Old Testament Reading – Daniel 2:28-45
New Testament Reading – Revelation 11:15-18
“Dare To Be a Daniel”
Daniel 1:1-18
Wayne J. Edwards, Pastor
In 605 B.C., God allowed the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, to siege the city of Jerusalem and take some of the people back to Babylon, including about 70 young men, who were of royal seed, the sons of nobles, and the princes of Judah; young boys who served in the courts of Judah, who were around 14 years old.
- Among those were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who were chosen because of their good looks, keen intellect, and social graces, who were to be groomed to serve in the court of Babylonian as they had served in the court of Judah.
- The plan was to brainwash these boys by eliminating their thoughts of their homeland, their Jewish families, their Jewish heritage, and their worship of the Jewish God, by:
- Reeducating them in the Babylonian culture.
- Renaming them with Babylonian names to disassociate them from their Jewish culture.
- Reorienting them in the Chaldean lifestyle, including polytheism.
If the plan worked, the King of Babylon would have the best and brightest of the Jews serving in his court, and the young men would be promised fame and fortune for their service to the King.
- While Daniel and his friends did not resist their first two goals, for there was no biblical mandate against those efforts, they did refuse to eat the King’s food because there was a clear mandate against eating foods which were not approved in their Jewish dietary laws, or food that had been offered to idols.
- These young men did not fear being educated in the Babylonian culture because they had been trained to filter every thought through their knowledge of the Word of God.
- However, had they disobeyed God and adopted the Chaldean lifestyle, including eating the King’s food, they would have fallen victim to the Babylonian reeducation process and would have compromised the Word of God in other areas.
- So, even while facing pressures from his captors and promises of pride and pleasures from the King, Daniel had the resolve to say:
“I have purposed in my heart that I will not defile myself in any way.”
- They could change his name and challenge his brain, but Daniel was so anchored to the Word of God, which had been instilled in him by his parents and his teachers in the temple, he would not compromise his convictions, even under the threat of his death.
1. An Unabashed Boldness – Vs. 8a – “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank.”
- Under Jewish Law, anyone who ate foods that had been offered to idols or foods that were not cooked according to Jewish dietary laws, were considered defiled or ceremonially unclean, and had to go through a specific process of rituals, baths, and internal body cleansings to become undefiled.
- Therefore, rather than offer a weak, spineless, emotionally-based reason for his defiance of the King’s orders, God gave Daniel and his three friends a holy boldness to stand before those in authority and declare their convictions, which they would not compromise, even under the threat of death.
2. An Uncommon Standard – Vs. 8b – “Therefore, he (Daniel) requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. “
- While it was permissible for him to drink “yayin,” a diluted wine served with meals, Daniel wanted to distinguish himself from the drunkards of Babylon by living by a higher standard.
- Proverbs 31:14 – “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, to drink wine.” Since Daniel was a descendant of royalty, he had determined to live a higher standard of life than others.
- Those who choose the highest and the best, those who desire to live in an uncompromising way, will seek a standard of life that is above the rest.
3. An Unearthly Protection – Vs. 9 – “Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs.”
- Proverbs 16:7 – “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”
- God touched Ashpenaz’ heart to show compassion to Daniel, for Daniel was on God’s assignment in Babylon.
- Christians do not have to compromise their convictions to get along with the world, for if our ways please the Lord and if God wants those in authority over us to be kind to us, He will touch their hearts.
4. Unlimited Perseverance – Vs. 10 – “And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king.”
- When the Chief of the Eunuchs refused Daniel’s request to allow him and his friends to eat vegetables and drink water, Daniel did not get angry, or rebellious, or complain, he just trusted God to find another way to achieve his goal, and God did.
- An uncompromising spirit never gives up, gives out, or gives in until every effort has been exhausted.
- Even though he faced the possibility of death if he returned to Jerusalem, the Apostle Paul said he didn’t care what happened to him, as long as he finished the work the Lord Jesus had given to him, which was to get the gospel to the Gentiles.
5. Undaunting Faith – Vs. 11-14 – “So, Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king’s delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants. So, he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days.”
- Daniel asked the steward the Chief of the Eunuchs had placed over them to give them vegetables and water for ten days, and allow the other boys to eat the King’s assigned foods.
- If they looked as healthy as the other boys, they could continue their diet, but if not, the steward could do with them what he had to do. The effectiveness of the test was not measured by the diet, but by their faith in God.
6. Unmeasurable Blessings – Vs. 15-17 – “At the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies. Thus, the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.”
- God honored their uncompromising spirits, and He blessed them with better looking bodies than those who ate the Kings food, and Daniel and his three friends were able to avoid the fleshly life of the Chaldeans for the next three years.
7. Unlimited Influence – Vs. 17-21 – “As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. At the end of the days, when the king had said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar who then interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore, they served before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm. Thus, Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus.”
- God even revealed unto Daniel the balance of human history from 605 B.C., to the return of Jesus Christ to establish His kingdom upon this earth.
