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Daniel 1:18-21

¹⁸When the three-year training period ordered by the king was completed, the chief official brought all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹The king talked with each of them, and none of them impressed him as much as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they were appointed to his regular staff of advisers. ²⁰In all matters requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, the king found the advice of these young men to be ten times better than that of all the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.

²¹Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus’s reign.

Reflect

Finally, Daniel and his friends had made it through the three year training period. They made it through and still remained true to God. They followed God’s laws, took care of each other and trusted God to bless them. What was their reward? God gave them wisdom beyond that of the others. They were appointed leaders. They found favor with the king.

The story of Daniel and his friends in this chapter reminds us that we are all called to live in our culture but we don’t have to live like those in our culture. God rewards those who are faithful to Him. That is what we can take away from Daniel and his friends. As believers in Christ, we can be leaders in our culture - but we can’t compromise our convictions. Along with the freedom we have in salvation, comes the responsibility to be an example to others so they may also come to know Christ.

Respond

1. How long did it take Daniel and his friends to realize God’s blessing?
2. Have you ever had to endure hardship for a long period before realizing God’s blessing? How did you manage the wait?
3. The story in chapter one is about how Daniel and his friends handled the Lion of Ambition. They committed to make obedience to God a higher priority than their own ambition. Are you willing to make that same commitment?

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Daniel 1:15-17

¹⁵At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king. ¹⁶So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the rich foods and wines. ¹⁷God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for learning the literature and science of the time. And God gave Daniel special ability in understanding the meanings of visions and dreams.

Reflect

Can you imagine the look on the face of the attendant? Not only did these boys look healthier and stronger than the others, they were given the unusual ability to learn better! Why was this? Because God never left them.

When they made the commitment not to defile themselves, they took a stand and then placed their faith in God. Instead of thinking of themselves and pursuing their own ambition, they put God first. God rewarded them by making them healthy and strong and also smart! God made them more valuable to their captors. God made it possible for them to become leaders in their new culture. They could participate in their new culture without compromising their convictions. The best thing is that the boys didn’t claim any of the success for themselves. By obeying God and having faith, they allowed God to show His glory.

Respond

1. Can you think of a time that God rewarded you beyond what you imagined when you were faithful to Him?
2. If the attendant started feeding the others vegetables instead of rich foods and wines, would the others have the same result?
3. What made Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah different from the rest? What makes you different from others in your workplace?

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Daniel 1:11-14

¹¹Daniel talked it over with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief official to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. ¹²“Test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said. ¹³“At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s rich food. Then you can decide whether or not to let us continue eating our diet.” ¹⁴So the attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days.

Reflect

It was important for Daniel to hold on to his convictions. Faced with a situation that could have him defile himself, Daniel chose to “negotiate” with his superiors rather than compromise his convictions. If you look at this situation more closely, you begin to realize the amount of faith Daniel had to have. The common consequence for disobeying the kings orders was immediate death, so Daniel was asking his supervisor to risk death so Daniel wouldn’t have to compromise his convictions.

Have you ever held to a conviction so much that you would ask others to risk their life to accommodate you? It isn’t likely that the supervisor did this on his own. You see, God was always in control and knowing this, Daniel knew that as long as he was faithful to God, God would be faithful to him. So, God caused the supervisor to accept Daniels proposal. Daniel had enough faith to ask and then let God do the rest.

Respond

1. Have you ever been in a situation where you had to take a stand on your convictions? If so, did you ask God to help you?
2. Why did Daniel think he could ask the attendant to agree to this test?
3. What proof did Daniel have that God was with him?

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Daniel 1:6-10

⁶Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah. ⁷The chief official renamed them with these Babylonian names:

Daniel was called Belteshazzar.
Hananiah was called Shadrach.
Mishael was called Meshach.
Azariah was called Abednego.

⁸But Daniel made up his mind not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief official for permission to eat other things instead. ⁹Now God had given the chief official great respect for Daniel. ¹⁰But he was alarmed by Daniel’s suggestion. “My lord the king has ordered that you eat this food and wine,” he said. “If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded for neglecting my duties.”

Reflect

It is interesting to note that Nebuchadnezzar tried to not only assimilate these four men into the Babylonian culture, he also tried to change their religious loyalty by changing their names.

• Daniel, “God is my judge” in Hebrew, was changed to Belteshazar, meaning “Bel, protect his life!” (Bel was the chief god of the Babylonians)
• Hananian means “the Lord shows grace”; his new name Shadrach, probably means “under the command of Aku” (the moon god).
• Mishael means “who is like God?”; his new name Meshach, probably means “who is like Aku?”
• Azariah means “the Lord helps”; his new name, Abednego, means “servant of Nego/Nebo” (or Nabu, the god of learning and writing).

Through all this outside pressure to conform, Daniel made up his mind that he wouldn’t conform. He was intentional. It didn’t just happen. We too are often assaulted by pressures to compromise our standards and live more like the world around us. Like Daniel, we must resolve to obey God. It is easier to resist temptation if you have thought through your convictions before the temptation arises.

Respond

1. Why did Nebuchadnezzar change the boy’s names?
2. Why was it important for Daniel to make up his mind that he wouldn’t conform?
3. What can we do to prepare ourselves to resist the temptations that will come our way?

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Daniel 1:1-5

¹During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it with his armies. ²The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah. When Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon, he took with him some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God and placed them in the treasure-house of his god in the land of Babylonia.

³Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, who was in charge of the palace officials, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives. ⁴“Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. “Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good sense, and have the poise needed to serve in the royal palace. Teach these young men the language and literature of the Babylonians.” ⁵The king assigned them a daily ration of the best food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for a three-year period, and then some of them would be made his advisers in the royal court.

Reflect

A war rages, bombs kill our soldiers. Hurricanes and floods kill thousands. Fires consume acres of forest land. Children are abused, kidnapped or killed. Just thinking of all the injustices of this world could cause us to think that God is absent. “Where is God? What kind of a God would allow this?”, are questions we often hear.

For years, Jeremiah had warned the people of Judah to return from their evil ways. In 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar swept into Palestine and surrounded Jerusalem, making Judah his slave state. As was his custom, he usually took the most talented and useful people back to Babylon and left only the poor behind to take whatever land they wanted and to live peacefully there. This system fostered great loyalty from conquered lands and ensured a steady supply of wise and talented people for civil service.

This is where Daniel found himself. After Nebuchadnezzar had conquered Jerusalem, he had a long and difficult march of 500 miles to Babylon to live as a slave. He had always been faithful to God and I am sure he wondered where God was? Why did God give Nebuchadnezzar victory over Judah? Why was faithful Daniel, now a slave?

Without giving too much away, in this chapter, we will learn that God is always in control. Sure, situations around us make it seem that God has abandoned us, but He is always with us, in control.

Respond

1. Have you ever experienced a time when you thought God abandoned you?
2. Have you ever looked back over a painful time in your life and realized that although God seemed distant, He was always there and in control?
3. In reading the text above, did God cause Nebuchadnezzar to besiege Judah or did God allow Nebuchadnezzar to besiege Judah?

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Pastor Bart begins a new message series from the book of Daniel entitled: Living With Lions. Today, he talks about the first lion, Ambition.

Direct Link To Podcast

This week was our preview service at Buffet Middle School. We still have some kinks to iron out as evidenced by the poor audio quality of this week’s recording.

Getting ready for our grand opening on Sept. 24th, Pastor Bart presents a message about inviting your friends to Christ.

For more information about our Grand Opening, please visit Grace Community Church.

Download podcast here.

This week, we welcome a special guest speaker, Pastor Chuck Davis of Southside Assembly in Omaha, NE.

Direct link to download the Podcast

Link to Southside Assembly