Daily Devotionals

Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place Week 1: Tuesday

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

What would you do if you found yourself captured by a neighboring country and taken to serve in the king's palace? This was the exact situation that Daniel found himself in in Daniel chapter 1. His life was suddenly upended when He was taken from His homeland, Judah, to Babylon and taken to be a part of the king of Babylon’s royal palace. Taken from his home to a strange, unknown land where he was expected to serve in the king’s court, Daniel had to decide where he would shift his focus. Would he focus on the tragedy of His situation, or would He focus on His God and continue to live in a way that honored God?

When Daniel was brought to Babylon, there was a battle against Daniel’s mindset. As part of the king’s royal palace, the king and his staff did their best to inundate Daniel and the rest of the Jewish men brought to Babylon into Babylonian culture. One of the things different in Babylon was that Babylonians ate meat that was sacrificed to idols. For Daniel, who worshiped God, eating this meat violated his conscience and was deplorable. He had a decision to make: would he be transformed by this new culture he had been brought into, or would he keep his focus on God and his instructions, which taught against idolatry and eating meat sacrificed to idols? Daniel 1:8 tells us, "Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king." This was his decision. He would focus on His God and instructions rather than become inundated by this new nation of Babylon.  Everything hinged on his resolve not to defile himself. This resolve set him on a trajectory for the rest of his life. 

Daniel is an example to all of us to stay true to our faith in a world constantly seeking to distract and derail us. May we, like Daniel, resolve not to defile ourselves by living for Him and only the things of Him.

Moving toward action

One way to stay true to our faith is by focusing on Scripture. Choose today to set your mind and heart on Scripture by memorizing the October memory verse. Let this verse transform your heart and mind so that you begin looking more like Him and less like the world.

Going Deeper

Daniel 1:8-11

"During the third year of King Jehoiakim's reign in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah and 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.

3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, 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. Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon." 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.

6 Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah. 7 The chief of staff renamed them with these Babylonian names:

Daniel was called Belteshazzar.
Hananiah was called Shadrach.
Mishael was called Meshach.
Azariah was called Abednego."