Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel, he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego. — Daniel 1:6-7

So the first thing that Ashpenaz does is rename these four boys. So let's quickly note their original names their meaning and then their new names and their meaning.

1. Daniel. His name means — God is my judge. He is renamed Belteshazzar, which means — Bel (a Babylonian god) protects his life. 
2. Hananiah. His name means — God has acted graciously. He is renamed Shadrach, which means — Aku (the Babylonian moon God) commands.
3. Mishael. His name means — There is no god like God. He is renamed Meshach, which means — Aku (a Babylonian god) is who god is. 
4. Azariah. His name means — God has helped. He is renamed Abednego, which means — Nebo (a Babylonian god) is god.

Hopefully, you see what he is doing. He is not only renaming these young men, but he is also removing God's name. He is removing it from their identity and spoken language. And they are being given new spoken names and definitions based on Babylonian gods. This is the first move of indoctrination — the complete removal of the name of God.

You know, to give someone a name is a powerful event. If you turn back to the beginning of the Bible, we'll see that God spoke, and things came to be. God created light, solar systems, earth, creatures, and mankind by speaking it into existence. He created and gave definitions with words that came from his mouth. And by naming God imparts identity and image to mankind. And then we see he gave man the power to do the same. He gave him the freedom within the created order to name the creatures of the earth and even woman, whom he named "Eve — the mother of all the living." This is a powerful thing to do.

Yet, in our time, it seems that we want this power for ourselves. We crave the power and control to reidentify ourselves and others through indoctrination. We are no different from Ashpenaz, Nebuchadnezzar, and Babylon. We want to remove God from our culture and assign our own identity, gender, and titles. What is happening in our time is just another manifestation of our futile attempt to play god. But it's a futile attempt. Because we can change the calendar to read Common Era (C.E.), we all know that Jesus is at the center of every date on our calendar. We can remove prayer from schools, yet we all know it's to God we turn in times of tragedy within a school. We can remove "in God we trust" from our money, yet we all know it's only God who can be trusted, and only he who has any value. This is because removing God's name does not remove God. That's the stupidest idea ever. If God is God, then he will not be stopped. And he is looking for faithful men like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah who be faithful to his name in culturally combatant times.

Are you that man?

ASK THIS:  Are you that man?

DO THIS: Be God's man today. Believe, have faith, and trust only in Him.

PRAY THIS: God, give me more faith to trust in you today.

PLAY THIS: Lauren Daigle - Trust In You.

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