December 1, 2022

“Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king’s delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants.” Daniel 1:12-13

When Daniel was speaking here, he and his three friends were only teenagers. Their entire world, as they knew it, had been abruptly changed. Because of the collective disobedience of God’s people, they had suffered defeat and been taken captive. This was the beginning of a seventy-year period of captivity (see Jeremiah 25:11, 2 Chronicles 36:21) under the heavy hand of the most pagan king of their day, the king of Babylon. These young boys, after seeing the destruction of their home and loved ones, were made eunuchs and placed under tremendous pressure to conform to the Babylonian way of life.

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. v.8

Daniel didn’t know it at the time, but he was to become a prophetic mouthpiece to the entire world, both Jew and Gentile. One stunning piece of evidence of the effectiveness of his influence is that over 600 years later an entourage of Gentile kings, wise men from the east (Matthew 2:1) came to worship the baby Jesus.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus pointed His followers back to the book of Daniel in preparation for the end-times (Matthew 24:15), that we might grasp that worship is the key focus until the end. Our subtle and crafty enemy is waging a battle for the minds of men, to gain worship for himself. Your mind is the most holy place of God’s temple. Satan has always wanted to occupy that place (see Isaiah 14:13-14, Luke 4:7, 2 Thessalonians 2:4); his plan is to gain total control through influencing our minds and, thus, our decision making. We need the discernment that is borne of wisdom. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given him (James 1:5). The Lord stands ready to strengthen and bless all who desire to honor Him with their choices!

There are many today who scoff at the Biblical guidelines for health. But even modern science is proving the correlation: it is a fact that mental and physical health are intertwined.

Then the king interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they served before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm. Daniel 1:19-20