Daniel 1
COMMENTARY:
: 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god. (214 “treasure house” [‘owtsar] means storehouse, cellars, armoury, store, treasury, or magazine of weapons.)
DEVOTION: Every country had its own gods in the time of the children of Israel. Egypt had their gods. Babylon had their gods. There were temples everywhere to worship their own gods. They were false gods.
However, there is a reason for each nation has their personal gods. They wanted to see a god. They made gods out of stone, wood or other material such as silver and gold. Every nation realizes that there is something or someone out there that they should be worshiping.
How do we know that our God is not a false god? One reason is that the Bible tells us so. Another reason is that throughout the years people have tried to prove the Bible false and they were not able to. There are many other reasons but one final reason is that our personal testimony tells us that there is ONE TRUE GOD of the universe. HE has made a difference in our life and in the lives of others around us.
Your faith is going to be challenged regularly. The witness of the Word of God, Creation and others should keep us walking on the right track. Trust in the LORD with all your heart.
CHALLENGE: False gods are all around us and we need to keep ourselves true to the ONLY TRUE God of the universe.
: 4 Children in whom was no blemish, but well-favored, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. (4093 “science” [madda] means knowledge, thought, mind, information with a focus on skill and wisdom with that data, intelligence or place of knowledge.)
DEVOTION: When the Babylonians took the children of Israel into captivity, the first ones taken were the best of the people.
These four individuals that are disclosed in this chapter were just a sampling of the ones that were taken. The captives had to pass seven tests in order to go before the king. These testing took place over a period of three years.
Daniel purposed in his heart to not defile himself with the food and drink of the king. The LORD honored his choice of food. Daniel had a special gift from the LORD: understanding in all visions and dreams.
In this verse we have the seven characteristics of those who would be able to stand before the king of Babylon. One of the tests was the ability to understand logical thinking. They had to look at data and come to a conclusion regarding the data. They would have been computer whizzes. He had to look at the world and find the truth regarding the facts of creation. All truth is God’s truth.
God endowed these four individuals with the truth regarding the facts of life. They had a Biblical worldview. It is thought that they were only teenagers at the time.
We need to understand that the LORD can give us all this wisdom if we ask HIM for it in a given situation. With the help of the LORD we can handle all the situations HE sends our way. We might not be a Daniel or one of his friends but we still have the LORD available for our responsibilities in life. We can have faith that could give us strength in a fiery furnace or a lion’s den.
We have not because we ask not. We have not because we have not given ourselves wholly to the LORD!!! Daniel trusted the LORD in all that he did.
CHALLENGE: We should use our brain to be the best we can be for the LORD. HE will give us heavenly wisdom if we ask HIM. When was the last time you asked the LORD for heavenly wisdom or Godly wisdom?
: 8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. (7760 “purposed” [suwm] means appoint, set up, consider, ordain, direct toward, or determine.)
DEVOTION: Our inner life is more important than our outer life. We can fake people out with the way we act or talk. The LORD looks at the heart and there is no faking HIM out.
Daniel was a unique young man. It is thought that he was only a teenager when he was taken by Nebuchadnezzar. Even at a young age his parents had taught him the basics of his faith.
One of the basics was what he should eat and drink as a young man. He didn’t want disobey the LORD by the way he ate. He received favor with his captor. He proposed a test and he and his friends passed the test.
We have to know what habits we are supposed to have as we serve the LORD. We should stay true to those habits or characteristics. If our life is pleasing to the LORD, HE will take care of us in any situation.
CHALLENGE: Know what the LORD expects of you and purpose to do it with all your heart.
: 12 Prove your servants, I beseech you, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. (5254 “prove” [nacah] means to venture, to put someone to the test, to give experience, to put to the test in order to ascertain the nature of something, including imperfections, faults, or other qualities.)
DEVOTION: Here we find three of the children of Israel in captivity not eating what the rest of the captives are eating. They wanted to honor the LORD with their eating habits while others didn’t seem to care.
So we find that they challenged the eunuch to a test to prove that they could still look even better than those who were eating the king of Babylon’s portions that were dedicated to his false god.
We know that they did prove themselves with the help of the LORD. We will find times in our lives that we will have to act differently even from others who claim to be believers. It is a test and we need to honor the LORD with all of our habits.
CHALLENGE: While watching others who claim to be believers doing things that are not pleasing to the LORD do we wish we were doing them or are we willing to prove the LORD faithful by not doing things that are displeasing in HIS sight?
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