Daniel 1:15

Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. THEN LET OUR COUNTENANCES BE LOOKED UPON BEFORE THEE ... AND AS THOU SEEST, DEAL WITH THY SERVANTS - illustrating , "Man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord....

Now this surprising event took place, — Daniel contracted neither leanness nor debility from that mean food, but his face was as shirting as if he had continued to feed most delicately; hence we gather as I have already said, that he was divinely impelled to persist firmly in his own design, and not to pollute himself with the royal diet. God, therefore, testified by the result that he had advised Daniel and his companions in this their prayer and proposal. It is clear enough that there is no necessary virtue in bread to nourish us; for we are nourished by God’s secret blessing, as Moses says, Man lives not by bread alone, (Deuteronomy 8:3,) implying that the bread itself does not impart strength to men, for the bread has no life in it; how then can it afford us life? As bread possesses no virtue by itself, we are nourished by the word of God; and because God has determined that our life...

AND AT THE END OF TEN DAYS THEIR COUNTENANCES APPEARED FAIRER - Hebrew, “good;” that is, they appeared more beautiful and healthful. The experiment was successful. There was no diminution of beauty, of vigour, or of the usual indications of health. One of the results of a course of temperance appears in the countenance, and it is among the wise appointments of God that it should be so. He has so made us, that while the other parts of the body may be protected from the gaze of men, it is necessary that the “face” should be exposed. Hence, he has made the countenance the principal scat of expression, for the chief muscles which indicate expression have their location there. See the valuable work of Sir Charles Bell on the “Anatomy of Expression,” London, 1844. Hence, there are certain marks of guilt and vice which always are indicated in the countenance. God has so made us that the drunkar...

EXPOSITION DANIEL 1:1-27 OCCASION OF DANIEL BEING IN BABYLON. DANIEL 1:1 IN THE THIRD YEAR OF THE REIGN OF JEHOIAKIM KING OF JUDAH. After the defeat and death of Josiah, the people of the land put on the throne Jehoahaz, or Shallum (Jeremiah 22:11), one of the sons of their late monarch (2 Kings 23:30). We see, by comparing 2 Kings 23:31 with 2 Kings 23:36, that in taking Jehoahaz to be their king they had passed over the law of primogeniture. The reason of this would not unlikely be that he represented the policy of his father Josiah, which may have meant the preferenc

AND AT THE END OF TEN DAYS THEIR COUNTENANCES APPEARED FAIRER, AND FATTER IN FLESH,.... At the time fixed for the trial of them, when they came to be examined, they appeared to be of a better complexion, and a more healthful look, and even plumper and fatter, with good solid flesh, and not swelled up as persons in a dropsy: THAN ALL THE CHILDREN WHICH DID EAT THE PORTION OF THE KING'S MEAT: who appeared at the same time, and were compared with them, being under the care of the same persons: now this was owing to the blessing of divine Providence, as Jacchiades observes; for, how healthful soever pulse may be, or the several things designed by it, particularly rice, of which Aben Ezra on the place gives great encomiums, as very salutary and nourishing, and a purifier of the blood; yet neither that, nor any of the things before mentioned, tend to make persons fat in flesh, as these were....

Daniel 1:1. _In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it._ Sin always brings its punishment. King Jehoiakim did evil in the sight of the Lord, so God used Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to be the rod in his hand to scourge his sinful people and their wicked king. Daniel 1:2. _And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand,_ It was not merely that Nebuchadnezzar was strong enough to overcome the Jews; but God handed over his people into Nebuchadnezzar's hand. The enemy cannot touch the Church of God without the divine permission. Daniel 1:2. With part of the vessels of the house of God: which

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS I. DANIEL IN BABYLON, NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S DREAM, AND HISTORICAL EVENTS CHAPTER 1 Daniel and His Companions in Babylon _ 1. The introduction (Daniel 1:1)_ 2. The king's command (Daniel 1:3) 3. Daniel and his companions (Daniel 1:6) Daniel 1:1. Divine judgment, which had threatened so long, had finally fallen upon Jerusalem. It was executed by the divinely chosen instrument, Nebuchadnezzar. Three times he came against Jerusalem. In 606 B.C. he appeared the first time. This is the visitation mentioned here. In 598 he came again and carried away more captives, including Ezekiel. In 587 he burn

DANIEL 1. DANIEL AT THE COURT OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR. This introductory chapter describes the circumstances which brought Daniel to Babylon, introduced him into the Court, and gained him favour with the king. The writer's purpose is to enforce the duty of loyalty to the Law and the principles of religion, and he illustrates his point by describing Daniel's refusal to defile himself with the king's meat and wine (Daniel 1:8). There can be little doubt that his object in this chapter is to appeal to the Jews of his own day to resist the s to compel them to eat forbidden food. Daniel is held up as an example to the Jews of the Maccabean age. NEBUCHADNEZZAR (the name is more correctly spelt Nebuchadrezzar) was king of Babylon from 604 to 561 B.C. (pp. 60f.). Under his rule Babylon reached the summit of its power. The picture of the splendour and prosperity of his empire which is drawn in...

AT THE END OF TEN DAYS THEIR COUNTENANCES APPEARED FAIRER. At the end of the ten days they were fairer, more beautiful and healthful than before. The experiment had been successful. It is not needful that we should suppose anything miraculous in the results. It is God's order that one of the results of. course of temperance should appear in the countenance, and it is. wise arrangement that it is so. He has arranged that while the other parts of the body are covered the face is exposed.. course of indulgence, intemperance in food, or drink, or debauchery, will show itself in the countenance. The drunkard, the glutton and the debauchee proclaim their own shame. Sir Charles Bell, in the Anatomy of Expression, says that "the bloated face, the haggard aspect, the look of folly, the heaviness of the eye, the disposition to squint, and to see double, and. forcible elevation of the eyebrow to co...

The loyalty to their faith shewn by the four Jewish youths....