When God Does Not Intervene, Until We Make A Decision
I know this is long passage from Daniel 1: 8-16, but bear with me and read:
“8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your[c] food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”
11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.
15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.
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Whether or not if you believe in Father, Son and Holy Spirit is up to you. God doesn’t force any human He creates to believe in Him, to accept the gift of salvation through Jesus, and to walk with Him in relationship. But, one day we will all find out about the seriousness of choosing to walk with God or not, during our time on earth.
Daniel in the Bible is an example of a man who’s resolve to walk with God was steady and always firm. In chapter 1 he was a teenager and by the end of the book he was an eighty-year-old, old man, and in all of the time from youth to old age He walked with God, not compromising or giving into idolatry and the customs of the Babylonians.
In the above passage Daniel and his people, the Israelites had been carried off to Babylon. It was a period of judgement where Israel had chosen to disobey God, turn to idols, lavish living, and wild living. For hundreds of years they had done this and God had enough. So, he allowed them to be captured by another power, the Babylonians (modern day Iraq). Israel was carried off, away from their homeland and subjected to serve another power, King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel was a teenager when this happened, and some men with Daniel: Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah- from his tribe, the tribe of Judah, were carried away to Babylon to serve the king.
But even in this period of judgement where God’s anger raged, there were men like Daniel and his three friends who had hearts for God. They just happened to be alive during this judgement period for Israel, but God’s grace took care of them and they were an example and light in this foreign land to Nebuchadnezzar, and to their fellow Israelites.
Ok, so the point
Daniel and Israel had arrived to this foreign land. They were forced to undergo 3 years of training (like schooling) to be, in my words “reprogrammed” to Babylonian thinking. Daniel accepted this training (Daniel 1: 3-7). But he drew the line at being forced to eat unclean foods.
“He made up in his mind that he would not give up his faith to placate his culture.”
-Dr. Tony Evans
Daniel’s standards couldn’t allow himself to dishonor God in this way so he spoke up, without even having to confront the king. We see in verses 11-15, Daniel spoke up and dealt with the guard.
And in verse 9 when Daniel had the courage to not engage in unclean eating (essentially the food Daniel and his counterparts were given was food offered to idols) that God intervened and gave him favor with the guard.
“Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel”…
You see, when the people of God, us today stand up in our nations and communities and say, “I can’t do this because it goes against God- I can’t partake in sex trafficking, I refuse to be racist, I cannot steal, I cannot kill, I cannot do this illegal thing because it goes against God’s Word- these are my standards.” Then God will intervene. We can take a job, go to this training program, but when we are asked to comprise our commitment to God then a decision has to be made to compromise to stick to standards.
This is a sort of test of character as well. When we say no, then it is a proving to God, ourselves and others that we are really made of true tough stuff. We think that when we just shut our mouths and go along that we won’t miss anything. But oftentimes, in saying no and stepping back, we will have more than losing. And we’re all wanting favor- increase in a title, in pay, in status, in right standing with a boss, etc. But if God doesn’t see where we’ve drawn a line, He can’t trust us to have more favor.
I’d rather respect God than trying to please any human, and when I put God first with standards that are based on His Word then I’m pure before Him. Daniel took a stand, and he and those same three friends did it a second time but before Nebuchadnezzar, the king in chapter 3 when they refused to literally bow down and worship a man-made god. Nebuchadnezzar threw them into a fiery furnace and not one hair on their body or clothes, much less their skin was scorched.
When we decide to stand up for God first, He will protect us. Some have gotten killed for saying no to man and not going along with sin. And God who sees all situations for every human alive today and who has gone before knows and allowed that person to pass on. Not every situation will be fiery furnace saving. But, we will receive a reward in Heaven for not giving into ungodly standards, and for not bowing down to man. It takes courage and it’s not easy, but we will always find the best thing ever, and that favor with God when we always put HIM first.