True Identity

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons [children] of God.” (Romans 8:14)

King Nebuchadnezzar besieged Judah and had the princes and children with outstanding features and qualities brought to Babylon. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Once in Babylon, they would learn the Chaldeans’ ways and language in preparation to serve the king (Daniel 1:3, 4). The eunuch in charge of these captives at once changed their names: Daniel to Belteshazzar; Hananiah to Shadrach; Mishael to Meshach; and Azariah to Abednego. Isn’t it interesting that three of the four are most often referred to by their pagan names when mentioning these Bible characters today? The power of indoctrination.

What was the significance of changing their names? Daniel means, “God is my Judge.” His pagan name started with “Bel,” the main god of the Babylonians, Belteshazzar meaning “Bel’s prince.” Hananiah means, “Yahweh has been gracious,” but Shadrach meant a “young friend of the king.” Mishael means, “who is like God?” His pagan name meant “a little sheep.” Azariah’s name means, “Yahweh has helped,” but the name Abednego means “servant of Nego” (a planet they worshipped). Their captors intended to dethrone God from their lives and reprogram their thinking.

The name change and training for the Israelites were all about brainwashing, forgetting their families, homeland, and identity as Jehovah God’s children and meld with their new country, one with many false gods and people who worshiped them. But these four would not blend or compromise. They refused to stop praying to the One True Living God; they refused to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar and his pagan gods. And for that, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were thrown into the fiery furnace. But the king saw “someone who looked like the Son of God” walking amid the flames with them (3:25). They came through the fire unharmed, and the ropes that bound them burned off. There was not even the smell of smoke on them (3:27). Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den but came out unscathed because God sent an angel who shut their mouths (6:22). In both instances, the king declared these four escaped deaths because of faith in their God, who protected them. Their names may have changed, but their identity as God’s obedient servants did not.

You may have walked through the fires of this life, coming through scorched, smelly, with ash clinging to your body. Adversaries may have thrown you into situations where you faced powerful, snarling enemies, and you bear the scars of those battles. The enemy of your soul wants you to lose sight of who you are in Christ. He wants to brainwash you into believing your name is Regret, Failure, Unwanted, but your Father calls you Forgiven, Redeemed, Child of the One True King. Like these young men, reject the lies of this world. Once you surrender your life to God, your identity is secure in Him.