Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem(11/22/21) [Prayer]

The Holy Scriptures | 11/22/21 | left that other site

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Daniel 1

Daniel’s Training in Babylon

1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia[a] and put in the treasure house of his god.

3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility— 4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.[b] 5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.

6 Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.

8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your[c] food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”

11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.

15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

18 At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. 20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.

21 And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.

Footnotes

a Daniel 1:2 Hebrew Shinar
b Daniel 1:4 Or Chaldeans
c Daniel 1:10 The Hebrew for your and you in this verse is plural.

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God Bless America.

ML/LTOS

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Our Father in Heaven
Blessed Are You,
Oh LORD, Our God,
King of the Universe,
Ancient of Days,
El Shaddai,
The All-Sufficient One!

Oh, Holy, Holy, Holy are You,
LORD, God of Power and Might!
May You Always be The Provider
and Banner For Your People.
May Your Children never be ashamed
or afraid to Lift Your Banner High!
May Your Name Always be Before them in battle and never be profaned!

Let all that has been Concealed
Be Revealed.

Father, We Pray For The Peace Of Jerusalem,
According To Your Will and Promise.
We Pray That You Will Forgive The Sins
of Our Own Nation,
and Lead us all to Godly Repentance.
Create in Us Clean Hearts, Oh LORD,
and Renew a Right Spirit Within Us.

This we Pray Together,
As We Await Your Messiah,
Blessed Be He,
To Set Up His Kingdom,
And Make All Things Right.

Let all that has Been Concealed,
Be Revealed.

God Bless America.

ML/LTOS

[DarthVader]

Amen !!! <><

Psalm 121

A Song of Ascents.

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—
from where will my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 He who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time on and for evermore.

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Prayer is such an important part of the Book of Daniel, that we are just going to read it through, chapter by chapter, and learn from the prayers and situations that are presented.

Daniel and his friends were taken into captivity when the Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed. They were stripped of their Language, their Culture, their Names, and were possibly even turned into eunuchs because they were to serve in the King's palace. (The Bible doesn't say the last part, but that is what they did in those days to male slaves). One can only imagine how demoralised and depressed these youths must have been! Their lives had been changed forever, and there was nothing they could do about it.

However, at a time when their faith should have been at its lowest ebb, these teenage boys showed an imminse amount of courage. Because the King's food had been dedicated to the pagan gods of Babylon, the boys couldn't eat it in good conscience. It had nothing to do with vegitarianism, or a prohibition against wine, as meat and wine were perfectly "legal" in the Hebrew Religion. It wasn't the substance of the meat and wine that was prohibited, but the idolatry attached to it. Daniel was able to work out a deal with the King's Head Eunuch that asked that only vegetables and water be served to them for a finite period, and then check the results. If the boys started to waste away from lack of protein, they would agree to eat the King's food. It was reasonable and agreeable, and so the Head Eunuch agreed. This was an act of Faith. Humans throughout the ages have been Omnivores, and the design of our intestinal track and teeth affirm this. There were no "Special, Lo-Fat, Vegan, Gluten-Free, Macrobiotic, South-Beach-Diet Books" back then. So, what Daniel as proposing was highly unusual. Wine and beer were actually preferable to water, since there were no water-treatment plants. Daniel was taking a big chance.

We may think that we live in such enlighted times that we would never encounter a situation like this. However, consider:

1. Language: We are now being told that many of our common words are now "Offensive" or "Politically Incorrect". People are being punished on social media for things they said YEARS ago. George Orwell showed us in his Dystopian Book "1984" that the ones who control the language control the culture. Large parts of the Book of Daniel are not even in Hebrew, but are in the Language of their conqueror.

2. Culture: Many aspects of our culture are now being excoriated as "Offensive". Everything for Dr. Seuss to Halloween Costumes are designated as "racist or sexist". Products remove time-honored and beloved logos (such as the lovely Indian Maiden on Land-O-Lakes butter and Uncle Ben, who was a real person and an accomplished chef). The most egregious example of this is the new label of Paul Newman's Sesame Ginger Salad Dressing. The old label had him dressed as a Samurai Warrior. It was endearing and lovable, and in no way offensive to Japanese People. That label has been redesigned to show Paul in a black shirt. The Italian, Greek, Caesar, French, and other dressings still show Paul in ethnic garb, but the samurai has been retired. I don't want to be picky about this, but I LOVE the dressing and now hate the label, because it shows aquiescence to Political Correctness.

3. History: The four Hebrew Youths had their History destroyed before their eyes. Their City, their Temple, their Monuments, and their Holy Books were toppled and burned. Why does this ring a bell?

4. Religion: The Four Youths were obviously of the Hebrew Religion, which required daily sacrifices in the Place of God's Choosing (ie: The Temple) which was now destroyed. The Babylonians wasted no time re-indoctrinating the teenagers, to accept the worship of pagan gods and goddesses. They were embedded into a system of "re-education". That sounds familiar too.

5. Gender Roles: Again, I emphasize that the Bible never says that Daniel and his friends were emasculated. They were, however, plunged into a system that performed this evil upon slaves who would be serving the King (and presuably the harem). The Book of Esther states this, as do secular works about the time and place. It is interesting to note that wives and children are never mentioned in the Book of Danel. Daniel served for many years for many kings, but he was always a bachelor. This is almost too horrible to contemplate, and yet, our own culture has a new term for people who identify as the same sex thay were born with. The term is "cisgender" and it is usually pronounced with a sneer.

All of this brings us back to the meat and the Wine. Neither of these were poison, and would not have harmed Daniel and his friends physically. The problem was that the Youths BELIEVED that taking these things into their bodies would harm them spiritually. That was more important to them. They had been robbed of everything that they held dear. But there was one thing they held onto, which was their FAITH. Daniel knew in his heart that God would provide for them and protect their health, and he was bold enough to ask politely for "a religious exemption" from the King's Food. Funny how something that happened 2500 years ago can still resonate today.

Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[etabeta]

Joining in prayer. God bless.

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Argh! I can’t believe my spelling errors today. (((sorry)))

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, DarthVader, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[left that other site]

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, Etabeta, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[TianaHighrider]

You are a very wise teacher and friend❣
Blessings and prayers up 🙏

[NEWwoman]

Amen, left that other site

Great points that reflect our pagan, evil days. Only God’s Good News is not Fake News.

Joining in prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem and for our beloved America.

[left that other site]

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, TianaHighrider, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[left that other site]

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, NEWwoman, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[left that other site]

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

I'm NOT Making This Up. Here are the Salad Dressing Labels.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[left that other site]

Thank you for your kind words of Blessing!

(((HUGS)))

[Hiskid]

Amen.

[left that other site]

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, Hiskid, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS