Daniel to Babylon
Day 426, Saturday, Oct. 11
Daniel Chapters 1 – 2
Was Daniel a vegan?
Chapter 1 suggests he and his companions followed a vegan diet, eating only vegetables and drinking only water.
This isn’t exactly a testimonial for a vegetarian or vegan diet, though, but a way they could make sure they followed kosher food laws in a culture that wasn’t set up that way. All of the kosher prohibitions relate either to kinds of meat or to the ban on mixing meat items with dairy items: staying strictly vegetarian was a simple way of making sure they followed the Jewish law without expecting their captors to understand and follow a complicated list of what was and was not allowed.
While Daniel is best known by his Hebrew name (Daniel) rather than by his Babylonian name (Belteshazzar), his companions are best known to us by their Babylonian names: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
The four were apparently part of the first wave of the exile when the leaders and upper class members of society were taken to Babylon.
Chapter 2 tells us the story of Daniel interpreting one of Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams. The king had decided to execute his seers if they could not interpret the dream; to ensure they weren’t just telling him what they thought he wanted to hear, he didn’t even tell them what the dream was.
God revealed both the dream and its meaning to Daniel. Two things about Daniel’s response are easy to miss. First, notice that he asks for mercy not only for himself but for the other seers. In verse 24 he says, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon.
The second notable thing is that Daniel is careful to insist that God not only provided the dream but also provided its interpretation—he does not attribute the interpretation to his skill as a prophet.
-Rev. Mark Fleming
Saturday meditation
Psalms 6:1-10
Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long?
Turn, Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love. Among the dead no one proclaims your name. Who praises you from the grave?
I am worn out from my groaning.
All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.
Away from me, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping. The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer. All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish; they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.
Prayer focus
God, in all we do may we give you the glory.