Welcome to Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis. Interestingly, I think a lot of us may have missed this point while reading Daniel. But the king instructed Ashkenaz, who was the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the kings of the descendants of the nobles. What we may not have picked up on is that Daniel was made a eunuch at the time that he came to Babylon.
And this is really a form of indoctrination. When he went to Babylon, he was to be a wise man and to be in the court of the king. And therefore, the king did not want any distractions for Daniel, as well as the other men that were with him.
Therefore, by making them a eunuch, this really takes away his masculinity or any other distractions that a female may make, therefore ensuring his devotion to the king. And really, you see an indoctrination of youths. They are choosing those that have no blemish. They're good looking, gifted in all wisdom and possessing knowledge and quick to understand. But they are teaching them the language and literature of the Chaldeans.
The king appointed them a daily provision of delicacies in which he drank as well as meat that he ate so that they would be set apart and really indoctrinated into the Babylonian language, schools and culture. Really, a relativism of truth is the same process today. When you look at our schools, whenever we send our Christian students away to universities, that is really what is happening. We are teaching that truth is relative and we're seeing relativism move in our universities.
That is how we're changing our generations. But I want to move on to verse eight. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with a portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore, he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
This is a very important part within this chapter. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. The reason behind the defilement is found in Leviticus chapter 11.
Daniel was very aware that the king or Nebuchadnezzar served had been sacrificed to idols. And in Leviticus chapter 11, that is a sin. So Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself by not breaking the Jewish law. But I really want to say a very important point here is that you can give up your rights all day long, but you cannot compromise your convictions.
I'll say that one more time. You can give up your rights, but you cannot compromise your convictions. I want to say a lot of people have convictions that are not clearly stated in the word. There are clear convictions that are stated in the Bible. Immorality is sin, adultery is sin, homosexuality is sin, fornication is sin, abortion is murder.
That's a sin. The Bible defines life at conception. But Daniel purposed in his heart to keep the Jewish law, even though he was in the setting of captivity. But when you look at Daniel being in captivity, he was made a eunuch. He was placed under mind control of Nebuchadnezzar.
He had a name change. But interestingly, he was under captivity by God's divine order. So really, if anyone has an excuse to not keep the Jewish law, wouldn't it be Daniel?
If you look at our own situations, even when we get into difficult times, we lower our standards. We excuse our disobedience by stress, I don't have time, or the conditions that I expected to carry out, my obedience are not met, therefore I think that gives me a pass from God as to being obedient. So if anyone had an excuse to say, Lord, you've put me here, you've made me a eunuch, you've taken away my dreams of ever having a family, you have even changed my name, and I'm in captivity, knowing that you've allowed this, it would have been Daniel.
But to show how Daniel's heart was for God, he purposed in his heart not to defile himself. And the important point here is that when God says no, we must say no, even regardless of the circumstance. When God says no, we must say no, even regardless of the circumstance. But in a single moment, it really takes guts to say no. A lot of people think to be successful, you have to bend the rules. And when we compromise our convictions, we will lose.
Trusting God in a tough situation like Daniel requires a strong faith to believe that the Lord works through every situation for the good of those who have been called to accomplish his purposes. Thank you for joining us today for Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis. You can connect with her by email at CherylDavis at ProjectTruthMatters.com and on Facebook at Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis. Truth Matters is a ministry of The Truth Project.
Whisper: medium.en / 2023-11-25 09:03:28 / 2023-11-25 09:05:51 / 2