Daniel 1:8-21

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We began our journey through Daniel last week as Daniel and his friends were taken from Jerusalem into Babylon, and were at the front end of a process to make them Babylonians. The plan was to indoctrinate them by teaching them their literature and language. The plan also involved assimilation by making them eat and drink the king’s food. And then finally we saw that in the midst of this, the Babylonians changed their names to reflect Babylonian gods rather than the One true God, thus attempting to confuse their identity and where they directed their worship. 

It’s interesting this morning that Daniel seems to take issue with only 1 of the 3, the part of the process that would cause them to eat the king’s food and drink the king’s wine, and this is where he decided to take a stand for the Lord. Let’s read and see how it all plays out.

Read Daniel 1:8-21

Big Idea: The Lord honors those who stand firm in obedience to His Word.

1. Standing firm begins before the moment of decision

Our passage begins with “but.” The Babylonians had a master plan to convert the smartest, strongest best looking Jewish young men to their way of life, but…Daniel resolved. The true meaning behind this resolution is that he “placed it on his heart.” We’ve talked before about how in Old Testament culture, the heart was thought of as the primary seat of decision making. Something that we need to understand is that this wasn’t just a spur of the moment decision. This decision had been years in the making for Daniel. To understand fully, we need to walk it back a few years in his life.

If you are familiar with your Old Testament history, you might know the story of King Josiah. He became king when he was just 8 years old, and led the Southern Kingdom of Judah through massive religious reform. For a majority of Daniel’s life, Josiah was his king. So as a child, Daniel grew up in a place that took the Word of God and the worship of God very seriously. Here’s a summary from one commentator: 

“Josiah was a king who surpassed Asa, Hezekiah and Jehoshaphat in godly zeal and influence. He repaired the temple; he recovered the law; he called for repentance; he led reforms; he returned God’s word to the center of Israel’s life; he deposed ungodly priests; he restored the celebration of Passover. And he did it while Daniel and the three were young, and very possible as noble’s children being reared in his own house.” 

Daniel was raised to take the things of God seriously. He was raised to love the Lord with all his heart, soul, mind and strength. Having these core convictions instilled and developed in him from a young age gave him the strength to stand firm in these convictions when he was older. And this is such an important point for us right off the bat. 

We cannot expect that when temptation to follow the world rises, that we will be able to stand firm in the Lord if we have not been spending time with Him before that. We see this talked about by Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16 when he says that we stay engaged with Scripture to be trained in righteousness. Think about a marathon runner. I could not go out and just run 26.2 miles. I would have to train for a long time to be ready for the grueling nature of a marathon. Charlie, our Student Intern, took his test on Thursday and is now a licensed electrician. Before then, he had to work for 4 years under a licensed electrician, then had to study for easily a hundred hours if not more, then sat in a room for nearly 6 hours. Point is, he would not have been able to just sit and take the test and pass it. There was training that went into it. 

For Daniel and his friends, training in righteousness began at a young age, so that when they were older they were ready. As another application point, the importance of discipling the next generation cannot be understated. The world outside of those doors wants to claim our children for its own, so we need to be urgently intentional with training them up in righteousness. 

2. Standing firm can be covered in grace and understanding

Oftentimes we think of standing firm as being bold and direct and forceful with our response. Sometimes it takes that sort of attitude to stand for truth. But in our narrative this morning Daniel shows us that sometimes there may be another way, a way that reflects the gentleness of the Lord and causes people to respond to us with respect.. 

First thing we see is that Daniel asked. He didn’t make demands. He didn’t put his foot down and refuse. He asked. “Hey Ashpenaz, so you know we are Jews, and you know that our religious practices and way of life are much different than yours. We are willing to be taught your language, and your literature, and I’m even cool with you calling me Daniel, but the part about eating and drinking the king’s food, can we maybe just forego that part of this process?” 

Even though Daniel handled this in the appropriate way, it’s his resolve that pleased the Lord. Remember our overarching theme of Daniel is the Sovereignty of God. And right here in verse 9 we see it again: “And God gave.” Daniel made a firm decision that he would not partake in defiling himself, so the Lord GAVE him favor and compassion. The Lord changed the heart of an unbelieving Babylonian to show kindness to Daniel. But, it wasn’t going to be so easy, and for valid reasons. 

Ashpenaz is like, “look man, I hear you, and I wish I could, I really do. But this command comes down from the big man, from Nebuchadnezzar himself. If I disobey orders, and you look worse off than everyone else as a result of your restricted diet, I’m a dead man. I just can’t risk it.” Daniel hears him, and instead turns his attention towards the steward who Ashpenaz had put in charge of the 4 men. 

“How about this. How about, instead of committing to the full 3 years of this diet, let’s just do a test run. Just, 10 days, 10 days and then you be the judge. 10 days in the scheme of 3 years isn’t a big deal. Let’s just see what happens.” 

The steward agrees, and at the end of the 10 days Scripture says that Daniel and his friends look healthier and “fatter in flesh” than everybody else. And so seemingly, for 3 years, Daniel and his friends survived on vegetables and water alone. 

Now, we come to verse 17 and we see this same line repeated for the 3rd time in chapter 1. “God gave.” So I think we should devote our last point to it.

3. Standing firm results in the Lord’s favor

“As for these 4 youths, God gave…” Sovereignty of God. Favor of God. He gave them knowledge and understanding in everything they were taught. He gave Daniel an extra measure of understanding in terms of interpreting visions and dreams. But He didn’t just give them these things as a prize for their commitment to Him. There was great purpose in giving them knowledge, wisdom and understanding. There was great purpose in Him giving Daniel the ability to interpret. We’ll see that beginning next week in chapter 2. 

For now, let’s look at the extent of the blessing. Re-read verse 19-20. 10 times better. The literal translation of this is “10 hands better.” In other words, their 2 hands were as capable as 10 hands. 1 of them could accomplish what it took 5 others to do. And it wasn’t just normal everyday Babylonians. They were that much better than the magicians and enchanters from the whole kingdom, men that were thought of as the wisest and most in tune with the gods! God didn’t just give them knowledge and understanding, but He gave it to them in a measure that far outweighed what anyone else was capable of. 

We also see the extent of favor that the Lord gave Daniel in verse 21. “Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.” Nebuchadnezzer took Daniel and his friends in about 605 BC. Cyrus was the King of Persia, and he came in and conquered Babylon in 539 BC. Daniel didn’t die at the end of his time serving Babylon, but lived on. That means he served in Babylon for nearly 70 years, and was alive to see the Jews return to Jerusalem out of exile in Babylon. The Lord granted favor to these men for the immediate days ahead, but also granted them favor in longevity of influence in a dark and pagan world. 

Application

Alright, so how do we, like Daniel, stand firm in the midst of cultural and spiritual opposition? We have to start with Scripture. 

Psalm 1 tells us that the blessed man “delights in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.” And what is the result? David continues, “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” He is like a tree, with roots that run deep into the soil, constantly being fed by the water of the stream. The wind might come but because of the deep, healthy roots, that tree does not move. It is grounded. 

And this is where it has to start for us. When we consistently engage with God through His Word, our knowledge and love of Him deepens, the truth found in these pages becomes ingrained in our hearts and minds, so that when the winds of culture come flying in, we remain firm in the midst of it. 

We also see Paul talk about this in Ephesians when he teaches on the armor of God. “Be strong in the Lord. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil:

• Truth, righteousness, readiness with the gospel, faith, salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. 

But it’s nothing we can do on our own. Paul says that we are to pray at all times in the Spirit that all of these elements of defense would be realized in our lives. Prayer that we would be strong in the Lord so that His truth, His righteousness, His gospel, His salvation, His Word, would all guard us and keep us firmly planted. 

We stay close to the Lord by reading His Word. We stay close to the Lord by praying often. We stay engaged in Christian community. 

1 Peter 5:8 says, “be watchful! Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” He is actively looking for someone to destroy. He wants nothing more than to destroy. He wants us to doubt the goodness of God. He wants us to doubt the love of God. He wants us to believe that the world has something better to offer. He wants us to believe that we aren’t good enough, that we are worthless. He wants us to believe that our brokenness is unfixable. He wants us to believe that our mistakes are un-redeemable. He wants us to believe that there is no hope. He wants us to believe all of these lies. 

But God is good. God is loving. God is better. God heals our brokenness, forgives our sins, gives us hope in Jesus. You know how I know this? Because He told me, in His Word. And so I hold tightly to these truths. I try, through the Holy Spirit, to stand firm in these truths. And I believe that the Lord still bestows His favor on those who stand firm in truth, who refuse to give in when the world comes calling. And this is what I so desperately want for my kids, for my wife, for all of you. A life that is deeply rooted in the Lord, so much so that when the winds of culture try to knock you around, you don’t budge.

Daniel was able to do this, because he was prepared. Let’s make sure that we are doing everything we can to be prepared as well.