Daniel and the King's Food

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When the Kingdom of Judah turned away from God, God allowed the enemy nation of Babylon to capture the Jews and take them away to Babylon. The temple and the city walls of Jerusalem were destroyed. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon commanded that the brightest and most handsome captives be educated and taught to serve in the Babylonian courts. When Daniel and three other young Jews were told to eat the king’s food, they refused because it was food that God had forbidden Jews to eat. When the officials saw that these young men were healthier and stronger when they obeyed God’s food laws, they allowed them to continue obeying the Lord. These four young men impressed the king because they were smarter than all the men in the king’s court.

Bible verses used in this episode:

Daniel 1

Outline:

1. The King of Babylon captures Jerusalem and takes captives. (Daniel 1:1-2)
2. Daniel and three other young men honour God by refusing to eat the king’s food. (Daniel 1:3-17)
3. The king recognises that Daniel and his friends are the best of his servants. (Daniel 1:18-21)

Tips for teaching children:

• To tell the story, use this slideshow made by young men. Link to slideshow.
• Provide a large piece of paper. Have the children write the following along the bottom of the page, “I will honour God with my body. 1 Corinthians 6:20”. Then decorate the poster with drawings of body parts. Add footprints, fingerprints and handprints. Children could even glue on a lock of hair.
• Place vegetables in two small plates. One should be clean and the other should have crumbled chocolate cookie on it so it appears to be dirt. Talk about how the food God approved was clean and the king’s food was unclean. Which food would they want to eat? Be sure and let them eat the clean vegetables.

Tips for teaching adults:

• Use the same vegetable activity as for the children above.
• Read Daniel chapter one, dividing the reading up into outline provided in the show notes.
• After the reading, use some or all of the following questions to begin a discussion:
  • What are some lessons you see the text teaching?
  • How is Daniel being faithful to God by not eating the king’s food?
  • What is the point of eating only clean food, not unclean.
• Follow up with these:
  • What kinds of things sets Christians apart from the world or what marks us off as being followers of Christ?
  • Challenge the class to generate a list of boundary markers that should separate Christians from the world.

Full teaching instructions free from Mission Bible Class:

Bible Lesson: Daniel and the King’s Food

Scriptures quoted from The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.

Excerpts from Mission Bible Class used by permission.

Music: Upbeat Positive Culture (Acoustic Corporate Travel Promo Christian Rock), Individual License, Stock Media provided by HumansWin, pond5.com

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