Daniel 1-4

Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego “set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God” (3:28). Exiled to a pagan country, Daniel and his friends determined to live by God’s commands – including what they ate and drank - while still serving King Nebuchadnezzar (ch 1). They were servants of God first and Babylonian “wise men” second. When they were faced with the challenge of idolatry, they had already learned how to resist and honor God.

Rather than succeeding according to Babylon’s rules, “Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself” (1:8). No human prize is worth compromising the way of Jesus.