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. Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, 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. The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service. Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
This is our month of adoption as announced by God for the Seed of Life, a time to be adopted by the living God to become His sons and daughters. It is a month of great privilege for worshippers of the Lord God. Everyone was born a sinner, and we all continued in sins, therefore we could not claim to be good children of God. We lost just that when our first father and mother disobeyed the Lord God. But for the love of God, we had the opportunity to become His children again though through adoption. The bible says in John chapter one and verses 10- 13 that “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.” We all would have ended up in hell fire if not for this love of God for the mankind.
Like we saw in our text this morning, the four Hebrew young men were from Judah and from the royal families. They were expecting that one day they would occupy exotic positions in their father’s land. Their hope was lost when they were taken captive to Babylon. But as merciful as God is, He brought them to positions of honor yet. It was an honor to be trained as officers in the king's palace, but it was also a trial; for these dedicated Jewish boys would have to adapt themselves to the ways and the thinking of the Babylonians. The purpose of the "course" was to transform Jews into Babylonians, and this meant not only a new land, but also new names, new customs, new ideas, and a new language. For three years, their Babylonian teachers would attempt to "brainwash" the four Jewish young men and teach them how to think and live like Babylonian.
These Jewish young men refused to eat the king’s recommended meal because, as Jews it will defy them before their God and make them ceremonially unclean. The food of the Babylonian kings are first dedicated to idol before eating, this would also be tantamount to honoring idol as against the command of the God of the Hebrews. The Hebrew men lost their position though in Israel but they were adopted as children from the royal family in the foreign land. They were also honored and were able to preach their religion to the Babylonians. Do not think you cannot be great where you find yourself; you can still be honored if you can stick to the commandment of God Almighty. The right of son-ship can still come to you if only you believe the Son of God. Give your life to Him today and become the son/daughter of God and ensure that you do not defy yourself with the king’s table. Remain blessed in the Lord.
PRAYER POINTS FOR THE WEEK
Monday: - Father in heaven, I believe in your Son, Jesus Christ, please accord me the right to become your child IJN
Tuesday: - Lord, all that you have destined to be mine shall not be given to another IJN
Wednesday: - Father, help me that I may not defy myself with the delicacy from the kings of this world IJN
Thursday: - Lord Jesus, let those who work against me lead me to my breakthrough IJN
Friday: - Father in heaven, grant that every member of Seed of Life will excel and make heaven on the last day IJN
Saturday: - Lord, give us peace and progress in Nigeria IJN
Comments
Post a Comment