Word: Daniel 1 (abridged)(NLT)
3 Then the king ordered his chief of staff to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives. 4 “Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. “Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good judgment, and are suited to serve in the royal palace. Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon.” 5 The king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for three years, and then they would enter the royal service.
8 But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods. 9 Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel. 10 But he responded, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded.”
11 Daniel spoke with the attendant …12 “Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said. 13 “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.” 14 The attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days.
15 At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king. 16 So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the food and wine provided for the others.
17 God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams.
18 When the training period ordered by the king was completed, the chief of staff brought all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and no one impressed him as much as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the royal service.20 Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.
Babylon was not a nation that recognized the King of All Nations. I find it hopeful that God cared enough even about this godless nation that he blessed it with these four excellent representatives, who delivered wisdom and balanced judgment to the unbelieving king. I find it hopeful because perhaps God will bless our unbelieving leaders/nation with men and women who are so faithful to the King wherever they find themselves, that they will be a blessing to even national leaders and a nation who has lost its way.
Daniel and his friends were raised to high positions in the country, so high in fact as to incur the jealousy of other government servants who could not understand how they could be for their new king and country and still faithfully true to the King of All Nations.
Don’t you wish we could elect at any level people like Daniel and his friends? They were young men, well-educated, gifted in every branch of learning, and with good judgment. They did not compromise their moral values, but they did not picket the government’s food service; rather, they found a way to please both their King and the nation’s king.
Because of their faithfulness, God rewarded them—not with a new and better king, but with greater wisdom and understanding—and with greater position in the government of the godless king.
Daniel served his entire life in this godless nation, under multiple kings—and for his entire life, he humbly and effectively served both the king and The King.
Our nation needs such servants!
Prayer: Lord, show us the Daniels among us, those who are brilliant and wise and who exercise amazing judgment in our complex world, and who want to serve both you and the nation, even if they never get close to the Oval Office. Raise up more men and women, O Lord, who will not compromise their commitment to You, but who are wise and intelligent enough to work within the government even as it is now. We believe these kinds of people will bring blessings to a nation that is forgetting who is King. Amen
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