Today’s Reading: Daniel

Jerusalem had been attacked and God’s people had been brought to Babylon where they would spend the next 70 years in exile. The king ordered to bring to the palace some of the young men from Judah’s royal family and other noble families who were strong, healthy, and good-looking, as well as knowledgeable in every branch of learning — gifted with knowledge and good judgment. These young men did not have to suddenly prepare themselves for this opportunity; it was given to them because they were ready. They had spent their time learning and listening. They were already healthy and strong.

The king wanted their loyalty so he treated all of the young men very well. They were given fine wine and delicious foods to eat, but the meats prepared were probably unclean by Jewish standards, such as pork. The custom in Babylon was to dedicate their wine to their gods so drinking the wine would have been disloyal to God. Everyone else compromised their standards but there were four young men who remained loyal to the God of Israel. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah chose a more excellent way, denying themselves the rich foods and choosing vegetables and water instead (1:8-16).

God gave these young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams (Daniel 1:17). No one impressed the king more than these four young men. They were found to be ten times more capable than any of the others.

THEY WERE CHOSEN BECAUSE THEY WERE READY; THEY CHOSE EXCELLENCE, SO GOD MADE THEM EXCELLENT.

Tell me what I dreamed and what it means — this was the unreasonable demand of King Nebuchadnezzar to the wise men of Babylon. When they were unable to do this, he ordered their execution. When the officers came to kill Daniel, he asked for more time and then he went to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (whom the king had renamed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) and asked them to pray. When faced with a difficult situation, a matter of life or death, Daniel gathered his friends together and they prayed for God’s intervention.

God revealed the dream and its meaning to Daniel, who in turn gave God all the glory when he explained to the king why God was revealing this dream. Daniel in essence said – What you have asked is impossible, but nothing is impossible for God. God doesn’t have to explain this dream, but He has chosen to reveal the future to you because He wants you to understand what is in your heart (2:27-30).

Then the king appointed Daniel to a high position and gave him many valuable gifts. He made Daniel ruler over the whole province of Babylon, as well as chief over all his wise men. At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be in charge of all the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court. – Daniel 2:48-49

When God revealed the meaning of the dream, King Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged that Daniel’s God is the greatest of gods. He did not recognize God as the ONLY true God, just that He was the Most High of all gods. He did not accept that God was the only one to be worshiped. In his arrogance, the king made a 90 foot by 9 foot gold statue in the province where Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were in leadership. He commanded that everyone bow and worship this statue.

Once more, these three young men were given the opportunity to choose excellence, even when faced with the possibility of death. King Nebuchadnezzar may not have recognized who the only true God is, but these young men did. Their new positions of authority and power did not boost their pride, rather they remained humbly faithful to their God. They refused to bow to the statue.

THEIR COURAGE WAS EVIDENCE OF THEIR EXCELLENCE DISPLAYED IN THEIR ACTIONS.

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. BUT EVEN IF HE DOESN’T, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will NEVER serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” – Daniel 3:16-18

In anger, Nebuchadnezzar heated the furnace seven times hotter than usual. In arrogance, this king had Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego bound and thrown into the furnace. In shock, he watched as four men walked around the fire unbound and unharmed! In response, Nebuchadnezzar ordered them to step out of the fire. In amazement, he took note that their hair was not singed, their clothing was not scorched, and the smell of smoke was oddly absent.

A similar incident happened to Daniel during the reign of King Darius. When plans were made to place Daniel over the entire empire, the other administrators reacted in jealousy and formed a plot against him. They stroked the pride of King Darius and tricked him into issuing a decree that no one could pray to any god except the king himself.

But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down AS USUAL in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, JUST AS HE HAD ALWAYS DONE, giving thanks to his God. Then the officials went together to Daniel’s house and found him praying and asking for God’s help. – Daniel 6:10-11

Daniel was not praying because he was now in a difficult situation and needed rescuing; he prayed just as he had always done. Three times a day, without fail, Daniel took the time to direct all of his attention to the God he had given first place in his life. And let’s not miss the initial focus of Daniel’s prayer — thanksgiving. Daniel started by giving thanks to God before he asked for God’s help.

DANIEL PRAYED TO GOD, JUST AS HE HAD ALWAYS DONE; HE TRUSTED GOD, LIKE ALWAYS.

As a result of his decree, King Darius had no choice but to follow through with the punishment as declared in the new law — Daniel must be thrown into the den of lions. Was Daniel scared? Did he question his decision? I choose to believe that Daniel reacted the same way his friends had — he trusted in God to save him, but also loved God enough to say, “But even if He doesn’t…”

The next morning, the king hurried to the lion’s den and called out to Daniel. Daniel answered, “Long live the king! My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty” (Daniel 6:20-22).

As a result of Daniel’s faithfulness and his testimony of how God had rescued him from what seemed an impossible situation, God was glorified and given the praise. I pray those around us can see that we serve God faithfully and that we trust in Him through all situations. This kind of faithfulness starts in our quiet times with the Lord. It is in the intimate moments with God that He takes us deeper in our relationship with Him and draws us closer to Him, creating fellowship and oneness with Him.

I have no idea what you are going through right now, but I pray that the depth of your daily private times of fellowship and oneness with God give you the strength of faith to trust in Him. I pray you believe that He can rescue you just as He rescued Daniel. I pray He will strengthen your faith and give you the courage to say — I know my God is able to rescue me from all of this but, even if He doesn’t, I choose to trust in Him, give thanks to Him, and spend time daily praying to Him.