Welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Sunday afternoon Bible study. Today is study #9 of Daniel, chapter 1, and we are going to read Daniel 1:11-16:

Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat. Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse.

I will stop reading there. In our last study we talked about Melzar, the prince of the eunuchs, and how he was a type and figure of the Lord Jesus Christ because he was a “prince” and we know that Jesus is a Prince and a Saviour. He was prince over the eunuchs and God uses eunuchs as a figure of the true believers.

Also, it had said in Daniel 1:9, “Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs,” and this fits with God’s salvation program because it is language that identifies with the love and grace God bestows upon those He saves. For these reasons and other reasons, we looked at the “prince of the eunuchs” as a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is the prince of the eunuchs that will take away the king’s meat and drink and replace it with pulse and water and at the end of our last study I mentioned that “pulse” identifies with the Latter Rain, so I would like to continue to look at that right now. Again, Daniel had said, in Daniel 1:12: “Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.” Later on, we will look more closely at the word “pulse,” but for now let us look at Psalm 26:2:

Examine me, O JEHOVAH, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.

This is a Psalm of David and David is a type of Christ, but we also know that David was a true child of God that is making request of God to examine him and “prove” him. He is asking Him to prove His servant, just as Daniel is requesting Melzar to prove his servants. The word “prove” is a word that means to “try” or “test.” The problem here is that Daniel had made request that he and his three friends not be required to eat or drink the food that King Nebuchadnezzar had determined they were to eat and drink. Daniel is asking him to take that food away and give him pulse and water, but the prince of the eunuchs is fearful to do that and he says in Daniel 1:10: “I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king.” He was afraid that he would be killed if the king found out that he had replaced the diet the king required and he thought the king might find this out if their faces were found to be in “worse liking” after the 10 days. The term “worse liking” is translated as “sad” in another place. If they did not look well or glad or rejoicing, then he said it would endanger his head to the king.

So, Daniel is saying, “Prove thy servants.” In other words, he is saying, “Test us. Give us water and pulse and after 10 days you can look at us and see whether we are looking sad or ill or unhealthy.” If at the end of the 10-day test, if they did appear unhealthy or sorrowful in any way, you can be sure Melzar would have insisted they eat the king’s meat and the king’s drink. He would have said, “There are no more questions about it. We did the test and you failed, so you must do this.” Then Daniel and his friends would have refused and, more than likely, they would have been killed, but Daniel and his friends trust that God will help them and He will cause them to have a rejoicing countenance and they will be healthy looking and they would pass the test. So this is what Daniel is asking when he says to the prince of the eunuchs: “Prove thy servants, I beseech thee.” Notice the language that indicates that God’s people approach God by beseeching Him – they cry out and make supplication. Do you see how it fits with Daniel beseeching the prince of the eunuchs, a type and figure of the Lord Jesus?

Again, it says in Daniel 1:12:

Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.

We understand the spiritual significance of the “water.” It relates to the Gospel. It is the water of the Word of God, the truth of the Scriptures. That is a very clear typology and we have no problem with that, but what is “pulse”? The Hebrew word translated as “pulse” is Strong’s #2235 and it would be pronounced “zay-ro-ah.” There are related words: Strong’s #2232 and Strong’s #2333 and Strong’s #2334. Actually, each one of these words in the concordance are all identical in their consonant form; they have three Hebrew letters that are identical. What sets them apart is only the vowel pointing, which was not part of the original Hebrew text. God did not inspire the vowel points, but they were added later, so these four words are identical and Strong’s #2232, #2233 and #2234 are translated as the word “seed.” Strong’s #2232 is also translated as “bear,” “conceive seed,” “set with,” “sow,” “sower” or “yield.” Strong’s # 2233 can be translated as “seed,” “seedtime” and “sowing time.” Strong’s #2234 is translated as “seed.” So, consistently, it is a word translated as “seed,” as it is in Genesis 1:29:

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed…

It is also the word used in Psalm 126:5-6:

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

In these two verses, the word “sow” is Strong’s #2232 and the word “seed” is Strong’s #2233. Again, these are identical to the Hebrew word translated as “pulse,” as far as the consonants are concerned. The vowel points are different, but they are identical words, so we can see that “pulse” means “seed” or that which comes forth from “seed.”

It says in Isaiah 55:10-11:

For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Here, God is referring to rain and snow and the water that causes the earth to produce seed to the sower and bread to the eater, but then He relates it all to His Word. We know that in God’s Gospel program He speaks of the sending forth of His Word into the world in the framework of “times and seasons” of sowing seed. He speaks of the former rain and Jesus is called the firstfruits. Then he speaks of the early rain that produced the firstfruits and that identified with the church age. Then He speaks of the Latter Rain that brings in the final harvest of the great multitude that was saved during the Great Tribulation period. Consistently, throughout the Scriptures, God lays out a Gospel program of sending rains in their proper seasons to produce the crop and the seed would grow, and so forth.

So, Daniel and his friends are in Babylon and we know that they are there because Judah had been conquered and God had given up His people, the Jews, into the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. It is all an historical figure that points to the time of the end when God would give up the churches and brings the churches of the world into judgment and turn them over to Satan. In the same “little season” of the Great Tribulation during the second half of the Great Tribulation, God worked out the program of sending forth the Latter Rain. It is what we read about in Joel 2:23-24:

Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in JEHOVAH your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.

The rains would produce their harvest. There would be wheat and wine and oil. There would be plentiful food that would come as a result of the rain and there would be “seed” for food. The seed would provide “pulse.” The “pulse” is that which comes from seed, whether it be vegetables or fruit. It is naturally good food. Even today when people want to eat healthy they turn to that which grows from seed. We eat produce from plants, like vegetables and fruit. If you tell someone, “I have changed my diet and I am eating more natural grains and more fruits and vegetables,” they will respond, “You are eating healthy.” That is true in the natural realm and it is true spiritually because what Daniel is saying to the prince of the eunuchs is that he is desiring to eat that which is coming forth from the Latter Rain. It was the rain that fell during the Great Tribulation outside of the churches and congregations. No Latter Rain fell in the churches. There was not a drop of the Latter Rain that penetrated into the churches of any nation or of any denomination during the entire season in which the Latter Rain was saturating the earth. The Word of God was covering the nations of the world outside of the churches as the waters cover the sea and, yet, within the churches there was famine and drought. They had no “food” because they had no “rain.”

Babylon is picturing the world outside of the churches. Remember, we spent some time looking at the fact that God spoke of the people of Judah that went into captivity as “good figs” and those that refused to go into captivity as “evil figs.” Those that went into captivity pictured the elect that came out of the churches and went into the world. That is where Daniel and his friends were located. Out in the world is where Satan rules, but God had made provision there for His people by sending forth the rain and the rain would produce a harvest. It would produce a crop and bring forth “seed” for the sower and bread to the eater and this is why Daniel is making request of the prince of the eunuchs. Again, the prince of the eunuchs must be a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ because only God has the power to replace the food of the evil king of Babylon with the food that comes from the rain. It was the last rain. It was the Latter Rain and there would be no more rain fall, spiritually speaking, after that point, so Daniel is making request for himself and his friends: “Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.”

The period Daniel requested as the length of the test was ten days. We know that in the Bible the number “ten” is used to represent “completeness,” spiritually. It is why God speaks in the Psalms of owning the cattle “upon a thousand hills.” We have asked the question before, but it does show what the number “1,000” represents. By the way, “100” or “1,000” or “10,000” are all multiples of “10” and they have the same spiritual meaning. So when God says He owns the cattle upon a thousand hills, is that true? Is it only 1,000 hills or is it the “completeness” of all hills? We know it means all hills or the completeness of all hills. Or, when we read of 10 virgins, 10 coins, 100 sheep or 1,000 years of the binding of Satan, it all points to the “completeness” of whatever is in view. When Christ comes with ten thousands of His saints, it is all His saints, the complete number of the elect. So, it is a very consistent teaching in the Bible that when we see the number “10,” it points to “completeness.”

So, what is the number “10” pointing to when Daniel requests to be proven for ten days? It says in Daniel 1:15:

And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat.

The ten days came and went, but time continued. The experience of these young Hebrew men in Babylon continued even after the ten days, so we know that this could point to the completeness of one particular test within a series of many tests and that idea does fit with what God did during the Great Tribulation period. We know this from our own experience since the Great Tribulation is past; the Great Tribulation began on May 21, 1988 and continued through May 21, 2011, an exact 23-year period or exact 8,400 days. Throughout that time God was testing His people by opening up the Scriptures to reveal doctrine that had previously been sealed. It was truth that had not been properly understood in the history of the church age or even longer. God said to Daniel, “Shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” The Lord removed the seals once we entered into the Great Tribulation in 1988 because that began the end of the world. We have been in the season of the time of the end since then. God opened the Scriptures and began to reveal things from His Word. He has revealed the timeline of the Biblical calendar of history and the timing of the Great Tribulation, and so forth.

Typically, when God reveals something it is a “testing ground” to prove His servants and, perhaps, there is no better example of that than the information concerning the end of the church age. Suddenly, God opened up His Word. We had known for some time that the Gospel light was going out as the churches became increasingly unfaithful, but then it was revealed that it was actually an “end” to the church age and God’s people were commanded to get out of the churches and congregations. They were to depart and never return. This was doctrinal information that God unsealed and opened up to the understanding of His people and it required action. The kind of doctrine God revealed during the Great Tribulation required action. In other words, it was not something where you could just say, “Yes, I understand that the Bible is teaching that,” but then continue to do what you were doing by going to church. If you understood it, then it was necessary to act by leaving the corporate church because God was commanding His people to depart and flee to the mountains, which meant to come out of the churches and go to God’s Word directly. It was an enormous test.

The problem with doctrine is that people can give “assent” to doctrine; they can acknowledge it or they can say, “Yes, I believe it,” but they are only giving intellectual assent to a particular doctrine. But doctrine often comes to the point of proving. For example, someone can give assent to the Sunday Sabbath and acknowledge that they are not to do any work on the Lord’s Day, but they are not tested in this area. Then five years later comes the test when their company wants everyone to work on Sundays. That can happen with any doctrine in the Bible, but oftentimes people hold a doctrine and are not tested on it, but the test about the end of the church age was unavoidable; God was issuing a command to His people to come out of the churches. It was primarily through this test that He would accomplish the separation of the wheat and the tares that had been growing together within the churches and congregations throughout the church age for almost two millennium. But now had come the time of the end and the time to separate the harvest and bring the wheat into His barns, so God used His Word to “prove” all these professed Christians that numbered as many as two billion people: “Are you truly my people? The nature of my people is that they hear my voice and they hearken to my commands and my command is to depart out of your wicked congregations. My Holy Spirit has left the churches and it has been turned over to Satan. You cannot stay there any longer – you must get out.”

The entire Great Tribulation was a test in itself, but here was a particular doctrine that was a “test” within the entirety of the Great Tribulation. Then God would open up another test from the Scriptures in regard to the doctrine of hell and the fact that there was no physical place called “Hell.” Instead, it was the understanding that the eternal punishment of unsaved mankind was annihilation. Annihilation is eternal death. One dies and ceases to be and that person is dead for evermore. That is “hell,” which identifies with death and the grave. That particular doctrine was a proving ground for some that had, perhaps, passed the first test of coming out of the churches, but now they stumble upon this doctrine. That is how the Great Tribulation proceeded, day by day, as a time of testing.

Let us go to a couple of verses in the New Testament. It says in Revelation 2:8-10:

And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

Here, we have some strong similarities between this and what we are reading in Daniel, chapter 1. Daniel is in Babylon under the authority of the king of Babylon. Actually, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are captives in Babylon and captives are prisoners. In the Bible the king of Babylon represents Satan, so in a way they are prisoners of Satan. That is the spiritual picture. In Revelation God says that the devil will cast some of you into prison, “that ye may be tried.” Again, Daniel and his friends are in captivity under King Nebuchadnezzar and they are being “proven,” almost immediately. They are being tried regarding their diets and it is not going to end there because soon there will be greater tests when they are commanded to bow down to the image that King Nebuchadnezzar would set up or they would be cast into a burning, fiery furnace. Their time in Babylon would be a series of severe and grievous trials. In Revelation, we see that the devil will cast some of you into prison that you may be tried.

It should be noted that it sounds like the devil has a great deal of authority and power. He does, but only by the allowance and permissive will of God. Satan was able to overcome the churches and he was able to have his deadly wound healed and he was able to exercise even greater rule in the world than ever before at the time of the end. Since he was able to do these things, it gives the appearance of a very powerful foe that has tremendous authority and, yet, it is all accomplished through the will of God because Christ had bound Satan for a thousand years, the completeness of the church age, but then Christ loosed him in 1988 at the end of the church age. He then went about to wreak havoc on the churches and congregations of the world and to take his seat as the man of sin sitting in the temple and showing himself that he is God. God is the one that gave Satan greater rule over the nations of the world so that sins could multiply and the world could be prepared for the final judgment. Now we are in that time, but it was all done by the allowance of God and, therefore, God is actually the one that brought His people into prison. It was God that commanded His people to come out of the churches and to go into the world where Satan was ruling in a far greater way than he had before. Therefore, the people of God are following the Word of God and they are following the commands of the Scriptures and serving God as they do so, even though it appears that Satan is the one in power and with ultimate authority and he is the one casting them into prison and he is the one “trying” them. And, yet, it is all God’s doing behind the scenes.

It would be good for us to keep in mind what happened when David numbered Israel. It says in 1Chronicles 21:1:

And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

When we look at this verse, we could think, “It is all Satan’s doing. He is the one behind this troubling circumstance.” But, when we look at a parallel Scripture, we read in 2Samuel 24:1:

And again the anger of JEHOVAH was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.

On one hand, it says it was Satan and, on the other hand, it says it was JEHOVAH and that is because God is in control of Satan. God has the power over the devil and He displayed that power at the cross when He bound him for a thousand years, limiting the scope and reach and amount of damage he could do among the nations as the Word of God went forth and God established churches in all the nations of the world, and so forth. At the time of the end, Satan was loosed by God and God knew fully and completely what would occur because it was according to the plan and will of God regarding what Satan would do to the churches. It has all been according to the plan and will of God regarding the tremendous increase of iniquity in the world as the world worshipped the beast and paid homage to Satan as never before through their evil deeds. It is, ultimately, all God’s doing, but Satan is being used by God to accomplish the Lord’s purposes.

This is what is behind this kind of language where it says, “behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days.” First of all, Revelation 2, verse 8 is addressed to the angel of the church at Smyrna and all seven of the addresses to the churches have application to the church age. Satan was active during the church age, going about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He could overcome an individual church or an entire denomination. He could deceive and he was sowing tares among the wheat during the entire church age, so, to a degree, there was this kind of testing going on in various places. We can understand it that way, but it also says, “Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison,” and it is a future tense and it is what did happen once the church age ended during the time of the Great Tribulation. There was a time of testing and the ten days points to the completeness of the trial. Notice that God says, “be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” We will see that Daniel and his three friends determined to be faithful to God even unto death as they refused to bow down to the image, and so forth. Even in our current verses, Daniel and his three friends are risking death and they are placing themselves in extreme danger by refusing to obey the evil and fierce king of Babylon who could kill them in a second and not even think twice about it. Yet, they are seeking to do the will of God. It should be noticed by us that God does bless them as they are proven in this way.

Notice that it says in Daniel 1:13-14:

Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days.

He consented to them in this matter and proved them ten days. Verse 14 reveals that the prince of the eunuch is a type of Christ because the word “consented” is the Hebrew word, Strong’s #8085, which is often translated as “hearkened.” He hearkened unto them. The word “matter” is the word “debar,” Strong’s #1697, which is the typical Hebrew word for “word,” as in the Word of God, so he hearkened to them in this Word of God and then he proved then ten days. The prince of the eunuchs hearkened to them and this is what God says about someone that hearkens to the Word, in Proverbs 12:15:

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.

So, the prince of the eunuchs hearkened unto the counsel or the Word, showing himself to be wise and, of course, Jesus is the essence of wisdom. He proves them ten days and then it says in Daniel 1:15:

And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat.

Their faces appeared fairer and fatter and, as a result, it says in Daniel 1:16:

Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse.

They are eating and drinking of the Latter Rain. They are being spiritually fed during the Great Tribulation, as they are in the Babylon of this world. And not only are they being fed, but they are being fed well. Their countenances are fairer and fatter than all the other children that were partaking of the things of the world and are not enjoying the blessing of the Latter Rain.

So, here, God is again emphasizing that He will nourish and cherish His people during the time of the Latter Rain when they trust Him and when they are faithful unto death and follow the way of the Word of God.

The word “fatter” is a word that we find 13 times in the Old Testament. In Genesis, chapter 41 it is found six times out of those 13 times. It says of Pharaoh’s dream, in Genesis 41:2:

And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow.

It says in Genesis 41:4:

And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke.

Then it says in Genesis 41:5:

And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good.

The word “rank” is the word for “fat.” Then it says in Genesis 41:7:

And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream.

It is found a couple more times in verses 16 and 20. So, six out of 13 times the word “fat” or “fatter” is found here in Genesis 41 regarding the dreams of Pharaoh. They were the dreams that Joseph will be given understanding to interpret. The dreams speak of seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. That is the interpretation and then God further interprets the seven years of famine in Acts, chapter 7, verse 11, by calling it “great affliction.” These are the two Greek words “megas-thlipsis” that are translated as “great tribulation” in Mathew, chapter 24, so the seven years of famine we correctly understand to typify the Great Tribulation period, so we have a tie-in with this word “fatter” being used of Daniel and his friends, where it says their faces were fairer and fatter. They were in a period that identifies with the Great Tribulation, just as we see in Genesis 41, where the seven kine and the seven ears of corn are “fat.”

By the way the word “fairer” is also used several times in Genesis, chapter 41. It is the word that is used in Genesis 41:5:

And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good.

The word “good” is that word translated as “fairer.”

Also, it says in Genesis 41:22:

And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good:

Then it says in Genesis 41:24:

And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears…

The word “good” is the word “fairer,” so we have both the words “fairer” and “fatter” in regard to this harvest that God will use to relate to the Great Tribulation. Not only that, but Joseph says to Pharaoh, in Genesis 41:33-36:

Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine.

This is exactly what happened, as it says in Genesis 41:47-49:

And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls. And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same. And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number.

Then when the days of famine came, they opened these storehouses to sell corn to the Egyptians. Later Jacob would hear that there was corn in Egypt and it started the migration from Canaan by the family of Jacob into Egypt. Finally, they came to Egypt and Joseph revealed himself and nourished them during the second part of the great affliction or Great Tribulation. Jacob and his family are fed by this corn portrayed in Pharaoh’s dream as “fat” and “fair.” They were kept alive and fed by this corn. In other words, the seven years of plenty that God provided historically identifies with the Scriptures that would be unsealed and would be the means the Lord used to bless His people with spiritual food during the famine of the Great Tribulation. They would be fed from heaven above by the Lord’s opening of the Scriptures, the storehouse where spiritual grain had been stored unto that time. Daniel and his friends are said to have countenances that appeared “fairer” and “fatter” and God is using the same two words that refer to the bountiful harvest that would be given to the people of God at the most needful point of the famine of the Great Tribulation. This is further confirmation that in this part of the Book of Daniel, Daniel is speaking of the Great Tribulation and it speaks of the second part of the Great Tribulation when God’s people left the churches and went out into the world.

While things were not “rosy and carefree” in the world and it was very trying and difficult with much danger, yet, God gives His people a heart to trust in Him and a heart that desires to do His commandments. As the Spirit of God leads His people into obedience, then God blesses them with the Latter Rain and they are well fed. It is not that they have just enough to get by, but they have an abundance of spiritual food. They have all the spiritual nourishment that is necessary, so much so that their countenances appear “fairer” and “fatter” in flesh than all the children that did eat the portion of the king’s meat; the latter would refer to the all those professed Christians in the churches that are eating the portion of the king of Babylon’s meat and all those outside the churches that are not following the Bible. God’s people are satisfied with the proper food that is the healthiest for them. Their souls are prospering.