In the first article on this subject, we saw a brief historical background of ancient Babylon and Judah during the days of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar. It was intended to help us better understand what it meant for Daniel and the other three Hebrew children to influence an empire of such magnitude.
In episode 2, we defined what it means to be a divine influencer and proceeded to analyse the first requirement that Nebuchadnezzar demanded these potential courtiers (or influencers in our context) possess. So, we saw that they must be of the king’s seed or of the princes. And we analysed what that means for us today.
Our lead scriptural verse is still Daniel 1 verse 4, Children in whom was no blemish but well favoured and skilful in all wisdom; cunning in knowledge and understanding science; 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.
Now, let’s continue with the second and third requirements.
2. Children in whom was no blemish:
Nebuchadnezzar here specified that none of the children should have a physical defect. It is not enough to belong to the royal family, you must also not have any physical defect. The office of the courtier is both functional and ornamental, so a great empire can’t afford to feature people with physical defects.
Now, we know better and do not discriminate against people who for some reason, certainly not caused by them, were born with some physical disabilities. Also, we aren’t in any way referring to physical defects but rather character defects.
God was so particular about the state and appearance of the animals offered to Him as a sacrifice in the old testament that the holy scriptures are replete with detailed descriptions of how the sacrificial lamb or goat has to be. ( Exodus 12:5; Leviticus 1:3; 22:19-24; 3:1; Numbers 29:8-11, 13; Deuteronomy 15:21; 17:1; Malachi 1:8 etc.)
In fact, Jesus was accepted as a propitiation for our sins because HE had (and has) no blemish whatsoever. His blood is purer than the blood of any animal and speaks better things than that of Abel (Hebrews 9:14; 7:26; 1 Peter 1:19)
We are a living sacrifice to God, so no blemish whatsoever (Romans 12:1; Ephesians 5:27)
Lessons for an intending divine influencer
This is one requirement that anyone who intends becoming an influencer in this Babylon must strive to acquire and maintain – an unblameable lifestyle with the absence of stains, dirt, cockroaches in the cupboard, unresolved issues, unequal yoke with unbelievers, unholy alliances, ungodly attachment to sin and the world.
Don’t ever believe that any fault is too small to go unnoticed. One of the killers of trust and reputation is a fault or habit or an unholy inner longing that wasn’t properly checked early. Run through the list of famous men and women who fell from grace and you’ll see faults that may be present in the large society but aren’t tolerated for men/women of repute.
You need to seriously and constantly check your tendencies. They could be as little as an unbridled desire for food/drinks to things like the lust of the flesh. Any habit that isn’t godly must be eschewed. They could be talkativeness, gossip, pride, hate, prejudice, unforgiving spirit, envy, jealousy, alcoholism, smoking, oversleeping, dishonesty, badmouthed, gluttony etc.
One daint can ruin your career and reputation that you’ve spent years building.
3. Children who are well favoured:
Well-favoured simply means handsome, good-looking, beautiful, gorgeous. The Igbos of Nigeria have a saying that “mma nwanyi bu agwa ya,” that is, the beauty of a lady is her beautiful character. You can’t outsource good character; you either develop one or you don’t have it.
A few months ago, I wrote an interesting article on Character which I recommend that you go through for a better grasp of this particular requirement.
Thanks for reading.
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