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Accommodation

Pastor Bill Farrow

Daniel 1:10

[10] And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king.”

(Verse 10) - And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king - He was apprehensive that if Daniel appeared less healthful, or cheerful, or beautiful, than it was supposed he would under the prescribed mode of life, it would be construed as disobedience of the commands of the king on his part, and that it would be inferred that the wan and emaciated appearance of Daniel was caused by the fact that the food which had been ordered had not been furnished, but had been embezzled by the officer who had it in charge. He had good reason to fear the wrath of the King. We have only to remember the strict and arbitrary nature of Oriental monarchies to see that there were just grounds for the apprehensions here expressed. The King had absolute power and few of these monarchs resisted using that power when it suited them.

For why should he see your faces worse liking - Some of the margins read, "sadder." The Hebrew word means, properly, angry; and then morose, gloomy, sad. The primary idea seems to be, that of "any" painful, or unpleasant emotion of the mind which depicts itself on the countenance - whether anger, sorrow, envy, lowness of spirits, etc. The greek word used in the Septuagint can be translated stern, gloomy, or sad, (Matt. 6:16; Luke 24:17). Here the reference is not to the expression of angry feelings in the countenance, but to the countenance as fallen away by fasting, or poor living.

"Than the children." The youths, or young men. The same word is here used which occurs in Dan. 1:4.

Which are of your sort - Again we would the note in the margin, "term," or "continuance." The Hebrew word here used means, properly, a circle, or circuit; hence an age, and then the men of an age, a generation.  The word is not used, however, in the Scriptures elsewhere in this sense. Elsewhere it is rendered "joy," or "rejoicing," (Job 3:22; Ps. 43:4; 45:15; 65:12; Prov. 23:24; Isa. 16:10; 35:2; 65:18; Jer. 48:33; Hos. 9:1; Joel 1:16). This meaning it has from the usual sense of the verb meaning "to exult," or "rejoice." The verb properly means, to move in a circle; then to "dance" in a circle; and then to exult or rejoice. The word "circle," as often used now to denote those of a certain class, rank, or character, would accurately express the sense here. Thus we speak of those in the "religious" circles, in the social circles, etc.

The reference here is to those of the same class with Daniel; to wit, in the arrangements made for presenting them before the king. The Greek version means "of your age".

Then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king - As if he had disregarded the orders given him, or had embezzled what had been provided for these youths, and had furnished them with inferior fare. In the arbitrary courts of the East, nothing would be more natural than that such an apparent failure in the performance of what was enjoined would peril his life. The word used here, and rendered "make me endanger" appears nowhere else in the Bible. It means, in the form used here, to make guilty; to cause to forfeit. The Greek version means "you will condemn", or "cause me to be condemned".

The concern of the chief steward was completely understandable. Daniel believed it worth considering and was sympathetic. He took the needs and concerns of this unredeemed man under consideration and accommodated him. He was willing to alter or modify his plan where those modifications did not compromise what he had purposed in his heart.

You and I ought to be willing to hear and be sensitive to the concerns of the unsaved around us. We need to be willing to accommodate those concerns where the purity of our stand for Christ will not be impacted.