Daniel 1:8-18
If any graduate student is offered a test which will lead to an attractive job in the white house most of them will be thrilled and willing to do anything to clear the test. If the test of selection is based on cultural, linguistics and local knowledge, students will try to align themselves with local culture even if they are from another country to prove they are more qualified than anybody. Daniel and his friends were in a similar situation. They were young, qualified, chosen and selected for a three-year training course in Babylon for a job in king’s court.
King Nebuchadnezzar ordered Ashpenaz (Chief servant) to teach Daniel, literature, and language of Chaldeans for three years. There were served with King’s finest food and wine. But Daniel made purposeful decision not to eat King’s choicest food. Though he was thousands of miles away from Jerusalem his heart was still set towards the Lord and temple of Jerusalem. The Jewish law prohibits eating unclean food and the food presented to the idols. Young Daniel knew it very well. Babylonians were able to change his name but not his heart, which was always aligned to his God.
Though Ashpenaz was afraid of Nebuchadnezzar, he was willing to try vegetables and water for ten days at Daniel’s request. Anyone working in King’s service would know the cost of disobedience. A rugged king like Nebuchadnezzar might consider disobedience as disrespect to his kingship and would give capital punishment for anyone breaching his command. Ashpenaz always had the choice of reporting Daniel’s request to King instead of taking the decision into his hand. But God granted favor and compassion in the eyes of Ashpenaz, who allowed Daniel and his friends to eat vegetables. At the end of ten days, he found them healthier than others.
At the end of three years, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were interviewed by King Nebuchadnezzar. King found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in Wisdom and understanding. Can a bunch of young college graduates who just finished their three years, of course, be ten times better than professionals staying king’s court for many years? The extraordinary wisdom of Daniel and his friends came from fear of God. Daniel showed the proof of it by giving glory to God first every time he revealed the visions of the king. He never tried to claim glory to his name. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah chose to honor their Lord instead of bowing down to the statue of Nebuchadnezzar. They very well knew the consequence of bowing down to statues, which was the primary reason for their exile to Babylon.
Daniel remained in Babylon till the first year of Cyrus the Great which is BC 538. By then Daniel should have been an old man. There was no evidence given in Bible that he returned back to Jerusalem at BC 538 along with Zerubbabel.
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