Amen. You may be seated. Friends, there can be no greater comfort for the believer than to know that the one whose voice stilled the storm The one who upholds the universe by the word of his power is the one who reigns and abides with us. And so when things seem chaotic in your life, when you hear news of political unrest and tension, when uncertainty and fear seems to be the very air we breathe, remember that Jesus Christ reigns.
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him, for he must reign until he puts all his enemies under his feet. Beloved, our God is on his throne. And he does all that he pleases. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and he has transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son. And yet, while we wait for the return of our Savior King, as Christians, we find ourselves straddling two worlds. So God has called us to be in this world, but not off it.
He has called us to live in a world that is passing away while at the same time bearing witness to the good news of a kingdom that is already here and will one day be fully here. We are called to live as citizens of His kingdom while being residents of earthly kingdoms, earthly kingdoms that stand opposed to God and His gospel.
So what do we do when the values and the priorities and the demands of these two kingdoms collide? Well, the message of the book of Daniel is that covenant loyalty to our Savior demands... Defiant faith. So faith says yes to God, but faith also says no to all things opposed to God and his word. Daniel teaches us that our sovereign God is in perfect control of all of human history.
and especially our role, our place in human history. So he has ordered every twist, every turn, every trial, and every detail of your life in order to fulfill his redemptive purposes for your life. and for mine and because of that the lord wants us to respond to this truth by being faithful to him to his lordship and he wants our allegiance to him alone to be made known
To all people. To all people. And this is what we will get to see in the book of Daniel, especially in chapter 1 that gives us an introduction to the entire book. So please open your Bibles to Daniel chapter 1. Daniel chapter 1. If you open your Bible halfway, you'll find yourself in the Psalms. Just move to the right. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel.
Daniel chapter 1. Let's ask the Lord for His help as we approach His Word. Let's pray. Father, we confess with the words of Scripture. that your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures from generation to generation. Though the nations rage and kingdoms rise and fall, we confess. there is still one king reigning over all. Father, we praise you that you have made known to us the mysteries of your kingdom through the gospel.
And so as we look to your word, we pray, O Lord, that you would show us the glory of your saving, sovereign power and purposes in Jesus Christ. Strengthen our trust in your word that we might not fear men. but walk in the obedience of faith. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Friends, how does one make sense of history? Are events that unfold on the world stage merely accidental? Or do they have meaning and purpose?
If so, what or who determines the meaning or significance of an event? How do we understand politics and wars and social revolutions? How do we understand our place in the world and our own personal histories? Well, the Bible tells us that the only way we can make sense of the world is to look outside the world.
We must look to God, the creator and sustainer of the world. You see, God in His wise providence ordains all things. And it is His Word that helps us make sense of everything that happens in it. In other words... A theological interpretation of history is necessary for us to make sense of the world. When the Apostle Paul addressed the Greeks in Athens, He told them this about the triune God of the Bible whom they did not know. Listen to this, he said in Acts 17, 26-27.
And he, that is God, made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods, time frames, and... the boundaries of their dwelling place, so geographical locations. Why? That they should seek God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him.
In other words, the point of human history is for humans to know the God of human history. Which is why Paul in that chapter calls them to repent of their sins and put their trust in the risen Lord Jesus. That's the only way we can know God. We come to Him through Jesus Christ. Now the book of Daniel was written so that the people of Israel could not only make sense of their history,
but also have an interpretive framework to understand where history was heading. This book was written mainly by Daniel. A man who lived in the 6th century BC in Babylon, which was the capital city of the Babylonian Empire. Today you can find some of its ruins in Hila, roughly 85 kilometers south of Baghdad in Iraq.
So we're looking at a 6th century BC document that tells us about how the people of Judah were carried away into captivity by the Babylonians. It tells us about what life was like for Daniel and his friends in Babylon. Now, parts of this book are clearly written by Daniel, especially the autobiographical parts like chapter 8, verse 2, where he says in the first person, I saw in the vision.
And then other parts seem to be written in third person about Daniel by a spirit inspired editor or narrator, someone well known to Daniel. Part of this book is historical narrative. That's chapters 1 to 6. It reports real history and true predictive prophecy. And part of it is apocalyptic literature. Chapters 7 to 12. That word derives from the Greek word apokalupsis, meaning unveiling. God reveals or unveils to Daniel mysteries about the future using highly symbolic visions.
And through these visions, Daniel is given hope and the strength to endure. He gets to see how God works behind the scenes, as it were, behind historical events to bring about his glorious kingdom purposes. Parts of this book are written in Hebrew, so that's chapters 1 all the way to chapter 2 verse 4, and then chapters 8 to 12. But parts of it are also written in Aramaic.
So chapter 2 verse 4 all the way to chapter 7 verse 28. And later we'll see how chapters 2 and chapter 7 are parallel to each other. And understanding how those two chapters relate helps us understand the later chapters, 8 to 12. Now, Aramaic was the language spoken by the Aramaeans and the Chaldeans, these two people groups who lived in the Babylonian Empire. Aramaic was also the official medium of communication in Babylon.
And so it's reasonable to think that the author wanted these recorded events to be known to a larger audience during his time and not just the Jews. You see, in the New Testament, Jesus calls Daniel a prophet. Matthew 24 verse 15. See, God's word, his prophecies came to Daniel via dreams and visions. Some of those dreams had to do with the immediate future.
and some of it had to do with the distant future. The point of recording what Daniel said in Aramaic would have enabled Daniel's contemporaries to verify what he had said had indeed come true. That he was truly God's spokesman. You see, once we understand these things, it ought to become plain to us that the book of Daniel isn't really about Daniel. It's about Daniel's God and his kingdom purposes.
It's not about how Daniel and his friend face difficult challenges, overcome all odds and make it to the top. The message of Daniel is not a moralistic one. Be a man of principle. Be like Daniel. You know, that's not the point. No, the point of Daniel was to teach the people of Israel to trust in a sovereign God whose word governs history, whose promise ensures that he will...
deliver his people, not just from physical exile, but from spiritual exile through the coming Messiah. God works his kingdom purposes in the world. He advances those purposes through his covenant promises. This is the God who will sustain them in exile and give them all that they need to be faithful. And friends, for us this means that it is this God in Christ who will sustain us in this world and give us all the grace we need to remain faithful as we wait for the coming of Jesus.
So everything in Daniel is meant to point us to the kingdom of God in Christ. So listen to Daniel 2 verse 44. The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed. nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end and it shall stand forever. Now Daniel chapter 1. begins by situating this story in the larger story of redemptive history. And the first truth that God reveals to us about himself is this.
Number one, it is God who gives his people into the hands of the Babylonians. It is God himself who gives his people into the hands of the Babylonians. He is a sovereign. Judge, which is what Daniel's name means. God is my judge. And Daniel and his people had just experienced that. So look with me at Daniel chapter 1, verses 1 to 2. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.
Now this is a reference to an event that took place in 605 BC. Prior to this, Pharaoh Necho... That was his name. Pharaoh Necho had defeated King Josiah, Israel's king, in battle and installed King Jehoiakim as his vassal. Jehoiakim was a puppet king. on the throne of Judah, serving Nebuchadnezzar. Later, Nebuchadnezzar arrived on the scene. He defeated the Egyptians at Carmachish, and then he went on to subjugate parts of Syria and Palestine.
So this was the first attack on Jerusalem when Jehoiakim became vassal to his new boss, Nebuchadnezzar. So earlier he served Egypt, now he's serving Babylon. Now at that time, Nebuchadnezzar carried away some of the sacred vessels of Solomon's temple, as well as some captives, among whom were Daniel and his friends. And then three years later, Jehoiakim decided to rebel against Babylon.
And so Nebuchadnezzar attacked him to teach him a lesson and intended to carry him away into exile also. But according to the prophet Jeremiah, Jehoiakim died a horrible death. Now in his place, his son... Jehoiakim sat on the throne. Eventually Jehoiakim also rebelled and was in like manner taken into exile along with some more treasures of the temple. This was the second attack in 597 BC.
After him, King Zedekiah sat on the throne as Nebuchadnezzar's servant. But then he too turned against Babylon. This time... In 587 BC, Babylonian troops stormed the city in all fury and they burned down both the temple and the city. They burned it down to the ground, leaving only the poorest of the poor in the land.
Now from the vantage point of the writer, all of this is over. They're already in Babylon. But the reason he mentions the third reign of Jehoiakim, because he's referring to what happened. during the first attack 605 BC when Daniel and his friends were taken captive. This chapter is about Daniel and his friends. So why is all of this important? It's important because the writer wants us to know that behind all of this political
turmoil, one king after the next, attack after attack, all this instability was the Lord's doing. The Lord's quiet hand of providence was behind all of it. Look at verse 2. gave. The Lord gave Jehoiakim into Nebuchadnezzar's hands. But that's not all. God was being faithful to his word. You see, all of this took place just as the prophets in Israel had predicted.
After the Lord rescued his people out of slavery in Egypt, he brought them to Mount Sinai and made a covenant with them. They were to love God with all their heart and worship him alone. They were to have no other gods before him. And God said that if his people obeyed him and kept his covenant, they would be to him a treasured possession, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. And even before they entered the promised land of Canaan, Moses warned them.
In Deuteronomy 28 verse 63, that if they were unfaithful to their covenant and worshipped other gods, God would pluck them out of their land. and scatter them among the nations. He would send them into exile and that's exactly what happened. That's exactly what happened because of a long history of Israel's unfaithfulness. and many unfaithful kings. Despite repeated warnings from God through his prophets, God's people did not repent and neither did his anointed ones, his kings.
The prophet Jeremiah warned the people of Judah that they were only provoking the Lord with their idolatry. He told them that soon God's judgment would fall upon them. And that God would use his servant, a cruel pagan Chaldean king named Nebuchadnezzar to do that. You see that recorded for us in Jeremiah 25 verses 8 to 12.
God said that he would devote the land to destruction. He would make them a horror, a hissing, an everlasting desolation, and his people would be in exile in Babylon for 70 years. But after 70 years, God said that he would... punish the Babylonians for their iniquity. And so God would not only judge the people of Judah for their idolatry by using a sinful pagan nation, he would later judge that very nation. He would judge Babylon.
And then we hear those famous words from Jeremiah, words that are so often taken out of context and misused by many Christians. Jeremiah 29 verses 10 to 11. Listen to this. For thus says the Lord, when 70 years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. Why? For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. That future...
was filled with trials and tribulations. But that hope was a messianic hope. So the story of Daniel and Babylon spans those 70 years. Keep that in mind. Notice how this chapter ends. Verse 21. And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus. So in 539 BC, Babylon was conquered by the Medo-Persian king, Cyrus.
who then later allowed the Jews to return to the land to rebuild the temple. But even the return to the land also happened in stages, in waves. First people returned to build the temple under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Ezra and Haggai. Zechariah, and then later the city was rebuilt under Nehemiah's leadership many years after that. So this is where we find ourselves in Israel's history. The people of Judah were captured. Bad things were happening to them.
These Jews were being treated badly. History tells us that Nebuchadnezzar paraded them naked. He killed others and even mutilated their bodies for all to see. It was a horrific time of suffering. But here's what the writer wants the Jews to remember. Verse 2, the Lord gave. You see, God was the one who gave the king of Judah into Nebuchadnezzar's power.
Ultimately, he was the one who brought this about. Daniel's friends were there not because of Babylon's mighty military might. It's not because they couldn't run fast enough. No, they were there because God wanted them there. Beloved, this is the only truth that can comfort us in the midst of trials. Even in the midst of our most painful moments, disappointments. family tragedies, personal loss, betrayals, marital conflicts. We need to be reminded that God is on his throne.
See, your creator and king in his infinite goodness and wisdom has ordained all things for your eternal good and for his glory. We need to know that rain and drought, riches and poverty... Health and sickness, pain and pleasure, life and death, all of these things do not come to us by chance, but from our Father's hand. See, our Heavenly Father, who sovereignly...
ordered every event in redemptive history leading up to the death and resurrection of his son for our salvation. He is always doing something. This is why the Apostle Paul, sitting in prison, can say things like this. I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.
God not only ordained that his people would be captured, but he also ordained that those vessels from the temple would be taken. Notice what Nebuchadnezzar did with those vessels. Look at the text. And he brought them to the land of Shinar. to the house of his God and place the vessels in the treasury of his God. You know, in the ancient Near East, when one kingdom conquered another, they would carry off some of the idols of the gods of the defeated kingdom.
So battles between kingdoms were seen as battles between the gods of the kingdom. So in this case, who is more powerful? Marduk, the chief god of Babylon, or Yahweh? the God of Israel. In this case, it seemed that Yahweh had lost. Nebuchadnezzar was saying in effect, when I come, I will raid your God's house and he won't be able to do anything about it.
Now, of course, there were no idols in Yahweh's temple, so Nebuchadnezzar took away some vessels and he put them in the house of his God as victory loot. As far as Nebuchadnezzar was concerned, this was a moment of humiliation of Yahweh and his people. So, shame on your God. How foolish, how weak he looks. Brothers, I wonder if you can recognize this God. This God who is willing to suffer shame and look foolish in the eyes of the world.
In order to accomplish his kingdom purposes. For the very people who have just sinned against him. And yet we know that this God is the one true God. He is the true king. It is he who wields all power and authority. We know that because these vessels of gold and silver will show up again in chapter 5 when King Belshazzar uses it to drink wine and toast to his gods. We know what happens in that story. God shows up.
and he takes away his kingdom. And he dies that very night. These Babylonians will soon learn that God is God, not just in his temple, or not just in Israel, he is king over all. And so this was an arrogant move by Nebuchadnezzar driven by his idolatry. This is a nation that stands opposed to the true God in every way. And that's what the writer is hinting at when he says he brought them to Shinar.
This is not merely a geographical marker, but a theological hint about the spiritual state of affairs in Babylon. Do you remember when we first hear about Shinar? Genesis 11. What's being built on that plane? The Tower of Babel. This is a picture of humanity united in their rebellion against God. An idolatrous attempt to make a name for themselves instead of living for the glory of the one true God. Remember the people of Judah were now in exile in Babylon. Why?
Because of their idolatry. But what kind of spiritual danger awaits them here? More idolatry. But the question is, who will they be loyal to? To whose kingdom will they swear allegiance? Friends, the slide into idolatry doesn't happen overnight. So think about the transgender ideology that's going around.
That did not drop into our world like a meteor from the sky. No, it started out as early as the mid-1800s with the proliferation of seemingly harmless psychological theories and philosophies that suggested... That we as individuals are who we feel and think we are. And therefore we must express ourselves in that way. Seemingly harmless. Nobody paid much attention to that.
And now it's grown up, full blown, and in our faces everywhere. See, Nebuchadnezzar knew that if he was going to continue to exercise... control and rule over these exiles, he was going to have to change their thinking to give them a different worldview. In other words, give them a Babylonian makeover.
To instill in them the spirit of Babylon. Instill in them the values and the culture of Babylon. If you could do that, then getting them to worship the gods of Babylon would not only be easy, it would seem rational. So notice how he does it. First, he separates them from their land, their family, their temple. So get rid of the covenant community and get rid of regular corporate worship.
That's the strategy. Get away from the ordinary means of grace that God has ordained for you. And once you do that, it's easy to indoctrinate people. And you will be sinking into the swamp of idolatry before you know it. Brothers, do you understand that the TV shows and movies that you watch, the newspapers you read, The advertisements, you see, they're all pushing a particular worldview. They're teaching you something. Are you being discerning? See, the question is not...
Whether we are being discipled, the question is who is discipling you? So parents, are you aware of what kind of worldview, what values your children are being taught at school? You see, the kingdoms of this world are hostile to God and His Word. They're not neutral or passive. This is why the New Testament tells us, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. That's true worship.
Nebuchadnezzar's plan was to get them to think and reason like Babylonians. Look at verses 3 to 4. Now that word that is translated as eunuch can sometimes refer to a castrated man, but at other times it can simply refer to a palace official. So the king commanded Ashpenaz to bring some of the people of Israel. By the way, Isaiah prophesied that this would happen in 2 Kings 20 verse 18. He said, Babylon's going to come. He's going to take away some of your sons.
They'll serve at the palace. Bring some of the people of Israel, he says, both of the royal family and of the nobility. You know, literally... royal family is translated as royal seed. Bring me some of the seed of the kingdom, he says, and of the nobility. Bring me the best of the best, the cream of the crop. Youth from the important upper class families. Now friends, if you know the story of redemption, you know that the coming of Jesus is the story of the promised seed.
See, God made a promise to Adam that the seed of the woman would deal with the problem of sin and reverse the fall. This seed or offspring is the seed of Abraham, we learn later. He's also the seed of Israel, particularly of the tribe of Judah. And then in 2 Samuel 7, God made a covenant with David, we learn. That God would establish the throne of his seed, David's seed, his offspring forever. There is one who will come from the royal line of David.
One who will set up an everlasting kingdom, an anointed one who will save his people from their sins. Or as Daniel says in Daniel 9 verse 24, look at 9.24, this one will put an end to sin. He will atone for iniquity and bring in everlasting righteousness. And Nebuchadnezzar says, bring me some of the royal seed.
Beloved, this is an attack by the seed of the serpent against the seed of the woman. See, what may have looked like a typical Babylonian assimilation program was actually something far more beastly. and sinister, and diabolical. That's the point of all the visions we will see. God peels back the curtain and says, can you see these beasts behind these kings? But that's not all.
Not only were these youth to be descendants from the royal family, but they were also to be youths without blemish. Verse 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. They were supposed to be young men who had potential.
Men who were presentable, intelligent, so that they could stand before the king and serve the Babylonian government. And so Ashpenaz was told, you see that kid there with his finger up his nose? You know, wondering how cool it is to be on this Babylonian field trip. Not that kid. Don't get that kid. No, get the gifted ones. Daniel and his friends would have been only 14 or 15.
14 or 15. Imagine that. He says get them and teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. They were to be fully immersed in Babylonian culture. Now, since this verse is in Hebrew, the people of Israel would have easily picked this up. But it's not too hard for us to see either. Look at the text carefully. The words used to describe these young men.
are soaked in priestly language and the language of Proverbs. In Leviticus 21 verse 18, priests were to be without blemish, without disease or injury, that is. They were to be whole. Remember, under the old covenant, disease and discharges were pictures of sin. But also note the language of wisdom and understanding. This marked the Old Testament believer.
one who feared the Lord and walked according to his commandments. Such a one is filled with all wisdom and understanding. And so what the writer is telling us that in Daniel and his friends, we are given a picture of the faithful remnant of Israel, the true kingdom of priests, those who trusted in the Lord and desired to be faithful to His covenant. But because of the unfaithfulness of their nation, they too were swept away into exile. And now the Lord himself had given them a new setting.
A new context to be faithful to him and bear witness to his covenant promises. So they were to be in Babylon, but not off Babylon. However, look at the text. to conform for these teenagers was immense and constant. Look at the specifics of their program, verses 5 to 7. The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate. Can you imagine that? Every day you would get delicacies. This was a five-star menu. 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. So they received a complete Babylonian liberal arts degree. This was intense. Intense training. Verse 6, among these, so it looks like there was a larger group of young men, among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. Again, note.
Babylon's strategy. Because this is the strategy of the world we live in. Separate them. Make them comfortable. Make them feel safe. Educate them. And then, now look, confuse them about their identity. Verse 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. See, every one of these Hebrew names said something about the God of Israel. But now, they are being named after the gods of Babylon. They will now need to answer to those names. So Daniel means God is my judge. Now he's called Belteshazzar. May Bel protect the king. Hananiah. Yahweh gives grace. Now he's Shadrach, one who is under the command of Aku, the moon god.
Mishael means who is like our God. Now he will be called Meshach, who is like Aku. And Azariah means Yahweh is my help. Now he will be called Abednego, slave of the god Nabu. This was an attempt to confuse them about who they were, their very identity. Today we don't have Nebuchadnezzar changing our names. But our respective cultures will do that. They will press upon our hearts and minds and tell us, think like a Filipino. Think like an Indian. Think like an American.
Think like an Iranian. That's who you really are. No, beloved, who you really are is a Christian. And you need to think and live like one in today's Babylon. To name someone was to exercise authority over them. And in doing so, what these boys were being told in effect was this, that your allegiance is henceforth to the kingdom and to the king of Babylon.
Every time you hear your name being called, remember that Babylon demands your loyalty. Brothers, we face this temptation, this sort of temptation every day, don't we? In every decision that we make. In the way that we parent our children. In the way we interact with the opposite sex. In the way that we dress. In the way that we spend our money. We will either show allegiance to the kingdoms of this world. or to the kingdom of God. And if we do not saturate our minds with God's word,
and fellowship with one another, and talk to each other about these things, and spur one another to love and good works, and disciple one another to grow in discernment, we will compromise. We will bow down to the kingdom of this world. No, we need to live like kingdom citizens, like Christians, and be reminded by other Christians how a Christian should think, how a Christian should live.
Now notice the progression in the text. The king commands. Ashpenaz brings. The king assigned. Ashpenaz gives them new names. Verse 8. But Daniel. All these things are happening, but notice what Daniel has a problem with. Daniel says, I'll study your culture and your science and arts and language and literature. I don't have to believe it, but I'll study it. I'll work for the government.
Daniel knew that it was God's will for him to be faithful and productive in exile. Jeremiah said so in Jeremiah 29 verse 7. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf for its welfare. For in its welfare you will find your welfare. This is why we pray for Sharjah. We pray for the rulers of Sharjah.
Daniel said, you can also call me whatever you want. I don't care. I can't do anything about that, but I won't eat the king's food. Look at verse 8. But Daniel resolved. You know, this word means he set his heart firmly to do this. He gave this considerable thought. He resolved that he would not defile himself. He would not pollute or desecrate himself with the king's food or with the wine he drank.
Therefore, he asked the chief of eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. See, Daniel doesn't just think about being faithful. He acts upon his decision. And notice his modesty. Notice his humility. He makes a request. Please make this allowance for me. I do not want to defile myself. You know, too many Christians like to just think about obedience.
We talk a lot about obedience, but we never actually obey the word. Friends, scripture is clear that the way we demonstrate saving faith in Christ is by obeying his word. We are called to the obedience of faith. Obedience begins by first addressing your heart, reflecting upon the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ and then resolving to please him. Our allegiance to Christ ought to be visible.
Otherwise, we're not being faithful witnesses. Sometimes we fall into this sinister trap of thinking, maybe this is not the best time to obey. Maybe this is not the occasion to take a stand on this. I'll reserve courageous obedience for the time when someone points a gun at my head and tells me to deny Christ. That's the time I'll courageously obey. Beloved, remember that God sovereignly...
provides the context for your obedience. Just as he did for Daniel. God calls us to be faithful in the mundane. Sinclair Ferguson writes, some Christians are heroes in their daydreams only. The characteristic mark of such heroism is imagining ourselves as faithful on great and public occasions and in rarefied atmospheres when others will be impressed. In stark contrast,
True faithfulness in Scripture is first exercised in small things and in private. If we fail there, any faithfulness we show in public will be hypocrisy. A performance for the crowd and not an expression of loyalty to our Lord. Beloved, if you can't face the folly of idolatry, how will you face fiery trials? How will you face... fierce lions. No, it is the everyday faithfulness that God uses to prepare us for greater temptations and trials. Now, what was the problem with Daniel?
Now, some people think that the reason Daniel refused the king's food was because the food was unclean. So the royal menu violated Jewish food laws. Now, it's certainly possible that the Babylonians would have eaten animals that the Jews were forbidden from eating. And if these foods were served, Daniel would have been right in refusing those foods.
But I don't think that's the reason why Daniel refuses the food here. If it was just the food, why did he refuse the wine? The Jews were not forbidden from drinking wine. Furthermore, we know that Daniel ate meat. And drank wine in Babylon. So turn with me to chapter 10 verse 3. Chapter 10 verse 3. Here we see that Daniel's in mourning. It was a time of mourning for him. And he writes.
that in those days I ate no delicacies, rich food, no meat or wine entered my mouth. Which tells you that when he was not mourning, he ate meat and drank wine. without defiling himself. See it's possible that the real reason Daniel refuses to eat the king's food and wine is because it would have been offered to the gods of Babylon. And it was served to them in the name of those gods. And so Daniel resolves not to defile himself and provoke God.
See, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10 verse 20 that what pagans offer to their idols, they actually offer to demons. See, Daniel would have been particularly sensitive to this issue because that's why Israel was in exile. Because of idolatry. See, Daniel wasn't just interested in surviving the exile. He wanted to be faithful. And that required him to express covenantal solidarity to Yahweh.
Beloved, there's no such thing as a secret Christian and there was no such thing as a secret follower of Yahweh in the Old Testament. There was something about this meal that Daniel knew that if he participated in... would blur his allegiance to his true king who demanded all his heart and soul and mind. Beloved, this is what the Lord calls us to do. He calls us to loyalty in Christ. And that loyalty...
He wants us to make known to this world. This is how we are to live as exiles. Now, although Christians under the new covenant are called elect exiles, we must understand that we are not in exile in the same way that Israel was. So we're not under judgment. But we are in exile insofar, so here's the point of similarity, insofar that like them, we're not yet home. Our home is the heavenly Canaan, the promised land of the new earth. So right now we are in Babylon, so to speak.
In the book of Revelation, Babylon becomes synonymous with this present evil age, with all the kingdoms of this world. And like these men, we are called to remain faithful while living in exile, while living as strangers in this world. Listen to what Peter says. Peter says that we ought to prepare our minds for action. Just like Daniel did. Resolved. We are to set our hope fully on the grace that will be brought to us at the coming of Jesus.
Look forward to your heavenly home. We must be like obedient children of God. not being conformed to the passions of our former ignorance. We are to conduct ourselves in the fear of the Lord throughout the time of our exile, knowing that we were ransomed by the precious blood of Christ like that of a lamb without blemish. That's 1 Peter 1, 13-19. Beloved, faithfulness is always risky. Is always risky.
There are always hurdles to the pursuit of holiness and suffering often follows that. But brothers and sisters, it is to this we have been called, haven't we? This is what we have been called to. So cast all your anxieties upon God because he cares for you. See, Daniel's resolution and request demonstrates his humility to the Lord. And so the Lord blesses him and gives him grace.
And that brings us to our second point. The Lord gives grace to the humble. So number one, He gives His people into Nebuchadnezzar's hand. Number two, He also gives grace to the humble. Look at verses 9 to 10. And God gave Daniel favor and compassion. This word favor is the Hebrew word hesed.
This is a covenantal term that is often translated as kindness or steadfast love. The Lord shows steadfast love and mercy to Daniel, not because he's sitting in Babylon twiddling his thumbs and cowering in fear, but because... Daniel sees that the Lord in his providence had ordained this context to demonstrate his faithfulness. So he submits. Remember, God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.
Friends, remember that this is by no means easy for Daniel. He's only 15. And Nebuchadnezzar is the kind of king who says, tell me my dream or die. Bow down before my statue or die. Daniel knows that he's called not just to demonstrate allegiance to the kingdom of God in his feelings, but through his witness. And for that humility, God gives this young man the grace he needs to stand firm.
Brothers, that is a Christ-like quality. Daniel did not want to provoke God. Do you remember what James tells us? Whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the scripture says he yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us, but he gives more grace. Therefore, it says, God opposes the proud.
but gives grace to the humble. That's James 4, 4 to 6. So God gives him favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs. Verse 10, and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, sure, buddy, why not? That's not what he said. Hold on. I thought you just said he gave favor in the sight of the chief. Yes. But favor doesn't mean you get what you want instantly just because you want to obey God. Wouldn't that be nice? Every time you wanted to obey, the Red Sea would part.
birds would sing every time you wanted to love your wife or tell the truth at work flowers would bloom people around you would melt like butter and are so compliant no one opposes you Can you smell that? You know what that is? The prosperity gospel right there. Now we need to have a biblical understanding of God's sustaining grace.
See, God's favor in this regard unfolds from verse 10 all the way to verse 16. How is God's favor seen in this way? He gets to talk to Ashpenaz. Imagine that. And Ashpenaz actually gives him a patient ear. He doesn't have to listen to him. He's a Jewish captive. He's a prisoner of war, well-treated prisoner, but he has no rights. You know, sometimes I think we fail to see the Lord's grace in the little things.
In the little things. Remember what Proverbs 16 verse 7 says, when a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Ashpenaz listens. But he raises a valid point as far as he's concerned. Look at the text. 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.
You know, Ashpenaz says, look, little man, I don't make the rules. I just enforce them. If you stop eating this rich food and eat something else, you're going to look skinny and ill-nourished compared to all the other young boys, and my head will roll because of you. My job is to see that you guys are healthy and I'm not putting my life on the line for some Jewish brat who has religious scruples. So what does Daniel do? Daniel doesn't say, well, I made one attempt to be faithful, so...
It must be God's will for me to be quiet. Just go with the flow. No, he looks. He schemes. He looks for ways to be faithful. He doesn't give up. He looks elsewhere. Beloved, is that the way you pursue the obedience of faith? in the midst of trouble no it's it's as though Daniel knows that the Lord is with him and so he doesn't quit look at verse 11
Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So he goes to an official of lower rank and he proposes an experiment. Imagine that. Verse 12. Teenagers. Verse 12. Test your servants for 10 days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.
The term that is translated as vegetables here refers to any kind of produce that comes from sowing seeds. So it could refer to vegetables or fruit or even grain. Daniel is probably asking for stuff from the kitchen. He said, oh, we won't starve. Just give us whatever's lying around. Verse 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.
So you see, God gives them favor once again, but this time the steward listened. He was agreeable for some strange reason that we don't know. Notice how God's quiet providence. works. Grace is often very quiet. You know, brothers, this should encourage us to pursue faithfulness even when we run into problems. You never know who in the Lord's providence He will use or not use.
So pursue the obedience of faith. Don't worry about the consequences. Leave that to the Lord. Leave that to the Lord. Look at verses 14 to 16. So he, the steward, listened to them. This tells you that Daniel and his friends were united in their stand. He listened to them in this matter and tested them for 10 days. Now, 10 days in the Bible is symbolic of a time of trial and testing.
You see this in Revelation 2 verse 10. John writes to the church at Smyrna and he says this, do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested and for 10 days.
you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. By the way, if you are a teenager, and if you have repented, of your sins, and you've put your trust in Jesus Christ, remember this, the world may look big and bad and ugly, and it may push you around. But remember who your savior is. Remember who your king is. Don't be afraid to follow Jesus and be unpopular. You know, these teenagers were believers and they stood firm in their faith.
They did not comply to the big bad establishment. Remember that we live and work under different spheres of authority. God has put various spheres of authority over you. Parents, teachers, pastors, husbands, bosses.
But remember that all of these are derivative authorities. God is the ultimate authority, whose word tells us how each of these authorities ought to behave and function. And when any of these lesser authorities... forbid what God's word commands or commands what God's word forbids, your faith, like Daniel's, ought to be defiant. You must say with Peter and the apostles in Acts 5.29, we must obey God rather than men. That's what you do when kingdoms collide. Verse 15.
At the end of 10 days, it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food. So these four were the better-looking specimens. Fatter in flesh simply means that they appeared to be better nourished. See, God in His ordinary providence had blessed them in that way. Verse 16, So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables. Beloved, the point of this passage...
is not to teach us that eating vegetables is superior. Somebody's very happy I said that. That's not the point of this passage. You know, someone even wrote a book called the Daniel diet. True story. No, the point of this passage is to teach the people of Israel and to teach us that it is better to trust in the Lord and obey Him than to compromise. That's the point.
You know, this story would have served to strengthen the people of Israel in exile, to remain faithful and to continue trusting the sovereignty of God. That through it all, he would accomplish his kingdom purposes. You remember Jeremiah had told them of a future hope. A time when the Lord who loved them with an everlasting love would gather his people from exile and make a new covenant with them. A time when he would give his people new hearts and forgive all their sins.
Now this story would have sounded very familiar to the people of Israel. The people of Israel had seen such a model of faithfulness before. See, Daniel reminds us of someone else in the book of Genesis, doesn't he? And I think that's why the writer mentions in this passage good-looking. There was another good-looking young man who was forcibly taken from his home, was enslaved to a powerful king in Egypt.
He faced trials and temptations, yet remained faithful, and God was with him. He was even given a new name, Zaphonath-Paneah. You remember that in Genesis 41-45? That's what Pharaoh called him. I'm talking about Joseph, of course. God raised him to a position of prominence in the kingdom so that he could serve God's kingdom purposes. You remember under Joseph's care, the people of Israel multiplied just as God promised Abraham.
And so in Daniel, we have a picture of the faithful Israelite, a true Israelite, a royal priest. A prophet, one who is obedient to God, righteous. He's filled with wisdom and knowledge, exemplary in his character. But as great as Daniel is, Daniel is not the hope of Israel. You know, Daniel's a sinner just like us. Turn to Daniel 9 verse 20. What is Daniel doing there? Daniel 9 verse 20. He's confessing his sin.
and the sins of his people. See, Daniel's a sinner just like us. Daniel can't save us. No, we need a perfect priest. One who is not just without blemish in appearance, but one who is without blemish in nature. We need a sinless priest. We need a sinless prophet. We need a sinless king. This long promised seed, the Messiah, the son of David, the anointed one that the prophets, including Daniel, looked forward to. He is the hope of Israel.
And in the fullness of time, God sent His sinless Son. The Son of God took on human flesh and He entered into our sinful world to save His people from their sin. He perfectly obeyed His Father. so that through faith in him the unrighteous might be declared to be righteous. He died on the cross in the place of sinners, taking God's righteous judgment on himself, so that those who have defiled themselves with the world...
might be declared to be clean so that now we can resist defilement like Daniel did. Jesus' death purchased the forgiveness of sins for all those who would repent of their sins and put their trust in him. And on the third day, he rose from the dead to give us new hearts that long to follow him alone. Friends, this is the kingdom that he inaugurated. And he has made us citizens of his kingdom.
And He abides with us through His Spirit. And in this world, as we wait for His return and the consummation of His kingdom, He calls us to be faithful to Him. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. And nothing can separate us from His love. So if you don't know this king, then I plead with you, lay down your rebellion and submit to him. Repent of your sins and put your trust in Christ. And you will know the joy of having your sins forgiven.
and the blessing of eternal life. And for those of us who know Jesus as King and Lord and Savior, if you're a Christian, know that God blesses your obedience. He does. He is pleased by it. He blesses your obedience. God blesses the faithfulness of his people. And then brings us to our third and final point. God gives wisdom and understanding to his faithful servants. Look at the text.
Verses 17 to 21. He gives wisdom and understanding to his faithful servants. He gives more. Daniel says in chapter 2 verse 21 that the Lord gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He gives more. To those who are faithful in little, he entrusts much more. Look at verses 17 to 21. As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom. God blessed their labor of studying. Students pay attention.
And Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. Daniel was given the gift of prophecy through dreams and visions, just like Joseph. He was blessed in this way to proclaim God's word and bear witness even more.
Verse 18, at the end of the time, at the end of three years, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king spoke with them. He conversed with them to see what they had learned and how they were faring.
And among them all, none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. Meaning they officially took up their positions as royal servants. They were found to be competent. All because of what the Lord was doing in their lives. Verse 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. That's hyperbole. It simply means that they were way better, decisively better. better than the sorcerers and the astrologers in the kingdom. And this is the best part. Verse 21, and Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus. You see to the Israelites, the name of Cyrus signaled the end of the exile.
In some ways this chapter summarizes the entire book and the reason the writer mentions Cyrus is to remind the readers that after Nebuchadnezzar there were many kings, historically five kings, the last one being Belshazzar. before the kingdom was overthrown by Cyrus. What does this tell us? It tells us this. Kings have come. Kings have gone. Babylon's no more. Guess who's standing?
Daniel is still standing, well into his 80s, sustained by the grace of his sovereign God, watching his kingdom promises unfold. You know, this man in exile is experiencing the old covenant blessing of a long life in a foreign land. Brothers, know this. The church is going to outlast this present age.
Remember that. There is a resurrection coming. There is a new earth coming and the saints will judge the world and rule and thrive in a perfect world. Because of Jesus Christ, you will outlast it all. The question is, is that promise, the promise of an eternal reward, does it outweigh the risks that you face? Do you see it to be worth it? Oh, friends.
The obedience of faith is worth it. Beloved, God is pleased with our obedience because the obedience of faith is a good work produced by the power of the Spirit as we trust in the gospel of Christ. And God blesses His saints with... greater wisdom and understanding so that we can be more faithful to him, just like he did for these young men. He blessed Daniel and his friends with wisdom and understanding for their obedience so that they could continue to be faithful witnesses in that city.
This is what we should desire. This is what we should pray for. Paul prayed for the Colossian believers in this way. Listen to this, Colossians 1, 9-10. From the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. This is the blessing He wants for them. Why?
so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. You know, how much you love Jesus is demonstrated by how much you're willing to risk to follow him. Let's ask the Lord to bless us with wisdom and understanding that we may grow in our faithfulness to him.
Let's pray. Father, we pray that you would fill us with your spirit so that we would delight in your word. Lord, help us to live faithful lives in this world while waiting. for your coming kingdom. Lord, we pray that when that kingdom comes, we will hear from our Savior, well done, good and faithful servant. And so, Lord, give us courage. Give us boldness in the everyday things, in the little things. Help us to be faithful. Help us to uphold your word always. And help us...
Uphold one another in that task. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.