Integrity Established • Daniel 1:8-21
By Wayne VanHorn
We now turn our attention to Daniel, a contemporary of Ezekiel. Daniel and his friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and, Azariah, are the quintessential role models for not compromising one’s faith.
These young men were exiled into a foreign culture with polytheistic religion. They were each given names based on the gods of Babylon (Dan. 1:7; 4:8). Yet these four faithful youth kept their focus on the one true God, thus establishing their personal integrity before all.
The central teaching of this lesson is, “Believers can live with integrity when tempted to compromise.”
A commitment expressed (Dan. 1:8-10). An early temptation for Daniel and his friends was to enjoy the sumptuous food prescribed by the king. As Hebrews, they had been taught the dietary laws of the Torah (Lev. 11:1-23). Does one defy the king’s instructions and risk reprisals in order to keep the Law of the Lord?
Daniel “determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or with the wine he drank” (Dan. 1:8; CSB). “Determined” renders the Hebrew, “he set upon his heart,” a reference to mental commitment to keep himself pure.
Daniel acted prudently by asking the chief official for permission to not defile himself. Though Daniel was 800 miles from Jerusalem, God demonstrated His sovereignty by granting Daniel “kindness and compassion” (Dan. 1:9). The term “kindness” renders the Hebrew word chesed, a reference to covenant loyalty.
Since Daniel sought to be true to the dietary laws of the Mosaic covenant, God granted him permission through the Babylonian king’s chief official. That permission was accompanied by “compassion,” from the Hebrew rachamim, meaning “tender mercies.”
The chief eunuch gave permission, knowing that doing so endangered his own life should Daniel and his friends appear thinner than other youths following the king’s diet (Dan. 1:10).
A test passed (Dan. 1:11-16). Daniel was sensitive to the predicament of the chief official, not wanting him to suffer if he and his friends became frail looking. Wisely, he proposed a ten-day trial period.
The Hebrews would eat vegetables and drink water. After ten days, their countenances would be compared to those who ate the king’s rich food. At the end of the trial period, the official would be free to act based on what he saw (Dan. 1:11-13).
At the end of the ten-day period, Daniel and his friends “looked better and healthier.” The other youth who ate the king’s provisions did not fare well in comparison (Dan. 1:14-15). As a result, the official decided to place all the young people on the “Daniel Diet,” vegetables to eat instead of meat and water to drink instead of wine.
Not only had Daniel and his friends stayed true to their covenant commitments regarding food, they excelled by doing so. Their integrity resulted in the best possible outcome. Moreover, Daniel’s ten-day trial suggestion demonstrated wisdom for solving a real world problem.
A recognized difference (Dan. 1:17-21). Why did Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah succeed when the other youths seemed to have the advantage? They excelled because God gave them “knowledge and understanding” (Dan. 1:17). The Hebrew text emphatically positions the phrase, “These four young men,” at the head of the sentence to distinguish them from all other youths.
The NLT translation of the Bible renders “knowledge” as “unusual aptitude,” nuancing the uncommon intelligence they possessed as a gift from God. The term, “understanding,” is an infinitive in the Hebrew text from a verb meaning, “to see things in an effective or prosperous way.”
Daniel and his friends were gifted “in every kind of literature and wisdom.” Additionally, Daniel “understood visions and dreams of every kind,” a foreshadowing of things to come. “At the end of the time” (Dan. 1:18) refers to the three years of training designated by Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 1:5).
The chief eunuch presented them to the king. After Nebuchadnezzar interviewed an undesignated number of youths, “no one was found equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah” (Dan. 1:19).
As a result, these four “began to attend the king.” The term, “attend,” derives from the Hebrew ‘amad, meaning “to stand.” God had strategically placed four men, loyal to His covenant, in the very presence of the king of the Babylonian Empire.
Daniel 1:20 confirms both God’s favor and Nebuchadnezzar’s judgment. The four young men were found to be “ten times better” than all their Babylonian peers. No magician or medium was comparable.
God’s wisdom resided in the minds of His faithful servants. He used them because they were men of integrity.
VanHorn is dean of the School of Christian Studies & the Arts at Mississippi College, Clinton.
