Today in our study, we pick back up in verse 8 where we continue the theme of how believers are not to have an affinity for the world, and how God rewarded Daniel and his friend’s faithfulness by giving them favor with the master of the eunuchs.
No Affinity
Today in our study, we pick back up in verse 8 where we continue the theme of how believers are not to have an affinity for the world, and how God rewarded Daniel and his friend’s faithfulness by giving them favor with the master of the eunuchs.
Verse 8 says, “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.” As believers, we are not to have an affinity for the world. Paul told the Corinthians that the god of this world has blinded the lost to the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4).
Love Not the World
John also addresses this subject in 1 John 2:15-17 when he said, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” All of us can learn a lot from this example set by Daniel and his friends.
God Gives Favor
Verses 9-10: “Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. 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 than the children which are of your sort? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king.” Notice, God blessed Daniel’s commitment to live for Him. It has been said that "God’s way may not be popular, and the path of holiness may not be well traveled, but it is always the right way."
No Earthly Guarantees
I feel the need to point out at this point, that just because we are faithful, it does not guarantee that all things will work out in our favor; at least on an earthly level. Countless faithful saints have met their end at the point of a spear or on a pyre.
The favor and the blessing that results in following the ways of the Lord can be earthly in that we have been faithful and used of the Lord in this life, but also celestial in that one day we will be in the presence of our Lord.
Pulse and Water
Verses 11-12: “Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.” The word “pulse" means vegetables. They simply wanted nourishing food that they were accustomed to and that would not violate their consciences since the meat they were being offered had already been sacrificed to false gods.
In the New Testament, Paul addressed this issue in his letter to the Corinthians, writing in 1 Corinthians 8 that an idol is nothing and that a man is free to eat anything offered to it with a clear conscience. The only caveat was that if our eating of the meat violated another man's conscience, he should not eat it to not make his weaker brother stumble.
The Weaker Brother
Interestingly, I have found in my own life that whenever the Bible refers to the weaker brother, I always assume it is referring to the other person and not me. However, I have come to realize that we can all be the weaker brothers at times.
Better to Please God
Verse 13-15: “Then let our countenances 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. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. 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.” The Lord proves faithful to Daniel.
It is always far better to please God than to please the world. Many have found that God will always prove Himself faithful if we do things His way.
There is no better example of this than Noah. I heard Adrian Rodgers say one time that it is better to be in the right and in the minority than to be wrong and in the majority. He also said when speaking of Noah, “He went into the ark in the minority, but he came out in the majority!” We would all do well to remember that. That means that sometimes standing for what is right will result in us standing alone.
