There are many stories of people in the bible who were shown favour by God. Many of these men and women were used by God for His purposes. I have started reading the book of Daniel and I am fascinated by it. Daniel and his friends are peculiar in every way. They stand out in the book from the very beginning. As I studied the first two chapters of Daniel this week, I found out that God is always the one behind the scenes orchestrating every move. As I write today, my goal is to share with you six observations I saw from the first two chapters of Daniel and what they teach us about our own walk with the Lord.
The first observation from the first two chapters of Daniel is that the book of Daniel begins during the siege of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 1:2). I had always thought, Daniel began during the exile and not before. The difference might not be much to you but what I find striking with the fact that this book started during the siege is that it shows Daniel and his friends lived through the siege and its difficult situation. They were already living in the tension of the siege, so they expected Judah to be conquered soon. Therefore, when the full captivity occurred, it was clear that all hopes were gone. This scene must have been devastating to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. It was clear to these young men that they were living the fulfilment of a prophecy as foretold by prophets such as Jeremiah, Isaiah and others. I can only speculate that these men armed themselves with more rigour as they realized they were being taken away from the city of the Lord knowing that Judah would be preserved as decreed in the prophecies foretold. I picture them leaving Jerusalem with their heads held high yet with much sorrow and grief.
The second observation I note from the first two chapters of Daniel is that part of conquering a nation came with the spoil. In the case of the Babylonian conquest, this spoil included the sacred objects from the Temple of the Lord and the best men of the land who could be used in the service of the king. You see, King Nebuchadnezzar ordered the chief of his court officials to bring some young Israelites from nobility and royal family. These young men were not of any kind, they were the best that existed in Israel. They were “without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace.” (Daniel 1:4). It was not enough to be from “nobility” or from “royal blood”, you also had to be endowed with the characteristics noted above. You were not allowed to be “average”, being a royal blood was the minimum requirement. This means, these young men were already the crème de la crème even in Israel before the siege. I find it interesting that nothing is said about them in the bible before that time. What is even more striking is the measure that the king’s official used to evaluate such young men. I wonder what sort of metrics they used to decide whether one was fit to serve at the king’s palace. It is also clear that as a highly elevated king, Nebuchadnezzar liked excellence and that is what he ensured he got from the Israelites young men. To work in the king’s palace, these young men, having gone through this rigorous selection process were to graduate from the three years training before they were deemed fit to begin their function in the king’s palace. This tells us that we too, being citizen of a more prestigious kingdom should also strive for excellence in all our doing because we serve the Most excellent One!
The third observation from the first two chapters of Daniel is that Daniel and his friends did not oppose being immersed into the Chaldean culture. They accepted the change, the transformation, the “brainwashing”; they accepted that they were no longer in Jerusalem, therefore could no longer act like Jews. They humbled themselves and submitted to the Babylonian ways of life. I cannot imagine how difficult this was for them. What is more impressive with these young men is their resolve, particularly the resolve Daniel had to not defile himself with the royal food and wine (Daniel 1:8). Because Daniel showed such a resolve, God granted him favour in the eyes of the chief official and him and his friends were allowed to not defile themselves with royal food and wine while in training. God’s favour was to the extent that Daniel and his friends could honour Him. By this, these men showed that it is possible to live in a pagan world and still honour God. To draw the parallel home, it is possible to live in a sinful world and not sin. Especially knowing that we are not fighting on our own but have the Holy Spirit of God helping us.
The fourth observation from the first two chapters of Daniel is that “God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning to Daniel and his friends”. God sets apart those who put Him first. The resolve these young men had for God allowed them to be set apart by God in a special way. The wisdom and understanding they carried was from God, it was not from any training they were receiving or from how much effort they were putting into this work, no, everything was from God and God alone. Indeed, at the end of the training Nebuchadnezzar found Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah to be “ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom” (Daniel 1:20). The saying is trustworthy indeed “seek ye first the kingdom of God and everything will be granted to you” (Matthew 6:33). Truly, God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).
The fifth observation from the first two chapters of Daniel is that God is sovereign over everything and everyone. We see God speaking to Nebuchadnezzar through a dream in order to reveal to him the future things to come. Nebuchadnezzar is distressed and summons all magicians, astrologers, sorcerers and the like of his kingdom to tell him the dream he had as well as its interpretation. Now, his magicians understand right away that it is an impossible task. I personally believe God placed this demand on Nebuchadnezzar’s heart to glorify Himself in the situation. However, as the story progresses, we see that the king decrees that all magicians, sorcerers, astrologers including wise men be killed because of their failure to deliver on the king’s command to tell him the dream he had and its interpretation. Upon hearing this, we are told that Daniel, inquired with “wisdom and tact” before Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard who was commanded to carry out the death sentence to all magicians including Daniel and his friends the reason of the king’s harsh decree. Daniel’s “wisdom and tact” allowed him to get an answer to his question and he was able to buy time in order to provide the revelation the king was looking for. As Daniel went to look for that revelation, he enlisted the help of his friends and asked them to plead for mercy before the compassionate God they serve and ask Him for a revelation to the king’s dream so that he and his friends along with all the magicians, sorcerers and others might not be put to death. As God would have things, during the night we are told the “mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision” (Daniel 2:19).
The sixth and final observation from the first two chapters of the book of Daniel is that Daniel was quick to ascribe God the glory. As soon as he received the revelation of the dream, Daniel went into worship, glorifying God, recognizing that God is the one who grants Him the revelation, the wisdom and understanding. Daniel extoled God, elevated Him and honoured Him rightly. Moreover, when Daniel presented himself before king Nebuchadnezzar, he did not fail to tell Nebuchadnezzar that he (Daniel) was not the one who had the ability to provide him with the revelation of his dream rather the God who is in heaven (Daniel 2:28). Daniel learned quickly to give God what is due God. He humbled himself before his God. He was not ashamed to show that he himself was not the “man of the hour” but that it was all from God who is above everything! In this, Daniel shows us that we too can and should not rob God of His glory. Everything that we have is from Him, everything that we are is from Him. We too, must give Him the glory first.
More observations can be made from those first two chapters and parallels with other characters of the bible such as Esther and Jesus but I will leave you to that. My point in highlighting those observations was simply to help you see the richness of this book and how God can use us when we decide to be available and devoted to Him. Daniel and his friends are prime examples that in any circumstance, no matter how dire, there is always hope for the righteous that seeks to surrender daily to the Master. I pray just like Daniel and his friends that our resolve and our love for the Lord is stronger than the love of this world and its entanglements. I pray, we too submit ourselves to the spirit and not to the desires of the flesh in order to be used by God to bring about the salvation of His people and the honour of His Name. Amen!
A Word Aptly Spoken 