November 9-15

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Daniel and his friends were taken out of Jerusalem after Babylon attacked and won. They were among the “desirable youth” who were trained in Babylonian language, culture, and law. I’m sure there was a lot of pressure to assimilate completely into this other nation, but Daniel and his friends wanted to keep their faith.

While still young, these boys were faced with a dilemma. They had been offered the richest, most luxurious food in the nation, food from the king’s own table. Unfortunately, this food had likely been offered to pagan gods first and had not been prepared according to the Law of Moses. The food was spiritually unclean.

Daniel 1:8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

We know the rest of the story. Daniel asks the chief official if he and his friends can eat vegetables and water. The chief official is nervous that he will get in trouble if the boys look unhealthy. Daniel proposes an experiment. The chief official agrees. At the end of the experiment, Daniel and his friends appear healthier than the other boys.

Daniel and his friends go on to do incredible things. The Lord blesses them with exceptional knowledge and skill. Daniel interprets dreams. Daniel becomes very respected in Babylon to the extent that others try to kill him to get him out of the way because they’re jealous. This original action set the tone for their lives when they would be faced with death or compromise.

The principle I want to cover in this post holds implications for all of the tests these boys face in Babylonian court. There are a lot of tests, but let’s just talk about this first, simple one.

Their home had just been conquered by the Babylonians. They were foreign exiles. Their status was not particularly impressive. The king could have just as easily thrown them all into slavery instead of feeding them and teaching them. These boys had no parental support but each other. The bible suggests that these were the only boys who chose to keep the Law of Moses. Despite the fact that Daniel and his friends were among other Israelites, only Daniel and his friends are the ones who follow the Lord’s law of health. I wonder if the other Israelite boys were angry with Daniel and his friends. I wonder if the other boys were worried that they would also get in trouble for Daniel’s disobedience to the king. I wonder if they chastised Daniel and his friends for putting them all in danger. I wonder if they mocked Daniel and his friends for following the Law of Moses.

In other words, there were a lot of good (by the world’s standards) reasons to just eat the king’s food that was given to them. Things could be much worse, and they could make things worse should they rock the boat and draw disobedient attention to themselves. There are a lot of reasons that Daniel and his friends could have folded under pressure and fully assimilated.

So I want you to imagine that Daniel and his friends decided to just eat the food they were given. Perhaps they originally intended to keep the Law of Moses, but they folded when the true test presented itself. They didn’t want to cause trouble or harm others. They make a decision to just partake of the king’s food.

Daniel and his friends assimilate with the other Israelite boys.

Now, it is very likely that these other Israelite boys went on to work in the king’s service. They were probably given mid-level positions within Babylon and went on to be “just fine.” They never rose to the prominence of Daniel, but they were likely okay. They just lived in Babylon the rest of their lives.

So let’s say Daniel and his friends followed their examples. They go on to hold mid-level positions in Babylon. They get married and develop relationships with people around them. They grow up being “normal.”

I want you to imagine Daniel growing to a much older age and finding himself deeply grateful that he had never rocked the boat.

This is the scary part: Daniel went on to surmise that things would have gotten ugly had he refused the king’s food. He assumes that things would have gone poorly, and he’s so very lucky to have just kept quiet and ended up in the normal, respectable position that he ended up with.

Perhaps Daniel would have been fine, but Daniel also would have missed the miracle entirely. How sad to miss a miracle.

And that’s why it’s so scary. You don’t know what you would have missed if you chose a direction away from God.

Perhaps Daniel would have been fine, but I have a sneaking suspicion. Let’s say the Lord comes to Daniel in a dream and shows him the two paths that lay before him: eat the king’s food and be fine or refuse it and eventually rise to prominence despite dire opposition.

What path do you think Daniel would have taken? What path would you take if you were in Daniel’s shoes?

I have a feeling that Daniel would have chosen to keep the Law of Moses. At the end of his true road where he followed his faith, I’m sure Daniel reviewed his life and found deep gratitude that he had stayed true to the Lord all that time. He was likely so grateful to have been protected and enabled to live his religion. He saw where the others ended up, and they didn’t end up in bad places, but Daniel was given these incredible spiritual gifts and journeys that he would have missed if he had abandoned his faith.

Perhaps you find yourself at your own crossroads. Do you stay true to the Lord and your covenants or do you take a path that seems less dangerous or difficult? I can promise you that no matter which road you take, you will find difficulty and opposition. You will also likely find beauty no matter which road you take. The Lord maketh the rain to fall on the good and the wicked. Those other boys didn’t necessarily go on to live traumatic, terrible lives.

But I can promise you this. There is more. There is more that the Lord wants to give you. That doesn’t mean there won’t be difficulty. Daniel still got thrown in a lion’s den, and he got thrown in a lion’s den BECAUSE he was praying. I’m not saying that you’re suddenly going to become perfectly healthy and rise to prominence. I do promise that the Lord has more though. He has a plan for you, and if you could see it, I know you would choose His plan over your own.

I testify that the Lord knows where we’re at and wants to bless us. I testify that some of the most significant blessings are those that are quieter and harder to see. I testify that that He has plans for us, big plans, and I testify that He wants to lead us along. I testify that obedience to the Lord brings blessings even if they were not the blessings you were picturing.