Daniel was a young man who was captured and taken against his will to live as a foreigner in a pagan nation. Daniel had a pure heart, with pure motives and had a strong relationship with God of Abraham. The king had ordered the master of the Eunuchs to seize some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility— young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.
The word Eunuch is cariyc and one of it's root meanings is 'one castrated.' Everytime I study this passage, it brings me to tears. Why? It's so typical of the enemy to target our future. If he can't get the stronger ones of faith, he goes after the innocent, weak, unprotected ones to strike down the stronger ones. Daniel carried 'the family jewels'. He had future generations in his loins. It infuriates me how many of our children are carried away and they are used as pawns in the enemy's camp. Daniel's very destiny was held ransom against him. Daniel had no blemish in him. He was well-favored and skillful in all wisdom. He was intelligent and knew the language of science. He was being trained to reign as a prince over Judah. Suddenly, the tables are now reversed and his gifts are why he's captured and potentially sentenced to never having royal children of his own.
Can you imagine Daniel's heart. He was forced from his place of prominence. He wasn't just some orphan, unloved, uncared for. He was from royal descent. He had nobility and prestige in his bloodline. He was from the tribe of Judah. The very same bloodline of Jesus! In the KJV, it says he was from "The King's seed." He was the future of his tribe. Not only was Daniel apprehended, arrested, abducted; his identity was stolen from him as well. He was renamed Belteshazzar. Daniel's name meant ("God is my judge") and was renamed ("lord of the straitened's treasure") His very name was given to continually be an 'in your face, Judah. Your prince, your treasured child, is now our treasure.'
Daniel and (his relatives, brothers, cousins); the others of nobility. The children of Judah were stripped of their rights and now commanded to live life a new way; hostages. There's something about being marked for God that will always prove God true and every man a liar especially, in these types of trials and tribulations. Who were the other children of Judah with Daniel? You will recognize their names immediately:
Daniel was called Belteshazzar.
Hananiah ("God has favored") was called Shadrach ( "royal" or "the great scribe").
Mishael ("Who is what God is") was called Meshach ("Guest of a King").
Azariah ("Jehovah has helped") was called Abednego (Servant of "Nebo").
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were the ones that were thrown into a fiery furnace and fourth man was seen in the fire with them; Jesus! (Daniel 3:20-30)
Remember, Daniel's birth name means "God is my Judge." Let's pick the story up in verse 8 of Chapter 1 in Daniel.
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. 9 Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel. 10 But he responded, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded.” 12 “Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said. 13 “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.” 14 The attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king. 16 So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the food and wine provided for the others.
This is where the Daniel Fast comes from. When the Lord told me I was to go on a Daniel's Fast, I had never really heard of a fast not eating meats or sweets. The Lord gave Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah favor with the chief eunuch to forgo the delicacies of the king's table. They looked healthier than the others after the 10 days were up. That's God's supernatural provision and protection.
Even when our lives twist and turn and do not end up the way we thought, as we set ourselves apart and chose not to defile ourselves from the delicacies of this world or the king's meat and wine, God supernaturally intervenes in our lives when we seek him for direction.
God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams. Daniel 1:17
During the segregated time of 'fasting for 10 days.' God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams. Some of my times of fasting throughout my life, God has given me that same gifting. Remember what Scripture says; A man's gift makes room for him And brings him before great men. (Proverbs 18:16)
Daniel's heart kept pure. Although, his name was changed, his heart mandated 'God is my Judge.' The Lord is faithful. When we set ourselves apart. When we chose to not defile ourselves with the standards of the world, the Lord will draw close to us and our gifts will make way for us and give us favor and influence before 'great men' and 'princes.'
If you've never fasted before, I challenge you to. Seek God...pursue him...ask him to reveal himself to you in a new, fresh way. Ask to be filled afresh with Holy Spirit. I bet you will have some dreams and visions during those consecrated times of seeking God and seeking his heart and will for your life!
Father,
I thank you for drawing us closer to your heart. Lord, may your will be done, may your kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.…And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen
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