Ten Times the
Blessing
"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." (Dan 1:20)
The
land of Judah has been ransacked. The Jewish king,
Jehoiakim, has fallen, and is taken captive into the land
of Babylon. The temple is destroyed, and all of the
sacred temple furnishings are taken to Babylonia, where
they are carried off to the temple of Nebuchadnezzar's god
and put in the god's treasure house. But that wasn't
enough. Nebuchadnezzar wanted more of Judah.
So he commanded the chief of his court officials, Ashpenaz,
"to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal
family and the nobility- young 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." (Dan.
1:3,4)
Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (AKA: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) were among the ones "lucky" enough to be selected, and off to Babylon they were forced to march, where they were then required to learn all about the wisdom of the Babylonians. This, in and of itself, must have been quite difficult for God-fearing Hebrew boys. But to make matters worse, the king decided that the decision of what these boys ate should also be in his hands. He "assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table." (Dan. 1:5).
Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (AKA: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) were among the ones "lucky" enough to be selected, and off to Babylon they were forced to march, where they were then required to learn all about the wisdom of the Babylonians. This, in and of itself, must have been quite difficult for God-fearing Hebrew boys. But to make matters worse, the king decided that the decision of what these boys ate should also be in his hands. He "assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table." (Dan. 1:5).
I am
sure there were more then four Hebrew boys selected for
this "honor", but the Bible only tells us about Daniel and
his three friends. Why? Because Daniel and his
friends were the only Hebrew boys who refused to eat the
food and wine from the king's table! The Bible tells
us that: "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." (Dan
1:8)
Now,
why would Daniel do that? There are many
speculations. It is probably safe to say that this
food had been offered to idols, which would have been
reason enough for Daniel and his friends to not want to
touch it. Besides, the food on the king's table was
probably not exactly kosher! Perhaps there were
other reasons too, but whatever the reason, Daniel and his
friends chose to remain true to the Judaic dietary laws.
This
decision, of course, caused some problems, but many
prayers later, the boys were allowed a ten-day trial of
nothing but vegetables and water, at the end of which
time, "they looked healthier and better nourished than
any of the young men who ate the royal food." (Dan
1:15-16). As a result, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and
Azariah were allowed to eat only vegetables and water for
the duration of their three-year education. They
were then tested by Nebuchadnezzar himself, and "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" (Dan 1:20), and there were
"none equal to Daniel, Hananiah,
Mishael and Azariah" (Dan. 1:19)!
Why?
What was it that made Daniel and his three friends so much
wiser than their classmates? How come Daniel and his
friends were even found to be wiser than all the wise men
of Babylon? Was it a result of eating a healthy
diet?
Well, certainly this wouldn't have hurt them, but I would
be hesitant to say that diet alone could render four boys
ten times better than all the wisest men of Babylon!
What was it, then,
that made the difference? Dan. 1:17 gives us the
answer: "To 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."
It was the hand of
God that made the difference, my friends! What God
touches will be blessed!
But why was God's
hand on Daniel and his friends, and not on the other
Hebrew captives?
Because Daniel
remained true to God's laws!
Would you like to
increase your blessings by 1000%? Then why not try
Daniel's plan? Follow God's plan for your lives.
Obey His laws. That's what they are there for!
When you obey God, you are opening up the door for God to
bless you beyond measure!
"He found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom." (Dan 1:20)
Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart,
Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets (
www.sermonillustrator.org/minisermons/ ), Answers2Prayer Ministries,
www.Answers2Prayer.org ,