Daniel 1:7-8 - New Identity

Daniel 1:7-8 (ESV)

[7] And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

[8] But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.

 Babylon gave Daniel and his friends new identities. Daniel means God is my judge. Daniel’s Babylonian name is either a reference to the king or to the god Bel. Hananiah means God has favored. The meaning of his Babylonian name, Shadrach, is uncertain. Mishael’s name means who is what God is, or who is like God. His Babylonian name, Meshach, is likely related to the Babylonian moon god. Azariah’s name means Jehovah (YHWH) has helped. His new name, Abednego, means servant of Nebo (god).

By renaming these four young men the Babylonians had two goals. First, they wanted to remove their previous identity and allegiance. Second, they wanted to create a new, Babylonian identity, thus creating allegiance to Babylon. Our identity, how we see ourselves, affects how we see our world as well. In an episode of the TV show Andy Griffith, Andy’s buddy Barney is drinking punch at a party. Barney’s heart has just been broken by an old girlfriend who is now married. As he is drinking the punch his speech gets slurred and he appears to be getting drunk. Andy says to him, “If you are trying to get drunk you won’t get it from the punch. There is no alcohol in it.” Barney’s speech immediately clears and it is obvious that he is not drunk. In just thinking that he was drinking something alcoholic he began to act as though he was drunk. That may not be realistic, but it illustrates a great truth. How we think of ourselves affects how we act.

When we think of ourselves as sinners we make excuses for our sin. “I couldn’t help myself.” When we think of ourselves as saints, holy ones, we realize that we do not have to live in a manner contrary to the nature, character, and purpose of God. As believers in Jesus Christ our identity is Christ. Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” I am in Christ and Christ is in me. Christ is my new Identity. When Daniel was taken to Babylon they tried to change his identity to Babylonian. No matter what they called him, Daniel knew his true identity. When a person comes to faith in Christ they have a new identity. They move from worldly to Christian, identified with Christ. They move from being sinner to being saint. Their identity is not determined by what they do, but by Christ himself. We are given a new identity.

The world may call Christians hypocrites, uncaring, unloving, even evil. Don’t listen to the lies. Our identity is Christ. We are new creations in Christ. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Cor 5:17). As new creations in Christ we are called to live as citizens of Heaven serving as ambassadors of Heaven in a foreign land (see 2 Cor 5:20). We are to be a blessing to those around us, seek their good, live a Heavenly life in an earthly realm, represent God to men, and let them see Jesus in us. May it be so.