yup. we know that Daniel is this cool guy who got sent into the lion's den for worshiping God and lions did not eat him :) thats in chapter 6!
we are going to look at chapter 1 instd! and you can really see the same resolve, determination and faith displayed in the lion's den right in the palace's dining room in chapter 1. :)
pls read: [Daniel 1:1-17]
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel%201:1-17&version=31
during that time (605 BC) , the people of Judah, including Jehoiakim the king had been sinning against God through idol worship, adultry etc. God gave Judah to the Babylonians as a punishment, judgement for the people.
Daniel then was only about 14-15 years old! (o.o younger than us!). He was a smart and talented guy.. Nebuchadnezzar wanted to brainwash and 'babylonize' people like him. He wanted conformity. He gave Daniel and his friends new names after Babylonian gods, exposed then to new culture, language lit, religion, food.
and yet, one word to describe Daniel's life? he lived BY GOD's STANDARD.
"but Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine"
imagine the temptation with all the comfort food in front of them, yet Daniel knew that by eating these, He would be sinning cos these food are probably used as offering to the babylonian gods and is considered unclean. in other words, Daniel CHOSE not to comform. and by faith he even took action to ask the official if he could change their diets. .
THATS BIG COURAGE! in the lion's den, Daniel was in a bobian, no choice situation- just sit there and trust God. but in this case, He had to go up to the official and request for the change in the risk of making the king angry rather than just sit there, do nothing. it was a voluntary stand up for the sake of his faith and he did it tactfully:) and in the end, the chief official was won over, because he saw how God had made the 4 young men much healthier even with veg
-a short story from trinitycrc.org -
I'm reminded of the story of a young man who spent a year in a logging camp — a rough place with a lot of cursing, drinking, gambling and womanizing. When he came back home his minister expressed sympathy for the tough time he must have had in standing up for his faith. "It wasn't hard at all," said the young man. "They never found out I was a Christian."
stuff to ponder:
-What areas in my life will i resolve to stick to God's standards rather then follow the world? (this qn seems esp crucial for the NS guys to be. hahaha)
-Is God prompting me to do sth that would require me to take a step by faith? ( choosing to do would open doors for God to move and intervene, just as he did for daniel :) )
lets learn loads in upcoming 17 more days tgt! :D see ya guys at Peter truong's mtg!
-calean.