# 4 Daniel and His Friends Meet the Test

The Lord said to me…”I will test my people with a Plumbline, Amos 7:8 (TLB)

The Plumbline is a blog to encourage the Body of Christ.

# 4 Daniel and His Friends Meet the Test

Daniel 1:18-21 (NLT) 18 When the training period ordered by the king was completed, the chief of staff brought all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and no one impressed him as much as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the royal service. 20 Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom. 21 Daniel remained in the royal service until the first year of the reign of King Cyrus.

Daniel in the Royal Court of Babylon.

Our Royal Court

The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty. At the end of the time set by the king (i.e., at the end of the three years’ training; cf. v. 5), the king examined Daniel and his three companions and found that none equaled them. In fact they were 10 times better than all who practiced the arts of divination. (On magicians and enchanters, see comments on v. 17.) “Ten times” is an idiom meaning “many times” (cf. Gen. 31:7, 41; Num. 14:22; Job 19:3).

The king consulted magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, astrologers, wise men, and diviners. “Magicians” was a general word referring to men who practiced the occult. This word is also used in Gen. 41:8, 24; Ex. 7:11, 22; 8:7, 18-19; 9:11. “Enchanters” (used only twice in the OT, Dan. 1:20; 2:21) may refer to those who used incantations in exorcisms. The word “sorcerers” probably is from the word meaning “to bewitch, to cast a spell.” “Astrologers” seems to refer to a priestly class in the Babylonian religion who depended on revelation through the stars, which were objects of worship. “Diviners” may be those who sought to ascertain or decree the fate of others.

The practices of these five groups may have overlapped extensively. Several times Daniel referred to these men under the general rubric of “wise men” (2:12-14, 18, 24 [twice], 48; 4:6, 18; 5:7-8, 15).

Daniel’s ministry in the royal court of Babylon continued until the overthrow of the Babylonian Empire by Cyrus in 539 b.c. God had said, “Those who honor Me, I will honor” (1 Sam. 2:30). Daniel determined to honor God even though he was living where people did not have the high standards God demanded. And God honored Daniel’s obedience to the Law and promoted him in the king’s court. This incident would have reminded Israel that obedience brings blessing and that righteousness is a prerequisite for enjoying the covenanted blessings.

The fact that God gave Daniel the ability to understand and interpret visions and dreams (Dan. 1:17) meant that throughout Nebuchadnezzar’s long reign he depended on Daniel for understanding future events, revealed through dreams and visions. This anticipated the ministry Israel will one day fulfill. God had set Israel apart to be a kingdom of priests (Ex. 19:6). As such they were God’s light to the world (Isa. 42:6; 49:6). They were to receive God’s revelation and communicate it to nations that were ignorant of God. They were continually reminded of their role by the lampstand erected in the tabernacle. Daniel, during his tenure in the royal court in Babylon, fulfilled that function as God’s spokesman to the Gentiles. When Israel will enter her millennial blessing under the reign of the Messiah, she will fulfill the role for which she was set apart by God and will then communicate God’s truth to the Gentiles (Zech. 8:21-23).