When do You Commit?
Daniel Chapter 1
Message #2
When do you commit to really go all-in with God? When do you commit to truly follow him, to do things his way? When do you commit to trust him and serve him, no matter what your circumstances look like? When do you make a rock solid commitment to follow Jesus Christ no matter what? When, meaning, during what circumstance or situation in your life?
I’ve had the great blessing of seeing people make all-in commitments to follow God, no matter what and I’ve been greatly disturbed by seeing people so easily turn away from God because something didn’t go quite right. My question today is when do you get decisive, determined, intent and resolved to serve God no matter what? Under what circumstance or situation do you make your commitment to follow Jesus Christ and serve him with no doubt and no wavering? The question today is when do you commit?
Last week, in "Captive in Babylon", we looked at 350 years of Israel’s history, and a bunch of the greatest historical and prophetic books of the Old Testament. We finished with King Nebuchadnezzar storming Jerusalem by the hand of God and in response to Israel’s sin and Nebuchadnezzar ultimately destroyed not only the city but even the great temple of God. And in three waves, Nebuchadnezzar took the Israelites as prisoners back to Babylon to make them servants. We learned that in the first way of these P.O.W.’s was a young boy who is the main character in the book of Daniel. Today we want to put ourselves in that young boy’s shoes. We want to try to see what he saw and feel what he felt. We want to ask ourselves, would we make the same commitment that Daniel made when he made it?
Let’s set the stage by again reading from Daniel 1.
Daniel 1:1–2 (NLT)
1 During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah (southern tribes, last in the land), King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.
2 The Lord gave him victory (notice) over King Jehoiakim of Judah and permitted him (God permitted him) to take some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God. So Nebuchadnezzar took them back to the land of Babylonia and placed them in the treasure-house of his god.
During this siege (in three waves) most of the Israelites were brought back as captives to Babylon. But Nebuchadnezzar had special plans for Israel’s “best and brightest,” and as I read these next two verses, think a little bit about the Hitler youth camps of WWII.
Daniel 1:3–4 (NLT)
3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff (ESV - Chief Eunuch), to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives.
4 “Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. “Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good judgment, and are suited to serve in the royal palace . . .
These verses let us know Daniel was from a royal family of Israel. He and his friends were strong, healthy and good looking. They were educated, gifted with knowledge and good judgment and they knew how to act in the royal palace. And notice the word translated “young men” here refers to boys just before puberty, which means Daniel would’ve been between thirteen and fifteen years old, at the most. Back home in Israel he had it all going on. He was part of the royal family, strong, healthy, good looking, educated and he had manners (he had it all.)
Now are you familiar with the Nazi “youth camps?” In these camps the “Hitler Youth” were indoctrinated in every way into the Nazi world view. Hitler took the best and brightest youth and he transformed them into the future Nazi machine. He took them from their families, young and impressionable, and everything in those camps was designed to transform those young boys into the pure Nazi culture. And that is exactly what is going on here with Daniel.
Nebuchadnezzar took Israel’s best and brightest and we read in Daniel 1:4(b)-5.
Daniel 1:4(b)-5 (NLT)
4 . . . Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon (Chaldeans - same thing).”
5 The king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for three years, and then they would enter the royal service.
You see, we can’t just say, well, Daniel was taken captive to Babylon and here is what happened to him. It’s far too easy to just say that and continue on with the story. Because these are real people with real families and Daniel is a real teenager experiencing real trauma. Not only the trauma of war, but seeing his home destroyed and all that he knows destroyed and being dragged away from his family as a P.O.W. and very possibly seeing the death of many of those he loved. And if his family remained alive, it was most likely the last time he saw them.
Daniel was fifteen years old and being forcibly torn away from his family and taken as a P.O.W. into a foreign land and then put into a Babylonian brain washing “re-education” camp, the purpose of which was to make young Israelites think, act and feel like Babylonians. Because, you see, it was important politically for Nebuchadnezzar to have the best and the brightest of Israel serving him.
And then there is one more thing that Daniel and his friends were about to experience. After being taken from their families and their homes and made slaves in a foreign land, the Bible implies it (but historians tell us) Nebuchadnezzar would’ve made these young teenage boys eunuchs. (Now, right there, all the men should be wincing). So not only did they experience all the trauma leading up to Babylon, but almost certainly as part of their re-education, these fifteen-year-old boys would have been castrated. And for a fifteen-year-old boy, who had everything going for him, to lose it all, including his manhood, that is what you call and unimaginable situation.
My question to you today is - when do you decide for God? When do you make your all-in-no-matter-what decision to follow God and serve him alone? Is it on the heels of God doing something great for you? Oh, God, if you’ll just do THIS for me, if you’ll just make my life better… then I’ll serve you forever!! That is our selfish human nature, and it is the exact opposite of everything the Bible teaches us. We’re about to see Daniel make an incredible commitment to God and take an incredible stand for God, right in the middle of the most traumatic string of events a young boy could ever experience.
For Daniel, it’s not God I’ll serve you if you do this or that. For Daniel it is, God I’ll serve you no matter what’s happening, no matter where I’m at or what my situation is, I will serve you – all-in – no matter what. Because you, God, are greater than my trials. You are greater than my circumstances. You are greater than my present difficulty. And so I will take a stand for you God, in the middle of my trials. Not if you’ll do this or that for me, but because of who you are in my life. Do you get it?
It matters what Daniel’s background is, because when we see him take his stand for God, we have to know the circumstances he makes that decision in. Otherwise we’ll have the tendency to think, Well, sure, Daniel took a stand for God, but me, I’m in a really hard situation. Really? Have you found yourself as a castrated P.O.W. in an enemy “re-education camp” lately? Because that is where Daniel is at when we see him make the commitment that starts the book of Daniel.
So as we read the rest of Chapter 1, allow it to come alive within the picture we’ve just painted. First, we have the names of Daniel and his three friends.
Daniel 1:6 (NLT)
6 Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah (ruling families).
But as part of their “re-education,” their names are going to be changed to Babylonian names.
Daniel 1:7 (NLT)
7 The chief of staff (ESV - Eunuchs) renamed them with these Babylonian names: Daniel was called Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael was called Meshach. Azariah was called Abednego.
Notice the new names the Israelite boys were given.
Daniel – Belteshazzar = comes from the name “BEL” which was a chief Babylonian God (means: Bel protect)
Hananiah – Shadrach = comes from the sun god “SHAD” (means: Inspired by Shad – the sun god,)
Mishael – Meshach means: Who is like Shach (Not the basketball player) Shach is another lunar god of Babylon
Azariah – Abednego = means: Servant of the shining one, a reference to the Babylonian god NEBO
No Hebrew names, no references to the Hebrew God, only Babylonian names with reference to all Babylonian gods.
Now here it is, right here. The question is when do you make your commitment? When do you decide to take a stand for God? Is it when things are going great and God is blessing you? Or is it when you are in the midst of a great difficulty? Daniel, as a young boy, had been traumatized by war, death and destruction and taken as a P.O.W., put into a brain washing re-education camp and castrated.
Right there is where Daniel makes his commitment.
Right there is where Daniel becomes resolute.
Right there is where Daniel decides he is going to serve God, no matter what comes his way.
Right there is where Daniel makes the decision of his life.
Right there is where the direction of Daniel’s life is set.
Not in blessing and not conditioned upon God doing anything for him but right in the midst of trial and trauma and difficulty; and right there is where we must make the commitment of our life to follow and serve Jesus Christ no matter what.
Look at the first few words of Daniel 1:8
Daniel 1:8 (NLT)
8 But Daniel was determined . . .
But Daniel was determined.
Look at how the other translations put it:
But Daniel RESOLVED
But Daniel PURPOSED IN HIS HEART
But Daniel DETERMINED IN HIS HEART
But Daniel MADE UP HIS MIND
Right there in the thick of it, that is where Daniel made his decision to serve God alone, no matter what.
Would you? Is this where you would make your commitment?
Or, when things get difficult – do you turn: To your own course of action? To your own ideas – to your own feelings? To your own plan?
Can I just tell you something, please? Anyone can make an all-in decision to follow God when everything is going great and their life is on cruise control. The question that Daniel’s life screams out to us is – what commitment will you make “in the fire.” Will you take your stand to serve God “no matter what” when everything looks bleak and nothing is going right for you? That is when Daniel made his commitment and that is when we need to make our commitment.
Listen, our commitment to serve God no matter what always starts in the small things! It always starts with the small things, not the big things. The commitment to God didn’t start with the fiery furnace, it started with a cheeseburger! Their all-in commitment to God didn’t start with the big public heroic “fiery furnace” day. It started when they were offered their first cheeseburger and their decision about that cheeseburger prepared them for their decision about the fiery furnace!
Let’s re-read all of Daniel 1:8.
Daniel 1:8 (NLT)
8 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 (eunuchs) for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods.
You see, the cheeseburger of the world was unacceptable according to the Law of Moses and his eating was part of his service to God and part of his worship of God. And So Daniel began his all-in commitment to God right there – over a cheeseburger.
Daniel, buddy, come on… Don’t get worked up over a cheeseburger. Have you seen the situation you’re in? God just let you get castrated and now you don’t want to eat a cheeseburger, cause you’re afraid you’ll offend God. Get over it, man. Have a cheeseburger and DEFILE yourself a little bit.
What’s the cheeseburger in your life right now?
In the midst of an extremely traumatic situation, Daniel made a rock solid commitment to serve God alone, no matter what the situation, no matter how seemingly small the issue was, even if it was just about the food.
Next, and I think it is vitally important, that we see how Daniel went about keeping his commitment to God. He didn’t start with some offensive, dramatic, look-at-me action. Look at verse 8 again. It says Daniel asked the chief of the Eunuchs for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods. Daniel wasn’t making a scene. He wasn’t throwing a fit. He didn’t start with a FaceBook Campaign or call a Christian rights attorney. He made an all-in commitment to God, and then he respectfully approached the guy who recently made him a eunuch and he simply asked him for permission to not eat the cheeseburgers of Babylon. And God moved on Daniel’s behalf.
Daniel 1:9 (NLT)
9 Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel.
But it also presented a problem for the Chief of Staff.
Daniel 1:10 (NLT)
10 But he responded, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded.”
Nebuchadnezzar’s primary motivation for his people was the threat of divorce – as in “I’m gonna divorce your head from your body.” Nebuchadnezzar would dispatch your head so fast you wouldn’t know it till you sneezed. And the Chief Eunuch was well aware of that. And so Daniel proposed a plan that would bring God glory.
Daniel 1:11–14 (NLT)
11 Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
12 “Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said.
13 “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.”
14 The attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days.
Guys, when we make a commitment to serve God all-in, no matter what. We don’t have to be jerks and we don’t have to start intentionally offending people around us. Like Daniel we can respectfully suggest a plan that is designed to ultimately bring God glory.
In the midst of the most trying and difficult circumstance, Daniel made his commitment to serve God Alone. And he began his commitment in the small things, the things that others didn’t even think mattered. And God knew one thing for sure, if Daniel would keep his commitment in the small things, he would keep his commitment in the large things, and it’s exactly the same for you and I.
God blessed the commitment of Daniel (and friends).
Daniel 1:15–16 (NLT)
15 At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king.
16 So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the food and wine provided for the others.
Daniel’s first commitment test passed with flying colors. Daniel and his friends committed to serve God alone in the midst of the most trying circumstances and God’s blessing and God’s protection followed.
Daniel 1:17 (NLT)
17 God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams.
God gave them unusual aptitude and special ability, which was God’s design, to give these young boys both his blessing and his protection as they grew. Which we immediately begin to see.
Daniel 1:18–21 (NLT)
18 When the training period ordered by the king was completed, (3 years) the chief of staff brought all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar.
19 The king talked with them, and no one impressed him as much as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the royal service.
20 Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom. (The beginning of God’s Blessing)
21 Daniel remained in the royal service until the first year of the reign of King Cyrus. (Referring to a time when Daniel was - 80 yrs old)
What an incredible start for Daniel and his friends. What an incredibly difficult set of circumstances to make your all-in, no matter what, commitment to God.
So, what about you? When did you make your all-in, no matter what commitment to God? Or have you? Are you struggling to make that commitment right now? Are you in a situation right now, where it makes perfect sense (to you) to bend a little, to just defile your life, a little? And do you think you deserve it, because you’ve had it pretty rough?
Please see the critical crossroad that you are at. See what hangs in the balance. See that God is watching and know he will respond accordingly. And then, take a deep breath and make your commitment. Your all-in, no turning back, no matter what commitment. Don’t vacillate. Don’t negotiate. Don’t rationalize, justify, defend or excuse. Just make your commitment!!
Make your commitment:
To follow Jesus Christ – no matter what
To serve him – no matter what
To choose his way – no matter what
And no matter what your circumstance or situation:
God will meet you there
God will bless you there
God will use your life for his glory, right there.
I’ve had the great blessing of seeing people make all-in commitments to follow God, no matter what and I’ve been greatly disturbed by seeing people so easily turn away from God because something didn’t go quite right. My question today is when do you get decisive, determined, intent and resolved to serve God no matter what? Under what circumstance or situation do you make your commitment to follow Jesus Christ and serve him with no doubt and no wavering? The question today is when do you commit?
Last week, in "Captive in Babylon", we looked at 350 years of Israel’s history, and a bunch of the greatest historical and prophetic books of the Old Testament. We finished with King Nebuchadnezzar storming Jerusalem by the hand of God and in response to Israel’s sin and Nebuchadnezzar ultimately destroyed not only the city but even the great temple of God. And in three waves, Nebuchadnezzar took the Israelites as prisoners back to Babylon to make them servants. We learned that in the first way of these P.O.W.’s was a young boy who is the main character in the book of Daniel. Today we want to put ourselves in that young boy’s shoes. We want to try to see what he saw and feel what he felt. We want to ask ourselves, would we make the same commitment that Daniel made when he made it?
Let’s set the stage by again reading from Daniel 1.
Daniel 1:1–2 (NLT)
1 During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah (southern tribes, last in the land), King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.
2 The Lord gave him victory (notice) over King Jehoiakim of Judah and permitted him (God permitted him) to take some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God. So Nebuchadnezzar took them back to the land of Babylonia and placed them in the treasure-house of his god.
During this siege (in three waves) most of the Israelites were brought back as captives to Babylon. But Nebuchadnezzar had special plans for Israel’s “best and brightest,” and as I read these next two verses, think a little bit about the Hitler youth camps of WWII.
Daniel 1:3–4 (NLT)
3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff (ESV - Chief Eunuch), to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives.
4 “Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. “Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good judgment, and are suited to serve in the royal palace . . .
These verses let us know Daniel was from a royal family of Israel. He and his friends were strong, healthy and good looking. They were educated, gifted with knowledge and good judgment and they knew how to act in the royal palace. And notice the word translated “young men” here refers to boys just before puberty, which means Daniel would’ve been between thirteen and fifteen years old, at the most. Back home in Israel he had it all going on. He was part of the royal family, strong, healthy, good looking, educated and he had manners (he had it all.)
Now are you familiar with the Nazi “youth camps?” In these camps the “Hitler Youth” were indoctrinated in every way into the Nazi world view. Hitler took the best and brightest youth and he transformed them into the future Nazi machine. He took them from their families, young and impressionable, and everything in those camps was designed to transform those young boys into the pure Nazi culture. And that is exactly what is going on here with Daniel.
Nebuchadnezzar took Israel’s best and brightest and we read in Daniel 1:4(b)-5.
Daniel 1:4(b)-5 (NLT)
4 . . . Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon (Chaldeans - same thing).”
5 The king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for three years, and then they would enter the royal service.
You see, we can’t just say, well, Daniel was taken captive to Babylon and here is what happened to him. It’s far too easy to just say that and continue on with the story. Because these are real people with real families and Daniel is a real teenager experiencing real trauma. Not only the trauma of war, but seeing his home destroyed and all that he knows destroyed and being dragged away from his family as a P.O.W. and very possibly seeing the death of many of those he loved. And if his family remained alive, it was most likely the last time he saw them.
Daniel was fifteen years old and being forcibly torn away from his family and taken as a P.O.W. into a foreign land and then put into a Babylonian brain washing “re-education” camp, the purpose of which was to make young Israelites think, act and feel like Babylonians. Because, you see, it was important politically for Nebuchadnezzar to have the best and the brightest of Israel serving him.
And then there is one more thing that Daniel and his friends were about to experience. After being taken from their families and their homes and made slaves in a foreign land, the Bible implies it (but historians tell us) Nebuchadnezzar would’ve made these young teenage boys eunuchs. (Now, right there, all the men should be wincing). So not only did they experience all the trauma leading up to Babylon, but almost certainly as part of their re-education, these fifteen-year-old boys would have been castrated. And for a fifteen-year-old boy, who had everything going for him, to lose it all, including his manhood, that is what you call and unimaginable situation.
My question to you today is - when do you decide for God? When do you make your all-in-no-matter-what decision to follow God and serve him alone? Is it on the heels of God doing something great for you? Oh, God, if you’ll just do THIS for me, if you’ll just make my life better… then I’ll serve you forever!! That is our selfish human nature, and it is the exact opposite of everything the Bible teaches us. We’re about to see Daniel make an incredible commitment to God and take an incredible stand for God, right in the middle of the most traumatic string of events a young boy could ever experience.
For Daniel, it’s not God I’ll serve you if you do this or that. For Daniel it is, God I’ll serve you no matter what’s happening, no matter where I’m at or what my situation is, I will serve you – all-in – no matter what. Because you, God, are greater than my trials. You are greater than my circumstances. You are greater than my present difficulty. And so I will take a stand for you God, in the middle of my trials. Not if you’ll do this or that for me, but because of who you are in my life. Do you get it?
It matters what Daniel’s background is, because when we see him take his stand for God, we have to know the circumstances he makes that decision in. Otherwise we’ll have the tendency to think, Well, sure, Daniel took a stand for God, but me, I’m in a really hard situation. Really? Have you found yourself as a castrated P.O.W. in an enemy “re-education camp” lately? Because that is where Daniel is at when we see him make the commitment that starts the book of Daniel.
So as we read the rest of Chapter 1, allow it to come alive within the picture we’ve just painted. First, we have the names of Daniel and his three friends.
Daniel 1:6 (NLT)
6 Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah (ruling families).
But as part of their “re-education,” their names are going to be changed to Babylonian names.
Daniel 1:7 (NLT)
7 The chief of staff (ESV - Eunuchs) renamed them with these Babylonian names: Daniel was called Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael was called Meshach. Azariah was called Abednego.
Notice the new names the Israelite boys were given.
Daniel – Belteshazzar = comes from the name “BEL” which was a chief Babylonian God (means: Bel protect)
Hananiah – Shadrach = comes from the sun god “SHAD” (means: Inspired by Shad – the sun god,)
Mishael – Meshach means: Who is like Shach (Not the basketball player) Shach is another lunar god of Babylon
Azariah – Abednego = means: Servant of the shining one, a reference to the Babylonian god NEBO
No Hebrew names, no references to the Hebrew God, only Babylonian names with reference to all Babylonian gods.
Now here it is, right here. The question is when do you make your commitment? When do you decide to take a stand for God? Is it when things are going great and God is blessing you? Or is it when you are in the midst of a great difficulty? Daniel, as a young boy, had been traumatized by war, death and destruction and taken as a P.O.W., put into a brain washing re-education camp and castrated.
Right there is where Daniel makes his commitment.
Right there is where Daniel becomes resolute.
Right there is where Daniel decides he is going to serve God, no matter what comes his way.
Right there is where Daniel makes the decision of his life.
Right there is where the direction of Daniel’s life is set.
Not in blessing and not conditioned upon God doing anything for him but right in the midst of trial and trauma and difficulty; and right there is where we must make the commitment of our life to follow and serve Jesus Christ no matter what.
Look at the first few words of Daniel 1:8
Daniel 1:8 (NLT)
8 But Daniel was determined . . .
But Daniel was determined.
Look at how the other translations put it:
But Daniel RESOLVED
But Daniel PURPOSED IN HIS HEART
But Daniel DETERMINED IN HIS HEART
But Daniel MADE UP HIS MIND
Right there in the thick of it, that is where Daniel made his decision to serve God alone, no matter what.
Would you? Is this where you would make your commitment?
Or, when things get difficult – do you turn: To your own course of action? To your own ideas – to your own feelings? To your own plan?
Can I just tell you something, please? Anyone can make an all-in decision to follow God when everything is going great and their life is on cruise control. The question that Daniel’s life screams out to us is – what commitment will you make “in the fire.” Will you take your stand to serve God “no matter what” when everything looks bleak and nothing is going right for you? That is when Daniel made his commitment and that is when we need to make our commitment.
Listen, our commitment to serve God no matter what always starts in the small things! It always starts with the small things, not the big things. The commitment to God didn’t start with the fiery furnace, it started with a cheeseburger! Their all-in commitment to God didn’t start with the big public heroic “fiery furnace” day. It started when they were offered their first cheeseburger and their decision about that cheeseburger prepared them for their decision about the fiery furnace!
Let’s re-read all of Daniel 1:8.
Daniel 1:8 (NLT)
8 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 (eunuchs) for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods.
You see, the cheeseburger of the world was unacceptable according to the Law of Moses and his eating was part of his service to God and part of his worship of God. And So Daniel began his all-in commitment to God right there – over a cheeseburger.
Daniel, buddy, come on… Don’t get worked up over a cheeseburger. Have you seen the situation you’re in? God just let you get castrated and now you don’t want to eat a cheeseburger, cause you’re afraid you’ll offend God. Get over it, man. Have a cheeseburger and DEFILE yourself a little bit.
What’s the cheeseburger in your life right now?
In the midst of an extremely traumatic situation, Daniel made a rock solid commitment to serve God alone, no matter what the situation, no matter how seemingly small the issue was, even if it was just about the food.
Next, and I think it is vitally important, that we see how Daniel went about keeping his commitment to God. He didn’t start with some offensive, dramatic, look-at-me action. Look at verse 8 again. It says Daniel asked the chief of the Eunuchs for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods. Daniel wasn’t making a scene. He wasn’t throwing a fit. He didn’t start with a FaceBook Campaign or call a Christian rights attorney. He made an all-in commitment to God, and then he respectfully approached the guy who recently made him a eunuch and he simply asked him for permission to not eat the cheeseburgers of Babylon. And God moved on Daniel’s behalf.
Daniel 1:9 (NLT)
9 Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel.
But it also presented a problem for the Chief of Staff.
Daniel 1:10 (NLT)
10 But he responded, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded.”
Nebuchadnezzar’s primary motivation for his people was the threat of divorce – as in “I’m gonna divorce your head from your body.” Nebuchadnezzar would dispatch your head so fast you wouldn’t know it till you sneezed. And the Chief Eunuch was well aware of that. And so Daniel proposed a plan that would bring God glory.
Daniel 1:11–14 (NLT)
11 Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
12 “Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said.
13 “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.”
14 The attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days.
Guys, when we make a commitment to serve God all-in, no matter what. We don’t have to be jerks and we don’t have to start intentionally offending people around us. Like Daniel we can respectfully suggest a plan that is designed to ultimately bring God glory.
In the midst of the most trying and difficult circumstance, Daniel made his commitment to serve God Alone. And he began his commitment in the small things, the things that others didn’t even think mattered. And God knew one thing for sure, if Daniel would keep his commitment in the small things, he would keep his commitment in the large things, and it’s exactly the same for you and I.
God blessed the commitment of Daniel (and friends).
Daniel 1:15–16 (NLT)
15 At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king.
16 So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the food and wine provided for the others.
Daniel’s first commitment test passed with flying colors. Daniel and his friends committed to serve God alone in the midst of the most trying circumstances and God’s blessing and God’s protection followed.
Daniel 1:17 (NLT)
17 God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams.
God gave them unusual aptitude and special ability, which was God’s design, to give these young boys both his blessing and his protection as they grew. Which we immediately begin to see.
Daniel 1:18–21 (NLT)
18 When the training period ordered by the king was completed, (3 years) the chief of staff brought all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar.
19 The king talked with them, and no one impressed him as much as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the royal service.
20 Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom. (The beginning of God’s Blessing)
21 Daniel remained in the royal service until the first year of the reign of King Cyrus. (Referring to a time when Daniel was - 80 yrs old)
What an incredible start for Daniel and his friends. What an incredibly difficult set of circumstances to make your all-in, no matter what, commitment to God.
So, what about you? When did you make your all-in, no matter what commitment to God? Or have you? Are you struggling to make that commitment right now? Are you in a situation right now, where it makes perfect sense (to you) to bend a little, to just defile your life, a little? And do you think you deserve it, because you’ve had it pretty rough?
Please see the critical crossroad that you are at. See what hangs in the balance. See that God is watching and know he will respond accordingly. And then, take a deep breath and make your commitment. Your all-in, no turning back, no matter what commitment. Don’t vacillate. Don’t negotiate. Don’t rationalize, justify, defend or excuse. Just make your commitment!!
Make your commitment:
To follow Jesus Christ – no matter what
To serve him – no matter what
To choose his way – no matter what
And no matter what your circumstance or situation:
God will meet you there
God will bless you there
God will use your life for his glory, right there.