Daniel 1:8-21; Lev. 11:44-47, Who is your portion? (2)

 Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.  What was the issue?

·       It is not whether to be vegetarians.  It is true that Daniel asked for a diet of vegetables and water (1:12).  From the time of the flood, God has permitted humans to eat the meat of animals (Gen. 9:3).  The Law of Moses permitted the eating of meat from certain “clean” animals, animals that were properly killed (draining the blood from the animal).  Although, the issue here is not simply diet.

·       The issue involved obedience to God’s law while living in a sin-dominated world.  Daniel could learn the language and literature of Babylon without compromise, without believing it.  He could be called by a name that honored a god of Babylon without being an emissary of that god.  But to eat the choice food of Babylon required him to violate specific OT Laws.  Even in Babylon, Israel was identified with God through the good laws He had given them.  The dietary laws were not, bottom line, intended to make them healthier, though that might have been true.  They were intended to connect them with the LORD their God.  Did you see this in today’s reading from Leviticus?  For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt, to be your God; you shall be holy, for I am holy.  They were set apart to God.  For Israel, one aspect of their special position with God, was dietary.

·       Thus, there is a deeper issue, as there is for us.  The deeper issue is satisfaction.  Who is your “portion?”  We might ask it, what makes you happy?  Although happiness is more a surface issue.  We are talking about the soul-satisfaction.  You may remember this from Abraham when the King of Sodom, whom Abraham rescued from captivity, offered to give Abraham a share of the loot from the defeated army.  Abraham said, I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’ (Gen. 14:22-23).  In saying this he declared to the wicked people of Sodom and to his friends who had gone to war with him.  That is what Daniel did.  For Daniel this was an opportunity to contrast the glory of  God with the idols of Babylon.  It was an opportunity to make God the issue.  This was what Israel was supposed to be about.  They were to be witnesses to the nations of the true God, the Most High God who was the God of Israel.  Just as we are to be His witnesses, His ambassadors, today.

Who is your Portion?  For Daniel it was the God who is higher than all Gods.  By trusting God and living by His word, God blessed Daniel, giving him an opportunity to glorify God before godless men!