In the book of Daniel, Daniel said King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, “spoke 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”, and in chapter one and verse four of Daniel, Daniel shared about the, “children” who were chosen by Nebuchadnezzar where we read,
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.
The verse reads, “Children in whom was no blemish, but well favored, and skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, ...” Daniel began with the words, “children in whom was no blemish” which means “offspring and progeny in which was not any spot, defect or moral stain”, “but well favored” or “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding and moreover pleasant, good and agreeable”, “and skillful in all wisdom” which means “and prudent, circumspect, wisely understood and prosperous within each and every kind of shrewdness and prudence”, “and cunning in knowledge” or “and perceptive, learned, discerning and discriminate within discernment and whit”, “and understanding science” which means “and discerning, attentive and regarding to thought, intelligence and consciousness”. Daniel said King Nebuchadnezzar wanted the offspring of the people of Israel, the king's children and the noblemen's progeny to be good-looking, not to have any defects, acceptable, prudent, shrewd and learned in intelligence.
The verse continues, “... 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.” Daniel added the words, “and such as had ability in them” or “and who have within them, the chosen children, strength, power and might” “to stand in the king's palace” which means “to remain, attend to and serve within the royal ruler and leader's large castle or mansion house”, “and whom they might teach” or “and that they, the educators under Nebuchadnezzar, may exercise in learning, training, instruction and skill” “the learning and the tongue” which means “the missive, document and written order and the wedge in the mouth used for tasting, eating and talking” “of the Chaldeans” or “belonging to the inhabitants of Chaldea which was in lower Mesopotamia bordering on the Persian Gulf”. Daniel said Nebuchadnezzar also wanted the children of Israel to be able to serve within his mansion and that they could be instructed in the skills and language belonging to the “Chaldeans”.
When we consider the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel that Nebuchadnezzar wanted the chosen offspring of the people of Israel as well as the king's and the noblemen's children not to have any spot or defect, and they needed to be acceptable, prudent, shrewd and learned in intelligence as well as being able to be taught in the ways and language of the people of Chaldea. These were the best of children of Israel and their leaders, and Nebuchadnezzar wanted them to be instructed in the Chaldean ways so they could serve him within his “palace”. We shall see how Nebuchadnezzar provides for these chosen children in our next few verses, but for now let us consider that God gave these children their abilities. From their looks to their talents and intelligence, God was responsible for all their gifts. God gives gift to us as well, and His greatest gift was when He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised him from the dead after three days. When we surrender our lives to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit who will equip us with gifts and abilities which may be used in the Kingdom of God for all eternity. (See 1 Corinthians 12:7-11)
Next time Daniel shares about the, “the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine” who were chosen by Nebuchadnezzar, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
No comments:
Post a Comment