Homerton Baptist Church
Morning Service (260906)

      • Daniel 1:8–21ESV

  • Hymn 248 - Immortal, invisible, God only wise

      • Psalm 86:8–10ESV

      • Hebrews 12:1–2ESV

  • Hymn 776 - And can it be that I should gain

      • Haggai 2:10–19ESV

      • Matthew 17:1–13ESV

      • Mark 9:2–13ESV

      • Luke 9:28–36ESV

      • Ephesians 2:8–10ESV

  • Hymn 546 - GOD HAS SPOKEN-BY HIS PROPHETS

      • Daniel 1:8–21ESV

      • Daniel 1:8–21ESV

  • Psalm 86:8–10 ESV
    8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. 9 All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. 10 For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.
    Daniel 1:8–21 ESV
    8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. 9 And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, 10 and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” 11 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” 14 So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food. 16 So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. 17 As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. 18 At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. 20 And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. 21 And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.
    Introduction
    Slide
    Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah had been taken into captivity in Babylon along with many Judeans. They had been selected to serve Nebuchadnezzar. They were to spend three years studying the laws, literature, customs and religion of the Babylonians. They were to be given the best of food and accommodation. It all seemed to be good a wonderful opportunity to share their faith among the highest echelons of Babylonian society. But there was a problem. A very significant choice had to be made, a stand taken, that is just as important for Christians today as it was for four young men then. Fundamentally do I obey God’s Word or not?
    Slide

    1. A Determined Resolution v8-10

    Slide
    Daniel 1:8–10 ESV
    8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. 9 And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, 10 and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.”
    Slide

    a. A Godly Stand v8a

    Daniel 1:8 ESV
    8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.
    ...to understand these verses we must recall why the Jews were going into captivity at all. The whole nation was at a low level spiritually, and therefore morally too. The crying sin had been idolatry. The exile was a punishment for all of the nation’s sins, but for that one in particular, and they were to remain in Babylon until they had finished with it for ever. Olyott, S.
    The reason for their refusal was that the food from the king’s table had been offered to idols before it was served. Every Babylonian kingly meal began with an act of pagan worship. Olyott, S.
    Nothing was eaten and nothing was drunk until it was dedicated to certain pagan deities. Those who ate the food were reckoned to have participated in the pagan rites.
    Slide

    b. A Reasonable Request v8

    Daniel 1:8 ESV
    8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.
    Slide

    c. A Powerful Testimony v9

    Daniel 1:9 ESV
    9 And God gave Daniel favour and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs,
    Already the lives and testimony of these four young men had had an effect. Their godliness was seen and admired by those around them. So it ought to be with all true Christians
    Slide

    d. A Troubled Response v10

    Daniel 1:10 ESV
    10 and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.”
    Slide

    2. A Gracious Proposal v11- 13

    Slide
    Daniel 1:11–13 ESV
    11 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.”
    By requesting only vegetables and water, Daniel navigated a delicate political situation—he could accept the king’s favor while maintaining strict separation from idolatry. The vegetables themselves were not inherently sacred or problematic; rather, they represented the only portion of the royal diet that had not been ritually consecrated to pagan deities.
    Vegetarianism the practice of not eating meat or fish, especially for moral, religious, or health reasons:
    Genesis 9:1–4 ESV
    1 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 2 The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. 4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.
    The emphasis in Genesis on plant-based provision for Eden should be understood within its immediate context rather than as a prescriptive model for all subsequent human history. The garden’s vegetation was divinely suited to sustain human life in that particular state of existence, reflecting God’s generous provision rather than necessarily establishing an eternal dietary requirement.
    Slide

    3. A Positive Result v14-16

    Slide
    Daniel 1:14–16 ESV
    14 So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food. 16 So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.
    Slide

    4. A Glorious Blessing v17-21

    Slide
    Daniel 1:17–21 ESV
    17 As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. 18 At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. 20 And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. 21 And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.
    Slide

    a. God Given Learning v17

    Daniel 1:17 ESV
    17 As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
    Slide

    b. Outstanding Results v18-20

    Daniel 1:18–20 ESV
    18 At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. 20 And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom.
    They had put God before every other consideration. He in turn honoured them, and stirred up in their lives gifts which they had never dreamed that they had. Olyott, S.
    And so, at last, the three-year course ended. It was time for the final exams. As in the British universities of bygone days, these exams were not written, but oral. The students had to appear before the king, who personally examined each one and gave his assessment . He found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. Olyott, S.
    Slide

    5. Faithful Service v21

    Daniel 1:21 ESV
    21 And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.
    Nebuchadnezzar II ruled Babylon for 43 years, from 605 to 562 BC
    Nabonidus ruled as the final king of Babylon from 556–539 B.C
    Belshazzar (writing on the wall) ruled Babylon as co-regent and was killed when the city fell on October 13, 539 B.C.1 He was the son of King Nabonidus.
    Cyrus (Persian) became ruler of Babylon in 539 BC following a decisive military victory at Opis on the Tigris River, where his forces defeated the Babylonian army and subsequently entered the city, likely by diverting the Euphrates River to lower water levels and enable passage through the riverbed
    Conclusion
    Slide
    If we are unwilling to stand up and be counted for Him over small things, how will we ever do so over bigger things? Is it possible to be faithful in much without first being faithful in little? If we cannot resist comparatively small temptations, what will we do when they are intensified? Stuart Olyott
    Slide
    Galatians 5:1 ESV
    1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

      • Daniel 1:8–10ESV

      • Daniel 1:11–13ESV

      • Daniel 1:14–16ESV

      • Daniel 1:17–21ESV

      • Daniel 1:21ESV

      • Galatians 5:1ESV

  • Hymn 540 - Revive your church, O Lord
  • Doxology 1145 Chorus

      • 2 Peter 3:18ESV

Homerton Baptist Church
pastor@homerton.church
0756 612 9969
https://homerton.church
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