D.L. Moody - Bible Characters

Daniel the Prophet

The Captives in Babylon

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the kings meat, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself - (Dan. 1:8)

I ALWAYS delight to study the life of Daniel the Prophet. The name Daniel means God is my judge. God is my judge: not the public is my judge; not my fellow-men, but God. So Daniel held himself responsible to God. Some may ask, Who was Daniel? Listen. About six hundred years before the time of Christ, the sins of the kings of Judah had brought down upon them and upon the people the judgments of God Jehoiakim had succeeded Jehoahaz; and Jehoiachin had succeeded Jehoiakim; and he again was succeeded by Zedekiah; and of each of these kings the record runs just the same: he did evil in the sight of the Lord.

No wonder that in the days of Jehoiakim, about six hundred years before the time of Christ, Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, was permitted of God to come up against Jerusalem, and to lay siege against it and overcome it. It was probably at this time that Daniel, with some of the young princes, was carried away captive. A few years later, Jehoiachin being king, Nebuchadnezzar again came up against Jerusalem, and overcame it; when he bare away many of the temple vessels, and made several thousand captives.

And still later on, when Zedekiah was king, Nebuchadnezzar came a third time against Jerusalem to besiege it; and this time he burnt the city with fire; broke down its walls; slaughtered many of the people; and probably bore away another batch of captives to the banks of the Euphrates.

Among the earlier captives taken by the King of Babylon in the days of Jehoiakim, were four young men. Like Timothy in later times, they may have had godly mothers, who taught them the law of the Lord. Or they may perhaps have been touched by the words of Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, whom God had sent to the people of Judah. So, when the nation was rejecting the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Moses, these young men took Him as their God: they received Him into their hearts.

Many may have mocked at Jeremiahs warnings, when he lifted up his voice against the sins of the people; they may have laughed at his tears, and have told him to his facejust as people say nowadays of earnest preachersthat he was causing undue excitement. But these four young men would seem to have listened to the prophets voice: and they had the strength to come out for God.

And now they are in Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar the king commands that a certain number of the most promising of the young Jewish captives should be picked out, who might be taught the Chaldean tongue and instructed in the learning of Babylon. And the king further ordered that there should be daily set before them portions of meat from his table, and a supply of the same wine as he himself drank; and this was to go on for three years. And at the end of three years these young men were to stand before the great monarch, at that time the ruler over the whole world. Daniel and his three young friends were amongst those thus selected.

No young man ever goes from a country home to a large citysay, to a great metropoliswithout grave temptations crossing his path on his entrance. And just at this turning-point in his life, as in Daniels, must lie the secret of his success or his failure. The cause of many of the failures that we see in life is, that men do not start right. Now, this young man started right. He took a character with him up to Babylon; and he was not ashamed of the religion of his mother and his father. He was not ashamed of the God of the Bible. Up there among those heathen idolaters he was not ashamed to let his light shine. The young Hebrew captive took his stand for God as he entered the gate of Babylon, and doubtless he cried to God to keep him steadfast. And he needed to cry hard, for he had to face great difficulties: as we shall see.

Soon comes a testing time. The kings edict goes forth, that these young men should eat the meat from the kings table. Some of that food would in all probability consist of meats prohibited by the Levitical lawthe flesh of animals, of birds, and of fishes, which had been pronounced unclean, and were consequently forbidden: or in the preparation, some portion might not perhaps have been thoroughly drained of the blood, concerning which it had been declared, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh; or some part of the food may have been presented as an offering to Bel or some other Babylonish god. Some one of these circumstances, or possibly all of them united, may have determined Daniels course of action. I do not think it took young Daniel long to make up his mind. He purposed in his heart in his heart , mark that!that he would not defile himself with the portion of the kings meat.

If some modern Christians could have advised Daniel, they would have said, Do not act like that; do not set aside the kings meat: that is an act of Pharisaism. The moment you take your stand, and say you will not eat it, you say in effect that you are better than other people. Oh, yes; that is the kind of talk too often heard now. Men say, When you are in Rome you must do as Rome does; and such people would have pressed upon the poor young captive that, though he might obey the commandments of God while in his own country, yet that he could not possibly do so here in Babylonthat he could not expect to carry his religion with him into the land of his captivity. I can imagine men saying to Daniel, Look here, young man, you are too puritanical. Dont be too particular; dont have too many religious scruples. Bear in mind you are not now in Jerusalem. You will have to get over these notions, now you are here in Babylon. You are not now surrounded by friends and relatives. You are not a Jerusalem prince now. You are not surrounded by the royal family of Judah. You have been brought down from your high position. You are now a captive. And if the monarch hears about your refusing to eat the same kind of meat that he eats, and to drink the same kind of wine that he drinks, your head will soon roll from off your shoulders. You had better be a little politic.

But this young man had piety and religion deep down in his heart: and that is the right place for it; that is where it will grow; that is where it will have power; that is where it will regulate the life. Daniel had not joined the company of the church, the faithful few in Jerusalembecause he wanted to get into society, and attain a position: that was not the reason. It was because of the love he had toward the Lord God of Israel.

I can imagine the astonishment of that officer, Melzar, when Daniel told him he could not eat the kings meat or drink his wine. Why, what do you mean? Is there anything wrong with it? Why, it is the best the land can produce!

No, says Daniel, there is nothing wrong with it in that way; but take it away, I cannot eat it. Then Melzar tried to reason Daniel out of his scruples; but no, there stood the prophet, youth though he was at that time, firm as a rock.

So, thank God, this young Hebrew and his three friends said they would not eat the meat or drink the wine; and requesting that the portions might be taken away, they endeavoured to persuade the overseer to bring them pulse instead.

Take away this wine, and take away this meat. Give us pulse and water. The prince of the eunuchs probably trembled for the consequences. But, yielding to their importunity, he eventually consented to let them have pulse and water for ten days. And lo! at the end of the ten days his fears were dispelled; for the faces of Daniel and his young friends were fairer and fatter than the faces of any of those who had partaken of the kings meat. The four young men had not noses, like those of too many men nowadays seen in our streets, as red as if they were just going to blossom. It is Gods truthand Daniel and his friends tested itthat cold water, with a clear conscience, is better than wine. They had a clear conscience; and the smile of God was upon them. The Lord had blessed their obedience, and the four Hebrew youths were allowed to have their own way; and in Gods time they were brought into favour, not only with the officer set over them, but with the court and the king.