Daniel Standing Before the Ishtar Gate of Babylonby Stephenoch
1:6Daniel 1:6
Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:
The verse names four youths — Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah — as among the children of Judah, of the tribe of Judah, taken as captives to Babylon. They were carried there at the beginning of the seventy years' captivity after Jerusalem was captured early in Jehoiakim's reign, being of royal descent and princely birth, well instructed and of fine form and mental promise. They were selected to be taught the learning and tongue of the Chaldeans and nourished three years on the king's provision that they might stand before the king and serve in his court, placed there not by ambition but by God's providence. Their Hebrew names of high significance were changed for gods of Babylon to familiarize them with idolatry, and their first decisive test was to refuse the king's meat offered to idols and his wine as unclean and harmful to health and clear thought, receiving pulse and water and proving healthier and wiser. Trained at home to prize God's precepts, they remained true as steel to principle as His representatives to the heathen, and so afford the great illustration of temperance, integrity and courage for students and all who must stand for God under trial.
Names and Captivity Setting
The verse names four youths — Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah — as among those of the children of Judah, of the tribe of Judah, taken as Hebrew captives to Babylon. They were among the captives selected for training in the learning and language of the Chaldeans for service in the Babylonian king's court, and their identity stands alongside their refusal of the king's food and wine, their temperance, and the wisdom and ability they displayed after training. Their history shows that firm commitment to temperance in eating and drinking and abstinence from intoxicating drink and perverted appetite preserved their physical powers and strengthened their minds, and after a ten-day test they were found healthier in appearance and better in knowledge than the others. As young men from Judah among the Israelites taken captive, Daniel already showed promise of the ability he would develop later, and they are presented as God's representatives called to honor Him and bring other nations the blessing of knowing Him. They were carried to Babylon at the beginning of the seventy years' captivity, after Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem early in Jehoiakim's reign, when Babylon was the greatest kingdom in the world. They were true as steel to principle, uncorrupted by selfishness, and determined to honor God at the loss of all things, never to compromise with idolaters but to bear their faith and their name as worshipers of the living God as a high honor in prosperity and adversity. God permitted them to be taken captive so they could carry to the king and nobles of Babylon the knowledge of Him, the only true God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and their upbringing in homes that taught Scripture and obedience to its commands prepared them to remain faithful and to witness to the true God when their faith was tested in exile. When tested, God's promises sustained them and Scripture guided them, and honoring God, they were honored by God. They were of royal descent and princely birth, taken from their Jewish home, well instructed, of perfect form and fine mental qualities giving promise of usefulness in mind and body. Nebuchadnezzar selected them for training to serve in his court because they showed remarkable ability, and brought into the presence of the king their ability and qualifications were judged by the monarch himself, who took kindly to them, seeing independence with true courtesy and royal lineage. He flattered himself that change of country and associations and court life in that magnificent city would efface the impressions of early religious education, yet from childhood they had been brought up in Jerusalem in the knowledge of the true God and in the enjoyment of all its religious privileges, educated and trained until childhood lessons molded their characters after the divine similitude and principles of righteousness were vividly impressed upon their minds by the Holy Spirit. Daniel was about eighteen years old when brought into the heathen court setting, showing that young people can resist corruption and stand by principle amid worldly temptations. Those who held that he was about fifteen or sixteen teach that the four youths jointly considered how to protect their physical and mental powers and remain faithful to God while in Babylon. Daniel's name comes first because he strongly influenced the other three and served as their leader, and if he had failed to stand firmly for what was right or had indulged himself, they too would have failed and would not have been remembered as specially honored by God. Their Hebrew names were given by their parents as things of high value, with peculiar significance often standing for a trait of character. Changing them to names referring to the worship of heathen deities was an underhanded attempt by the king to lead these worshipers of the true God to worship idols and to make them quickly familiar with the gods of Babylon.
Selection and Training for Court
Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, youth of Judah chosen to be taught the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans that they might stand in the king's palace in Babylon and serve in his court. A daily provision of the king's meat and wine was appointed them, and they were to be nourished for three years so that at the end of that time they might stand before the king. To fit them for that service they were placed under the instruction of the wise men of Babylon to become fluent in the Chaldean language. Brought into the presence of the king, their ability and qualifications were judged by the monarch himself, who took kindly to them, seeing independence with true courtesy and royal lineage and good instruction.
They did not enter the king's court by pride or ambition but were placed there by God's wisdom. As captives in a foreign land taken from their homes, their exile and their elevation were permitted by God for His purpose, that they might be true representatives of the religion He wanted shown, loyal to Him under any circumstances and consequences.
The king's dealing with them was insidious and gradual, not by imposing display of absolute power or open compulsion to renounce faith for idolatry. His plan was to have them sit for three years at a table with idolaters, where daily observation of the display connected with charming, seductive heathen rites would familiarize them with idolatrous customs. By that familiarity he hoped to induce them fully to apostatize and become one with the Babylonians in religion.
Their education for the king's court required diligent study and strenuous effort, for God's blessing did not replace their own will, action, and use of their abilities and opportunities. They did not treat the blessing of the Lord as a substitute for the taxing effort required of them, but discerned that through the grace of God their destiny depended upon their own will and action. They brought all their ability to the work, and by close, severe taxation of their powers they made the most of their opportunities for study and labor.
Temperance Test and Its Meaning
Their first decisive test in Babylon was whether to eat the king's food and drink his wine, for that provision had been offered to idols and partaking of it was treated as homage to Babylon's gods. Loyalty to Jehovah forbade them to partake, and even to pretend to eat or drink would have denied their faith, aligned them with heathenism, and dishonored God's law.
They declined the wine because it could become a snare, and declined the luxuries of the king's table because that food included swine's flesh and other meats pronounced unclean by the law of Moses which Jews were forbidden to eat. They refused the king's rich food and wine because they believed these would harm their health and cloud their minds, which they wanted to keep clear for learning, for serving God, and for representing true religion amid heathenism, since what they ate and drank affected their intelligence.
Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself, and they asked instead for simple fare of pulse and water. After Daniel obtained a ten days' trial they were found far more healthy in appearance and better in knowledge than those who ate the king's dainties. Pulse and water therefore continued thereafter as their food.
Faithful Witness in Babylon
Their presence in Babylon as captives from Judah was not accident but God's purpose that they should be His representatives there. They were called to honor Him and to carry to heathen nations the blessing that comes through knowing Jehovah, the only true God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. God permitted them to be taken when Babylon was the greatest kingdom in the world so that they might bring that knowledge to its king and nobles, and He permitted both their exile and their elevation for this end. Those who place themselves in right relation with God and make the most of their opportunities are rewarded even as Daniel was, to whom with his companions God gave knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom.
They were true as steel to principle, uncorrupted by selfishness, and determined to honor God at the loss of all things. They guarded the religious instruction they had received, prayed for understanding, and resolved to resist temptation and remain true to the only true God rather than engage in idolatrous practices. In warfare-taken captivity they planned to remain true to God's commandments and avoid every form of idolatry, putting into practice what their early education had taught.
They were never to compromise with idolaters but to bear their faith and their name as worshipers of the living God as a high honor. This they did in prosperity and in adversity, holding fast to their home training while instructed in Babylon and remaining faithful students, loyal to Jehovah under any circumstances and consequences. They honored God and lived in close connection with Him, and God honored them and gave them wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.
Their captivity, together with the placing of the vessels of God's house in the temple of the Babylonish gods, was boastfully cited by the victors as evidence that Babylonian religion and customs were superior to those of the Hebrews. That humiliation had been invited by Israel's departure from God, yet through that very humiliation God gave Babylon evidence of His supremacy, of the holiness of His requirements, and of the sure results of obedience. That testimony He gave through those who were loyal to Him.
They did not enter the king's court by ambition but were placed there by God's wisdom. In that setting they honored their early religious training and remained loyal to God's law despite danger, and through God's blessing gained strength, health, appearance, and intellectual ability. Though captives in a foreign land, God did not allow the envy and hatred of their enemies to prevail against them.
Early Training and Character
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah had received a right education at home in Judah before the captivity separated them from family, where parents who feared God taught them to prize His precepts and made the Bible the study of their lives. They held fast to that home training while being instructed in Babylon and remained faithful students, loyal to Jehovah under any circumstances and consequences. Their upbringing in homes that taught Scripture and their obedience to its commands prepared them to remain faithful and to witness to the true God when their faith was tested in exile.
From childhood they had been brought up in Jerusalem in the knowledge of the true God and in the enjoyment of all its religious privileges, educated and trained until the lessons of childhood molded and fashioned their characters after the divine similitude. The principles of righteousness were vividly impressed upon their minds by the Holy Spirit. Before separation by captivity Daniel received the ancient Hebrew training in which home and school were one, with father and mother teaching God's requirements and God's dealings with His people. They associated thoughts of God with all daily life, recounted God's mighty works of deliverance with reverence, and impressed great truths of providence and the future life upon the young mind. By figures and symbols the lessons were illustrated and fixed in memory, initiating him from infancy into the mysteries, wisdom, and hopes of his fathers and guiding him to think beyond things seen and transitory to the unseen and eternal.
From that education he came forth vigorous in body and mind, quick to perceive and strong to act, with the heart prepared like good ground for seed. His mind was trained to see God in revelation and in nature, in stars, trees, flowers, mountains, and brooks, and to respond to the voices of the prophets and to God's revelation. Early training from childhood to youth had acquainted them with God, storing the mind with pure, sound, honest principles and precious truths of the Word engraved upon the tablets of the soul, and this preserved them in test and trial when brought into captivity. Truths only dimly comprehended in the past became essential in time of need, flashing like concealed treasure and newly discovered jewels revealing all their beauty, and when their faith was tested in exile God's promises sustained them and Scripture guided them.
Removed from their own land and its associations to be captives among the heathen, the principles they had received in youth were severely tested. Yet those who love and serve Him are never left to be the sport of temptation. Brought into the presence of the king, their ability and qualifications were judged by the monarch himself, who took kindly to them, seeing in them a spirit of independence and yet true courtesy and finding them of royal lineage and well instructed. He flattered himself that change of country and associations and the influence of court life in that magnificent city would efface the impressions made by their early religious education. Their early training shows what may be expected from youth in this day if every child receives the same attention, and it proves Christ is willing to reveal Himself to children when parents treat them as a sacred responsibility from God and teach them from babyhood to keep the commandments of God, to be obedient, and to form characters after the divine similitude. It teaches that fathers and mothers are guardians of their little ones, so that if parents fail in duty and neglect their children, the sins of sons and daughters whose characters are defective will be charged to the parents as well as to the transgressors.
Lessons for Study and Life
The four named in the verse, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, afford the most comprehensive and forcible illustration of true temperance and its attendant blessings. Their integrity and firmness exemplify courage to stand for principle, and Daniel is a holy man, a bold representative of pure hygiene whose history in the first chapter should be read. They were youths selected to be educated in the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans that they might stand in the king's palace in Babylon, with a daily allowance of food and wine appointed from the king's table. Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself with the portion of the king's meat nor with the wine, declining both the wine and the luxuries because that food included swine's flesh and other meats pronounced unclean by the law of Moses which Jews were forbidden to eat. They asked for simple fare of pulse and water, and after a ten days' trial obtained by Daniel they were found far more healthy in appearance than those who ate the king's dainties, so pulse and water continued thereafter as their food.
Their history teaches students that self-denial in eating and drinking honors God and helps them excel in knowledge and brain power. Their firm commitment to temperance preserved physical powers and strengthened minds, while their resolve to honor God accompanied growth in physical, mental, and spiritual understanding and usefulness. Their strict temperance in refusing the king's wine and rich food kept clear minds to learn about God and the truth and to present these before the king and his associates, because what they ate and drank affected intelligence, and their course as students succeeded. Their account shows that each person should purpose in the heart not to damage the powers of the mind, but to cherish them for the work appointed by the Lord. The chapter gives valuable instruction that in school religious interest must be the first and highest study, that when hearts are drawn toward heavenly things words and actions testify of heavenly things in just that proportion, and that spiritual health of the soul creates a fragrant atmosphere. Their endurance of the test is linked with later reception of help in explaining the king's dream.
Their recorded life presents an illustrious, holy, bright example of what people may become when united with the God of wisdom, encouraging those who must endure trial and temptation. At about eighteen years old in a heathen setting Daniel remained loyal to God, showing that a young person can be tested and by standing firm to principle resist corruption, stand by principle amid worldly temptations, and become a pattern of integrity. His example in the Babylonian schools shows that education grounded in God's word and practical obedience to it can reveal heavenly wisdom above the learning of even the highest schools, and that amusements did not have the supremacy in his pursuit of education. Their example shows that students can stay close to God through prayer, seek wisdom, guard religious instruction, resolve to resist temptation and remain true to the only true God rather than engage in idolatrous practices, and faithfully meet duties under both human and heavenly oversight. They gave time to diligent work with willing hearts and ready minds rather than selfish aims or amusement, putting instruction into practice, a standard required of every scholar.
Daniel in Babylon is a pattern for speedy preparation for work, in that he did not devote years to continued study of one line of book-knowledge but entered upon the work for which he had studied, putting into practical use what he had learned under tutors and putting theory into practice. His course means students should practice what they learn rather than re-enter study, seek heavenly direction, and make no move even on teachers' advice without humbly seeking wisdom from God and receiving His guidance and counsel. He is the pattern for believers who enter worldly colleges and schools as students after becoming established, rooted and grounded in the truth with the Spirit, living out what they believe without sacrificing principle, respecting all rules and regulations, and depending on the power seen in a godly life more than on words spoken. He kept the living principles of truth including Sabbath observance and started no open controversies, yet in simple language told inquirers the simple story of truth as it is in Jesus and simple Bible doctrines, so the leaven worked, light shone forth, investigation was aroused, seeds of truth sprang up under the Holy Spirit to bear fruit, and souls were saved. They serve as an example for institutions, which are to be a witness to the world as they were, and those who place themselves in right relation with God and make the most of their opportunities will be rewarded even as Daniel was, to whom God gave knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom. They were permitted to be taken captive when Babylon was the greatest kingdom in the world so they could carry to the king and nobles of Babylon the knowledge of Him, the only true God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth.
The verse names four youths — Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah — as among the children of Judah, of the tribe of Judah, taken as captives to Babylon. They were carried there at the beginning of the seventy years' captivity after Jerusalem was captured early in Jehoiakim's reign, being of royal descent and princely birth, well instructed and of fine form and mental promise. They were selected to be taught the learning and tongue of the Chaldeans and nourished three years on the king's provision that they might stand before the king and serve in his court, placed there not by ambition but by God's providence. Their Hebrew names of high significance were changed for gods of Babylon to familiarize them with idolatry, and their first decisive test was to refuse the king's meat offered to idols and his wine as unclean and harmful to health and clear thought, receiving pulse and water and proving healthier and wiser. Trained at home to prize God's precepts, they remained true as steel to principle as His representatives to the heathen, and so afford the great illustration of temperance, integrity and courage for students and all who must stand for God under trial.
Names and Captivity Setting
The verse names four youths — Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah — as among those of the children of Judah, of the tribe of Judah, taken as Hebrew captives to Babylon. They were among the captives selected for training in the learning and language of the Chaldeans for service in the Babylonian king's court, and their identity stands alongside their refusal of the king's food and wine, their temperance, and the wisdom and ability they displayed after training. Their history shows that firm commitment to temperance in eating and drinking and abstinence from intoxicating drink and perverted appetite preserved their physical powers and strengthened their minds, and after a ten-day test they were found healthier in appearance and better in knowledge than the others. As young men from Judah among the Israelites taken captive, Daniel already showed promise of the ability he would develop later, and they are presented as God's representatives called to honor Him and bring other nations the blessing of knowing Him.
They were carried to Babylon at the beginning of the seventy years' captivity, after Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem early in Jehoiakim's reign, when Babylon was the greatest kingdom in the world. They were true as steel to principle, uncorrupted by selfishness, and determined to honor God at the loss of all things, never to compromise with idolaters but to bear their faith and their name as worshipers of the living God as a high honor in prosperity and adversity. God permitted them to be taken captive so they could carry to the king and nobles of Babylon the knowledge of Him, the only true God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and their upbringing in homes that taught Scripture and obedience to its commands prepared them to remain faithful and to witness to the true God when their faith was tested in exile. When tested, God's promises sustained them and Scripture guided them, and honoring God, they were honored by God.
They were of royal descent and princely birth, taken from their Jewish home, well instructed, of perfect form and fine mental qualities giving promise of usefulness in mind and body. Nebuchadnezzar selected them for training to serve in his court because they showed remarkable ability, and brought into the presence of the king their ability and qualifications were judged by the monarch himself, who took kindly to them, seeing independence with true courtesy and royal lineage. He flattered himself that change of country and associations and court life in that magnificent city would efface the impressions of early religious education, yet from childhood they had been brought up in Jerusalem in the knowledge of the true God and in the enjoyment of all its religious privileges, educated and trained until childhood lessons molded their characters after the divine similitude and principles of righteousness were vividly impressed upon their minds by the Holy Spirit. Daniel was about eighteen years old when brought into the heathen court setting, showing that young people can resist corruption and stand by principle amid worldly temptations. Those who held that he was about fifteen or sixteen teach that the four youths jointly considered how to protect their physical and mental powers and remain faithful to God while in Babylon.
Daniel's name comes first because he strongly influenced the other three and served as their leader, and if he had failed to stand firmly for what was right or had indulged himself, they too would have failed and would not have been remembered as specially honored by God. Their Hebrew names were given by their parents as things of high value, with peculiar significance often standing for a trait of character. Changing them to names referring to the worship of heathen deities was an underhanded attempt by the king to lead these worshipers of the true God to worship idols and to make them quickly familiar with the gods of Babylon.
Selection and Training for Court
Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, youth of Judah chosen to be taught the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans that they might stand in the king's palace in Babylon and serve in his court. A daily provision of the king's meat and wine was appointed them, and they were to be nourished for three years so that at the end of that time they might stand before the king. To fit them for that service they were placed under the instruction of the wise men of Babylon to become fluent in the Chaldean language. Brought into the presence of the king, their ability and qualifications were judged by the monarch himself, who took kindly to them, seeing independence with true courtesy and royal lineage and good instruction.
They did not enter the king's court by pride or ambition but were placed there by God's wisdom. As captives in a foreign land taken from their homes, their exile and their elevation were permitted by God for His purpose, that they might be true representatives of the religion He wanted shown, loyal to Him under any circumstances and consequences.
The king's dealing with them was insidious and gradual, not by imposing display of absolute power or open compulsion to renounce faith for idolatry. His plan was to have them sit for three years at a table with idolaters, where daily observation of the display connected with charming, seductive heathen rites would familiarize them with idolatrous customs. By that familiarity he hoped to induce them fully to apostatize and become one with the Babylonians in religion.
Their education for the king's court required diligent study and strenuous effort, for God's blessing did not replace their own will, action, and use of their abilities and opportunities. They did not treat the blessing of the Lord as a substitute for the taxing effort required of them, but discerned that through the grace of God their destiny depended upon their own will and action. They brought all their ability to the work, and by close, severe taxation of their powers they made the most of their opportunities for study and labor.
Temperance Test and Its Meaning
Their first decisive test in Babylon was whether to eat the king's food and drink his wine, for that provision had been offered to idols and partaking of it was treated as homage to Babylon's gods. Loyalty to Jehovah forbade them to partake, and even to pretend to eat or drink would have denied their faith, aligned them with heathenism, and dishonored God's law.
They declined the wine because it could become a snare, and declined the luxuries of the king's table because that food included swine's flesh and other meats pronounced unclean by the law of Moses which Jews were forbidden to eat. They refused the king's rich food and wine because they believed these would harm their health and cloud their minds, which they wanted to keep clear for learning, for serving God, and for representing true religion amid heathenism, since what they ate and drank affected their intelligence.
Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself, and they asked instead for simple fare of pulse and water. After Daniel obtained a ten days' trial they were found far more healthy in appearance and better in knowledge than those who ate the king's dainties. Pulse and water therefore continued thereafter as their food.
Faithful Witness in Babylon
Their presence in Babylon as captives from Judah was not accident but God's purpose that they should be His representatives there. They were called to honor Him and to carry to heathen nations the blessing that comes through knowing Jehovah, the only true God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. God permitted them to be taken when Babylon was the greatest kingdom in the world so that they might bring that knowledge to its king and nobles, and He permitted both their exile and their elevation for this end. Those who place themselves in right relation with God and make the most of their opportunities are rewarded even as Daniel was, to whom with his companions God gave knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom.
They were true as steel to principle, uncorrupted by selfishness, and determined to honor God at the loss of all things. They guarded the religious instruction they had received, prayed for understanding, and resolved to resist temptation and remain true to the only true God rather than engage in idolatrous practices. In warfare-taken captivity they planned to remain true to God's commandments and avoid every form of idolatry, putting into practice what their early education had taught.
They were never to compromise with idolaters but to bear their faith and their name as worshipers of the living God as a high honor. This they did in prosperity and in adversity, holding fast to their home training while instructed in Babylon and remaining faithful students, loyal to Jehovah under any circumstances and consequences. They honored God and lived in close connection with Him, and God honored them and gave them wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.
Their captivity, together with the placing of the vessels of God's house in the temple of the Babylonish gods, was boastfully cited by the victors as evidence that Babylonian religion and customs were superior to those of the Hebrews. That humiliation had been invited by Israel's departure from God, yet through that very humiliation God gave Babylon evidence of His supremacy, of the holiness of His requirements, and of the sure results of obedience. That testimony He gave through those who were loyal to Him.
They did not enter the king's court by ambition but were placed there by God's wisdom. In that setting they honored their early religious training and remained loyal to God's law despite danger, and through God's blessing gained strength, health, appearance, and intellectual ability. Though captives in a foreign land, God did not allow the envy and hatred of their enemies to prevail against them.
Early Training and Character
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah had received a right education at home in Judah before the captivity separated them from family, where parents who feared God taught them to prize His precepts and made the Bible the study of their lives. They held fast to that home training while being instructed in Babylon and remained faithful students, loyal to Jehovah under any circumstances and consequences. Their upbringing in homes that taught Scripture and their obedience to its commands prepared them to remain faithful and to witness to the true God when their faith was tested in exile.
From childhood they had been brought up in Jerusalem in the knowledge of the true God and in the enjoyment of all its religious privileges, educated and trained until the lessons of childhood molded and fashioned their characters after the divine similitude. The principles of righteousness were vividly impressed upon their minds by the Holy Spirit. Before separation by captivity Daniel received the ancient Hebrew training in which home and school were one, with father and mother teaching God's requirements and God's dealings with His people. They associated thoughts of God with all daily life, recounted God's mighty works of deliverance with reverence, and impressed great truths of providence and the future life upon the young mind. By figures and symbols the lessons were illustrated and fixed in memory, initiating him from infancy into the mysteries, wisdom, and hopes of his fathers and guiding him to think beyond things seen and transitory to the unseen and eternal.
From that education he came forth vigorous in body and mind, quick to perceive and strong to act, with the heart prepared like good ground for seed. His mind was trained to see God in revelation and in nature, in stars, trees, flowers, mountains, and brooks, and to respond to the voices of the prophets and to God's revelation. Early training from childhood to youth had acquainted them with God, storing the mind with pure, sound, honest principles and precious truths of the Word engraved upon the tablets of the soul, and this preserved them in test and trial when brought into captivity. Truths only dimly comprehended in the past became essential in time of need, flashing like concealed treasure and newly discovered jewels revealing all their beauty, and when their faith was tested in exile God's promises sustained them and Scripture guided them.
Removed from their own land and its associations to be captives among the heathen, the principles they had received in youth were severely tested. Yet those who love and serve Him are never left to be the sport of temptation. Brought into the presence of the king, their ability and qualifications were judged by the monarch himself, who took kindly to them, seeing in them a spirit of independence and yet true courtesy and finding them of royal lineage and well instructed. He flattered himself that change of country and associations and the influence of court life in that magnificent city would efface the impressions made by their early religious education. Their early training shows what may be expected from youth in this day if every child receives the same attention, and it proves Christ is willing to reveal Himself to children when parents treat them as a sacred responsibility from God and teach them from babyhood to keep the commandments of God, to be obedient, and to form characters after the divine similitude. It teaches that fathers and mothers are guardians of their little ones, so that if parents fail in duty and neglect their children, the sins of sons and daughters whose characters are defective will be charged to the parents as well as to the transgressors.
Lessons for Study and Life
The four named in the verse, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, afford the most comprehensive and forcible illustration of true temperance and its attendant blessings. Their integrity and firmness exemplify courage to stand for principle, and Daniel is a holy man, a bold representative of pure hygiene whose history in the first chapter should be read. They were youths selected to be educated in the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans that they might stand in the king's palace in Babylon, with a daily allowance of food and wine appointed from the king's table. Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself with the portion of the king's meat nor with the wine, declining both the wine and the luxuries because that food included swine's flesh and other meats pronounced unclean by the law of Moses which Jews were forbidden to eat. They asked for simple fare of pulse and water, and after a ten days' trial obtained by Daniel they were found far more healthy in appearance than those who ate the king's dainties, so pulse and water continued thereafter as their food.
Their history teaches students that self-denial in eating and drinking honors God and helps them excel in knowledge and brain power. Their firm commitment to temperance preserved physical powers and strengthened minds, while their resolve to honor God accompanied growth in physical, mental, and spiritual understanding and usefulness. Their strict temperance in refusing the king's wine and rich food kept clear minds to learn about God and the truth and to present these before the king and his associates, because what they ate and drank affected intelligence, and their course as students succeeded. Their account shows that each person should purpose in the heart not to damage the powers of the mind, but to cherish them for the work appointed by the Lord. The chapter gives valuable instruction that in school religious interest must be the first and highest study, that when hearts are drawn toward heavenly things words and actions testify of heavenly things in just that proportion, and that spiritual health of the soul creates a fragrant atmosphere. Their endurance of the test is linked with later reception of help in explaining the king's dream.
Their recorded life presents an illustrious, holy, bright example of what people may become when united with the God of wisdom, encouraging those who must endure trial and temptation. At about eighteen years old in a heathen setting Daniel remained loyal to God, showing that a young person can be tested and by standing firm to principle resist corruption, stand by principle amid worldly temptations, and become a pattern of integrity. His example in the Babylonian schools shows that education grounded in God's word and practical obedience to it can reveal heavenly wisdom above the learning of even the highest schools, and that amusements did not have the supremacy in his pursuit of education. Their example shows that students can stay close to God through prayer, seek wisdom, guard religious instruction, resolve to resist temptation and remain true to the only true God rather than engage in idolatrous practices, and faithfully meet duties under both human and heavenly oversight. They gave time to diligent work with willing hearts and ready minds rather than selfish aims or amusement, putting instruction into practice, a standard required of every scholar.
Daniel in Babylon is a pattern for speedy preparation for work, in that he did not devote years to continued study of one line of book-knowledge but entered upon the work for which he had studied, putting into practical use what he had learned under tutors and putting theory into practice. His course means students should practice what they learn rather than re-enter study, seek heavenly direction, and make no move even on teachers' advice without humbly seeking wisdom from God and receiving His guidance and counsel. He is the pattern for believers who enter worldly colleges and schools as students after becoming established, rooted and grounded in the truth with the Spirit, living out what they believe without sacrificing principle, respecting all rules and regulations, and depending on the power seen in a godly life more than on words spoken. He kept the living principles of truth including Sabbath observance and started no open controversies, yet in simple language told inquirers the simple story of truth as it is in Jesus and simple Bible doctrines, so the leaven worked, light shone forth, investigation was aroused, seeds of truth sprang up under the Holy Spirit to bear fruit, and souls were saved. They serve as an example for institutions, which are to be a witness to the world as they were, and those who place themselves in right relation with God and make the most of their opportunities will be rewarded even as Daniel was, to whom God gave knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom. They were permitted to be taken captive when Babylon was the greatest kingdom in the world so they could carry to the king and nobles of Babylon the knowledge of Him, the only true God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth.