Outline
B
For Daniel and his companions to eat that food would have been to take in the defilement, to take in the idols, and thus to become one with Satan— cf. 1 Cor. 10:19-21.
C
When Daniel and his companions refused to eat Nebuchadnezzar's unclean food and chose instead to eat vegetables (Dan. 1:8-16), in principle they rejected the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (cf. Gen. 3:1-6) and took the tree of life, which caused them to be one with God (cf. 2:9, 16-17).
D
The Lord's recovery is the recovery of the eating of Jesus for the building up of the church—vv. 9, 16-17; Rev. 2:7, 17; 3:20.
E
We can eat Jesus by eating His words and by being careful to contact and be with those who call on Him out of a pure heart—Jer. 15:16; 2 Tim. 2:22; 1 Cor. 15:33; Prov. 13:20.
Ⅲ
Daniel and his companions were victorious over the devilish blinding that prevents people from seeing the great human image and the crushing stone as the divine history within human history—Dan. 2:
A
The corporate Christ as the stone and the mountain, the Bridegroom with His bride, the corporate man of God with the breath of God, will crush and slay Antichrist and his armies by the breath, the sword, of His mouth—vv. 34-35, 44-45; 2 Thes. 2:8; Rev. 19:11-21; Gen. 11:4-9; cf. Isa. 33:22.
B
Christ, as the living and precious stone, foundation stone, cornerstone, and topstone of God's building, infuses us with Himself as the preciousness to transform us into living and precious stones for His building—1 Pet. 2:4-8; Isa. 28:16; Zech. 3:9; 4:7, 9-10.
Morning Nourishment
Dan. 1:8 But Daniel set his heart not to defile himself with the king’s choice provision and with the wine that the king drank, so he requested of the leader of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.16 Therefore the steward withheld their portion of the choice provision and the wine that they were to drink and gave them vegetables.
The choice food was defiling, not clean, for it had been offered to Nebuchadnezzar’s gods. For Daniel and his companions to eat that food would have been to take in the defilement, to take in the idols, and thus to become one with Satan. If they had done this, God would have been finished and would have had nothing on earth for Himself and His interest. Then Satan could have boasted and said, “God, You have been completely defeated. You have nothing on earth to represent You and to be one with You.” God had been defeated in His elect. Now if their descendants in the captivity, the younger generation, had followed in the steps of their fathers, God would have been fully defeated. But Daniel and his companions were for God. They were attached to God, they cleaved to God, and they were one with God because they took God in.
To eat Nebuchadnezzar’s choice food is to take Satan as our supply and to become one with Satan. I am concerned that you may be eating the choice food provided for you by today’s Nebuchadnezzar. If we are careless in our eating, in our shopping, in where we go, and in what we do, we may take in something related to idols, something demonic. We are what we eat. If we eat godly food—that is, if we eat God-food, God as our food—we will be one with God. (Life-study of Daniel, p. 10)
Today’s Reading
[In Daniel 1 we first 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. 33-34)In Revelation 2 and 3 there are seven epistles directly from the Lord Jesus to the churches. At the end of each epistle there is a promise…These promises are not only for the future but also for today…Surely we will eat the tree of life in the future, because Revelation 22 tells us so, but we can also enjoy the tree of life today. The Bible has a principle that whatever will be there as the full taste, we have today as the foretaste. We can eat of the tree of life, the hidden manna, and the feast today.
The entire Bible is [consistent] with the matter of eating to produce the building. Even in Genesis 2 there is the revelation of eating the tree of life… The Lord’s recovery is the recovery of the eating of Jesus for the building up of the church. This is not only for this age but also for eternity…We need to eat Jesus to grow, to be transformed, and to be built together. Then we will have the building of the church.
By this way the Lord is going to fulfill His prophecy regarding the building up of the church. This prophecy is fulfilled by eating Jesus…Eating keeps the oneness. Eating builds up. If you are divisive, that means you are wrong in the matter of eating. If you are right in the matter of eating, surely you will be united and even uniting. You will be the ones who are built and who are building others. When will the Lord build His church? Now! How will the Lord build His church? By our eating Jesus! (CWWL, 1972, vol. 3, “The Greatest Prophecy in the Bible and Its Fulfillment,” pp. 483-484, 486-487)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1957, vol. 3, “Men Who Turn the Age,” chs. 1—3