Daniel: Far From HomeНамуна

In verses 1 to 7 we have seen that Daniel and his friends are living in a strange land. We see them learning the language and the literature of Babylon (v. 4). Furthermore, they received new Babylonian names (v. 7). In other words, these four men engaged with the world in which God had placed them.

However, being part of the world can only go so far. There is a point where cooperation becomes compromise. And for Daniel we see that in verse 8.

There has been much debate as to why Daniel saw this as the line not to cross. It is unlikely that the issue is over the food laws of Leviticus 11. More probable is that Daniel knew the prophecy of Isaiah. Isaiah, centuries earlier, had warned the people of Jerusalem of God’s judgement. Judgement from God should have been marked by mourning (see Isa. 22:12,13), though in fact he says that people will ‘eat and drink…for tomorrow we die’. The exile was the judgement of God at Judah’s sin. This was a time for mourning, nor feasting.

Daniel knew that instead of eating and drinking from the king’s table, he should not ‘defile’ himself. The word ‘defile’ means Daniel knew that to eat and drink the king’s food and wine would make him unclean in God’s sight. It would be sin.

Notice (v. 8) that Daniel doesn’t just ‘resolve’. Resolve without action is just good intention!

In verses 9 and 10 we see that God (who we have already seen is in control, v. 2) causes the official to show favour to Daniel, despite his fear of the king. We are allowed to see behind the scenes here and learn that God is at work. Daniel doesn’t know this at this point.

The resolve of verse 8 is accompanied by the action that Daniel takes in verses 11 to 14. He asks the official to allow the exiles a ten-day vegan diet. Daniel appears confident that the Lord will cause those who stand firm for Him to be vindicated. His resolve and action could have had awful consequences. But placed in a strange land, here we see Daniel is determined to stand firm in obedience to God’s word.

In the book of Daniel we will see the exiles under pressure to break God’s law (e.g. in chapters 3 and 6). In those situations, standing for God rather than going along with the world would result in a death penalty. Might it be that Daniel was able to stand out and obey God’s word later because he had resolved to stand out for God right from the start? Might it be that standing out and obeying God’s word on a seemingly ‘small’ issue made it easier to stand out on issues of life and death later?

Reflection

God wants us to stand for Him in the world. How do we learn the line between involvement in the world and compromise with the world?