Tag: Daniel

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1 Peter Devotionals

Living as exiles in Babylon

1 Peter

She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings. (1 Peter 5:13)

During our summer series at my church, our pastor was going through the book of Daniel.

And as I have been reading through 1 Peter, I can’t help but wonder how much the book of Daniel was in Peter’s mind as he wrote this book.

He calls his readers exiles in this world (1:1, 2:11), just as Daniel and his friends were exiles in Babylon.

Peter himself considered himself to be in “Babylon.” (Babylon, by the way, was often used as a code name for Rome in Peter’s time.)

Daniel had a living hope, namely the hope of resurrection. (Daniel 12:2, 13; 1 Peter 1:3)

Daniel’s friends had their faith literally tested through fire. (Daniel 3, 1 Peter 1:7)

Daniel, in his test of faith, literally had to face roaring lions. (Daniel 6, 1 Peter 5:8)

You see the Lord hearing the prayers of Daniel and his friends while opposing their enemies. (Daniel 1-3, 6; 1 Peter 3:12)

You see the Lord exalting Daniel and his friends while humbling proud kings. (Daniel 1-5; 1 Peter 5:5-6)

When Daniel and his friends were suffering unfair treatment, you can see them doing a lot of the things Peter talks about (1 Peter 2:12-20, 3:13-17, 4:12-19, 5:6-10).

And finally, we see in Daniel the glorious truth that in this darkened world, our God still reigns. (Daniel 2:44, 4:34, 6:26, 7:13-14, 27; 1 Peter 4:11, 5:11)

We are exiles in this world. We don’t really belong here. And in this broken world, there may be times we go through suffering. But through our trials and struggles, let us learn from Daniel and Peter.

In short,

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.

Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.

Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.

The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little while.

To him be dominion forever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:6-11)

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Hebrews

When we trust God

Hebrews

Have you ever noticed the people that the writer of Hebrews mentions as “paragons” of faith in verse 32? Most of them were hardly paragons.

Samuel, though he was a great judge and prophet, failed greatly when it came to raising his sons.

And while David was the greatest king in Israel’s history, he stumbled badly twice, once in his sin with Bathsheba, and once in counting his fighting men out of his pride.

Yet at least for the most part, these were good and faithful men.

The rest?

Most people when they think about Gideon only think about his triumph over the Midianites. But after that, his actions were hardly stellar.

He took vengeance on two cities that refused to help him in his fight against the Midianites.

Then, although he refused kingship, he nevertheless started to act like one taking multiple wives, and even naming his son Abimelech which means, “My father is king.”

More, he made a golden ephod which was usually a garment that priests used for consulting God. So it almost looks like he was trying to take on that duty as well.

Worse, the people started to worship that ephod and it became a snare to him and his family.

Barak? He refused to go to war against Israel’s oppressors unless Deborah the prophetess went with him.

Samson? Sure he brought a measure of deliverance to the Israelites from the Philistines. But he broke all his Nazirite vows in the process, drinking wine, touching dead carcasses, and allowing his hair to be cut.

More, he was sexually immoral and vindictive. The fact that he delivered the Israelites seemed more incidental than intentional on his part.

Jephthah? By a foolish vow he made, he either unintentionally was forced to put his daughter into the service of the Lord, never to marry or have children, or he actually sacrificed his daughter on an altar, completely contrary to the commands of God.

Why in the world, are these latter 4 mentioned as paragons of faith?

Maybe for the simple reason that they are not paragons.

They were ordinary sinners just like us. They did many awful things. But when they actually did put their trust in God, they did awesome things.

What can we learn from them? God can use you to do great things if you’ll just trust in him day to day.

But when you fail to do so, you are also capable of doing horrific things.

How people will look at you at the end of your life will greatly depend on how you live.

Will you consistently, day in and day out, put your trust in God? Then people will look at you as they do with Daniel and his friends. As men that shut the mouths of lions and quenched the fury of the flames.

But if you are one day trusting him, and one day living for yourself, you’ll find yourself with the legacy of a Samson or Gideon. People who accomplished great things when trusting God but making an utter of mess of things when they didn’t.

Which will you choose?

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Daniel 2

Integrity

Daniel and Lions

We now come back to Babylon where Daniel was still residing. A man named Darius was ruling as king there.

This is not, by the way, Darius the Great who is later mentioned in the book of Ezra.

It is not entirely clear who he was, but some speculate that he is known in secular history as Gubaru, who was governor over Babylon for fourteen years under Cyrus.

It is also possible that Darius was another title for Cyrus himself.

At any rate, Daniel had found favor in the eyes of Darius, and because of how well he had distinguished himself, he was about to be named as prime minister in Babylon.

The other administrators and satraps were none too pleased that this Jew from a conquered nation would be set over them, and so they tried to find anything in Daniel that would discredit him.

To their dismay, they could find nothing. It says in verse 4,

They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. (Daniel 6:4)

Eventually, they came to the conclusion that the only way to get to Daniel was through his love for God. And so, behind Daniel’s back, they came before Darius with a proposal.

The proposal was that for one month, no one could pray to any god or man except to Darius.

Why Darius agreed to this proposal is uncertain.

Perhaps he thought it would help change people’s allegiance from Babylon to Persia. Perhaps he did it out of his own pride.

Whatever the reason, the law appealed to him and so he passed it.

How did Daniel respond?

He continued to do as he always did. Three times a day he prayed before God.

The administrators kept their eye on Daniel, and as soon as they saw him praying, they went to Darius to report Daniel’s activities to him.

Darius was greatly shocked and saddened when he heard this and did everything he could to spare Daniel’s life.

But the law of the Medes and Persians could not be revoked, and so he was forced to throw Daniel into a den of lions.

You all probably know the story. God shut the mouths of the lions, and the next morning, when Darius found him still alive, he had him pulled out.

He then threw all of Daniel’s accusers and their families into the den of lions where they were all killed.

The thing that strikes me most about this story is the integrity of Daniel.

Here was a man that had the magnifying glass put on his life. Yet no one around him could find a single bad thing about him. He was neither incompetent, nor negligent, nor corrupt.

Not only that, when it came to a choice between following God or compromising his faith, Daniel never flinched. He held on to his integrity and continued to boldly follow the Lord.

How about you? Can people say the same about you?

If the magnifying glass were put on you by your family, by your friends, by your coworkers, what would they say?

And when the pressure is on from those around you to compromise your faith, do you hold onto your integrity, do you flinch? Do you give in?

May we all be like Daniel and be men and women of integrity.

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Daniel

Resolved

Daniel

I have to admit that trying to keep the chronology of Israel’s history is a bit like juggling balls. There were so many books being written at about the same time, it’s difficult to keep everything straight.

At the same time, I must say that all of this has been quite illuminating. I’m sure I’ve read or heard before of the timing of the book of Daniel, but it still came as a surprise to me to realize that the early events of Daniel came before Judah’s ultimate fall during the reign of Zedekiah.

Even knowing it happened before then, I somehow had it in mind that his exile came in the time of Jehoiachin, the second to last king of Israel.

But according to Daniel, Babylon’s siege of Jerusalem started in the third year of Jehoiakim’s reign (he lasted a total of 11 years as king), and Daniel was probably taken in the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign.

Anyway, Daniel and a number of Jews from the royal family and nobility were taken to Babylon. Basically Nebuchadnezzar wanted the best of the best from the land of Judah, as well as from the other lands he had conquered.

The idea was two-fold: strip the conquered areas of any potential threats, while strengthening his own kingdom. And so Daniel and his friends were taken and indoctrinated with the Babylonian culture.

To try to get these captives immersed in their new surroundings, they were also given new names. Daniel and his friends all had names which honored God, but each were given new names that honored the Babylonian gods.

It’s interesting that today, most people remember Daniel’s friends’ names by their Babylonian names, while somehow, Daniel’s name has stuck with us.

I suppose it’s because Daniel used his own name throughout the entire book, while using the Babylonian names to refer to his friends.

But early on, Daniel and his friends were faced with a choice. And it was seemingly a very minor one, whether to eat the food that they were being served. It was food that came from the king’s table, and it was supposedly a way to honor those being trained for the king’s service.

But there were two problems. First, they probably violated the dietary laws God had given to the Israelites. And second, the food had probably been offered to idols first.

It would’ve been easy for Daniel and his friends to say, “Well, we’re far from home. God seems to have abandoned us. He let us get captured by these people. When in Rome… (or more accurately, ‘When in Babylon….’).”

But it says in verse 8,

Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine. (Daniel 1:8)

He talked to the official in charge of him and his friends, showing some God-given wisdom and tact in doing so (something we all need, but don’t always have), and as a result, was given a ten-day test period to do things God’s way.

When they passed the test, the official let them eat as they wished. The result?

To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds…

The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service.

In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. (Daniel 1:17, 19–20)

What can we take from this?

How resolved are you to do what is pleasing in God’s sight?

Think of the pressure that Daniel and his friends were under. Pressure from the Babylonians. Pressure from their friends who had compromised their beliefs. Pressure from the lusts of their own flesh, and the pride of life.

Yet these things did not shake them. They committed themselves to serving God no matter what. And God blessed them for it.

Are you resolved to follow God in the face of peer pressure? In the face of temptation?

Let us be like Daniel and his friends, resolved to follow God no matter the cost. And know that if we do so, we will ultimately find his blessing in our lives.