November 14, 2024
Daily Devotion:
"Courageous Convictions"
Daniel 1:1-8
New Living Translation
1 During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah,[a] King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah and permitted him to take some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God. So Nebuchadnezzar took them back to the land of Babylonia[b] and placed them in the treasure-house of his god. 3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives. 4 “Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. “Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good judgment, and are suited to serve in the royal palace. Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon.[c]” 5 The king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for three years, and then they would enter the royal service. 6 Daniel,
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah. 7 The chief of staff renamed them with these Babylonian names:
Daniel was called Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael was called Meshach. Azariah was called Abednego. 8 But Daniel was determined not to
defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods.
If you had been Daniel, where would you have drawn the line? He didn’t oppose being educated about the
Babylonian gods or having his name changed. However, he made up his mind to reject the food. This seems like a small thing compared to some of the others. It was also potentially risky, as this food was from the king’s table. Why was the royal food unacceptable? It was offered to the gods of Babylon. This made it unclean. It was a compromise Daniel couldn’t make. However, Daniel was also wise in what he did. He didn’t throw the food away or make a big scene. He discreetly asked for permission not to eat it. God was at work. The overseer was sympathetic but also afraid of King Nebuchadnezzar. Again young Daniel was wise in asking for a ten-day trial of vegetables and water. To the court’s surprise, Daniel and his friends actually looked healthier after the ten days! I wonder how popular a decision it was with the other trainees to have their royal food removed and receive vegetables and water instead? For Daniel and his friends, this trial was a success. They no longer had to eat the royal food. God blessed their faithfulness by giving them more wisdom and insight than anyone in the whole Babylonian empire. At the end of training, the king was impressed with all four of them. They graduated with jobs working for King
Nebuchadnezzar.
There are times when living for God causes us to be different or live differently from what is considered
‘normal’. Pray for wisdom in knowing how to live faithfully and how to respond when something crosses into a compromise you can’t make. Let’s be wise in how we live in both the seemingly little things and the big things.
