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Let’s set the scene. It’s approximately 600 B.C. and Babylon has attacked Judah and taken over, taking the Jewish people into Babylon as exiles. A command comes for the best among the nobility and royal family to be taken. The healthy, handsome, skillful, educated, quick learners. They were to be taken to serve in the King Nebuchadnezzar’s palace (Daniel 1:3-5). At this time, Daniel was one of those who was taken to the palace under this order. Besides fulfilling the above specifications, Daniel was also a prophet who could interpret dreams and is now well known for being faithful to God.
The Real Daniel Fast
During Daniel’s three-year training, he was supposed to eat the best food and wine from the king’s very own table. But he and three other fellow exiles refused.
But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine.
Daniel 1:8
The guard in charge of them was concerned–why should I listen to these four’s request only to present them as lacking compared to the others? The king would have my head for that! But God moved the guard’s heart to be sympathetic toward Daniel. So he agreed to test them on a diet of water and vegetables for ten days.
Not surprisingly, after ten days Daniel and his friends ended up healthier and more fit than all the other young men who had eaten the royal food.
In addition to being healthier physically, the king found that no others compared to them in other ways as well. These men from Judah were ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters throughout his whole kingdom, with all kinds of wisdom and understanding.
Daniel’s Obedience to God
Daniel especially, became so distinguished and impressed the king so much that he wanted to place Daniel over the entire kingdom. His successes were so great that other officials sought for a way to get rid of him. They said to King Darius,
“[We] have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the lion’s den.”
Daniel 6:7
Daniel once again refused to do this as well, despite knowing the consequences. He went to his room and got down on his knees. He prayed to God three times a day as he had always done. The officials found him praying and brought him before the king who favored Daniel, but could not go against the edict that he himself had issued.
Daniel and the Lion’s Den
Unwillingly, he gave the order for Daniel to be thrown into the lion’s den. In the morning, he rushed there to see what had become of Daniel. Did his God rescue him? You probably know the story–when King Darius called out to Daniel, a voice came back.
“My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king.”
Daniel 6:22
The king was overjoyed and issued a decree that all in the kingdom should fear and revere the God of Daniel.
“For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves, he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”
Daniel 6:26-27
What a truly amazing thing! Daniel’s unchanging faith in God softened the heart of a gentile king, turning many from idols to the true God.
Daniel in the Big Picture
Not only was Daniel an example of faith, he was an example of patience and trusting in God. As a prophet, he recorded prophecies for the future, the end times. If you look through the book of Daniel, you’ll find that he saw some fantastic visions. Four beasts, some with multiple heads and multiple horns. Kings of the North and South going into battle against each other. Of these visions Daniel wrote,
I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?”
Daniel 12:8
But even after asking, Daniel wasn’t told the meaning. The response was simply “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end” (Daniel 12:9). It was for him to write down, but not for him–or anyone–to know until the end times, a time appointed by God (Habakkuk 2:2-3).
After being given the ability to interpret dreams for the king by God, I’m sure being basically told “don’t worry about it” would have been disappointing. I’m sure he was dying to know the meaning of the prophecies he wrote. But he followed the command and didn’t try to interpret the things he saw.
How Does Daniel Relate to Us?
Even on a vegetable-only diet and even in a den of lions, God will take care of everything for those who follow Him with an unchanging faith. Nothing the world tries to do will break them. I used to think that it was impossible to ever attain the level of faith that figures in the Bible had. But we don’t have to be taken captive or thrown in a den with the lions to foster that kind of faith.
Strong faith isn’t just reserved for people in the Bible. Why should it be only them? We also can learn to obey, trust, and have a faith just as powerful as God’s people of the past. The question is, how do we develop this kind of faith? It’s something to think about.
Like Daniel, we’re also believers of God who have a book of prophecies that we don’t understand. The book of Revelation, with its fantastical images, is not too different from the things Daniel himself saw and recorded. In our case, with this book that we don’t fully understand, what do you think God has called us to do?
Faith and Obedience
The command remains the same. Faithfulness and obedience. Like when Daniel refused the king’s food or refused to pray to anyone or anything other than God. Just as Daniel was told to seal up the word and go his own way, we also should be obedient to that. We shouldn’t try to assign meaning to things that have yet to be revealed to us. No matter how much we want to know, we have to accept that God has an appointed time he promised to tell us.
“Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father.”
John 16:25
Our trust should be in this. Until then, we can make an effort to know the prophecies He gave just as He gave them. And while learning and knowing those, we are able to practice God’s commands: faithfulness and obedience, patience and trust.
Written by Samantha
Read More
What to Expect for the Second Coming of Jesus
The Danger of Adding Our Own Thoughts to the Bible
Is the Book of Revelation Literal or Figurative?
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