Daniel 1: Living In A Strange Land Series

LIVING IN A STRANGE LAND—Daniel 1, 1 Peter 2:9-12

Read Daniel 1:1-20.

***My first days in a college dorm were a rude awakening, for a guy who had led a pretty sheltered life. Bob Dylan was blasting out, “Lay, Lady, Lay” on the stereo down the hall. (Yes, I am ancient!) The Beatles were singing “My Sweet Lord,” about the Hindu Lord Krishna. There was a rumor that a guy on our floor had stashed a bomb behind a metal panel in the hallway.

College students these days live in an even more challenging cultural environment. A “lady” might be lying in a roommate’s bed. A Hindu or Satanist might be in the room across the hall. A bomb might actually go off on campus.**

We could say, “Ain’t it awful”? We could play that game—but why? We have to learn how to live in a pagan world, and we are not the first ones to face that challenge.

First some history, as we begin our study of the book of Daniel:

God had chosen his people, the descendants of Abraham, brought them out of Egypt under Moses, and settled them in the Promised Land. The kingdom of Israel reached its peak under David and Solomon, but in 937 B.C., the 12 tribes separated into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah.

The kingdoms had their ups and downs, often falling into sin. In 722 B.C., the 10 northern tribes were taken into exile, and the people were dispersed in the Assyrian empire. They lost their identity as God’s people, being known as “the ten lost tribes of Israel.”

The kingdom of Judah remained. Good king Josiah attempted revival, but he faced strong opposition, and idol worship and immorality took over after his death. Finally, about 600 B.C., the Babylonians attacked Judah. Finally, Jerusalem and the temple were leveled, and most of Jews were taken to Babylon (modern-day Iraq).

The Jews found themselves in a strange and foreign culture. Babylon was a prosperous country, and its Hanging Gardens were among the 7 wonders of the ancient world. It was a center of learning, and a hub of technology. It was the center of a religion with its own creation myths and temple-towers, called ziggurats. The culture looked to astrologers and sorcerers for wisdom and direction.

Jews in exile faced a question: HOW DO WE LIVE AS GOD’S PEOPLE IN A PAGAN CULTURE?

Some decided to GO WITH THE FLOW, as many people do today. They tried to fit in, and not make waves.

Others felt lost and angry—angry at God, and angry at Babylon. Psalm 137:1-9 expresses their bitterness: “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?...Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.” Of course, with that attitude, they were inclined to WITHDRAW into Jewish enclaves, separate from the world.

***In graduate school, I had a roommate who abhorred “worldliness.” (He condemned Billy Graham for sharing a stage of his crusade with Miss America.) As a deeply committed Christian, he avoided all media, including television, except for one hour on Saturday nights. He ate alone in the cafeteria, and only engaged with people at his church.**

Other exiles chose to become a REDEMPTIVE FORCE in the pagan Babylonian culture. The prophet Jeremiah told the exiles to “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (Jer. 29:7)

That is good advice for us too, but how do we engage the culture without being swallowed up by ungodly and evil influences? 1 Peter 2:9-12 tells us,

“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful LIGHT…Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. LIVE SUCH GOOD LIVES AMONG THE PAGANS that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

The theme is repeated throughout the New Testament. Jesus said that we are the light of the world. We live in the world, shining in the darkness. We are IN the world, but not OF the world. It all sounds good, but it is not always so easy to put into practice!