Daniel lived an extraordinary life. He lived during a time of upheaval in Judah and was among the first wave of captives taken to Babylon. Daniel was righteous. If we remember Ezekiel 14, Yahweh tells us that Noah, Daniel, and Job would deliver their own souls by their righteousness, even if Jerusalem falls. This is the case with Daniel. Daniel found himself in a situation where his previous political leaders failed the nation and Judah fell to Babylon. There is not much written about Daniel as he lived primarily in the seventy year captivity, but Daniel wrote his own book for us to learn from. If we think about Noah he lived in the antediluvian age and started a new age, Job lived pre-exodus, and Daniel lived during the close of the age in captivity. The three men sum up an entire period of time and they were considered righteous. Our own political upheavals make us question if Yahweh Elohim will save the righteous. The answer is absolutely. Our nations may be in turmoil, but Yahweh is not. Just as Lot was spared by being led out of Sodom, and just as Noah was told to build a big boat, Daniel was spared by being taken to Babylon. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, prospered more than they would have if they had stayed in Judah. Just as Daniel, we have a part to play. We are to have faith. We may not see things happening the way that we want them to, but behind the scenes Yahweh is doing His part for the righteous.
Hezekiah made a big mistake. He showed an envoy from Babylon all the treasures in his house. Isaiah tells Hezekiah that because he did this, his sons would be taken away and made eunuchs in Babylon.
Isa 39:5 Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD of hosts:
Isa 39:6 Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD.
Isa 39:7 And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
Isa 39:8 Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days.
Hezekiah messed up again. His attitude was “thank God it won’t happen in my time”. This prophecy is where Daniel finds himself and others, taken to Babylon and made eunuchs. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, were going to pay for Hezekiah’s sin. They may have realized this as they were being led away to Babylon. They would have had access to all the writings and prophecies of Isaiah. They probably knew that they were going to be made eunuchs. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, completed the age by paying for the sins of their great great great grandfather. Ezekiel points to the new age of each one being saved by their own righteousness.
We remember Josiah as a great king who as a boy realized he was prophesied to be king and then spent fourteen years cleaning up Judah. Josiah also held a passover, something that rarely ever took place. But Josiah died, and the people were still responsible for the sins of Manasseh
2Ki 23:29 (Brenton) And in his days went up Pharao Nechao king of Egypt against the king of the Assyrians to the river Euphrates: and Josias went out to meet him: and Nechao slew him in Mageddo when he saw him.
Josiah the king, who cleaned up Judah and reinstated the passover, was killed. The Lord did not turn his wrath away from Judah because of Manasseh’s sin. Hezekiah was Manasseh’s father. Manasseh was Josiah’s grandfather. Amon was Josiah’s father. Both Manasseh and Amon had turned away from Yahweh. The reason that Judah was being held to account for Manasseh was that there were still people practicing the occultic worship. Even though Manasseh repented, many people did not. Amon was the one who went right back to worshipping evil and serving idols.
Now Josiah’s son will be in charge of Judah.
2Ki 23:31 (Brenton) Twenty and three years old was Joachaz when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Amital, daughter of Jeremias of Lobna.
2Ki 23:32 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers did.
2Ki 23:33 And Pharao Nechao removed him to Rablaam in the land of Emath, so that he should not reign in Jerusalem; and imposed a tribute on the land, a hundred talents of silver, and a hundred talents of gold.
Jehoahaz begins to reign, but Pharaoh Nechoh removes him. Nechoh had technically become a ruler over Judah. This is called a coup d`état. The Egyptian government assumed power over Judah without a war or a battle. Jehoahaz was only in power for three months in Jerusalem. Josiah was killed and Nechoh controlled Jehoahaz. Judah didn’t fight or rebel. Nechoh imposed a tribute or a tax which all the people paid. This starts to sound very familiar to our time. Someone in another country wants to rule over us, and imposes taxes that we have to pay.
We might want to remember what Hezekiah did. He sent pallets of cash to Sennacherib so that Sennacherib would not overtake Judah. This is not the strength of David the warrior, this is weakness. Hezekiah started a new tool of war, paying off the enemy. Now if the enemy won’t pay up front the enemy will impose a “tax” on the weak nation, just as Nechoh did.
https://musingsofawinsomeheart.blogspot.com/2020/01/hezekiahs-pallets-of-cash-sennacheribs.html
Nechoh then goes on to change out the government of Judah, making Jehoiakim king of Judah. Where was the army? Why was no one stopping Pharaoh Nechoh? Notice how weak Josiah’s sons were. They grew up with the benefits of being princes to Judah. They had everything they wanted. Yet they had no backbone.
2Ki 23:34 (Brenton) And Pharao Nechao made Eliakim son of Josias king of Juda king over them in the place of his father Josias, and he changed his name to Joakim, and he took Joachaz and brought him to Egypt, and he died there.
2Ki 23:35 And Joakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharao; but he assessed the land to give the money at the command of Pharao: they gave the silver and the gold each man according to his assessment together with the people of the land to give to Pharao Nechao.
Jehoahaz was killed in Egypt and Jehoiakim played Nechoh’s game.
2Ki 23:36 (Brenton) Twenty-five years old was Joakim when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Jeldaph, daughter of Phadail of Ruma.
2Ki 23:37 And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the lord, according to all that his fathers had done.
Nechoh put Jehoiakim in charge because Jehoiakim was willing to play along. He saw what happened to his brother. This was a soft coup or a silent coup. Instead of fighting with all the people, Nechoh killed two kings. The people didn’t even rise up against Nechoh. Jehoiakim was a vassal, a governor instead of a king, and he then collected money from the people for Nechoh. Why didn’t Yahweh stop this? Because of the sins of the people.
Chronicles describes this time as well. Jehoiakim was a puppet for Nechoh, a defiled king. That seems bad enough but Jehoiakim was also evil.
2Ch 36:4 (Brenton) And Pharao Nechao made Eliakim the son of Josias king over Juda in the room of his father Josias, and changed his name to Joakim. And Pharao Nechao took his brother Joachaz and brought him into Egypt, and he died there: but he had given the silver and gold to Pharao. At that time the land began to be taxed to give the money at the command of Pharao; and every one as he could borrowed the silver and the gold of the people of the land, to give to Pharao Nechao.
2Ch 36:5 Joachim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Zechora, daughter of Nerias of Rama. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers did. In his days came Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon into the land, and he served him three years, and then revolted from him. And the Lord sent against them the Chaldeans, and plundering parties of Syrians, and plundering parties of the Moabites, and of the children of Ammon, and of Samaria; but after this they departed, according to the word of the Lord by the hand of his servants the prophets. Nevertheless the wrath of the Lord was upon Juda, so that they should be removed from his presence, because of the sins of Manasses in all that he did, and for the innocent blood which Joakim shed, for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; yet the Lord would not utterly destroy them.
“Shedding innocent blood” encompasses many things. It can be a combination of abortions, sacrifices to Moloch and Baal, pedophilia, sending people into a battle they will not win, unjust judgments against the innocent, or simply murdering people who oppose Jehoiakim and anyone following evil. “Innocent” means that the victims were guileless, which also tells us that they could have been Zadok/Zedek priests like Jeremiah.
Jehoiakim burned the prophecies of Yahweh from Jeremiah. What is even more evil, as the people were paying taxes to Nechoh, Jehoiakim was building himself palaces and several homes with forced labor of the Israelites. So not only were the people paying Nechoh, they were forced to build and pay for several palaces for the fake king.
This is the evil that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, (aka Shadrak Meshak, and Abednego) were living under. People were still practicing the evil that Manasseh brought into the nation even though Josiah tried to clean things up. They were heirs of the kingdom, young princes, but they had no way to change the direction that Jehoiakim was taking the nation. Yet Daniel’s righteousness saved him.
2Ch 36:6 (KJV) Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon.
2Ch 36:7 Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon.
2Ch 36:8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his abominations which he did, and that which was found in him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.
Jehoiakim became a vassal to Nebuchadnezzar. He was a governor instead of a king. He was an administrator. This was a coup, another soft coup. The first two worked pretty well so why wouldn’t Nebuchadnezzar do what Nechoh did? This is the time when Daniel was taken captive to Babylon.
Dan 1:1 (Brenton) In the third year of the reign of Joakim king of Juda, came Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon to Jerusalem, and besieged it.
Dan 1:2 And the Lord gave into his hand Joakim king of Juda, and part of the vessels of the house of God: and he brought them into the land of Sennaar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure-house of his god.
Dan 1:3 And the king told Asphanez his chief eunuch, to bring in some of the captive children of Israel, and of the seed of the kingdom, and of the princes;
Dan 1:4 young men in whom was no blemish, and beautiful in appearance, and skilled in all wisdom, and possessing knowledge, and acquainted with prudence, and who had ability to stand in the house before the king, and the king gave commandment to teach them the learning and language of the Chaldeans.
Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiakim’s household to Babylon. One would think that Jehoiakim would feel pretty badly over this, but instead he does something that could further put people’s lives in jeopardy. Jehoiakim rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.
2Ki 24:1 (Brenton) In his days went up Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and Joakim became his servant three years; and then he turned and revolted from him.
After three years Jehoiakim rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. In total he was a king for eleven years.
One thing that we should remember is that Yahweh had a plan for the nation of Judah. As we know, there were two more captivities into Babylon before Jerusalem completely fell. What Yahweh did was protect the young men, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, due to their own righteousness. Although they were made eunuchs, and their names were changed, they lived.
Ezekiel was part of the second captivity and he tells us what happened at the third captivity. The angels of God came and marked people, the rest died in the attack from Babylon. The marked people were captives in Babylon but they were the progenitors of those who would return and rebuild Jerusalem.
Eze 9:3 (Brenton) And the glory of the God of Israel, that was upon them, went up from the cherubs to the porch of the house. And he called the man that was clothed with the long robe, who had the girdle on his loins;
Eze 9:4 And said to him, Go through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark on the foreheads of the men that groan and that grieve for all the iniquities that are done in the midst of them.
Eze 9:5 And he said to the first in my hearing, Go after him into the city, and smite: and let not your eyes spare, and have no mercy.
Eze 9:6 Slay utterly old man and youth, and virgin, and infants, and women: but go ye not nigh any on whom is the mark: begin at my sanctuary. So they began with the elder men who were within in the house.
Ezekiel tells us that those who mourned and grieved over the sins in the nation were marked. The non-marked people were then killed. The angels started with the elder men in the house of Yahweh, the temple. Ezekiel tells us about the sins in the temple and the fall of Jerusalem. But the young men from Josiah and Jehoiakim’s households were not participants in those sins. They were not priests, they were princes. They may have been instructed by Josiah himself. They certainly saw what Josiah did in tearing down idolatry in Judah. They also partook in the passover. It must have been quite a disappointment that their own uncle sold out the nation. As we noticed with Noah last week, when there is great sin, there is also great grace. We don’t know how many more young men were taken to Babylon but these four were mentioned.
Dan 1:6 (Brenton) Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:
Dan 1:7 Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.
Daniel’s name was changed to Belteshazzar which means “Bel’s prince” or “who Bel favors”. When we read the apocryphal work of Daniel 14, we see a story about a temple and idol named Bel. This is the idol Daniel was named after. The three young men had their names changed as well. Hananiah/Ananiah, named Shadrach/Hadrach after a Syrian god of the seasons. Mishael/Meshach/Meshah is the name of the Chaldean sun-god. Azariah/Abednego was named after Nego or Nebo, the Chaldean name for the planet Mercury who was the “interpreter of the gods”. It was a custom that when people were kidnapped and taken to another country that the host country changed the names of those who they took in and let live. They also usually made eunuchs of all the men, which is what happened to these young men.
Dan 1:19 (Brenton) And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king.
Dan 1:20 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.
Josephus gives us a historical record about this in Antiquities of the Jews. Josephus tells us that these young men were kinsmen/cousins of Zedekiah. Zedekiah was a son of Josiah and the last king of Judah after Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim.
Josephus 10:10:1 BUT now Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took some of the most noble of the Jews that were children, and the kinsmen of Zedekiah their king, such as were remarkable for the beauty of their bodies, and the comeliness of their countenances, and delivered them into the hands of tutors, and to the improvement to be made by them. He also made some of them to be eunuchs; which course he took also with those of other nations whom he had taken in the flower of their age, and afforded them their diet from his own table, and had them instructed in the institutes of the country, and taught the learning of the Chaldeans; and they had now exercised themselves sufficiently in that wisdom which he had ordered they should apply themselves to. Now among these there were four of the family of Zedekiah, of most excellent dispositions, one of whom was called Daniel, another was called Ananias, another Misael, and the fourth Azarias; and the king of Babylon changed their names, and commanded that they should make use of other names. Daniel he called Baltasar; Ananias, Shadrach; Misael, Meshach; and Azarias, Abednego. These the king had in esteem, and continued to love, because of the very excellent temper they were of, and because of their application to learning, and the profess they had made in wisdom.
The phrase “flower of their age” would tell us they were young, teenagers, past puberty, but not old enough to marry. The young men were made eunuchs and had their names changed. They had to learn the ways of Babylon. They would not have their families or friends to lean on. They were now expected to learn the language, and to counsel Nebuchadnezzar. The magicians and princes of Babylon did not trust these Hebrews, they tried at every turn to subvert them, and have them killed. They crafted and schemed but Yahweh did not allow them to be harmed. Why? Because of their own righteousness. They had faith which made them righteous. They had no choice but to step out on their faith in Babylon. This is why we know about them, because they all had great faith. Daniel stepped out in faith early on in his captivity. He recalled Nebuchadnezzar’s dream for him. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah also had to step out in faith as well since they determined that they would not bow to Nebuchadnezzars idol. They even told him to his face.
Dan 3:16 (Brenton) Then answered Sedrach, Misach and Abdenago and said to king Nabuchodonosor, We have no need to answer thee concerning this matter.
Dan 3:17 For our God whom we serve is in the heavens, able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will rescue us from thy hands, O king.
Dan 3:18 But if not, be it known to thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the image which thou hast set up.
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah say that they don’t have to answer Nebuchadnezzar because the Elohim in heaven will rescue them. But even if the Elohim does not rescue them, they are not going to serve this golden image. They had nothing to lose. They realized that they would be sinning if they bowed to this idol. Their righteousness was in jeopardy. They stood strong in their faith and told Nebuchadnezzar that they would not worship the golden image.
We sometimes have the wrong perspective. Death is not the end, it is the beginning of a new life. Death to the saved is eternal life. Death to the unsaved is eternal death. As Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, pointed out, even if the Elohim didn’t rescue them they were going to remain faithful. The trick of the devil is to make people think that death is the end, and then people who realize that they are not in control become fearful. Just as the Elohim protected Daniel through Daniel’s righteousness there was someone else who was protected for very specific purposes. Cyrus.
Isa 44:28 (Brenton) Who bids Cyrus be wise, and he shall perform all my will: who says to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built, and I will lay the foundation of my holy house.
Isa 45:1 Thus saith the Lord God to my anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, that nations might be obedient before him; and I will break through the strength of kings; I will open doors before him, and cities shall not be closed.
Isa 45:2 I will go before thee, and will level mountains: I will break to pieces brazen doors, and burst iron bars.
Isa 45:3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, I will open to thee hidden, unseen treasures, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord thy God, that call thee by name, am the God of Israel.
Isa 45:4 For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel mine elect, I will call thee by thy name, and accept thee: but thou hast not known me.
Cyrus was prophesied as anointed by Isaiah, long before the captivity. Imagine having your name written in another nation’s holy book at least one hundred and ninety years before knowing anything about it.
Dan 14:1 (Brenton) And king Astyages was gathered to his fathers, and Cyrus of Persia received his kingdom.
Astyages was king of the Medes and Cyrus’ grandfather, (585-550 BCE). Astyages’ daughter Mandane married a Persian prince named Cambyses. When Cyrus was born Astyages wanted Cyrus killed, but instead he was given to Harpagus, one of Astyages relatives. Harpagus gave the infant to a shepherd named Mitradates. When Cyrus was around twelve years old Astyages found out that Cyrus was alive and had Harpagus’ son killed. Astyages then cooked Harpagus’ son and gave it to Harpagus to eat. Cyrus went to live with his parents in Persia. In time Harpagus stirred up an insurrection against Astyages and took him prisoner. Cyrus was crowned king and became king of Media and Persia, and was known as Cyrus the Great.
I am sure that you are wondering why we are looking at the story of Cyrus. We would never have known or seen the importance of Cyrus at the time of Cyrus’ upbringing. We can only see how the Elohim orchestrated events in hindsight. Here is the point. Mitradates the shepherd was of the Magians who were Zoroastrian priests. The Magians were Magi. The Magians believed prophetically that Cyrus would be king. Daniel taught the Magi the prophecies regarding the Messiah. Daniel taught them astronomy also. The Eastern Magi knew that the Messiah was going to be born and knew how to read the stars, constellations, and planets. That is why the Eastern Magi traveled to Judah to welcome the newborn king. So while the crazy politics of Judah were going on in the days of Isaiah, there was already a plan for someone named Cyrus to be born. That Cyrus would allow the Jews to go back to Judah. Then when the Messiah was born in Judah, the Magi would travel to honor him.
We can now see that Yahweh was working out of our sight to make sure that he put someone in power that would help the Israelites repopulate Judah. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, did their part by staying faithful, continuing in their own righteousness. Yahweh was faithful to them while saving Cyrus’ life, years prior. There’s more to Daniel’s story that is found in the Septuagint and the Apocrypha.
Dan 14:2 (Brenton) And Daniel conversed with the king, and was honoured above all his friends.
Dan 14:3 Now the Babylons had an idol, called Bel, and there were spent upon him every day twelve great measures of fine flour, and forty sheep, and six vessels of wine.
Dan 14:4 And the king worshipped it and went daily to adore it: but Daniel worshipped his own God. And the king said unto him, Why dost not thou worship Bel?
Cyrus did not know Yahweh Elohim. Cyrus worshipped whatever god was around. Daniel responds.
Dan 14:5 (Brenton) Who answered and said, Because I may not worship idols made with hands, but the living God, who hath created the heaven and the earth, and hath sovereignty over all flesh.
Dan 14:6 Then said the king unto him, Thinkest thou not that Bel is a living God? seest thou not how much he eateth and drinketh every day?
Dan 14:7 Then Daniel smiled, and said, O king, be not deceived: for this is but clay within, and brass without, and did never eat or drink any thing.
Dan 14:8 So the king was wroth, and called for his priests, and said unto them, If ye tell me not who this is that devoureth these expences, ye shall die.
Dan 14:9 But if ye can certify me that Bel devoureth them, then Daniel shall die: for he hath spoken blasphemy against Bel. And Daniel said unto the king, Let it be according to thy word.
Daniel said ‘sounds good’. Cyrus was a king but he did not know Yahweh and Yahweh’s plan. By the time Daniel is finished, Cyrus would come to know Yahweh.
Dan 14:10 (Brenton) Now the priests of Bel were threescore and ten, beside their wives and children. And the king went with Daniel into the temple of Bel.
Dan 14:11 So Bel's priests said, Lo, we go out: but thou, O king, set on the meat, and make ready the wine, and shut the door fast and seal it with thine own signet;
Dan 14:12 And to morrow when thou comest in, if thou findest not that hath eaten up all, we will suffer death, or else Daniel, that speaketh falsely against us.
Dan 14:13 And they little regarded it: for under the table they had made a privy entrance, whereby they entered in continually, and consumed those things.
Dan 14:14 So when they were gone forth, the king set meats before Bel. Now Daniel had commanded his servants to bring ashes, and those they strewed throughout all the temple in the presence of the king alone: then went they out, and shut the door, and sealed it with the king's signet, and so departed.
Dan 14:15 Now in the night came the priests with their wives and children, as they were wont to do, and did eat and drinck up all.
Dan 14:16 In the morning betime the king arose, and Daniel with him.
Dan 14:17 And the king said, Daniel, are the seals whole? And he said, Yea, O king, they be whole.
Dan 14:18 And as soon as he had opened the door, the king looked upon the table, and cried with a loud voice, Great art thou, O Bel, and with thee is no deceit at all.
Dan 14:19 Then laughed Daniel, and held the king that he should not go in, and said, Behold now the pavement, and mark well whose footsteps are these.
Dan 14:20 And the king said, I see the footsteps of men, women, and children. And then the king was angry,
Dan 14:21 And took the priests with their wives and children, who shewed him the privy doors, where they came in, and consumed such things as were upon the table.
Dan 14:22 Therefore the king slew them, and delivered Bel into Daniel's power, who destroyed him and his temple.
The seventy priests of Bel were sneaking into the temple of Bel via a secret door under the table and they and their families were eating all the food and wine. There was a lot of money being put into this phony temple. It is surprising that the king could be fooled. In the same area was a dragon that was being worshipped as well.
Dan 14:23 (Brenton) And in that same place there was a great dragon, which they of Babylon worshipped.
Dan 14:24 And the king said unto Daniel, Wilt thou also say that this is of brass? lo, he liveth, he eateth and drinketh; thou canst not say that he is no living god: therefore worship him.
Dan 14:25 Then said Daniel unto the king, I will worship the Lord my God: for he is the living God.
Dan 14:26 But give me leave, O king, and I shall slay this dragon without sword or staff. The king said, I give thee leave.
Daniel claimed that the idol was not eating the food and he was correct. Now the people kept a dragon, a large reptile, or a large serpent around and fed it. They also worshipped it.
Dan 14:27 Then Daniel took pitch, and fat, and hair, and did seethe them together, and made lumps thereof: this he put in the dragon's mouth, and so the dragon burst in sunder : and Daniel said, Lo, these are the gods ye worship.
Pitch is also known as bitumen or asphalt. Daniel covered over asphalt with fat and hair, so that the dragon would sense it was an animal. However the asphalt underneath seems to be indigestible. Pitch was used to make boats watertight and mostly found near the Dead Sea, Sodom, and Gomorrah.
Dan 14:28 (Brenton) When they of Babylon heard that, they took great indignation, and conspired against the king, saying, The king is become a Jew, and he hath destroyed Bel, he hath slain the dragon, and put the priests to death.
Dan 14:29 So they came to the king, and said, Deliver us Daniel, or else we will destroy thee and thine house.
The people are calling Cyrus a Jew. After exposing their fake religion of Bel and their fake dragon worship, Daniel was not particularly popular.
Dan 14:30 (Brenton) Now when the king saw that they pressed him sore, being constrained, he delivered Daniel unto them:
Dan 14:31 Who cast him into the lions' den: where he was six days.
This time Daniel was not in the lions den for one day but for seven.
Dan 14:32 (Brenton) And in the den there were seven lions, and they had given them every day two carcases, and two sheep: which then were not given to them, to the intent they might devour Daniel.
Dan 14:33 Now there was in Jewry a prophet, called Habbacuc, who had made pottage, and had broken bread in a bowl, and was going into the field, for to bring it to the reapers.
Habakkuk was the prophet who wrote this: Habakkuk 2:4 If he should draw back, my soul has no pleasure in him: but the just shall live by my faith. It would seem that Habakkuk had an experience similar to Ezekiel, being transported.
Dan 14:34 (Brenton) But the angel of the Lord said unto Habbacuc, Go, carry the dinner that thou hast into Babylon unto Daniel, who is in the lions' den.
Dan 14:35 And Habbacuc said, Lord, I never saw Babylon; neither do I know where the den is.
Dan 14:36 Then the angel of the Lord took him by the crown, and bare him by the hair of his head, and through the vehemency of his spirit set him in Babylon over the den.
Dan 14:37 And Habbacuc cried, saying, O Daniel, Daniel, take the dinner which God hath sent thee.
Dan 14:38 And Daniel said, Thou hast remembered me, O God: neither hast thou forsaken them that seek thee and love thee.
Dan 14:39 So Daniel arose, and did eat: and the angel of the Lord set Habbacuc in his own place again immediately.
Daniel had Door Dash in the lions den. Again the faith of Daniel is what is important to note. The angel of Yahweh intervened and fed Daniel while the lions were not eating.
Dan 14:40 (Brenton) Upon the seventh day the king went to bewail Daniel: and when he came to the den, he looked in, and behold, Daniel was sitting.
Dan 14:41 Then cried the king with a loud voice, saying, Great art Lord God of Daniel, and there is none other beside thee.
Dan 14:42 And he drew him out, and cast those that were the cause of his destruction into the den: and they were devoured in a moment before his face.
Cyrus came to know Yahweh Elohim through Daniel. If we understand that faith is acceptance and loyalty, and that the righteous live by faith, we can understand that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, were all righteous young men living in corrupted Judah. On the surface it may seem that they were harmed and unfairly punished for their great great great grandfather’s sin, but really they were spared the disaster of the captivity. Their faith did not waiver. While captive in Babylon they did their best for the king, but they continued to serve Yahweh. Meanwhile, the Elohim was preparing for a king from another country to serve Him, even though that king didn’t know him. The result was that Cyrus came to know Yahweh Elohim after unknowingly serving Him. The political shenanigans that we see today are nothing new. But we live in a different age, the age where the children are not responsible for the sins of their parents, and parents are not responsible for the sins of their children, Ezekiel 14. All people are judged by their own righteousness. Righteousness is revealed in those who have faith. The Messiah came to earth and those who have accepted that He came, are loyal to Him. We can see that Noah, Job, Daniel, and Lot, were used as examples of faith and righteousness for us. There is nothing for us to fear. We do our part, staying faithful, and Yahweh is doing His part for the righteous people.
