Whatever the state of things on the earth, God never leaves Himself without a witness. He may punish His people on account of their unfaithfulness and their sins, and He may permit them to be carried into captivity, yet, in the midst of the darkness by which they are surrounded, He will rekindle the torch of His truth, in testimony to Himself and as encouragement to those who cleave to Him. He will cause His people, whom He has chastised, to know that they are still the objects of His care and love and that their oppressors, however seemingly exalted and mighty, are subject and accountable to Him.
God’s Purpose
and Nebuchadnezzar’s
In permitting Nebuchadnezzar to carry Daniel and his friends away as captives, God was accomplishing His own purpose, but Nebuchadnezzar, having obtained power over them, sought to make them serve his will. The consequence was that a conflict immediately arose between the thoughts of God and the thoughts of the king of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar wanted to adorn his palace with those of his captives “in whom was no blemish, but well favored, and skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans” (Dan. 1:44Children in whom was no blemish, but well favored, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. (Daniel 1:4)). The world is always ready to make the people of God its servants and to obtain light from their knowledge, but it cannot tolerate them if they are faithful to God, obedient to His Word, and separate from evil. The king, therefore, would have these captives to be fed with his own meat and to drink of his own wine, that, after three years, they might stand in his presence (vs. 5). He would have them to cease being Jews, to become Chaldeans, and to mingle with their new religion the light they had received from the oracles of God. Such is the origin of philosophy even in Christian times — that philosophy against which Paul earnestly warns us as being “after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Col. 2:88Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. (Colossians 2:8)).
It is in connection with this command of Nebuchadnezzar that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah are brought into prominence (vs. 6). Their very names, when understood, proclaimed to whom they belonged and the character of their God: Daniel means “God’s judge”; Hananiah, “whom Jehovah graciously gave”; Mishael, “who (is) as God”; Azariah, “whom Jehovah aids.” The prince of the eunuchs, instinctively feeling that such names would not suit his master’s court, gave them others, all of which were more or less connected with Babylon’s idols (vs. 7).
Daniel’s Purpose of Heart
The question now raised for Daniel and his companions was whether, for the sake of the world’s favor and advancement, they would yield to the king’s command. The answer was already decided: “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” (vs. 8). As a Jew, obedient to the Word of God, it was impossible for Daniel to eat the food of the Gentiles. Both the fat and the blood of those animals, which were permitted in Babylon, were forbidden, and it was only of the clean beasts and birds that a Jew was allowed to partake. Unless, therefore, Daniel and his companions were prepared to surrender their faith and to renounce the word of their God, they could not accept the royal provision. And there is another instruction — if an application may be made to ourselves. The food of the world, that is, what man feeds on in his alienated condition from God as his strength and sustenance, is always destructive to the spiritual life of the Christian. If the Christian desires to be a true Nazarite and walk in the path of holy separation unto God, he must always turn aside from the wine — the joys of earth. The Apostle thus writes: “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:1818And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; (Ephesians 5:18)). In the attitude of Daniel we have then an example for all believers, and the closer it is followed, the more they will enjoy the conscious favor and blessing of God, and, as morally dead to things here, they will the more fully realize their true portion in Christ.
Favor Before Men
We read that “God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs” (vs. 9). “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him,” and hence it was that the prince of the eunuchs, notwithstanding his fear of the king, granted through Melzar the request of Daniel that he and his companions might be tested for ten days with pulse to eat and water to drink, instead of the king’s food and wine. God was with them, and at the end of the ten days, “their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat” (vs. 15). Even Melzar could not deny that they had flourished on their simple regimen, and from then on he gave them pulse.
There are many of the people of God who can walk in the narrow path of devoted discipleship as long as they are in the enjoyment of the fellowship of saints and in the midst of happy spiritual influences. But it is sometimes seen that such, when they are in a worldly circle, are apt to fall in with the practices and habits of that society, and thus to lose their distinctness of walk, even if their testimony is not altogether extinguished. It is therefore most encouraging to see the spectacle presented by these four young Jewish men. They, being deprived of all the privileges of the temple, being captives at the mercy of a heathen monarch, tested with every sort of alluring temptation, they maintained the Nazarite’s place of true separation through obedience to the Word of God. Doubtless it was the faith and energy of Daniel that acted on his companions and led them to follow him in the path of God’s will, but if so, the others were willing to follow, and all four present a striking proof of the all-sufficiency of God’s grace to sustain His servants in the most unfavorable circumstances that could possibly be imagined.
God-Given Knowledge
The significant statement follows: “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” (vs. 17). “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant” (Psa. 25:1414The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant. (Psalm 25:14)). This principle is always true, and it is seen in all dispensations. It is clear that God gave these four young men wisdom because of their separation in heart and life from the defiling evils around. It is indeed always true that the nearer we are practically to the Lord, the more fully He communicates to us of His mind, but notice, too, that it is “in all learning and wisdom.” Christian students of modern days are too often betrayed into the thought that for the acquisition of human “learning and wisdom” they are dependent upon their own industry and power. The consequence is that the years of their student life are often marked by spiritual declension, if not by open backsliding. The example of these four young men might well teach another lesson.
At the close of the verse Daniel is singled out from his fellows, for we are told, undoubtedly in view of his special work and mission, that he had understanding in all visions and dreams. In this we see that in all the circumstances through which God leads His people, He is forming them as vessels for His service. On the human side, it was a calamity that had befallen Daniel; on God’s side, this seeming calamity was but His way to form Daniel for his mission to carry His testimony into the court of the mighty Gentile monarch. The next three verses (vss. 18-20) give the result before the king of the training to which all these selected young men had been subjected. They were brought into the royal presence, and Nebuchadnezzar himself examined the students of his college: He “communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. 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” (vss. 19-20). They might each have thus adopted the language of the psalmist, “Thou through Thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for Thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep Thy precepts” (Psa. 119:98-10098Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. 99I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. 100I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts. (Psalm 119:98‑100)). Would that the lesson might be laid to heart by all Christians of the present day!
E. Dennett, adapted