Daniel: Holy Living in an Unholy World (2)
Text: Daniel 1:5-21
So last week we got sort of a short introduction to the Book of Daniel, and if you remember we talked about how Daniel was taken from his home, and how… for all intents and purposes… the Babylonians tried to make him and his friends just like they were. The whole goal of the 3 year Babylonians re-education system was to make the Hebrew slaves, Babylonian – and that meant they would be indoctrinated with the Babylonian world-view, and assimilated to the Babylonian culture.
And I wrote in the bulletin, that we – as Christians need to have this view that we too are exiles. We are strangers in a strange land, and this world is not our home. And I want to explain this to you if I can… I’ll try to do it in a way that makes sense and does it justice, but I’m going to need you to put on your thinking caps as we go through this book, and listen to what God’s Word actually says. OK?
SO let’s turn to Daniel 1:5-21 (READ).
God has brought His judgment upon the land and people of Israel for their continual sin, idolatry, and rebellion. And you’ve got to understand, that when Babylon comes in, it meant the functional end of Israel as a nation. Yes… Israel came back after 70 years, and there were a series of monarchs in the land of Judah known as the Hasmoneans… and there’s the Maccabean period. But functionally speaking, Israel was never an independent nation again, until after WWII. It was always a tributary to some other nation. And that began to take place in 605 B.C.
What that did was lead to an increased longing for the promised Messiah.
It’s also, during this time of captivity, that we see God do more miracles. There are four periods within Scripture where we see God really ramp up the miraculous. Some people think that miracles happened all down through the ages, from Adam and Eve, all the way to Jesus… but if you actually take the time and read through Scripture, you’ll see that there were periods when God was doing more miracles, and periods when He didn’t do hardly any.
So take the Exodus for example. We see God part the Red Sea, we see Him destroy Pharaoh and his armies, we see Him miraculously feed the Israelites, and then it’s quiet for a while. With only the occasional miracle, like Samson, or David killing Goliath, but the times weren’t marked by the miraculous. The next big period of miracles was during the ministries of Elijah and Elisha… And then here in Daniel we see God doing a lot of miraculous things, and giving visions, and speaking through Daniel and his contemporaries… and then just as an FYI, the fourth great period is during the life and ministries of Jesus and the Apostles.
One other key point we need to be aware of… It’s during the time of exile that God shows Himself to be the God of all nations. Not just of the land of Israel. In ancient times, nations and empires believed that they each had their own gods.
Babylon believed that Israel had a God, and that in times past He had done amazing things, like help them defeat the Philistines and conquer the Promised Land. They believed that the Israelites God helped them escape Egypt. But they also believed that they themselves had a powerful set of “gods”. And they had many. They were not monotheistic. So the people tended to believe that Israel had a God, and Babylon had their gods, and Egypt had their gods, and the Greeks had their gods, etc., etc.
And so, if you were able to conquer your enemy, you believed that your “god” was stronger than their “god”. That’s how many ancient peoples thought. But God is pretty clear in showing us that it was He who gave Judah into the hand of the Babylonians. He was the One who orchestrated this and made it happen. God is saying that He alone is sovereign and in control.
So Daniel tells us that he and his friends were taken to the land of Shinar. That’s a direct reference to Genesis chapter 10. It’s the land of the tower of Babel. Daniel is making sure his readers know that this isn’t just a political battle between the nation states of Judah and Babylon. It’s a spiritual battle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the darkness.
And Daniel understood this… that’s a big reason why he was able to maintain his walk with God. Because he understood that this was the outworkings of a spiritual battle. He understood that God had not failed, or somehow been defeated. Daniel knew that all the way back in the time of Moses… back in Deuteronomy 28, God had promised Israel that if they went astray and engaged in rebellion and idolatry, He would send them into exile. Daniel knew that, and so Daniel is telling us that God is in complete control of this.
Now I wrote a little about this in last weeks bulletin insert, but we’ll look at it quickly again. Because the devil isn’t just satisfied to defeat nations militarily. He’ll use that if he can, but that’s not his end goal. Babylon doesn’t just conquer Judah, and enslave its people. It takes its best and brightest minds. It’s nobles – in other words, its influencers, its representatives. And it starts an indoctrination program in order to get them to adopt the Babylonian world view and religious system.
Nebuchadnezzar wanted to brainwash the people of God.
He doesn’t just wipe out Judah and Jerusalem. He also takes their best away from the nation. He robs them of their most brilliant thinkers, and stunts the upcoming generation. It’s going to be 20 years later before Jerusalem is totally sacked and falls. So that’s 20 years of stagnation and lack of leadership. Jerusalem flounders for 20 years until it finally goes down around 625 B.C.
And so Nebuchadnezzar takes these young people, and he isolates them from all they know. From their families, their religion, their way of life, their culture. Next he begins indoctrinating them. They’re taught Babylonian language, literature, history, culture, religion, and in doing that, it indoctrinates them into Babylonian thinking. Next he puts before them all the delicacies and privileges of his court.
The finest clothes, the best food, easy living. He promises them status and positions of authority and power. And then he tries to confuse them. He gives them new names. Day after day they are called by these new names. Names that are designed to make them forget about their God, and look to the false gods of Babylon.
He wants to change their thinking, and change their beliefs – because how you believe and how you think determines how you live.
How you think about God. How you think about your fellow man. How you think about the world around you. It all affects how you live your life.
But Daniel belongs to the Lord.
God’s already made his claim on him. So what we see in verses 8 – 16 is a strategy for resistance.
The first thing we see is that Daniel resolves to be holy. Look again at verse 8 (READ). He’s modest and humble about it. Not bombastic or a braggart, but he’s resolved and resolute. He’s saying, “If possible, I’ll live at peace with all men, but I’m not going to compromise my faith and walk with God. I’m not going to be conformed to the pattern of this world.”
And again, Daniel is able to do that, because he knows what’s going on. This isn’t Babylon trying to make him a better person. This isn’t Babylon in some kind and innocent way trying to give Daniel an education so that he can better his position in life and be a productive member of society. This is a spiritual battle for his mind and soul.
Why does OSU require their veterinarian students to take DEI courses?
Why does a student studying to be a math teacher need so many credit hours of gender studies?
Why does a student studying accounting need feminist and queer theory? Why does every show in TV have a homosexual character? Why do they put Ramadan and Diwali on our phones calendars?
So Daniel and his friends resolve to be holy. And look what God does…
Now don’t get caught up in some fad based on bad hermeneutics here.
There’s no “Daniel Diet” here. What the text is conveying to us is that Daniel and his friends resolved in their hearts to honor and obey God, to be holy, and follow God. And God blessed them for that.
GOD DOES IT!
God is the One who ensures that they are healthy and nourished.
Eating only veggies is not being prescribed in the text here. Obeying and following God is.
And just for the record, I’d personally say the “Carnivore Diet” is probably a better way to go than any Vegan or Vegetarian diet. But again, there’s no diet at all being prescribed or recommended here.
This is just a group of young guys, who are saying, “We’re not going to conform to the world. We’re not going to fall for the trap of Babylon.”
And one thing that’s kind of cool here, is that they’ve brought Daniel to this place. They’ve put this system in place to get him away from God and away from his faith. And Daniel is the one who gets the kings servant to change. Daniel doesn’t change, the kings servant ends up actually disobeying his king and doing what Daniel asks.
And it exposes something about Babylon. They’re like, “Oh hey! It’s great living in Babylon. It’s awesome.” But the truth is, the chief of the eunuchs is controlled by fear. He says, “I fear the king. If I don’t obey, it’s off with my head.” It may look like things are going great, and that he’s living the high life, but it’s really a life of walking on egg shells. He’s in constant fear that he’ll fall out of favor with the king and lose it all – along with his life.
Kind of like Hollywood celebrities in a sense.
Church, no matter what the pressures of the world are – resolve in yourself to be holy. Resolve to follow Jesus, no matter what.
Look at verse 17, “GOD gave them learning and skill in all literature, and wisdom. And Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.”
And verse 20 says that they were TEN TIMES BETTER than anyone else.
Why? Because God is not the Author of confusion. A mind darkened by sin is twisted, and limited, and clouded, and confused. It ultimately always ends up in the wrong place and with the wrong conclusions because it starts from the wrong starting point.
And our text concludes by saying, “Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.” That’s 539 B.C. So, from 605 to 539. That’s 66 years. Kind of reminds of what Jesus says in John 17:15. He says, “Father, I do not pray that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one.”
Daniel had to stay in Babylon. Not by choice. Understand that. IT wasn’t his choice to stay there. He was a prisoner. But God didn’t miraculously deliver him either. God was bringing His will to pass. But while Daniel had to stay there, he was kept from the evil one.
So while you and I are in this world – no matter how long that is – resolve to be holy and pray that God will keep us from the evil one. That we will be salt and light and shine brightly with the light of Jesus Christ within us, and live for Him and His glory day by day as He gives grace to do so.
And yes!!! In doing that, the world will become your enemy… PRAISE GOD!
CLOSING.
