Beloved in Christ,
As believers we want to be blessed both worldly and spiritually. When carrying out God’s commands, statutes, precepts, and testimonies, God’s blessings are available to us. God knows all our needs. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. God blessed Daniel and his three friends. God gave them wisdom, prudence understanding, and high positions. Here we can examine why Daniel and his three friends were blessed.
1. Life that is not in harmony with the world
2. Life associated with God
3. Life filled with the Holy Spirit
4. A Life of doing justice
5. Doing good to the brethren
1. Life that is not in harmony with the world
These young men did not eat the royal meal that was set before them (Daniel 1: 8).
They ate vegetables instead. At the end of the ten days, they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. God tested Daniel and his friends before God gave them positions. God tests everyone to see if they are worthy of His blessings. Abraham had no desire for goods of King Sodom (Gen. 14: 21.22). He said “no” to the goods of others. Abraham wanted perfect blessings from God. In the Book of Daniel, many young men were selected to work in the king’s palace. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego kept themselves holy. They did not defile themselves with the royal banquet. When God sanctifies a person, he removes the bad and evil ways in him. Whatever Jacob earned through craftiness; God took it from him little by little. In Genesis 35:2-4
Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.” So, they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. After burying the gold and silver under the oak tree, he entered Canaan. The world was not worthy of him (Hebrews 11:38). Even though the lotus leaves are in the water, they are water repellent. We can’t make the lotus leaf wet in water. Fish live in the salty ocean but saltiness of the ocean won’t make the fish salty. Don’t let yourself be polluted or stained by the world. God is watching over us. The eyes of the Lord are upon the ways of a man, And He sees all his steps.
We have to live holy which is pleasing to our God. Our life should not be polluted by the world. To live without being defiled by the world is to have a zealous desire for God. We have to make good decisions like Daniel and his friends. God blesses us when we cling to God without conforming to the world.
2. Life associated with God
when we look at Jacob’s vision in Gen 28:10-22, we see clearly how powerful prayer really is. In this dream there’s a ladder that reaches all the way up to heaven and stretches all the way down to earth. At the very top of the ladder is the Lord Himself! Remember there is a ladder touching from where you are that reaches the heavens, and the Lord is on top of the ladder! Whenever we kneel down in prayer, remember, it is possible to have communication with God that He will respond at any given moment! Daniel was a man who prayed three times a day. (Daniel6:10). He was not afraid of the government order. He was very conscious to give God the first place. He praised and worshipped God. He fasted and prayed to God. The king knew that Daniel was a man who worshiped his God faithfully. Others should know about our prayer life. Daniel prayed incessantly. Daniel’s victory was in prayer. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had great faith, that the God they worshiped was capable of rescuing them in times of danger (Daniel 3:17). These four young men who prayed incessantly were blessed by God.
3. Life filled with the Holy Spirit
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
Holy Spirit dwelt in Daniel. I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors: “You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king.” Daniel 2:23.
God granted Daniel favour and compassion in the sight of the chief official. Daniel 1:9.
In as much as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.” Daniel 5:12
Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.
Daniel 6:3 Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had not allowed the spirit of the world to work in their hearts. Their hearts were filled with the Spirit of God. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.
The Lord said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts”. Exodus 31: 1-5 Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; (Acts 6:5) is the first martyr for Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
God’s blessings come to us when we live a life filled with the Holy Spirit.
4. A Life of doing justice
Daniel had no corruption in him. He was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Daniel 6:4
Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.” Daniel 6:22. Daniel was a righteous man. He was very faithful, loyal and true to his fellowmen. He had not done injustice to the king or to the government. Circumstances will sometimes arise where we have to oppose the government laws. We must be zealous for God. Two of the Egyptian midwives had not killed the Hebrew boys even though Pharaoh’s law ordered to kill the Hebrew boy babies. So, God made their families prosperous. Daniel prayed 3 times a day against the government law that which ordered the people to worship the idol. Daniel lived a zealous life for God. So, he was blessed by God.
5. Doing good to the brethren
Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king. Daniel 2:49
Daniel was not selfish. He was interested in the welfare of his friends. He had not sought his own glory. Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews.
Esther 10:3
During famine, Joseph gave food and grains to his brothers who sold him to the travellers. Joseph had repaid evil with good, and God was pleased. God will bless us when we do good to our fellow brethren.
We must not be defiled by the world to be blessed by God. Our life must be associated us with God through the life of prayer. We must be filled with the Holy Spirit to do God’s work. We must trust God completely. We must do justice and to seek the blessings of God.
We be blessed with noble blessings only when we adhere to the life pleasing to God.
