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. 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”, and in chapter one and verse fourteen of Daniel said, “let our countenances be looked upon” where we read,
So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days.
The verse reads, “So he consented to them in this matter, ...” Daniel began with the words, “so he consented to them”which means “wherefore, therefore and on this account he, Melzar, listened, gave attention and obeyed them, Daniel and the Hebrew children” “in this matter” or “within the utterance and business of the distribution of vegetables rather than the king's meat”. Daniel shared how “Melzar” listened to and obeyed the request of Daniel not to be fed with the king's meat for ten days.
The verse goes on to say, “... and proved them ten days.” Daniel continued with the words, “and proved them” which means “and assayed, tested and tried them, Daniel and the Hebrew children” “ten days” or “for the length of ten sunrises to sunsets”. Daniel said “Melzar” tested and tried him and the children of Judah for ten sunrises to sunsets.
When we consider the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel that “Melzar” who was his and the children of Judah's overseer was attentive to his request not to be fed with the king's meat and wine. For “ten” sunrises to sunsets they were to be tried by consuming only vegetables and refreshing water instead of the king's meat and wine, and we shall see the results in our next verses. For now let us consider that Daniel not only “purposed in his heart not to be defiled with the king's meat”, but also took action on the thoughts and intents of his soul. God acted with love toward us when He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins and raised Him from the dead after three days. When we surrender our lives to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit who will not only lead us to the truth, but also help us to act upon that truth in a manner that s pleasing to Him.
Next time Daniel tells what happened, “at the end of ten days”, 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".
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