ASSASSIN
04-12-2008, 09:26 PM
HOLDING TO CONVICTIONS -
Daniel 1:8-20
BACKGROUND:
Today’s lesson dates some 25-30 years after last week’s lesson. The scene has changed from Jerusalem to Babylon . The Southern Kingdom has been toppled by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon , and the deportations of able-bodied Jews from Judah to Babylon are under way. This was done during the third year (or was it the fourth?) of the reign of King Jehoiakim at Judah (cf. Jeremiah 46:2). Also during the deportation a special directive came from Nebuchadnezzar to his chief eunuch, Ashpenaz: bring a certain number of boys of royal or noble descent from Judah to Babylon for a special project. They should have no physical defect, be well informed and discerning, and suitable for service at the king’s royal court. They were to receive a three-year education and grooming regimen before being brought to the king for approval...
Here is a concerted effort to mould some young boys (they were reportedly between the ages of 10 and 20) into obedient servants under a strange culture and religion. Of course, they would obviously have to abandon any “home” training they got back in Jerusalem and be prepared to worship other gods. But what could anyone expect? They were not yet at the age of maturity (e.g. the Jewish priest would not be pressed into duty prior to age 30), and they had probably been separated from their parents. Surely, this would not be a difficult task for the king and his eunuchs...
FAITHFULNESS TO GOD (Daniel 1:8-13)
The young men were divided into groups of four. Here in today’s lesson we will focus on a single group of four, headed by Daniel. Once the “plan” was clear, it was decision time. Here was what many in societies like ours today would call a “golden opportunity”. This was the once-in-a-lifetime chance to sit on a regular basis at the king’s table and eat the king’s food. Surely, this was the best food that the entire country had to offer! Besides all that, it would do wonders for one’s self-esteem. These young captives would be rubbing shoulders with the king and his closest associates. Just who would object to this kind of treatment? And who would dare squander an opportunity to live the rest of one’s life in the king’s court?
But Daniel and his associates Hananiah, Misha-el, and Azariah, all stood their ground. Daniel was polite but firm: he didn’t want to “defile” himself with the king’s meat. And just what did Daniel mean by that? A number of possibilities present themselves. First, there is the way the meat is prepared (cf. Deuteronomy 12:15, 16). Then there was the question of under what circumstances the meat was served. It would appear that the meat was first offered to the Babylonian idols, then eaten immediately afterward. This to Daniel probably constituted idolatry. Then there was also a possible concern about what KIND of meat was being prepared. Certain meats were forbidden to Jews (Leviticus 11), and it is not clear whether similar convictions prevailed among the Babylonians...
This “request” on the part of Daniel might well have constituted an insult to the king, but “…God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs..”. Even in captivity in strange lands, God still has control. Because of God’s Hand, the “request” was looked upon favorably: this despite the fact that the prince of the eunuchs admitted being afraid of the king, and was terrified at the prospect of making a mistake. But Daniel made an unusual request for him and his three friends (they are better known by their Babylonian names: Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego): let them all eat vegetables and drink water for a short period of time and take note of the effect. It is interesting that the requested food goes back to man’s early beginnings when God prescribed vegetation only in the Garden of Eden...
There is a lesson in all this: the best food in the world won’t help unless God processes it in our bodies. On the other hand, the simplest of foods can, in God’s Hands, do wonders...
FAITHFULNESS FROM GOD (Daniel 1:14-20)
What can any food, or any drug, do for a person’s countenance in ten days? Probably not much. This is what made the words in verses 14 and 15 even more startling. Those that ate the king’s meat didn’t appear nearly so “healthy” as those who refused to subject themselves to idol worship. But think of the pressure. Everybody (or almost everybody) was following the king. This kind of “peer pressure” is still at work today...
But that is not the whole story. Three years later (verse 18), they are all brought before the king for inspection. Now we don’t know for sure whether the king ever knew that these four young men had despised his meat; we know only that he noticed a difference – a BIG difference – between these vegetarians and the rest of those standing before him...
This is a case in which it HAD to be God at work. How could anyone who attended the same “school” as everyone else be TEN TIMES BETTER than everyone else? These kinds of results should make one proud to be an “outcast” for God....
A
Daniel 1:8-20
BACKGROUND:
Today’s lesson dates some 25-30 years after last week’s lesson. The scene has changed from Jerusalem to Babylon . The Southern Kingdom has been toppled by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon , and the deportations of able-bodied Jews from Judah to Babylon are under way. This was done during the third year (or was it the fourth?) of the reign of King Jehoiakim at Judah (cf. Jeremiah 46:2). Also during the deportation a special directive came from Nebuchadnezzar to his chief eunuch, Ashpenaz: bring a certain number of boys of royal or noble descent from Judah to Babylon for a special project. They should have no physical defect, be well informed and discerning, and suitable for service at the king’s royal court. They were to receive a three-year education and grooming regimen before being brought to the king for approval...
Here is a concerted effort to mould some young boys (they were reportedly between the ages of 10 and 20) into obedient servants under a strange culture and religion. Of course, they would obviously have to abandon any “home” training they got back in Jerusalem and be prepared to worship other gods. But what could anyone expect? They were not yet at the age of maturity (e.g. the Jewish priest would not be pressed into duty prior to age 30), and they had probably been separated from their parents. Surely, this would not be a difficult task for the king and his eunuchs...
FAITHFULNESS TO GOD (Daniel 1:8-13)
The young men were divided into groups of four. Here in today’s lesson we will focus on a single group of four, headed by Daniel. Once the “plan” was clear, it was decision time. Here was what many in societies like ours today would call a “golden opportunity”. This was the once-in-a-lifetime chance to sit on a regular basis at the king’s table and eat the king’s food. Surely, this was the best food that the entire country had to offer! Besides all that, it would do wonders for one’s self-esteem. These young captives would be rubbing shoulders with the king and his closest associates. Just who would object to this kind of treatment? And who would dare squander an opportunity to live the rest of one’s life in the king’s court?
But Daniel and his associates Hananiah, Misha-el, and Azariah, all stood their ground. Daniel was polite but firm: he didn’t want to “defile” himself with the king’s meat. And just what did Daniel mean by that? A number of possibilities present themselves. First, there is the way the meat is prepared (cf. Deuteronomy 12:15, 16). Then there was the question of under what circumstances the meat was served. It would appear that the meat was first offered to the Babylonian idols, then eaten immediately afterward. This to Daniel probably constituted idolatry. Then there was also a possible concern about what KIND of meat was being prepared. Certain meats were forbidden to Jews (Leviticus 11), and it is not clear whether similar convictions prevailed among the Babylonians...
This “request” on the part of Daniel might well have constituted an insult to the king, but “…God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs..”. Even in captivity in strange lands, God still has control. Because of God’s Hand, the “request” was looked upon favorably: this despite the fact that the prince of the eunuchs admitted being afraid of the king, and was terrified at the prospect of making a mistake. But Daniel made an unusual request for him and his three friends (they are better known by their Babylonian names: Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego): let them all eat vegetables and drink water for a short period of time and take note of the effect. It is interesting that the requested food goes back to man’s early beginnings when God prescribed vegetation only in the Garden of Eden...
There is a lesson in all this: the best food in the world won’t help unless God processes it in our bodies. On the other hand, the simplest of foods can, in God’s Hands, do wonders...
FAITHFULNESS FROM GOD (Daniel 1:14-20)
What can any food, or any drug, do for a person’s countenance in ten days? Probably not much. This is what made the words in verses 14 and 15 even more startling. Those that ate the king’s meat didn’t appear nearly so “healthy” as those who refused to subject themselves to idol worship. But think of the pressure. Everybody (or almost everybody) was following the king. This kind of “peer pressure” is still at work today...
But that is not the whole story. Three years later (verse 18), they are all brought before the king for inspection. Now we don’t know for sure whether the king ever knew that these four young men had despised his meat; we know only that he noticed a difference – a BIG difference – between these vegetarians and the rest of those standing before him...
This is a case in which it HAD to be God at work. How could anyone who attended the same “school” as everyone else be TEN TIMES BETTER than everyone else? These kinds of results should make one proud to be an “outcast” for God....
A