Daniel - A Man with an Excellent Spirit

It is hard to find words to adequately describe Daniel. He was at once: in exile, an aristocrat, handsome, a smart student and wise administrator, an interpreter of dreams, an apocalyptic prophet, and might we add, a survivor. He outlasted the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, and possibly Cyrus. No mean feat for anyone, let alone someone in kings’ palaces - changes of regimes weren’t typically peaceful events. 

By all accounts, Daniel should have been an enculturated citizen of Babylon. He was conversant in the language and literature of the Chaldeans, which is the same as saying he was immersed in and understood the culture of the nation. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say he looked and spoke like a Babylonian; it would be hard to tell him apart from others, except he was radically different. He was in the world, but not of the world.

Three things mark him out as different. The first of these deals with separation. The class of 605BC (circa) were given privileges with their daily provisions, which included the King’s meat and wine. Daniel requested he and the three Hebrews with him eat only vegetables for a season. It had such a dramatic effect on their physical well-being that the palace master made everyone else go on the same diet. This would hardly have thrilled the other students. In not wanting to eat like the rest of the students' Daniel was saying much more than making a statement about dieting or weight loss. In fact, saying it was a weight loss/dieting method entirely misses the point. He didn’t want to defile himself with the King’s food; it had probably been offered to the gods held in honour in Babylon. Daniel wanted nothing to do with this as a worshipper of Yahweh. He would have also been aware of Jewish food laws. 

 Nevertheless, it was an enormous risk to ask for this concession.  Fortunately, he found favour with Ashpenaz. Had he not, it is likely that Daniel would have lost his life for his ‘religious/cultural’ insolence. Separation is not a matter of trying to be different – it is a statement about fidelity to the one true God, expressed in this case with something as fundamental as eating.  He was, by refusing the king's fare, avoiding the totalizing assimilation Babylon demanded of its citizens and captives. 

The second thing that marked Daniel out was his commitment to truth-telling, no matter the cost. Nebuchadnezzar revealed a dream to the enchanters, magicians and diviners, who, to the man, could not interpret it for him. It could be speculated they knew exactly what the dream signified but were too afraid to put themselves on the line. Who tells a king he is going to go mad, eat grass, and lose his kingdom for 7 years? 

There are common elements in dreams, and it seems possible these people knew what was intimated but backed down over fear of consequence, should they tell Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel heard the dream and interpreted it, taking his life into his hands. He feared God more than he feared the king. In this, he was again different from the culture and people around him, who were in thrall to the principalities and powers. In this case, truth trumped the fear power incites. 

The third and final difference witnessed in Daniel's life was a clear and open profession of his faith in the God of Israel. Daniel refused to cease praying to God (three times per day) when the King agreed to an edict forbidding prayer to any god or man, except to the King, for thirty days. The king was snared by unscrupulous presidents and satraps, men who were jealous of the excellence of spirit and favour shown Daniel.

However, Daniel’s worship of the one true God far outweighed his fear of any pretenders to the throne.  Darius had high regard for Daniel but higher regard for the so-called immutable Laws of the Medes and Persians. Darius wasn’t about to overturn his laws to save someone who was prepared to. This potentially cost Daniel his life. To the relief of Darius God saved Daniel. Things did not turn out so well for his accusers.  

Daniel was different, not so much in custom as in culture. He worked in an empire that disdained much of what he believed. And it was his beliefs that separated, and at times endangered him. Separation is not a light matter; he was a bright light in a dark realm.