But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods.
When Daniel learned that a law against praying to anyone but the Babylonian king had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God. 11 Then the officials went together to Daniel’s house and found him praying and asking for God’s help.
In the evening the men went together to the king and said, “Your Majesty, you know that according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, no law that the king signs can be changed.”
So at last the king gave orders for Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to him, “May your God, whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you.” Daniel 1:8; 6:10-22
In 605 BCE, the nation of Babylon swooped into Judah and destroyed city walls, the Temple, and homes. As important as the destruction of the infrastructure was, destroying any future threat from Judah was more important to the Babylonians.
In the first deportation, a young man named Daniel was taken to Babylon. To Babylon’s credit, they did not take the captives away in order to punish or mistreat them, but rather to incorporate them into Babylonian culture. The opening verses of the Book of Daniel say that the king commanded the palace master Ashpenaz to bring to the palace “young men who were versed in wisdom, endowed with knowledge and insight, and competent to serve the king.”
The king’s goal was to turn these young men into Babylonians. The king did not expect nor permit that these men would establish Judahite traditions in the land of Babylon. But Daniel was not one to compromise his faith in YAHWEH. And that conviction would create problems for him. Three times a day Daniel would go to his room and pray to YAHWEH, never attempting to conceal his practice.
There were people in the king’s court who were jealous of the favor that the king gave to Daniel, and they conspired against him to remove his favor. They even wanted to bring the power of the kingdom against him, perhaps to kill him. But Daniel’s heart was wholly given to God. In a foreign land, favored by the king of that land and living in a privileged place, Daniel still remained pure and focused.
Daniel was not apologetic about his faith and did not allow anyone to keep him from practicing it, in as much as he had the power to do so. Jesus regards such pure-of-heart people as having the stuff called for by God’s rule in their lives.
Prayer:
God of Daniel and all those courageous saints who worshiped you in spite of obstacles or suffering they face. We pray for courage like theirs. Courage to say no to those who try to stifle the practice of our faith. Give us courage to live our faith openly and publicly. Please walk with us and strengthen our courage to serve you. Amen.