RTW August 6

Determine Not To Defile

But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king.
Daniel 1:8a

 

 

My Takeaways

Something Old

Daniel drew boundaries… He was determined not to defile himself and…

  • The chief of staff respected and gained affection for him.
  • The four young men had an unusual aptitude for understanding literature and wisdom
  • Daniel received the special ability to interpret visions and dreams.

God supplied everything Daniel and the boys needed; and our determination should be not to defile ourselves, for He will supply all we need.

Something New

Soom (Sum): to set, ordain, establish, found, appoint, constitute, make, determine, fix

Determine: to settle or decide (an argument, question, etc) conclusively, as by referring to an authority

Defile: to make impure, unclean, pollute

Something to Do

Be determined not to defile myself. Live securely and peacefully with my boundaries.

 

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3 Comments

  1. My Takeaways: Daniels Influence Over a Wicked Nation

    Something Old: Today, I came to the end of the warnings about the fall of Judah to it finally happening. Unfortunately, Jeremiah witnessed it all. After all of the warnings, the event was described in only two verses in Daniel. “During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it with his armies. The Lord gave him victory… When Nebuchadnezzar returned, he took with him some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God and placed them in the treas- ure house of his god…” (1:1, 2). I think Wendy and I were on the same page in our thoughts today. I too wondered why God allowed Nebuchadnezzar to take some of the sacred objects from the temple and place them in his treasure house. So I did some research and found out some interesting information today in an article by Bob Deffinbaugh entitled, “Daring to Believe Daniel.” Here is what He says. In the ancient world, military battles waged between two nations were battles of the gods of those warring nations. The winning nation was thought to have the greater gods. When a heathen nation defeated another nation, it often placed the gods of its defeated foe in the temple of their own god as a symbol of their god’s victory.
    That might explain why King Nebuchadnezzar took some of the sacred objects.

    Something New: Daniel 1:7 I too found it interesting of how this verse shows how Nebuchadnezzar changed Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azaruah names. So, I did a little research on this too and this is what I found out. Daniel’s name in Hebrew means “God is my Judge” – his new name Belteshazzar meant “Bel, protect his life!”  Bel, or Marduk was the main Babylonian god.  (you can see where Nebuchadnezzar was going with this…)  Hananaih’s name in Hebrew is “the Lord shows grace” and Shadrach means “under the command of Aku” – the moon god….  Mishael’s name in Hebrew is “who is like God?” and his new name Meshach is “who is like Aku?”  And finally Azariah’s name in Hebrew is “the Lord helps” and his new name Abednego is “servant of Nego/Nebo” – the god of learning and writing.  I think Nebuchadnezzar changed their names because he wanted to make them Babylonian. He wanted them to forget their God and turn their loyalty to the Babylonian’s gods. These new names would make them fit better into their culture. But, I also thought that Daniel must have refused his new name; because he is always refered to as Daniel. I’ve never heard the story of Belteshazzar and the lions, but I have heard of the story of Daniel and the lions. In other words, although the Babylonians did their best to change his identity, he remained faithful to the Lord’s will and ways. As a result, he influenced not only his friends but the entire kingdom. Knowing about the meaning behind the names made verse 8 worth exploring – “But Daniel made up his mind not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king.”  I wondered why this was?  Further study revealed that the food the Babylonians were going to feed Daniel and the 3 others were sacrificed to idols.  Which is not a good thing in the Law. And furthermore, the wine was poured out on pagan altars.  Again, not good.  So, Daniel is making a very wise move here. When he made up his mind not to defile himself he was being true to a life long determination to do what was right and not to give into the pressures around him. My spiritual enemy despises the fact that I am a follower of Christ. He will do everything in his power “to take me captive” by his world system and by his warped way of thinking. His ultimate goal is to change my identity into one who forsakes the Lord to serve his own purposes. I must resist him at all costs!
    Faithfulness to the Lord’s will and ways will prove to be ten times better in the end! I must not forsake my identity in Christ for the pleasures or philosophies of the world. I must remember that things that appear to be “harmless” on the surface can be very damaging. If I know they will actually be damaging to me or my relationship with God I must refuse. Even if my friends, family or relatives are pressuring me. I must be like Daniel and choose not to defile myself.

    Something New: Be faithful to the true King and refuse to give into the enemy’s schemes.

      1. Thank you, Darena. I certainly was thankful for the extra time I had to be able to do a little researching.

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