There is a significant statement in the first chapter of Daniel: “As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams” (Dan. 1:1717As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. (Daniel 1:17)).
“The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant” (Psa. 25:1414The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant. (Psalm 25:14)). This principle ever abides; and it is seen in all dispensations. It is first laid down by God Himself in the familiar words,
“Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?...For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of Him” (Gen. 18:17-1917And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; 18Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. (Genesis 18:17‑19)). It appears also in the prayer of the apostle Paul for the Colossians, “That ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will and in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (Col. 1:99For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; (Colossians 1:9)).
It is abundantly plain, in other words, that God gave these four “children” knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom because of their separation in heart and life from the defiling evils around.
It is indeed always true, that the nearer we are practically to the Lord, the more fully He communicates to us His mind; and remark, that it is not only what is generally understood as “His mind”, but it is in all learning and wisdom. The students of modern days, even Christian students, are too often betrayed into the thought, that for the acquisition of human “learning and wisdom,” they are dependent upon their own industry and power. The consequence is, that the years of their student-life are often marked by spiritual declension, if not open backsliding. The example of the four “children” might well teach a lesson.