The reputation of Shinar is revealed in the early chapters of Genesis with its people determined to make a name for themselves, Gen. 11. This was an environment where promotion and progression were of paramount importance. When Daniel arrived in Babylon the pressure to succumb to its ways was both immediate and intense. The process of change intended for Daniel was authorized by the highest authority in the land. Nebuchadnezzar the king appointed a change in his diet and Melzar the prince of the eunuchs determined to change his name. Babylon could not accept him as he was and therefore endeavoured to mould him into a Babylonian. Many of Daniel’s generation would have been carried away with the lavish spread of the king’s table, not to mention the fast track to promotion in the world’s most powerful system. Later chapters show that Daniel would accept promotion but wouldn’t compromise his spiritual values to achieve it. Daniel’s first resolve was ‘in his heart’, reminding us of the principle of Proverbs chapter 4 verse 23; ‘Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life’.
Having made this resolve, Daniel’s wisdom in dealing with Melzar demonstrates his regard for authority; his was a spirit of spiritual determination rather than open defiance. He requested that he be given different food which would prevent defilement, whilst God at the same time had brought Daniel into favour with Melzar – God and His servant working in harmony. Daniel’s confidence in God is reflected in his request for a period of proving, during which he would eat the plain diet of undefilement rather than the exotic food of Babylon. Such discipline is rewarded firstly in physical terms before Melzar, 1. 15, and more fully in reward from God. Knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom were the rewards all the young men of resolve were given, but for Daniel there was an extra dimension of blessing in the understanding of visions and dreams. Daniel’s initial purpose of heart before God and his determination not to be defiled were rewarded with a position which would enable him to serve his God in higher spheres, and allowed his godly influence to extend through the reign of a further two monarchs.
