Daniel 1:1-18 NIV – In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god.
3Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility—4young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. 5The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.
6Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7The chief official gave them new names [Babylonian names]: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
8But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 9Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, 10but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”
11Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12“Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” 14So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.
15At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.
17To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.
18At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. 20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.
Nobody escapes the knife.
How do you thrive in Babylon?
1. Remember Whose You Are
Daniel 1:8 ESV – But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore, he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.
Who determines your Identity?
1 Corinthians 6:19b-20a NIV – “You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price.”
Galatians 3:27-29 ESV – For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
Jeremiah 29:4- 7 ESV – “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
2. Remain True To Your Convictions
Daniel 1:8, But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself …
When was the last time this sentence could be said of you:
Daniel 1:8, But [your name] resolved that he/she would not defile himself/herself….
Job said, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman.” (Job 31:1)
it’s not the obvious things that are the hardest to deal with in his life. Actually…….the big things that are the easiest to turn away from. … People know adultery’s bad and murder’s bad. I’m not going to go out and sleep with the first girl I see. But when your eyes start wandering, a little more jealous and envious, and these passions start rising up inside of you—that’s when it really becomes dangerous. Because the Devil doesn’t work that way. His strategy is always to be very subtle and continue to build on top of that evil seed that he planted.” Troy Polamalu
1 Corinthians 10:23 (NIV 84) – “Everything is permissible” – but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible” – but not everything is constructive.
3. Relinquish Your Dreams, So God’s Dream Can Live
Let your dreams die, so God’s Dream can live
Daniel 1:1-2 NIV – In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand
Joel 2:25 ESV – I will restore[a] to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.
Daniel 1:21 ESV – And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.
