RELIGION —
We took an excursion last week to make some applications from Daniel to our lives. We need to close the loop on the difficult situation Daniel and his friends are in in the first part of chapter one. The young teenagers are away from home, away from people who share their faith and probably hearing sad things about their family and friends.
How did they make it through such troubling times?
- God was with them. God’s presence was especially associated with the temple in Jerusalem. Daniel and his friends are 500 miles away from that. Yet the book of Daniel makes it clear that Yahweh is not bound to any structure or place — He is present with Daniel and his friends in the pagan world of Babylon. When the official over Daniel and his friends wants to put them on a special diet (likely in violation of Jewish dietary laws), we’re told, “God … caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel” (1:9).
- He is still sovereign. God not only works on the personal level but verse 2 lets us know He also works on the international level. Nebuchadnezzar would have believed that his capture of Judah’s king and the plundering of its temple proved the superiority of his god, Marduk, to Yahweh. After all, the treasure from Yahweh’s temple ended up in Marduk’s temple, didn’t it? And didn’t they give names to Daniel and his friends (indicating their authority over them)?
But appearances don’t always reflect reality. Verse 2 tells us that “the Lord delivered Jehoiakim into his hand” as well as the temple treasures. God, not Nebuchadnezzar, was in control. - He was still working for His people. Correspondingly, the people weren’t to look to Egypt (as Jehoiakim did) for deliverance. Neither military power nor diplomacy would save them — only God could do that. Though he and his friends are caught up in a bad situation, Daniel and his friends know this and that’s what makes them salt and light among the Babylonians.
There’s a lot for us to learn from chapter one. - It’s helpful if we can learn to look for the bigger picture. The immediate picture of chapter one is the difficult situation Daniel and his friends are in. The bigger picture is how God is working through them to accomplish His will. The immediate picture always needs to be understood in light of the larger one.
- We should try to think of history as the unfolding of His Story. Looking at the bigger picture can help us to see history as the unfolding of His story. History is headed somewhere. Sometimes we see this clearly but many times we see things in a distorted manner. The book of Daniel assures us that history is headed somewhere because God is in control.
- We should seek to live honorably even among the dishonorable. Most of us are blessed to go to school, work and live among many good people. We should thank God for that. But all of us know people who live dishonorably. Maybe they’ve made a clear choice to live that way or perhaps they are following the lead of others. Either way, their poor choice is no excuse for us to live at that level. We know better and our behavior should show it. Like Daniel and his friends, there’s always a need for disciples who live clearly and uncompromisingly before the world.
God is at work in Babylon — disciples should be too.
Bruce has written a two-volume work on the minor prophets called Known Intimately Loved Ultimately. It is available through 21st Century Christian.