Daniel 1:4 Children in whom was no blemish, but well favored, and skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science… Among those chosen for the royal service were some whose hearts God had specially touched. Young as they were, the troubles through which they had passed had wrought upon them both for moral and spiritual good. But how strange are the workings of God's providence! Up to this time they had been trained in that noble learning, which, from the time of Samuel, had been the glory of the prophetic schools. Now they were to be trained in that strange heathen learning, so wonderfully disentombed in our days. Magic, and the interpretation of dreams and omens, formed an important part of this knowledge; and there were besides, liturgies, hymns, and histories. Up to this time the documents discovered at Babylon have been mostly of a religious character, while among those found at Nineveh and other Assyrian cities have been historical documents of priceless value. To Jewish youths much of this heathen literature must have been repulsive; it must have offended their religious ideas, and often shocked their moral sense. It had nevertheless a good side. It taught them how large the world is, and that God's empire extendeth over all, and that all are objects of his care. Possibly coming before them with the charm of novelty, it may have made them pursue their studies with the same eagerness and zeal and curiosity which have spurred on scholars to recover the interpretation of the Sanscrit language, and to decipher these very cuneiform inscriptions in which Daniel and his friends were to have their training. And in thus enlarging their mental vision, God was preparing them to do service for His Church at a time when it was no longer hidden away among the mountains of Judah, but in danger of being trampled under foot in the highway of the nations. (Dean Payne Smith, D.D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. |
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