Chapter XXXV: Daniel Is a Captive

THE people of Israel—the Jews—had so departed from serving and obeying God, that at length, in the reign of Jehoiakim, God allowed the King of Babylon to come up against Jerusalem with a great army and to besiege it, and eventually to take the city. He carried away not only Jehoiakim, the king, but afterwards Zedekiah (whom Nebuchadnezzar had set up in Jerusalem instead of Jehoiakim), and with him, he took all the nobles who were not killed in the siege, and every smith or craftsman who might be useful in Babylon.

He carried away also the whole of the sacred and precious vessels from the Temple of God, and put them into the house of his own idol in Babylon.

Thus the city of Jerusalem and the Temple were completely destroyed; and none were left in the land but the very poorest of the people.

So now you must picture to yourselves how Nebuchadnezzar instructed his lords and officers to choose, out of the ten thousand captives whom they had brought to Babylon, all the best of the young men: all that were skilful in wisdom or clever in science, who should be brought into the king's palace and should be taught the learning and language of the Chaldeans.

These young men were given into the charge of Ashpenaz, one of the king's trusted chamberlains, and Nebuchadnezzar ordered them to be fed from the king's table, and nourished, so that at the end of three years, they should be able to stand before the king.

Now among these high-born young men were four, whose names in Judah had been Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; but Ashpenaz named them afresh, and called them Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

So you will now understand why these young men were sometimes called by one name and sometimes by another in the Book of Daniel.

When the orders came, and Daniel was told that he and his companions were to be fed with the king's food, Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with it, nor with the wine which the king drank.

The reason of this was, that the food was not prepared as the Jews' food was; for God had given them strict rules as to how their meat was to be killed; and also, the wine of these heathen kings was often offered to their idols before they tasted it themselves, and thus, in the Jews' sight, was defiled.

So Daniel spoke to Ashpenaz, and begged him earnestly to excuse him and his companions from eating the king's food.

Now God Himself, Who was watching over His servants, these captives in Babylon, had great purposes which they were to carry out, not only for the Jews, but by and by for the whole world.

But as God takes care of the little things as well as the great things, He had softened the heart of Ashpenaz, so that he tenderly loved Daniel.

And when he heard Daniel's request, he did not speak roughly to him, as those great princes generally did in those days, but explained to him how difficult it would be for him to comply with what he asked.

He told Daniel that if he did not give them the king's food, they would not look as well fed or handsome as the other captives, nor as the king would expect them to look; and if he yielded to Daniel's request, he might endanger his own head to the king! For in those days, life was of no value in the eyes of the great sovereigns. They did exactly as pleased them at the moment.

Then Daniel explained it all to Melzar, who was the man whom Ashpenaz had set over them to control these smaller matters, and asked him to "prove" them by allowing them to have only "pulse to eat, and water to drink"; and if, after ten days, they looked less well than the others who were having the rich food from the king's table, then Daniel and his friends would do what Melzar wished.

I think Daniel knew that his God would make it all right for them!

And so it proved; for at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter than the others did, who ate the king's meat. And Melzar took away the wine and the good food, and gave them pulse and water, as they had asked.

As for these four young men, God gave them skill to learn; and He gave Daniel the power to understand visions and dreams.

So at the end of the three years the prince of the eunuchs brought them, and a number of the other captives, in before King Nebuchadnezzar; and the king communed with them; and among them all, he found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. So they remained near the king, and when anything was wanted of them, they were there to do it.

The king found, when he talked with them, that their wisdom and understanding was far beyond that of any of the others, and ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in his kingdom.

These four young men, captives in a strange land, eating and drinking nothing but bread and water, were brave, faithful and obedient.

"They had set the Lord always before them." Their one aim was to please Him; and as we go on with their story, we shall see that God was with them, and enabled them to be "more than conquerors through Him Who had loved them."