Go with me back to Daniel chapter
one. Daniel chapter one. I am so thankful
for these Old Testament stories. I love these stories. I love
these people. I love the message. I love the
picture that these stories and the lives of these people portray
to us messages of Christ, pictures of Christ. That's what all of
them are, pictures of Christ. The book of Daniel is full of
them. It's full of them. There's a
lot of wonderful stories and accounts in this book. As I tell
you all the time, every time I'm in chapter one of anything,
I tell you, I don't know if the Lord's gonna let us go through
this book or not. We're at his mercy. But I would like to give a intro
to the book of Daniel. I would also like for us to see
Daniel as a picture of Christ. That's what we're going to see
tonight. But this is going to be. I don't know, maybe a study format
or something. It's an intro to the book of
Daniel, OK? It begins with Israel being taken
into captivity. That's how this, this book begins. Israel was in captivity to Babylon
for 70 years. And it is a major theme in the
Old Testament. That captivity is a major theme
in the Old Testament. I didn't realize how major of
a theme it was until we studied the book of Ezra a few years
ago. And as I started turning and
reading and seeing when people lived and it's all through the
Old Testament. Second Kings and Second Chronicles
both mention it. One year before the captivity
happened, one year before it happened, Jeremiah foretold of
Nebuchadnezzar leading Israel into captivity. One year before
it happened. It plainly says, and I'm not
going to read it to you tonight. I'll either read it to you next
time or tell you where it is. But it plainly says Nebuchadnezzar
is going to lead Israel into this captivity. That was one
year before. 102 years before, Isaiah foretold of Cyrus leading
Israel out of this captivity. Portions of Ezekiel were written
during the captivity. Portions of other books too.
Jeremiah or I think Jeremiah. Ezra and Nehemiah are accounts
of them being led out of the captivity. This one starts going
in, Ezra starts coming out. Rebuilding of the temple, rebuilding
of the walls. The book of Esther takes place
just after the captivity is over. All through the minor prophets,
all through the Old Testament, it's all through the Old Testament.
The theme is the deliverance of God's people from this captivity. That's the theme. And it's a
picture of the deliverance of God's people from the captivity
of sin. Israel was in captivity for 70
years. How long is 70 years? You say it's 70 years. That's
right. Another way of saying that is
three score in 10. That's the life of a man or woman
on this earth. God has allowed the average of
three score and 10, 70 years. And we spend our time on this
earth during that 70 years in the captivity of our own sin. We're God's people, but we are
in the captivity of our own sin. And I want us to take note as
we begin looking at this captivity, I want us to realize that not
only is the deliverance of God's people a sovereign deliverance. But even the captivity of God's
people, that was a sovereign captivity. Nothing about this
was outside of God's control. Nothing about this. Now look
with me at Daniel 1 verse 1, it says, in the third year of
the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Judah is Israel, this
is the king of Israel. In the third year of the reign
of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, came Nebuchadnezzar, king of
Babylon unto Jerusalem and besieged it. Now we are going to see if
the Lord lets us get into this book, I believe the Lord ended
up saving this King Nebuchadnezzar. He right here in this moment
is a picture of idolatry. His name means, the name Nebuchadnezzar
means May Nebo protect the crown. Nebo was one of their false idol
gods, false god idols. But what a picture of man by
nature Nebuchadnezzar is. He represents the enemy. He represents
sin. Over in chapter four, I don't
know if there's a place that I quote more often than Daniel
chapter four. That's where he went out and
he saw, look at everything I've done. And the Lord said, you're
going to end up crawling around in a field until I tell you otherwise. And after the Lord returned him
back, he said, he's the King. He does what he wants with whom
he wants and the armies of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth.
None can stop him or question him. Their God is God. But Nebo was one of their false
idols and Nebuchadnezzar represents idolatry. That's what he represents.
God conquered him just like God, our Lord conquered all of his
sinful people. Just like he has conquered all
sin and all people. All things. He has conquered
all things. In the end, it will be so that
every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. In chapter four,
that's what Nebuchadnezzar had to do. He had no choice but to
do that, to bow and to confess. But in our picture right here,
the sin of idolatry attacked the people of God. It was the sin and attack of
Babylon. Babylon came. Now, where did
Babylon come from? Where did Babylon start? I wonder
if any of the little kids may know. Where did Babylon start?
The Tower of Babel. You ever heard that story? The
Tower of Babel. What took place at the Tower
of Babel? Works religion. That's what took
place. False religion. The name Babylon
means confusion by mixing. They tried to mix their works
with God's grace. They tried to build their own
tower to God. They said, we're gonna make our
own way to God. We're gonna get to God by our
own doing. We're gonna build this great
tower. That's man's works. They tried to mix man's works
with God's grace. And that sin, that mixing brought
the confusion of losing God. God mixed and confused all of
their languages. That's where all these different
languages that we have on this earth came from. All of a sudden they couldn't
understand each other. This one started speaking this language
and that one started speaking that language and they couldn't
understand each other and it all came to nothing and it fell. Man fell in that sin of trying
to mix his own works with God's grace. That's what happened in
the Garden of Eden. Man fell in the sin of trying
to mix his own works with God's grace and mankind was taken captive
in that fall. But even so, It was a sovereign
captivity. Look right here at verse one. It says, in the third year of
the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon unto Jerusalem and besieged it. Verse two says,
and the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand,
into Nebuchadnezzar's hand. Even this was sovereignly at
the hand of the Lord. It says the Lord gave. It is the Lord. Let him do what
seemeth him good. The Lord kills. The Lord makes
alive. The Lord wounds. The Lord heals. The Lord does all these things.
The Lord does all these things. Our Lord was not ambushed. He
was not surprised. Verse 2 says, And the Lord gave
Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand with part of the vessels
of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar
to the house of his God. And he brought the vessels into
the treasure house of his God. And the king spake unto Ashpenaz,
the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the
children of Israel and of the king's seed and of the princes,
children in whom was no blemish, but well favored and skillful
in all wisdom and cunning in knowledge and understanding science
and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace. and whom they might teach the
learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans." This was an attack
on Christ and the people of Christ, as we see the spiritual picture
in this. That's who this describes. It says in verse three, certain
of the children of Israel, certain of the children of Israel, of
the king's seed. Of the princes, that's God's
elect, God's elect people. Verse four describes Christ and
every soul who's in Christ. This is how they're described.
It says, no blemish. Well favored. This is Christ
and every soul in Christ. Possessing this wisdom, this
revelation. this knowledge, this understanding
of the mind and will of God, possessing the very righteousness
of Christ, having the ability in them to stand in the king's
palace, to stand in the king's presence. That's who the enemy
wanted to indoctrinate with these lies of idolatry, this teaching
of lies, these fiery darts of lies and idolatry. The adversary
desires nothing more than to bring the people of Christ into
captivity. And he will do everything in
his power to make that happen. Everything in his power to force
his free will idolatry on God's people. But we're gonna see through
this that Christ will not let that happen. He will not let
it happen. Verse three says, And the king spake unto Ashpenaz,
the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the
children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the prince's,
children in whom was no blemish, but well favored, and skillful
in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding
science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's
palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of
the Chaldeans. And the king appointed them a
daily provision of the king's meat." Nebuchadnezzar's, this
meat that would have been offered to idols. Verse five, the king appointed
them a daily provision of the king's meat and of the wine which
he drank. In this sense, the scripture
says, wine is a mocker. The mocking of idolatry, the
mocking, false religion and idolatry mocks God, mocks his word. Verse five, the king appointed
them a daily provision of the king's meat and of the wine which
he drank, so nourishing them three years that at the end thereof,
they might stand before the king Now, among these were of the
children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Daniel
is a picture of Christ in this. These brethren are a picture
of the people of Christ. The name Daniel means judgment. It means the judge of God. That's Jesus Christ. We shall
all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. He is the one
who will bring judgment to the Gentiles. Daniel is a picture
of Christ. These brethren represent the
people of Christ. The name Hananiah means God has
shown grace. Jehovah has favored. The name
Mishael means God is my strength. It translates He is who God is. Jesus Christ is God and he's
my strength. The name Azariah means God is
my help. That's the gospel. That's the
gospel. That's the grace and mercy of
God's salvation. But the sin of the enemy tried
to ruin it by mixing in man's works of idolatry. Look at verse
seven, it says, unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names,
for he gave unto Daniel the name Bel-teshazzar. Bel was one of
their idols. And unto Hananiah of Shadrach. Drach was one of their idols.
And to Mashael of Meshach. Shach was one of their idols.
And to Azariah, of Abednego. Nego was one of their idols. Aren't you so glad the foundation
of God stands sure? Aren't you so glad? Aren't you so glad that Christ
has been given a name that is above every name? Aren't you so glad that there
is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved?
The enemy tried to undo the grace of God, something that cannot
be undone. But he tried to undo the grace
of God. He tried to wipe out the remembrance
of God's grace by the confusion of mixing man's sinful idolatry
with the glory of God's holiness. Verse eight. I love these first
two words. It says, but Daniel. We're going
to say this is all because of Daniel. But God, Daniel is a picture
of Christ, 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. Daniel is the one who purposed
in his heart that he and his people would not be defiled by
the sinful idolatry of man. Verse eight says, 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. Now God had brought Daniel into
favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. And the
prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my Lord the king
who hath appointed your meat and your drink. For why should
he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of
your sort? Then shall you make me endanger my head to the king. What he's saying is, if I don't
give you what the king told me to, he's gonna kill me, he's
gonna behead me. If you end up looking worse than
the rest of them. Verse 11, then said Daniel to
Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had said over Daniel,
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. He said, prove thy servants I
beseech thee 10 days and let them give us pulse to eat and
water to drink. Then let our countenances be
looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children
that eat of the portion of the king's meat, as thou seest, deal
with thy servants. So he consented to them in this
matter and proved them 10 days. Daniel said, for 10 days, you
let us eat vegetables. That's what Paul says. It's anything
that comes from a seed. You let us eat vegetables and
water and then you, after 10 days, compare us to all the other
captives and then you make your decision from that. What Daniel
was saying is no nourishment is going to come to us from idolatry. None. We are not going to defile
ourselves with the flesh of man's works and the mockery of man's
works, it's going to be the pure seed only. The seed alone, that's this word. The word of God, every word that
has proceeded out of the mouth of God. Peter called this the
incorruptible seed that liveth and abideth forever. We don't mix flesh with that. We don't mix our flesh with this. It's the seed alone. Our Lord said a sower went forth
to sow seed. Scriptures alone, grace alone,
faith alone, the glory of God alone because it's Christ alone. Daniel said, I'm not going to
defile myself. Therefore, my brethren are not
going to defile themselves. The other three, they were not
defiled because Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not
be defiled. That's the reason why Daniel is the one who purposed. It was all because of him. They
were just not defiled with him. Verse 15 says, And at the end of 10 days, their
countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all
the children, which did eat the portion of the king's mate. After the, at the end of 10 days,
which is the number of completion in the scripture, seven is the
number of perfection. 10 is the number of completion.
At the end of 10 days, their countenances appeared fairer
and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the
portion of the king's meat. Thus, Melzar took away the portion
of their meat and the wine that they should drink and gave them
pulse." Ezekiel 34 calls the pasture of God's Word a fat pasture. I love that wording. I love hearing that and thinking
it's a fat pasture. Isaiah 55 says, delight thyself
in fatness. How do God's people do that?
This word. Right here in this word. Our
Lord said, open your mouth wide and I will fill it with my words. David said, my cup runneth over. That's what God's word does for
God's people. It fills them with fullness.
The irony of false religion is that's what they use for the
Daniel diet to make people lose weight. That made them all fat. Spiritually
speaking, that makes all of God's people very fat. They delight
themselves in fatness. God's Word fills God's people
with fullness. That fullness is Jesus Christ,
the Lord Jesus Christ. That fullness is the sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That fullness is forgiveness. and mercy and redemption in the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. That fullness is all of the Godhead
bodily in Him. Oh, the fullness that's in Christ.
Verse 16 says, thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat
and the wine that they should drink and gave them pulse. By
the word of Daniel, that wickedness and that idolatry was taken away.
It's all taken away. And they were given Christ alone.
Verse 17, as for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill
in all learning and wisdom. And Daniel had understanding
in all visions and dreams. God gave all of them an understanding,
but the secret things belonged to Daniel. Daniel's a picture
of Christ. All the secret things belong
to him. The only knowledge we have is the knowledge he reveals
to us. He is the source of all wisdom,
all knowledge. Verse 18, now at the end of the
days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the
prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar
and the king communed with them And among them all was found
none like Daniel and Ananias, Mishael and Azariah. Therefore
stood they before the king. And in all matters of wisdom
and understanding that the king inquired of them, he found them
10 times better than all the magicians and astrologers that
were in all his realm. 10 is the number of completion.
When he heard their word, he heard a finished word. He heard
a complete word. Ten times better than all of
that false religion mess that's not complete, not finished. Even I was thinking, you know,
Nebuchadnezzar's still the enemy at this point. Even Pilate said,
I find no fault in this man. I find no fault. This is a perfect
man. Never has there been a man like
this man. Verse 21 says, and Daniel continued even unto the
first year of King Cyrus. That is not the time that he
died. And that's not even the time
that he left Babylon. That is the time of Israel's
deliverance, Cyrus, 70 years later. Daniel was there for all
of it. It's believed he was about 15
to 20 years old when he was taken into captivity. And he would
have been there till he was about 85. Well, he was there longer
than that. 70 years would be 85 or 90. But the point is, is
he endured all of it, not part of it. He didn't start the captivity
and then leave the rest of the captivity for somebody else.
He endured all of it. And Christ our Savior endured
all of it too. All the captivity of his people.
He was the substitute of the entire life of his people. Let me just leave you with this
blessed thought right here. Our substitute is our substitute
for the entire life that we live on this earth. He was our substitute
for everything we've done, everything we are doing, and everything
we're gonna do. He was our substitute. He endured
all of it. He was touched with the feeling
of all of the infirmities. Having loved his own, he loved
them to the end, all the way to the day of their deliverance.
And every day after that, amen. Well, I hope the Lord will make
that to be a blessing. Let's all stand together.