“Resolved”
Daniel 1
How are we as Christians – the church – to respond & interact with the culture around us?
How are we to live in “Babylon”?
Over the next 6 weeks we are going to walk through the first 6 chapters of Daniel to find the
answers to these questions – and learn Lessons from Exile… for Exiles. Because, like Daniel, we
too are exiles. We need the book of Daniel today. We need the testimony of Daniel, but
most importantly, we need the testimony of God. The first 6 chapters of Daniel provide
encouragement to stressed & struggling people by pointing us to a Sovereign, loving, and
present God.
Quick Background of Situation (see 2 Kings 23-25; 2 Chronicles 36)
605BC:
586:
539:
536-30:
Jerusalem is sieged by Babylon (under Neb)
First Israelite exile to Babylon (including Daniel, 14-15 yrs old)
Jerusalem falls, Solomon’s temple destroyed
Babylon conquered by Medo-Persian Empire
Daniel writes book (80-90 years old)
1. God’s Sovereignty in Promised Exile (1-2; Isaiah 39.5-7)
There is one grand, overarching theme of the book of Daniel: God is sovereign over all
peoples & nations all the time.
v.2: “The Lord (“Adonay” = owner, ruler, sovereign) gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into
[Nebuchadnezzar’s] hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And [the Lord]
brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of [Nebuchadnezzar’s] god, and placed
the vessels in the treasury of [Nebuchadnezzar’s] god.
In the opening verses of the book, Daniel makes it clear that God is in control. The exile to
Babylon was prophesied in Isaiah 39.5:
“Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: 6 Behold, the days are
coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till
this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the LORD. 7 And some
of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away,
and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”
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This exile did not surprise God. In fact, it was done by God because of His people’s
continuing rebellion against Him. The Lord gave his people to the Babylonians. God is in
control.
2. World’s Temptation through Subtle Seduction (3-7)
In verses 3-7 we see the three stages of seduction: Isolation, Indoctrination, Integration.
a. Isolation (3-4a)
Nebuchadnezzar orders select individuals to be pulled from their home & brought to
Babylon. This is kind of like a lion isolating his prey from the larger pack before he
attacks.
b. Indoctrination (4b-5)
“Welcome to the Babylonian School of Higher Learning!” In the 3-year program the
young Jews would be trained in Babylonian culture, literature, and languages. IN
addition, the “red carpet” was rolled out for them as they were offered royal food &
wine. Nebuchadnezzar literally sought wine & dine these young recruits with all the
perks of great Babylon.
c. Integration (6-7)
“Not only will we give you a new future, we’ll give you a new identity.” This is a keep
part of Babylonian Brainwashing. As we learn the meaning of the boy’s names we
understand what is really happening.
Daniel = “God is my Judge.”
Belteshazzar = “Bel protect the king.”
Hananiah = “The Lord is gracious.”
Shadrach = “Command of Aku” (moon god).
Mishael = “Who is the Lord like?”
Meshach = “Who is what Aku is?”
Azariah = “The Lord is my helper.”
Abegnego = “Servant of Nego(or Nebo)”
This renaming was an integral part of integrating the young Jews into Babylonian
culture and an attempt to further remove them from their Jewish heritage.
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Identity matters. Who determines your identity? The culture or Christ? Those who are in
Christ have been given a new identity. A new life in Christ.
“When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born
under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might
receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his
Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son,
and if a son, then an heir through God” (Galatians 4.4)
3. Daniel’s Response with Courageous Conviction (8-16)
a. He Resolves (8)
Now, some may be thinking…
“Hey, Daniel! Come on, man. Let’s not get carried away here. Don’t blow this out of
proportion. Don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill. It’s just some food & drink. It’s
not that big a deal. It’s not like the king is telling us to bow down to a giant idol or
something!” [We’ll get to that in a couple of weeks.] “I mean think of the opportunities
set before us. Let’s be realistic here. If you blow this, think of the influence you’ll lose…
over food & drink!?”
What’s really going on here? Different perspectives:
1) He refused to eat unclean food (i.e. pork) as directed in Leviticus 11 &
Deuteronomy 14.
2) He feared food & wine had been offered to Babylonian idols making it unclean.
3) Considering the context of seduction, it probably includes the previous two
perspectives and additionally…
Daniel resolved out of personal conviction to avoid king’s lavish diet as a way of
protecting himself against the temptations of Babylonian culture. He couldn’t
effect the situation (being in Babylon). He couldn’t change the fact of being
called by another name. BUT he could choose not to eat or drink the king’s
provision. This was a way to retain his distinctive identity – avoiding complete
assimilation into Babylonian culture.
“With this special diet they continually reminded themselves, that they were the
people of God in a foreign land and that they were dependent for their food,
indeed for their lives, upon God, their Creator, not King Nebuchadnezzar”
(English Stand Version Study Bible).
Having resolved (purposed in his heart), Daniel then acts.
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b. He Acts (8b-10).
Daniel’s resolve & action reveals his faith in God.
c. He Believes/Trusts in Gods (11-16)
Daniel’s assurance in God gave him confidence in God… beforehand (faith =
believing is seeing).
“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews
11.1).
4. God’s Grace of Divine Deliverance (9, 17-21)
Notice that Daniel chapter 1 is bookended by God’s deliverance:
v.2: The Lord gave (delivered) them to Babylonian exile
v.17: God gave (delivered) them learning & skills to advance His purposes in exile.
We see God’s grace & favor given to His people. Later Jesus would say: “Seek first the
kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you”
(Matthew 6.33). Daniel is living that truth in Babylon.
Church, today we live between two worlds – the earthly & heavenly cities. We like Daniel
are exiles. Will we be faithful to God in exile? Will be trust in God’s sovereignty in exile?
Lessons from Exile
1. Be faithful to God in all things… even the small stuff (8a).
Understand the threat of temptation and the seductive power & purpose of our
culture. Don’t compromise your personal convictions.
2. Be gracious to others in resistance (8b-14)
3. Be ready in life for testing (12; cf. James 1.3).
4. Be thankful for God’s provision (9, 17).
God has given us the ultimate provision in His Son, Jesus Christ. Because of that we
can…
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5. Be confident standing in the Lord (18-21).
We are His and He is ours. In Christ Jesus, we have been adopted into the family of
God – crying out, “Abba! Father!” Let us resolve to live our lives for Christ.
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