Adapting
The Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in 587BC. They devastated the city and the countryside and took all the potential leaders, especially young people, into exile "by the rivers of Babylon" where they were given new Babylonian names honouring Babylonian gods and were educated in the culture and practices of the Babylonians. This "brain-drain" and "brain-wash" kept defeated nations suppressed because there was no-one to lead a rebellion.
Daniel and three of his friends are "drained" from Jerusalem and are about to be brain-washed. It started with new names. If you look at the footnotes, the names are so interesting. Daniel means "God is (my) Judge." Hananiah means "The LORD shows grace." Mishael means "Who is what God is?" Azariah means "The LORD helps." Similarly the new names are significant: Belteshazzar means, in Babylonian, "Bel (i.e., Marduk), protect his life!" Shadrach means "command of Aku (Sumerian moon-god)." Meshach means "Who is what Aku is?" Abednego means "servant of Nego/Nebo (i.e., Nabu)."
What's interesting is that throughout the book, the name that sticks, even in the mouths of his enemies, is not Belteshazzar, but Daniel.
Daniel and his friends did not have much say in their naming or their education. But, when it came to food, Daniel decides to take a stand. It needs to be said that the Old Testament doesn't have a problem with meat. However, I think there are three possible reasons for Daniel's detox vegetable diet.
- The meat would have been offered to Babylonian gods and Daniel didn't want to honour those gods by eating the meat.
- The food and wine came from the opulence of the king's table and Daniel didn't want to be sucked into the opulence. (There may have been an element of him thinking of his people in Israel who were struggling for food in the aftermath of war)
- Daniel is simply exercising some control over his environment to maintain his sense of independence. We don't know if he knew the "detoxing" power of a vegetable diet. If he didn't, he was a man of great faith, and if he did, he was a man of great wisdom.
Daniel uses tact and wisdom to deal with his changed environment and I think all three of the above reasons motivated him. While there were some things he could not control, there were some things that he could. Every day, while they were being bombarded with new names, new ideas and new learning, they'd be served veggies and water and be reminded that they had some control and that they were honouring the one true God. And, as a bonus, they got healthier!
As you and I face an increasingly secular society, it is our little "detoxing" habits that help us maintain our faith, values and integrity.
| Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility-- 4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. 5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service. Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego. But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you." Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds. At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king's service. (Daniel1:3-19) |
