Daniel: Sovereignly Selected for Service

Let's bow in a moment of prayer. Father, we thank You, Lord, for tonight. It is a great joy that we have to be able to gather together and study the Word of the Lord. There is so much for us to learn, and it seems like, Lord, every time we learn something in Your Word, it teaches us about how much more we have yet to learn. There's always so much that we don't understand. And yet, Lord, as we study, You open our eyes, we behold wonderful things out of Your law, and we are grateful. Tonight, Lord, as we study once again this incredible book, the book of Daniel, we are grateful for what You used Daniel for and how he was a man that was used by You in a mighty and powerful way.

We thank You, Lord, that as we read the narrative of Daniel, we're able to see You, and that's what You want us to see. It's not so much a book about Daniel as it is about how You are the God of Daniel and how You have used him in a great and mighty way. So, Lord, tonight as we study once again, help us to come to grips more with the greatness and reality of Your character that we might walk in obedience to Your holy Word. In Jesus' name, amen. So, if you got your Bible, turn to Daniel chapter 1.

Daniel chapter 1, we'll read the first seven verses because that's our topic for this evening. Daniel 1, beginning in verse number 1, it says, in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it.

The Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into His hand along 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 He brought the vessels into the treasury of His God. Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of the officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles, youths, in whom was no defect. Who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king's court.

And He ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The king appointed for them a daily ration from the king's choice food, and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be educated three years, at the end of which they were to enter the king's personal service. Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them, and to Daniel he assigned the name Belt-Shazar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach, and to Azariah Abednego.

And what we have learned in this few short times together is that God is in absolute charge of everything. God is sovereign. He rules over all. God was in charge of Israel's captivity. God was in charge of what was happening in Judah, what was taking place in Babylon. When you read about the Lord God in the book of Daniel, or all throughout the Bible, but specifically in the book of Daniel because that's the book we're studying, you realize that our Lord is, as the Bible says, the Most High God.

Twelve times the book of Daniel, it calls Him El Elyon, the Most High God. So, the book of Daniel is about the magnificence of that Most High God. And the very first thing we notice about our God is that He is in complete control of everything.

So much so that the Bible says in those famous words in Jeremiah 29, verse number 4, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

God wants Judah to know that it was He who sent them into exile. Nebuchadnezzar believed that he conquered Jerusalem. He only conquered Jerusalem only as far as the Lord allowed him to conquer it. But as verse 1 tells us, Judah was given into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. And so, the Lord makes it very clear through the prophet Jeremiah exactly what had taken place. And then He says those great words, for thus says the Lord, when 70 years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you, this is verse 10 of Jeremiah 29, and fulfill My good word to you to bring you back to this place, for I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.

Remember, this is to Israel. It's not something that we necessarily can interpret for your life and my life, although God does have a plan for you. He knows the plan He asked for you, right? But this verse particularly deals with Israel and the 70 years of Babylonian captivity. I know the plans I have for you. In other words, I know them, and you don't know them, but you don't have to know them. I know them, which is really good because God has a plan for your life and my life, and you don't have to know that plan.

You just got to know that He's in charge of the plan, that He's in complete control of the plan. And so the Lord says, plans for welfare, not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. God says, I have a plan.

That plan's running right on schedule. I am the most high God. I am the sovereign ruler of the universe. And if you look at the word sovereign, it means to be above or to be over, which is good because God is over everything.

That's what the Bible says in Psalm 99 verse number 1, the Lord reigns, let the people tremble. The Lord reigns supreme. The Lord is over everyone. The Lord's in charge of everyone. Therefore, man's response is to tremble before Him because He's in complete control of everything. And so from the very outset of Daniel chapter 1, the Lord makes it very clear that He's in charge of what He's doing. He's given Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. Why? Because right before all this took place to prophet Jeremiah, God said, this is how it's going to happen.

This is what I'm going to do. I'm going to give you into their hands. I'm going to take you into exile. Nebuchadnezzar's not. He's the vessel I'm going to use. I am sending you into exile. We saw last week why they went, and that was because of their rebellion against God's holy word and their unwillingness to worship the way God said they were to worship. So very, very important. And so while we might not see the plan of God, we might not see the hand of God, that's all irrelevant. Daniel's going to teach us that the Most High God rules everything.

He's ruling your life even tonight as we speak. I don't know what's happening in your life personally, socially, spiritually, but God does. God's in charge of everything that happens in your life. That's why we look at the sovereignty of God by helping you understand that God directly causes or He consciously permits everything that happens in the world.

That's the sovereignty of God. He directly causes it or He very consciously permits it to take place so that you understand that everything is under His direction, that nothing happens outside of His direction. God never steps off the throne. God never takes a break and says, I'll be back to be in charge next week or next month. No, He's always in charge. He never takes a break. And so therefore we can trust Him to do what He's to do. Now because our God is the Most High God, He is El Elyon, He's over all, do you remember the first time it's used in the Scripture?

It's very important to realize it because the very first time it's used, it's repeated four times. So if you ever want to know the first time something's used in Scripture, you need to go back to probably the very first book of the Bible, right?

The book of beginnings because that's when it probably was used the first time. And Genesis chapter 14 is that first time.

In Genesis chapter 14, these words are spoken. It says, verse 18, And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. Now he was a priest of El Elyon, God Most High. He blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram of El Elyon, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth. And blessed be El Elyon, who has delivered your enemies into your hands. He gave him a tenth of all. The king of Sodom said, Abram, give the people to me and take the goods for yourself. Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have sworn to the Lord, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth.

In other words, El Elyon is the universal name of God. It is the millennial name of God for certain because Daniel takes us into the millennial reign of the Christ as the Most High God. But it's a universal name for God as the possessor of all of heaven and all of earth. Now, Melchizedek was a priest to the Most High God. Abram served the Most High God. And so, all throughout Scripture, God is referenced as the one being supreme, being over everything, being in charge, being the highest of all. So, you go back into Scriptures and in Psalm 87 and Psalm 18, He's called the Highest.

In Numbers 24, He's called the Most High. In Genesis 14, the Most High God. In Psalm 57, God Elohim is the Most High. And in Psalm 7, Jehovah is the Most High. In other words, there's no one higher than God. You can't get any higher, you can't get any better, you can't get any bigger because God is over everything. He is the Most High God who's in complete control of everything. Psalm 97, verse number 9, for Jehovah is the Most High above all the earth, and you are exalted far above all the gods.

Isaiah says in Isaiah 57, verse number 15, high and lofty is the Eternal One, the One who inhabits eternity. High and lofty He is. That's who our Lord God is. And so, the assurance for you and me is to know that there is no one who's going to take over His responsibility because everybody is under Him, nobody is above Him. He is the highest of all gods because He is the one true God of the universe. He rules over all. The Bible says in Luke chapter 6 that we are sons of the Most High God.

Think about that. We are children of the Most High God of the universe. Now note, in Genesis 15, this God who is the possessor of heaven and earth, who is El Elyon, is the one who in verse 1 of chapter 15, it says, After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Do not fear, Abram. I am a shield to you. Your reward shall be very great, or I am your very great reward. So, El Elyon speaks. El Elyon not only speaks, he secures. And not only does he secure, he also shields.

And not only does he shield, he satisfies. I am your very great reward. I am your shield, Abraham. I'm going to speak to you, Abraham. The word of the Lord came to him. This God who is the possessor of heaven and earth is the one who speaks to us through His word. He secures us because He is the great God of the universe. He shields us and protects us. And He is the only one who can satisfy us. No one else can. Nothing else can. Only God can. Because every need that you have, every need that I have, can only be met in the context of a relationship.

And that relationship only comes in an intimate walk with El Elyon, the God Most High. He is the universal God. Remember in the land of Gennesaret, if you've been to Israel with me, you've been to the western banks of the Sea of Galilee, to the land of Gennesaret, where the man who was demon-possessed, legion, remember, came running down off of the mountaintop, completely naked, hair all disheveled, with shackles coming from his hands or his arms and his feet. And he comes running up to Jesus, and he says, Jesus, Son of the Most High God, what do you have to do with us?

The demons know that He is the highest of all. The demons know that He is the Most High God. And Jesus is that Most High God because Jesus is El Elyon. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So, the demons recognize Him as that. They know they're subject to Him. They know they can only do what He allows them to do. They just can't do whatever they want. See, that's just a great thing. Nobody can do to you whatever they want. They can only do to you what God permits them to do to you, right? Satan couldn't do to Job whatever he wanted.

He had to ask permission from the Most High God. He just couldn't afflict Job unless God allowed him to. He couldn't just take away everything from Job unless God gave him permission to do so. Well, see, that's just a great thing to know because nothing happens to us unless God directly causes it or allows it to happen through some other means that we might be drawn closer to Him and be able to honor and glorify His precious name. That helps us to rest with great tranquility in the sovereignty of the living God.

It is such a beautiful thing to know that God is El Elyon, the Most High God. And Daniel is a book about the magnificence of the Most High God. That's who He is. And so as we study this, we'll come to understand it even all the more. Remember when Jesus was born, the angel said, glory to God, where? In the highest because only the Most High God dwells in the highest place. Jesus, according to Philippians 2, has a name, okay, and at that name every knee will bow because it's that name that has been highly exalted above every other name, so that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

So to understand the implications of the Most High God has great ramifications for you and me even today because our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So we live in trusting obedience to His name. Remember Habakkuk? Habakkuk would prophesy during Israel and the beginning part of their captivity as God would tell him how He was going to send the wicked Chaldeans upon His people Judah and take them into captivity. Habakkuk had a hard time understanding that, and God explained everything to him.

So much so that in chapter 1 of the book of Habakkuk, you realize that He is sitting there wondering and worrying about what's going to happen next. How can God use evil man to accomplish His purposes? In chapter 2, He waits and watches as God speaks. And in chapter 3, He worships and He begins to witness of the sovereignty of the Most High God. He came to realize in verse 16 of Habakkuk 3, I heard in my inward parts trembled. Why? Because He recognized that God was in charge of even wicked nations and would use the wicked nations to punish His people Judah.

At the sound, my lips quivered, decay into my bones, and in my place I trembled because I must wait quietly for the day of distress. I've got to wait. It's coming. I just have to rest until that time. Not only do I rest, He says, I will rejoice. For He says in verse 17, though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit in the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord.

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. So not only does He rest, He rejoices because God is over everything. The Lord God is my strength, verse 19, and He has made my feet like hinds feet and makes me walk on high places. Only the Most High God can lift you up and cause you to walk in high places. Nobody else can. Habakkuk learned that. And so in our study of the book of Daniel, that's what we're going to learn. As God says at the very opening, He gave Judah in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, 605 BC, He gave Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

Just that phrase alone should give you the greatest of all comfort about what God's going to do in your life from this day forward. Now, note this. I think this is extremely important. The Bible says, as it opens up in verse number one, the comparison between Judah and Babylon.

Judah is God's place. Babylon is Satan's place. Judah is where true religion happens, and Babylon is where false religion happens. And so because Israel would not worship the one true God in the truest sense of the word, He sent them into the place that was the beginning of pagan worship, to the land of Shinar, to Babylon, for 70 years to rid them of their idolatrous lifestyle. We told you last week that once they were let out of that captivity, they never went back into idolatry. They learned their lesson.

They also learned that during that captivity about the gathering together of small groups of Jewish people, that's how synagogues were born. They were born out of the Babylonian captivity. So today you have synagogues everywhere all around the world, especially in Israel, because there is no temple. The temple was destroyed, has not been rebuilt yet. So what do they do? They gather in teaching places, learning places, synagogues. They learned that under the direction of Ezekiel while in captivity in Babylon.

So there's a lot of good things that came out of their captivity. Primarily, they would learn to seek the Lord. He would listen to them. They would find Him. They would no longer engage in idolatrous worship, and they would begin to worship the one true God as they were supposed to. And so it begins in verse 1 of Daniel chapter 1 about the difference between Judah and Babylon. Remember, Nebuchadnezzar was My servant, Isaiah 43 verse number 10. Nebuchadnezzar was a servant of the living God. Also, Assyria in Isaiah 10 verse number 5 was called the rod of My anger.

So it says in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, we know when that is, that's 605 B.C. If you go back and you look at the timetable of the kings, that's exactly what took place.

And that was the first deportation. The second one was in 597, the third one in 586 when everything in Jerusalem was destroyed, the temple was destroyed, and everything was taken back.

But it began at 605 B.C. And Judah was taken captive a little over a hundred years after the northern kingdom was taken captive by the Assyrians. Why did the Assyrians take the northern kingdom into captivity first?

And why is it there was a hundred-year gap between the captivities? Well, it's easy to understand when you realize that the southern kingdom, Judah, had eight good kings. The northern kingdom, Israel, had zero good kings. So sin ran rampant in the north. And so when the Assyrians came against them, and they were warned, as Judah was warned, about their impending judgment, their impending captivity, and they were scattered everywhere. Well, it wasn't long after that because the question comes, how come Israel was taken into Babylonian captivity or Judah was taken into Babylonian captivity?

How come God didn't warn them? He did. He warned them over and over again. For 490 years He warned them. That's why they were taken into captivity for 70 years, because they had to make up for those Sabbaths that they did not celebrate, and it came up to be 70 of them. So therefore, they were taken into captivity for 70 years. But He warned them. He warned them through the Assyrian captivity. That should have been a wake-up call for Judah. Look what happened to the northern kingdom. They could be saying, wow, those guys, man, they were so liberal up there, man.

They deserve what they got. But we don't know that they ever said that. But that was a warning to them that you better pay attention, and you better listen, and you better watch out because God is serious about what He's doing. But when Sennacherib came against Judah, and he did, a few years after the northern kingdom was taken into captivity, Sennacherib came against Judah, and he plundered all the land around Jerusalem, and he surrounded Jerusalem. Remember this? With 185,000 soldiers. And he mocked the God of Israel.

You can read about this in 2 Kings chapter 19. He mocked the God of Israel. And Hezekiah, who was one of Israel's or Judah's good kings, went to prayer and beseeched the Lord. And God said that He would protect Israel. And He sent an angel. And that angel that night killed 185,000 Assyrians. So when Israel woke up the next day, there were all these dead bodies around them because God had protected them. Again, that was a wake-up call for Israel. You are on the brink of captivity. You're on the brink of going into isolation, into exile.

But I spared you. I protected you. It was a warning from God. God had given them prophets, all kinds of prophets. He gave them Isaiah and Micah and Nahum, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk. And they kept preaching over and over again about impending judgment. But they would not listen.

They would not pay attention. But what did they do? They stiffened their necks. They hardened their hearts. Remember what the book of Proverbs says in Proverbs chapter 29, Proverbs 29 verse number 1, where it says that, "'He who hardens his neck after much reproof will be broken beyond remedy.'" That's why it's so important to hear what God's Word says. You hear the Word of God, and you stiffen your neck against it. You hear the Word of God and refuse to respond to it. You are in danger of being broken beyond remedy.

And that's exactly what took place. In Judah. Remember 2 Chronicles chapter 36, the last chapter in the Hebrew Bible? It's not Micah, it's not Malachi, it's not the Kings, it's Chronicles. 2 Chronicles chapter 36 is the last chapter in the Old Testament when it comes to the Hebrew Bible. Why? Because it ends with the destruction of the temple, on the Temple Mount, and Israel realizing all that's taking place. That's why you have the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. It's really called the Waiting Wall, much more so than the Wailing Wall.

It's the Western Wall, because it's the place where Israel can go and they can keep their eyes on the Mount of Olives. Why? Because behind that is the Mount of Olives, and then it was Zechariah 14 that when Messiah comes, He'll put His feet down on the Mount of Olives. So Israel goes there waiting for Messiah, all the while lamenting the fact that they had gone into captivity, and the sin of idolatry, and the sin of immorality, and the sin that encompassed them as a nation got them to the place they are today.

So they go, and they pray, and they wail, and they moan in anticipation of the arrival of the Messiah. In 2 Chronicles 36, it says this, verse 11, Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king. He reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the Lord, his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke for the Lord. He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God, but he stiffened his neck, hardened his heart against turning to the Lord God of Israel.

Furthermore, all the officials of the priests and the people were very unfaithful. Following all the abominations of the nations, and they defiled the house of the Lord which He had sanctified in Jerusalem. The Lord, the God of their father, sent word to them again and again by His messengers because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. But they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets until the wrath of the Lord rose against His people until there was no remedy.

Therefore, He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans who slew their young men with a sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or infirm. He gave them all into His hand, all the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king and of His officers. He brought them all to Babylon. Then they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its fortified buildings in fire and destroyed all its valuable articles.

Those who had escaped from the sword, He carried away to Babylon, and they were servants to Him and to His sons and to the rule of the kingdom of Persia to fulfill the word of the Lord. By the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths, all the days of its desolation, it kept Sabbath until 70 years were complete." That is a summation of Daniel 1 verse number 1. That's what took place in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim.

You see, Jeremiah was a prophet. We told you last week that Isaiah prophesied about 100 years before captivity, and Jeremiah right on the brink of their captivity, and Ezekiel was a prophet during captivity, and so was Daniel. But Jeremiah was a prophet chosen by God. He's mentioned here in 2 Chronicles 36 where Zedekiah would not listen to the words he said. He's one of the many prophets that God had sent to Israel time and time again, but they would not listen, they would not submit, they would not follow.

Still, instead, they stiffened their neck. They would not obey the word of the Lord. And the unique thing about Jeremiah is that Jeremiah was told by God this would happen. Jeremiah was chosen by God from his mother's womb, right? And God set him apart for a unique ministry to preach the Word to Judah before their captivity. And God says, I've called you to preach, but nobody's going to listen.

And they didn't. Nobody listened. They didn't follow. And Jeremiah could have said, well, why am I doing this? Why waste my time preaching to a bunch of people who won't listen? But Jeremiah didn't do that. Instead, he said what? All thy words were found and I did eat them, and they were the joy and the rejoicing of my heart. Even though nobody listens, the very fact that you've given me your word is the ultimate joy of my heart. And that's the way we should be. So Jeremiah, among one of the many prophets who prophesied to Israel, yet they would not listen.

So Nebuchadnezzar came and God gave Israel into their hands, and they were taken off into captivity for 70 years. The Bible says this in verse number three, "'Then the king ordered Ashpenaz the chief of the officials to bring in some of the sons of Israel.'" Ashpenaz was in charge.

He was the one who was going to select different individuals to be a part of the king's court. Now, he would think he was choosing them, but he wasn't. God was choosing them. And so when you begin to look at how they were choosed, it deals, number one, with their lineage, number two, with their looks, number three, with their learning, but most importantly, number four, because of the Lord.

It begins with their lineage. It says that He took some of the royal family of the nobles. Some would say that Daniel and or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were part of the family of Hezekiah, based on chapter 39 of Isaiah, Isaiah 39, and that would be found in verse number seven, these words, "'And some of your sons will issue from you whom you will beget, will be taken away, and they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.'" So, God tells Hezekiah, some of your sons, some of your grandsons, they're going to be taken and be officials in the king's court.

Where? In Babylon. So, Hezekiah would know this. Well, some would think that when they were chosen based on their lineage, that they would know that these men were offspring of the kings of Judah. But on top of that, they had to be good-looking men. They had to be without blemish. That's how the world is, right? The world doesn't want ugly people representing them. They want good-looking people representing them. They want handsome people, beautiful people. They don't want ugly people, so they chose good-looking people because that's what the world does.

We know that God looks upon the heart, and God was going to use the hearts of these men to be influential in the heart of King Nebuchadnezzar. But they were chosen because of their lineage, because of their looks, also because of their learning. They had to be men of wisdom, knowledge, and men of science. In other words, they weren't slouches. They were young teenage boys, probably around 15, 16 years of age, but they were well-versed in what they had learned. They weren't sluggards. They weren't lazy.

They were men who knew wisdom, who knew the sciences, who knew the languages. And so, they were tested as to what they would know. But the ultimate choice was up to the Lord. The Lord had chosen them. How do we know that? Well, we know what the Bible says in Psalm 75, verse number 6, for not from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert comes exaltation.

But God is the judge. He puts down one and exalts another. Isn't that great? The Lord's in charge of who's exalted. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would all be exalted, but God's in charge of those things. We don't fret about that. We realize that God rules over all. So, in the book of Daniel, second chapter, 21st verse, it says, it is He who changes the times and the epics.

He removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding. So, Ashpenaz thought he was choosing the men, but in reality, it was God's choice of the men that Ashpenaz would choose, because once again, God is sovereign, right? You're not placed on a baseball team because a coach chose you. You're there because God wants you there. You don't get a job working for this company or that company because of your education, because you're smart, because you're good looking.

It's because God places you there. We always tend to think it's about us, our intelligence, our wisdom. It doesn't mean you can be sluggish and be haphazard in your approach to life. No, you need to be disciplined. You need to be responsible. But know this, that God is ultimately in charge of all things. He exalts one and takes down another. We know this from last night. He exalts Newsom and takes down everybody else. God wants Newsom to be the governor of California, not somebody else. We accept that.

We might not like it, but we accept that because God proves Himself faithful once again. We know what the Scriptures say. And so, we look at it from the standpoint of, what does God's Word actually say?

And so, when you look at this, you begin to realize in chapter 1 that our Lord is absolutely in charge of everything.

So, there was a precondition for their selection, but there was also an intention behind their selection. And that intention was that they would be schooled in the ways of the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans were distinct from the Babylonians until the Babylonians conquered the Chaldeans, and they all became one. So, the Chaldeans and the Babylonians are one and the same. And so, they had to be schooled in the knowledge, in the arts, in the wisdom of a pagan culture, and they needed to make sure that this would take place because they had to slowly wean these young men away from their religion, away from their God.

So, they would do all they can to do that. Not only would it be because they were going to be schooled, but they would be in the service of the king's court. And there was some motivation behind all that, wasn't there? Great motivation. They got to eat the king's food. They didn't get to eat what everybody else ate. They got the special food. They got the special wine. They got the good stuff. They got the meat and potatoes. They got everything that's way above what everybody else got because this was part of the manipulation of getting them to realize, look what you get.

If you learn these ways, if you serve our king, this is all yours. And you want this. You don't want to eat what everybody else eats. You want to eat the king's delicacies. You want the king's food. You want the king's wine. You want the best of what we have to offer. It was all manipulative in terms of their approach. But notice this.

It says this, that daily, daily they received this food, not weekly or monthly, but daily. And then note this. Ultimately, they would change their names. They would change their names. They would not change their nature, but they would change their names because they were sold out to God. But they think if they could change their names from what their names meant to names that represented their pagan gods, this would help influence them to move away from their God. Because you see, they didn't know that there is only one God.

They didn't know that there's only one true God. They thought that every nation had their gods. So we're going to prove to you that our gods are better than your God or gods, and we're going to change your names. Well, we know that Daniel's name means God is judge. We know that. We know that Hananiah's name means that God is gracious or Jehovah shows grace. Mishael's name was, who is he that is God? And Azariah's name means, God is my helper. So, Ashpanez is going to change their names, get them to submit to his authority.

By changing the direction of their lives, thinking that if he changed what they were called, they would fall in line with that name. So, Daniel's name became Belshazzar, which simply means, may Bell protect your life. Bell was the high mark of their deities. And so, they wanted not Daniel's God to be his judge, but their God to protect Daniel's life. They wanted to see that our God will protect you. He'll watch over you. And then you have Hananiah's name. His name became Shadrach. Rach is the sun deity, and it means to be illuminated by the sun, by the sun God.

We want you to realize that your God might show you grace, but our God will illuminate your mind into all things you need to know. So, we're going to change your name to Shadrach. And then there was Mishael. His name was changed to Meshach. Mishael's name means who is like God. The answer, no one's like God, right? So, they named him Meshach after the moon God, which means who is like the moon God. In other words, you might think there's no one like your God, but we have a God called the moon God, and He is unlike your God.

And then, and then lastly comes Azariah. And Azariah's name was changed to Abednego, which means servant of Nebo or Nebu. And so, he was also a pagan God. They wanted him to understand that no longer were they going to serve any other God, but the gods of the Babylonians. That was the direction they were going. And that's what they wanted to see happen. Now, think about this. Everyone in the room has a name, right? And the name that you and I have is a unique name. In Israel, they named their children after what God had done, God was doing, or God would do.

They wanted to make sure that their children understood that God was at work. And so, they named their children in such a way that they could begin to see that. That's very important. But as these three men or four men all receive new names, I want to let you know that everybody who knows Christ is going to get a new name, a new name. When I was growing up, we used to have Bible conferences in our church, one in the spring, one in the fall. And we'd sing all these old-time hymns. And one of those hymns was about a new name.

And it goes, I have a new name written down in glory, and it's mine, oh yes, it's mine. And the white-robed angels tell the story, a sinner has come home. I have a new name written down in glory, and it's mine, oh yes, it is mine. With my sins forgiven, I am bound for heaven, never more to roam. We used to sing that song and clap to that song and hoot and holler to that song, because it was one of those songs that had a catchy tune to it. I'd sing it for you, but you'd never understand the tune anyway, so I'm not going to waste my time.

But the bottom line is that there was a new name written down in glory. The question was, do you have that name? Do you know what that name is? Is it written down in glory? And if you're here tonight, I would challenge you to examine your life to make sure you have a new name written down in glory. Remember in the book of Revelation, these words are spoken to the church of Philadelphia. The Lord God says in verse number 12, he who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will not go out from it anymore.

And I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, and my new name. Now, how many times do you have to write your name on something for you, for others to recognize that it's yours, right? If you're off to school in the last couple of weeks, and you're putting your kids to school, you put your name on their notebooks or backpacks or whatever else they're taking with them, because you don't want them to get stolen.

You want everybody to know it's theirs. So, the Lord says, listen, I want you to understand that if you're an overcomer, I want to write the name of my God on you. That signifies ownership, right? God owns you. We know that in the book of Revelation, the Antichrist marks out his people. We know that the Lord God of Israel marks out the 144,000 Jews. He marks them out. But know this, that if you're one who is an overcomer, that is, you by faith have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are a true believer in Him, God writes His name on you because He owns you.

You're His. You're no longer yours. That's ownership. And then He says, not only that, I'm going to write the name of the New Jerusalem, the city of my God. I'm going to make sure that you understand where you belong. That refers to citizenship. Not only am I owned by God, I am a citizen of heaven, right? And that's why the psalmist says way back in Psalm 137, Psalm 137, I think is so, so important. Remember, Psalm 37 is written by Judas in Babylon, and they've hung their harps on the willows next to the river in Babylon.

And to begin to sing their woes, because there is no more song of joy. And they say these words, if I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget her skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth. If I do not remember you, if I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy. In other words, I don't have to remember geographically where Jerusalem is. I've got to remember where I belong. I belong in Jerusalem, the city of my God. I need to exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy. Whatever my joy is, Jerusalem must be way exalted beyond that because Jerusalem is the city of my God.

So, the Lord now comes back in Revelation 12 and says, guess what? I'm going to write the name of my God on you. I'm going to write the name with the city of my God on you, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven, so everybody knows who owns you and where you are a true citizen. And then I'm going to write on you my new name. In other words, you're getting a new name. So, the question is, what's the new name? If I'm getting a new one, what is it? Well, if you read further in the book of Revelation, it says these words, and I saw heaven opened and behold the white horse, and he who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and wages war.

His eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written on him which no one knows except himself. You say, well, what's that name? I don't know. The Bible says no one knows.

The only one who knows is Christ himself. But Jesus says, I'm not only going to write the name of my God on you, in the name of the city of my God on you, I'm going to write my new name on you.

You're getting a brand new name. Why? Because you are owned by the living God of the universe. That's why he says, there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby you must be saved. What name is that? It's the name of Jesus. You see, because with Jesus, with Jesus, and only Jesus, there is pardon in His name. He's the one who forgives. Nobody else can. That's why in Matthew 121, it says, and you shall call His name Yeshua, Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. There's salvation in the name of Jesus, right?

He's the only one who can forgive you. Nobody else can. So, there's pardon in His name. There is peace in His name. Yahweh Shalom, Judges 6, 24. Isaiah 9, 6, He's called the Prince of Peace. So, because there's no other name under heaven given among men whereby you must be saved, that's because there's only one name that gives you pardon, and there's only one name that gives you peace. There's only one name that gives you power, and that's El Shaddai. He is called the Mighty God, El Gabor in Isaiah 9.

In the book of Revelation, He's called the Pantocrator, the Almighty One, a word used ten times in the New Testament, nine times alone in the book of Revelation. Why? Because God demonstrates His power, more so in Revelation than at any other time in the New Testament. And so, therefore, He's called El Shaddai. There is pardon in His name. There is peace in His name. There is power in His name. There is protection in His name. Why? Because He is the one who is called Yahweh Nisi. He is the one who puts His banner over us and protects us.

He is the protector because there is protection in His name. That's why the Bible says in Proverbs 18 verse number 10, the name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and are safe.

And then we also know that there is provision in His name, Yahweh Yireh, Genesis chapter 22. He is the one who provides, only He provides. So, not only is there pardon in His name, not only is there peace in His name, not only is there power in His name, not only is there protection in His name, there is provision in His name. Psalm 18 tells us there is praise in His name. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth. There is preeminence in His name because He's called El Elyon, but there's also punishment in His name because the book of Exodus tells us that if you take the name of the Lord your God in vain, God will not let you go unpunished.

In other words, if you take God's name in vain, if you treat God's name as if it's meaningless, it's empty, it means nothing, you treat His name with frivolity and don't take it seriously, that there truly is forgiveness and pardon in His name only, that He's the only one who can protect you, provide for you, give you peace, power, preeminence because of who He is. You treat His name as if it means nothing, you take His name in vain, He wants you to make sure that there is punishment in the name of the God of Israel.

And yet He says, I want to give you My new name. I want to change everything about you. We know that in our glorified bodies we'll be perfect. We understand that. And we'll have a sinless inside as well as a spotless outside. We'll be completely clean. That's only because of His new name. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, all new names, all names after pagan gods, to somehow get them to change the way they live their lives, to be indoctrinated in the culture of their day. But they would not budge, they would not compromise, they would not bow, they would stand strong.

Why? Because on the inside, God had His name on their hearts, and they were totally committed to the Lord God of Israel. And they become the ones who live by example. For all of us to know how it is we can stand in a culture that is pagan, how we can stand in a culture that is totally against our God, because that's where Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and our man Daniel, that's where they were. And remember, these are the three men, or four men, whose names are written down so that we don't forget them, because God had pardoned them because there was pardon in His name.

God protected them because there's protection in His name. God had provided for them because there's provision in His name. And you'll notice that there's no punishment for them because they never took the name of the Lord God of Israel in vain.

They never treated it as empty. They believed in the Lord God of Israel. The question is, do we? Let's pray. Father, we thank You for tonight, the opportunity You give us to study Your Word, so much to cover, so little time to do it, but we are grateful knowing that You are instructing us and teaching us in the way that we should go. Help us to live for Your glory and Your glory only. Thank You, Lord, that one day we receive a new name. We don't have to know what it is, we just know it's Your name, a name that nobody else knows, but You do, and that's all that matters.

Thank You, Lord, in Jesus' name, amen.