FAITH FOR EXILES: LIVING IN BABYLON
CLEAR THE CLUTTER
DANIEL 1:1-21
INTRODUCTION
Today we begin a 5-week sermon series that will focus our attention on a basic truth that not all of us want to admit. We find it difficult to admit if we can at all. There should be a support group for those who realize this truth. This truth makes me very sad and very angry at the same time. This truth fills me with questions. At times, I am filled with worry because of this truth.
What is that truth?
We no longer live in a Christian nation.
If you are a ‘believer in Jesus Christ’, you are absolutely living in a foreign land. I am not even sure if I can use the term ‘Christian’ anymore without having that term mixed with politics and certain unBiblical ways of thinking that muddy what Jesus Christ taught. Sometimes people identify as ‘Christian’ and then explain what they believe are nothing like what I would expect and what I mean when I used the term ‘Christian.’ I feel so stupid saying that, but it is true. We no longer live in a nation rooted in Biblical values, but rather we live in Babylon.
Let me share with you what I mean by… “we live in Babylon.” In the Bible and in the world, Babylon was a real place. Babylon began in Genesis 11 with the building of the tower of Babel which was an actual tower that people tried to build in order to take control from God. Babel was that place where people on purpose tried to replace God. In the Book of Revelation and in other prophetic books in the Old Testament, Babylon became a symbol of a society that marches to the beat of its own drum away from God and away from His way of living. We live in Babylon.
In this 5-week series, we are going to focus on the life of a believer in God who was forced to live in Babylon and draw from his life principles for us. He lived in Babylon. We live in Babylon. He was pulled away from God. We are pulled away from God. Along the way, I hope you will be able to discern more clearly how our society is changing away from God and how you can apply Biblical principles in your life to live faithfully in a society that only pulls you away from Christ.
WE LIVE IN BABYLON
I am not going to explain to you all in one sermon how it is we find ourselves in Babylon and what that looks like, but I will explain this idea about our society over the whole 5 weeks. We begin today to understand that we live in Babylon and what that looks like and we will dig into Daniel chapter 1 to anchor our hearts. Daniel 1 is going to help us navigate these days that pull us away from God and towards another way of life.
ILLUSTRATION… FAITH FOR EXILES (Kinnaman & Matlock, pages 19-21) [adapted]
You may or may not realize that we live in a very fast-paced and complex culture. Our culture influences you whether you want it to or not. The pace and the complexity of our culture didn’t have to, but it leads us away from God in many areas. It seems like much of our culture is engineered to push God out and to push ‘self’ up.
Our lives accelerate fast. News is fast. News is so fast that an event anywhere in the world can be reported on in real-time to anywhere else in the world. The speed of information is incredible and also comes many times at the expense of actual facts. The pace of life and the rate of change on things is so accelerated that most of the time we can’t keep up. We live in the age of the screen. Most people live with advanced computing power in the palm of their hand and those devices drive how we see the world and how we interact with it. Technology makes everything easy, but it also makes everything fast and accessible and easily manipulated.
How does this fast pace draw us away from God? We do not have time for Him. We take kids to this sport and have that event and when Sunday comes around we are tired. Go go go go crash. Travel ball happens on Sunday and we choose that over Him. We are so busy we just catch church online instead of coming in person and we think it is the same. It is not. The pace at times pushes God out.
Our lives are also increasingly complex. Everyday life feels more and more uncertain and complicated. ‘Cause and effect’ used to be a normal way to think, but anymore it feels like life is unpredictable and people are even more unpredictable… their reactions are unpredictable. Take topics like politics or vaccines or facemasks or gender identity and you cannot predict the conversation you will have with someone. Even someone in your own household.
In the midst of this accelerated and complex culture, what defines life is changing and it is changing quickly. We live in a pluralistic culture that is quite open to truth from any source because there is no Absolute Truth or one way to see the world. The Bible is no longer the source of truth, but is one of many voices people listen to and consult when trying to understand their life. The Bible rarely holds central authority over people or society. All kinds of voices can be accessed instantly and not all voices are for our benefit or are even wise.
For example, a person trying to decide about a job might read the Bible, consult a spiritual director about mindfulness, listen to a podcast by a celebrity, google ‘how to make a decision’ and read three sentences of the first two results, and then talk to a friend about the decision. All of those elements are equal in value for the person and have equal weight in the decision-making process. That is different than reading the Bible and praying for wisdom from the Holy Spirit when making a decision.
For example, a person’s self-worth and identity and value used to be established in the family and in the Bible and even by a person’s job in some instances. A person’s self-worth now is often decided by what is on a screen or what others perceive about you. If a social media post does not get enough ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ then the person’s self-worth and identity are torn apart. ‘Family’ can be anyone even if you have never met them.
Life is different in Babylon.
TRANSITION
Life is indeed different in Babylon which is what Daniel discovered in twenty-one verses of chapter 1 of the book written by him and bears his name. Daniel 1 shares with us some of Daniel’s story about how he found himself living in Babylon and how he anchored his soul in faith.
READ DANIEL 1:1-21 (ESV)
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. 3 Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, 4 youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. 5 The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. 6 Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. 7 And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego. 8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. 9 And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, 10 and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” 11 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king's food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” 14 So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food. 16 So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. 17 As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. 18 At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. 20 And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. 21 And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.
BESIEGED, GAVE, AND BROUGHT
Chapter 1 of Daniel begins with three keywords: besieged, gave, and brought.
First, we see the people of God under attack by the forces of Babylon. They are besieged. This is not anything symbolic or metaphorical, King Nebuchadnezzar literally and physically marched his armies to the doorstep of Jerusalem and surrounded it. God’s people were under attack. Besieged. The armies of Babylon cut off all trade and imports of food and water and blockaded the city so the inhabitants would suffer and die.
Second, we see that God used Babylon to discipline His people who had turned away from Him and He allowed the Babylonians to win the attack. God ‘gave’ them over. We know that God promised this would happen if the people did not change their ways because He told them through prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah and Hosea. They did not listen. This was the result.
Third and perhaps most important, the Book of Daniel begins with a very interesting action word in Daniel 1:2 which summarizes the predicament Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah find themselves in. The action word in Daniel 1:2 is “brought” [ESV, NASB, NET, LEB, RSV, AMP]. The NIV and KJV use the more descriptive words ”carried off” and “carried into.” Daniel and the others are “carried off” from their homes, family, friends, and influences they had known in their young lives. They, as the result of the sin of the nation and the siege of Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, are now prisoners of war and exiled away from home. You see, the Babylonians conquered whole people groups and societies by attacking, taking the best and brightest away from home, and then re-educating and brainwashing them as good Babylonian citizens.
I can imagine immense fear, loneliness, isolation, and confusion as they rode in the carts from Jerusalem to Babylon. They would no longer live in Jerusalem. They would only live in Babylon. The prophet Jeremiah wrote about these days in the Book of Lamentations.
READ LAMENTATIONS 1:17-18
Zion stretches out her hands, but there is none to comfort her; the LORD has commanded against Jacob that his neighbors should be his foes; Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them. 18 “The LORD is in the right, for I have rebelled against His word; but hear, all you peoples, and see my suffering; my young women and my young men have gone into captivity.
TRANSITION
The world of young men like Daniel changed. Their culture and influences changed when they were taken into captivity. Immediately they would face new challenges to their identity, to their faith, and everything that made them believers in God.
BURDENS OF NEW FOODS AND NEW NAMES
Chapter 1 continues to tell us about the life of Daniel and others are in and this new life brought them burdens and issues they had to face.
Verse 5 tells us they were to be trained and indoctrinated for three years and then they would serve the king. The boys were in a foreign land and were now forced to eat foreign food… some of it against their religious beliefs outlined in the Law of Moses. What would they do? The culture they were living in tells them one thing, but their religious beliefs tell them another. In this chapter we see specifically there is conflict of the body and mind.
There is conflict of the body because the verses share with us that the foods offered to them from the king was not religiously acceptable to the Jewish young men. Do they go along with the culture or do they remain true to what they know is correct in God’s sight? This is not easy. How do we know it’s not easy? Daniel and the other 3 are not the only ones captured, but they are the only ones we hear about.
The boys decide to stand their ground and remain faithful to God. Daniel took a risk and decided to follow his beliefs. There was a whole test set up that many of us learned about in Sunday School or VBS when we were children… this is when Daniel and the others ate vegetables and religiously clean food while the others being educated ate from the king’s table.
There is also conflict of the mind because not only was this physical food test before them, but in the midst of all of the changes and challenges, Daniel 1:7 tells us the Babylonian officials were giving the boys new names. They are away from home and are learning a different way of life and customs. They are forced into this test of their religious convictions. And now their names are even changing. The boys’ names were changed as a way of encouraging them to forget God and the traditions of their homeland and to become conformed to the ways and gods of Babylon. It was a forced assimilation. Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians wanted Daniel and his companions and all captured people to conform to the pattern of their world and a name change was one step toward that goal.
Names have meaning and power and direct us. The name of a thing is important. The name of a person is important. When you redefine a term or a thing or a person, you can make it be whatever you want and truth is lost.
“Daniel” means “God is my judge” in Hebrew. “Belteshazzar” means “Bel protects his life.”
“Hananiah” means “God is gracious” in Hebrew. “Shadrach” means “Command of Aku”
“Mishael” means “Who is what God is” in Hebrew. “Meshach” means “Who is what Aku is”
“Azariah” means “God has helped” in Hebrew. “Abednego” means “slave of Nebo”
I hope you can see that living in Babylon means a change of identity and what is important. The Babylonians did not want young men who believed in the God of Israel, but wanted young men who worshipped Bel, Aku, and Nebo. The Babylonians wanted people to conform to their way of life. The pressure on these young men must have been tremendous. They are pressed on all sides to change every aspect of their being. I can imagine them having some sleepless nights. I can literally imagine the boys laying in their beds praying and singing Psalm 63.
READ PSALM 63 1:1-11 (ESV)
O God, You are my God; earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh faints for You, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary, beholding Your power and glory. 3 Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise You. 4 So I will bless You as long as I live; in Your Name I will lift up my hands. 5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise You with joyful lips, 6 when I remember You upon my bed, and meditate on You in the watches of the night; 7 for You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I will sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me. 9 But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; 10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals. 11 But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by Him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
TRANSITION
There is so much pressing on Daniel and the others that their minds and hearts would have been cluttered with so much stuff. Influences from home in Jerusalem would be in conflict with new influences from Babylon. Mental clutter blows into their lives with language and their names and their identities. At every turn and at every opportunity, they were being pressed to become different people. They are pressured to pattern themselves after the world and to leave God behind. These young men are facing chaos.
And yet, in all of the clutter and the chaos, they found God is faithful.
GOD IS FOUND FAITHFUL
God is in the middle of all the clutter and stress and pressure.
Verse 9, God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the steward.
In verse 17, God gave Daniel and the others learning and skill.
In verse 17, God gave Daniel an understanding of dreams and visions.
In verse 20, God made them ten times better than all their co-workers.
Daniel and his companions found that in the midst of the pressure to change from Jerusalem to Babylon that God was faithful to them in the middle of it all. These young men found that if they abided in the presence of God and committed themselves to His way of life, that there is strength and hope and a firm foundation in Him.
Jesus said the same thing in John 15:
READ JOHN 15:4-6 (ESV)
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
James says the same thing in James 4:
READ JAMES 4:8 (ESV)
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Daniel and Hananiah and Mishael and Azariah found that the chaos and the clutter could be dealt with when they based their lives on what they knew to be from God and what they knew to be tied to Absolute Truth. This was not easy. As we will see from their lives I the rest of the book, it was not always smooth sailing for them because Babylon as meant to beat and bend and force faith out of them. They had to be intentionally intimate with God to hold on.
APPLICATION/BABYLON REDUX
Folks, we live in Babylon. We no longer live in a society that is based on Christian values. Biblical Truth and trust that the Bible is Absolute Truth is an antiquated way of thinking and believing. Deconstruction of faith is the new way to be and is permanently de-Christianizing our country. The pandemic of 2020 pruned 30% from most congregations including this one. We do not live in a Christian nation.
The question is: What are you going to do about it?
To answer that question, I want to reiterate what Daniel and the others did. They dug into their faith and kept themselves close to God. Their relationship with God was a priority for them. May I suggest that the answer is the same for us. Intimacy with Christ is most important. I will remind you of what James said:
RE-READ JAMES 4:8 (ESV)
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
James lets us in on the promise that if we seek to draw near to God and we lose our double-mindedness about Him and seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33) that our hearts will be purified and we will be able to endure to the end. I encourage you today because we live in Babylon to keep your intimacy with Christ and make your relationship with Him top priority.
* Living in relationship with Jesus is the only way to find fulfillment in life.
* A relationship with Jesus will bring you deep joy and satisfaction.
* Jesus shapes our whole lives: body, mind, heart, and soul.
* Our relationship with Jesus impacts daily living.
INTIMACY WITH CHRIST
How do we do this?
Spend time in God’s Word. If the only time you spend thinking about God or reading the Bible or worshipping is in church, you are in serious trouble. The hour you sit in a worship service isn’t going to cut it. You are spiritually starving yourself. Clear out the clutter of your day and make time to read the Bible and ponder what you read. Pray about what you read. Ask questions about what you read. Spend time in God’s Word.
Spend time and energy and effort worshipping. Worship is not an event or 1 hour on Sunday, but it is a lifestyle. Regular times of listening to Scripture or singing or reading the Bible (all of which are worship) means we are actively listening to God and we grow to hear His voice and experience His presence.
You must pray. If the only time you pray is in church and before meals, God does not hear from you enough. Prayer should be a vibrant part of our lives where we talk and listen and share and cry and confess. The guidance of the Holy Spirit often comes through prayer. When we do not pray, we end up living life to the beat of our own drum. No! We must live life to the heartbeat of God and I do not believe you can hear the heartbeat of God without prayer.
It is difficult and I would say impossible to shape our minds and hearts and spirits to God if we give Him little time and little effort. Many people who use the label ‘Christian’ are estranged from God and play a Christian on Sundays. We have have have have to move from familiarity with Jesus to having an intimate relationship with Jesus or Babylon will change us. If half-heartedly living for God was ever acceptable, it certainly isn’t now. Babylon is pressing us with clutter and complexity and a fast-paced life and the only way to be a resilient disciple of Jesus is to prioritize intimacy with Him.
CHALLENGE: CLEAR OUT THE CLUTTER
* Clear out the clutter and spend time in God’s Word soaking up His voice and His will.
* Clear out the clutter and worship Him often in spirit and in truth.
* Clear out the clutter and pray listening for God’s voice and sharing your heart with Him.
I challenge you to be a resilient disciplke.
PRAYER
INVITATION
