Daniel 1:1,2 – “Adonai”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹In the year of third to the reign of Jehoiakim the king of Israel came Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babel [to] Jerusalem and besieged it. ²And Adonai gave in[to] his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah and part of the vessels of the house of God and he brought them [to] the house of his god and brought the vessels [to] the house of the treasure of his god.

As related in the last post, the young man Daniel is living his life in 605 BC when suddenly the wickedness of his king brings the most powerful man on earth right to the very gate of his city. But this is not just any city, it is Jerusalem, the City of David, the home of the temple of the true and living God. Just a little over 100 years before, the most powerful man of that day, Sennacherib the king of Assyria, came and besieged Jerusalem and what happened? The Angel of the Lord slew 185,000 Assyrians and sent Sennacherib back home in disgrace. But, what will happen now?

It had to be a fearful thing to look out over the city wall and see the vast and powerful Babylonian army surrounding the city. If the siege goes on for months or even years, will the people all starve to death? If the Babylonians breach the wall or get into the city, what will happen? Will they abuse people? Will they kill everyone? Daniel would have reason to fear not only for himself, but also all of the people he cared about – his parents, his brothers and sisters, his relatives, his friends. One has to realize the situation is not just scary, it is terrifying.

Daniel, his family and his godly friends must have been praying fervently for the Lord to defend them as He had earlier against Sennacherib.

But what happens? Somehow, the Babylonian army is suddenly inside the city. It is possible they quickly found a weakness and breached the wall, but I think it more likely Jehoiakim “chickened out” and surrendered. Regardless, the City of David is suddenly a conquered city.

Then what should happen? Nebuchadnezzar takes some of the vessels from the very temple itself! Not only has he made it inside the city, but now his evil minions are carting away the golden vessels of the very temple of God! And to do what with them? To put them in the temple of their idols!

To every appearance, this world has gone completely out of control. Godly King Josiah is dead and his wicked selfish son is sitting on the throne. Now the city of Jerusalem has fallen and godless men are carrying away the vessels of the temple as trophies of their idol gods! “Where is God?” the people would be asking.

Verse 2 makes a startling statement, “And the Lord gave Jehoiakim into his hand along with some of the vessels from the temple …”

“The Lord gave …”

Let all the world know, it was not the might of Nebuchadnezzar that conquered Jerusalem or even gave him the power to carry off the temple vessels. But let me also add, neither was it the weakness or even the wickedness of Jehoiakim. It was the Lord.

Interestingly, the Hebrew here even emphasizes this point. When it says “the Lord,” in Hebrew it is not the usual Yahveh (the great I Am) or even Elohim (God). In Hebrew it is His name Adonai (Ah’-doan-eye), which means Master. Even in speaking God’s name, Daniel recognizes the truth of this whole affair – the Lord is still the Master.

Is this not one of the most important truths in life to learn? Our great God is Adonai, the Master. Even here, the “great” Nebuchadnezzar thinks he’s the master. But it won’t be long and he’ll be crawling around eating grass like a cow until he acknowledges that “the God of Daniel, the Most High, rules.” He will find out soon enough who is the Master. This same God said to Pharaoh, “Let My people go,” and in his arrogance, the Pharaoh replied, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey Him?” Wow did he find out.

I love this name of God. Out of all His names, it is probably my personal favorite. Adonai. Master. King of kings and Lord of lords. Amy Grant included this name of the Lord in her song, “El Shaddai,” which I love, and then the group Avalon did a beautiful song actually entitled "Adonai," sung by Nikki Hassman. Both songs rate high on my list of favorites. Adonai. Master.

Of course it is true that, in our sinful hearts, we chafe at anyone ruling over us. But, as a believer, I long ago found I actually want the Lord to rule my life. For myself, it was even more His rule than His forgiveness that brought me to Jesus for salvation. I wanted Him to change me, to rule over me, to help me live. I wanted Him to rule over me. Once I was reading and someone related that back in the days of slavery, one might see a wagon full of slaves enter town and see them all bedraggled, clothed in rags, skinny, and miserable. Then another wagon would appear loaded with smiling, healthy, well dressed slaves. One could ask, “What makes the difference?” The answer? “Who’s their master?”

“Who’s their master?”

And here I sit loved, well-provided for, surrounded by blessing and so much more. And why is that? “Who’s my Master?” Adonai. It is an unfathomable blessing to know that the King of the Universe is my Master, the God of love, the Father of our Lord Jesus, the One who “opens His hand and satisfies the desires of every living thing.” It is wonderful to live every day knowing He is watching over me, that He will only do me good.

But, like Daniel, it isn’t always so obvious. Most of the time, in one way or another, it looks fearfully like evil has finally won. Our world is a scary place. Not just in the big huge political world (though that is bad enough!), but also in the ebb and flow of our minute to minute lives. Life is just plain scary.

And sometimes, in spite of our earnest prayers, things not only don’t get better, they get worse. What is our hope in those times? Adonai. Our God’s name is Adonai.

It was Daniel’s hope in 605 BC when his world was collapsing around him.

And it is our hope today.

Lord, help us today, to live the faith of Daniel. May we rest in the arms of Him whose name is Adonai, Master. Help us give You our fears and may we live in the freedom of love because, no matter what, we trust our Adonai.