In the book of Daniel, Daniel said, “now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who has 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 you make me endanger my head to the king. Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, prove your servants, I beseech you, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink”, and in chapter one and verse thirteen Daniel said, “let our countenances be looked upon” where we read,
Then let our countenances be looked upon before you, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as you see, deal with your servants.
The verse reads, “Then let our countenances be looked upon before you, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat:” Daniel began with the words, “then let our countenances” which means “at that time, after the ten days, allow and permit our, his and the other Hebrew children's, faces and appearances to” “be looked upon before you” or “be observed, noticed, discerned and inspected”, “and the countenance of the children” which means “and the faces and appearances belonging to the offspring and progeny” “that eat of the portion of the king's meat” or “who consume and devour the allotment belonging to the royal ruler and leader's dainties or food”. Daniel asked “Melzar” to allow his and the other Hebrew children's appearances to be inspected and considered as well as the appearances of the other offspring who would partake of the royal ruler's food.
The verse continues, “and as you see, deal with your servants.” Daniel added the words, “and as you see” which means “and in the manner that you, Melzar, observe, perceive, consider and inspect”, “deal with your servants” or “work, fashion and act with your, Melzar's slaves or bondmen”. Daniel humbled himself again as a “servant” as he asked “Melzar” to work with him and the other Hebrew children according to what he observed after the ten days of them eating vegetables instead of the king's meat.
When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how Daniel as a “servant” continued to negotiate a compromise with “Melzar” who was his and the other Hebrew children's overseer. Daniel's desire was for a comparison to be made between his and the Hebrew children's appearances and the faces of the others who partook of the king's meat. We shall see how this plays out in our next verse, but for now let us consider, once again, the wisdom of Daniel to present an alternative plan. God grants this type of wisdom, and He offers it freely to us through His Son Jesus who came into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind. He raised Him from the dead after three days and made the way for us to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and to receive His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and empower us to live according to that truth regardless of our situations and circumstances. All we need to do is to receive Jesus as our “Savior and Lord”, and we too shall receive the wisdom of God through His Holy Spirit. (See John 16:13; Acts 1:8)
Next time Daniel says Melzar, “consented to them in this matter”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
No comments:
Post a Comment