Context No. 3497 of 4322 · Daniel (Greek)
Context · Reflection
Daniel (Greek) 1:6-10: in context
6Now among these were of the children of Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7The prince of the eunuchs gave names to them: to Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego. 8But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. 9Now God made Daniel find kindness and compassion in the sight of the prince of the eunuchs. 10The prince of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink. For why should he see your faces worse looking than the youths who are of your own age? Then you would endanger my head with the king.”
Taken as a captive youth into a pagan court, given a new name and a foreign education, Daniel makes a quiet but firm decision: he resolved in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's rich food and wine. In a place where he had little control over his circumstances, renamed, relocated, pressured to assimilate, he drew a line about the one thing he could control, his own faithfulness to God.
It was a small stand in one sense, over food and drink, but it was a way of keeping his identity and his loyalty to God intact in an environment designed to absorb him completely. And God honored it, granting Daniel favor and compassion in the eyes of the official set over him. There is wisdom in Daniel's approach: he made his stand courteously, requesting rather than defying, and God worked through it. In circumstances we cannot control, we can still resolve in our hearts to stay faithful to God in the things we can, and trust him to honor that quiet resolve.
In circumstances I cannot control, do I resolve in my heart to stay faithful to God in the things I can, drawing a quiet line and trusting him to honor it?
Sources
- Daniel 1:8: "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank."
- Daniel 1:9: "Now God made Daniel find kindness and compassion in the sight of the prince of the eunuchs."
- Joshua 24:15: "But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."