In the book of Daniel we see how Daniel and his three companions overcame Satan’s devices and were absolutely one with God. In chapter after chapter and case after case, they chose to stand with God and for His interest, and God was with them.
Even though king Nebuchadnezzar changed their names from godly names to idol-related names, they still overcame the satanic stratagems.
In Daniel 1 especially we see how they overcame the demonic diet – they rejected the king’s choice food (which was offered to idols) and chose to eat clean food to preserve their bodies for the Lord.
No matter what others did, no matter what others ate, and no matter whether others gave in to the king’s choice food, Daniel and his three companions didn’t give in and rather set their heart to not take any satanic food into their being.
Today we need to be those who exercise their spirit first and eat Jesus in His words in the Bible so that we may digest Him and assimilate Him, and we need to carefully choose our companions, so that we would not have evil companionships (which corrupt good morals) but we would pursue with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart (2 Tim. 2:22).
Lord, unveil us to see Satan’s stratagems and stay one with You. Keep us in our spirit, Lord, and strengthen us to not give in to Satan and his demonic diet. No matter whether our friends or relatives choose to eat the tree of knowledge of good and evil, we choose the tree of life! Lord Jesus, we love You, and we love Your purpose! We choose You!
Daniel and His Three Companions
The people of God were defeated by the Babylonians, and Nebuchadnezzar brought a great multitude into captivity.
The king ordered that out of the nobility among the children of Judah his servants would choose some who have no defect, who are good in appearance, who show insight in all wisdom, understanding in knowledge, and apprehension in thought, and in whom was the ability to stand in the king’s palace, and they would be brought into the king’s palace to be trained and educated (see Dan. 1:1-4).
Though they were in captivity, they were chosen and given the king’s food and wine, and they were well taken care of. Among these captives though there were Daniel and his three companions – Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah – who loved God and were one with God even from their youth.
The first thing the king did is to change their names from their Hebrew names (which indicated that they belong to God) to names that made them one with idols (see Dan. 1:6-7).
- Daniel – meaning “God is my Judge,” was changed to Belteshazzar, meaning “the prince of Bel,” or “the favorite of Bel” (Isa. 46:1). The name Daniel indicates that God judges everything in our being that is not matching Him. But “Bell” indicates the idols – the people carried their idols and they became a burden to them. Anything that replaces the position of God is an idol which becomes a burden to the worshiper.
- Hananiah – meaning “Jah has graciously given,” or “favored of Jah,” was changed to Shadrach, meaning “enlightened by the sun god.”. What a terrible name!
- Mishael – meaning “Who is what God is?” was changed to Meshach, meaning “Who can be like the goddess Shach?” The name “Mishael” indicates that God is the incomparable one.
- Azariah – meaning “Jah has helped,” was changed to Abed-nego, meaning “the faithful servant of the fire god Nego.”
Even though the king changed their name, he could not change their inward being, their constitution! They withstood any demonic diet and attack, and they strongly stood for God in a pagan country! We as believers need to remember their Hebrew names – Daniel and Hannaniah, Mishael, and Azariah – and not their Babylonian names!
Being Victorious over the Demonic Diet
What is wrong with “the king’s choice food and wine”? There were many others sons of Judah there, but only Daniel and his three companions choose not to eat the king’s choice food. They knew that this food was offered to idol, and if they eat it they will be joined to idols also. They didn’t care that their peers and fellow Hebrews ate the demonic food – they themselves chose not to be defiled with it (Dan. 1:8-16).
Nebuchadnezzar’s devilish temptation was to seduce these four brilliant young descendants of God’s defeated elect to be defiled by partaking of his unclean food (which was offered to idols). If Daniel and his companions would have eaten this food, they would have taken in defilement, idols, and would have become one with Satan (see 1 Cor. 10:19-21).
But Daniel and his companions refused to eat the king’s unclean food and chose instead to eat vegetables – they rejected the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (see Gen. 3:1-6) and chose the tree of life, which caused them to be one with God (Gen. 2:9, 16-17).
The king’s meat was surely good meat, and the king’s food was excellent food, but “Daniel set his heart not to defile himself with the king’s choice provisions”. What the world has to offer to us today is offered to idols and when we eat it we will take in idols and the Satanic element.
We need to reject the demonic diet and instead choose to eat Jesus as our heavenly diet, our only food!
Eating Jesus for the Building up of the Church
But flee youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Tim. 2:22)
The first man fell because he did not exercise his spirit to contact God, thus bypassing God and putting God aside, but rather over-exercised his soul. We need to be recovered to exercising our spirit and always using our spirit to contact God. Let us give ourselves to eat Jesus for the building up of the church!
In Revelation we see that in this dark age of today the Triune God has been intensified sevenfold to bring the degraded church back to the enjoyment of Himself as the tree of life, the hidden manna, and the feast – for the finalization of God’s New Testament economy (Rev. 2:7, 17; 3:20).
Satan is subtle today to offer us the choice food in the world, both for our flesh and for our soul, but we need to refuse the demonic diet and choose to eat Jesus as our food (John 6:57).
God is in Christ to be the tree of life for us to eat – God is good for food! We need to eat Him, take Christ into our being, and chew Him until He becomes liquefied as the Spirit into our being (just as we eat food).
How do we eat Jesus? We eat Jesus by eating His words (John 6:63) which are spirit and are life. We need to find God’s words (Jer. 15:16) and eat His words daily, and His words will become to us the gladness and rejoicing of our heart!
To eat is to contact something outside of us and receive it into us to become our constitution. It is very important what we eat. We need to eat Jesus!
Also, we need to be with the right kind of people. We need to have companions which call on the Lord out of a pure heart (2 Tim. 2:22), otherwise “evil companionships corrupt good morals” (1 Cor. 15:33).
We need to be careful who we contact and who we hang out with, because by being with people we “eat from their constitution”. Walk with the wise man that you may be wise (Prov. 13:20).
The way we refuse the demonic diet is by actively choosing to eat God’s word daily and by associating ourselves with the people of God!
Lord Jesus, make us those who overcome the demonic diet. May we really see that the choice food Satan offers us is related to idols and brings us into union with him. Lord, we want to care for our diet. We are heavenly people, and we want to eat heavenly food. May every day we would make a discovery in Your Word and eat Your Word. Lord, Your word is our food and drink. Keep us eating Jesus, masticating Jesus, and digesting Jesus until we become Jesus, His corporate expression. Lord, our companions! Lord, keep us hanging out with the saints, with those who call on Your name out of a pure heart!
References and Further Reading
- Sharing inspired from brother Ed Marks’ speaking in this message and portions in, Life-study of Daniel (msg. 2), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on Crystallization-Study of Daniel and Zechariah, week 6 (entitled, The Victory of the Overcomers).
- Hymns on this topic:
# Thank You Lord, in Your eyes we find grace, / And with open hearts we come to You. / Regardless what our friends might say to us or do, / O Lord Jesus, we love You.
# I live, if you stand firm in the Lord. / You live, if I stand firm in the Lord. / My going on is for you, / Your going on is for me, / Not sep’rate entities, / I need you saints desp’rately!
# Let us eat Jesus every day, / Eating His flesh in such a way / That in the trials great or small / He as a Man will be our all.
# We love the church life, eating, / drinking, breathing Jesus. / We love the church life, taking / in God’s Word. / We love to hear those “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujahs!” / We love the church life, feasting with the Lord.
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In Daniel 1…first, we [see] the figure of a fighting, overcoming general, Nebuchadnezzar, who has just returned from Jerusalem to Babylon with many captives following behind him. Second, we see four brilliant young men among the captives. Third, these young men are specially chosen from among the captives and then presented with the king’s choice food. Fourth, they set their hearts to keep themselves for God, and they reject the royal food and eat vegetables only. Nevertheless, the four become very pleasant, happy, and healthy. Then as a result, God’s presence, wisdom, and insight are with them, and they can understand things ten times better than all the others in Nebuchadnezzar’s realm. (Life-study of Daniel, pp. 9-10, 31-32)
Dan 1:8 But Daniel set his heart not to defile himself with t king's choice provision…
'Daniel & his companions were 4 God…they set their hearts to keep themselves 4 God…'
2 eat of t tree of t knowledge of good & evil s 2 attach 2 Satan, so may we b 1s who continuously constitute ourselves wit Christ as t tree of life! 🙂
'We r what we eat.'
Amen <3
Eating is critical to man, a matter of life or death. If man obeyed God and ate the tree of life, he would receive life and fulfil God’s purpose. Adam and Eve did not overcome Satan’s scheme in the Garden of Eden and thus received death into them. Today, many children of God are eating idols food with all the world and are usurped by Satan for his purpose. But hallelujah, Daniel and his 3 companions rejected satanic diet and gained the victory over Satan. The Lord’s recovery is the recovery of the eating of Jesus for the building up of the church. The Jesus we eat is the all-inclusive Christ, typified by the good land. The church becomes the fullness of the riches of Christ. We have little power, but we do not deny the Lord’s name. We do not carry another person’s name because we belong to Jesus only. Satan hates the Lord’s name and persecuted the earliest New Testament callers of the Lord’s name. Daniel really lived up to his name, “God is my judge” and he loved God and chose not to partake idol’s food because he did not want to be defiled. Daniel and his 3 friends were a vital group seeking God in captivity, what a glory!