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. 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 in chapter one and verse five of Daniel, Daniel shared how, “the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine” where we read,
And 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.
The verse reads, “And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank:”Daniel began with the words, “and the king appointed them” which means “and the royal ruler and leader Nebuchadnezzar reckoned, assigned and prepared for them, the chosen children” “a daily provision” or “a day by day portion and allotment” “of the king's meat” which means “pertaining to the royal ruler and leader's delicacies and dainties of meat”, “and of the wine” or “and pertaining to the fruit of the vine” “which he drank” which means “that he, King Nebuchadnezzar, imbibed”. Daniel shared how King Nebuchadnezzar prepared for the chosen children a day by day allotment of the dainties of meat and fruit of the vine that he himself consumed.
The verse goes on to say, “... so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.” Daniel continued with the words, “so nourishing them three years” or “thereby making, promoting, growing and magnifying them, the chosen children, for three annual set of days”, “that at the end thereof” which means “so when the three years were completed” “they might stand before the king” or “they, the chosen children, would be set in place and established in front and in the presence of the royal ruler and leader Nebuchadnezzar”. Daniel said the chosen children of Israel were to grow and be magnified for “three years”, and when their time of training and instruction was completed, they would be set and established in front of King Nebuchadnezzar.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel that King Nebuchadnezzar prepared a day by day allotment on behalf of the chosen children of Israel. They were to be given the dainties of meat and the fruit of the vine that the king consumed for three years, and at the completion of that time of training and instruction, they would serve in the presence of King Nebuchadnezzar. In other words, King Nebuchadnezzar had a plan to use the children of Israel for his purposes. We shall discover the results of this, but for now, let us put ourselves in the place of these children of Israel. What would we do? How would we respond? God wants us to serve Him all our lives, and when we yield to His Son Jesus who was crucified on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was resurrected from the dead after three days, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us for His service in this world and in the eternal life to come.
Next time Daniel mentions, “Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah” who were among “the children of Judah”, 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".
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