Daniel: February 2011
Table of Contents
Daniel
As we get older, we long to see another generation come along with the desire to wholeheartedly follow the Lord. At the same time, we may lament our own failures that have brought the governmental hand of God upon our individual and collective lives and that have brought in circumstances that tend to discourage. We thank God for Daniel, who, in spite of the sad condition of things and God’s needed government, purposed in his heart to obey the Lord, regardless of the circumstances or the consequences.
We thank God for young people of the Bible like Joseph, Daniel, Timothy and Samuel who stand before us and our young as shining examples of God’s promise to every generation, “Them that honor Me I will honor” (1 Sam. 2:30). Yet, it sobers us to see the state of the man and his family to whom these words were spoken. To Eli the Lord said, “Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before Me forever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from Me; for them that honor Me I will honor, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.”
As we read this issue, may Daniel’s life encourage us, whether young or old, to walk before God and this world as His dearly beloved children and sons and to live to the honor of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Devotedness in Difficult Days
I would like to look at Daniel, not as a prophet, but as a saint and a servant of God. In him we get the moral features brought out that should always mark the servant in a day of ruin and confusion among God’s people. As we see the outward ruin of the church, many a heart has said, “I give up.” But we may be a Daniel in this day of confusion and ruin, if we only have faith and purpose like his. Ten points strike me in Daniel’s history.
1. a Separate Man
Nothing could exceed the ruin in Daniel’s day. God’s people were in captivity. The temple was destroyed and its vessels taken to Babylon. Daniel and his friends were captives of King Nebuchadnezzar, a godless monarch, who cared nothing for God or for His people. They had to undergo a three years’ curriculum at the college of Babylon, with all the surroundings of idolatry, and be subject to immense temptation to give up their faith and their Nazariteship.
This is where Daniel made his first stand. “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself” (Dan. 1:8). In plain language, he was a separate man.
Having refused the king’s portion, Daniel chooses, and is allowed, pulse and water. His action emboldens his fellows to join him, and we find God blesses them. “As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams” (Dan. 1:17). Their education was from God.
2. an Enlightened Man
“At the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in his realm” (Dan. 1:18-20). The examination day came, and these four young men came out at the top of the class.
The place these captive students get is a great encouragement. A devoted saint, in the long run, is ten times better than the most instructed worldly man, because he has light from God.
3. a Prayerful Man
When you come to the second chapter, you find Daniel in difficulties. The king had asked the most preposterous thing: He called on his wise men to recall and interpret a dream. All the wise men were to be cut off if they could not declare it. Unless they could meet this difficulty, there was nothing for them but the sword. But we find a very nice thing; Daniel goes to the king for time and to God for light. Daniel got his brethren together, and they had a prayer meeting. Are there difficulties in your way? Have a prayer meeting. He tells his brethren the difficulty, and they pray.
What is the result? “Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven” (Dan. 2:19). And what is the next thing? We see beautiful order in his soul.
4. a Praiseful Man
He has a worship meeting next; he blesses God. “Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever: for wisdom and might are His: and He changeth the times and seasons: He removeth kings, and setteth up kings: He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He revealeth the deep and secret things: He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with Him. I thank Thee, and praise Thee, O Thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of Thee: for Thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter” (Dan. 2:20-23). He had sought the fellowship of his brethren in the matter of prayer, and in his thanks to God he takes his brethren in. He has a deep sense in his soul of the blessedness of having to do with God.
5. a Prosperous Man
“Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king” (Dan. 2:48-49). Rewarded and exalted himself, he does not forget those who were at the prayer meeting. Everything is shared with them.
We are called to the enjoyment of God’s things, and to share these things with others is of immense importance. We are only vessels, and God puts the light in us; hence, whether it is the gospel or the truth connected with the church, we are responsible to circulate and pass it on.
6. a Faithful Man
The fifth and sixth chapters go together in illustrating this point. In the fifth he is brought in before King Belshazzar, and he is faithful indeed, as he foretells his doom. I am not speaking now of Daniel as a prophet, but as a saint. He is a fearless and faithful man; he is dependent on the Lord alone. He receives everything from the Lord for himself, and he has something for everybody else.
7. a Hated Man
Daniel’s faithfulness, trustworthiness and consequent promotion led to his being hated. The root of the hatred against Daniel was his ever-increasing promotion by the successive monarchs he served so faithfully. He was not only a man of excellent spirit, but a man of moral uprightness and integrity. “Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him” (Dan. 6:4). What a lovely character! Oh, how like Christ! “I find no fault in this man” was said about the blessed Lord, and here is His servant morally like Him.
Foiled in their effort to lower him in matters relating to the kingdom, his enemies take another course, and King Darius is tricked into signing a decree forbidding prayer to anyone but him. What effect has this edict on Daniel? None whatever! He does not alter his course but trusts in God.
8. a Preserved Man
“When Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and, his windows being open in his chamber towards Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God” (Dan. 6:10-11). Daniel’s action was based on the Word of God, which said that if His people were in captivity, they were to pray to Him and to look toward His house. As a result, he is cast into the den of lions. But the devoted man is the delivered man, and “no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God” (Dan. 6:23).
9. a Man Identified
With God’s People
Chapter 9 shows us Daniel again in prayer and deep humiliation before God on account of the sins and transgressions of His people. Nothing could exceed the moral beauty of this prayer. The one who is most clear of the sins confessed is the one who confesses them in the most reality to God. The sins of all Israel he owns as his, and while speaking in prayer, he is visited by Gabriel and sweetly instructed as to Israel’s full restoration (see Dan. 9:21-27). He really eats the sin offering before God.
10. a Man Greatly Beloved
In Daniel 10 he gets a wonderful revelation from the Lord. “Behold, a hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent” (Dan. 10:10-11). How near the Lord comes to him, as he says to him, “O Daniel, a man greatly beloved”! He entered into the sense of how deeply the Lord loved him. The sense of the love of God is deep joy to the soul.
May the Lord give us to be encouraged, as we see how God preserved this man who was devoted and separate and how God instructed, used and comforted him.
W. T. P. Wolston, adapted
Faithfulness in Changing Circumstances
We can scarcely conceive of a greater upheaval in young lives than that which Daniel and his companions experienced. Although doubtless they themselves were faithful to the Lord, they were destined to live in the day when Israel’s sin had come to a head. Having been deaf to all of God’s repeated entreaties through His prophets, Israel could no longer be owned as His people in an outward way. They were carried away captive into Babylon, and a foreign king now ruled over them. Most of the wealth was taken as well. More than this, as a result of treachery by their puppet king and his breaking of an oath sworn in the name of Jehovah, Nebuchadnezzar finally destroyed Jerusalem. The temple was also destroyed, as well as many of the houses, and the wall was broken down. The entire outward framework of Judaism was broken up, and the visible glory departed from Israel.
Daniel and his friends, as young men, were taken to Babylon, most likely deprived of the ability to sire children, given new names, made to learn a new language and embrace a new culture, and then pressed into the service of the foreign king who now ruled over them. It is true that they were sent to the best school, given good food, and doubtless treated reasonably well, given that they were captives. However, everything that they had held dear — homes, loved ones, associations, to say nothing of the outward worship of God — was violently taken away from them.
Fresh Challenges
In their new environment, they were constantly presented with fresh challenges and attacks, any one of which might well have shaken their faith and purpose. First of all, they had to choose whether to eat the king’s food contrary to the law of Moses or face the consequences. Later, the king asked his wise men not only to interpret a dream, but to tell him the dream itself — an unbelievable request. Daniel and his friends, as part of that company, faced certain death if they could not comply with this request. On another occasion, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had to decide whether to obey the king’s command to worship an idol or face death. All of this severely tested their faith.
In Daniel’s case, the trials were not over when he became old. He was called to pronounce God’s judgment on King Belshazzar when he must have been well over eighty years of age. Then Darius, the victorious Medo-Persian king, called him to take a leading role in his government. His trustworthiness and high position resulted in a plot against him, and once again he must decide whether to be faithful to the Lord or face possible death in a lions’ den. Yet the Lord delivered him out of it all and gave him wonderful prophecies concerning Israel’s final blessing.
Encouragement for Today
Surely all this is a real encouragement for us today. We too live in a day of outward ruin, and while God was pleased to give a most merciful revival of the truth of the church less than two hundred years ago, yet as the Lord’s coming draws near, we find a continual downhill slide, not only in the world, but also among God’s people. As a result of this, we too may suddenly face the disintegration of that which we thought was stable. As God and His claims are given up, the world seems to be spinning out of control. The moral breakdown during the past fifty years has been nothing short of precipitous and shows no sign of abating. Instability in governments and other institutions, combined with economic forces that man is unable to control, threaten to derail everything that was once considered to be secure. Add severe climate change to all this, and it is no wonder that men’s hearts are “failing them for fear,” as Scripture foretells.
In the spiritual realm, things are no better. The onslaughts of Satan have brought on the “perilous times” foretold in 2 Timothy 3, and bad doctrine and wrong practices are very evident in the great house of Christendom. In the midst of this disorder among those who profess Christ, we are finding a partial fulfillment of the word spoken by the Lord Jesus: “Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Matt. 24:12). Troubles of various kinds seem to succeed one another, and as fast as one is settled, another develops.
A Beacon to Follow
The example of Daniel, however, shines as a beacon for us to follow. He too had to see the breakup of all that he held dear, yet he and his friends remained faithful to the Lord in Babylon. Not only did they refuse to disobey the Lord’s commandments as given in the law, but they evidently took upon themselves the vow of Nazariteship, in order to be completely devoted to the Lord. This is clear from their refusal to drink the king’s wine, as well as not to eat the food he provided. The food supplied to them might well have contained that which was forbidden by the law, but there was no prohibition against drinking wine, unless one had taken the vow of a Nazarite. In all this they submitted fully to the circumstances in which the Lord had placed them, while trusting Him for strength to be faithful. The trials never seemed to end, and even in old age Daniel was tested as to his faithfulness and trust in the Lord.
In all of these experiences, Daniel and his friends might well have given in, excusing themselves on the ground that since all was lost as to Israel outwardly, they could hardly be expected to carry on as a faithful few in a foreign land. Yet God not only sustained them, but rewarded them, even in this world. Surely the Lord is the same today, and He will not only give us the strength to honor Him in a day of giving up, but will reward us, too. We do not look for present reward, but rather wait for the judgment seat of Christ. However, the word that was spoken in 1 Samuel 2:30 remains true today: “Them that honor Me I will honor, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.” God did reveal the secret itself: He walked with them in the fiery furnace; He shut the lions’ mouths! Those who seek the Lord’s interests in the day of His rejection will not only feel His mercies now, but, like Daniel, will reap a reward that will last for eternity.
W. J. Prost
The Life and Testimony of Daniel
Daniel and his three friends were given the position of being witnesses to the Gentile rulers that there is a God of heaven. Jerusalem was in ruins, along with the temple that had been destroyed. There was no longer a place on earth where Jehovah was known to dwell. In this vacuum of testimony Daniel and his three friends were taken to Babylon. They were given opportunity to represent God before the Gentile rulers, beginning with Nebuchadnezzar. These circumstances are particularly significant for the Christian today because, like Daniel, we live in a land to which we do not belong; our citizenship is heavenly. We belong to the kingdom of heaven, which has no visible governmental throne on earth. This kingdom is going to be taken to heaven at the close of the age. Meanwhile, it is our place to represent Christ while here on earth. Our participation with Christ in His reign is future, but our faithfulness now will determine our position in the future. May we be encouraged, in considering the first six chapters of Daniel, by seeing how he represented God — how he proved by his faith and obedience that the God of heaven rules over the kings on earth.
Preparation by Separation
Daniel writes with faith and optimism about his background history in chapter 1; there is no complaint of what he had lost, but rather appreciation for the Lord’s blessing. From the very beginning, Daniel recognized that God had brought him into favor with the prince of the eunuchs. He, along with his three friends, responded by keeping themselves separate and pure from what would cause them to lose their identity with God by association with the gods of Babylon. They requested pulse (grain) to eat. Grain was what the children of Israel first ate after arriving in the land of Canaan; it is a picture to us of heavenly food. In order for Daniel and his three friends to be strong witnesses of the God of heaven, they must maintain their outward identity with their God. The Lord proved that this food, which identified them with Him, made them look better than those who ate the king’s provision. This was a witness to the power of God in the palace. Melzar allowed them to eat their own food. Separation to God by the food they ate was even more important than maintaining their Hebrew names which would connect them with the nation of Israel. God is supreme, and He honored the four students who honored Him; they are found to be ten times better than all the others.
There Is a God in Heaven
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in chapter 2 is a prophecy of the future of his realm, but it appears that he had forgotten the dream, though he must have realized that it had an important significance. This was allowed of God to bring Daniel, His representative, on the scene to make known the dream. The magicians of Babylon said that none could show the dream for the king but the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. But Daniel was sent to prove that he had a relationship with God and could make known the dream. Daniel asks for time and goes to God in prayer with his three friends. The Lord makes known to him the dream. His first response is to praise God for revealing the dream and its interpretation. The ability to make known the dream was proof to all that it was from God and that the interpretation was real. Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar, “There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days” (vs. 28). The end of the dream refers to the coming kingdom of the Lord Jesus in verse 44: “In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”
We have in the interpretation of this dream a wonderful revelation of the span of time from Nebuchadnezzar until the last Gentile ruler. The Lord Jesus, the son of David, is the little stone that will smite the Gentiles and take the kingdoms of the earth. Daniel, who was one of David’s seed but was deprived of participating in an earthly kingdom, could look forward to the kingdom of the promised seed which would establish the everlasting kingdom. Today we live at the time when we expect the Lord Jesus to descend from heaven, first to take His heavenly people home to glory, and then to bring us back with Him when He comes to reign on earth. It is important for us, in the meanwhile, to be His faithful representatives on earth, as Daniel was in Babylon. “Ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God” (1 Peter 2:11-12).
We see in this chapter how Nebuchadnezzar is brought to recognize, “Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings” (vs. 47). This is the beginning of the testimony to the king regarding the God of heaven, but more witness would be needed from Daniel and his three friends.
Idolatry and the Fiery Furnace
In chapter 3 we see that Nebuchadnezzar uses the imagery of his dream to make a golden idol of himself for all to worship. Where faith is lacking, only the outward things are seen. The king seeks to unify the kingdom under himself by force, but forgets the God who gave him the kingdom; this is idolatry. Daniel is not singled out for this trial and deliverance, but Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego prove the power of God to deliver from the worst judgment the king can bring upon them. They, by their faith in God, “quenched the violence of fire” (Heb. 11:34) and proved that their God was the only God to be worshipped. “Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent His angel, and delivered His servants that trusted in Him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God” (vs. 28). Yet the king does not admit that he must also bow to the One whom they worship; he only speaks of Him as the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. More work is necessary in his soul.
From Godlessness to Worship
Chapter 4 is written by Nebuchadnezzar himself. It is beautiful to see this high monarch showing the signs and wonders that God had wrought with him. The king is able to tell his own dream this time, while Daniel listens. Twice in the chapter Daniel is referred to by Nebuchadnezzar as “Daniel [God is Judge], whose name was Belteshazzar” (vss. 8,19). The faith of Daniel enabled him, in this most difficult position, to interpret the dream that pronounced judgment on the king. After hearing the dream, he was astonished one hour before speaking. Like his God, he was not hasty to judge (see John 8:6-7). Only when the king prompted him again to speak did he give the interpretation. May those around us in the world see in us that non-condemning spirit. May they also understand that we have no desire for the kingdom they seek to enjoy.
After the judgment was pronounced, God waited twelve months. But the knowledge of what was to happen to the king was not enough to make him bow the knee. Is not this also true of us? Mere understanding of the future is not sufficient; we must learn to walk by faith according to our knowledge of prophecy. It took the sevenfold governmental judgment upon the king to break him down — living like an animal. Then he looked up and acknowledged God as his God: “At the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation.” He was brought into a personal relationship with God. “I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and His ways judgment: and those that walk in pride He is able to abase” (vss. 34,37).
Judgment of the Profane
There is no waiting time after the announcement of the judgment upon Belshazzar in chapter 5. When Daniel was called to interpret the writing on the wall, he was identified by the king as one of the captives taken from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel was linked with the place from which the judgment was coming. The God that once dwelt in Jerusalem now ruled from heaven and had sent His angel to write on the wall. Belshazzar along with his wives had used the holy vessels from the temple to praise other gods. Daniel was an old man and Belshazzar much younger; Daniel first rehearses the warning that God had given his father Nebuchadnezzar, and then he reprimands him saying, “Thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified” (vss. 22-23). This was rebellion, and it brought down God’s judgment. So the kingdom is passed to Darius the Median.
The Envy of Self-Seekers
We cannot help but think from reading chapter 6 that everyone in the palace knew that Daniel had interpreted the writing on the wall about the fall of Babylon. When Darius took the city, he set Daniel over the whole kingdom. This exalted position put Daniel to a new kind of test — he was subject to the envy of the princes and presidents. For many this may be the hardest kind of test. We may observe that Daniel did not change his habit of praying three times a day. This was the source of his strength; the God of the temple was the God of heaven that had controlled the kings of the earth throughout his life. No threat of being thrown into a den of lions would change his prayer life. He did not love his new position of ruler more than the God who gave it, and the threat of death would not turn him aside from complete dependence on God. Remembering this example of Daniel may well help us when we are tempted to use our position or authority to help us out of a difficult situation. May we not forget that Daniel’s God in heaven is also our God, whom we know as our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
D. C. Buchanan
Daniel, a Godly Jew in a Gentile World
Whatever the state of things on the earth, God never leaves Himself without a witness. He may punish His people on account of their unfaithfulness and their sins, and He may permit them to be carried into captivity, yet, in the midst of the darkness by which they are surrounded, He will rekindle the torch of His truth, in testimony to Himself and as encouragement to those who cleave to Him. He will cause His people, whom He has chastised, to know that they are still the objects of His care and love and that their oppressors, however seemingly exalted and mighty, are subject and accountable to Him.
God’s Purpose
and Nebuchadnezzar’s
In permitting Nebuchadnezzar to carry Daniel and his friends away as captives, God was accomplishing His own purpose, but Nebuchadnezzar, having obtained power over them, sought to make them serve his will. The consequence was that a conflict immediately arose between the thoughts of God and the thoughts of the king of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar wanted to adorn his palace with those of his captives “in whom was no blemish, but well favored, and skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans” (Dan. 1:4). The world is always ready to make the people of God its servants and to obtain light from their knowledge, but it cannot tolerate them if they are faithful to God, obedient to His Word, and separate from evil. The king, therefore, would have these captives to be fed with his own meat and to drink of his own wine, that, after three years, they might stand in his presence (vs. 5). He would have them to cease being Jews, to become Chaldeans, and to mingle with their new religion the light they had received from the oracles of God. Such is the origin of philosophy even in Christian times — that philosophy against which Paul earnestly warns us as being “after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Col. 2:8).
It is in connection with this command of Nebuchadnezzar that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah are brought into prominence (vs. 6). Their very names, when understood, proclaimed to whom they belonged and the character of their God: Daniel means “God’s judge”; Hananiah, “whom Jehovah graciously gave”; Mishael, “who (is) as God”; Azariah, “whom Jehovah aids.” The prince of the eunuchs, instinctively feeling that such names would not suit his master’s court, gave them others, all of which were more or less connected with Babylon’s idols (vs. 7).
Daniel’s Purpose of Heart
The question now raised for Daniel and his companions was whether, for the sake of the world’s favor and advancement, they would yield to the king’s command. The answer was already decided: “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself” (vs. 8). As a Jew, obedient to the Word of God, it was impossible for Daniel to eat the food of the Gentiles. Both the fat and the blood of those animals, which were permitted in Babylon, were forbidden, and it was only of the clean beasts and birds that a Jew was allowed to partake. Unless, therefore, Daniel and his companions were prepared to surrender their faith and to renounce the word of their God, they could not accept the royal provision. And there is another instruction — if an application may be made to ourselves. The food of the world, that is, what man feeds on in his alienated condition from God as his strength and sustenance, is always destructive to the spiritual life of the Christian. If the Christian desires to be a true Nazarite and walk in the path of holy separation unto God, he must always turn aside from the wine — the joys of earth. The Apostle thus writes: “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). In the attitude of Daniel we have then an example for all believers, and the closer it is followed, the more they will enjoy the conscious favor and blessing of God, and, as morally dead to things here, they will the more fully realize their true portion in Christ.
Favor Before Men
We read that “God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs” (vs. 9). “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him,” and hence it was that the prince of the eunuchs, notwithstanding his fear of the king, granted through Melzar the request of Daniel that he and his companions might be tested for ten days with pulse to eat and water to drink, instead of the king’s food and wine. God was with them, and at the end of the ten days, “their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat” (vs. 15). Even Melzar could not deny that they had flourished on their simple regimen, and from then on he gave them pulse.
There are many of the people of God who can walk in the narrow path of devoted discipleship as long as they are in the enjoyment of the fellowship of saints and in the midst of happy spiritual influences. But it is sometimes seen that such, when they are in a worldly circle, are apt to fall in with the practices and habits of that society, and thus to lose their distinctness of walk, even if their testimony is not altogether extinguished. It is therefore most encouraging to see the spectacle presented by these four young Jewish men. They, being deprived of all the privileges of the temple, being captives at the mercy of a heathen monarch, tested with every sort of alluring temptation, they maintained the Nazarite’s place of true separation through obedience to the Word of God. Doubtless it was the faith and energy of Daniel that acted on his companions and led them to follow him in the path of God’s will, but if so, the others were willing to follow, and all four present a striking proof of the all-sufficiency of God’s grace to sustain His servants in the most unfavorable circumstances that could possibly be imagined.
God-Given Knowledge
The significant statement follows: “As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams” (vs. 17). “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant” (Psa. 25:14). This principle is always true, and it is seen in all dispensations. It is clear that God gave these four young men wisdom because of their separation in heart and life from the defiling evils around. It is indeed always true that the nearer we are practically to the Lord, the more fully He communicates to us of His mind, but notice, too, that it is “in all learning and wisdom.” Christian students of modern days are too often betrayed into the thought that for the acquisition of human “learning and wisdom” they are dependent upon their own industry and power. The consequence is that the years of their student life are often marked by spiritual declension, if not by open backsliding. The example of these four young men might well teach another lesson.
At the close of the verse Daniel is singled out from his fellows, for we are told, undoubtedly in view of his special work and mission, that he had understanding in all visions and dreams. In this we see that in all the circumstances through which God leads His people, He is forming them as vessels for His service. On the human side, it was a calamity that had befallen Daniel; on God’s side, this seeming calamity was but His way to form Daniel for his mission to carry His testimony into the court of the mighty Gentile monarch. The next three verses (vss. 18-20) give the result before the king of the training to which all these selected young men had been subjected. They were brought into the royal presence, and Nebuchadnezzar himself examined the students of his college: He “communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm” (vss. 19-20). They might each have thus adopted the language of the psalmist, “Thou through Thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for Thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep Thy precepts” (Psa. 119:98-100). Would that the lesson might be laid to heart by all Christians of the present day!
E. Dennett, adapted
Separation, Dependence and Suffering
Let us look at Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The king tests the fidelity of these men, as to whether they will give up the worship of the true God and bow down to the great image that Nebuchadnezzar set up. It reminds us of a passage in Philippians, where the Apostle speaks of Christ being magnified in his body “whether ... by life or by death” (Phil. 1:20). The bodies of men had been the platform on which Satan displayed his power, but God now says that He is going to take up that same vessel and make it the platform on which He will display the power of Christ. The Apostle, in his sufferings for the Philippians, knew that it would be for their blessing. That is the meaning of the words, “My earnest expectation and my hope” (vs. 20). It is a wonderful thing to have fellowship with the purposes of God concerning Christ. Here, in Daniel, are people who had this same thought before them, according to what was then known, and hence we find that the king is obliged to own (Dan. 3:28) that they have “yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.”
These men were bound hand and foot, the emblem of weakness, and then thrown into a furnace hotter than it was usually heated, that is, the perfection of malignant power to destroy them. Was not God magnified in their bodies? And what is the result? They come up out of the furnace with not even the smell of fire on them. More than that, there was companionship. “I see four men ... walking ... and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”
They were cast down bound into the midst of this furnace, and there is not a word of complaint. They could say, “We are not careful to answer thee in this matter.” They yielded themselves entirely into the hands of God, in patient meekness. They were prepared to suffer at any cost. God was their stay and strength, and God intervened for them. They are the exhibition, under the circumstances in which they were, of that blessed power of God by which He can magnify Himself in bodies like yours and mine.
How little is Christ magnified in our bodies! Alas! there is a great deal of the magnifying of the world in our bodies, and of self and of the flesh, but how little there is of the magnifying of Christ! It is humbling to think of it. If you look around and see the bodies of God’s people and look at what they are, what are they an exhibition of? All too often it is the power of the flesh and the power of the world and the power of nature, but very little of the power of Christ. That “Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether ... by life or by death” was Paul’s desire. Oh, may it be ours likewise!
I believe those principles that come out of these first three chapters of Daniel, namely, separation to God at every cost, thorough dependence upon Him in difficulties, and patience in suffering for His name, are three great principles that ought to mark the people of God today.
W. T. Turpin, adapted
The New Face of Atheism
Sam Harris, an American neuroscientist and ardent critic of religion, now considers himself part of a loosely defined group known as “the new atheists.” In a recent interview, he explained this view by stating that he now believes in something that certain people would call “God.” Furthermore, he anticipates writing a book that would “celebrate the spiritual aspect of human existence and explain how we can live moral and spiritual lives without religion.” While he continues to believe that religious faith is possibly the most destructive force in the world, he concedes that there is much that humans may never know empirically (such as what happens after death). He also admits that things like compassion, awe, devotion, ecstasy and a sense of the sacred are lost on much of the atheist community. When closely questioned, he apparently said that while he believes in “an impersonal force,” he does not believe in “a personal deity who hears prayers and takes an interest in how people live.” To get around this, he says that he believes in “spirituality,” but not God, because he believes that “spiritual experience and ethical behavior ... are essential to human happiness.”
It might interest Harris, and others like him, to realize that his mindset is nothing new, but it was described in the Word of God thousands of years ago. In Psalm 14:1 we read, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” While this statement would certainly include the one who would describe himself as a true atheist, yet the real meaning of this verse is just what Harris is saying. Because man is a spiritual being and has a God-conscious part to his makeup, he values such things as morality, rationality, love and other attributes that are peculiar to man and which distinguish him from the lower creation. He values that dimension in himself, and in society in general, that elevates man above a beast.
A Personal God
However, man without God has a will that is at enmity with God, and this vaunts itself in rebellion against a God who takes a personal interest in him and who might call him to account. To say, “There is no God,” often does not imply the complete denial of a first cause, but rather the denial of a God who is concerned about man and who is involved in the way he lives. Instead, man postulates a so-called “life force” that has all the attributes of God in terms of creatorial power, yet ultimately is supposed to take no interest in what is created. As another has said, “This is the secret of all error in practice and in human reasoning. The more we examine the whole course of human action, the faults of Christians, or the various wanderings of philosophy, the more we shall find that ‘no God’ is at the root of it all.” It is man taking no notice of God and seeking to deny His existence, although His conscience tells him that there is a God. This attitude will find its zenith in the antichrist, who will “honor the god of forces” (Dan. 11:38), that is, he will ally himself with Satan, who for a time will give him power. Whatever gives him power becomes his god, and in the exercise of his own will, he takes no notice of the true God. In doing so, he acts like a beast and is called one by God.
Other Gods
Of course, there are variations of this theme. The so-called “New Age” philosophy admits to there being a God but says that we are all ultimately gods and that god is in everything. Others, who perhaps pay lip service to some kind of religion, are increasingly adopting the view that many religions can lead to “eternal life” and that all roads lead to the same place. Some are seeking spiritual truth outside of any religion, while others approach it much like a “smorgasbord,” where you pick and choose what suits you or what seems to work. In many cases, the morality taught in the Word of God has been borrowed, but then effectively nullified by being mixed with human philosophy.
Needless to say, all this is not only contrary to the Word of God, but ultimately irrational. Another has commented that while we talk of common sense, we must remember that it is God who gives it to us and who ultimately maintains it for us. When man gives up God, we find that Romans 1:22 becomes evident: “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” Several years ago, a man was given the assignment to prepare a constitution and form of government without reference to absolutes and a moral code. Not only did he find it impossible, but he almost lost his reason in the process.
Responsibility to God
Man cannot escape who he is and his responsibility to God. What passes for atheism is nothing more than a miserable attempt on man’s part to deny that we live in a moral universe and that we are responsible to God. There are such things as morality and love, and it is God who created them and who maintains them for us. When all this is given up, the horrors of anarchy are the result, as man becomes little more than a beast.
How comforting it is to know, as believers, that “God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:9). There is a day coming, after God’s judgment is brought down on this world, when “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:9).
W. J. Prost
Dare to Be a Daniel
Standing by a purpose true,
Heeding God’s command,
Honor them, the faithful few!
All hail to Daniel’s band!
Refrain:
Dare to be a Daniel!
Dare to stand alone!
Dare to have a purpose firm!
Dare to make it known.
Many mighty men are lost
Daring not to stand,
Who for God had been a host
By joining Daniel’s band.
P. Bliss