Daniel, Chapter 1, Verse 9-10
9 Though God
had given Daniel the favor and sympathy of the chief chamberlain, 10
he said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who allotted
your food and drink. If he sees that you look thinner in comparison to the
other young men of your age, you will endanger my life with the king.”
The chamberlain was afraid because the king had taken
Daniel and other sharp, young Hebrews (as well as other defeated nations youth)
to groom them as leaders to ensure the subservience of those defeated nations
by developing them as devoted protégés of the king and should the Daniel and
the others appear sickly the chamberlain would suffer disgrace. The king's
reasoning was sound but good treatment by the king would not dislodge Daniel
and his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah's faith and trust in the God of
Abraham. They refused to eat the rich food which most likely included pork and
other banned foods noted in the Torah. Daniel proposed a test to reduce the chamberlain’s
fear which was to let them eat just
vegetables and water for ten days. After the ten days Daniel and his friends
features appeared healthier than those who ate rich fair. Daniel and his
friends never lost their faith and trust in their God.
Men are fickled things
for when faith and trust in God leave; fear and pride enter. We see this
type of response of the Jew’s to Pilate’s plea for Christ.
When Pilate heard these words he brought
Jesus out and seated him on
the judge’s bench in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha. It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon.
And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your king!” They cried
out, “Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I
crucify your king?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” (John 19:13-15)
Again in the Acts of the
Apostles we see the same lack of faith and trust in God’s fullness through
Christ by the Jews in their martyring of Stephen.
“Stephen
said to the people, the elders, and the scribes: “You stiff-necked people,
uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the Holy Spirit; you are
just like your ancestors. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not
persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous
one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. You received the law as
transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it.” (Acts 7:51-53)
No comments:
Post a Comment