Ten times better

Ten times better

Scripture: In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. Daniel 1:20

Observation: In the book of Daniel, it starts off by focusing on four young Hebrews who have been taken into captivity in Babylon. They were among men of excellent upbringing, from the royal family and the nobility, and they were also bright and handsome, with aptitude for every kind of learning. Basically, they were the cream of all the young men in Israel. It is interesting that in those days, the Kings of the great empires would seek out the best minds and talents from their captured territories regardless of race or religion.

Forcibly taken from home and thrown into a strange land, and even given new unfamiliar, ungodly names, these young men would have had a very difficult time. However, God in His providence, had allowed the four friends to be together. Just reading the Scriptures, we can already quickly sense the deep bond and friendship among the four young men. They drew strength from each other as well as their common faith in their living God. As said in the book of Ecclesiastes, a threefold cord is not easily broken. In this case, four was even stronger.

In the new land, God was with them and gave them favor in the eyes of the official in charge of them. They knew that the royal food given to the trainees would be unclean by God’s law and resolved not to partake of them. Still, though the official favored them, he feared for his own life if they did not look as healthy as they should because of poor eating. And here, Daniel gave the official a simple solution, a 10-day test, to see if their diet would cause them to look any worse than the other trainees. Daniel’s solution also had all the earmarks of faith. He believed that God, the great God of miracles, would easily bless them and cause them to look even healthier than the others, and God certainly did. Not only that, God honored their faithfulness, by blessing them with wisdom and understanding ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in Babylon.

Throughout this chapter, we get this common thread. God is with the young men in their difficulties. He gives them favor with those who are over them. He gives them good health. He gives them ability and wisdom to excel in their work.

Application: Praise God that it is He who gives us good health, who gives us favor with our bosses, who gives us the ability and wisdom to do our work well. Ask God for His wisdom and desire to be righteous and just and ethical in all that we do.

Prayer: Praise You, Father in Heaven that You are always with us. It is You O Lord who blesses us with good health, who gives us favor with those above us, who enable us to do our work well. Help me be righteous in my workplace O Lord. Lead me to do what is right and just always. In Jesus name, Amen.