They Want the Best Daniel 1

“As for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in his realm” (Dan. 1:20, NASB).

Professional football player Colin Kaepernick played for the San Francisco 49ers for six years. However, Kaepernick is better known for kneeling during the playing of the national anthem in protests of alleged police brutality and racial inequality in the United States. There have been numerous occasions when white police have shot and killed young Black men that were unarmed. Are these young men shot and killed simply because they have dark brown and black skin? If this is true, why are so many white people, both men and women spending thousands of dollars on tanning lotions that they put on their skins to make themselves darker? Why are many health spas and health clubs equipped with tanning rooms and tanning beds so that white people can make their skins darker?

I believe that white people do not have anything against dark brown and black skin. Rather, these young Black men are shot and killed because the white community does not believe that these young men have anything of value. Instead, white people see Black people in general and Black men as a threat to their own existence. People want to eliminate those that are a threat to them, and they accept those that they believe have something valuable to add to their own agendas. People that possess power want only those people that have the best value for their agendas. This truth is seen when we study the story of Daniel and his three friends.

In order to understand Daniel 1 we must review the story of the rise to power by the Babylonians and their destruction of Jerusalem. In 605 B. C. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon besieges Jerusalem. We will not give details about the military conquest. We will focus on the type of people that the king of Babylon takes captive to his city. “Then he led away into exile all Jerusalem and all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land” (2 Kings 24:14, NASB). “All the men of valor, seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all strong and fit for war, and these the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon” (v. 16). I hope that you did not miss what is said. The people that have value are taken to Babylon, and the poor that have little to no value are left in Jerusalem. Daniel 1:1 picks up the story of the fall of Jerusalem.

The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar gives orders to find the best among the youths that are in exile. The king of Babylon wants to make use of the best of these youth for his own purposes. First, we see that the king of Babylon wants only those young men that have a background that indicates that there is the possibility that they will be useful in his service. “Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles” (Dan. 1:3, NASB).

In addition to being of the approved background they are to possess certain personal physical and mental abilities and character traits. These young men must be “youths in whom was no defects, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king’s court; and he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans” (v. 4, NASB). These youths will be well-fed, educated for three years so that they can “enter into the king’s personal service” (v. 5).

Daniel 1:6 gives us the names of four of the young men that are selected to be trained to serve the king. Their Hebrew names are Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (v. 6). “Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach, and to Azariah Abednego” (v. 7). These young men have names that honor their God. The Chaldeans give them new names that honor the god of Babylon. In addition to changing their names they are offered the choice foods from the king’s table, but Daniel refuse the meats on the table because they are foods that the Law commands them not to eat found in the book of Leviticus. In Leviticus 11 some foods are designated as clean and others are designated unclean. “This is the law regarding the animal and the bird, and every living thing that moves in the waters and everything that swarms on the earth, to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the edible creature and the creature which is not to be eaten” (Lev. 11:46-47, NASB).

At the end of the training period the officials present the young men to the king for his personal investigation (v. 18). “As for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm. And Daniel continued until the first year of Cyrus the king” (vv. 20-21, NASB).

We should not conclude that Daniel and his companions are valuable to the king of Babylon only. God also uses these young men to serve His purpose (chapters 2-6). These young men are young men that have been prepared by God throughout their lives. According to scholars these young men are teenagers. They are reared during the reign of Josiah the last godly king that rules in Jerusalem before the siege by Nebuchadnezzar.

In 2 Kings 22:1-23:33 we read that Josiah reads in the Book of the Law that the people are living in sin; violating the commandments. Josiah institutes many reforms including the proper worship of their God. Now, in captivity, these four young men exercise their faith in God by refusing to defile themselves by eating foods that the Law commands them not to eat. “But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself” Dan. 1:8, NASB). God continues to bless them. He will use them to make His name known in Babylon. The king of Babylon wants the best and God wants the best. “As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams” (Dan. 1:17, NASB).

Now, let us return to the beginning of this article. What is the problem? How can the problem be solved? Dark brown skin and black skin alone is not a problem for white Americans. The problem is that white Americans do not believe that young certain Black men do not have any value in the American culture. White Americans see not only skin color; they see how one dresses; they hear how one talks. They see body language. All of these help to create a negative image of young Black men. White Americans want to be conquerors. They want to be in control. They want the best only.

So, what does all of this have to do with the church? The church must reach out to young Black men. If the Black church does not want them why should the white world want them? If the church does not find value in these young Black men how can we expect the invading and conquering king to find any value in them? It is the responsibility of the Black church to reach out to young Black youths (boys and girls). We must stop depending on the government to provide them with the things that they need to survive the invasion. The Black church must prepare its youth to enter into a foreign land, and secure a good life for them in a foreign land. Yes, the Black youth that is raised in poverty in the ghetto has no value to the white community. These young people are trying to enter into a land that is foreign to them. The Black church must make every effort to teach Black youth about God. Who is God? What does God require of them? How does the teaching of Jesus Christ prepare them with knowledge and wisdom and discernment to be successful in the foreign land that they are entering into? The Black church can never ignore and forget the fact that they want the best.