Daniel 1:5,6

Daniel 1:5,6 And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. I know the name of Daniel, but who in the world are Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah? Well, actually, those are the Babylonian names for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Sounds a little more familiar, doesn’t it? I am not sure why the writer uses Daniel’s Hebrew name and his three friends’ Babylonian names, but he does. These four young men were snatched from their homes and their country and placed in a strange, foreign land. They were offered food which was not acceptable in their Jewish tradition. But no one was around to check up on them. They could eat whatever they wanted. Right? Wrong! God was watching and the boys determined to obey God, whatever the cost! They decided early on that they would do right whatever might happen to them. Brave boys, right?! So what about you? If someone offered you a cigarette, what would you do? If someone offered you a drink of liquor, what would you do? If someone offered you an illegal pill to take that would make you crazy/happy, what would you do? The time to decide is before the temptation comes. It’s too late to decide when the temptation comes because you won’t have time to think. You’ll give in quicker than a blink of the eye! So Daniel and his friends decided to obey God. And they stood firm. And guess what? God honored them! Remember, God honors faith because faith honors God.