Friday, 23 September 2016

Daniel Makes Commitment: Daniel 1 v 10 - 13

Daniel 1:10 "And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which [are] of your sort? then shall ye make [me] endanger my head to the king."

The prince of the eunuchs is just sure that Daniel will look terrible, if he stops eating the food and wine the king has provided. When Daniel begins to look bad, the prince of the eunuchs will be in trouble with the king, and the king might have him killed.
The Hebrews, that were not in the palace, got very little to eat, and they were not very healthy looking. The king wanted his eunuchs to be the best looking people in the land.

Daniel 1:11 "Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,"

"Melzar" means butler, or steward. We see from this, there were several ranks even among the eunuchs.

Daniel 1:12 "Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink."

"Pulse" means a vegetable. We can easily see that Daniel was trying to avoid eating an unclean animal from the king's table. These 10 days symbolizes a time dealing with worldliness, since 10 means world government. This is not a total fast, but God will bless Daniel for taking this stand for Him.

Daniel 1:13 "Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants."

We see that Daniel gives Melzar a way out of this. He explains that, if he looks any different than the people eating and drinking the king’s food and drink, the prince can punish him. Servant is plural here, so Daniel is, probably, speaking for himself and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.


No comments: