THE K I N G ’S BUS I NE S S
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(8) B ut Daniel purposed in his h eart th a t he would not deflle himself w ith th e portion of th e king’s meat, nor w ith th e wine which he drank: th erefo re,,he requested of th e prince of the eunuchs th a t he m ight not de file himself. ( 9 ) Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love w ith the prince of th e eunuchs. (10) And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, X fear my lord the king, who h ath appointed your m eat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking th an the chil dren which are of your sort ? then shall ye make me endanger my head for th e king. (11) Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom th e prince of th e eunuchs had se t over Daniel, H ana- niah, Mishael, and Azariah, (12) Prove th y servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and w ater to drink, (13) Then let our countenances be looked upon be fore thee, and the countenance of the children th a t eat of th e portion of the king’s m eat; and as thou seest, deal w ith th y servants. (14) So he con- | Outline— (1 ) A Holÿ Purpose, v. 28. (2) An Honorable Proposition, v. 12. (3 ) An Honored Position, v. 19. (1) A Holy Purpose. “He purposed in his h e a rt,” v. 28. Not in his head, where many of the purposes of men are founded. He set his h e a rt on obeying th e dictates of his conscience. Daniel had religious con victions th a t were deep .LESSON seated. They were EXPOSITION based upon th e Word T. O. H orton of God. Daniel was a Jew ; he was a captive; he was in a strange country; he had his own way to make. It would have been easy for him to have reasoned him self into believing th a t it would be wise in Babylon to do as th e Babylonians did; to look afte r num ber one; to avoid mak ing him self conspicuous and obnoxious by th ru stin g his religious views upon o th e rs,-^ b u t he determ ined in his h ea rt th a t he would be faith fu l to his convic tions. He had a holy purpose no t to deflle himself. He could say (Psa. 17 :3 ) “Thou h ast proved m ine h ea rt; * * * I am purposed th a t my mouth shall not tran sg ress.”
sented to them in th is ' m atter, and proved them ten days. (15) And a t the end of ten days th eir countenances appeared fairer, and fa tte r in flesh, th an all the children which did eat th e portion of th e king’s m eat. (16) Thus Melzar took aw ay the portion of their m eat, and th e wine th a t they should drink, and gave > them pulse. (17) As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dream s. (18) Now a t the end of the days th a t the king had said he should bring them in, then th e prince of the eunuchs brougt them in before N ebu chadnezzar. (IS) And the king com m uned w ith them : and among them all was found none like Daniel, H ana- niah, Mishael ,and A zariah: therefore stood they before the king. (20) And in all m atters of wisdom and under standing, th a t the king enquired of them , he found them ten tim es better th an all the m agicians and astrologers th a t were in all his realm . A man defiles him self when he goes con trary to his convictions. A little m eat and wine would have made but little difference in a sh o rt tim e to his body, bu t—w ith his convictions— it would have made a vast difference to his soul. How many of us would have stood? Daniel was in Babylon, b u t not of it, He belonged to ano th er country (John 1 5 :1 9 ). We are born from above. The new b irth takes us out, and the new Master sends us in, to be w itnesses again st it. The comprom ising Christian bemeans him self and dis graces his Lord. P ity th e person who, professing to be a Christian, has no purpose to keep him self unspotted from th e world. To th e world, Christianity is often b u t a joke, a meaningless pre tension. Daniel was not a Jew simply because his fath e r and m other were Jews, b u t he was a Jew inw ardly. (Rom. 2 :2 9 ). He believed in Jehovah for himself. This is th e sp irit we need. This th ing of being a Christian should grip our very being, perm eate our very lives, m ake th e blood ru n ho t in our veins so th a t in an emergency we would say, as did Joseph, “How can I do th is g reat wickedness and sin again st God?” Gen. 3 9 :9 ).
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