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Daniel 1:8, “But Daniel vpurposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with othe portion of the king’s wxmeat, nor with wythe wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” [1]

I.   Purposed

     A. Purchase

     B. Position

II. Provided

     A. Portion

     B. Potation

III. Persuaded

     A. Prince

     B. Proposed

Introduction:  We have discussed this idea of resolutions several times lately.  We were reminded of the tradition that some hold about making resolutions to change some things when the New Year comes around.  We shouldn’t need to wait for another year before we change a bad habit or take on a good habit.  To decide to read through the Bible shouldn’t mean that you must wait to start until next January.

Has anyone else seen the Jimmy Steward and Donna Reed movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life?”  There was that part when they were standing in front of the old house and Jimmy was deciding whether he wanted to kiss her or not.  The old man on the porch tired of watching and hollered out, “Go ahead and kiss her!”  That old man was later the mayor on the Andy Griffith show by the way.  He was tired of watching the procrastination.

Do you ever feel like that?  You know something has to be fixed.  You have the money to do it.  There are plenty of people working for a living that need the work but I wait.  Rachael wants to holler, “Go ahead and fix it!”  But I wait hoping to save a few dollars or maybe I’ll get the wherewithal to fix it myself.

Do you imagine God gets tired of that too?  He has provided you what He told you to ask for.  He gave you today and the bread to keep you going so that you can gain the blessing of doing His work.  What in this world are you waiting for?  Make up your mind!  Finally when my sister was dying He used her to ask me that.  When is it enough?

We have been studying Daniel lately.  It is amazing how The Holy Spirit speaks.  Other churches are studying Daniel at this same time and we did nothing to synchronize our services.  We covered the first few verses of the first chapter of Daniel on our first evening here.  We found the prince of the eunuchs in the charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

 Why was this man who was the overseer of eunuchs over these four?  In 2 Kings 20:17-18 Hezekiah was warned by Isaiah, “Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, ushall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. 18 And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, xshall they take away; ||and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” [2]

Why did all this happen to Daniel and his three friends?  Why were God’s chosen people not ready to do what God asked them to do even though He had given them everything they needed?  Why did they wait?  Now finally we find Daniel and his friends resolved to do what they would do for God no matter the cost and it cost them a lot.  What is it going to take for us?

Scripture:  Today’s focal text is Daniel 1:8.

Prayer:  Let us pray.  Be seated.

Message:  When you decide, or purpose in your heart, to own something it requires action from you.  If you inherit something nothing is required from you.  The effort to acquire that which you have inherited was done by somebody else.  Now you own whatever it is that they left for you to own.  Otherwise to own something means you must purchase the thing from the one who owns it.

Daniel purposed in his heart. He was not going to go against what he vowed not to do.  The purchase to absolutely do God’s will with his life might have cost Daniel his life.  Instead Daniel had to go and humble himself to a man who held him in a tyrannical position.  Daniel purchased the ability to serve God alone with his humility.

I would not that anyone would have to ever go through all that Daniel and his friends went through.  I would not yet that is what God allowed these four who had done everything they could to honor God’s commands for them.  They purposed!  They purchased with their own lives.  They took the position that God was the only One in the Highest position and no man could bring God to a lower position in their hearts and souls.

What or who do we hold in the highest position?  Think about that before you answer.  Now think about this, what is it that you allow in your heart that takes a higher position than honoring God’s command for your life.  Is there anything?  Compromise is not a bad idea unless it means lowering God from His throne.  Those four would not do that even if they had to purchase their position with God by giving up their lives.

What is it that you put in front of hearing God’s word?  There are other parts of the world where hearing someone read the Bible is the most precious thing that they want to do.  That was once true here.  There is a thing running on media now of Franklin Graham speaking of the Bible.  He rightfully says that the Bible is still the best seller of all books.  Franklin goes on to say that if you don’t have one to get in touch with his ministry and they will send you a Bible for free.

Maybe it doesn’t cost enough anymore.  Is that it?  Is the Bible too readily available in this nation and that’s why people value it so little?  We’d rather eat than listen to somebody read it to us.  Daniel was provided something to eat and he didn’t want it.  What was more important to Daniel than eating the stuff that the Babylonians were trying to give him free of charge?

Do you like to learn new words?  In this text it mentions a portion the king’s meat.  Apparently meat was more than meat in the old Hebrew.  Meat was solid food.  It might have been bread or vegetables.  It was not to drink it was to eat in other words.

If you notice the outline on the back of the bulletin there is that word potation which is archaic English for drink.  Daniel didn’t want to eat the portion from the king nor did he want to drink the potation from the king.  He knew that to eat anything other than what had been prescribed by the King of kings would defile him in God’s eyes.  Daniel wanted no part or portion or potation of that.

Again we bring up the question why.  Why was the prince of the eunuchs in charge of these four?  I can only imagine why.  I leave that up to your imagination why.  We have discussed that already.  This man was in charge of Daniel for a terrible reason I would suppose.  Now this same man even is responsible for what Daniel can eat and drink.  Notice here that Daniel didn’t go out on a starvation diet.  That’s important to note.  Daniel didn’t give up.

What Daniel did was to go to this prince who had charge over him and persuade him to let Daniel eat and drink differently.  If the king had learned that his overseer had allowed something that the king disagreed with, that prince would be in trouble.  Daniel once again had to humble himself to this man who was placed as steward over him.  Could you have done that?  Not sure I would have.  I might have slipped around and done what I thought but to humble myself like Daniel did; that would be rough.

What was the purpose for Daniel’s proposal to that prince?  In Daniels mind he was already in enough trouble but he wasn’t ready to give up.  Why didn’t Daniel throw a fit like I would have?  Verse nine tells us why, “9 Now God zahad brought Daniel into favour and atender love with the prince of the eunuchs.” [3]

Daniel knew that he could make that proposal to that particular man because God had put that man in that place and moved his emotion to listen to Daniel.  God had cleared the way.  Daniel might have led an insurrection against the cruelty that he felt was against him.  Instead Daniel had something to prove and he chose love instead of obstinacy to prove it.  He proposed that if he ate the vegetables and water as he had been commanded to eat as a child of the most High God, then he would be healthier and not weaker.  His proposal came with a test. Daniel passed.

You can read the rest of the story.  Daniel spoke not only for himself but for the all four of them.  They ate what they knew God had commanded and they were indeed healthy.  Melzar, apparently that’s the name of the prince over the eunuchs, took away the food and drink and actually gave them what God wanted them to have.  That is important.  Melzar learned to trust God too.  When we get our way by throwing a fit nobody wins.  I know from personal experience.  Melzar learned and he became a believer.  Whether Melzar became a disciple is not known but he saw a witness and he believed what he saw.  What do people who are watching us see?  Are we healthy in our faith? 

17 "As for these four children, fGod gave them gknowledge and gskill in all glearning and gwisdom: and ||Daniel hhad understanding in all visions and idreams." [4]

Prayer:

Invitation:  The church at large is timidly allowing ourselves to be written out of history.  When those who would rather that we be gone say jump, we jump, and people have been watching.  What do you suppose would happen if there was a Daniel?

18 "*Now at the end of kthe days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore lstood they before the king. 20 And in all matters of †wisdom and understanding, that mthe king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all nothe magicians and opastrologers that were in all his realm. 21 *And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus." [5] 

Consider as we sing…

v So Hagg. 2:18 (Heb). Acts 5:4. 1 Cor. 7:37.
o Heb. as ver. 8, 13, 15, 16. ch. 11:26.
w Deut. 32:38. Ezek. 4:13. Hos. 9:3. See Lev. 3:17. & Acts 15:20. Comp. Ex. 34:15. Acts 10:14.
x 1 Cor. 8:10. & 10:20.
w Deut. 32:38. Ezek. 4:13. Hos. 9:3. See Lev. 3:17. & Acts 15:20. Comp. Ex. 34:15. Acts 10:14.
y Comp. 1 Cor. 10:21.
[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Da 1:8). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
u ch. 24:13. Jer. 20:5. So ch. 25:13. Jer. 27:19–22. & 52:17.
x ch. 24:12. 2 Chr. 33:11.
|| [Fulfilled, Dan. 1:3].
[2] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Ki 20:17–18). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
z So Gen. 39:21. Comp. Prov. 16:7.
a See Ps. 106:46.
a See Ps. 106:46.
[3] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Da 1:9). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
f See Job 32:8. & James 1:5. So ch. 2:20–22, 28.
g ver. 4 (Heb.).
g ver. 4 (Heb.).
g ver. 4 (Heb.).
g ver. 4 (Heb.).
|| Or, he made Daniel understand. ch. 8:16. & 10:14.
h ver. 4. ch. 9:23. & 10:1, 11, 12. Comp. 2 Chr. 26:5. Ezek. 28:3.
i ch. 5:12. & 7:1. See Num. 12:6. So Jer. 23:25.
[4] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Da 1:17). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
* B.C. 603.
k Comp. ver. 5.
l See ver. 5.
† Heb. wisdom of understanding.
m Comp. 1 Kin. 10:1.
n Gen. 41:8, 24. Ex. 7:11, 22. & 8:7, 18, 19. & 9:11. (ch. 4:9).
o ch. 2:2, (10, 27. & 4:7. & 5:11).
o ch. 2:2, (10, 27. & 4:7. & 5:11).
p ch. 5:7, 15.
* [ch. 6:28. & 10:1. He lived to see that glorious time of the return of his people from the Babylonian captivity, thought he did not die then. So till is used, Ps. 110:1. & 112:8].
[5] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Da 1:18–21). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.