NCarolinian

Daniel had the proper resolution in Daniel 1:8.  "But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine,..."   He had the proper response in Daniel 2:14. "When Arioch, the commander of the king's guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact."  Thirdly, Daniel had and knew the proper reward for himself in Daniel 5:17.  "Then Daniel answered the king, 'You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else.  Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means."  But Daniel did not get a chance to even react to the charges brought against him in Daniel 6:16.  "So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den."   However, it is interesting to note that the king at that time, King Darius, must have liked Daniel because Scripture previous to that says, "When the king heard t...

Daniel's friends and brothers in the faith - Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were all insulted as captors by having their names changed.  Their original names reflected their Jewish background or belief in Yahweh.  The king now called them Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - after the gods the Babylonians worshiped.  Then in chapter three of Daniel we read about a very proud King, Nebuchadnezzar, that sets up an image of himself to be worshiped whenever the musicians make a certain call on their instruments. Whether or not the king knew he would get a certain reaction out of Daniel's friends is mere speculation.  However, the decree was made, "the astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews" for not following the decree and the three Jewish captors were escorted in to the king's presence by a summon from the king himself. "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?  .......if you ...

Daniel 2: 14 - 49 Daniel was not around for the ordeal that took place between his highly advanced-in-knowledge staff and the king of Babylon. Talk about being on the short end of the stick!  Daniel did not even hear that he, his Jewish brothers, and his Babylonian counterparts were sentenced to death until almost the last minute. Daniel's approach in Scripture is what initially halted a whole cabinet of officials and potential knowledge from certain death.  Verse 14 says,  "Daniel spoke to him [Arioch, commander of the king's guard] with wisdom and tact." Daniel then "asked the king's officer" (v.15) about Arioch's charge, sought the king's presence and "asked for time" (v.16) so that he may fulfill the desire of the king to both speak the dream and it's interpretation.  Then he got a prayer team organized (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) and asked, actually Daniel instructed his brothers - "plead for mercy from the...

Daniel 1:6-20 The phrase " But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine" (v.8) implies to me he was not happy with his name change and those of his fellow Jewish brothers (v.7).  God rewarded Daniel's resolve not to defile himself by causing the official to show "favor and sympathy to Daniel" (v.9) , by supporting Daniel in a ten-day test of a particular diet, and by giving "knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning" (v.17) , plus the understanding of "visions and dreams of all kinds" (v.17) to Daniel. Daniel found what he could control and dedicated that to God.  In the midst of Daniel's captivity in Babylon and after a recent slap-in-the-face name change, God honored Daniel's resolve and Daniel's concern for the official's life.  The official was afraid that the diet would make the Jewish men appear undernourished, therefore his life would be required of him by t...