After the fall of Jerusalem to king Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C., the king ordered that the elite youths of Judah be gathered and taken back to Babylon. Four young men chosen, along with a number of others that are not named, were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. Upon returning to Babylon, the young men were put on the king’s diet, to which the four young men refused. Daniel, the spokesman for the four, bargained with the captors to let them have their own diet. (Now the diet of the king was not in itself harmful to the four, for the king ate the same meals, but that which made up the diet went against their dietary laws set forth by the Mosaic Law.) The deal that Daniel makes involves the four eating nothing but vegetables, and drinking nothing but water.
So after ten days, Daniel and his friends stood in front of their captors with all the other young men taken from Jerusalem. The captors could not believe their eyes when they noticed the visible difference between Daniel and his friends and the other young men.
So what’s the big deal about this passage? Is it, “Should God’s people only eat vegetables and drink water, forsaking other food and wine?” NO! If we only see the material facts of the story it would be easy to come to the conclusion that Daniel’s diet is the focus of this passage. But Daniel’s diet is merely a demonstration of something greater. The author uses the material object of food to communicate a bigger picture.
So, what is the focus of this passage of Scripture? It’s Daniel’s decision! Look at what it says in v.8, “But Daniel resolvedthat he would not defile himself…” Daniel made a decision that, no matter what, he would not defile himself. We can ascertain from the text that he was a faithful Jewish young man, along with his friends, and that they rightfully obeyed the Law of Moses in practice. This is why they were chosen from among all the young men of Jerusalem when it was captured.
Daniel’s decision that he would not defile himself displays where his heart truly lay. Daniel’s heart was fully persuaded to be faithful to God and trust Him in any situation.We see that, because of his decision to trust God and His law, Daniel and his friends excelled over their peers. Trusting God is not merely words in which one says, it involves the actions in which one does. Daniel and his friends were fully persuaded that God would take care of them, no matter what they would face.
So my question for you today is, “Are you fully persuaded that God will take care of you, no matter what life throws at you?” For some this question may seem easy to answer because you are in a good place right now. But, what if you were in a situation like Daniel’s? What about when things are not good; or, things don’t seem to be going your way? What if you are in a place in which you have never been, and you are scared? What if something/someone you love is taken away from you? How would you answer the question if you are in the darkest place you’ve ever been? That is where Daniel and his friends were, in a place that seemed hopeless…hopeless to everyone, accept those who were fully persuaded that God was still with them, guiding their way.
The difference that may be present between you and these four young men, is the reality that you are not fully persuaded God will take care of you. The enemy wants us to think that God is distant and disengaged from whatever situation we are encountering, and that He doesn’t really care about what’s going on. Those are lies! God cares more about you than you do. God cares about things that we may think insignificant. Look! God cared about a diet plan for four young men in a foreign land! God could have easily given the four super-ninja skills to defeat the enemy and recapture His people from exile, but He chose to work through a diet plan. All I’m saying is this, “God knows, God’s present, and God cares!” All this is waiting to be visible in your life!
