Granite Creek Community Church Sermons: Audio Podcast

Today we are going on our journey and we left Ezekiel and now we are walking on the road and stopping in Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylonia from 605 BC to around 563 BC, and he was responsible for changing Daniel’s name to Belteshazzar. King Nebuchadnezzar had conquered Judah, destroying Jerusalem in 586 BC, an event that had been prophesied by the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:9). Some of the inhabitants of Judah were taken back to Babylon as captives, including a number of the children of royal and noble families, to be integrated into Babylonian society (Daniel 1:3–4). Among those taken were four boys, around the age of 14 at the time, named Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. All four of these Hebrew names had meanings connected to faith in God. But upon arrival in Babylon, their names were changed: “The chief official [of Babylon] gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego” (Daniel 1:7). The boys’ names were ch