"Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself." Daniel 1: 6-8
As I was reading Daniel 1 & 2 last Friday, I felt like the Lord said to look up the meaning of the men’s name - the Israelite and Babylonian. So here goes:
Daniel means – God is my judge
Belteshazzar means – lord of the straitened’s treasure
Hananiah means – God has favored
Shadrach means – royal or the great scribe
Mishael means – who is what God is
Meshach means – guest of the king
Azariah means – Jehovah has helped
Abednego means – servant of Nebo and Nebo is the god of vegetation
Purposed means – to put or to place, have as one’s intention or objective
So as I was looking at the Hebrew names, I noticed that their names were all focused on God. The Babylonian names all dealt with earthly things or Babylonian gods. I began to assess why I was to look up the names and the word “purposed.”
I realized first and foremost the Lord wanted us all to choose which (name) path we are going to follow – the world’s or God’s. Then we must realize what we are all placed here on earth for. Have we also purposed ourselves like those Hebrew men, not to defile ourselves with the things of this world? For the Hebrew men it was food, but we have many more things to defile ourselves with. We must pray and ask God, “What has HE purposed us for on this earth?”
If we know what we are purposed for, we must evaluate: are we distracted by the world’s purposes or are we sold out for God’s purposes? If we have gotten off track from our purpose, have we repented and asked the Lord to get our feet back on the right track?
Once we know who we are in Christ and what our purpose is, and we have purposed ourselves for that purpose, we can be like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, walk through fire and come out not singed or smelling like smoke. Daniel 4:19-37.
God Bless,
Tina