DANIEL SIMPLIFIED

 

CHAPTER 1.15

Gleanings from the Book of Daniel:

A Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series

 

DANIEL

Chapter One

The Early Life of Daniel in Babylon

 

The Outline of Daniel Chapter One

1. The Deportation of Judah (Vv. 1-2)

2. The Design of Nebuchadnezzar (Vv. 3-7)

3. The Deportment of Daniel (Vv. 8-16)

4. The Development of Daniel (Vv. 17-21)

 

Review

As captives of Babylon, young Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah faced a dilemma. They have presented an opportunity to become part of the king's court. To take part in Nebuchadnezzar's three-year inculcation program, they were to partake of the king’s food and drink the king’s wine. However, in participating as Hebrews, they would be defiling themselves under Mosaic Law, and compromising their religious convictions, since the Babylonian’s meat and wine were offered to idols.

 

So, at the risk of being expelled from the king’s program, Daniel took a leap of faith and proposed an alternative scheme for Melzar, the steward in charge of the banquets. Rather than refusing Nebuchadnezzar’s protocol, Daniel asked to be evaluated after eating vegetables and drinking water for ten days. This plan would prove their condition health-wise, whether good or bad.  In the previous lesson, Melzar approved, and the results became evident as follows…

 

 

(Verse 15)

 

And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat.

 

After the ten-day examination, the physical condition of the four youths was favorably noticeable. The diet of vegetables and water demonstrated they were fairer (i.e., healthier) and fatter in the flesh (literally, firmer flesh, not obese) than any other participants in the three-year program. 

 

Observation: The appearance of the four Hebrew youths certainly was not a result of not eating the royal food for ten days but of a special blessing from God. This principle is outlined in the Psalms:

Psalm 25:14 - The Lord is the strength of them that fear Him; and His covenant is to manifest truth to them (BST).

 

So, by following God’s Law, Daniel, and his friends were eating healthier, and at the same time, pleasing God.

 

 

(Verse 16)

 

Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse.

 

Based on Daniel’s uncompromising stand for the vegetable and water diet, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were granted permission to continue their alternative dietary program for three years and beyond from the steward Melzar. Thus, they did not defile themselves by eating food and drinking wine offered to idols.

 

Footnote:  Symbolic of Daniel’s faith, children often jumped rope to the refrain of this poem by Philip P. Bliss (1873):

Dare to be a Daniel,

Dare to stand alone!

Dare to have a purpose firm!

Dare to make it known.

 

 

4. The Development of Daniel

(Verse 17)

 

As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

 

As a result of their uncompromising walk in obedience to God, He sovereignly blessed the four Hebrews not only physically, but more than they asked. Sovereignly, He endowed them to ascend academically in three specific areas:

1. God gave them knowledge

Knowledge (conscious intelligence, reasoning skills, and thought processes) was significantly increased

 

2. God gave them skills in all learning

Skill (comprehension, insight, consideration by pondering) encompassed learning all literature in the languages of Babylonia, namely, Chaldean, Akkadian, and Sumerian

 

3. God gave them wisdom

Wisdom is the practical application of the heart from His Word, experience, and knowledge and making sound judgments

Proverbs 2:2 - …incline thine ear unto  wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding.

 

Once again, God granted them special abilities by His grace. Simply stated:

James 1:5 - If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth (without reproach, or finding fault) not; and it shall be given him.

 

Additionally, Daniel exclusively attained special prophetic gifts from God in two specialized areas:

A. God gave Daniel understanding in visions

Visions (mental sight) embodied revelations, which included divine utterances and mental pictures

 

B. God Gave Daniel an understanding of dreams

Dreams, on the other hand, were popular amongst the occultists. But more importantly, they were also a means by which God communicated His revelations to Old Testament prophets:

Numbers 12:6 - And He said, Hear now My words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make Myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.

 

Note: There are 34 recorded dreams in Scripture. The Old Testament contains 22, and the New, 12.

 

Consequently, Daniel’s interpretation of dreams will be the backdrop for his prophecies, however, only after fervent prayer (cf. Daniel 2:17-23). Noteworthily, Daniel models Joseph in Pharaoh’s court in Egypt (cf. Genesis 41:1-45).

 

 

(Verse 18)

 

Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.

 

At the end of days is a phrase denoting the expiration of three years of training between verses 17 and 18. Forthwith, Ashpenaz brought all youths deported in 605 B.C. before King Nebuchadnezzar for an examination.

 

 

(Verse 19)

 

And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king.

 

The Hebrew word for communed is dâbar (דָבַר), pronounced daw-bar', It indicates all who completed their three-year training were intensely questioned, and extensively evaluated. But, among the captive youths, Nebuchadnezzar found Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah to be far more superior to the rest in all matters both physically, and particularly intellectually. Therefore, the king advanced the four to a position of favor of standing with him near his throne.

 

To stand before the king meant having an elevated position of honor as a personal attendant. Proverbs elucidate:

Proverbs 22:29 - Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.

 

 

(Verse 20)

 

And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.

 

Upon their examination, King Nebuchadnezzar found the Hebrews ten times better (an exaggerated idiom meaning many times better, i.e., in superiority) than Babylon’s conclave of magicians and astrologers.

 

Magicians [Hebrew, charṭôm (חַרְטֹם)], was a general term for practitioners of occultism, whereas astrologers studied stars, both in astronomy and astrology. As a grouping, they were known as wise men (Magi). Centuries later, their successors appear in the account of Jesus’ birth (cf. Matthew 2:1).

 

 

(Verse 21)

 

And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus.

 

Remarkably, Daniel’s political career and influence continued through Belshazzar, Darius the Mede, and into the third year of the reign of Cyrus the Great of Persia [cf. Daniel 10:1(539 B.C.)]. Also, ironically, he outlived the Babylonian Empire. Thus, Daniel would remain an emblematic prophet during the 70 years of Captivity, even ultimately leading to the influence of Nehemiah, in the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem, and the nation of Israel.  

 

Commentary

In the context of idolatry, apostasy, and captivity, this introductory chapter has presented Daniel as an outstanding character with an eloquent testimony to the plan and grace of God at a time in Israel’s dark history. As a fulfillment and an example to be God’s light for Israel (cf. Isaiah 42:6: 49:6), Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself by eating the prescribed meat and wine offered by King Nebuchadnezzar (cf. Daniel 1:8).

 

Even though Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were in servitude to a pagan king, they managed to serve God through their obedience to His dietary laws. By this, as the succeeding chapters will reveal, God blessed them abundantly as such:

1. God gave them knowledge

2. God gave them understanding

3. God gave them discernment

4. God gave them wisdom

5. God gave them the ability for the application to their lives

6. God gave them the ability to separate truth from error

7. God gave them a living relationship with Him

 

Chapter One also serves the Church today to expectantly prepare for the revelations of God to follow until the times of the end. Hence, Chapter 1 is the backdrop, not only for Chapter 2 but also for the forthcoming revelatory chapters.

 

In the following study, Daniel will be summoned to test his God-given abilities, i.e., the interpretation of dreams, to the infamous statue of Nebuchadnezzar.

 

 

QUESTIONS:

1. What was the key element of Daniel’s faith?

2. What was the result of Daniel’s proposed diet?

3. What abilities did the four men receive from God?

4. What extra abilities did Daniel receive from God?

5. To whom does Daniel model in the Old Testament?

6. What is the meaning of the term magicians?

7. How does Daniel influence Judeo-Christian history?

 

 

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DANIEL SIMPLIFIED

 

CHAPTER 1.8

Gleanings from the Book of Daniel:

A Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series

 

DANIEL

Chapter One

The Early Life of Daniel in Babylon

 

The Outline of Daniel Chapter One

1. The Deportation of Judah (Vv. 1-2)

2. The Design of Nebuchadnezzar (Vv. 3-7)

3. The Deportment of Daniel (Vv. 8-16)

4. The Development of Daniel (Vv. 17-21)

 

Introduction

Thus far, Daniel, along with his three friends, and Judah’s elite children were taken into captivity by King Nebuchadnezzar II of the Babylonian Empire. To stand in the King's court, the royal youth was subjected to a three-year training program whereby they would be indoctrinated into Babylonian customs.

 

As part of their daily routine, they were permitted to eat and drink the finest foods and wine at the King’s table. Nebuchadnezzar’s reasoning was to give them a life of luxury and pleasure as opposed to the common meals given to captives. But, it was common for most nations to dedicate what they ate and drank to their gods.

 

Being transported from his Hebrew environment to Babylon was quite a transition for Daniel. Under Judaism, all Hebrew children were taught the Mosaic Law (cf. Leviticus 10:11; Deuteronomy 6:7-8). So, Daniel would have been removed from his spiritual upbringing in the Oral Torah. The following passages prove how God chose and assisted Daniel to be His prophet of the Captivity.

 

3. The Deportment of Daniel (Vv. 8-16)

(Verse 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.

 

A Man of God

The first two words of verse 8, But Daniel, will carry him through the next seventy years. Daniel's desire was not to conform to his new environment because his prior Hebrew religious training was set apart from the world.

There were three obstacles Daniel needed to overcome to maintain his relationship with the true God:

1. The acquisition of heathen learning

2. The eating of heathen foods

3. The bearing of heathen names

 

Daniel’s name change, temporarily, and Babylonian education was not much of an issue to him. However, when it came to the consumption of certain foods, he stood up for his convictions. So, Daniel will serve as one of the heroes of the Bible and a role model on how to live righteously under subjugation in a secular world.

 

But Daniel purposed in his heart

Daniel took certain precautions to live a godly life contrary to hostage dictates. Observe the steps on how this was accomplished:

A. He purposed in his heart not to defile himself

B. He patronized the master eunuch through God

C. He proposed an alternative plan of action

 

A. He purposed in his heart not to defile himself

At present, the decision Daniel made set the course of the nation. Daniel purposed in his heart, meaning he made a decision to be resolute and stand firm in his mind not to contaminate himself both morally and spiritually. No doubt after Daniel had finished praying, he resolved to do right in the eyes of God, and not eat the king’s diet.

 

Daniel not only remembered what his parents taught, i.e., to the statutes of God, but he also adhered to another principle outlined in the Law as such:

Leviticus 1:44 - For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

 

Following, Daniel’s actions do so set a standard above others. He outwardly displayed he was not ashamed of his faith in the true God of Israel. And, he did not compromise his beliefs.

 

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

 

Defilement

In biblical times, to defile one’s self meant to become polluted, soiled, desecrated, or unclean. This was considered an abomination in the eyes of God.

Three types of defilement examples are explained:

1. Sexually

Committing adultery with someone’s wife constitutes defilement.

Leviticus 18:20 – Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her.

 

2. Religiously

Worshipping images in God’s House is considered profane and idolatrous.

Jeremiah 7:30 - For the children of Judah have done evil in My sight, saith the LORD: they have set their abominations (idols) in the House which is called by My name, to pollute it.

 

3. Ceremonially

Someone touching beasts, unclean animals, or four-legged insects is disqualified for worship (see also unclean animals, Leviticus 11:26-27):

Leviticus 11:24 - And for these ye shall be unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean until the even.

 

Meat and Wine

Food and wine from the king’s table no doubt was tempting. However, for Daniel to eat the king’s meat would indicate he was eating something dedicated to foreign gods. Likewise, wine in Babylon was frequently dedicated to idols.

 

Therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself

 

B. He patronized the master eunuch through God

Daniel, as noted in verse 9, through God, had gained favor and befriended Ashpenaz, the prince of the eunuchs.

 

C. He proposed an alternative plan of action

Daniel being the spokesman for the four, unashamedly, uncompromisingly, and unafraid proposed an alternative plan (see verse 12) to Ashpenaz that he did not defile himself with the king’s food and drink.

 

 

(Verse 9)

 

Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.

 

Because of Daniel’s commitment to take a stand for the Lord, by God’s sovereign divine direction (see Daniel notes in verse 2), he was honoured and brought into favour with Ashpenaz, prince of the eunuchs. Similarly, while Joseph was in Egypt, God was working on his behalf with Pharoah. Favour of others toward the godly is the doing of God.

 

A proverb elucidates the principle:

Proverbs 16:7 - When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

 

Definitions

The word favour [Hebrew, חֵסֵד (chêçêd)] connotes kindness, goodwill, or loyal love. And, the phrase tender love indicates compassion or deep sympathy. So, harmonious with Proverbs 16:7, the prince of the eunuchs was sympathetic to Daniel.

 

 

(Verse 10)

 

And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking (less healthy) than the children which are of your sort (contemporaries)? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king.

 

In response to Daniel’s request, Ashpenaz, the prince of the eunuchs, answered with hesitancy and angst. In fear, Ashpenaz informed Daniel of his life being in danger if the king’s orders were disobeyed. The term, endanger my head, meant decapitation, like others at the fit of Nebuchadnezzar’s wrath. Hence, Ashpenaz, worried that their faces would appear less healthy than the others, did not agree with Daniel’s request. 

 

 

(Verse 11)

 

Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

(Verse 12)

Prove (test) thy servants, I beseech (pray) thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.

 

The Appeal

Since Ashpenaz refused Daniel’s proposal, Daniel respectfully requested Melzar to grant him and his three friends a ten-day trial period. He suggested an alternative diet of pulse and water, so they would not profane God’s Law.

 

Melzar

Melzar (literally, steward), was a title rather than a proper name. As a subordinate of Ashephenz, Melzar was the palace officer in charge of the food service for the king, and responsible for the daily provisions of Daniel and his three friends. It was this officer to whom Daniel persuaded a ten-day pulse and water diet.

 

Pulse

Pulse is taken from a Hebrew word (זֵרֹעַ, zêrôaʻ) meaning vegetables, or cereal-type grain grown from seeds. Sometimes the grains were mashed into porridge. It was the basic staple for military rations, slave labor, and the poor common population.

 

For example, hospitably, the necessities of King David and his followers were ministered to by the citizens of the land east of the Jordan River:

2 Samuel 17:28-29 – [They] Brought beds, and basons, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentiles, and parched pulse (grain)…for David and his people to eat.

 

 

(Verse 13)

 

Then let our countenances (appearances) be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.

 

In a display of faith on Daniel’s part, he firmly believed God would deliver. So Daniel gave his reasoning to the chief steward. In effect, Daniel said, “After ten days, if our appearance has not changed for the better, then give us the punishment we deserve.”  

 

Insight: Normally, omitting meat and wine for ten days would not result in anyone being healthier. The appeal was meant to demonstrate Daniel’s dependence upon the Lord, thus resulting in a miracle from God.

 

 

(Verse 14)

 

So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days.

 

Subsequently, Melzar agreed to the terms of the test and permitted Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah to undertake their unusual ten-day supplementary diet program of common food. Again, Melzar most likely reasoned there was not much risk in allowing them only ten days.

 

The outcome of Daniel’s ten-day trial proposal is relayed in the forthcoming study.

 

 

QUESTIONS:

1. Why is Daniel a great example of a man of God?

2. What was the drawback of the king’s meat and wine?

3. Why did Ashpenaz refuse Daniel’s proposition?

4. What was the rationale behind Daniel’s proposal?

5. Who was Melzar?

6. In Daniel’s case, what is meant by defilement?

7. Why did Daniel request just ten days?

 

 

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