Written
by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha
Daniel
always called the shots despite being employed by non Jewish Kings in non
Jewish kingdoms. For three years, Daniel and his three Jewish friends Hananiah,
Mishael and Azariah did not partake of the defiling delicacies of King
Nebuchadnezzar’s table. No court trainee was allowed to do that as it would
incur great wrath from the King not only to on the trainee but on the stewards
assigned to the trainee.
Yet,
Daniel and his three friends were able to do this for three years. They
successfully sidestepped the laws of the land; called the shots in their favor
and to their advantage. Did they achieve this daring feat through outright
personal disobedience, civil disobedience
such as inciting other trainees to act against the laws of the land;
threats, intimidation and blackmail?
Not
at all! Daniel was unusually gifted with soft skills. He was a diplomat,
divinely endowed with very strong negotiating skills. The Bible records that
Daniel went to the chief of the eunuchs assigned to him and his friends and respectfully
requested that they should be exempted from the defiling delicacies of the
King’s table. Quite instructive and significant is the fact that Daniel did not
refer to the King’s delicacies as defiling when he spoke with the chief of the
eunuchs. He simply begged to be exempted; requesting that a ten days trial
should be given to them after which the chief of eunuchs could decide on what
to do with them depending on the outcome of the trial. Daniel was strategic in
his choice of words, He referred to himself and his three friends as the
servants of the chief eunuch meaning they were subject to his authority. The
implication is that they had no intention to be rebellious to his authority or
that of the King. The Bible records that the chief of eunuchs consented to
Daniel’s plea and thereafter the ten days trail, the steward took away their
portion of the King’s delicacies and for three years, Daniel and his friends
were not defiled by the King’s delicacies.
But
Daniel was not yet done with calling the shots a there were other shots to
call. King Nebuchadnezzar was incensed with the wise men of Babylon because
they could not tell him his dream which he dreamt alongside the interpretation.
Though the wise men insisted that no human being had the capacity to tell
anyone a dream the person dreamt and much more interpret the dream, the King
was further infuriated and to demonstrate the magnitude of his fury; he passed
a death sentence on all the wise men, including the newly inducted ones. Daniel
and his three friends were among the newly inducted ones.
The
Bible records that Daniel went to Arioch, the captain of the King’s guard and
wisely asked why the decree to kill the wise men was being speedily executed?
After Arioch gave Daniel and explanation for their actions; the Bible records
that Daniel again wisely went to the King and respectfully requested time from
the King to enable him come up with the dream as well as the interpretation of
the dream. Surprisingly, the very furious King who wanted every wise man in
Babylon dead acceded to Daniel’s request. What next was probably what Daniel processed
mentally as he returned to his house.
Beloved,
Daniel was standing on solid rock and called for a prayer vigil to request the
mercies of God so that they could access the King’s dream alongside its
interpretation from God. As these four young men waited on God and cried to Him
for mercies, God Who never fails His own responded and showed Daniel both the
dream and its interpretation. After thanking and praising God for His
faithfulness, Daniel went to see the King. Great job, excellent job! But wait a
minute! What exactly did Daniel do that is very instructive to those seeking to
acquire and deploy soft skills to great significance and healing the nations?
Daniel
was humble. He acknowledged the fact that it was not because he was wiser than
the other wise men or anyone else that the dream and its interpretation was
revealed to him. Rather, Daniel acknowledged the fact and the truth that it was
because God wanted to make known to the King the thoughts of his heart which
was why the secret was made known to Daniel. After Daniel told the dream and
its interpretation, the Bible records that King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate
before Daniel and commanded that incense should be burnt and an offering should
be made to Daniel. The King also acknowledged Daniel’s God as the God of gods
and the LORD of kings, a revealer of secrets. Daniel was subsequently promoted
because he dared to call the shots albeit in very subtle ways as directed by
the Spirit of God.
Beloved,
you may wonder what gave Daniel the confidence and the nerve to always call the
shots despite the fact that he was a captive in Babylon though he was divinely
placed to serve in the King’s court.
Daniel’s
faith and trust in God was unwavering. Daniel believed that God loved him and
God had his best interests at heart at heart and would therefore always come
through for him no matter the circumstances. That informed his decision to
speak with the chief of the eunuchs and the captain of the guards. Secondly,
Daniel had a fervent relationship with God so he was ruled by the Spirit of God
and his speech was subsequently always seasoned with salt. He always knew the
right words to say, when, where and how to say them.
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