Daniel 1

We begin our study of the book of Daniel with… the 1st chapter! This chapter mainly gives us the background information and sets the stage for the prophecies to come out of this book.

Hopefully you have already read it in eager preparation for this series. If not, you can read it here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=34&chapter=1&version=31

I will be using the color red to indicate the actual scripture passages.

Here we go…

Daniel 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 in 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.

The above section gives us the setting in which the rest of the book takes place. As was common practice for the Babylonian empire, they took captives and transported them back to Babylon in order to enslave them. The Babylonians would then separate the “cream of the crop”, instruct them in their own ways, and use their talents for the benefit of their kingdom. Daniel was selected to serve in Nebuchadnezzar’s palace. Please note the brief mention of the temple articles in verse 2. These are the same articles that are later returned by Cyrus the Great (see my earlier post here: http://assyrianhorn.blogspot.com/2009/05/and-you-thought-nostradamus-was-cool.html). Again, Isaiah prophesied that Cyrus would free the Israelites from Babylon, and return these articles BEFORE Babylon even took them into captivity!

5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table… 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.

Daniel is tested early on by the temptation to eat food from the king’s own table. Of course, this would have been the best food in the land, EXCEPT that it had already been offered to the Babylonian gods, and was therefore defiled. The way that Daniel responded to this temptation and uncomfortable position should be a lesson to us all. He could have refused and gone on a hunger strike (making it all about himself and revealing nothing about his God), or he could have just eaten it and excused it (how can I say no to the king?). Instead, Daniel chose to respectfully ask the guard for permission to eat food that was not defiled, and recommended that the guard test his health after 10 days (this allowed for God’s intervention and blessing of Daniel’s faithfulness). How would you respond if you were put in his position?

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 in, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach) and Azariah (Abednego); 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.

I wonder if Daniel’s future would have been much different if he had taken the easy way, and eaten from the king’s table.

I wonder if our future could be drastically altered by the faith-based decisions we make today...


Next up- Daniel 2- EXTREMELY IMPORTANT PROPHECY/ DREAM
**This is where it will get exciting **