T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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W hat an example for a Christian In the p resen t age. While our citizenship is in heaven, Phil. 3:20, our feet are still pressing te rra firma, and the b etter Christians we are, the b etter citizens we shall be upon th is earth. TUESDAY, Aug. 26. Daniel Refuses to Defile Himself. Daniel appears to have been of noble b irth for he is spoken of as belonging to the royal family, ch. 1:3, and a t the tim e of his removal to Babylon, he must have been of a very tend er age. His latest vision was in the th ird year of Cyrus, ch. 10:1, a t which tim e he is believed to have been eighty-seven years of age. This would make him a boy of fou rteen when he was taken from Jerusalem . He m ust have come from a godly home and we can imagine w hat sorrow attended his d ep artu re and w h at earnest loving prayers followed him to Babylon to shield him from the dangers and tria ls th a t awaitfed him th ere. He and his th ree companions were chosen for special train in g w ith a view to fu tu re service. They received Babylonian names and were instructed in all th e learning of th e Chaldeans. Daniel and his friends had religious scruples in p artak ing of food m a t came from th e royal table, th ink ing th a t by doing so they m ight be giving counte nance to idolatry. They m ight have been ridiculed and reprim anded bu t they stood firm and God delivered them from th e ir predicam ent and vindicated both conscience and judgm ent. It is always rig h t to do righ t. It is never necessary to sin. If th e re is no other way ou t of it, it is b etter to die th an to sin. This glorifies th e blood of the m artyrs. In many cases however it happens as it did w ith Daniel. Instead of suffering loss th rough standing by conviction and duty, p rosperity and success ensue th a t otherw ise m ight not have come a t all. “When a m an's ways please the Lord, he m aketh even his enem ies to be a t peace w ith him .” God always stands by the one who stands by Him. “Dare to be a Daniel, d are to stand alone: Dare to have a purpose tru e, dare to make it known.” WEDNESDAY, Aug. 27. Daniel 5:1 -9 . W ine an d Ruin. The reign of Belshazzar illu strates Dan. 4:17. He was one of th e basest of men. He had forgotten the severe lesson God ta u g h t his g ran d fath er and gave him self up unreservedly to self
indulgence and debauchery. In the drunk en carousal of the palace, he set th e example. Perhaps he had never heard of Prov. 31:45. If he had, he had forgotten it. When the wine is in the w it is out and as the fumes of the intoxicating cup mounted to th e brains of those who d rank, th e ir tongues would be loosed and th e tum u lt and confusion would be as g reat as th a t from which th e ir city first received its name. Gen. 11:9. P rom drunkenness they proceeded to sacrilege, vs. 4. Had they been sober they m ight have re frained from th is excess, bu t strong d rink blunts the conscience as well as stultifies the mind. This is why th e crim inal about to p erp etrate a crime plies him self w ith liquor, th a t he may become insensible to danger an a reck less of consequences. There is an old fable of a man to whom was given the choice of comm itting th ree sins, d runk enness, adu ltery or murder. He chose drunkenness as being apparently the least. As soon as he became intoxicated however he comm itted both th e others and ended by becoming guilty of all th e three. Who can estim ate the num ber of crimes for which strong drink has become responsible? While the king feasted, th e re came the h andw rit ing on th e wall. The finger of God w rote the announcem ent of his doom. Even then the foe was thund ering a t th e gates and in th a t n igh t was Bel shazzar, th e king of the Chaldeans, slain. THURSDAY, Aug. 28. Rom. 14:7-21. Responsibility fo r O thers. Every tru e Christian will answer the question, “Am I my b ro th er's keeper?” in th e affirmative. Men judge Christ by His followers. We should not complain of this. Every Christian is a represen tative of Christ, supposed to reproduce H is sp irit and life. We m ust live so th a t men will honor and love our Ma ster because they see Him in us. P aul speaks of commending ourselves to every m an’s conscience in th e sight of God by m anifestation of th e tru th . 2 Cor. 4:2. This means to give the world a tru e picture of Christ. He suffers for our sins. Men will have none of Him because of w hat they see in us. The inconsistencies of professing Christians are responsible for a g reat deal of the prejudice ag ain st Christ. A caricatured Christ keeps men from coming to the rea l Christ. It is an appalling th ing to give men a w rong idea of God and to
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