justmelissa

Hello! My name is Melissa and I reside in Southern California. I work full-time and have two young children. This is my first time with an online Bible study however I anticipate this will work very well with my schedule! I am eager to learn more about the book of Daniel; as our church has been studying the book of Revelation it has raised a number of questions for me on Daniel specifically.

What changes did Daniel and his friends experience? What was their status in Jerusalem? In Babylon? What do you think was the effect of changing their names to Babylonian names? What impact might it have on them to be made eunuchs? Did they make compromises? If so, why? This question has been on my mind for the last few days in a roundabout way ~ What a brilliant move by the Babylonians in gaining and maintaining control of a group (arguably we see similar moves in groups attempting to gain power today). They acquire these boys, train them from an intellectual standpoint on the language and culture but recognize that they needed more....and if they defile the inside, like they had planned to defile (or retrain) the outside, they overtake the complete person. Eventually, the unique thought processes and ideologies of the Jewish people, along with their culture including dialect and dietary cuisine become forgotten things of the past. We know that everything had a meaning to this people - names and foods and processes and rituals - everything has a deeper thought or understanding that can be gleaned from it. By changing the names of these boys there may have been a mocking element but also possibly an attempt to change their identity or at minimum to get this group to question who they really are. Because if a name or a title or everything in your world that you thought was stable could suddenly and unapologeticly be turned on its head (and the God that you have stories and songs about doesn't appear to have made a visible move in your lifetime - for your eyes to see), you can begin to question everything. It's in these times of questioning we have the opportunity to really explore truth and come to a place of understanding for ourselves (making our faith our own). As to compromise, they very well may have made compromises however it does not appear they were substative enough to have any negative impact on their faith or beliefs. We now understand that the Christian walk is so individualized that what may be okay for one may not be okay for the other as we all have a unique makeup and design and purpose. I do not think that we can make an across-the-board judgement on whether or not actions can be interpreted as compromising especially if we have read ahead and see that these individuals at this point are building a faith that will take them through some of the most extreme of circumstances.

Why do you think Daniel took a stand concerning being defiled by the king's food and wine? How do you think eating the king's food would cause defilement to Daniel's conscience? What does this tell you about Daniel? Here we see 4 boys, led by one in particular, and who knows out of how many total, that was probably just fed up and tired with all of the changes (and frankly, possibly some of the nonsense that was being presented to him as factual). There are times in life when we are in situations or dealing with personalities that over time may seem wearing on the soul - it's tiring to have that feeling that you are pushing against a wall in your attempt to move forward (in life). And that may have been what drove Daniel to take a stand - he can learn the language, he will listen to their thoughts on educational matters and theory, but now you are just crossing a line with telling me what I need to put inside of my body...especially considering that the food you want to give me has been food I have grown to detest even the site of. And he took a stand. But even if my thought is correct that he was tired and fed up with all of the changes being forced up on him, he doesn't allow that to show through in his conversation with the official as he presents his request for an exception. He remains calm and controlled and while we readers today do not discover until the new testament that we are more than conquerors through Christ, I think that Daniel may have already had a concept of God's favor on His people and those who seek to follow Him wholeheartedly and how that applied to him personally. Oftentimes we are able to be more bold or ask for things that others may be to shy to (as we see here) because we have an understanding that we are a unique and purposeful creation. Having this level of comfort and confidence allows us to maintain a peaceful nature when approaching or in the midst of a conflict. Daniel may not had needed to go to the extreme of eating only vegetables and drinking only water but what I love about the outcome here was that when the time came for a comparison to the others, there was no room for the king's food / program to receive the credit - once again we see that Daniel, knowingly or unknowingly at the time, sets up for God to be the only one that could receive the credit for the success and continued thriving of these boys that had been set apart. With his actions in refusing to eat the king's food and masterful navigation for this be an acceptable exception for not only himself but his close friends, Daniel shows a maturity in his knowing of who he was, what he believed and where (Who) he came from that I think many individuals never reach.