{"id":2730,"date":"2024-10-20T12:33:38","date_gmt":"2024-10-20T17:33:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/?p=2730"},"modified":"2024-10-20T12:33:38","modified_gmt":"2024-10-20T17:33:38","slug":"purpose-in-your-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/2024\/10\/20\/purpose-in-your-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"Purpose in Your Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cBut 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.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daniel 1:8<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book of Daniel tells of Daniel and his three friends. The happenings in these lives are some of the more familiar events in the Bible. Most people have heard these \u201cstories\u201d often. However, it is important to understand that these are not just \u201cstories\u201d, but historical occurrences in actual people’s lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daniel was most likely born during the reign of the last good king of Judah, Josiah, and lived while the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel spoke. If you remember, King Josiah sought the Lord, removed idol worship, and repaired the house of the Lord. While the repair of the Temple was taking place, they found a book of the Law of Moses (see 2 Chronicles 34:14). After hearing God’s Word, King Josiah read it to all of the people in Judah. \u201cAnd the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book<\/strong>\u201d (2 Chronicles 34:31). There was a change in the king’s life. He chose to serve God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, were most likely taken during the first siege of Nebuchadnezzar when many nobles and princes were taken captive (about nineteen years before Jerusalem fell). Remember that God allowed Babylon to come up against Jerusalem because they had predominately forsaken God for idol worship).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

King Nebuchadnezzar wanted the best of the young men of Judah to be set aside, to teach them the things of the Chaldeans. It appears the objective here was to make them forget everything about their previous life in Judah, becoming as the Babylonians. We read of four particular young men: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Each of these young men obviously had parents who had not forsaken God (notice the meanings of their names below), but who still served Him in spite of the idolatry around them. Keep in mind that they heard the Word of the Lord read, and hearing it had obviously made a difference in their hearts and lives as well. The names of these four young men were changed. It appears that the name changes were to make them forget the God of their youth, and instead acknowledge the false gods of Babylon. Notice what their names mean and what their names were changed to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n