In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it. The Lord handed King Jehoiakim of Judah over to him, along with some of the vessels from the house of God. Nebuchadnezzar carried them to the land of Babylon, to the house of his god, and put the vessels in the treasury of his god. Daniel 1:1-2

The book of Daniel begins as God’s people suffer a crushing military defeat and the humiliation of their king by a pagan, foreign king. The repercussions are tragic, but the Israelites’ king really hasn’t been a great king. He deserves to be humiliated.

More upsetting than the military defeat and the humiliation of Israel’s king is the spectacle of the articles of the temple of God being taken away to the temple of a pagan god. This desecration of God’s temple is the ultimate injury to God’s people. However, the Scripture states plainly that God Himself takes credit, or blame—depending on your perspective—for the defeat of His people. The Lord handed King Jehoiakim of Judah over to him… The Lord did this to his own people. And while God’s punishment of His people is understandable, God allows His own honor to be maligned as well. Punishment is one thing; abandonment is another. Talk about a people who feel utterly forsaken.

The king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the Israelites from the royal family and from the nobility—young men without any physical defect, good-looking, suitable for instruction in all wisdom, knowledgeable, perceptive, and capable of serving in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the Chaldean language and literature. The king assigned them daily provisions from the royal food and from the wine that he drank. They were to be trained for three years, and at the end of that time they were to attend the king. Among them, from the Judahites, were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. The chief eunuch gave them names; he gave the name Belteshazzar to Daniel, Shadrach to Hananiah, Meshach to Mishael, and Abednego to Azariah.

Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief eunuch not to defile himself. God had granted Daniel kindness and compassion from the chief eunuch, yet he said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and drink. What if he sees your faces looking thinner than the other young men your age? You would endanger my life with the king.”

So Daniel said to the guard whom the chief eunuch had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, “Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then examine our appearance and the appearance of the young men who are eating the king’s food, and deal with your servants based on what you see.” He agreed with them about this and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days they looked better and healthier than all the young men who were eating the king’s food. So the guard continued to remove their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables.

God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams of every kind. At the end of the time that the king had said to present them, the chief eunuch presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king interviewed them, and among all of them, no one was found equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they began to attend the king. In every matter of wisdom and understanding that the king consulted them about, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and mediums in his entire kingdom. Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus. Daniel 1:3-21

It would be tough to be in Daniel’s shoes. Here is a young man, an adolescent, a teenager. He is a witness to his nation’s downfall. Not only is he aware of a political upset, but much worse, he is aware of the removal of the articles devoted to God in the Holy Temple of God. This is a setting for a crisis of faith.

Daniel is then taken to a foreign country and given a new name and a new wardrobe. He’s made to look like a Babylonian pagan. He’s given a new diet and a Babylonian education in the finest university in Babylon. In this environment, Daniel has to decide how to respond. It would be natural and easiest to adapt to the culture, but Daniel resolved not to defile himself…

Daniel proposes a vegetarian diet to his captor. He says, “I only want to eat vegetables and drink water.” While directives are certainly given in the Jewish diet, this is not the reason Daniel chooses a vegetarian diet. There are many meats totally accepted under Jewish law. In fact, lamb is required at the Passover celebration. Daniel is now in a situation where some of what he will be offered in Babylon is acceptable under Jewish law, but some of the foods won’t be. Rather than having to analyze every dish and trying to sort out what is and isn’t okay, Daniel comes up with a creative solution. He decides to avoid all meat.

My mother said to me as a child, “If in doubt, don’t.” This is a great thing to teach your children, but it’s also a great thing to remember your whole life. Daniel practiced this wisdom.

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