In the book of Daniel, Daniel shared how King Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams that he summoned magicians, astrologers and Chaldeans to interpret. However, they were unable to reveal his dream, and “the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain. Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon. He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions”, and in Daniel chapter two and verse eighteen Daniel said he told “Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah” so,“they would desire mercies of the God of heaven” where we read,
That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret;
that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
The verse reads, “That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret;” Daniel began with the words, “that they would desire mercies” or “so they, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah might seek, request and make petition” “of the God of heaven” which means “to the Supreme Deity, Jehovah, within the visible sky, atmosphere and sidereal heaven which is the dwelling place of God and other spiritual beings” “concerning this secret” or “over, about and on account of this hidden mystery”. Daniel made known the situation to “Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah”so they would join him in petitioning Jehovah God of the sidereal heaven on account of this hidden mystery.
The verse continues, “that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.” Daniel added the words, “that Daniel” which means “so Daniel whose name means God is my judge” “and his fellows” or “and his, Daniel's, associates, companions, comrades and friends” “should not perish” whose name means “would in no way or manner be vanished, destroyed or killed” “with the rest of the wise men” or “alongside and accompanying the remainder and residue of the learned and soothsaying male human beings” “of Babylon” which means “belonging to Babylon whose name means confusion (by mixing) and was the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates”. Daniel's desire was for him and his companions not to be killed and destroyed alongside of the other learned men within “Babylon”.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel how he knew that he needed to go Jehovah God in prayer along with his companions so the hidden “dream” of King Nebuchadnezzar would be revealed to him. Daniel did not want himself or his comrades to die along with the other “wise men” of “Babylon”, and the way to avoid it was for God to show him the “dream and the interpretation”. God desires this type of relationship with us, and it is obtained when we put our faith and trust in His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of the world and was raised from the grave after three days. When we believe in Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us access to His “throne of grace” where “we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need”. (See Hebrews 4:16)
Next time Daniel said, “then was the secret revealed”, 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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