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4-25-14. Daniel 1:1-21. DANIEL’S RESOLUTION- daily devotional

4-25-14. Daniel 1:1-21. DANIEL’S RESOLUTION- daily devotional

daniel

 Daniel 1:1-21                                                            Kevin E. Jesmer                                                       4-25-14

“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.” (8) (ESV)

Dear Lord heavenly Father, thank you for helping me to get back into your word. I spent some time, getting other things done, that also involved your word, but I sure missed regular daily devotional meditations. I thank you for this opportunity to study Daniel. Open my eyes to see the depth of insight into your word. Please help me to grow spiritually and help me to taste the peace and joy and fulfillment that comes from communing with you. I pray all these things in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Part 1: A New Life In Babylon (1-7).

Daniel and his people were living in exile in a foreign land. Look at verses 1-7, “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. 3 Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, 4 youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. 5 The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. 6 Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. 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.”

The Israelites experienced the uttermost humiliation when they were taken captive by the Gentile Babylonians. It was the direct result of the Lord’s judgment on their sin, particularly of their persistent idol worship. They were taken from their homes, their land and their people. They were forced to study the Babylonian culture and language and eat Babylonian royal court food. They were forced to even change their names. Then they were being groomed to be part of the Babylonia government so that they can help control a conquered people. It was an attempt at cultural genocide. It was humiliating as a people. But we will see that all the attempts of the Babylonian to “kill the inner Israelite” was in vain.

 

But the Lord did not forget about them or leave them; he was with them in their time of exile. Nebuchadnezzar was the strongest king in his time, but the Lord is the ruler. He would use this time to raise four young men from Judah to display his sovereign glory at the very time of their greatest humiliation and the Babylonians’ greatest power. Daniel and his friends only became stronger in faith and identity and spiritual maturity and inner power bringing glory to God.

 

I can learn here, that when one is in the Lord, and their identity is in the Lord, nothing can stop the God’s work in that person’s life. God’s will, will be done. God’s people are growing and maturing each and every day, no matter what the circumstance. “Whatever doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger”. In a sense this saying is true for the people of God. But for God’s people, even death makes you stronger because of the Resurrection.

 

I know one lady who was unemployed. She had a hard time getting a job. She had about 40 interview events. She was tempted to give up. The devil was trying to get her to change her name to “despairing unemployed one.” But eventually she finally got a job that was spot on for her career. She kept her faith through the process and prayed and kept trying. She overcame and is much better person for it. Her hardships made her stronger in her inner person.

 

I know that that Native people in Canada went through a similar experience with their ResidentialSchool history. An attempt was made to strip them of their cultural identity. They were forced to learn the ways of the dominant culture, dressing different, speaking another language and even getting their names changed. In this passage I can see that there is a way to overcome such an injustice. The only way to overcome is to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ and remain strong in faith in God, the Creator and the Sovereign Lord. When we do it is possible to come out of such a terrible situation stronger than ever before, like Daniel and his friends did.

 

In some way, all believers are living in exile in a foreign land. This world is not our home. The Kingdom of God is our home. We are constantly being forced to forget about our identity as children of God. We are being forced to live according to the constitution of this word, rather than the constitution of the kingdom of God. We are forced to change our names from “Child of God” to hedonist, greedy one, lustful one etc. The devil wants to indoctrinate us into being foot soldiers in his army. But we need to be like Daniel and his friends and stand firm in our faith to remain in the Lord and surely we can grow strong in faith no matter what the devil decides to throw at us. We can shine like stars in the sky.

 

Part 2: A Resolution (8-21).

 

In order to do so takes a resolution, or an inner decision. Verses 8-21 read, “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. 9 And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, 10 and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” 11 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” 14 So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food. 16 So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. 17 As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. 18 At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. 20 And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. 21 And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.”

 

Daniel made a dietary decision not to eat the food provided by the king, but to eat only food according to the word of God. To Daniel God was living in spite of their situation as captives in exile. His decision put his future at risk, along with his fellow Israelites and even the chief official appointed over them. It looked like a small decision, but it was the testimony that God is living and was with them in their exile. Daniel resolved to seek this God, who is sovereign over all things, yet with his people in their time of exile.

 

I can see here the secret to overcoming. It does not take some superhuman effort. It does not require a grandiose decision. It takes a simple decision, based on our faith in God. We can make some resolution that will help us to keep our identity as Christians. It can be small, like refusing to eat the “Babylonian food”. It can also involve trying one’s best to study well for the glory of God so that God can use it in the future.

Sometimes we feel overwhelmed by the world. We feel smothered. It is more than enough for us to barely survive spiritually, let alone keep our Christian identity. But there is something within our grasp. It is to make a small decision to stand up as one of God’s holy people. God will honor such a decision. These decisions can be renewed and they need to be renewed because we fall. But God is there to help us up. May we never fall into such despair that we fail to make a decision to honor God with our lives.

How can I keep my identity as a Christian in this world? Based on this passage, we can resolve to not be corrupted by the things of this world and resolve to allow our hearts to consume things that are pleasing to the Lord. We can resolve to study hard and well so that we can bring glory to God in our lives and God can use our studies to serve him in the future. I guess that this is the time to find some way to resolve to do something to remain in the Lord.  One way to do this for me is renew my decision to write daily devotionals and be faithful to studying the Bible with the few people that God has brought into my life. I can resolve to pray daily. These would all be beneficial and I am sure that God will bless. Basically such a decision would involve applying Matthew 6:33 in my life, which reads, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (ESV)

 

When we seek God, like Daniel and his friends did, we will be strengthened in every way, in our spirit, physically and in our influence in the world. I see it over and over again. Christians, who are struggling to glorify God, are being raised up as leaders in all strata of this world. God is working through them .God is revealing himself through them. They are continually being made strong in the grace of God.

When I see Christian kids giving themselves over to the dominant culture and making very few, if any, decisions of faith to stand up as Children of the God, my hearts sinks. Their minds seem to be locked on twitter feeds and trying to be “cool” and accepted. They give their hearts to things that bring them glory rather than what brings glory to God. They melt into the world so that they are indistinguishable from unbelievers. My heart sinks. Who will stand up and dare to be a Daniel?

Lord, help our people to make small decisions like Daniel. Raise them up to be lights in a dark world. Help me to see your presence and testify to your name in every situation.

One Word: Daniel resolved not to defile himself




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