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God Chooses Differently...

Pastor Bill Farrow

Daniel 1:3-5

[3] Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king's descendants and some of the nobles, [4] young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. [5] And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king's delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king.

(Verse 4) - But well-favored - Hebrew, "good of appearance;" that is, beautiful. We just want to note that even the most powerful of men is given to making judgements based on shallow and superficial criteria. These youog men were not selected only because of their wisdom and other qualities, but they also had to be good-looking. This betrays a flaw, a fatal flaw, in their thinking. It was then, and still is in many places, the prevailent wisdom that if one was favored by the gods, then one would bear all the "marks" of that favor. The ones who are good-looking must also be smart and wise. The foolishness of such thinking is obvious when we consider that the Lord Jesus was not particularly good-looking! 

And skillful in all wisdom - Intelligent, wise - that is, in all that was esteemed wise in their own country. The object was to bring forward the most talented and intelligent, as well as the most beautiful, among the Hebrew captives. We are suspicious here, because of the prior emphasis on exteriors, and wonder if there was not a "stacked deck" here as well? The wisdom sought by the Babylonians would not have been godly wisdom as such wisdom was unknown to them. Once again we see that the standard was a worldly one.

And cunning in knowledge - In all that could be known. The distinction between the word here rendered "knowledge" and the word rendered "science" is not apparent in English. Both come from the word  to "know," and would be applicable to any kind of knowledge. The word rendered "cunning" is also derived from the same root, and means "knowing," or "skilled in." We more commonly apply the word to a particular kind of knowledge, meaning artful, shrewd, astute, sly, crafty, designing.

But this was not the meaning of the word when the translation of the Bible was made, and it is not employed in that sense in the Scriptures. It is always used in a good sense, meaning intelligent, skillful, experienced, well-instructed. Compare Gen. 25:27; Exo. 26:1; 28:15; 38:23; 1 Sam. 16:16; 1 Chr. 25:7; Ps. 137:5; Isa. 3:3.

These young men were thus to be the cream of the crop as far as the schools of Judah were concerned. They were to have been instructed or taught, and were to have done well under that instruction. Again, we must note that we are speaking of human knowledge here and not of true, spiritual knowledge.

And understanding science - That is, the sciences which prevailed among the Hebrews. They were not a nation distinguished for "science," in the sense in which that term is now commonly understood - embracing astronomy, chemistry, geology, mathematics, electricity, etc.; but their science extended chiefly to music, architecture, natural history, agriculture, morals, theology, war, and the knowledge of future events; in all which they occupied an honorable distinction among the nations. In many of these respects they were, doubtless, far in advance of the Chaldeans; and it was probably the purpose of the Chaldean monarch to avail himself of what they knew.

And such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace - Hebrew, "had strength"  Properly meaning, who had strength of body for the service which would be required of them in attending on the court. One writer called this "A firm constitution of body is required for those protracted services of standing in the hall of the royal presence." The idea here speaks of the general appearance. They needed to be of a certain carriage - a presence that would be at home in the splendor of the court. Their bearing and over-all appearance could not mark them as out of place in court.

The word "palace" here is commonly used to denote the temple (2 Kings 24:13; 2 Chr. 3:17; Jer. 50:28; Hag. 2:15). Its proper and primitive signification, however, is a large and magnificent building - a palace - and it was given to the temple as the "palace" of Jehovah, the abode where he dwelt as king of his people.

And whom they might teach - That they might be better qualified for the duties to which they might be called. The purpose was, doubtless to bring forward their talent, that it might contribute to the splendor of the Chaldean court; but as they were, doubtless, ignorant to a great extent of the language of the Chaldeans, and as there were sciences in which the Chaldeans were supposed to excel, it seemed desirable that they should have all the advantage which could be delayed from a careful training under the best masters.

What is remarkable is that Daniel and his three friends measured up to these standards (and in fact, surpassed them) and were still remarkably spritrual men. It is most often the case that people of such magnificent human ability and possessing the kinds of physical and mental excellence that these young men possessed are also given to tremendous pride and vanity. That we see Daniel so very occupied with pursuing the will of God and pleasing Him unusual to say the very least.

I need to be sure that, as I evaluate people, I do it on a godly basis and not on a freshly basis.