Something that I have repeated on numerous occasions is that if we say that we are Christians, then we have to be very different from who we once were. When we say that we are Christians, our life has to change completely, but this can sometimes lead to suffering and adversity.
The biggest reason for this is because we are part of a conformist society. In other words, most people conform to what is happening around them and expect us to do that too, but we are not called to conform to the things of the world, we are called to follow Christ.
We were not created to remain in the presence of sin, we were created to remain in the presence of our God. But despite this, there are many who surrender to the pressure exerted by this world. There are many who do not dare to be different.
This is the topic that we will be studying today; Today we will be exploring the consequences of being different in this world of evil. Let's now turn to the Word of God.
Daniel 1: 8-15 - And Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself with the portion of the king's food, nor with the wine which he drank; He asked, therefore, the head of the eunuchs not to force himself to be contaminated. 9 And God put Daniel in grace and in goodwill with the chief of the eunuchs; 10 And the chief of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who appointed your meat and your drink; for after he sees your faces more pale than those of the boys who are similar to you, you will condemn my head to the king. 11 Then Daniel said to Melsar, who was placed by the chief of the eunuchs over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: 12 I pray you, let your servants do the test for ten days, and give us vegetables to eat, and water to drink. . 13 Then compare our faces with the faces of the boys who eat of the ration of the king's food, and do afterwards with your servants as you see. 14 So he consented with them in this, and he tried ten days with them. 15 And at the end of the ten days their face seemed better and more robust than that of the other boys who ate of the portion of the king's food.
As I usually say, to have a better understanding of the message that God has for us today, we will need to know some details of what was happening in these verses, and know some of the customs of the people of that time. The first thing we need to know is that the life and ministry of Daniel covered the entire period of the seventy years of Israel's captivity for Babylon.
Daniel was deported to Babylon at the age of 16, and was chosen to serve King Nebuchadnezzar; but before he had to go through three years of training. This is something that is clearly expressed in Daniel 1: 3-4 when we read, "And the king said to Ashpenaz, the chief of his eunuchs, that he should bring of the children of Israel, of the royal family of princes, four boys in whom there would be a blemish, of good looks, taught in all wisdom, wise in science and of good understanding, and fit to be in the palace of the king; and to teach them the letters and the language of the Chaldeans. "
But this training was designed with a great purpose; their diet would change, their names would change, and everything they were would be eliminated. This is something that is well expressed in Daniel 1: 5-7 when we read, "And the king appointed for them a daily ration, from the provision of the king's food, and from the wine that he drank; and that he should rear them three years, so that at the end of them they would appear before the king. 6 Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, of the sons of Judah. 7And the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he appointed Daniel, Belteshazzar; to Ananias, Shadrach; to Misael, Mesac; and to Azariah, Abed-nego. "
Now, I know that some of you may be thinking that this information is not necessary; however, these brief details reveal the king's purpose.
These brief details help us to understand that the purpose of the king was for them to conform to the Babylonian laws; this conformity would then lead them to lose their Jewish identity. Keeping these briefs in mind, let's continue now with our study today.
The first thing we find here is that we are told, "And Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself with the portion of the king's food, nor with the wine that he drank; He asked, therefore, the chief of the eunuchs not to be forced to contaminate himself. "Can you imagine this? A young man after being captured and taken away as a slave, was now trying to challenge the king of the empire. Tell the person you have by your side, Daniel was a daring guy.
But the reason why Daniel could do this, that is, the reason why he proposed this in his heart was because he did not forget and was not willing to forget who he was. Daniel did not forget or was unwilling to forget the words of Jehovah as we find in Deuteronomy 7: 6 when we read, "For you are a holy people to Jehovah your God; Jehovah your God has chosen you to be a special people, more than all the peoples who are on earth. "From here we have much to learn. I say this because the great reality is that sometimes many forget their true identity.
Sometimes we become so wrapped up in the things of this world, and we torment ourselves so much with the circumstances that surround us that we forget what we find in 1 Peter 2: 9 when we read, "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. , a people acquired by God, so that you may proclaim the virtues of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. "
And when this is forgotten or we do not give it the value and importance so great it means, then we begin to conform to the things of this world which causes us to automatically start to turn away from God. That is why today I tell you that as Christians we have to be more daring.
We have to be willing to stand firmly in our belief and faith, and not allow any influence from this world to separate us from the presence of God. Before proceeding we must examine what Daniel told the chief of the eunuchs in more detail. Here we see that he told him he did not want to "get contaminated", but what does this mean? Was the king's food contaminated? Was it the food that offered him something that was going to poison him? The answer is no.
The reason why Daniel said he did not want to get contaminated is because most of the Orthodox Jews of that time and even today were vegetarians.
They base their belief on what we find in Genesis 1:29 when we read, "And God said, Behold, I have given you every plant that gives seed, which is on all the earth, and every tree in which there is fruit and which gives seed; They will be for you to eat. "
According to the Jewish Orthodox tradition this is the perfect diet; they base this opinion on the fact that once God tells man what he had provided for him to eat in Genesis 1:31 we find that he says, "And God saw all that he had made, and behold, he was good in great way And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. "
So the reason why Daniel declares that he did not want to get contaminated is not because the food was bad or it would hurt him physically, but because sharing those foods went directly against his faith and belief. But I warn you now that doing this can have negative consequences in our lives. Let's continue to examine these verses so that they understand what I am saying.
First we find that God is attentive to our circumstances, and that He just and helps us and provides His grace and power when we remain faithful.
This is something that is clear to everyone when we read, "And God placed Daniel in grace and in good will with the chief of the eunuchs."
Second we find what I told you a brief moment ago; we find that when we dispose in our hearts not to compromise or contaminate our faith and belief, sometimes we will experience negative consequences.
This is something that is very well illustrated when we read, "and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel," I fear my lord the king, who pointed out your food and your drink; for after he sees your faces more pale than those of the boys who are like you, you will condemn my head to the king. "
As we can see, not complying with the laws of the king could produce the death of this man, and certainly the death of Daniel as well. But none of this mattered to this young man, and the reason why none of this mattered to him was because he was completely trusting in God.