International Sunday School Lesson March 8, 2026
Introduction
Hi, I’m Donnie Bryson. Welcome to another edition of the International Sunday School lesson. Today’s lesson is entitled, “Watching Our Consumption.” The lesson is for March 8, 2026. The text is taken from Daniel 1:8-17 and 1 Timothy 4:7-8. It’d be very easy to go off into tangents with today’s lesson. This lesson is about Daniel and his friends in the early days of their captivity. Babylonians had conquered Jerusalem and taken the upper class back to Babylon. Daniel and his friends were in that group. The Babylonians were indoctrinating the captives into the Babylonian way of life. This included the way they thought, eat, drank, and behaved. But, God directs Daniel to push back and retain his identity as a child of God. That’s the central message in these verses. We could focus on eating habits and health from these verses. But, that misses the point of godliness. I’m not saying we shouldn’t try to take care of ourselves. Watch what you eat. Exercise when you can. Don’t smoke. Listen to your doctor. But, the right focus on your relationship with God is spiritual, not physical. God was directing Daniel to resist the spiritual contamination. He wasn’t sending him on a wellness kick.
1 Daniel Separation
We don’t know what was wrong with the king’s food. It could’ve been offered to idols. It could’ve been from an unclean animal prohibited in the law. It could’ve been soaked in blood which was also prohibited in the law. All we know is something was wrong.
Daniel 1:8-9 (ESV) “8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. 9 And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs,”
Other prophets addressed the defilement of eating unclean food in captivity. In Ezek. 4:13: “And the Lord said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them.” In Hos. 9:3: “They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land, but Ephraim shall return to Egypt; and shall eat unclean things in Assyria.” Daniel had favor with his captors. That is often the natural result of wisdom and righteousness. Proverbs says in Proverbs 16:7 (ESV) “7 When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” This happens often because righteousness makes people hardworking and dependable.
2 Chiefs Fear and Trial
The transfer and proselyting of the young captives to Babylon ways was a very organized activity. The managers were held accountable to the king for the captives.
Daniel 1:10-13 (ESV) 10 and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” 11 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.”
Different translations, the King James version being one of them, translate ‘chief of the eunuchs’, as the proper name of Meltzar. It may be his proper name as the word only occurs here and in verse 16 in this chapter. Either way we know he was in charge. Why did they only want vegetables? Were the young men dedicated vegetarians? Well, we know that Daniel was not a life-long vegetarian because he gave up meat as a fast later in this life in Daniel 10:2–3 (ESV) “2 In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. 3 I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks.” If the king’s food had been offered to idols then merely eating vegetables would not resolve the problem. Flour and vegetables were offered to idols along with meat. It may very well have been bathed in blood or it may well have been forbidden meat. Leviticus 7:26–27 (ESV) 26 Moreover, you shall eat no blood whatever, whether of fowl or of animal, in any of your dwelling places. 27 Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his people.”
3 Results of the Test
The test is ran for ten days. God put a hedge around them so they don’t get sick during that time and appeared healthy.
Daniel 1:14–15 (ESV) 14 So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food.
We see that the experiment worked out well. Whatever the unclean food was, it wasn’t making the other youngsters more attractive.
4 Daniel and friends flourish
We see that the main ways Daniel and his friends flourised was in intelligence and righteousness
16 So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. 17 As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. (Daniel 1:16–17, ESV)
Daniel’s wisdom and intelligence was profound. He rose from being a captured hostage to being the third in command in the most powerful kingdom in the world. The focus here is not on physical strength or beauty. It is on righteousness, wisdom, and intelligence.
5 Focus on the Spiritual
Here we come to the most important part of today’s lesson. Common sense and practical wisdom tells us to take care of our health. Watch what and how much you eat. Get proper sleep and exercise. But, the most important thing is work on your relationship with God.
7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. (1 Timothy 4:7–8, ESV)
Be careful who you listen to. Don’t read astrology. Don’t listen to old wives tales. Stay away from voodo and hoodo. Regularly read your Bible. Pray consistently and earnesly. Meditate on the things of God. Grow in grace.
Concluding Thoughts
A couple of concluding thoughts. First, don’t focus on the natural and external. Focus on the spiritual and eternal. Second, avoid foolish and silly things. Well friends, good Lord willing, I’ll be back with you next weekend.
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