|
|
In the World, not of the
World Daniel 1 {1:1}
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 delivered
Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the
temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and
put in the treasure house of his god. {3} Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief
of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family
and the nobility-- {4} young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing
aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and
qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and
literature of the Babylonians. {5} The king assigned them a daily amount of food
and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and
after that they were to enter the king's service. {6} Among these were some from
Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. {7} The chief official gave them
new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael,
Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego. {8} But Daniel resolved not to defile himself
with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not
to defile himself this way. {9} Now God had caused the official to show favor
and sympathy to Daniel, {10} but the official told Daniel, "I am afraid of
my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you
looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my
head because of you." {11} Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief
official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, {12}
"Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to
eat and water to drink. {13} Then compare our appearance with that of the
young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with
what you see." {14} So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. {15}
At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any
of the young men who ate the royal food. {16} So the guard took away their
choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.
{17} To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds
of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of
all kinds. {18} At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the
chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. {19} The king talked with them,
and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they
entered the king's service. {20} In every matter of wisdom and understanding
about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all
the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. {21} And Daniel remained
there until the first year of King Cyrus.
-- Daniel 1 (NIV) One of the great lessons of the mature Christian
life is to live in the world, but not like the world lives. As Paul put it to the Corinthians: {3}
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. {4} The
weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they
have divine power to demolish strongholds. -- 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (NIV) In
the World Daniel understands, clearly, that God has sent this
captivity as a punishment for Judah. (This
will be much more clearly shown later in the book).
He thus has some choices to make. In
particular, he must decide two kinds of things: ·
what
pressures and choices he will accept, and what choices he will not, and ·
for those he
cannot accept, how he will oppose them. The former question is quite unavoidable.
Some of us think that if we could only retreat from the world, all would
be wonderful (“if I could just save up enough for the little cabin in the
mountains, then I wouldn’t have to......”).
A reading of Thomas à Kempis will quickly disabuse us of the notion.
The man lived in a monastery all his adult life, and his work teems with
problems of just this type. Human
beings take their problems with them wherever they go. We begin by noticing the decision shown here that
Daniel accepts: a name change.
The Daniel means “God will judge”;
Belteshazzar means “Bel protect his life.”
When we remember that names are often given in this culture specifically
because of their meaning, we might question why Daniel and his comrades made no
objection. Discussion
point. One key indicator is
this: there is no particular
command of the Old Testament Law (under which Daniel lived) which prohibits it. Separation:
not of the world Daniel does, however, draw the line at the diet.
We might not see that as important to us, for the Old Testament dietary
laws do not apply to us. It is
important to see, however, why those laws were given.
The primary purpose of giving the law was separation.
(See Leviticus 11:43-45) We
are to be holy because He is holy and we are his people.
Given that Daniel has a clear indication of Scripture, he rejects this
food because ·
it has been
sacrificed to idols, or ·
it is of a
type listed in the Scripture as unclean. We might view this as somewhat silly in our day,
but a very current parallel is available: we
are, so to speak, what we eat. Our
stomachs consume one type of food; our
eyes and ears another. Are you
watching what you eat, because you are holy to Him?
Daniel shows us a clear path here. Daniel uses a pair of curious words here, which
give us much indication of how we might approach our problems. First, he refuses to be “defiled.” Discussion point: what
does this word mean? Does it not
carry with it the connotation of something which is ·
originally
pure, but ·
now has been
ruined for its purpose, and ·
sinfully so? We, as Christians, are made pure by the blood of
Jesus Christ, and we must constantly turn to Him to stay that way.
If we don’t, we will be ruined for the purposes for which God has
called us. Next, in verse 8 we see the word “resolved.”
The King James uses the exquisite expression “purposed in his heart.”
This is not a spur of the moment thing, but an act of will.
Kindly note that this is not a knee-jerk reaction of “Oh, I can’t do
that” but rather a fixed purpose at work.
Staying holy is an act of will, not of emotional reaction. Next, consider how Daniel delivers this message.
Here is no “in your face” resistance.
We often see people who are Christians who proclaim their holiness in
loud, angry tones. This has two
major disadvantages: (discussion point) ·
what does it
say to those who are not Christians? Does
it show the peace of Christ? ·
and what if
you wind up eating your words? How
tasty are they? Daniel shows us one other point. Not only is he polite about this, he shows his complete
confidence in God. This is not a
theoretical opinion being expressed. Daniel
simply says, “let’s try it God’s way for ten days.
If not completely satisfied, your money refunded.”
Daniel is confident that ·
God is
right, and ·
God will
honor his devotion. Daniel serves in his position for some 65 years,
both for the Babylonians and their conquerors, the Medes and Persians.
Perhaps they saw the fruit of his wisdom.
It is a curious thing: if
you focus on getting ahead in this world, this world will eventually come to
dishonor you. If you focus on the things of God, honor may indeed come.
“Latimer, Latimer, beware what you say.” On
wisdom A look at the last verse will provide useful
instruction. God gave Daniel and
his companions wisdom. “Wisdom”
is a seldom used word today; we
favor the word knowledge. They are
similar, but not the same. Wisdom
is much higher. The key for us is
that God gives wisdom - and will give it to us as He gave it to Daniel, if we
ask. (see James 1:5) {6} For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth
come knowledge and understanding. {7} He holds victory in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, -- Proverbs 2:6-7 (NIV) Wisdom is God’s to give.
Indeed, wisdom is not some esoteric concept, but a real part of the
universe -- the moral law which is just as much a part of reality as the laws of
physics. {19} By wisdom the LORD laid the earth's
foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; {20} by his knowledge
the deeps were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew.
-- Proverbs 3:19-20 (NIV) Should there be any further doubt about it,
consider the person of Jesus. He
makes it clear that He is wisdom in the flesh, or, as John put it: {12} When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said,
"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in
darkness, but will have the light of life."
-- John 8:12 (NIV) I propose to you a test:
do you have the wisdom that Daniel was given by God?
It is yours for the asking. There
is even a verse which tells you its results -- a good test of whether or not you
have sincerely asked: {17} But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first
of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good
fruit, impartial and sincere. --
James 3:17 (NIV) There you have it:
the fruits of wisdom. Are
they growing in your life? |
 
|