Sabbath: From Jerusalem to Babylon
Image © Pacific Press
Read for This Week’s Study: 2 Kings 21:10-16; Daniel 1:1-21; Gal. 2:19-20; Matt. 16:24-26, 2 Cor. 4:17; James 1:5.
Memory Text: “As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams” (Daniel 1:17, NKJV).
The Bible does not shy away from showing the weaknesses of fallen humanity. From Genesis 3 onward, human sinfulness and its sad results are prominently displayed. At the same time, too, we also see cases of those who show great faithfulness to God, even when faced with powerful incentives to be anything but faithful. And some of the most poignant examples of such faithfulness are seen in the book of Daniel.
However, as we study Daniel, let us keep in mind that the true hero of the book is God. We are so used to stories that stress the faithfulness of Daniel and his friends that we may forget to exalt the faithfulness of the One who guided and sustained those four young men as they confronted the power and allure of the Babylonian Empire. To be faithful is enough of a challenge in one’s own land and place, let alone when facing the pressure of a foreign land, culture, and religion. But the human protagonists meet the challenges because, like the apostle Paul, they “know whom [they] have believed” (2 Tim. 1:12), and in Him they trust.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, January 11.
(31)
I have been doing a bit of light reading over the holiday period. "A Brief History of Mathematical Thought". It is the sort of book that you read just before you go to bed only to find it is so fascinating that you cannot put it down and go to sleep!
Did you know that the Babylonians were good mathematicians. Not only were they good at it but they took the trouble to mark their ideas into clay tablets and bake them so that we have them to look at today. Incidentally that was a much better idea than the Egyptians who wrote their maths on papyrus that has since turned to dust. The Babylonians were the ones who conceived the notion of place value for numbers. This is what we use today and if you do not understand how important this idea is, Try multiplying in Roman numerals without cheating and converting it to place valued numbers, (LXXXIX times XCI =)
They used a 60 based number system and that is the reason why today we are stuck with 360 degrees to a circle and so on.
I mention all this, because I used to be a maths teacher and want you to understand the influence the Babylonians have had on us 😊😊 and cannot resist the temptation to give you a bit of a maths lesson.
But the real reason is that I want you to understand the sort of world that Daniel and his friends had entered. They were captured by a highly developed intellectual society where they were valued and appreciated. It says something about what the Babylonians thought of these captives from Jerusalem. That is something to bear in mind as we read and study this weeks lesson.
Answer: MMMMMMMMXCIX
Just to add to that:
Babylon drew her knowledge from no other source
She developed an alphabet
Conceived of grammar as a science
Developed our mathematical basics
Invented time-measuring implements
Set the value of chronology – that is, a 60 based number system
Built enormous structures out of the poorest of building materials – clay
Developed the textile industry
Studied and mapped the stars accurately
Had an elaborate and sophisticated system of law
In almost every branch of science, Babylon made a beginning
The Greeks derived their science, maths, philosophy, architecture, from the superstructure built by the Babylonians
The author began the study with Christ the center of the book of Daniel.
His memory text puts Christs at the center of chapter 1.
It is not the Hebrew boys which gained their wisdom.
Yes diet does play a roll in memorizing, retaining and recalling the information.
1 Corinthians 3
5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
It was God in His mercy had given the knowledge in all literature and wisdom.
In Acts 17 Paul uses Greek sources to support his point in regards to creation.
God is interested in us conversing intelligently with our neighbors.
A nation may fail and be brought under bondage.
God's care for his people individually never ends.
Maybe as Daniel and friends walked all the way from Jerusalem to Babylon they recited the words to their auld lang syne Deut 32:7, 11. Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations, ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you...He kept them as the apple of his eye, carried them on eagles wings, the LORD alone led them.
Daniel and friends walked the 500 miles from Jerusalem to Babylon on the same route in the opposite direction that Abraham took to get to the Promised Land. Almost like going back to the beginning?
True Education comes from God and is impacted to humans by the Holy Spirit.
Daniel and his associates had been trained by their parents to habits of strict temperance. They had been taught that God would hold them accountable for their capabilities, and that they must never dwarf or enfeeble their powers. . . .
As we look back at those young men we see training from a Jewish/Christian home that took roots in their minds. They were given the training, but they had to make a conscious decision whether to be true to God or change when faced with danger.
It is so easy, so easy to praise God and live right when we have everything good going for us. When the blessings are flowing- good health, no one is sick, doing well at job, everything in church is just fine, money to pay bills etc, etc. But when we are doing everything right but things started going downhill then we starts questioning God.
When the Lord allowed the good and the bad people to be taken captive by Babylon, I wondered if maybe those who were doing all that was right question God. Maybe, they asked, why should the righteous suffer with the wicked?
The four young men accompanied by others were righteous but the Bible only mentioned them. Elijah thoughts he was the only righteous prophet alive but God had those who never bowed themselves to idols.
I live in a free flowing culture with several immigrants. (I myself am one). Some are still living as the four Hebrew young men, others are living as free flowing as the culture. There is nothing new under the sun. God people will and must face trouble of all sort, these troubles will either make or break us. The Bible says many will depart from the fold giving heed to seducing spirits. Let us stay with God.
Whenever I read Daniel Chapter 1, the significance of God's leading in our lives is brought to my mind again and again. I invite readers to re- read this chapter and to give particular attention to verses 2 and 9.
In verse 2 of Daniel 1 we note that "the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon." Is that not comforting to us in our times of trouble? We cannot be touched by anyone except God allows: Jehoiakim was disobedient and so having forfeited God's protection, he was forced to capitulate. He could not have been conquered through his persistent disobedience: And yet, God God never forgot His people.
Take another look at verse 2. What do you see? I see a young man, a mere teenager, determined to be faithful to God and God, paving the way- even softening the heart of the prince of Nebuchadnezzar's eunuchs, so that a captive's request could be honoured and he could prove true to God. What a mighty but merciful and loving God you and I are privileged to serve!! Let's bear this in mind always.