisco peninsula.

He met an attorney he knew from a local evangelical church.

He said to him, "What are you doing?"

The attorney said, "I'm looking for a job."

Howard Hendricks replied, "You've got to be kidding."

The attorney said, "No, last week I walked out the front door of that corporation and told them, 'You can hang it on your beak.

I'm no longer going to write contracts that you and I both know are illegal and illegitimate.'"

That man is regarded as one of the top five corporate lawyers in America, and he's unwilling to sell his value system for a mess of pottage.

We need more lawyers like that man.

/Howard Hendricks, "Beyond the Bottom Line,"/

 

Introduction

 

In today's western society there is a complete lack of integrity.

Honest people are hard to find.

More than ever the world needs to see Christians who will live a life that is distinctive.

A life that demonstrates spiritual power.

Daniel and his three friends were men of spiritual power.

They showed real integrity at a time when Israel's spiritual life was at an all time low.

In today's passage we see the beginning of their story.

They were only youths when taken captive to Babylon.

But even though they were young they demonstrated great courage and steadfast faith in God.

They were committed to God no matter what!

Today we will observe two different philosophies seeking to impact these young men.

*/Today's sermon is under two points:/*

 

I.

The King's Plan

II.

Daniel's Purpose

 

King Nebuchadnezzar had conquered the land of Judah because God had delivered it into his hand.

He carried away much booty including some articles from the Lord's house.

He also gave orders for some of the nobles and kings children to be brought to Babylon.

He had a purpose for them.

*/Firstly we will see: /*

 

I.

The King's Plan

 

*Daniel 1:3-4* /Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, *who had ability to serve in the king’s palace*, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans.

/

 

The king wanted intelligent, good looking young men who could learn quickly.

He wanted men who could serve him.

Nebuchadnezzar drew on the wisdom of other cultures to strengthen his own kingdom.

He was looking for the best, the cream of the crop.

So he asked his chief servant to find such men from among the Jewish nobility.

He would then prepare them for service in his court.

These youths would be trained for three years and then presented to the king.

/What did this royal training involve?/

I would like to suggest that it had at least three sides to it.

It involved /Mental Preparation, Physical Preparation and Spiritual Preparation.

/Although/ /some of these areas overlapped.

/a.

Mental Preparation/

 

King Nebuchadnezzar arranged for the education of these young men at the royal school of Babylon.

They were taught the language and literature of the Chaldeans.

The Chaldeans were the wise men of the day.

Their educational program probably included the study of agriculture, architecture, astrology, astronomy, mathematics and law.

This would have been an intense training program.

The training period was for three years.

This education comprised a mixture of practical knowledge and Babylonian mysticism.

Much of this teaching would have been contrary to their own religious beliefs.

After their education was completed the king appointed them to positions in his government.

/Have you been taught things contrary to God's word at school or university?

What do you do when teachers ridicule your Christian beliefs?

/Daniel faced this!

/ /

/b.

Physical Preparation/

/ /

*Daniel 1:5*/ And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king./

To start with the youths chosen were good looking young men.

We are told that they had no blemish or physical defect.

*/Probably they came from Queensland./*

The king wanted to improve on this so he provided them with food from the royal table.

Their diet would have been exquisite.

They would have eaten the best meats and tasted the finest of wines.

The king provided this no doubt as an incentive to excel in their training.

He probably believed that it would also enhance their physical appearance.

/After all shouldn't good food make people healthier?/

And these youths were given the best food that was available, food that the king ate.

/c.

Spiritual Preparation/

/ /

*Daniel 1:6-7* /Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego/.

You might think that verses 6 and 7 are very insignificant.

/After all what's in a name?/

But in ancient times a person's name described his character.

When the chief eunuch gave these youths new names it was very significant.

*Daniel's* name means */My Judge is God/*.

He was given the Babylonian name of *Belteshazzar*, which means, /Lady protect the king/.

*Hananiah* means */Yahweh has been gracious/*.

He was renamed *Shadrach* which means, /I am fearful of god/.

The god referred to is Aku the Elamite moon god.

*Mishael* means, */Who is what God is/*.

His new name was *Meshach* which means, /Who is what Aku is./ Aku was a pagan god.

*Azariah* means */Yahweh has helped/*.

He was named *Abed-Nego*, meaning, /Servant of Nebo/ a Babylonian god.

Daniel and his three friends had been given names that glorified God by their parents.

Their parents feared the Lord and passed on a Godly heritage.

Babylon sought to change this.

The eunuch changed their names in an attempt to transfer their religious allegiance from the Lord to his Babylonian gods.

This was done to help them fit in at Babylon.

Babylon had been the center of pagan religions since Nimrod and the tower of Babel.

The kings training for these nobles was very comprehensive.