Daniel 1:9 | An Ancient Prayer Answered
Daniel 1:9 - And God gave Daniel favour and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs.
An Ancient Prayer Answered
Three centuries before the long march to Babylon, Solomon, the temple-building king of Israel, pleaded to God on behalf of his descendants, asking God to "cause their captors to show them mercy" (1 Kings 8:50). The word "mercy" (רַחֲמִ֛ים) here is a "tender" feeling of compassion—an intimate mercy with characteristics similar to a mother cherishing the foetus in her womb.[1] It is a deep, intimate, familiar mercy. And here in Daniel 1:9, the ancient plea of Solomon for mercy is answered with precision: "God caused” Daniel to experience “favour and compassion (רַחֲמִ֛ים)" (Daniel 1:9a).
God’s Manifestation of Mercy
Under the yoke of exile, we hear the biographical profession of thanksgiving: "In tenderness, God sought me." The God who "gave" Judah into exile "gave" mercy to the exiled. The grace of God is undeniable. But there is another small detail to notice: in a divine act of great surprise, Ashpenaz, the royal offical, is the one who looked with "favour" and "compassion" upon Daniel (Daniel 1:9b). This was not a mere coincidence or a result of human effort. It was a manifestation of God's mercy and control at work behind the scenes.
Bending The Will of Men
The Psalmist teaches us that "God caused them [the exiles] to be pitied" (Psalm 106:46). The tender affections of Ashpenaz toward Daniel were not based upon his own free will. There was a first cause—a prime mover. His new affections for Daniel had a divine origin. For all we know, the natural disposition of the man could have been "ferocious, warlike, and sanguinary".[2] As an "official" of the great and dreadful Nebuchadnezzar, he had to maintain the status quo of success. He had quotas to fulfil—young men to indoctrinate. But whatever his natural temperament was, it had now changed for a moment. God was at work deep within him, bending his will by his most omnipotent hand. Out of love for Daniel, God caused Ashpenaz to display a deep, familiar mercy toward him.
Confidence in God’s Providence
In the courts of Babylon, Daniel, therefore, had no reason to fear. His God is the God who bends hearts—and even has the power to turn bloodthirsty wolves into tender lambs if he wills it. Every heart that beats on earth is fine-tuned to the music of God's secret will. And as "strangers and pilgrims" (1 Peter 2:11), we too can take heart. We have no reason to fear. Still to this day, God is in control in the face of the mightiest foes. "Although they vomit forth their rage with open mouth, and are overflowing with cruelty. . . [let us] go on fearlessly in our course, and not to turn aside, even if the whole world should oppose us.”[3] We go on fearless because God is in control.
[1] James Strong, A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009), 108.
[2] John Calvin and Thomas Myers, Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Daniel (vol. 1; Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 102.
[3] Ibid.