Read Daniel 1:3-8
“But Daniel resolved not to defile himself
with the royal food and wine…” (V8)
with the royal food and wine…” (V8)
Some Thoughts…
The first stand for God in the life of Daniel seems trivial. It was just food, for crying out loud! Yet Daniel saw something different taking place. He saw the identity of God’s people being engulfed by a powerfully seductive culture…a culture of inclusion and (for that time in history) tolerance. King Nebuchadnezzar wanted to train the best and the brightest of the Jewish younger generation in the way of the “better” Babylonian lifestyle. And many of God’s people were giving up hope, cashing in the faith of their fathers for the latest tide-surge in the ebbs and flows of cultural acceptance…
BUT DANIEL, standing virtually alone, says, “NO! I will not forsake my God. I am OK learning new things, I am OK with my new conditions, Babylon is OK for now, but I will not give up on my God. I will obey Him first and foremost.” I believe that if Daniel and his three friends had not stood in this little matter, that the big tests of hungry lions and fiery furnaces would have never come. God was preparing these young men to be major influences for Him. So, I suppose, the character of a follower of the King of Kings is forged on the floor of the mundane and “little things”.
A Prayer…
Father, make me more conscious of the daily tests of faith to forge my faith into a strong shield to defend me as I stand with You to champion Your Kingdom and Your Gospel. Amen