Day 240, or August 28. You must do what you believe.
Our thoughts today come from Daniel chapter 1 verse 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.
And now the big picture surrounding this verse. Daniel is one of the best-known Old Testament
prophets. His name means God is Judge, which is a very suitable name for a prophet to a
people who are enduring God's judgment in exile. The Bible tells us that Daniel was
taken into exile with three other men who have a great record of faithfulness alongside
Daniel. Even when all three of Daniel's friends are threatened with death in a blazing furnace,
they continue to trust God, and he saves them against all the odds. Daniel's God-given gift
of interpreting dreams bolsters his reputation as the wisest man in the whole of Babylonia.
He sets a great example. His book is a rarity insofar as it's written in two languages.
Chapter 1 is in Hebrew, chapters 2 to 7 are in his exilic language of Aramaic, and the
remaining five chapters are in Hebrew.
And now our action step for today. Daniel resolves never to compromise what he believed
as far as his diet is concerned. However, this is just a sign of Daniel's attitude
to life as a whole. He is a man of firm convictions, who knows the right thing to do and does it.
For most of us, if we had written down on paper all the resolutions that we have made
over the past year, never mind during our lifetime, then we would not need to buy wallpaper
for our next decoration project at home. Of the four men named, who were deported from
Judah to Babylon, he is the only one who firmly resolves not to change his name. The Babylonians
rename Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and give them their better-known Babylonian names
of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. All the time Daniel stood firm for God. He's
a great example to follow.