Saturday's Scripture
Story for the Week

Daniel and His 'Fast Friends'

Daniel 1:1-21

Daniel’s Training in Babylon

1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god.

3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility— 4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. 5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.

6 Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.

8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”

11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.

15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

18 At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. 20 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.

21 And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.

Pondering Point

In the story of Daniel and his friends, we find that their fast is not really about depriving themselves of food they particularly enjoyed, but rather about honoring God and giving Him His rightful place. The four of them (among others) were being put under a specific eating regimen to make them fit for serving the Babylonian king. Since this would put them in violation of Jewish dietary laws, they asked for an exception with their supervisor. Read the story and learn how the supervisor and king respond. Daniel fasts again for other reasons later (you can read about that in Daniel Chapter 10).

Prayer Prompt

Ask God to give you Daniel-like faith and courage to stand up for your convictions regarding your God and beliefs. Consider which friends of yours are likely to stand with you amid faith challenges and say a prayer for them. Sometimes they are going through trials and could use a “fast friend” also.

Hook Questions

(for use with your group when you are using Bible stories as central to your time together)
Have you ever done a fast? What was it like?

Bible Storying's Core Questions

What did you like (or learn new) about the story?
What did you not like (or not understand) about it?
What are the various people doing in the story? With whom do you identify within the story?
What is God doing in the story?
What might God be asking of you triggered by this story? How is He challenging you?

I give everyone and everything to You God;
I give everyone and everything to You.

Invest in your walk with Jesus by taking in this podcast from Bible Project, Feasting and Fasting.

https://bibleproject.com/podcast/practicing-faith-part-2-feasting-fasting/ (43 minute long)

The podcast describes the “ancient practice of fasting, withholding food from yourself for a symbolic and intentional reason. This practice marked the lives of many ancient Israelites, of Jesus himself, and it was a habit that was carried on in the early Jesus-movement as well. However, this practice was also accompanied by regular periods of feasting to celebrate God's generosity and grace. What are these habits? How do they balance with each other? Why is it important to have both? We explore these questions in this episode.”