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Man's Favor By God's Hand

Pastor Bill Farrow

Daniel 1:9

[9] Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs.

(Verse 9) - Now God had brought Daniel into favor - Compare Gen. 39:21; Prov. 16:7. By what means this had been done is not mentioned. We have no reason to suppose that it was by any other than natural means. It may be presumed, however, that it was by the attractiveness of his person and manners, and by the evidence of promising talent which he had evinced. Whatever were the means, however, two things are worthy of notice:

(1) The effect of this on the subsequent fortunes of Daniel. It was to him a great advantage, that by the friendship of this man he was enabled to carry out the purposes of temperance and religion which he had formed, without coming in conflict with those who were in power.

(2) God was the author of the favor which was thus shown to Daniel. It was by a controlling influence which he exerted, that this result had been secured, and Daniel traced it directly to him. We may thus learn that the favor of others toward us is to be traced to the hand of God, and if we are prospered in the world, and are permitted to enjoy the friendship of those who have it in their power to benefit us, though it may be on account of our personal qualifications, we should learn to attribute it all to God.

There would have been great reason to apprehend beforehand, that the refusal of Daniel and his companions to partake of the food prepared for them would have been construed as an affront offered to the king, especially if it was understood to be on the ground that they regarded it as "defilement" or "pollution" to partake of it; but God overruled it all so as to secure the favor of those in power. This is the great thing about obeying God. We can be certain that He will oversee the results and the consequences of that obedience.

This gives the background to the incident which we would never have known apart from God's revelation. It is these kinds of things that give us great insight into how God does things among His people. Further, it demonstrates to us that David didn't do this just on his own. The hand of God did a work that enabled Daniel's service to be effective. This is the way God does His work. He calls men to obedience and consecration and then sets the way for them to go about doing it.

I need to be sure I remember that it is God who works in me both to will and to do His good pleasure.