But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile Himself with the portion of the Kings meat, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested the prince of eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Now God has brought Daniel favour ... “ (Daniel: 8,9a) And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man (Luke 2:52)
In these last days when circumstances around us are rapidly changing towards the negative in fulfilment of "perilous times shall come" written in 2 Tim. 3:1, all we need is favour - favour with God and man - for us to walk with our heads up. Apart from Jesus, Daniel- a man of like passions like ourselves found favour with God and with Man. God gave him revelations, not only for His day but far into the future as well. Daniel predicted the fall of Roman Empire and the birth of Alexander the Great, and when anti-Christ would come. He even predicted when Jesus would be born, right down to the very day. In a foreign land where he was taken captive, King Belshazzar made him the Third ruler in his kingdom (Dan. 5:29). Even when Daniel was thrown into the den of lions, God gave him favour.
No matter the prevailing circumstances around you now, God can still give you favour. Don't loose hope. We shall be looking at the life of Daniel and see how we can obtain this favour.
DANIEL TAKEN CAPTIVE
Daniel was 17 years old when he was taken captive. He was in Jerusalem when one day, Nebuchadnezzar besieged the city and hauled off hundreds of thousands of Jews as slave into Babylon.
Daniel woke up a few days later tired, exhausted, dirty, confused and separated from his family, his friends and his beloved city of Jerusalem. Then something wonderful started happening in his life. The wisdom that resulted caused this man, over a 700years period of time to become the most prominent and powerful world leader of that day.
He served under four world leaders and on two occasions rejected their orders to their faces and lived to tell about it. All because he had proposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. He wanted favour with God; God gave him just that, and favour with man at the same time.
Daniel was not the only captive brought from Jerusalem. There were hundreds of thousands, but we see Daniel rising above them all like a bright star. The spotlight of prophecy from heaven shone down on this man because he purposed in his heart not to defile himself.
He would not eat the King's Meat. Why? Ye knew that the Word of God said in Leviticus 3: 17, 7:26 that it was defiled meat. It was offered to idols. Daniel made up his mind that he would not enter into covenant with idol worshippers.
The difference in men who succeed and fail is their ability to handle pressure. Decision always translates into energy. We retain our integrity in the face of temptation and therefore sin not against God.
BLESSED AND EXALTED
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