In the book of Daniel, Daniel said, “in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. 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 in chapter one and verse three of Daniel, he said, “the king spoke unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs” where we read,
And the king 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;
The verse reads, “And the king spoke unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, ...” Daniel began with the words, “and the king” which means “and the royal ruler and leader, Nebuchadnezzar” “spoke unto Ashpenaz” or “uttered, declared and proclaimed to Ashpenaz whose name means I will make prominent the sprinkled” “the master of his eunuchs” which means “the great, abounding and exceeding strong chief or captain pertaining to his, Nebuchadnezzar's, castrated, valets or officers”. Daniel shared how King Nebuchadnezzar declared to the chief of his castrated officers and told him to do the following.
The verse continues, “... that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes;” Daniel added the words, “that he should bring certain of the children” or “that he, Ashpenaz, ought to carry and bring forth particular ones belonging to the offspring and progeny” “of Israel” which means “belonging to Israel whose name means God prevails and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”, “and of the king's seed” or “and belonging to the royal ruler and leader's, offspring, descendants, posterity and children”, “and of the princes” which means “and belonging to the grandees or noblemen”. Daniel shared how Nebuchadnezzar instructed “Ashpenaz” to carry forth and present particular ones of the offspring of Israel, the royal ruler's posterity and the noblemen's children.
When we think through the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel how King Nebuchadnezzar ordered the chief of his castrated officers to usher and lead particular offspring of the people of “Israel”, the royal ruler's children and the noblemen's posterity to him. Choosing the best of the youths of the conquered was customary whenever a land was taken captive, and Nebuchadnezzar did not miss his opportunity. We shall discover more about these “children” in our next few verses, but let us consider whether we might be the ones selected if we were in this situation. God “has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world”, and we are to be “holy and without blame before him in love”. (See Ephesians 1:4) This is made possible when we yield our lives to His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days. God will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and cleanse us from all unrighteousness when we submit to Him, and through His Holy Spirit He will prepare us for whatever He has in mind for us to be and do in His Kingdom.
Next time Daniel shares about the, “children” 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".
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