Upon arrival in Babylon, Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael who would have been teenagers at the time, were immediately set apart from the other children brought from Israel because they were of noble backgrounds, gifted and highly skilled. We also notice that through the course of their time in Babylon, they constantly stand out from the crowd. I suspect there were other Israelite children within this group, but these four boys stood out exceptionally. They stood out for a few reasons. Firstly, they had a strong sense of identity. Being away from their family and brought to what could be considered some kind of ‘high class’ prison, not having any idea if they were ever going to see their home and family again could have crushed their spirits. They had just been taken away as young prisoners of war into a strange land. Yet they were proud of being Jews, so much so they requested a special diet! Only a person with a strong sense of pride and identity can do that.
They also stood out because they identified one another and formed some sort of ‘band of brothers’. They saw in one another the same spirit and mindset, so they banded together. Daniel could have done his thing solo, but he knew the importance of strength in numbers so he worked with his team, if we could call it that.
Finally, as we read through to the end of chapter 1, we see that they stood out not just in their physical countenance, but also in character, wisdom and intellect in which they were ten times better than all their peers. We see here that this is a direct consequence of God blessing them after they chose to live a life set apart for him. As Peter puts it “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;” They chose a life of discipline over a life of convenience and the Lord honoured them
May we learn the importance of knowing our identity in Christ, of knowing our true worth as children of God and of daring to be set apart from the crowd and being a light in this dark age.
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Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for making me your child and setting me apart for your glory. You have called me to be a light unto my generation so I ask that you give me boldness by your Spirit to choose a life of discipline over a life of convenience, that people may come to the knowledge of you in Jesus name.
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Reference
Daniel 1:18-21
I Peter 2:9 NKJV
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