November 21, 2016
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Here I Stand

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Illuminating Lord, open me to the opportunities and possibilities of this day as I go through it with You.

Read Daniel 1:1-21

[1] 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 delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god. [3] Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility- [4] young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. [5] The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service. [6] Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. [7] The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego. [8] But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. [9] Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, [10] but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.” [11] Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, [12] “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. [13] Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” [14] So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. [15] At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. [16] So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. [17] To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds. [18] At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. [19] The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. [20] In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. [21] And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

There is an old adage that says, “You have to go along to get along.” Obviously Daniel did not “go along” with this sentiment. It is not easy to be countercultural!

What happens when the bottom falls out of your world? Where do you start when everything that gave you your meaning and identity is taken from you and the past is brought to a crashing full stop? The fall of Jerusalem, the sacking of the Temple and involuntary exile create the setting for this remarkable book. For Daniel and his friends, all that is familiar is taken from them. One truth remains, though the facts seem to deny it: the Lord reigns. This is the story of how God used the faith of a few to demonstrate his faithfulness and fulfill his purpose.
Daniel was probably a teenager when selected for training in the Babylonian civil service. To encourage compliance, his past would be deconstructed—a new name, a fresh education and immersion in a different culture. All of this Daniel and his friends went along with, but there was a sticking point and it was over diet. It seems so trivial compared to the total makeover he was experiencing, but this was the issue over which he would not compromise (8).
Why refuse the king’s meat? Was it because it was ritually unclean or not kosher? Or was it that sharing the king’s food tacitly meant sharing the king’s values, and this Daniel would not do? His loyalty was to God. God’s judgment, not Nebuchadnezzar’s military strength, had delivered Jerusalem to the Babylonians (1,2). God was still calling his people back to their former allegiance. Politely but firmly, offering a trial to protect their supervisor, Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah trust that God would honor this stand—and of course he did! Physically they thrived on their new diet, which became the norm. Educationally they shone and graduated with first-class honors. Spiritually they were in the right place to be used by God.

What happens when the bottom falls out of your world? Where do you start when everything that gave you your meaning and identity is taken from you and the past is brought to a crashing full stop? The fall of Jerusalem, the sacking of the Temple and involuntary exile create the setting for this remarkable book. For Daniel and his friends, all that is familiar is taken from them. One truth remains, though the facts seem to deny it: the Lord reigns. This is the story of how God used the faith of a few to demonstrate his faithfulness and fulfill his purpose.

Daniel was probably a teenager when selected for training in the Babylonian civil service. To encourage compliance, his past would be deconstructed—a new name, a fresh education and immersion in a different culture. All of this Daniel and his friends went along with, but there was a sticking point and it was over diet. It seems so trivial compared to the total makeover he was experiencing, but this was the issue over which he would not compromise (8).

Why refuse the king’s meat? Was it because it was ritually unclean or not kosher? Or was it that sharing the king’s food tacitly meant sharing the king’s values, and this Daniel would not do? His loyalty was to God. God’s judgment, not Nebuchadnezzar’s military strength, had delivered Jerusalem to the Babylonians (1,2). God was still calling his people back to their former allegiance. Politely but firmly, offering a trial to protect their supervisor, Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah trust that God would honor this stand—and of course he did! Physically they thrived on their new diet, which became the norm. Educationally they shone and graduated with first-class honors. Spiritually they were in the right place to be used by God.

Apply

Because Daniel did not eat the King’s meat as a young man he was not eaten by the lions later in life. What impact will decisions you make today have on your future?

Closing prayer

Heavenly Father, my natural inclination is to go along with what is going on. Help me to deal with my people-pleaser personality and to stand strong for You.

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