The Daniel Generation: Kingdom Men in the Kitchen of Babylon, By Ayo Akerele

Text: Daniel 1:8, “But Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine that he drank; therefore he asked the chief eunuch not to defile himself”

The book of Daniel begins with the story of the invasion of Judah, a key city in Israel by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon between 606 and 605 BC. Among those captured in this invasion were four men, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. After they were captured and taken to Babylon, their names were changed.

You must understand why Nebuchadnezzar changed his name. Babylon had so many gods and idols. Some of these gods include Bel, Shadrach (another word for the god Aku), Meshach (another synonym for the god Aku), and Nebo or Negro. Now see the names given to them by Nebuchadnezzar

“The chief eunuch gave them names: he named Daniel Belteshazzar; in Hananiah, Shadrash; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-nego" (Daniel 1:7).

Let me tell you what their original names mean.

Daniel means "God is my judge"

Hanania means "the Lord is merciful"

Mishael means, "Who is like the Lord"

Azariah means "the Lord is my helper"

However, to brainwash these four boys, Babylon changed their names, giving them names after their gods. It was kind of an induction process. It was a kind of humiliation from the God of heaven. For them, the problem here is: “we cannot allow you to bear the names that honor Almighty God. You must bear names that honor our gods."

So in order to corrupt them and completely turn their divine culture into a corrupt culture, they had to be rebaptized and then taken to the kitchen of Babylon. Now I am using the kitchen here as a figurative expression, it is where the menus of life are cooked. This is where the values ​​of life are shaped. For a child of God in our contemporary world, a kitchen might represent the church you attend; the organization you work for; the business relationships you have; your marriage; the schools you attend, all these places are kitchens of life where values, positive or negative, are shaped. And sadly, these are the places where Satan and his agents invade to corrupt the culture and re-Christine the believers.

In Daniel 1:4-7, an interesting episode occurred. The king of Babylon needed to hire very talented people to work with him. Now I want you to write something down. Babylon is this representation of evil. You are not to be found in Babylon. Note that Daniel was forced into it. You shouldn't see Babylon as an option. Flee Babylon. But sometimes in life we ​​don't choose our Babylons, Babylon can choose us.

You can't choose to work in this organization, but you just got a job there only to find out that your direct superior is an agent of the devil

You cannot choose to engage in corrupt business activity. People can bring it to your doorstep even as part of a legitimate business transaction

You can't choose to marry a bad man. 5 years into your marriage, your husband can demote, bringing you Babylon

If you come across Babylon,. Don't worry. You are part of the Daniel generation. And in fact, all true followers of Christ are part of the Daniel generation in these last days.

You need to understand the environment in which Daniel and his three friends lived. It was not a democratic e...