A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

prepared according to regulations. Second, there was a problem with the wine. As a prince of
Judah, Daniel was aware of the consequences of those in authority using wine and other
intoxicating beverages (Prov. 31:4-5). Third, there is a strong likelihood that the food offered
Daniel had first been offered to Babylonian idols. Eating the food under those circumstances
would amount to a recognition of the Babylonian gods.
Daniel made an appeal to Ashpenaz, requesting he be exempted from eating the food he
could not in good conscience eat. God had already brought Daniel into favor with the chief
eunuch, but such a request could create problems for Ashpenaz if Daniel did not enjoy the good
health the others enjoyed. As he explained why he could not grant Daniel’s request, Daniel made
a counteroffer. He asked that he be permitted to alter his diet for ten days and then Ashpenaz
could evaluate the situation more completely. John Calvin believed Daniel made this
counterproposal because God had given him a special revelation. Ashpenaz agreed and fed
Daniel and his three friends vegetables rather than the wine and food consumed by the others. At
the end of the test period, Daniel and his companions had better complexions than those who ate
the king’s food. While this may have been the result of the intervention of God, it might also
have been the natural consequence of a healthier diet.
God honors those who honor Him (cf. 1 Sam. 2:30). “In all matters of wisdom and
understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the
magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm” (Dan. 1:20). Though they had been
instructed in the religious beliefs of the Chaldeans, their deep and abiding faith in God resulted
in their being able to discern between the true and false to a greater degree than those who were
themselves supportive of that belief system. For three years they had been trained in the ways of
the Chaldeans, but they had not abandoned the ways of God in the process. When the time of
their evaluation came about, there was no question that they excelled the rest. Daniel suddenly
found himself in the court of the most powerful ruler to have ever lived. For the rest of his life,
Daniel would be a counselor of kings.
Though Nebuchadnezzar had many counselors, Daniel was unique in that he had a
personal relationship with Jehovah. If God wanted to communicate to Nebuchadnezzar, there
could hardly have been a better spokesman than Daniel. In fact, God did want to communicate to
Nebuchadnezzar and did so through dreams. But Nebuchadnezzar needed men like Daniel and
his companions to model their commitment to Jehovah and explain the meaning of the dreams
God gave him. Daniel had not even finished his training course before he had to reveal the
meaning of the king’s first dream.