![]() Commentators disagree on the reasons for this refusal. The men ate vegetables, refusing only savory meats and other delicacies (vv. ![]() At the beginning of their service to Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel asked his supervisor to allow the four Jewish men to abstain from the king's food and wine. However, by the grace of God, they withstood the cultural pressures of Babylon. 6–7).īabylon stacked the deck against these four men's ability to maintain a distinct witness to the Lord. For example, in Hebrew the name Daniel means "God is my judge," but Belteshazzar means "may a god protect his life" or "Goddess, protect the king" (vv. Additionally, Daniel and his three friends also received new legal names that reflected the worldview Babylon wanted them to adopt. ![]() Moreover, this instruction came from King Nebuchadnezzar's court, where the four men enjoyed the privileges of the royal food and wine (v. They were exposed to the wisdom and great achievements of Babylon like no other Judahites. These were the cream of the crop, the elite chosen to learn the "literature and the language of the Chaldeans" (Dan. Few Jews had as many reasons to embrace Babylonian ways as they did. Given that Daniel and his friends lived in an ungodly culture opposed to the one true Lord of Israel, we would be foolish not to consider how they help us learn how to live in our own depraved society.ĭaniel and his friends were in the world but not of the world (John 15:19 17:15). Biblical narratives give us more than models to follow, but we err if we do not consider how the men and women in Scripture are real examples of godliness.
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