Daniel 1 ~ And God gave Daniel favor and compassion

King Jehoiachin Ration Tablets from the massive Babylonian Chronicles. Jehoiachin was thrown over by Nebuchadnezzar II by his uncle. Jehoakim - who was killed by Nebuchadnezzar eventually, for ... of all things... double-dealing.

 

Daniel 1

1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. 

And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. 3 Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, 4 youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. 

5 The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. 6 Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. 7 And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. 9 And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs 

1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, 

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.

Centuries later, Nebuchadnezzar II's palace would be sought out by Alexander the Great as he was dying as a young man, on a military campaign. Alexander the Great felt he had been given Biblical Prophecy. Nebuchadnezzar did as well.  So, Alexander the Great set his sights to die among those who had killed many in battle and, yet, might be given favor in God The Almighty's eyes.

Ezekiel 26:1-6, Tyre became mainland

26 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,’ 3 therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. 4 They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers, and I will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock. 5 She shall be in the midst of the sea a place for the spreading of nets, for I have spoken, declares the Lord God. And she shall become plunder for the nations, 6 and her daughters on the mainland shall be killed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Tyre was an Island - Before Alexander the Great decided to make more mainland.

Tyre is still the ruin Ezekiel said it would remain.

Then, says Josephus, Jaddua had a dream as to how to entreat the Macedonian king. He and the other priests dressed in their priestly robes and, accompanied by others dressed in white garments, formed a procession going out of the city to a carefully chosen place to meet the Alexander the Great.

Alexander then did the unexpected. 

Alone, he approached the high priest and members of the procession and greeted them. 

He bowed down.

Alexander said: "I did not adore him, but that God who hath honoured him with his high priesthood; for I saw this very person in a dream, in this very habit [garment], when I was at Dios in Macedonia, who, when I was considering with myself how I might obtain the dominion of Asia, exhorted me to make no delay, but boldly to pass over the sea thither, for that he would conduct my army, and would give me the dominion over the Persians; whence it is, that having seen no other in that habit, and now seeing this person in it, and remembering that vision, and the exhortation which I had in my dream, I believe that I bring this army under the divine conduct, and shall therewith conquer Darius, and destroy the power of the Persians, and that all things will succeed according to what is in my own mind" (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 11, chap. 8, sec. 5, William Whiston translation, 1981).

Josephus records Alexander accompanied the priest into Jerusalem and Temple, where he "offered sacrifice to God, according to the high priest's direction, and magnificently treated both the high priest and the priests."

The meeting of Alexander the Great and the Jewish priests of Jerusalem is an old story that would have been very familiar to 5th century AD Jews in Huqoq. (Josephus! You kind of can’t escape him in this part of the world.) The mosaic shows a procession of soldiers and elephants following a warrior in battle dress and a purple cape. “Battle elephants were associated with Greek armies beginning with Alexander the Great,” explains Dr. Magness.

Pompeii's Alexander the Great at the Battle of Darius III, owned by the House of the Faun in Pompeii

Now consider 

the familiar photo of the Huqoq Synagogue which is basic, 

a little crass looking, basically a very bad photo:

The two mosaics look different in artistic style.

Now Compare

The Comparison depends on the distance of the Photograph.

This is much, much closer art identification Alexander Pompeii Mosaic to Alexander Huqoq, Israel Mosaic, far closer than the portraits of Pierre-Auguste Renoir to the photos of the individual clients.

And we will jump ahead 600 years, when Matthew wrote Jesus spoke of Daniel. A favor of God that continues from 567 BC to 33 AD to 2023 AD as we consider the Word of God.

Matthew 24:15

“So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place…” 

THE WRITING ON THE WALL

Daniel 5

5 King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand.

2 Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. 3 Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

5 Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote. 6 Then the king's color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together. 7 The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” 8 Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. 9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed, and his lords were perplexed.

10 The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, “O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change. 11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, 12 because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”

13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. 14 I have heard of you that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. 15 Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not show the interpretation of the matter. 16 But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. 18 O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. 19 And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. 20 But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. 21 He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. 22 And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, 23 but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.

24 “Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. 25 And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. 26 This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; 27 Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; 28 Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

30 That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. 31  And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

We find as we look at the Babylonian Chronicles, Cuneiform, the History of Biblical Daniel has the archeology to uphold Daniel's 6 King history. 

We began today's Post by seeing God honored Daniel for 2600 Years. In Daniel 1, Daniel sought to uphold God's honor in his life.  And God gave Daniel his favor. Evidently, to serve 6 kings, this favor went a long, long way.

And then in Daniel 5, Daniel blatantly tells King Belshazzar of his doom, (probably not his given name, Belshazzar,  Daniel he called Belteshazzar, because just like  And he brought them to the land of Shinar, this is one of the many gods they served.  And in using the Temple tools made by Moses

King Belshazzar has sought to take golden vessels reserved for worship and have a loud dinner party with his compatriots. When told by Daniel of his doom, he honors his word of promise to the wise Daniel, but does not seek to remove the golden vessels of worship. Living large, living lavishly, without seeking God's honor instead of his own. Bam. 

Being provided the insight, the wisdom and failure to have the brakes, the U Turn, the ability to say and on to the port and cigars to swiftly clear and clean the table, returning the items.

Failure to heed the writing on the wall.

Matthew 24:15

“So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place…” 

The Writing on the Wall

Many argued King Belshazzar never existed for millenniums. Archeology proves King Belshazzar to be the valid Biblical History.

Many argued, The Book of Daniel was composed during the second century BC and not during the sixth century BC by the prophet himself. 

This theory, Daniel, was written to encourage the Jewish people during the Maccabean wars. This late date is assumed on the presupposition of modern scholars supernatural fore-telling of events is not possible. For example, Sibley Towner stated, “We need to assume that the vision [of Daniel 8] as a whole is a prophecy after the fact. Why? Because human beings are unable accurately to predict future events centuries in advance and to say that Daniel could do so, even on the basis of symbolic revelation vouchsafed to him by God and interpreted by an angel, is to fly in the face of the certainties of human nature.” 

These Dead Sea Scroll Fragments (4Q114 –  4Q Danc) contain parts of Daniel 10:5-9; 13-16. Photo: Courtesy of the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library, IAA Photo / https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-284883

The writing on the walls and in pottery tells a different and reliable history:

The discoveries of copies of the book of Daniel dating to the second century BC among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Nine copies of Daniel, represented by 22 fragments, were discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls, which proclaim and attest to most of the chapters in the Biblical Book, and citations to Daniel in other Qumran scrolls, such as the Florilegium (4Q174). A certainty, the Qumran community viewed the book of Daniel as canonical. Moreover, the earliest of Dead Sea Scroll copy of Daniel has been dated to the second century BC, within 50 years of the "supposed composition suggested by the late-date theory." Simply is not enough time for the book to have been composed, circulated and accepted as canonical in such a short period of time. 

Abba, Father,

Your Word in Luke 18 begins the Chapter telling us 

Jesus said pray and do not give up.

,

Jesus continues in Luke's Gospel, Chapter 18,

 about prayer saying,

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 

10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, 

extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 

12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 

But the tax collector, standing far off, 

would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 

‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Daniel is exalted.

The man styling himself as King god does not unbend.

The man, exalting himself, does not say to You,

"I'm not sure if I understand, please help me to see

the writing on the wall."

Help us Father,

we ask in the Highest Name of Jesus,

as Your Children

asking for mercy, grace and forgiveness. 

We ask in Jesus Christ for

Help, Comfort and Comforter,

that we have Your favor

in our choices, daily.

Let Jesus Reign

in me

with Strength

and those I love.

Your favor, please, Father.

Help Rain to Prevail, please,

Gently,

Rain

we ask in Jesus' Holy Name.

I will not fear, but trust You as life unfolds, You dwell with me. 

When my life requires me to be bold for you, be brave, 

let Your unfailing Love and Steadfast Mercy 

lead me in the paths of righteousness for Your name's sake. 

I so acknowledge each day, 

I need Your Salvation.  

In Jesus, we ask

Dwell in us, Father

Send Your Holy Spirit as Helper

Dwell in those we love,

our family,

and 

Help us to seek You first

And in Jesus,

we will finish well.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yay Jesus