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These are indeed the end times. Jesus
said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be
preached in the whole world as a testimony to all
nations, and then the end will come – Matthew 24:14.”
And Habakkuk declared:
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the
glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea (2:14).
I have heard men of God say that the wealth in the hands
of the heathen will be turned over the believers for the
propagation of the Kingdom of God in these end days.
Something similar happened during the time of the return
of the Israelites back to Judah and Jerusalem after the
70 years of exile in Babylon.
In the third year of the reign of
Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord
delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along
with some of the articles from the temple of God. These
he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and
put in the treasure house of his god – Daniel 1:1-2.
Then further down in Daniel 5:1-4,
King Belshazzar brought the gold goblets which had been
taken from the temple of God and he and his nobles,
wives and concubines used them for drinking wine. Of
course, God’s judgment fell on him and his kingdom was
taken from him that night (Daniel
5:30).
Why would God allow stuff from His temple be put in the
temple of the Babylonian idols in the first place?
Using my reference bible, in the book of
Ezra, there was a record of the decree issued by King
Cyrus that said: Also, the gold and silver articles
of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the
temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be
returned to their places in the temple in Jerusalem;
they are to be deposited in the house of God – Ezra 6:5.
Thus when the Israelites returned to Judah after the 70
years in exile, the articles of gold and silver were
given back to them. It became clear to me that God was
just using the temple of the Babylonian idols as a
storage place.
Another discovery was that as a result of
the opposition brought about by the leaders of the
Tran-Euphrates against the returned exiles, King Darius
issued his own decree:
Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these
elders of the Jews in the construction of this house of
God: The expenses of these men are to be fully paid out
of the royal treasury, from the revenues of
Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop.
Whatever is needed--young bulls, rams, male lambs for
burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt,
wine and oil, as requested by the priests in
Jerusalem--must be given them daily
without fail, so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing
to the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the
king and his sons. Ezra 6:8-10
In addition to the original temple
articles being returned, a heathen king contributed
extensively to the building of the temple of God.
The rebuilding of the temple after the
exile was possible through the return of the articles of
gold and silver taken from the temple of God years ago
and the wealth of the Babylonian kingdom (Ezra 5).
I am yet to do a study on the claim that God is going to
deliver the wealth into the hand of believers in these
last days for the spread of the Gospel. Yet one thing is
certain, the good news of Jesus as well as the glory of
God is going to be spread to the entire world. So
whether taking the gospel to all nations will be through
the miraculous signs and wonders or through financial
prosperity to gain access to million through technology
or a combination of both is unclear to me. However, I am
sure that God is going to use His people to spread this
good news of Jesus: ... the
people that do know their God shall be strong, and do
exploits – Daniel
11:32 (KJV).
In studying the life of Daniel, I
realized that Daniel was a catalyst in the events
leading to the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem
after the exile. In Daniel 1:8, it was recorded:
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not
defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor
with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of
the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile
himself (KJV). As a result of his commitment and
sacrifice, God reward him with wisdom and understanding
ten times better than his peers (Daniel
1:17-20).
As I studied Daniel’s life further, I saw that his
steadfast fellowship with God, his spirit of excellence
that he displayed in his secular work and his usage of
the abilities God blessed him with brought glory to God.
The four kings whom Daniel served under all acknowledged
the greatness of God through the various miracles and
interpretation of dreams God performed through Daniel.
Daniel was able to tell King
Nebuchadnezzar his dream and also interpreted it for
him. And the second dream Daniel interpreted for the
king came to pass immediately and exactly. Both times,
Daniel stated that he was able to do these extraordinary
things only through God alone. In the end, King
Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged and declared:
... I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him
who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion;
his kingdom endures from generation to generation... Now
I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King
of heaven, because everything he does is right and all
his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is
able to humble – Daniel 4:34-37.
For King Belshazzar, Daniel was able to
read and interpret the inscription on the wall which no
one in all Babylon could read. Daniel was not among the
enchanters, astrologers and diviners brought in to
decode the inscription; but the reputation he had gained
during Nebuchadnezzar’s time made the king send for him
(Daniel 5:10-13). The speech Daniel gave King
Belshazzar as he read and interpreted the inscription
exalted God and he refused to take any reward: Then
Daniel answered the king, "You may keep your gifts for
yourself and give your rewards to someone else.
Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and
tell him what it means – Daniel 5:17. That night the
judgment God melted upon King Belshazzar came to pass as
Daniel foretold.
King Darius became the next king whom
Daniel served under as one of the three administrators.
Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the
administrators and the satraps by his exceptional
qualities that the king planned to set him over the
whole kingdom – Daniel 6:3. The bible recorded that
his fellow administrators and the satraps were jealous
of his success and tried to bring him down. But
...they could find no corruption in him, because he was
trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally
these men said, "We will never find any basis for
charges against this man Daniel unless it has something
to do with the law of his God – Daniel 6:4-5."
Therefore, they got the king to make a law that no one
should make any request to any god except the king for
30 days. Of course, when Daniel
learned that the decree had been published, he went home
to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward
Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down
on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just
as he had done before – Daniel 6:10.
The administrators and the satraps reported Daniel to
the king and he was thrown in the lions’ den. God
delivered Daniel from the lions and King Darius issued a
decree: ...in every part of my
kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of
Daniel. "For he is the living God and he endures
forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion
will never end... – Daniel 6:26.”
The only thing said about Daniel service
under King Cyrus (the king after Darius) was that
“...Daniel prospered during the reign
of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian – Daniel
6:28.”
From Ezra
5:13,
the decree King Cyrus published about the return of the
articles of gold and silver was issued in his first year
as king. According to the MacArthur Study Bible,
“Daniel bridges the entire 70 years of
Babylonia captivity (ca. 605-536 B.C.;
cf. 1:1 and 9:1-3); ...Ezra led the second return from
Persia (ca. 485 B.C.)....”
By the time the King Darius in Ezra wrote his decree
(years after Daniel), the God of heaven was still very
much revered in Babylon:
Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to
do for these elders of the Jews in the construction of
this house of God: The expenses of these men are to be
fully paid out of the royal treasury, from the revenues
of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop.
Whatever is needed--young bulls, rams, male lambs for
burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt,
wine and oil, as requested by the priests in
Jerusalem--must be given them daily without fail, so
that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of
heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his
sons. Ezra 6:8-10
Daniel
had so distinguished himself in Babylon and had publicly
attributed all his successes to God, that he was a big
testimony to the four kings. Through Daniel, God was
exalted and feared not just by the kings he served under
but also by the kings who came after him. In these days,
we need to let the world see our God through us. It all
started for Daniel when “the king ordered Ashpenaz...
to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family
and the nobility-- young men without any physical
defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of
learning, well informed, quick to understand, and
qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach
them the language and literature of the Babylonians...
They were to be trained for three years, and after that
they were to enter the king's service – Daniel 1:3-5.”
Obviously, Daniel was privileged. The good news is that
in Christ, “You are all sons of
God through faith in Christ Jesus... There is neither
Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you
are all one in Christ Jesus – Galatians 3:26-28.”
Daniel
went the extra mile when he “purposed in his heart
that he would not defile himself
with the portion of the
king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank...
– Daniel 1:8 (KJV).” According to
MacArthur Study Bible,
“the pagan food and drink was devoted to idols; to
indulge was to be understood as honoring these
deities... foods that God’s law prohibited were items
that pagans consume.”
For Daniel to eat the king’s meat and drink the king’s
wine would be disobedience to God’s law. What are those
things that are the king’s meat and drink in our
lives: internet, television, games, relationships, work,
etc? Whatever those things are, we need to purpose in
our heart to lay them aside: ...Let us throw off
everything that hinders and the sin that so easily
entangles... – Hebrews 12:1. Daniel did not just
desire in his heart not to defile himself, he went ahead
to do something about it. He asked the official assigned
to them, "Please test your servants for ten days:
Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink
– Daniel 1:12.” He replaced the king’s meat and wine
with vegetables and water (which had not been defiled
with idolization). It would have been foolishness for
Daniel to reject the king’s meat and wine and starved
himself to death. We need to find out from God what our
vegetables and water are. What ready comes to
mind is reading the Word, prayer, fasting, serving, etc.
If we resolve to give up those things that constitute
the king’s meat and wine in our lives, then we
must replace them with vegetables and water.
Daniel
was the spoke person for the three other Jews youth:
Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. From the wording of the
account, the idea to refrain from eating the king’s meat
and wine seemed to originate from Daniel. It is possible
that it was he who got his three friends to go along
with him. How contagious is our faith? Do we encourage
other believers in their faith walk with our lives? When
Daniel and his friends eat only vegetables and drank
water for 10 days; at the end of the ten days they
looked healthier and better nourished than any of the
young men who ate the royal food – Daniel 1:15. As a
result, they were given only vegetables and water for
the entire 3 years of their training. And God rewarded
them: to these four young men God gave knowledge and
understanding of all kinds of literature and learning.
And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all
kinds. At the end of the time set by the king to bring
them in, the chief official presented them to
Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and he found
none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so
they entered the king's service. In every matter of
wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned
them, he found them ten times better than all the
magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom – Daniel
1:17-20. God is not a respecter of persons and He is
the same yesterday, today and forever. God will always
reward us for our obedience and faithfulness towards
Him. You need to persevere so
that when you have done the will of God, you will
receive what he has promised – Hebrews 10:36.
Daniel’s spiritual gifting was that he could
understand visions and dreams of all kinds – Daniel
1:17. He freely utilized this gifting to the glory
of God. When he was about to reveal and interpret King
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to him, he said, “No wise man,
enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king
the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in
heaven who reveals mysteries – Daniel 2:27 – 28”.
Years after, when King Belshazzar displayed irreverence
in using the goblets from God’s temple, Daniel did not
hesitate to rebuke him. “O king, the Most High God
gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and
greatness and glory and splendor... But you his son, O
Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew
all this. Instead, you have set yourself up against the
Lord of heaven... – Daniel 5:18, 22-23.” He was bold
and courageous in declaring the counsel of God even to
the king of the most powerful nation on earth who had
the authority to order his death for such words. We
have different gifts, according to the grace given us –
Romans 12:6. We need to use whatever gift God has
blessed us with to honor Him and to bless others.
Accounts of Daniel’s dedication to service in his
secular work were remarkable. It was recorded: Now
Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators
and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the
king planned to set him over the whole kingdom – Daniel
6:2. Out of jealousy, when his fellow administrators
tried to find grounds for charges against him in the way
he conducted his work, they were unsuccessful. They
could find no corruption in him, because he was
trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent – Daniel
6:4. Wow, what a testimony! Can people around us say
that about us? Do you see a man skilled
[and diligent –
Amplified Bible] in his work? He will serve before
kings; he will not serve before obscure men – Proverbs
22:29. Daniel was skilled and diligent and he indeed
served before kings; what about us?
Daniel 11:32
capsulated Daniel’s life:
but
the people that do know their God shall be strong, and
do exploits.
He had a relationship and constant fellowship with God.
When King Darius issued the decree to have everyone pray
to only him for 30 days, the bible recorded: three
times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving
thanks to his God, just as he had done before – Daniel
6:10. New American Standard Version says: ...and
he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day,
praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had
been doing previously – Daniel 6:10. Daniel knew
the God he served, he was strong and he did exploits.
That was why he was a
catalyst in
the events leading to the rebuilding of the temple in
Jerusalem after the exile.
These
are the last days. And
this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole
world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end
will come – Matthew 24:14; for the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the
waters cover the sea - Habakkuk 2:14.
What are we doing to establish the will of God on earth
as it is in heaven (Matthew
6:10)?
Like Daniel, we need to know God so that we can be
strong and do exploits.
People That Do Know
Their God ©
2009 Olabisi Adeyi All
rights reserved.
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