Ayo Akerele
“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 1:8.
The book of Daniel begins with the story of the invasion of Judah, a key city of Israel, by Nebuchadnezer, king of Babylon, between 606 and 605 BC. Among those captured during this invasion were four men: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. After they were captured and taken to Babylon, their names were changed.
You need to understand why Nebuchadnezer changed their names. Babylon had so many gods and idols. Some of these gods included 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 Nebuchadnezar: “To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; 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.”
Hananiah means “the Lord is gracious.”
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 a kind of an induction process. It was a kind of humiliation of the God of heaven. To them the issue here was, “we can’t allow you to bear the names that honour God almighty. You must bear names that honour our gods”.
So, to corrupt them and thoroughly transform their godly culture to a corrupt one, they had to be re-christened and then taken to the kitchen of Babylon. Now, I am using ‘kitchen’ here as a figurative expression; it is where the menus of life are cooked. It is where values of life are shaped. For a child of God in our contemporary world, a kitchen might represent the church you attend; the organisation you work for; the business relationships you keep; your marriage; the schools you attend. All of these places are kitchens of life where values are shaped – positive or negative. And sadly, these are the places where Satan and his agents invade to corrupt culture and re-christen believers.
In Daniel 1:4-7, an interesting episode occurred. The king of Babylon needed to hire very gifted people to work with him. Now, I want you to note something: Babylon is the representation of evil. You must not be found in Babylon. Note that Daniel was forced to go there. You should not see Babylon as an option. Run from Babylon. But sometimes in life, we don’t choose our Babylons, or Babylon may choose us.
You may not choose to work in that organisation, but you just got a job there only to discover that your direct manager is an agent of the devil.
You may not choose to engage in a corrupt business activity. People may bring it to your doorstep, even within a legitimate business transaction.
You may not choose to marry a bad man. Five years into your marriage, your husband may backslide, bringing Babylon to you.
