Psalm 34 And The Babylonian Captivity

Myrbdl Myrpomh Ha’Misparim La’Debarim The Numbers of the Words by Craig Peters

Psalm 34 and the Babylonian Captivity

a The Hebrew word for “Babylon” is “Ba-BEL” (lbb).1 Readers will recognize this as being the same word used for the Tower of Babel (lbb), and it was that very incident of rebellion which originally led to the formation of the geographical name.2 The misparim value3 for this three-letter Hebrew word (lbb) is 34, and just below, we see how this number is obtained from each of its letters: ← ← ←

34 = (30) l + (2) b + (2) b = lbb = Babel = Babylon Yet not only does the word “Babel” add to 34 in Hebrew, but there is also much evidence that the subject matter seen in Tehillah/Psalm 34 shows the foreknowledge of hwhy anticipated the trials which DaniEL and his three friends – ChananYAH, MishaEL, and AzarYAH4 – would face before King Nebuchadnezzar (and others) in the courts and provinces of Babel—the name for the city commonly referred to today as “Babylon,” and the capital of King Nebuchadnezzar’s rule.5 From its very inception, Tehillah 34 not only spoke of the trials and afflictions encountered by David, its author, but to our amazement, profound evidence shows this inspired song also stood in prophetic anticipation of the numerous events which would later be recorded in the Book of Daniel. We further note David was of the tribe of Yahudah (Judah) as were Daniel, Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah. Tehillah 34 A Psalm of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, who drove him away and he departed.7 1 (a) I will bless hwhy at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 (b) My soul will make its boast in hwhy; the humble shall hear it and be glad. 3 (g) Magnify hwhy with me, and let us exalt His Name together. 6

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Throughout this study, “Babel” and “Babylon” will be used interchangeably. Genesis 11:1-9 3 “Misparim” is the transliteration of the Hebrew word (Myrpom) meaning “numbers”. This series of articles has continued to show how, if properly understood, the number values of Hebrew words provide us with great revelations of the Most High’s sovereignty and foreknowledge; and in so doing, we believe misparim further provides us with the Almighty’s very own commentary on His Word. 4 Daniel 1:7. While the three men are commonly called “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,” these were pagan names bestowed by idolatrous, heathen men in an attempt to amalgamate the Yisraelites into the false worship of Babylon. 5 We are not claiming David knew this psalm to be prophetic of anything related to the captivity. However, this study shows the Spirit of the Most High Elohim certainly knew this to be the case. 6 In the Hebrew text, this is an acrostic psalm: each letter of the ALEPH-BEIT appears, in sequence, at the very outset of the verse: Each letter shown leads off as the starting letter of the first, Hebrew word in that particular verse. Hence, we have given each letter according to its inspired place/sequence although the psalm itself appears in English. Our verse numbering is according to the Hebrew and not according to any English translation, as all of these have either failed to see, or at least properly recognize this inspired literary convention. Since there are 22 letters in the Hebrew ALEPH-BEIT, this psalm was inspired to contain 22 verses. This is one of nine acrostic psalms: Psalm 9 and 10, 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119, and 145. It actually takes both Psalm 9 and 10 to form a complete, but irregular acrostic. See the margin notes on Psalms 9 and 10 as well as Appendix 63, Section VII, in the Companion Bible. 7 This account of David and Abimelech appears in 1Samuel 21:10-22:1. 2

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4 (d) I sought hwhy, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5 (h) They looked to Him, and were radiant, 6 (w) and their faces were not ashamed. 7 (z) This poor man cried, and hwhy heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. 8 (x) Encamps a messenger 8 of hwhy around those that fear Him, and delivers them. 9 (j) Taste and see that hwhy is good: blessed is the man that trusts in Him. 10 (y) Fear hwhy, you His set apart ones: for there is no lack for those who fear him. 11 (k) Young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek hwhy shall not lack any good. 12 (l) Come, you children, listen to me: I will teach you the fear of hwhy. 13 (m) Who is the man that desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good? 14 (n) Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking guile. 15 (o) Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. 16 (e) The eyes of hwhy are upon the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. 17 (p) The face of hwhy is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 18 (u) The righteous cry, and hwhy hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. 19 (q) hwhy is near to those who are of a broken heart; and saves such as are of a contrite spirit. 20 (r) Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but hwhy delivers him out of them all. 21 (s) He keeps all his bones: not one of them is broken. 22 (t) Evil shall slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be desolate. hwhy redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be desolate. t s r q u p e o n m l k y j x z w h d g b a

We will now view the topics seen in this psalm, and we will compare the subject matter of David’s song with the recorded experiences of Daniel and his three friends—Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah. The order of our study is based on the sequence of events seen in the Book of Daniel, and we will find many amazing similarities as these incidents are repeatedly compared with the 34th Psalm. ♦ DANIEL 1 ♦ THE INITIAL TEST: It was not an easy thing for any Yisraelite to be carried away captive from the Land of Yisrael: Like many others, Daniel and his friends had been separated from their families and their countrymen. Yet, at some point – perhaps immediately – Daniel had the insight to attribute these regrettable, difficult events to the Sovereign Hand of the King of the Creation: In the third year of the reign of Yahoiakim, king of Yahudah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Yerushalayim, and besieged it. And the Sovereign gave Yahoiakim, king of Yahudah, into his hand … Daniel 1:1-2 8

“Messenger” is most often translated “angel;” however, the word “messenger” far more accurately portrays the work of these heavenly agents: their heaven-sent messages and heavenly ordained deliverances have been seen throughout Scripture-history on many occasions: Genesis 16:6-14, 21:17-19, 22:11-18, Judges 13:1-24, 1Kings 19:1-8, Isaiah 37:3337, Luke 1:26-38, Acts 12:1-18, are some of the many references.

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Daniel’s ability to attribute the captivity to the sovereign Hand of hwhy was likely the benefit of having been taught from the Torah throughout his childhood. Further all Yisrael had been given ample warnings from the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah:9 Should Yisrael continue to walk against hwhy and His Torah, He would walk against them: Destruction and captivity would be the result. Yet not only had Daniel and his friends been led away into captivity, they suffered additional tragedy and affliction because they were made into eunuchs10 for the sake of serving in the king’s palace: 3 And the king spoke to Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Yisrael, and of the king’s seed, and of the princes; 4 children in whom was no blemish, but of good appearance, and skillful in all wisdom, and intelligent 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 language of the Chaldeans. 5 And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king’s food, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end of them they might stand before the king. 6 Now among these were of the children of Yahudah: Daniel, Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah – 7 to whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names. For he gave to Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Chananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abed-nego. Daniel 1:3-7 The young men being made eunuchs was the fulfillment of a prophecy spoken by Isaiah directly to King Hezekiah: 5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Hear the word of hwhy of hosts: 6 Behold, the days come, that all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, says hwhy. 7 And of your sons that shall come forth from you, which you shall beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Isaiah 39:5-7, 2Kings 20:16-18 And even though this had long-since been prophesied, we should not underestimate the tragedy, the trauma, or the implications of these men being made into eunuchs. For even if they were to live for the duration of the seventy-year captivity, and even if they had been able to someday return to Yerushalayim/Jerusalem, their access to the Temple for which they longed11 would have been severely limited: He that is wounded in the stones, or has his private member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of hwhy. Deuteronomy 23:1 But an unstoppable spiritual law is set motion for those who remain faithful to the Most High, especially in the midst of suffering hardship and tragedy: Such persons will, without fail, receive special favor and blessings from the Presence of hwhy. This was the case with these four men: Based on the Isaiah prophecy, we also see that Daniel, Chananyah, Mishael, and 9

These two prophets had long-since warned the courts of Yahudah that desolation and captivity were imminent. Isaiah 1:4-9, 19-20, 3:1-26, 5:1-16, 18-30, 6:9-12, etc., Jeremiah 15:1-4, 17:19-27, 20:6, etc. 10 They fit the class of those who are “made eunuchs by men.” Matthew 19:12 11 Psalm 27:4, Daniel 6:10

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Azaryah – all being descendants of King Hezekiah – were also descendants of King David. Thus, even in the midst of their captivity, and even despite the physical tragedy/affliction of them having become eunuchs, hwhy was still fulfilling His promise through Ya’acob: The scepter will not depart from Yahudah, nor a Lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come: and to Him will be the obedience of the peoples. Genesis 49:10 The remarkable level of rule to which these four men would attain in Babylon was a miraculous fulfillment of the Word of hwhy that the descendants of David would always have ruling power until the Messiah/Shiloh came. And thereafter, the promise of David’s progeny being rulers would continue unbroken forever since the Messiah was of the House of David!12 Hence, if eSwhy was not the Messiah, then the promise of hwhy through Ya’acob failed because the scepter would have departed from Yahudah without the Messiah having ever appeared. This is yet more evidence eSwhy was, and is, the Messiah! Then, at an early point in the courts of a heathen king, Daniel and his friends faced their first major test in dealing with the people of a foreign land: Would they eat of the king’s dainties? Though they had been given pagan names, Daniel determined not to defile himself and, evidently, he had company in this determination: Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah. 7 And the prince of the eunuchs gave names to them: to Daniel he gave the name of Belteshazzar; and to Chananiah: Shadrach; and to Mishael: Meshach; and to Azariah: Abednego. 8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king’s dainties, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. 9 Now Elohim made Daniel to find kindness and compassion in the sight of the prince of the eunuchs. 10 And the prince of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my master, the king, who has appointed your food and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse looking than the youths that are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” 11 Then Daniel said to the steward, whom the prince of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah: 12 Prove your servants, I beseech you, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. 13 Then let our countenances be looked upon before you, and the countenance of the youths that eat of the king’s dainties; and as you see, deal with your servants. 14 So he hearkened to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. 15 And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer, and they were fatter in flesh than all the youths that did eat of the king’s dainties. 16 So the steward took away their dainties, and the wine that they should drink, and gave them pulse. Daniel 1:7-16 It was important for these men to pass this test, for they would soon face far greater trials, and they would be in desperate need of even more help from the Most High: They would need help from the only Source with a true solution to otherwise impossible and insurmountable dilemmas. Daniel, Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah would get this help as a witness they were walking uprightly by faith:

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Isaiah 11:1-5

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But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king’s dainties, nor with the wine which he drank. Daniel 1:8 The fulfillment of their petitions in the midst of great dilemmas was just as David had written in the 34th Psalm: “The eyes of hwhy are upon the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.” Psalm 34:15 Yet even before those more difficult trials were encountered, there were other, more immediate blessings which came upon these men for their determination to walk in the light of the Torah: 15 And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer, and they were fatter in flesh than all the youths that did eat of the king’s dainties. 16 So the steward took away their dainties, and the wine that they should drink, and gave them pulse. Daniel 1:15-16 Because of their obedience, the four men then received blessings of great intellectual benefits: 17 Now as for these four youths, the Elohim13 gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom … 18 And at the end of the days which the king had appointed for bringing them in, the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king communed with them; and among them all none were found like Daniel, Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah: therefore they stood before the king. 20 And in every matter of wisdom and understanding, concerning which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his realm. Daniel 1:17-20 And significant spiritual benefits were also supplied to Daniel as a result of his determination to obey the Torah: … and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. Daniel 1:17 It is always somewhat perplexing to see well-meaning Bible teachers presenting “character studies” on men of faith, all the while they fail to emulate the faith and obedience of those people they have set out to study. Every prophet and righteous man/woman who placed his/her faith in hwhy, all the faithful ones seen throughout the Torah and the Prophets, all such men/women upheld the Shabbat as well as the other tenets of the Law. Daniel and friends refused unclean flesh and unclean drink which would defile their physical bodies, and Sha’ul admonished the Corinthians to do likewise! Having, therefore, these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting separateness in the fear of Elohim. 2Corinthians 7:1 13

The Hebrew uses the definite article here to show their blessings came from the one, true Elohim, in contrast to the false gods of Babylon.

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We are to avoid defilement of our flesh as the body of a believer is the dwelling-place of His Spirit. Eating detestable flesh is clearly a defilement of the body: 41 And every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten. 42 Whatsoever goes upon the belly, and whatsoever goes upon all four, or whatsoever has more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth: those you shall not eat, for they are an abomination. 43 You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps, neither shall you make yourselves unclean with them, that you should be defiled thereby. 44 For I am hwhy your Elohim: you shall therefore set yourselves apart, and you shall be set apart; for I am set apart: neither shall you defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. 45 For I am hwhy that brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your Elohim: you shall therefore be set apart, for I am set apart. Leviticus 11:41-45 25 You shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and you shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creeps on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. 26 And you shall be set apart unto Me: for I, hwhy, am set apart, and have severed you from other people, that you should be Mine. Leviticus 20:25-26 And the apostle Peter quoted these Scriptures from Leviticus when writing to the first century believers:14 … 15 but as He who has called you is set apart, you also be set apart in all your conduct; 16 because it is written, You be set apart, for I am set apart. 1Peter 1:15-16 … “and as you have believed, so be it done unto you.”15 These are the words of the Messiah which reveal the mind of hwhy over “the obedience of faith.”16 True faith works through love,17 that is, through keeping the commandments.18 This is why Sha’ul stated love to be greater than either faith or hope/expectation. Love for hwhy will feed our faith and expectation. Such obedience is part of truly seeking hwhy with all of our hearts.19 Newton’s Third Law of Motion can be generalized as follows: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” But do we suppose that this applies only in the physical realm and not in the spiritual? Certainly not. hwhy will always give us some spiritual reward for our service to Him.20 So we can be sure: Regardless of how large, or how seemingly insignificant, our labor in hwhy is never in vain.21 However, the spiritual law of return22 is far better than Newton’s Third Law: In our human frailty, we can only offer the Messiah a few fish and 14

There are only four places in which hwhy tells Yisrael they are to be set apart because He is set apart. Three of the four texts (Exodus 22:31, Leviticus 11:44, 20:26) have a context related solely to the eating of clean animals. The context of the fourth (Leviticus 19:2) covers many things (Leviticus 19:1 - 20:27) – one of which involves abstinence from anything unclean (Leviticus 20:25-26). 15 Matthew 8:13 16 Romans 1:5, 16:26 17 Galatians 5:6 18 Exodus 20:6, John 14:15, 15:10, 1John 5:2-3 19 Psalm 119:2, Matthew 6:33, 7:7-8 20 Matthew 6:3-4,6,17-18 21 1Corinthians 15:58 22 Luke 6:38

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loaves.23 But if offered in faith, He will always multiply them with abundant excess,24 working in ways which are far beyond all that we ask or think;25 and He will use such acts of love to feed veritable multitudes. It is somewhat like a “matching gift” where a corporate sponsor, or a well-to-do person, commits to double any amount which an individual gives to a charitable cause. Only with hwhy, He will oftentimes go far beyond just “matching” a gift: He may well choose to multiply our efforts far beyond anything we could ever imagine.26 He certainly blessed the obedience of Daniel and his friends in many amazing and awe-inspiring ways. ♦ DANIEL 2 ♦ NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S DREAM IS REVEALED TO DANIEL: I WILL BLESS hwhy AT ALL TIMES “I will bless hwhy at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34:1 Can you imagine having to interpret someone else’s dream while not being informed by that person of even a single detail surrounding its particulars, including the subject matter? Yet this is the predicament which Daniel and his friends soon faced in Babylon: They had probably not been in this foreign country much longer than three to five years when Nebuchadnezzar declared the wise men of Babel must precisely inform him of his dream’s subject matter as well as giving him its interpretation. But the king had completely forgotten the dream! And even though the dream’s content had escaped him, the experience had so moved the king that Nebuchadnezzar somehow knew it was something of great importance! So he decreed that the wise men of Babylon must declare the dream’s content and its interpretation or else they would all be executed! Failure to comply with the king’s wishes would mean death at the hands of this insanely obsessed mad-man!27 Having heard the decree, Daniel must have experienced some amount of fear, but only initially. His fear gave way to faith and, knowing that death was certain apart from the intervention of the Most High, he set forth a plan to give the Almighty the opportunity to reveal the dream: 13 So the decree went forth, and the wise men were to be slain; and they sought Daniel and his companions to be slain. 14 Then Daniel returned answer with counsel and prudence to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon; 15 he answered and said to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree so urgent from the king?” Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. 16 And Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would appoint him a time, and he would show the king the interpretation. Daniel 2:13-16

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Matthew 14:17, 15:34, Mark 6:38, Luke 9:13, John 6:8-9 Matthew 14:18-21, 15:35-38, Mark 6:39-44, Luke 9:14-17, John 6:10-14 Ephesians 3:20 2Corintians 9:10-11 Daniel 2:1-12

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How significant that Daniel would do this! He planned a time to disclose to the king both the dream and its interpretation, even before any of those things had been revealed to him from heaven! Daniel was acting in faith. And he immediately took additional action:28 17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah, his companions: 18 that they would desire kindness of the Elohim of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then was the secret revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the Elohim of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the Name of Elohim for ever and ever; for wisdom and might are His. 21 And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings, and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those that have understanding; 22 He reveals the deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. 23 I thank You, and praise You, Elohim of my fathers, who has given me wisdom and might, and has now made known to me what we desired of You; for You have made known to us the king’s matter. 24 Therefore, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus to him: Destroy not the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show to the king the interpretation. Daniel 2:17-24 Notice that Daniel immediately recognized that the revelation he had received was also the thing over which he and his friends had prayed and inquired. We see in this entire incident a great fulfillment of Psalm 34:1-4:

1 I will bless hwhy at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul will make its boast in hwhy: the humble shall hear it and be glad. 3 Magnify hwhy with me, and let us exalt His Name together. 4 I sought hwhy, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. Tehillah 34:1-4 Daniel and his humble friends were glad! They immediately blessed hwhy by bending their knees before Him with a response of reverent thanksgiving. They praised Him and magnified His Name! They exalted His Name together! They had sought hwhy and He delivered them from all their fears; the threat of death had been removed! After Daniel related to the king the dream and its interpretation, Nebuchadnezzar was completely overwhelmed: 45 “Forasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great Elah has made known to the king what will come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” 46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors to him. 47 The king answered Daniel, and said, “Of a truth your Elah is the Elah of elahin, and the Master of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing you have been able to reveal this secret.” Daniel 2:45-47 All evidence indicates Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah stood with Daniel as he spoke before the king,29 and Tehillah 34 speaks of the exaltation of those who look to hwhy through prayer and faith: 28 29

James 2:17-18 See the “we” of Daniel 2:36.

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5 They looked to Him, and were enlightened, 6 and their faces were not ashamed. Psalm 34:5-6 Their exaltation was the result of having looked to hwhy: Daniel and his friends had sought hwhy in a time of great need, and they were supernaturally enlightened by the Spirit of the Most High. They had been blessed with the needed wisdom to solve the king’s enigma and they were subsequently exalted; their faces were not ashamed as they were lifted up, even over the other wise men of Babel: 48 Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule over the whole province of Babel, and to be chief governor over all the wise men of Babel. 49 And Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego over the affairs of the province of Babel: but Daniel was in the gate of the king. Daniel 2:48-49 ♦ DANIEL 3 ♦ DELIVERED FROM THE FIERY FURNACE: THE MESSENGER OF hwhy ENCAMPS AROUND THOSE WHO FEAR HIM Daniel was not on the scene for the next trial. Somewhere in the province surrounding Babylon, Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah were accused by men who, knowing the three would not bow before an image of false worship, used the opportunity to destroy them: 1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits, and the width of it six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to convene the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3 Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces, were assembled to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 Then a herald cried aloud, “To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, 5 that at what time you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. 6 And whoever will not fall down and worship shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.” 7 Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 8 Therefore, at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Yahudim. 9 They spoke and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever. 10 You, O king, have made a decree, that every man that will hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image: 11 and whoever will not fall down and worship, that he shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Yahudim whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, 9

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded you: they serve not your elahin, nor worship the golden image which you have set up. 13 Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, you do not serve my elahin, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? 15 Now if are ready that at what time you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the image which I have made; but if you worship not, you shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that Elah that will deliver you out of my hands? 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer you in this matter. 17 If it is so, our Elah whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your elahin, nor worship the golden image which you have set up. 19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He spoke and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was normally heated. 20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hose, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore, because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spoke, and said to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered and said, “Behold, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt: and the form of the fourth is like the Son of Elah.” 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spoke, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, you servants of the Most High Elah, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth from the midst of the fire. 27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counselors, being assembled, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor had the smell of fire passed upon them. 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spoke, and said, “Blessed be the Elah of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who has sent His messenger, and delivered His servants that trusted in Him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any elahin, except their own Elah. 29 Therefore, I make a decree, that every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the Elah of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other elah that can deliver after this sort.” 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in the province of Babylon. Daniel 3:1-30 This is the entire account of Daniel 3 and we see fulfilled a number of things from Psalm 34. Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah refused to break the Second Commandment: they refused

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to bow before Nebuchadnezzar’s image.30 And so we see hwhy delivering the righteous in their time of need: 4 I sought hwhy, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked to Him, and were radiant, 6 and their faces were not ashamed. 7 This poor man cried, and hwhy heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles … 16 The eyes of hwhy are upon the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry … 18 The righteous cry, and hwhy hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles … 20 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but hwhy delivers him out of them all. Psalm 34:4-7, 16, 18, 20 And we see the Messenger of hwhy so fully encamped around these three men that, in addition to being completely unhurt by the fire, even their clothes did not incur the smell of fire/smoke: Encamps a messenger of hwhy around those that fear Him, and delivers them. Psalm 34:8 Being completely delivered from fire of any kind is a miracle of indescribable proportions. Yet these men also had not even acquired the smell of smoke! And after the men came forth unharmed by the fire, the decree made by Nebuchadnezzar clearly exhibits a fulfillment of the Word of hwhy in Tehillah 34: “Therefore, I make a decree, that every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the Elah of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other elah that can deliver after this sort.” Daniel 3:29 This was the king’s decree and we see how well it fits with Psalm 34:22: Evil will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous shall be desolate. Psalm 34:22 Nebuchadnezzar must have realized the men who reported Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah did so out of hatred; and so the king declared that, henceforth, anyone who spoke amiss of their Elohim would be hacked to pieces and their houses made into a dunghill. Just as Psalm 34 had prophesied, any such haters of the righteous would be made desolate—even their physical dwelling would become a thing of abhorrence, a dunghill. Through this account, we see that these three faithful men were blessed to slay their own giant, even as their ancestor, David, had done. David had refused to bow in fear before Goliath, and these men had likewise refused to bow in fear before a colossal image of false worship. Even when threatened with the loss of their own lives in a burning furnace, Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah exhibited their love for hwhy by their absolute refusal to bow before the giant image of Nebuchadnezzar.

30

Exodus 20:4-6

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♦ DANIEL 4 ♦ JUDGMENT PROCLAIMED UPON NEBUCHADNEZZAR: THE FACE OF hwhy IS AGAINST THOSE WHO DO EVIL Although he proclaimed judgment upon anyone who spoke amiss of the Elohim of Yisrael, Nebuchadnezzar had also hated the righteous: he had been inflamed to murderous anger against Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah; and so, in some measure, he also would have to suffer the punishment of being made desolate. Evil shall slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be desolate. Daniel 3:29 Perhaps the kindness of hwhy continued longer toward King Nebuchadnezzar because he was still humble enough to defend the men after seeing their great deliverance; as a result, we see him forbidding anyone to speak anything against their Elah/Elohim. The fourth chapter of Daniel reveals a time when Nebuchadnezzar was judged for arrogance; he was driven from men and lived like a wild beast for seven years. We cannot help but recall the words of the 49th Psalm: Man in his pomp, but without understanding, is like the beasts: they will perish. Psalm 49:20 But the king was warned in advance of this judgment: Once more, hwhy spoke to the king in a dream; and once more, it was a dream which required Daniel to be the interpreter!31 In this dream, a tree (representing Nebuchadnezzar) was cut down; but the tree was left with a stump; it was not cut off completely. This indicated the king would eventually be restored. The many events which led up to this judgment form the backdrop for our own instruction and benefit: We see Nebuchadnezzar consistently acting with rash arrogance as he put forth many heartless decrees: • Nebuchadnezzar slew Zedekiah’s sons and then put out the king’s eyes: 2Kings 25:6, Jeremiah 39:4-7, 52:6-11 • Nebuchadnezzar pronounced all the wise men of Babel must be killed since they could not disclose his dream: Daniel 2:1-13. • And Nebuchadnezzar commanded his men to slay Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah for their refusal to worship him and his gods: Daniel 3:14-21. History shows the thing which rulers so often fail to see and acknowledge is that they have been placed in power by the Hand of the Most High. The sovereignty of hwhy confirms the truth of this statement, and it is His great sovereignty which is spoken of so loudly in the account of Nebuchadnezzar’s judgment. No less than three times do we read:

31

Daniel 4:4-9

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…“the Most High rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomsoever He will.” Daniel 4:17,25,32 But this statement is not made for the sake of kings and rulers alone! The sovereignty of hwhy applies to everyone! The lesson is that, even as believers, we must realize and be humbled by the Hand and working of hwhy: He dwells on high! He is in the heavens and He does whatever He pleases!32 If He has worked mightily, it is His working! If He has revealed His Word, it is by His Spirit!33 If He has blessed us, then it is according to His will! If He has afflicted us, then it is also in His love and sovereignty!34 There is no place for pride in the Kingdom of Elohim.35 Daniel warned the king he would be punished with insanity and that he would be forced to live like a beast for seven years. A year later, the judgment prophesied fell upon the king: 28 All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months, he was walking in the royal palace of Babylon. 30 The king spoke and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the splendor of my majesty?” 31 While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom is departed from you: 32 and you will be driven from men; and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field; you will be made to eat grass as oxen; and seven times shall pass over you; until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever He will.” 33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hair was grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws. Daniel 4:28-33 hwhy opposed Nebuchadnezzar in his pomp and arrogance. And we are told of this in Psalm 34; the face of hwhy is against those who do evil: The face of hwhy is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. Psalm 34:16 hwhy opposed Nebuchadnezzar and all but cut him off! It took seven years to fulfill this punishment upon the king. At the end of that time, Nebuchadnezzar was restored according to the Word of hwhy: 34 And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him that lives for ever; for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His Kingdom from generation to generation. 35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and He does according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and no one can stay His hand, or say to Him, “What are You doing?” 36 At the same time my understanding returned to me; and for the splendor of my kingdom, my majesty and brightness returned to me; and my counselors and my sovereigns sought unto me; and I was 32 33 34 35

Psalm 115:3 John 16:13-16, 2Peter 1:20-21 Hebrews 12:3-13, Romans 8:28, 11:36 1Corinthians 1:29, 4:7, James 4:6-10

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established in my kingdom, and excellent greatness was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all His works are truth, and His ways justice; and those that walk in pride He is able to abase. Daniel 4:28-33 ♦ DANIEL 5 ♦ JUDGMENT PROCLAIMED UPON BELSHAZZAR: THE FACE OF hwhy IS AGAINST THOSE WHO DO EVIL Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson, held an idolatrous feast and insulted the Elohim of Heaven by using the set apart vessels from the Temple of hwhy: 1 Belshazzar, the king, made a great feast to a thousand of his nobles, and drank wine before the thousand. 2 Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had taken out of the Temple which was in Yerushalayim; that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines, might drink therefrom. 3 Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the Temple of the House of Elah which was at Yerushalayim; and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines, drank from them. 4 They drank wine, and praised the elahin of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. Daniel 5:1-4 While it was unusual, in this extreme case of irreverence against the Most High, there was an immediate response from the Throne of Heaven: 5 In the same hour, the fingers of a man’s hand came forth, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 6 Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, and the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. 7 The king cried aloud to bring in the magicians, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” 8 Then came in all the king’s wise men, but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation. 9 Then was King Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his nobles were confounded. Daniel 5:5-9 Once again, Daniel was brought onto the scene to interpret the undecipherable meaning, and once more, judgment was decreed upon an evil and arrogant king of Babel: 10 The queen, by reason of the words of the king and his nobles, came into the banquethouse. The queen spoke and said, O king, live for ever! Let not your thoughts trouble you, neither let your countenance be changed. 11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the set apart elahin; and in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the elahin was found in him; and king Nebuchadnezzar, your father, your father the king, made him master of the scribes, magicians, Chaldeans, and astrologers; 12 forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and showing of hard sentences, and solving of problems, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation. 13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel, of the children of the captivity of Yahudah, whom the king, my father, brought out of Yahudah? 14 And I have heard of you, that the spirit of the 14

elahin is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. 15 And now the wise men, the magicians, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof; but they could not show the interpretation of the thing. 16 But I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations, and solve problems. Now if you can read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, you shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. 17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let your gifts be to yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation. 18 You, O king, the Most High Elah gave Nebuchadnezzar, your father, the kingdom, and greatness, and splendor, and majesty; 19 and for the greatness that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would, he slew; and whom he would, he kept alive; and whom he would, he exalted, and whom he would, he humbled. 20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit hardened to presumption, he was deposed from the throne of his kingdom, and they took his splendor from him; 21 and he was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys; they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High Elah rules over the kingdom of men, and that He appoints over it whomsoever He will. 22 And you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this; 23 but you lifted up yourself against the Sovereign of the heavens; and they have brought the vessels of His House before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine in them; and you have praised the elahin of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; but to the Elah of your life breath – it is in His hand and all your ways are of Him – you have not given honor. 24 Then from before Him was sent the part of the hand, and this writing has been written. 25 And this is the writing that is written: “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.” 26 This is the interpretation of the thing: “MENE, Elah has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; 27 TEKEL, You are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting; 28 PERES, Your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” 29 Then Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. 30 In that night was Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldeans, slain. 31 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old. Daniel 5:10-30 hwhy opposed Belshazzar for his arrogant wickedness; and this is the clear warning which comes forth from Tehillah 34; the face of hwhy is against those who do evil: The face of hwhy is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. Psalm 34:16 [A Note to Close This Section: In this account, Daniel indicates Belshazzar was the son of King Nebuchadnezzar. Some scholars have attacked the inspiration of Daniel because they say history does not record King Nebuchadnezzar having a son named Belshazzar. But in the mind of hwhy, anyone’s male ancestor could be called that person’s father: • Ya’acob calls Abraham his father even though Abraham was, technically, his grandfather. Genesis 32:9 15

• hwhy calls Abraham Mosheh’s father even though this prophet lived many generations after Abraham. Exodus 3:6, 32:9 • Through Yahoshua, hwhy calls Abraham the father of all the Yisraelites who had entered the Land of Canaan after the forty years of wilderness wandering. Joshua 24:1-3 • In the first century, Sha’ul and James (Ya’acob) both called Abraham their father. Romans 4:1, James 2:21 • Although preceding them by a number of generations, David was called the father of many subsequent kings in Yisrael. 1Kings 15:1-3, 11, 24, 22:50, 2Kings 15:38, 16:2, 18:3, 20:5, 22:2. Records have shown that Belshazzar remained in Babylon while his father, Nabonidus – the immediate son of Nebuchadnezzar – was living in northern Arabia, at a place called Tema/Teima.36 This explains why Daniel was made the third in the kingdom for interpreting the writing: Daniel was honored as the third behind Belshazzar and his father. That Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians at the time of Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson is a fulfillment of the Word of hwhy through the prophet Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah: 6 And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, My servant. And the beasts of the field also I have given him to serve him. 7 And all the nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son,37 until the time of his land also come, when many nations and great kings shall reduce him to servitude. Jeremiah 27:6-7 The reign of Babylon, the head of gold,38 ended with Nebuchadnezzar’s son and grandson, just as was prophesied by Jeremiah.] ♦ DANIEL 6 ♦ DELIVERED FROM THE LIONS: THE MESSENGER OF hwhy ENCAMPS AROUND THOSE WHO FEAR HIM We again see haters of the righteous bringing accusations against them. This time, Daniel is entrapped by accusers who knew of his times of bowing in continual prayer and reverent worship before his Maker: 1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty princes, who should be over the whole kingdom; 2 and over these, three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts to them, and the king should have no damage. 3 Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. 4 Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We will not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his Elah.” 6 Then these presidents and princes 36

See the following:

37

(i.e., Belshazzar) Daniel 2:31-38

38

http://www.biblehistory.net/Belshazzar_Darius_Mede.pdf http://www.barmitzva.org/Bible/Daniel%204-5.htm

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assembled to the king, and said thus to him, “King Darius, live for ever. 7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counselors, and the captains, consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whoever shall ask a petition of any elah, or man, for thirty days, except you, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it may not be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which alters not.” 9 Therefore, king Darius signed the writing and the decree. 10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber towards Yerushalayim, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his Elah, as he did before. 11 Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his Elah. 12 Then they came near, and spoke before the king concerning the king’s decree: “Have you not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any elah, or man, within thirty days, except of you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which alters not.” 13 Then they answered and said before the king, “That Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Yahudah, does not regard you, O king, nor the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.” 14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was much displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he labored till the setting of the sun to deliver him. 15 Then these men assembled to the king, and said to the king, “Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, that no decree nor statute which the king establishes may be changed.” Daniel 6:1-15 So the stage was set: Daniel had to be cast into the den of lions. 16 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spoke and said to Daniel, “Your Elah whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” 17 And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his nobles; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. 18 Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep went from him. 19 And the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste to the den of lions. 20 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice to Daniel: and the king spoke and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living Elah, was your Elah, whom you serve continually, able to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live for ever. 22 My Elah has sent His messenger, and has shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before Him innocence was found in me; and also before you, O king, have I done no hurt.” 23 Then was the king exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel out of the den. So Daniel was taken out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his Elah. Daniel 6:16-23 It is likely the lions had already been deprived of food before Daniel was cast into the den. Yet the power of the Most High is seen over His creation/creatures, and the Word of hwhy in Psalm 34 was once more fulfilled: Encamps a messenger of hwhy around those that fear Him, and delivers them. Psalm 34:8 17

So Daniel was saved by a heavenly messenger who kept the mouth of the lions closed. It was a miracle of the tallest order! And what became of those who had hated the righteous? 24 And the king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions: them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they came to the bottom of the den. Daniel 6:24 Once more, those who hated the righteous were made desolate; their entire households were obliterated: 22 Evil shall slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be desolate. Psalm 34:22 Yet there is still more in this incident which is noteworthy as it relates to Tehillah 34. The lions – which were already hungry before encountering Daniel – were now exceedingly ravenous: … and the lions had the mastery of them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they came to the bottom of the den. Their bones being broken is set forth in stark contrast with the promise of hwhy in Tehillah 34 concerning the righteous: He keeps all his bones: not one of them is broken. Psalm 34:21 Daniel’s bones were guarded while the bones of those who hated him were completely broken. The outcome of the entire incident was still more honor for the Elohim of Heaven and continued promotion/exaltation for Daniel: 25 Then king Darius wrote to all people, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: “Peace be multiplied to you. 26 I make a decree, that in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the Elah of Daniel: for He is the living Elah, and steadfast for ever, and His kingdom is that which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall be even to the end. 27 He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth; who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.” 28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. Daniel 6:25-28 ♦ THE REAL ISSUE WITH THE ♦ BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY We necessarily pause for an interlude in the prophetic narrative of Daniel. And during the stopover, we will ponder a subject which is not only rather momentous and edifying, but it also provides us with confirmatory evidence that we stand on solid ground in our understanding of Psalm 34. hwhy had warned Yisrael they would be sent into captivity for their disobedience against His Word/Torah, but was this captivity an end in itself? Was there a greater, higher intent in this punishment of seventy years duration? Was it punishment just for the sake of punishment? Absolutely not; there is always a “latter end”39 with hwhy; there 39

Jeremiah 29:10-13, Hebrews 12:5-10, James 5:11, 1Peter 4:1-2, 5:10

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is always a higher goal towards which He is working. And this is where our meditation on Psalm 34 and the Babylonian captivity becomes yet more amazing and yet more instructive: The Hebrew word for “heart” is “ley-vav” (bbl). And not only does this word have the very same letters as the word for Babylon (Babel, lbb), in their original language, the two words are also the precise reversal of one another! • Reverse the order of the letters in “heart/ley-vav” (bbl) and we obtain the Hebrew word for Babylon: Babel (lbb): ← ← ←

lbb <<< reversed <<< bbl Babel

heart

• Reverse the order of the letters in “Babel” (lbb) and we obtain the Hebrew word for heart: ley-vav (bbl): ← ← ←

bbl <<< reversed <<< lbb heart

Babel

Yet what would hwhy require of Yisrael before He could put an end to the seventy years of Babylonian captivity and bring them back to the Land?40 He had already indicated this many centuries in advance. The prophetic Word of hwhy indicated He would most certainly require a circumcised heart – a heart (bbl) that was broken, contrite, and humble:

hwhy is near to the brokenhearted; and saves those of a contrite spirit. Psalm 34:18 Not only does this text apply to Daniel’s brokenness as he prayed before hwhy over the captivity,41 but many centuries prior to David writing Psalm 34, Elohim had specifically spoken, through Mosheh, of delivering Yisrael from their Babylonian captivity: 14 But if you will not hearken to Me, and will not do all these commandments, 15 and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you will not do all My commandments, but that you break My Covenant … 38 … you will perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies will eat you up. 39 And they that are left of you will pine away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers they shall pine away with them. 40 If they will confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against Me, and that also they have walked contrary to Me; 41 and that I have also walked contrary to them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies – if then their uncircumcised hearts (bbl) be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity, 42 then I will remember My covenant with Ya’acob, and also My covenant with Yitschak, and also My covenant with Abraham I will remember; and I will remember the land. Leviticus 26:14-15, 38-42

40 41

Deuteronomy 4:27-31, 30:1-6, Nehemiah 1:8-9 Daniel 9:1-23

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We should note here that Scripture indicates an uncircumcised heart (verse 41) is one that is polluted with pride. This pride keeps its possessors blind to the Word of hwhy and thus, they also remain unwilling to follow His commandments. Ironically, even religious pride can be the downfall of a people or nation since such arrogance will so quickly lead to spiritual complacency.42 This complacency, in turn, soon leads to outright apostasy. So we understand that hwhy was requiring within His people a circumcised heart, meaning a heart that is humble before Him.43 A literal translation of Micah 6:8 shows us this same requirement: He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does hwhy require of you, but to do judgment, and to love kindness, and the lowliness to walk with your Elohim? Micah 6:8 And while pondering this subject, we should be careful to avoid falling into the trap of accepting, or adhering to, man’s opinions surrounding the subject of pride and humility; for there are many man-made views concerning this topic. We must hear and accept what hwhy Himself has defined as pride: You have rebuked the proud 44 – accursed ones who wander from Your commandments. Psalm 119:26 hwhy defines pride as wandering from His commandments, and many other Scriptures confirm this to be the case.45 We see the pride of those who refused to give heed to the prophets—men who taught Yisrael to uphold the Torah;46 we see the pride of those who refused to keep the Feast of Pesach/Passover in the days of Hezekiah;47 and we see the pride of those who sought to change the Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkot to a man-made feast one month later.48 Humility, then, would be defined as having a heart which continually returns to rest in hwhy,49 through prayer, with a view towards doing His Word and upholding His Torah.50 Shelomo/Solomon’s prayer – a prayer offered before hwhy at the dedication of the Temple during the Feast of Sukkot51 – also spoke of Yisrael’s deliverance in and deliverance from captivity: 46 If they sin against You, (for there is no man that sins not,) and You are angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives to the land of the enemy, far or near; 47 and if they turn back to their hearts in the land where they were 42

Amos 6:1, Jeremiah 10:21 Micah 6:8 44 Proud = zadim, the Hebrew plural meaning “proud ones.” 45 We see the pride of those who refused to give heed to the prophets and to uphold the Torah: Jeremiah 17:21-23, Zechariah 7:8-14, 2Chronicles 36:11-21 46 Isaiah 2:1-5, 8:20, Jeremiah 1:12-16, 2:1-37, 6:19-30, Ezekiel 22:1-31, Hosea 4:1-10, Malachi 4:4-6 47 2Chronicles 30:1-11 48 1Kings 12:32-33 49 Psalm 62:1 (the ISRV translates this text to indicate we only find rest in Elohim), 116:7, Isaiah 28:12, 30:15, Jeremiah 6:16, Matthew 11:28-30 50 Ezra 7:9-10, Acts 24:14, Romans 3:31 51 1Kings 8:1-2 43

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carried captives, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of those that carried them captives, saying, “We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness” – 48 and so return to You with all their heart (bbl ) and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray to You toward their land, which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the House which I have built for Your Name – 49 then may You hear their prayer and their supplication in heaven Your dwelling place, and maintain their cause, 50 and forgive Your people that have sinned against You, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against You, and give them compassion before those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them. 1King 8:46-50 Not only did Daniel and his friends find the compassion of which Shelomo prayed and prophesied, but Esther/Mordecai, Ezra, and Nehemiah would also find such favor and compassion.52 History shows that hwhy bestowed lovingkindness on His people: His favor led to their exaltation and deliverance within the captivity. And ultimately, this same favor would eventually bring them great deliverance from the captivity. hwhy warned Yisrael of their spiritual need before the captivity came, and He emphasized their need for a circumcised heart. In advance of Yisrael being judged for forsaking the Torah, the prophet Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah was also used by hwhy to warn the people that their uncircumcised heart would bring punishment and captivity: Circumcise yourselves to hwhy, and take away the foreskins of your heart, you men of Yahudah and inhabitants of Yerushalayim: lest My fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. Jeremiah 4:4 25 Behold, the days come, says hwhy, that I will punish all those which are circumcised with the uncircumcised; 26 Egypt, and Yahudah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Yisrael is uncircumcised in heart. Jeremiah 9:25-26 So hwhy warned Yisrael an uncircumcised heart would bring forth His anger and judgment. And in accordance with Psalm 119:26 (cited above), we do see Yisrael was walking in pride as they openly rejected and violated the Seventh Day Shabbat: 19 Thus said hwhy to me: “Go, and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Yahudah come in, and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Yerushalayim; 20 and say to them, Hear the word of hwhy, you kings of Yahudah, and all Yahudah, and all the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, that enter in by these gates: 21 Thus says hwhy, Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Shabbat day, nor bring it in by the gates of Yerushalayim; 22 neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the Shabbat day, neither do any work: but you set apart the Shabbat day, as I commanded your fathers. 23 But they hearkened not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, and might not receive instruction. 24 And it shall come to pass, if you diligently hearken to 52

Esther 4:16 – 5:3, Ezra 7:1-28, Nehemiah 1:1 – 2:9

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Me, says hwhy, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Shabbat day, but to set apart the Shabbat day, to do no work therein; 25 then shall there enter in by the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Yahudah, and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim; and this city shall remain for ever. 26 And they will come from the cities of Yahudah, and from the places round about Yerushalayim, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the lowland, and from the hill country, and from the south, bringing burnt-offerings, and sacrifices, and mealofferings, and frankincense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving, to the House of hwhy. 27 But if you will not hearken to Me to set apart the Shabbat day, and not to bear a burden and enter in at the gates of Yerushalayim on the Shabbat day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Yerushalayim, and it shall not be quenched. Jeremiah 17:10-27 Many centuries before Yirmeyahu spoke this word, hwhy had warned Yisrael not to kindle a fire on the Shabbat.53 While we understand this edict refers to fire, in the literal sense, we also understand there are many figurative fires of lust and idolatry which, being kindled on the Shabbat, will violate the sanctity of this day;54 these figurative fires also profane the set apart time known as the Shabbat. And the warning of hwhy through Yirmeyahu is clear: If Yisrael continued to kindle fires on His Shabbat, then He would kindle His own fire: In wrath and in judgment, the gates of Yerushalayim would be burned, and the people of Yisrael would go into captivity. hwhy had also warned Yisrael of their Sabbath violations through the prophet Isaiah: 1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and declare to My people their transgression, and to the house of Ya’acob their sins. 2 Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their Elohim: They ask of Me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to Elohim. 3 “Why have we fasted,” they say, “and You do not see? Why have we afflicted our soul, and You take no knowledge?” Isaiah 58:1-3 What ordinance had Yisrael forsaken? hwhy proceeds to tell Yisrael of the true fast and of showing kindness to the poor.55 And He warns the nation they are already falling into the darkness of apostasy.56 We then see the ordinance they had forsaken: 13 If you turn away your foot from the Shabbat, from doing your pleasure on My set apart day; and call the Shabbat a delight, and the set apart of hwhy honorable; and shall honor it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking words: 14 then you will delight yourself in hwhy; and I will make you to ride upon the high places of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Ya’acob your father: for the mouth of hwhy has spoken it. Isaiah 58:13-14 53 54 55 56

Exodus 35:3 Proverbs 6:23-32, Isaiah 50:11, Amos 8:4-6 Isaiah 58:6-7, 10 Isaiah 58:8,10

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Yisrael had forsaken the ordinance of the Shabbat. hwhy had promised Yisrael great blessings, but only if they observed and delighted in His Shabbat! Riding on the high places of the earth would correspond to the blessings of Deuteronomy 28:1-14. But failing to honor the Shabbat would lead to the curses of Deuteronomy 28:15-68. History shows these curses fell upon the nation: Yisrael failed to heed either Yeshayahu (Isaiah) or Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) and into captivity they went. Being quite cognizant of these things, Nechemyah (Nehemiah) sternly warned/reminded those who had returned from captivity that, because their forefathers had ignored and profaned the Shabbat Day, the wrath and punishment of hwhy had come upon them, and Yisrael was led away into seventy years of Babylonian bondage: 15 In those days, I saw in Yahudah some men treading wine-presses on the Shabbat, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys therewith; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Yerushalayim on the Shabbat Day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals. 16 There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, who brought in fish, and all manner of wares, and sold on the Shabbat unto the children of Yahudah, and in Yerushalayim. 17 Then I contended with the nobles of Yahudah, and said to them, “What evil thing is this that you do, and profane the Shabbat Day?” Nehemiah 13:15-17 And as he continues, Nechemyah asks them: Did not your fathers do this, and did not our Elohim bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? Yet you bring more wrath upon Yisrael by profaning the Shabbat! Nehemiah 13:18 The Babylonian captivity was Yisrael’s lesson that hwhy means business: He will not long tolerate open rebellion against His Torah and no country or people who walks in this manner will remain free for any great period of time. We pray America and its varied religious sectors will take warning: If hwhy delivered Yisrael into captivity for profaning the Seventh Day, do not imagine that the United States will escape the same punishment! Modern day believers should take warning: As our Example, the Messiah kept the Fourth Commandment and walked in the immutable ordinance of the Shabbat Day! hwhy does not change, and apart from repentance regarding the Seventh Day Sabbath, we believe He will soon lead this American nation into captivity.57 Ezekiel’s warnings during the captivity also showed that rebellious Yisraelites would surely be punished by foreigners for their proud, uncircumcised heart: You shall die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, says the Sovereign hwhy. Ezekiel 28:10

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All followers of the Messiah should be walking in His footsteps by observing the Seventh Day (1Peter 2:21, 1John 2:6). The Shabbat Day was one of the many things that missed the Protestant Reformation! See the following websites: http://www.biblesabbath.org/confessions.html http://www.giveshare.org/churchhistory/protestantreffailed.html

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And besides the serious offense of profaning the Shabbat, the record shows that Yisrael failed to fulfill many of the other weightier aspects of the Torah58 as they walked in open violation59 of its immutable, timeless precepts.60 Perhaps there are some who would want us to think that there is simply no relevance between Yisrael’s need to be circumcised in heart (bbl) and Babel (lbb)—the name of the capital city in the land of their captivity. We see otherwise. That these two words are the exact reversal of each other is absolutely no coincidence: The Babylonian captivity was the very thing which hwhy used to bring about a great and essential humbling of heart. We assert the telling connection between these two words is far, far beyond an amazing coincidence: It was/is the Design of the Almighty, Sovereign hwhy—Who so marvelously worked to place His Spirit and inspiration within His living Word. In this series of articles, we continue to prove and exalt the Most High’s indescribable sovereignty and the powerful foreknowledge which such things display throughout His prophetic Word: The Word of hwhy reveals that which is, and that which was, and that which is to come.61 So what lessons did Daniel learn as he observed the hand of hwhy working in the life of King Nebuchadnezzar? In some measure, Daniel had to see himself (and all Yisrael) in the face of an enraged, murderous, and insanely driven madman! As the true proverb says, The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways; and a good man shall be satisfied from himself. Proverbs 14:14 Yisrael had to see what it was like to be in the midst of a heathen people who had complete disregard for the Torah! Yisrael had to be filled with her own ways: this nation which had rebelled against the Torah of hwhy had to experience the hurt of man’s heartless cruelty in Babylon. They had to see what it was like to be amongst a people who had no regard for the Law of hwhy! In Babylonian captivity, Yisrael had to see the depths of human sin spawned by man’s unrelenting pride and carnality. And they had to personally experience what it was like to bear the brunt of such evil and insanity! The doings of their own hands had to be done unto them!62 Enduring these things was a necessary part of their punishment: They had to be brought to the point of realization regarding their own pride—pride which they had corporately exhibited against hwhy by rejecting His Torah. It is one thing to walk like a heathen when that is all one has ever known: Babylonians had little, if any, knowledge of the Torah; they were cruel, heartless people. But Yisrael simply had no reason to walk in darkness! Compared to the inhabitants of Babel, Yisrael was completely culpable! The descendants of Abraham were without excuse for their lawless rebellion: 58 59 60 61 62

Matthew 23:23, Luke 11:42 Jeremiah 5:1-2, 7-8, 6:7,19, 7:7-10, 9:1-8, 23:10-14, Ezekiel 22:1-31, Hosea 4:1-19 Psalm 119:89, Matthew 5:17-20 heaven earth words never Revelation 1:4,8,19, Isaiah 46:10 Psalm 28:4, Proverbs 12:14, Jeremiah 17:10

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• They had been given the Word of hwhy, the Torah, and they dwelt in a great Land which Elohim had given their forefathers. • They had the priesthood, but even these men had fallen away.63 • Yet even apart from the failing priesthood, Yisrael had the prophets (who had not fallen away!) warning them to turn back to the Most High.64 Yet nothing availed to get Yisrael to turn back to hwhy; they refused to humble themselves and to begin walking in His ways. And so entered King Nebuchadnezzar: Daniel had to personally witness the evil which such great pride wrought in this heathen king. Daniel had to personally feel the effects of such wickedness. What did Daniel see as he observed the hand of hwhy working in the life of King Nebuchadnezzar? • Here was a man who could angrily and recklessly decree all of his counselors were to be killed for their inability to decipher his dream—a dream over which he could not even tell them the subject matter!65 • Here was a man who, having seen Daniel’s power to interpret said dream, could still be insanely enraged at Daniel’s three friends (men he had promoted to positions of power) because of their refusal to bow down and worship his image! So he ordered them thrown into a blazing furnace—a fire so immensely heated that it killed the ones who tossed the three men into the inferno!66 • Yet for all this, Nebuchadnezzar was still not humbled! Even after being warned the Most High ruled in the kingdom of men, the king refused to acknowledge the Source of his position over all things. So hwhy decreed that the king would be driven from men and that he would eat grass like a wild ox until seven years had passed. Then the king’s understanding would return and he would acknowledge the Most High. Daniel was an eye-witness to most of this process and to most of these events.67 And the prophet had to witness all of this to realize: The Elohim of heaven seeks to humble all those who walk in pride, including His people Yisrael! At the end of his punishment, king Nebuchadnezzar wrote the following: Now I, Nebukadnetstsar, am praising and exalting and esteeming the Sovereign of the heavens, for all His works are truth, and His ways right. And those who walk in pride He is able to humble. Daniel 4:37, ISRV Daniel had to witness these things. He had to witness these events because Yisrael was delivered into the hands of a proud, hardhearted people. And Yisrael was delivered over to Babylon by hwhy because they, too, had become proud and hardhearted: as a nation, Yisrael had become a people who possessed a proud, uncircumcised heart. We assert it was not 63

Ezekiel 22:23-31 Jeremiah 7:13-15, 25-34, 11:7-8, 25:1-9, 26:1-6, 29:19, 32:32-36, plus many more. 65 Daniel 2:1-13 66 Daniel 3:13-23 67 It seems evident that Daniel was not in the province when his three friends got thrown into the furnace, since he would have surely joined them in defying the king. 64

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coincidence that the punishment for their uncircumcised heart (bbl) was time spent in Babel (lbb). And we believe this word connection not only shows us the powerful sovereignty and complete foreknowledge of the Father, but that this inspired result sets forth a clear lesson and a clear warning for all those who profess faith in the Messiah.68 As we proceed with thoughts from Daniel, we will see that the prophet had learned the intended lesson(s): he possessed a circumcised heart before the Most High. hwhy had been with Daniel and blessed him; Elohim had given him the power to interpret dreams; He had protected him and delivered him out of death on more than one occasion; and, like Yoseph, hwhy had exalted Daniel to a position of great power in a foreign country. Overwhelmed with the great lovingkindness of the Most High,69 and having witnessed the power of Elohim to transform the heart of kings and/or to judge and remove them, Daniel’s heart was prepared to seek hwhy for the sake of all Yisrael. ♦ DANIEL 7 - 8 ♦ A VISION OF THINGS TO COME If the Spirit had inspired the Book of Daniel to be written sequentially, chapters 7 and 8 would have been placed between chapters 4 and 5. The prophetic visions seen in chapters 7 and 8 occurred in the first and third years of King Belshazzar. So these visions of the night were given to Daniel before Belshazzar died at the hands of the Medes (as seen in chapter 5). Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but blessed is he that keeps the Torah. Proverbs 29:18 We must recognize the Spirit of prophecy abode with Daniel because the Spirit of prophecy permeates the Law of hwhy. Such visions are the blessings of obedience: Because all of the prophets upheld the moral edicts of the Torah,70 the Spirit was also upon them to see many things which were yet in the future: Surely the Sovereign hwhy will do nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants, the prophets. Amos 3:7 hwhy will disclose more of Himself and His ways to those who strive to walk in His commandments; the Messiah promised His followers that those who obeyed Him would receive revelations in the Spirit which were commensurate with their obedience: He that has My commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves Me: and he that loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will reveal Myself to him. John 14:21 We reap what we sow, and Daniel was blessed to see great revelations in the Spirit because he had lived a life of determination to walk before hwhy in uprightness. Even so, we are blessed to see Daniel did not fall into the trap of being arrogant or self-righteous. A heavenly 68 69 70

Romans 15:4 Romans 2:4 Acts 24:14, Romans 3:31

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messenger had saved Daniel and his friends from certain death. Now such messengers would be giving Daniel understanding into the very mind of hwhy: 15 I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. 16 I came near to one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. Daniel 7:15-16 This messenger explained many things about the vision, and he also indicated the rise of a world-power which would change the Law of Elohim and persecute the sons of the Most High: 23 Thus he said, “The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24 And as for the ten horns, out of this kingdom shall ten kings arise: and another shall arise after them; and he shall be different from the former, and he shall put down three kings. 25 And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the set-apart ones of the Most High; and he shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time. Daniel 7:23-25 Daniel could certainly relate to this prophecy since some of the persecution he and his friends had experienced was brought through the hateful accusations of the unbelieving; these accusations were leveled because the Yisraelites were upholding the immutable Torah of hwhy in the face of a heathen society.71 hwhy exalts us to the degree of our obedience:

hwhy aptly chose a prophet who upheld the Torah, even when persecuted to the point of death, to warn us of a false, world system which would violently oppose the immutable Torah in these Last Days. The prophecies of Daniel have certainly come to pass: We now see lawlessness prevailing, even among many who purport to follow the Messiah. And persecution for upholding the Torah will soon be something which is experienced worldwide, regardless of one’s location. In the eighth chapter of Daniel, we read of yet another vision—a vision given in the third year of King Belshazzar. The messenger Gabriel explains this vision and seems to indicate a mysterious figure would rise up out of Greece in the Last Days: 23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. 24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper and do his pleasure; and he shall destroy the mighty and the set-apart people. Daniel 8:23-24 In the next section, we will continue to ponder the great relationship between the heavenly messengers of Elohim and the revelations which they are sent to give to those who seek hwhy with fasting-derived humility and prayer.

71

See Daniel chapters 3 and 6.

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♦ DANIEL 9 - 12 ♦ I SOUGHT hwhy AND HE ANSWERED ME It was not enough for Daniel to be an exalted leader in a heathen country; for him, this was only a tool to which he appears to have given little importance.72 He knew the Sovereign hwhy had delivered Yisrael into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, and he surely knew the Most High had exalted him to his position in Babylon.73 We believe it is safe to say Daniel did not revel in his worldly position. Evidence indicates Daniel used his time and his influence to seek hwhy and to study the Torah, and this prophet gives us a clear indication that he had studied the scrolls of the prophet Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah: 1 In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans, 2 in the first year of his reign, I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, concerning which the Word of hwhy came to Yirmeyahu, the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Yerushalayim. 3 And I set my face unto hwhy the Elohim, to seek by prayer and supplications: with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. Daniel 9:1-3 After studying the words of Yirmeyahu, Daniel realized the time of the captivity should be coming to a close. Yet from the Torah, he also knew this would not occur unless someone was calling upon the Name of hwhy and confessing the sins of the people: 39 And they that are left of you will pine away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers they shall pine away with them. 40 If they will confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against Me, and that also they have walked contrary to Me; 41 and that I have also walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies – if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity, 42 then I will remember My covenant with Ya’acob, and also My covenant with Yitschak, and also My covenant with Abraham I will remember; and I will remember the land. Leviticus 26:39-42 Referring to this Scripture Shelomo/Solomon had prophesied: 46 If they sin against You, (for there is no man that sins not,) and You are angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives to the land of the enemy, far or near; 47 and if they turn back to their hearts in the land where they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of those that carried them captives, saying, “We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness” – 48 and so return to You with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray to You toward their land, which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the House which I have built for Your Name – 49 then may You hear their prayer and their supplication in heaven Your dwelling place, and maintain their cause, 50 and forgive Your people that have sinned against You, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against You, and

72 73

Daniel 5:17 Even as the Most High had exalted Nebuchadnezzar, He had also exalted Daniel within the king’s realm.

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give them compassion before those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them. 1King 8:46-50 Compared to being back in Yerushalayim and the Land of Yisrael, Daniel’s position in Babylon meant nothing to him: The prophet was brokenhearted over the plight of the captives and he sought to implore hwhy to act in lovingkindness according to His promise through Mosheh. Tehillah 34 spoke of hwhy being near to the brokenhearted:

hwhy is near to those who are of a broken heart; and saves such as are of a contrite spirit. Psalm 34:19 It was quite a selfless ministry for a man who, being a eunuch, would never be able to share in the joy of the Temple.74 Having lost that privilege in this lifetime, and having been impoverished relative to his manhood, we believe the Spirit worked great brokenness and humility in the life of this dedicated prophet—a man whom the heavenly messenger called “greatly beloved.”75 Daniel had been subjected to an impoverished life in many respects: • He was removed from his homeland of Yisrael. • He was made a eunuch. This permanently cut him off from Temple worship with the rest of the congregation of Yisrael had he someday been able to return to Yisrael. We have a saying in America: “You do not appreciate what you have until you lose it.” Daniel was taken from Yerushalayim and the Temple worship twice over: 1. He had been removed to Babylon. 2. He had been made a eunuch, permanently ending his opportunity to ever again enter the congregation of hwhy in this lifetime.76 • But Daniel was not only cut him off from Temple worship, he was also impoverished by having his manhood permanently removed. This made him unable to fulfill the Word of hwhy through the prophet Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) to the captivity: 1 Now these are the words of the letter that Yirmeyahu, the prophet, sent from Yerushalayim to the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Yerushalayim to Babylon; 2 (After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Yahudah and Yerushalayim, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Yerushalayim;) 3 by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Yahudah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying, 4 “Thus says hwhy of hosts, the Elohim of Israel, to all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Yerushalayim to Babylon: 5 Build houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; 6 take wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that you may be increased there, and not diminished” … Jeremiah 29:1-6 74 75 76

Deuteronomy 23:1 Daniel 10:11,19 Deuteronomy 23:1

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And so, ever bearing such irreversible poverty, Daniel was a vessel prepared: he was a man who could be used of the Most High as his pride had been broken through much affliction as well as through the great goodness bestowed upon him77 by the Sovereign Hand of the Almighty—who blessed him with life, with ruling power, and with prosperity in the midst of great, potentially deadly trials in the pagan society of Babylon. But although he had been set in a position of power and prominence in a heathen land, from the above discussion, we have a clearer glimpse as to why Daniel was still a very poor, broken, and contrite man. And hwhy hears the cry of the poor: This poor man cried, and hwhy heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. Psalm 34:7 Elohim certainly heard the cry of His poor prophet, Daniel: hwhy answered his prayers regarding ending the captivity and He granted him insight into profound visions of the future. During these latter visions,78 Daniel received revelations regarding the coming of the Messiah and Prince: 25 “Know, then, and understand: from the going forth of the command to restore and build Yerushalayim until Messiah the Prince is seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It shall be built again, with streets and a trench, but in times of affliction. 26 And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off and have naught. And the people of a coming prince shall destroy the city and the set-apart place. And the end of it is with a flood. And wastes are decreed, and fighting until the end.” Daniel 9:25-26, ISRV It is interesting to note Jewish authorities have relegated the Book of Daniel to a most obscure place in the Hebrew cannon. We believe the attempt here was/is to hide the obvious! The heavenly messenger gave a prophecy to Daniel which clearly indicated how long it would be until the Messiah came forth for the salvation of His people: “Seven weeks” indicated the 49 years it would take to rebuild the city in troublous times and the “sixty-two weeks would span the remaining time (434 years) until the appearing of the Messiah. 7 weeks = 49 years 62 weeks = 434 years ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 69 weeks = 483 years The decree went forth to rebuild Yerushalayim just around 454 BCE; adding to this the total 483 years, we arrive at approximately 29 CE, the time of the Messiah’s appearing and ministry. So this is the quandary into which unbelieving Jews have placed themselves: If eswhy was not the Messiah, then who was? Whoever He is, and wherever He is, He must have appeared at this time in history. Of course, there is no other possibility except the very One who proved His claims to be the Messiah of Yisrael! This leaves anyone who would believe the Scriptures without excuse: eswhy miraculously fulfilled prophecy upon prophecy to prove to all people He was and is the Messiah! 77 78

Romans 2:4 (i.e., the visions which followed those in chapters 7 and 8)

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The prophet Daniel also received visions regarding the time of the end and the great suffering of the people of the Most High.79 Of course, he could better understand these things because Daniel had himself lived in the midst of a heathen people, and he had borne the brunt of the persecution which came forth from their hateful, uncircumcised hearts. * * * * * * * Heavenly Messengers (Angels) Give Prophetic Revelations From Heaven We indicated there would be a discussion surrounding the great relationship between the heavenly messengers of Elohim and the revelations which these messengers are sent to impart to those who seek hwhy with fasting and prayer. That the heavenly messengers are sent to minister the Word of hwhy is evident: Who makes His angels spirits; His ministers a flaming fire … Psalm 104:4 This Scripture is quoted by the writer of Hebrews: And as to the angels He says, “Who makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire … Hebrews 1:7 That these heavenly messengers also possess exceedingly great strength is also evident: 20 Bless hwhy, you His messengers, mighty in power— doing His word, to hearken to the voice of His Word. Psalm 103:20, based on Young’s literal translation 20 Bless hwhy, you His angels, that are mighty in strength, that fulfill His word, hearkening to the voice of His word. Psalm 103:20, based on the ASV And that these heavenly messengers are quite numerous is also evident: 2 And he said, “hwhy, from Sinai, came near, yes, He dawned, out of Seir, upon them; He shone forth out of Mount Paran; yea, He came out of set apart myriads–– out of His right hand proceeded fire to guide them. Deuteronomy 33:2 (based on Rotherham) The chariots of Elohim are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Sovereign is among them, as in Sinai, in the set apart place. Psalm 68:17 Based on the two preceding Scripture texts, we feel this adds more meaning to the words of Stephen regarding the Torah given to Mosheh on Sinai: 52 Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed them that showed before of the coming of the Righteous One—of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers: 79

Daniel 7:21-28, 11:33-35, 12:5-7

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53 you who received the Torah as it was ordained by angels, and have not kept it. Stephen, Acts 7:52-53 Yes, Mosheh was in the Presence of hwhy, communing with Him on Mount Sinai;80 but in this overwhelming Presence of the Most High are thousands of heavenly messengers—ever present and ever worshipping and serving the Creator of All: 9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire. 10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered to Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. Daniel 7:9-10 But you have come to Mount Tziyon, and to the city of the living Elohim, the heavenly Yerushalayim, and to an innumerable company of angels … Hebrews 12:22 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands … Revelation 5:11 Keeping these things in mind, let us study the Hebrew words for fasting and mighty/numerous. The Hebrew word for fasting is tsome:

Mwu = tsome = fasting And the Hebrew word for mighty, or numerous, is atsume:

Mwue = atsume = mighty, numerous So the two words only differ by one letter: Add the ayin (e) to tsome (Mwu, fasting) and you get atsume (Mwue, mighty/numerous): ←

←

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Mwue = Mwu <<< e Add the letter ayin to tsome

Remove the ayin (e) from atsume (Mwue, mighty/numerous) and you get tsome (Mwu, fasting): ←

←

←

Mwu = Mwu >>> e Remove the letter ayin from atsume

By itself, this literary phenomenon would not stand forth as a great deal of evidence, but we have Scripture upon Scripture which shows the heavenly messengers – mighty in strength and great in number – ministered the Word of hwhy and/or strength and protection to those who sought Elohim by fasting and prayer:

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Exodus 34:28

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• Mosheh (Moses) Imagine living without food or water for 40 days! Yet the prophet Mosheh lived without food or water, not just for 40 days, but for 80 days!81 hwhy prepared the heart of Mosheh to receive and deliver His Word via seasons of extended fasting and prayer as he communed with the Most High for a considerable length of time. Although not told this directly, we believe Mosheh was supernaturally strengthened by heavenly messengers during these great events,82 even as Daniel was strengthened by a heavenly messenger after he had become weak through fasting.83 • Eliyahu (Elijah) Having been threatened with death at the hand of Jezebel, Eliyahu had fled for his life. He hastened to Beersheba and there left his servant.84 The prophet then went another day’s journey into the wilderness; exhausted and famished, he despaired of life itself.85 A heavenly messenger came and gave him food and water, and in the strength of that food, Eliyahu traveled forty days to get to Mount Horeb/Sinai.86 At the end of this forty days, hwhy appeared to Eliyahu on Mount Sinai, even as He had appeared to Mosheh.87 • Elisha When surrounded by armies, Elisha had a host of mighty and numerous messengers doing battle on his behalf: 8 Now the king of Syria was warring against Yisrael; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, “In such and such a place shall be my camp.” 9 And the man of Elohim sent to the king of Yisrael, saying, “Beware that you pass not such a place; for there the Syrians are coming down.” 10 And the king of Yisrael sent to the place which the man of Elohim told him and warned him of; and he saved himself there, not once nor twice. 11 And the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said to them, “Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Yisrael?”88 12 And one of his servants said, “No, my sovereign, O king; but Elisha, the prophet that is in Yisrael, tells the king of Yisrael the words that you speak in your bedchamber.” 13 And he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and fetch him.” And it was told him, saying, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” 14 Therefore, he sent horses there, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and surrounded the city. 15 And when the servant of the man of Elohim was risen early, and gone forth, behold, a host with horses and chariots was surrounding the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! How shall we do?” 16 And he answered, “Fear not; for they that are with us are more than they that are with them.” 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, hwhy, I pray You, open his eyes, that he may see.” And hwhy opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed to hwhy, and said, “Smite this people, I pray You, with blindness.” And He smote them with blindness according to the 81

This was two, forty-day periods: Exodus 24:18, 34:28, Deuteronomy 9:9,11,18,25 The words of Stephen (Acts 7:52-53) indicate that messengers (angels) had a significant role in the giving of the Torah, and strengthening Mosheh (Hebrews 1:13-14) was quite likely a part of their service to hwhy. 83 Daniel 10:1-18 84 1Kings 19:1-3 85 1Kings 19:4 86 1Kings 19:5-8 87 1Kings 19:9-18 88 Because they could not surprise Yisrael with an ambush, the king of Syria suspected there was a spy in their midst! 82

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word of Elisha. 19 And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria. 20 And it came to pass, when they had come into Samaria, that Elisha said, “hwhy, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.”89 And hwhy opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 21 And the king of Yisrael, when he saw them, said to Elisha, “My father, shall I smite them? Shall I smite them?” 22 And he answered, “You shall not smite them: would you smite those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them that they may eat and drink, and go to their master. 23 And he prepared great provision for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Yisrael. 2Kings 6:8-23 • Daniel Daniel was another prophet who sought hwhy by fasting and prayer. And so, he received physical strength from heavenly messengers and numerous revelations regarding future events.90 • eswhy the Messiah After forty days of fasting and prayer, the Messiah overcame all temptations. The record indicates the following occurred after this great trial had passed: Then the Devil left Him, and, behold, angels came and ministered to Him. Matthew 4:11 The account given by Mark says it like this: 12 And immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. 13 And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him. Mark 1:12-13 • The First Assembly The apostle Kepha (Peter) had been imprisoned, and prayer was being made by the assembly on his behalf. A heavenly messenger was sent and released him from the prison.91 Fasting was commonplace among the believers after the Messiah was taken up into the heavens.92 • A Personal Account Since we have told believers on a number of occasions that fasting is not a marathon to see how long one can go without food (and water, if the fast is of the strictest sort), it is appropriate to close this section with a personal witness regarding the help of at least one heavenly messenger. It was February 27th in the year 2000, and my brother’s wife was expecting a baby which was already many days overdue. I called that evening to check on the news, and after talking for a 89

We note the prophet Eliyahu had absolutely no problem with uttering the qadosh Name of hwhy. This surely negates the man-made tradition that His Name is “too holy” to pronounce. 90 Daniel 9:1-21, 10:1-18 91 Acts 12:1-19 92 Matthew 9:14-15, 2Corinthians 6:4-5, 11:27

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bit with Deborah, asked for Aaron. He was burdened with concern for his wife and their overdue child, and I suggested we fast for a day. He readily conceded, saying that he was not very hungry anyway. So our fast began. Throughout the next morning, I remember feeling how much of a blessing it was to be seeking hwhy with my brother over a matter of such vital importance. We had observed Yom Kippur by fasting together on many occasions, but joining our efforts on this particular day was a completely different thing. And I noted a great deal of inner peace throughout the next morning as our fasting and prayer continued.93 Some time in the early afternoon, I remember bowing in prayer to beseech hwhy to send His heavenly messengers to call forth this child out of the womb and to use this baby to make His Name great among all the nations. Later that night, Aaron called me and the first thing he asked was, “Did you feel it?” Then I asked, “Feel what?!” To which he replied, “I was empowered!” I inquired, “What do you mean, ‘Empowered’?” Aaron then went on to relay how the family was at the midwife’s home in Tennessee and, all of the sudden, a supernatural power began from his lower back and went all the way up his spine. It was such a miraculous visitation that Aaron immediately proclaimed, “We’re going to have this baby!” Not long afterwards, the serious contractions began and Nathaniel Tyce was born. Based on this evidence, we believe Aaron and his family were visited by a heavenly messenger and, of course, a great miracle. The messengers of hwhy bring about His Word,94 and that word at that time was to bring forth this child according to the petitions of His people. Yet this was not a ten-day fast, or a twenty-one-day fast; it was not even a three-day fast! This was simply a one-day fast, entered into with faith, expectation, and love. So when one fasts and prays, it must be realized that hwhy looks on the heart:95 it is not about impressing Him (or anyone else). We fast and pray to seek meekness and righteousness;96 we fast and pray to seek for His much-needed help and favor.97 hwhy responds to fasting-derived humility and affliction because it is His nature and character to save an afflicted people: For You will save an afflicted people, But will bring down haughty eyes. Psalm 18:27 Clearly, part of this help and favor involves the dispatch of swiftly flying, heavenly messengers on behalf of His people for His Name’s sake. ♦ THE WISDOM OF DANIEL ♦ In the VHS video, “The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World,” narrated by Pierce Brosnan,98 one of the seven wonders cited is the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. I remember learning about these gardens as an elementary school student: At that remote time and place, no mention was ever made of the Babylonian captivity and the presence of Daniel in the king’s court. But the public school system is so often disconnected with the realm of faith and the Bible, so we never heard anything about who was responsible for this ancient wonder. 93

We were apart physically, but we were together in spirit; Aaron was in Kentucky, and I was in Florida. Psalm 103:20 95 1Samuel 16:7 96 Zephaniah 2:3, 3:12-13 97 Hebrews 4:16 98 If you are inclined to order this video, be sure to verify the ISBN since this particular tape has been misrepresented on the Internet (some sellers are claiming Questar videos by the same title are narrated by Brosnan when they are not). Be sure to confirm this specific information: Questar Video: QV3353; ISBN: 1-56855-887-2 94

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Matters related to our Creator, the Author of the Scriptures, have become largely taboo in a society where faith once permeated every part of our culture. The irony here is that, as late as 1959, “New Testament” was a course offering in Dallas public high schools. But the godless liberals of America want to forget about facts such as that. Which brings us back to the video: Why do we mention the Hanging Gardens? While recounting the history behind the Hanging Gardens, Mr. Brosnan related that the record indicates the following: “Nebuchadnezzar’s gardener was believed to have been an expert from Judea. Records show he was given special rations from the palace.” We believe that expert from Judea could have been no one other than the prophet Daniel! As we have already seen, he early received a special ration from the king’s table: 5 And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king’s food … 12 Prove your servants, I beseech you, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink … 16 Thus, the steward took away the portion of their food, and the wine that they should drink, and gave them pulse. Daniel 1:5,12,16 And since Daniel had been set over all the wise men of Babel,99 it is not unreasonable to expect that the one responsible for maintaining the gardens was also the one who had been in charge of their construction! While we will not be dogmatic over this point, consider the facts: • Daniel and his friends were found to be ten times better than all the others in Nebuchadnezzar’s realm.100 We believe this to have been the king’s assessment (not Daniel’s). It was not only Daniel’s prophetic ability which led to this great renown: his down-to-earth, practical, but heavenly wisdom – imparted by hwhy in the construction of the Hanging Gardens – must have also been a contributing factor in this great fame. Daniel was known the world over for his remarkable wisdom. When addressing the king of Tyre, hwhy said through Ezekiel: Behold, you are wiser than Daniel: there is no secret hidden from you. Ezekiel 28:3 • Additionally, the great awe inspired by these gardens is more evidence to this writer that the wisdom in their design was heavenly in origin. Just a bit later in the video, Mr. Brosnan said this of the Hanging Gardens: “Despite their short life span, the gardens have gained legendary status.” How was something so short-lived able to impart such lasting awe and wonder? This awe is not unlike that which the Queen of Sheba experienced when she saw the wisdom of Shelemo/Solomon:

99 100

Daniel 2:48 Daniel 1:17-20

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4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Shelemo’s wisdom, and the house that he had built, 5 and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up to the house of the hwhy; there was no more spirit in her. 1Kings 10:4-5 This seems to be the aura which also surrounded the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Of course, Daniel was a descendant of Solomon, and having the inspiration of the Most High and the resources of the ruling world power, we believe the prophet Daniel constructed the Hanging Gardens of Babylon—one of “The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.” • Further, it appears that it was customary for the king of Yisrael to always have his own garden: And it came to pass, when Tzedekyah 101 the king of Yahudah saw them, and all the men of war, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king’s garden, by the gate between the two walls: and he went out the way of the plain. Jeremiah 39:4102 Since owning a garden was evidently “standard fare” for kings in Yisrael, it is also reasonable to expect there were numerous Yisraelis who had knowledge and skill in matters related to building, designing, and nourishing such agricultural architecture. • The historical record may never acknowledge Daniel as the architect of the Hanging Gardens because, like nearly every king and ruler throughout history, Nebuchadnezzar took all of the credit and honor for “his” accomplishments: 29 At the end of twelve months he was walking in the royal palace of Babylon.103 30 The king spoke and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the splendor of my majesty?” 31 While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom is departed from you: 32 and you will be driven from men; and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; you will be made to eat grass as oxen; and seven times shall pass over you; until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever He will. 33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until his hair was grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws. Daniel 4:29-33 After all he had seen through Daniel, Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah, Nebuchadnezzar’s refusal to give honor to the Elohim of heaven led to this seven-year punishment. If Daniel (and possibly his friends) were the engineers over the remarkable achievement now known as “The Hanging Gardens of Babylon,” then this certainly punctuated the king’s refusal to give

101 102 103

(i.e. Zedekiah) See also: 2Kings 25:4, Nehemiah 3:15, Jeremiah 52:7 It is quite possible the king was walking in the midst of the Hanging Gardens as he spoke these words.

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honor to the Most High.104 And what can be said of those men who have promoted hatred towards Elohim via abject atheism while, at the same time, exulting in the Hanging Gardens as one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world? Will it not be the greatest irony when this scoffing throng of learned men stand before hwhy in the Judgment only to learn that His servant, Daniel, was the one who designed, built, and sustained those gardens which were, evidently, so remarkably, yes, even indelibly overwhelming in beauty and grandeur? If our hunch is correct, this is one of the many ironies which will be set forth on that great Day. ♦ SUMMARY ♦ MANY ARE THE AFFLICTIONS OF THE RIGHTEOUS “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but hwhy delivers him out of them all.” Psalm 34:19 We see many afflictions befell the faithful Yisraelites in the land of Babel, even as many afflictions have come upon every believer who was found living in the midst of a generally lawless, heathen society. We cannot help but stand in awe of a Creator who has wrought such great deliverance among His people as He did in the lives of Daniel, Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah: Both seeing and interpreting the dream of another man, overcoming the power of fire, stopping the mouths of lions, prophesying of many historical events yet to come (including the very year of the Messiah’s appearance!), and seeking hwhy to deliver all Yisrael from the captivity; each one of these things was a great miracle of deliverance and/or revelation, and none would have been possible apart from the sovereign Hand of hwhy, the Most High Elohim. To be sure, since the time of Daniel, many cruel, base infidels have scoffed as lions were unleashed in Roman coliseums only to maul and devour Messianic believers. We can be fairly certain they were exultant at the death of these martyrs, and it is rather likely that many of their number even scoffed at the account of Daniel’s deliverance as they railed/mocked the Most High. They likely scoffed and jeered with words like, “Where is the One who saved Daniel? He must not even exist!” However, regardless of what we or others have faced or will face, and regardless of the outcome, the One who worked deliverance in the land of Babel is still with His people today. And even if we must face persecution or death, eswhy promises to fully save those who believe His Word: The first resurrection will overcome the power of any physical death105 which His faithful ones have suffered.106 Tehillah 34 stands as still more amazing and awe-inspiring evidence that hwhy declared the end from the beginning.107 He knew all things in advance – including the things which would befall Daniel and his friends in Babel/Babylon. Being sure the sovereignty of hwhy transcends time and space, we may also find rest in knowing that nothing which occurs at any time, or in any place, will ever catch Him off guard. Even in the midst of difficulties and heartache, may His Spirit give each of His chosen ones the strength to emulate the faith of 104

Please note that while we believe/suspect Daniel to have been the designer of the Hanging Gardens, we will not be dogmatic over the matter. 105 Revelation 20:6 106 Luke 21:17-19 107 Isaiah 46:10

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Daniel, a man who continually bowed before hwhy as he magnified and acknowledged the One in whose Hands were his life-breath and all his ways. Let us remember the prophet’s rebuke to King Belshazzar: … But to the Elah of your life breath – it is in His hand and all your ways are of Him – you have not given honor. Daniel 5:23 May all of the people of the Most High give Him continual honor—with all their hearts, with all their emotions, with all their minds, and with all their strength. t t s r q u p e o n m l k y j x z w h d g b a

Copyright 1999-2009, by Craig Wm. Peters This document may be freely copied and distributed if left unaltered and in its entirety. It must also be given away without cost to recipients, and it may not be included in any publication without the author’s written permission.

hwhy El Shaddai will rebuke anyone who copies these truths for republication and/or who subsequently attempts to reproduce and sell them. Isaiah 55:1-2, Micah 3:11, 1Peter 5:2

The full details/stipulations of the applicable copyright are seen in the Prologue to this series, a file which is available for free downloading at the IAH website: http://www.yahuyahweh.org/iah An Excellent Translation of the Scriptures The INSTITUTE FOR SCRIPTURE RESEARCH is an organization of Messianic believers based in South Africa. They have published an excellent version of the Word of hwhy which they have called, “The Scriptures.” “ISRV” is an abbreviation which readers will have seen at various locations in the study. ISRV is an acronym which means: “INSTITUTE FOR SCRIPTURE RESEARCH VERSION.” Thus, it is our abbreviation/acronym for the Institute’s translation of the Scriptures. This outstanding translation fulfills the Word of hwhy to Mosheh by restoring His Qadosh Name – the Name which hwhy declared to be His unchanging Memorial across an immense time span of 1000 generations. Exodus 3:14-15, Deuteronomy 7:9. For those wishing to make further inquiry, and to possibly order this translation, the website address for ISR is: http://www.isr-messianic.org For More Information on the Hanging Gardens of Babylon: http://www.cleveleys.co.uk/wonders/gardensofbabylon.htm http://www.angelfire.com/ny/anghockey/hanginggardens.html

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