Please turn to Daniel 1. The last time I was here I spoke on Daniel 1, and I made a mistake. I gave the wrong year concerning Jehoiakim the King. But, we had problems that morning and the message did not go out on Paltalk, so I thought I would give it again. For any of you that heard it, I hope you will forgive me, but we will go through it again, and we will, just maybe, we will look at some different principles this time. In Daniel 1, I will read the whole chapter, it is not that long. Daniel 1:
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god. And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king’s seed, and of the princes; Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning 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 tongue of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego. 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. Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king. Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king’s meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat. Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse. As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm. And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus.
We read in verse 1:
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.
The Babylonians did this twice, they came up to Jerusalem and besieged it. This is the first time where we read that it is in the third year of Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim reigned from 609 to 598BC, so this would be the third year of that reign. Nebuchadnezzar came up again in 587BC, well, this time he took away part of the vessels and took some of the Israelites into captivity. When he came again in 587BC, he took everyone into captivity and destroyed Jerusalem and burned that temple. Now, we have to understand that God wrote the Bible in parables, and all these histories, all these accounts and passages in the Old Testament, these stories all literally happened, but yet, we are to see God’s salvation plan working out in all these stories, they are parables. We read in Matthew 13, and in Mark, and in other places in the Bible, that Christ spoke in parables, and in the Old Testament also Christ is speaking to us. Just one passage that really tells us this is in Psalm 78. In Psalm 78:1-3 we read:
Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
Christ sited this verse in Matthew 13, when He was talking to the Disciples about speaking in parables. But we read here that Psalm 78:2 says:
I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:
This is telling us that what He is saying here in Psalm 78 is a parable, as well as in all that He says in the remaining verses of Psalm 78. It is a long Psalm and recount literal things that had happened to the children of Israel, but it is telling us that it is all parables. It all has to do with the Gospel and the way God is working out His salvation plan throughout time. We see judgment on the Israelites in that parable, it is parables. When we read about men in the Bible like Abraham, or Isaac, or Jacob, or Moses, or Noah, we are reading about Christ. These men are all figures of Christ. Adam was a figure of Christ, the Bible flat out tells us this in Romans.
Joseph was a figure of Christ, in that he sustained the Israelites when they came down into Egypt and when there was a famine in the land of Canaan he sustained his brothers.
David is a very prominent picture of Christ. When he slew Goliath, it was a picture of the victory over Satan. When he took Abigail, the wife of Nabal, again a picture of taking the bride of Christ out from under the dominion of Satan. When God slew that wicked man Nabal, who refused to give sustenance to David and his men while they were in the wilderness.
Job was another prominent picture of Christ. In the suffering of Job, we are to see the Atonement in that when Christ was under the wrath of God. It is all parables.
But we read in verse 2 of Daniel 1:
And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, …
Into Nebuchadnezzar’s hand.
… with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.
Vessels in the Bible often again are metaphors for people, or people are spoken of as vessels. When Solomon built that temple, as he brought in the gold and the silver and the precious stones, the different kinds of wood that went into the building of that temple, again, it is all figures of Christ building His church. And again all those materials that went into that temple are pictures of the believers coming in to be part of it. And we read here, that Nebuchadnezzar took some of the vessels out of the house of God. Just look at Psalm 31:12, it is one verse among many in the Bible that tells us God speaks of His people as vessels, we carry the Gospel as it were. Psalm 31:12 says, it is a Messianic Psalm. Let me start in verse 11 here in Psalm 31:11-12:
I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without fled from me. I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel.
There are many other verses in the Bible that speak of man as a vessel. Romans 9:21 says:
Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
This is speaking of the soverignity of God and salvation, but it speaks of man as vessels. Again back here in Daniel 1, we read in verses 3-4:
And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king’s seed, and of the princes; Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning 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 tongue of the Chaldeans.
And Kings would do this. When they defeated another nation, they would take the best of the young men, the strongest and the most intelligent, he would take them to himself, that he might use them as advisors, or that they might be scientists, or he might use them in other ways. And among these we read were Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
So we read in verse 5:
And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.
Now the “king of Babylon,” always in the Bible is a picture of Satan. The kingdom itself, Babylon is a picture of hell. We are in tribulation here. The Israelites, a few years later, the entire Israelites are going to be taken into captivity. And it is a figure of the tribulation, a time when the church has been destroyed and God’s people are in captivity, they are under the dominion of the kingdom of Satan. Isaiah 14, tells us that among other places. But again, these are parables, and whenever we read the “king of Babylon” we are reading about Satan really. In Isaiah 14, it begins to speak of the judgment that God is going to bring on Babylon, but God swings right in to talking about Satan. In verses 3-6 of Isaiah 14 we read:
And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve, That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers. He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.
In verses 10-11 we read:
All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? …
Remember now this is speaking of the king of Babylon.
… art thou become like unto us? Isaiah 14:11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.
But now, He swings right into speaking about Satan. He says in verse 12:
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
We can work through that in other places in the Bible, but the “king of Babylon” is always a picture of Satan. So, here we read in verse 8 of Daniel 1:
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: …
Certainly the king would have eaten better, his diet would have been much better than these captive Israelites. So, he is going to take of these young men of the Israelites and feed them with what he eats for three years, to get them as healthy as possible, and their minds as sharp as possible so that they might serve him. But Daniel does not want to “defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat.” And, what we are seeing here again is in a parable. Daniel is a picture of the true believers as they are in tribulation.
And among these we read were Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
And again if the “king of Babylon” is a picture of Satan, his meat is certainly going to be the false gospels that we see in the churches today, that are under the dominion of Satan. Because, meat in the Bible again is a picture of what we eat, meat is a metaphor for the Gospels. Again, the false gospels in the church today, works salvation, signs and wonders, speaking in tongues, they do not bring judgment, they never speak about judgment as they bring the Gospel, or what they have done with the institution of marriage. In other words, they have no reverence for the Word of God. And this is the meat that is being fed to the people in the apostate churches of today. Daniel does not want to partake of that meat.
That word “meat,” there are two different words here. One is a Chaldean word, and the other one is a Hebrew word. It does not necessarily mean meat, or have to refer to meat literally, meat it can simply mean food. People have taken this passage, and we will speak about pulse in a moment. People have taken this passage, and they want to try to say that God is teaching us that we will be healthier if we eat vegetables rather then meat. That is not what this passage is teaching. God is working a miracle here. Certainly, the King of Babylon would have eaten much better, his diet would have been much more nutritional than the captives of Israelites. But God is going to work a miracle here. Let us look at a verse that talks about how meat is a metaphor for the Gospel. Look at John 6:27. We could work through this word and do a whole study on that, meat and the wine. But in John 6:27 Christ said:
Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
Or in Proverbs 23:6, again this likens the meat that we eat to the Gospels that we partake of. Proverbs 23:6 says:
Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
Daniel also did not want to drink of the king’s wine, we will read that he wanted to drink water. And wine in the Bible is a figure of the blood of Christ. It is one aspect of the Gospel, the judgment on Christ. Look at Deuteronomy 32, this is speaking about the enemies of God and their wine. In Deuteronomy 32:31-33 we read:
For their rock …
Speaking of the enemies of God.
… is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges. For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter: Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.
Again, speaking of the wine of false gospels. So back here in Daniel 1:9, we read:
Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.
“The prince of the eunuchs” here maybe a figure of Christ, I am not sure, we better not get into that. But those words “favour and tender love” are used in other places in the Bible, they all have to do with the mercy of God’s salvation. But God had brought Daniel into the favour of this “prince of the eunuchs.” Notice that, Daniel and his friends were under the charge of “the prince of the eunuchs.” The Bible never directly says that Daniel and his friends were made eunuchs, we could assume they were. A eunuch was a man that could not procreate, he had been castrated, he could not begat children. And again, this is just adding to the whole sense or feeling of tribulation.
The Israelites are in a strange land, the temple has been destroyed, but the children of God, many of the strong, young men of Israel have been made eunuchs that cannot procreate. In Genesis 1, God told Adam and Eve to “Be fruitful, and multiply.” And in that sense, Adam and Eve were a figure of Christ, and the church, and their union is also a figure as they would beget children. “Be fruitful, and multiply,” that is a picture of the church begetting more believers. In Genesis 8 after the flood, in Genesis 8:17 God said to Noah:
Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
Again, He said in Genesis chapter 9:1, in the end of that verse, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” And Noah was a prominent figure of Christ. Well, He told Abraham the same thing, that He would multiply his seed. Abraham was another prominent picture of Christ. We read in Galatians, in Galatians 3:29 says:
And if ye be Christ’s, …
If you are a child of God.
… then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Children of God are spoken of as Abraham’s seed, God told Abraham that He would multiply his seed. One more verse, look at Genesis 28. In Genesis 28:1-2 we read:
And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother’s father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother’s brother.
And again in this, we are reading of Christ going to get Himself a wife, and He is going to beget believers. He is going to go bring that church out of the land of Padanaram. But verses 3-4 of Genesis 28 says:
And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; And give thee the blessing of Abraham, …
Which was that covenant of salvation.
And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.
This all has to do with salvation. So again, back here in Daniel, we are reading that the best and strongest of the Israelites had been made eunuchs. It is funny that in most of the places in the Bible where it talks about eunuchs, they are spoken of as children of God. Look at Isaiah 39. There God uses it in the context of judgment as He is speaking to Hezekiah through Isaiah in Isaiah 39:5, because Hezekiah showed the Babylonians all the treasures in his house. We read in Isaiah 39:5-7:
Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
Judgment was on the sons of Hezekiah. But he speaks of His mercy in Isaiah 56 concerning eunuchs. Look at Isaiah 56:3-5 we read:
Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.
Speaking of His mercy on those that would physically be made eunuchs. But again, we read of “Ebedmelech the Ethiopian” eunuch in Jeremiah. He was obviously a saved man, he helped to bring Jeremiah out of that pit. We read of the eunuch in Acts 8 where he spoke to Philip who was trying to understand a passage out of Isaiah. Christ spoke in Matthew 19 about eunuchs. In Matthew 19,Christ said this, after His Disciples had made this statement, if the case be so, if a man cannot divorce for any reason. And in verse 10, Matthew 19:10-12:
His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. But he …
That is Christ.
… said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.
Speaking of those that have denied themselves marriage that they might serve Christ better. There are numerous places in the Bible where God speaks of eunuchs as saved people. I just wanted to try to bring that out about eunuchs.
But back here in Daniel 1, we read in verse 10:
And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord …
He fears the king.
… who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king.
He is afraid that Daniel and his three friends are not going to look as well or as fit as these Israelites that have been feeding on the king’s meat. So, he is afraid of what the king is going to do to him. But then we read in verses 11-12:
Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Prove thy servants, …
Or test us.
… I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.
Now this word “pulse,” Strong’s #2235 is a noun, but it is from a verb, Strong’s #2232. It is a word that means something that comes from a seed which is sown. Look at Isaiah 55:10. What we are going to see here is that, Daniel wanted to eat pulse, again these are parables, and pulse actually is going to represent the true Word of God here. Isaiah 55:10, this is a verse you are all are familiar with, I think, where He compares the rain to the Gospel. Isaiah 55:10-11 says:
For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, …
He is comparing rain to the Gospel.
… that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
The rain comes down and waters the earth, causes it to bring forth and bud that it may give seed to the sower. That word “sower,” I believe is literally one who sows, but that is the word that the word “pulse” comes from. Look at Psalm 126:5, this is speaking of the true believer, Psalm 126:5-6 says:
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
There is the verb, to sow, and this is certainly speaking of the true believer bringing the Gospel and as we sow the Gospel in tears, we weep and mourn in this world. We see that this world is a wilderness, we weep and mourn for our own sins, we weep and mourn for those around us.
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, …
The seed of the Gospel.
… shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
Back here in Daniel, Daniel asked if he would test himself, and his three friends for ten days by giving them pulse, which really I believe represents the true Word of God, and water to drink. And water, the pure water of the Gospel rather than the wine of the false gospels of the kingdom of Satan. This passage is teaching how God sustains His people even in time of tribulation. When that church has been destroyed, and we are under the dominion of Satan out in the world, He still sustains His people. We go on in verses 13-15 to read:
Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king’s meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat.
And these words “fairer and fatter in flesh” again speak of the children of Israel, and how they flourish and prosper and how they are made healthy by the Word of God. Look at Psalm 25:8. Psalm 25:8 says:
Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.
That word “good” there, that is the word that is translated “fairer.” In Daniel 1:15, it has to do with the goodness of God. This word is used in many places in the Old Testament, and very often has to do with the goodness of God. Verse 15:
And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh …
It is one word that they translated “fatter in flesh.” Remember back in Genesis 41:2, when Pharaoh had the dream about the seven fat cows and then the seven lean cows. And the seven fat cows represented years of plenty and good. Well, the word they used back there, you do not have to go there, was “fatfleshed.” Those fat cows represented again years of blessing and the Gospel. Verses 15-16 of Daniel 1:
And at the end of ten days their countenances …
The faces of Daniel and his friends.
… appeared fairer and fatter in flesh …
Blessed of God.
… than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat. Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; …
In other words the other captive Israelites,
… and gave them pulse.
God uses the word “countenance” in the Bible very often to speak again of our whole being, our whole appearance. Look at Song of Solomon chapter 5. You have Psalms, and Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, and then the Song of Solomon. In the Song of Solomon chapter 5, we know this is speaking about the love between Christ and His bride, it is an exchange. The whole book is an exchange, they go back and forth speaking to one another. But in chapter 5, this is the church speaking of Christ. In verse 15 we read, Song of Solomon 5:15:
His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.
In Numbers 6, I was going to go there, that is the one that is often used as a benediction in churches, “The LORD make His face shine upon thee” or countenance and it is speaking of the blessing of God as His face shines upon you, but in Psalm 42, Psalm 42:5 we read:
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
Now go to the last verse of Psalm 42. In verse 11, it says:
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
And He repeats that verse in Psalm 43:5:
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
We read in Daniel 1:15:
And at the end of ten days …
After Daniel and his friends ate pulse, a picture of the true Word of God, rather than the meat of Nebuchadnezzar, a picture of Satan, and they drank water rather than his wine.
… their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh …
Reflecting the blessings of God.
… than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat.
Then we read that this “prince of the eunuchs”:
… Melzar took away …
The kings meat and the wine, and gave the rest of those children of Israel pulse. Then we read in verse 17:
As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
And “visions and dreams” in the Old Testament have to do again with God communicating with His true people. Well, our time is about up, but let us just finish this out. We read now:
Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm. And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus.
And that is when Babylon was destroyed, at the end of that tribulation period. So again, what we are to see in this story is how God blesses His people, even in time of tribulation with His Word. Look at Proverbs 15:17, I thought it kind of applied to this story. Proverbs 15:17 says:
Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.
“A dinner of herbs” a meager, humble dinner of just vegetables. “where love is,” the love of God, “than a stalled ox” or in other words, you have that fattened ox out there in the barn, and you can eat well for awhile, but hatred is there. And we can really look at the church these days and see that they have that “stalled ox.” They have always had the Word of God, they have always been blessed with the Word, but yet, there is hatred there, and the love of God is not there anymore. Again, we are just seeing how God sustains His people, even in times of tribulation. Let me read from Deuteronomy 4, and we will close. Deuteronomy 4:25-27 says:
When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger: I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you.
This is anticipating the judgment that is going to be brought on Israel, God’s corporate people when they turn from Him. Verses 28-31 says:
And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But …
Now this is going to speak of the mercy of God.
But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
The mercy of God on His people, even in times of tribulation, if they will seek Him in truth. This book could not have been contrived, it could not have been written by man, it is all parables, all having to do with God’s salvation plan. And here we are reading of the mercy of God, and how Daniel and his three friends who are a picture of the true believers, even in tribulation refused to eat. They perceived that they are not to eat of the meat or the wine of the king of Babylon. Shall we pray.