INTRODUCTION
When Jesus was born, Augustus was Caesar of Rome. Augustus was followed by Tiberius, about whom it was said that he liked not one single human being, and that not one single human being liked him. Tiberius was followed by the depraved Gaius Caesar, better known as Caligula, Little Boots. He ruled the world for four years, and was a monster of cruelty and vice. Finally, he was assassinated by a tribune in his guard in the year 41 A.D. The Praetorian Guard, fearful of a return to a republic, forcibly made Claudius (officially Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus) the emperor. For the next 13 years, this strange man of handicapped body and slow speech was the monarch of the Roman world. Claudius was followed, in turn, by Nero, who ruled for 14 years until his suicide in 68 A.D. The announcement of his death brought outcries of joy from the citizens and leaders. These decades were rotten with immorality and depravity of the worst kind, with insanity such as the world has rarely seen.
But in those years between 30 and 60 A.D., there were men and women who were followers of Jesus Christ, who managed to thrive in the very empire where Caligula, Claudius, and Nero ruled. Paul stated such, in his letter to the Philippians, when he said, “Those precious saints of God who reside in Caesar’s household send their greetings…” (4:22)
Daniel is an Old Testament example of believers living among cruelty. Despite wicked rulers and an evil world, nothing stops God from accomplishing His purposes in this world. Though Daniel was outnumbered and opposed, he had the courage to live by his convictions—convictions that were rooted in the belief that God is sovereign. He alone can deliver humanity from its dilemma.
Daniel can be divided into two equal parts: History (1-6) and Prophecy (7-12). The first half consists of stories about Daniel; the second half is Daniel’s visions: revelations from God. The word “visions” is used 32 times. Daniel has been called the Prophet of Dreams. One purpose of the visions is to reveal events to take place as the covenant of God unfolds in the future.
The point of Daniel’s book is to stress that, despite appearances, God is sovereign. He alone can deliver humanity from its dilemma. Story after story points this out. In chapter one it revolves around the dietary food laws. In chapter two it is illustrated by Daniel’s power to interpret dreams. In chapter three God is even sovereign over the fiery furnace, and in chapter six He is sovereign in the lion’s den. At the height of Nebuchadnezzar’s power, God humbles the king by giving him a spirit of insanity. The last recorded words of Nebuchadnezzar are in 4:37: “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and glorify the King of heaven, because all His works are true and His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”
What does the phrase mean: God is sovereign? It means He is the ultimate power and authority over everyone and everything. He is in charge and in control. He has the right to judge your life. He has the right and authority to decide if you go to heaven or hell. People may believe that the government does not have the authority to tell you what to do in your bedroom, but He does. His authority and rule over your life is total. To dispute that takes the arrogance of a Nebuchadnezzar.
God’s sovereignty means He is to run your life. He is in charge: that is the only explanation for the choices Daniel and his friends make. Time after time they literally put their life at risk in order to obey God, whereas, if they had just bent the rules, they could have stayed out of the fiery furnace or the lion’s den.
The point of the book of Daniel is, despite appearances, God is sovereign. He alone can deliver humanity from its dilemma.
Since God is sovereign, what is the effect that has on our life?
I. SINCE GOD IS SOVEREIGN I WILL MAINTAIN FAITHFULNESS TO GOD (DANIEL 1-6)
A. Faithfulness to God means limits to which you can participate in the world’s practices. (3-8)
This is illustrated for us in chapter one, beginning at v.3:
The king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his court officials, to bring some of the Israelites from the royal family and from the nobility— (4) young men without any physical defect, good-looking, suitable for instruction in all wisdom, knowledgeable, perceptive, and capable of serving in the king's palace—and to teach them the Chaldean language and literature. (5) The king assigned them daily provisions from the royal food and from the wine that he drank. They were to be trained for three years, and at the end of that time they were to serve in the king's court. (6) Among them, from the descendants of Judah, were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. (7) The chief official gave them different names: to Daniel, he gave the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego. (8) Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king's food or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief official not to defile himself.
Here is a brief sketch of the rest of the story:
Daniel may have been around 15; a very impressionable age. The Babylonian authorities did everything they could to separate these young Israelites from their Hebrew culture and inculcate the Babylonian lifestyle. They gave them a Babylonian education, and required them to learn and speak the Babylonian language. From ancient times, all nations have known if you want to absorb a people into your culture two of the most powerful ways are to educate them about your history and to make your language their language. They took the additional step of replacing their Hebrew name with a Babylonian name. The Hebrew name had the name of the Hebrew God in it. Daniel’s name means “God is judge.” But Belteshazzar means “Bel protect him.” Bel is the name of a Babylonian deity. If Daniel kept his Hebrew name, he might be reminded of his God and remain a committed Hebrew.
If you want to learn a language and a culture then you do what Nathan Ladd and Sarah Blake have done, and immerse yourself in the language and the culture of a people. Nathan is living two months in Mexico City, and Sarah is spending two months in Peru. This is Daniel’s life.
Something like this happens every fall for those entering college, or when a young man or woman enters the military or the work place. For the most part, they are not in an environment that supports and strengthens their Christian faith and lifestyle. Many a Daniel or Danielle has been swept away from their faith because they were immersed in a Christ-rejecting culture.
The Bible gives no direction about names, or learning a new language. But when Daniel had to break the dietary laws that reflected his uniqueness as a child of God that was a line he would not cross. God spoke clearly that under the Old Covenant this was to be obeyed by the people of God. There was no gray area. For Daniel to maintain his faithfulness to God as the Sovereign in his life, this was a limit he could not cross.
Some of the unhappiest people we know are those who have pushed the limits God has set for marriage, money, work, sex, possessions, or pleasure. For example, God set a limit on our work week. Six days we are to work, and one day a week we are to worship God. Being faithful to that model is a practical way to demonstrate God’s sovereignty in our life. There are consequences for ignoring God’s limits.
When we say, “God is sovereign,” it means “We will be faithful to God.” Daniel demonstrates that faithfulness means “there is a limit to participating in this world’s practices.” He demonstrates that faithfulness means “loyalty to God whatever the cost.”
B. Faithfulness means loyalty to God whatever the cost. (3:1-2, 4-6, 8, 12, 17-18)
(1) King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue, 90 feet high and nine feet wide. He set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. (2) King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces to attend the dedication of the statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up… (4) A herald loudly proclaimed, "People of every nation and language, you are commanded: (5) When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. (6) But whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire."… (8) Some Chaldeans took this occasion to come forward and maliciously accuse the Jews... (12) There are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men have ignored you, the king; they do not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up."… (16) Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, "Nebuchadnezzar, we don't need to give you an answer to this question. (17) If the God we serve exists, then He can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and He can rescue us from the power of you, the king. (18) But even if He does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up."
This week (7/22/14) in commenting on the Christians being expelled from Mosul, Iraq by the ISIS Muslims, Kristin Powers on Special Report with Bret Baier cited that Christians were being persecuted in 130 countries, and the number of Christian martyrs has doubled this year. At this moment, as Christians in America, we are living in a protective bubble in terms of our faith costing us our lives or livelihood. But this is not true for many Christians if they remain loyal to God. The act of faith we just read about on the part of the three Hebrews is one of the greatest in the Bible. It ranks up there with Moses standing by the Red Sea.
I have said before that everybody I know is living out “Plan B.” Daniel is living in a world that he did not choose. He is there because of the bad choices that others made; they cannot answer for the evil that has entered his life, because they are dead. He is threatened with harm if he does not eat the Babylonian diet, he faces death because a dream cannot be told and interpreted, and his friends are thrown into a fiery furnace. All of this is in the opening chapters! This is not the life he would have chosen, but this is the life he is given. Why does he remain loyal to God? How is he able to maintain a godly spirit? He understood Who was in charge, and that God had allowed him to be there in the first place.
Suppose you are in a similar situation, because of a cosmic “roll of the dice” or the whim of some powerful person. There would be no security about your future and no peace in the present. But suppose you are convinced that whatever situation you are in does not possess the final authority over your life. Sickness does not rule: God does. My boss does not rule: God does. That can be transformational.
These Daniel-like hardships can bring us to the point where, in our tenderness and hurt, we cast ourselves in trust upon our sovereign God. We discover Him pouring His grace and power into our lives so that we are a witness to Him in the fire or the lion’s den.
We can live in the fantasy of our “Plan A” world, thinking that if we had that, we would be happy and healthy and holy. I remind you: we started out in a world that was not “Plan A.” This is the world we have been given in which to demonstrate the reality of a good and great God. This is a world of pain and problems; but I urge you to remain loyal to God because, despite appearances, God is sovereign; God is in control.
You will see that Daniel remained loyal to God because he prayed, he had a community of like-minded believers to encourage him, and he had a vision of what God would one day do for him and his people in the future. All of that was anchored in the belief that, despite some very difficult times, God was in charge of them.
Do you remember when your child asked an endless number of questions? With ten grandchildren, I have been in that season of life for some time, and will be for some time to come. The questions range from theology to why they can’t have a coke. I was once asked, “Dad, why did you give them caffeine, and especially this late?” Answer: “They asked for it.” Sometimes I am asked a question by a grandchild, and I do not know the answer; other times I just have to tell them “No.” Sometimes I require them to do something they do not want to do, like go to bed or take a bath. But regardless of whether I give them an answer to their question, or I deny them something they want, they continue to love me and trust me.
At some point you will be in a place where you do not get an answer to your question, or your request receives a “No.” If my grandchildren can trust a man like me, you can trust God in those times. Despite appearances, God is sovereign. He alone can deliver humanity from its dilemma. Live within His limits and remain loyal.
Since God is sovereign, what is the effect that has on our life?
II. I WILL MAINTAIN TRUST IN GOD (DANIEL 7-12)
The stories of Daniel’s past in chapters 1-6 are replaced with Daniel’s visions of the future in chapters 7-12. The central truth of these visions is that God’s program of history cannot be prevented by the efforts of men for, despite appearances, God is sovereign; He is in charge. In the first half of Daniel it appeared at times as if God was not in control, but instead evil men and evil forces were in charge. Despite the evil plots of the Babylonian wise men or the rage of the king, God protected His people, and allowed them to prosper even in adversity. Chapters 7-12 restate that truth, but advance it to speak about the future. What is also taking place in these chapters, is we move beyond human evil (1-6) to the spiritual forces that are behind the motivations for wars and persecutions. We move beyond liberation from Babylon (1-6) to the ultimate liberation that God is going to bring to the universe at Christ’s return (7-12). As you read through these chapters, it is easy to get lost in the details and strange images. Let me show how this major theme of God’s sovereignty is revealed.
Chapter 7 tells about four frightening beasts that rise out of the sea. They appear unconquerable as they oppress His people until a cloud-riding figure, which looks like the Son of Man, appears. Evil may seem as if it has the upper hand, but that is a temporary deception. We know this is true, when we think of some names of evil: Hitler, the Soviet Union, and Saddam.
In chapter 8 Daniel has a vision of a ram that has success in three directions, and then it meets a goat with one horn. The goat overwhelms the ram; it is no contest. However, the goat’s power does not last long. The horn is broken off and four horns take its place but the smaller horn fills the Land of Promise. The horn enters into a conflict with a heavenly army, that is referenced by the starry hosts. God’s side takes some blows; there is no indication of a coming victory. Then a discussion follows over how long these horrible events will last. The angel Gabriel arrives to give Daniel the interpretation. There are many interpretations about the meaning of the 2,300 mornings and evenings, but this is what all can agree on—they come to an end, and God reigns victorious.
Daniel 9 is a prayer of confession. Daniel is reading Jeremiah and the promise that the Exile will last 70 years. He longs for his people to be free of captivity and most importantly of their rebellion. But for the Exile to come to an end, his people need to confess their sin and repent. There are a confusing number of interpretations about the 70 weeks, but again, it all ends with God’s people restored and God ruling.
Daniel 10-12 is one vision. It pushes back the veil of this world and helps us see the spiritual realities that lie behind the physical realities. It is a picture of ultimate victory, though we still have battles to fight. It has been said that the success of D-Day during WWII broke the back of German power, but it was still almost a year away before victory day was declared. There were many battles left to fight.
The last half of Daniel reminds us we will encounter difficulties, heartaches, and injustice, but eventually, and ultimately, we will be victorious over it. Even when we lose the battle for life on earth, we emerge victorious with everlasting and abundant life. Even when our homes and land in this life are taken, one day we will inherit the earth and the universe. Daniel wants us to know that, despite appearances, God is sovereign. He alone can deliver humanity from its dilemma.
In the movie Patton, General Omar Bradley tells General George Patton that he may be given a crucial assignment: leading troops in the invasion of Europe. Patton had played a decisive role in the battle for Africa and in the invasion of Sicily, but at the moment, he was being disciplined by cooling his heels in England for having slapped a soldier in a field hospital. He is anxious to get back into the thick of battle. When Bradley tells him about the possible assignment, he can hardly contain himself.
General Bradley tells him no decision has been made, that it is in the hands of General George Marshall. Patton is a man of action. He took the initiative while others stood around discussing options. But when he heard that his fate lay in the hands of Marshall, he calmed down. “He’s a good man,” Patton says of Marshall. “At least he is a fair man. I’ll let it sit with him.” He said this based on his knowledge of who Marshall, in fact, was and how he behaved himself in action.
When you read these chapters in Daniel, they are filled with war, persecution, evil people, and evil spirits all working against God’s people. It seems so unfair. Why does God not take action? The Christians in Iraq lived there 600 years before the Muslims, yet the current ones are told to leave or die. As they are leaving, with nothing but what money or valuables they can carry, they are robbed of even those things. I think of our beloved members that are diagnosed with hated cancer at the moment in their life when they are ready to enjoy the fruit of their labors. It seems unfair and puzzling as to why God would allow it to happen. Why does He not act?
Daniel reminds us, “You know this God. You have seen what He does when He is in action.” He dies for the undeserving. He conquers sin and the grave to live everlastingly. He always keeps His promise. He never lies. All these questions that torment us, to quote Patton, “I’ll let it sit with him.” Despite appearances, God is sovereign; He is in charge.
We follow a Savior that spent a difficult time in the wilderness alone with God, and fighting the enticements of the devil. The wilderness was the place of unmet needs. Still, Jesus trusted the Father. In the garden, before the cross, He agonized with the Father over what awaited Him. Like our troubles in this world, He could not escape it. What did Jesus do? He trusted the Father to bring Him through to the other side. Daniel was not delivered from the suffering of this life, but by trusting God he was strengthened and transformed.
CONCLUSION
F.W. Boreham was an English writer. A friend described him as a man with a sunny disposition. A signature of his upbeat personality was a fresh flower every day in the buttonhole of his jacket.
One day, he unintentionally forgot his flower. He realized his mistake on a tram when an elderly woman climbed on board with a large bouquet of golden waddle. All the winter-weary eyes stared at the beautiful bouquet. A few stops later, the elderly woman went to depart, but before she got off she plucked a handful of flowers for a young boy and handed them to him. He took them without a word of thanks. As the tram pulled away she saw the boy toss them on the floor.
Boreham was horrified. He asked the boy, “Don’t you want them?” The young man answered, “No. What’s the good?” So Boreham rescued the flowers and wore them proudly. That afternoon, everyone he met spoke of those flowers. “The waddles out,” said one. “Like a breath of spring,” said another. Each compliment reminded him of the despair on the elderly woman’s face as the tram drove away. What she saw as lost had been turned to more good than she could have dreamed.
When we look around and turn on the news, it seems that only the bad is getting louder. If the truth be told, it is hard not to agree with the boy on the tram and say, “What’s the good?” Hope seems to diminish in the presence of growing despair. For some situations, you have to look hard to see the good, because the ugliness of evil and pain are so overwhelming. Sometimes it is just the busyness of life that causes us to miss the reality that God is active and working in our world.
Jesus told His disciples He would be overwhelmed by death, but God was doing more good in that moment than they could ever imagine. He called them to be faithful and trust Him. Why? Despite appearances, God is sovereign. He alone can deliver humanity out of its dilemma.
INVITATION
An all-powerful, infinitely-wise God devised a single plan that would be sufficient for all time to deal with man’s sin. It reveals the desperate condition of man, and the amazing depth of His love for sinners. But man says, “No.” Imagine how frightening it would be to stand before the Creator of the universe, having rejected His only means of salvation. Repent, and place your trust in Jesus.
Resources: Fred Wood, The Dilemma of Daniel. Tremper Longman, NIV Comm. Daniel. Mark Galli, Preaching.com. Jill Carattini, www.rzim.org.
