Daniel & The Blessings of Faithfulness Pt.2

Even though the young men were torn from their homes and families and given new identities by a foreign king, they did not become bitter and turn their backs of God.

They were determined to continue to live their religion as best they could. For these Hebrew young men, part of that religion included a dietary code that forbade certain foods found on the king’s table. They decided to eat only grains, vegetables, and fruit, and to drink only water since those were permitted under Mosaic Law. They could eat meat, but only certain animals killed under specific conditions.

The Prince over the eunuchs was concerned that the boys would not thrive under such a diet, but he agreed to a ten day trial. Using their eating plan, Daniel and his friends flourished. Not only did they look healthy and well nourished, but according to Josephus, they did not develop the effeminate bodies and countenances of the other boys who had also been made eunuchs.

This was a wonderful witness to those at Nebuchadnezzar’s court regarding the great power of the God of Israel.

(Josephus – Complete Works., Translated by William Whiston, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1960., pgs 222-223)

Daniel & The Blessings of Faithfulness Pt.1

And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. Dan.1:3-4

This story of Daniel and the three Hebrew children was a fulfillment of a prophecy made by Isaiah to King Hezekiah found in Isaiah 39:7. Isaiah prophesied that Hezekiah’s descendants would be taken captive and made eunuchs by the King of Babylon.

When the Babylonians captured a country, they took the best of the youth to stand before the king. Daniel and his three friends were taken before King Nebuchadnezzar and, according to Josephus, were greatly esteemed by him because of their good looks, intelligence, and wisdom.

They were permitted to live at the king’s house and to eat at his table – a very great honor. As with all foreign captives who shared the king’s house, the boys were made eunuchs and given new names that related to Babylon’s deities.

Daniel: “God is my judge”

became Belteshazzar: “Prince of Bel.”

Hananiah: “Beloved of the Lord”

became Shadrach: “Illumined by the Sun God.”

Mishael: “Who is like God”

became Meshach: “Who is like unto the Moon God.”

Azariah: “The Lord is my help”

became Abednego: “Servant of Nego, a shining one.”

Nebuchadnezzar was not content to allow them to keep names which connected them to their former lives. He wanted their allegiance to be to his kingdom and its gods. Babylon was the ancient center for science and learning and the king gave them personal tutors to instruct them in all the learning of the Chaldeans.

See tomorrow's post for an incredible blessing these youth received.

A Cake Not Turned

Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned. Hosea 7:8

According to many commentaries, the phrase above was a scathing rebuke against the tribe of Ephraim. Since I am from that tribe, I wondered what it meant.

I am visually oriented, and like to have pictures in my mind when I read. But it was challenging for me to imagine this image. What kind of cake was it and why was it on a revolving stand? The literal image that was evoked made no sense to me.

I was envisioning a circular motion, but as you have probably figured out, it was a flipping-over motion--like a pancake. It was a flat bread that was being described.

Ephraim was literally “half-baked,” willing to have one side exposed to the refiner’s fire, but refusing to completely surrender. "Baked on one side and raw on the other, he is neither through hot nor through cold, but partly a Jew and partly a Gentile." (Geneva Bible commentary)

You could say that he liked to keep one foot in the Kingdom outwardly, but that the other foot was firmly planted in the world.

I know one family who used this verse to talk about the importance of being wholly committed to the Gospel- in heart as well as outward appearance. They used unturned pancakes as a visual aid and called them Ephraim cakes. After pointing out the unappetizing nature of the pancakes, the parents surprised the family with a trip to IHOP. (International House of Pancakes)

Their teenaged son made a fun wordplay on the lesson and the refreshment: I HOP(e) they don’t serve Ephraim cakes! Every time they drive by the restaurant, the kids are reminded of an important principle.

I love it when we can have fun with scriptures and make them our own.

Enemies Given Speech Test

I was reading something recently, and the author mentioned a particular cultural fact as a "shibboleth." I remembered that word from the Old Testament, but couldn't immediately place the context.

Wikipedia had this to say about the word:

During World War II, some United States soldiers in the Pacific theater used the word lollapalooza as a shibboleth to verbally test people who were hiding and unidentified, on the premise that... the word is an American colloquialism that even a foreign person fairly well-versed in American English would probably mispronounce and/or be unfamiliar with.

This word is found in the scripture below. I still wonder why so many of the Ephraimites had a lisp. W. Garrison writes the explanation following the scripture.

And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay; Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand. Judges 12:5-6

According to the account in Judges 12, a tendency on the part of ancient Ephraimites to speak with a slight lisp cost these people 42,000 casualties in a time of civil war.

Fighting against the forces of Gilead under the leadership of Jephthah, famous for having made a sacrificial offering of his own daughter, the warriors of Ephraim found themselves outnumbered and outclassed. They suffered a decisive defeat, broke ranks, and tried to ford the Jordan to return to their own territory and safety.

His enemies couldn’t be distinguished by their physical appearance, insignia, or weapons so Jephthah resorted to a stratagem based on regional differences in speech. Men of Ephraim traditionally had trouble sounding the Hebrew consonant shin, functionally equivalent to the English s. This tendency to lisp was especially obvious when they tried to pronounce “shibboleth” – Hebrew sibboleth – the common name for an ear of grain.

Jephthah’s border patrols seized all stragglers and tested them by demanding that they say the crucial word. Those who “could not frame to pronounce it right” were executed on the spot (Judg. 12:6).

A rose by any other name

English Puritans of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries were so immersed in Scripture that many of them chose words and phrases from Holy Writ as names for their children. Lower’s English Sur-names reports that a jury list from Sussex County included these specimens:

Faint-not Hewitt

Redeemed Compton

God-reward Smart

Meek Brewer

Peace-of-God Knight

Be-faithful Juniper

Kill-sin Pimple

Seek-wisdom Wood

Make-peace Heaton

Stand-fast-on-high Stringer

Search-the-Scripture Moreton

Weep-not Billing

(and my personal favorite...)

Fight-the-good-fight-of-faith White

(Garrison, Webb., Strange Facts About the Bible, Testament Books, New York, 1968, pgs 39-40)

Sacred Scars

"In ancient Judea, the good shepherd would take the sheep on long journeys through the ravines and the wadis where the steep and narrow slopes keep out the light. Sometimes, the shepherd had no choice but to lead his flock through the wadis. Avalanches, flash-floodings, poor weather conditions, rock-slides, poisonous plants, and predators were perennial dangers the shepherd faced with his flock. Overexposure to the sun could be very dangerous to the well-being of the flock. The shepherd had to be prepared so that none of these things would deter him. He had to know the paths so that the flock would not be swept away in a flood.

...The shepherd had to be ever mindful...where he was leading the flock.
Frequently thick fog would settle in, so the sheep would follow the shepherd by the sound of his voice and shepherd song. The shepherd's voice and presence gave comfort and confidence to the sheep...The well-being and safety of the flock was up to the shepherd. The shepherd's arms, body, and feet were often scarred with the wounds he suffered for his flock while fighting predators who attempted to destroy them (Jewish 23rd/Samuel 111-112)."

Such scars were often a way that a true and faithful shepherd could be identified as such. Healed wounds indicated that the shepherd was willing to make great sacrifices for the well being of his flock and could be trusted in all circumstances.

Just as the faithful shepherd received scars in his arms, feet, and body while defending his flock, our Savior bears witness of his faithful protection through these same tokens. He tells us:

Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.
Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.
Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen (D&C 6:34, 36, 37).

Flakes of Fire

Everyone in my family and most of my friends know that I enjoy the challenge of trying to make sense of “weird scriptures”- meaning the seemingly strange, bewildering, or extremely boring. This is because I have learned that something good is always hidden there if I can just decode it.

Well, it looks like I am in good company. A big thanks to my son John who just sent me this quote from Elder Neal A. Maxwell:

"To be seen only by those who have eyes to see, ...flakes of fire are embedded in the holy scriptures. There, these transcending truths may appear in the midst of routine lineage history. They may be found within chronologies, genealogies, and duties, or may follow upon now dated economic data.

When encountered, their sudden richness is so breathtaking and light-intensive that, like radioactive materials, they must be handled with great care. They both light up the mind and infuse joy into the soul. (Alma 19:6.)"

YES. That is exactly how it feels.