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Daniel and His Friends
1 In the third year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia attacked Jerusalem. 2 The Lord let Nebuchadnezzar capture Jehoiakim and take away some of the things used in God's temple. And when the king returned to Babylonia, he put these things in the temple of his own god.
3One day the king ordered Ashpenaz, his highest palace official, to choose some young men from the royal family of Judah and from other leading Jewish families. 4The king said, “They must be healthy, handsome, smart, wise, educated, and fit to serve in the royal palace. Teach them how to speak and write our language 5and give them the same food and wine that I am served. Train them for three years, and then they can become court officials.”
6Four of the young Jews chosen were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, all from the tribe of Judah. 7But the king's chief official gave them Babylonian names: Daniel became Belteshazzar, Hananiah became Shadrach, Mishael became Meshach, and Azariah became Abednego.
8Daniel made up his mind to eat and drink only what God had approved for his people to eat. And he asked the king's chief official for permission not to eat the food and wine served in the royal palace. 9God had made the official friendly and kind to Daniel. 10But the man still told him, “The king has decided what you must eat and drink. And I am afraid he will kill me, if you eat something else and end up looking worse than the other young men.”
11The king's official had put a guard in charge of Daniel and his three friends. So Daniel said to the guard, 12“For the next ten days, let us have only vegetables and water at mealtime. 13When the ten days are up, compare how we look with the other young men, and decide what to do with us.” 14The guard agreed to do what Daniel had asked.
15Ten days later, Daniel and his friends looked healthier and better than the young men who had been served food from the royal palace. 16After this, the guard let them eat vegetables instead of the rich food and wine.
17God made the four young men smart and wise. They read a lot of books and became well educated. Daniel could also tell the meaning of dreams and visions.
18At the end of the three-year period set by King Nebuchadnezzar, his chief palace official brought all the young men to him. 19The king interviewed them and discovered that none of the others were as outstanding as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they were given positions in the royal court. 20From then on, whenever the king asked for advice, he found their wisdom was ten times better than that of any of his other advisors and magicians. 21Daniel served there until the first year of King Cyrus.
Reflect
What happens when the bottom falls out of your world? Where do you start when everything that gave you your meaning and identity is taken from you and the past is brought to a crashing full stop? The fall of Jerusalem, the sacking of the Temple and exile create the setting for this remarkable book. For Daniel and his friends, all that is familiar is taken from them. One truth remains, though the facts seem to deny it – the Lord reigns. This is the story of how God used the faith of a few to demonstrate his faithfulness and fulfill his purpose.
Daniel was probably a teenager when selected for training in the Babylonian civil service. He was given a new name, a fresh education and immersion in a different culture. All this Daniel and his friends went along with, but there was a sticking point and it was over diet. It seems so trivial compared to the total makeover he was experiencing, but this was the issue over which he would not compromise (v 8).
Why refuse the king’s meat? Was it because it was ritually unclean or not kosher? Or was it that sharing the king’s food tacitly meant sharing the king’s values, and this he would not do? His loyalty was to God. God’s judgment, not Nebuchadnezzar’s military strength, had delivered Jerusalem to the Babylonians (vv 1,2). God was still calling his people back to their former allegiance. Politely but firmly, offering a trial to protect their supervisor, they trusted that God would honour this stand – and of course he did! Physically they thrived on their new diet, which became the norm. Educationally they shone and graduated with first-class honours. Spiritually they were in the right place to be used by God.
Respond
Lord, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, be with me as you have promised and as you were with Daniel. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.
First used in Encounter with God, July to September 2015, written by Colin Sinclair, copyright Scripture Union. Used with kind permission.
Colin Sinclair
Colin Sinclair is a Church of Scotland Minister serving a congregation in the centre of Edinburgh. He is married to Ruth and they have four adult children and three grandchildren. Colin served on the SU staff in Zambia 1974-77 and as General Director SU Scotland 1988-96 and is currently the chair of the SU International Council and Executive. Colin and Ruth led SU holidays together for many years. Publications: “The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Bible”; has contributed regularly to Encounter with God/ Wordlive for the last decade.