Revision as of 17:49, 14 December 2023

Theological Proposition/Focus: God has sovereignly set standards for His people to follow.

Homiletical Proposition/Application: As we begin a new year may we stand firm even when no one else is watching.

Introduction:

Image: Prayer Warriors

I have stated that I want us to double down on prayer. So, I thought to myself. Who is someone in the Bible that is known for prayer. Daniel is someone who comes to mind. As we move into 2024 I want us to emphasize prayer and realize that we must maintain and practice our faith outside the walls of this building. So we are going to start a series on Daniel.

Text: Daniel 1:1-21, read with each point

Setting the Stage:

In 722 BC the Northern nation of Israel fell to the Assyrian empire. However, the southern nation of Judah remained in the land. In 612 BC the capital of the Assyrian empire fell to the forces of Babylon and Media. In 605 BC Nebuchadnezzar attacked the city of Jerusalem, captured a number of Israelites, and hauled them back to Babylon. Daniel and his friends were part of this group of people who were displaced. Over the decades to follow Nebuchadnezzar attached Jerusalem two more times. In 586 the walls of Jerusalem were breached and almost every Jew who was not killed in the attack was carried off to Babylon.

Preview: As Christ followers we are called to live in the world but not of the world. Therefore, you can expect to face many temptations. As you face temptations just remember that obedience is worth it.

Body

We are called to live life in the world but not of the world (1-6).

The text starts of with an important historical marker in verse 1. The events in Daniel are contextualized within the world of Nebuchadnezzar's conquest of Jerusalem. However, the first part of verse 2 provides a vital theological commentary.

In the ANE worldview kings go to war on behalf of their god. Victory shows the superiority of their god as they acquire territory and people for their god. However, as stated in Daniel 1:2 this conquest is not because some false god is superior to Adoni. This conquest is at the bequest of Adoni. Elohim, Adoni, the Lord is allowing Nebuchadnezzar to be part of His unfolding plan and part of that plan involves removing His people from their land, from their temple, from the comfort of the promised land.

We need to remember that as Christ-followers we are not of this world. However, we live within this world.

Following Jesus needs to be a part of your life outside the walls of this church (1-2).

God moved his people outside of the promised land. He placed them in a foreign land, with a foreign religion, foreign customs, and foreign influence. Yet, this was not an excuse for the people to abandon God. Verse 2 made it clear that God was still in control. Even though it seemed that the gods of the Babylonians were in charge, that was not the case. God was still God.

Here is the reality, when you leave this building today you will enter a world that rejects, denies, and even mocks the God we serve. That does not mean we stop following Jesus. No following Jesus is a part of life regardless of which land we find ourselves.

What happens next furthers this idea. We learn that some of the best of Israel are brought into service to Nebuchadnezzar. The use of the title Israelite in verse 3 is significant. These individuals are more properly from the nation of Judah. However, the use of Israelite reminds us that these are not just any people, these are God's people. God is allowing, even more, placing His people into the positions where he wants them to be. The passage continues to remind us that these were the cream of the crop but remember that their first quality is that of being God's people.

You have been placed on the mission field in your day-to-day life (3-5).

If you are a Christ-follower then you are one of God's people. But more than that, God has placed you specifically into a mission field. When you leave the confines of this building you enter a foreign land and are representing the God of the universe to this foreign land. Much like Daniel and the other Israelite nobles, we need to recognize that we have been placed into a specific place as missionaries.

Moreover, the land in which we have been placed would teach you otherwise if given the chance. In verse 4 we learn that Ashpenaz was given the task of teaching these young men the language and literature of Babylon. The language of Babylon was Aramaic, a language close to Hebrew that these young nobles probably learned quickly. However, the literature of Babylon was written largely in Akkadian a complicated language that requires learning hundreds of symbols. Moreover, the method used to teach Akkadian involved copying significant Akkadian texts, many of which would have been religious. In short, these young nobles were to be enculturated into Babylonian life. Nevertheless, as we will see their retained their identity as followers of God.

We must remember that while we live in the world,

No matter your title or position remember you follow Christ (6).

In verse 6 we see the names of 4 of the young nobles. Daniel means "God is my judge" Hannaniah means "YHWH has acted graciously." Azariah means "YHWH has helped" Mishael means "Who is like God." In verse 7 we will see an attempt to change their identity but right here and now Daniel is reminding us that these men from Judah were God's people.

We need to remember that we follow Christ! Our identity is first and foremost as followers of Christ.

Image: My mission field, LNK - what is your mission field?

We need to realize we live in the mission field. What is your mission field? Maybe it is work, maybe a group you do a hobby with? My mission field is the Lincoln Airport. My reality is that I spend most of my week here at the church. No surprise there, so I need a mission field. My choice has been to make that the airport. Why do so many of my examples involve airplanes? Simple, because if I am not at the church, or in my office at home studying then you can bet I am at the airport. That is my hobby, but since it is my place outside the four walls of this building it is also my mission field!

MTR: Reflect on the world in which you live and consider "What is my mission field?"

Since we live in the world but are not of the world it is natural for temptation to arise.

Therefore, you can expect to encounter temptation (7-10).

The first major aspect of temptation that arises for Daniel and his three friends is a temptation to forget their identity. In verse seven we see that these four men whose names reflected their identity as followers of the one true God are forced to take on new names. These news names are Babylonian names that extol Babylonian gods. The temptation at this point would have been to abandon their loyalty to God. Clearly, nobody understood their loyalty to God. Clearly, nobody understood their identity.

On the mission field you will encounter people who do not understand that you follow Christ (7).

If you are loyal to Christ then you are a bit of an enigma in the world. Seriously, you are. People will not understand why you make sacrifices to be at church on Sunday. People won't understand why you skip school activities that are on Wednesday nights to go to this thing called AWANA. People won't understand your decisions, they won't understand your identity, and they may even try to change your identity.

In fact, you might find that you are presented with temptations to sin.

On the mission field you will be presented with seemingly minor temptations (8-9).

In verses 8 and 9 Daniel decides to take a stand. He was apparently willing to participate in Babylonian education, he was even willing to accept that they would call him by a different name but for Daniel the line was crossed when he was asked to eat food that was off-limits to him. Why was this food off-limits? The text doesn't say, it merely says that it would defile him. Some have suggested that it was probably offered to idols, the problem with that is that vegetables would also have been likely offered to idols. So what was the problem with the food? I don't know and it doesn't really matter! What matters is that however insignificant or significant the problem was, Daniel could not, in good conscience, eat the food. the text merely tells us that Daniel felt it would defile him. So, what does Daniel do? He chooses to obey. Daniel carefully chooses to obey!

On the mission field you will be presented with reasonable arguments to disobey (10).

The official, upon hearing Daniel's request makes a very logical argument. If you don't eat right you will not perform well. And if you don't perform well we will all be in trouble with the ruler of this land! This is a logical statement! Here is what we need to realize. Often we can use logic to justify sin. Really, we do it a lot! It's not gossip, I am just sharing information that needs to be out there! Or I was speeding but everyone else was driving that fast. How about, I decided to skip my devotions because my heart wasn't in it today.

MTR: Ask yourself, what temptations am I facing on the mission field?

Remember, that obedience is worth it even when it seems nobody is watching (11-21)!

Faced with a logical argument for why Daniel should just suck it up and eat the food we anticipate an answer. Really, nobody would know, nobody would care. The easy answer is to just eat the food. However, Daniel is faithful to his devotion to his God. But more than just faithful to his God, Daniel trusts his God. Daniel meets the logic of the official with his own logic. Daniel's logic is really pretty cool! I hear what Ashpenaz is saying and it makes sense but that is not how my God works so try it my God's way and see what happens! 10 days would have been enough time to see the effects but not so long that irreversible damage was done.

On the mission field you will be presented with opportunities to stand in obedience (11-14).

I want you to realize that you are going to be faced with opportunities to stand in obedience! It might be simple like inviting someone to church, playing a Christian song, or choosing to prioritize church at a particular time. You may have opportunities to stand in a big way but don't get too focused on the big things when there are a bunch of little ways that you can stand and these little areas are incredibly impactful.

On the mission field you will be presented with opportunities to see God's blessing (15-17).

In verses 15-17 we see the result of the test. Daniel and the other three are blessed greatly. Their obedience has resulted in God's blessing.

Verses 18-21 are really profound from a literary standpoint. Babylon has done everything to erase God. They took people out of the land, they plundered the temple, they changed their names, they enculturated them, but 18-21 reminds us that you cannot erase God. The name Nebuchadnezzar has not been used since verse 1 (instead the word king was used). Now, 17 verses later in verse 18 we see it is time for Nebuchadnezzar to be contrasted with the real ruler God. Our four men are presented to Nebuchadnezzar (using their Hebrew names interestingly) and what does this king find has happened to these individuals who refused to give up on their God? In every matter, they are 10 times better than everyone else. These foreigners are doing a better job than those who were trained their entire life! Something is different, these individuals have chosen God and Nebuchadnezzar can't help but notice. The theme of God's superiority will play out throughout the remainder of the text but we must see it here and remind ourselves that.

On the mission field others should notice that there is something different about you (18-21).

So, what do we do with this?

MTR: Look for opportunities to give God the glory for the blessing you receive on the field.