Daniel 1:11-2:13
Standing Up in a Fallen
World ~ Part 2
Open your Bible to…
Dan. 1:8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
Pray
Intro
√ Standing up in a fallen world
We left our study of Daniel chapter 1 with Daniel faced with a real crisis of faith…
He’s a captive in a hostile country
He’s under orders to become educated in the worldview of
He’s been invited to eat of the King’s table
…but, to do so would require him and his friends to violate the Jewish dietary laws!
What’s a kosher boy to do!
Well, as we found in our last study, Daniel decided to make a stand for his faith and obey God even if it put him at risk with the king.
Yet, he had enough wisdom to make his stand in such a way as not to put himself in any unnecessary danger!
He probably knew Proverbs 20:2…
“The wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion; Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life.”
So, in the balance of chapter 1 we find Daniel proceeding with caution and wisdom as he makes his stand for the Lord.
Ap. Fight smart!
Use the wisdom of God when you’re confronting evil lest you find yourself suffering for being stupid…
…instead of righteousness!
Daniel’s faith (Vs. 11-16)
Dan. 1:11 So Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
Dan. 1:12 “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink.
Dan. 1:13 Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king’s delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants.”
Dan. 1:14 So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days.
Dan. 1:15 And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies.
Dan. 1:16 Thus the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.
√ Daniel’s faith
Vs. 8 tells us that Daniel…
“Purposed in his heart not to defile himself”
Yet, there’s a big step of faith between what a person decides is the right thing to do in their heart…
…and doing it!
Vs. 11-16 records that Daniel put the purpose of his heart into action, that is, he put his faith into practice!
He approaches the captain of the guard and makes a reasonable request that will allow him and his friends to practice their faith.
Keeps the heat off the guards who have responsibility for Daniel and his friends.
Doesn’t overtly offend the king and his hospitality.
Provides the Lord an opportunity to display His glory!
Allows Daniel and his friends an opportunity to make their stand without picking a fight when it’s not necessary to do so.
Ex. Following the direction of scripture
Daniel was doing what Jeremiah said the captives should do (Jer. 29), settle down, make themselves at home, and wait for the Lord’s deliverance.
He also followed the example of Joseph who was a similar situation in
The point is that Daniel didn’t have to start a fight to honor God and avoid compromising his faith.
Ap. You don’t have to fight to avoid compromise
Wisdom is the better part of valor! You’ll find that often times in life, even when in a difficult situation like Daniel, that you don’t have to start a fight to avoid compromising with the enemy!
Ex. Paul ~ a fighter
But, used wisdom when he stood before the Sanhedrin because he recognized that he wasn’t going to get a fair trial.
Acts 23:6 But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!”
Acts 23:7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided.
Acts 23:8 For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection—and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both.
Acts 23:9 Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees’ party arose and protested, saying, “We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God.”
Ex. Doing ministry in
The Hindu controlled government has the power to grant, or deny, visas to travel to their country.
Christians have to work within the framework of their constitution or else be denied a visa.
The point is that you can get the work of the Kingdom done without compromising your faith or integrity…
…yet, allow the government to save face (very important in that culture!).
So, don’t pick a fight when you can win a victory for the Lord by using wisdom like Daniel did!
Daniel’s reward (Vs. 17-21)
Dan. 1:17 As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
Dan. 1:18 Now at the end of the days, when the king had said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.
Dan. 1:19 Then the king interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they served before the king.
Dan. 1:20 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm.
Dan. 1:21 Thus Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus.
√ Daniel’s reward
Because Daniel and his friends honored God with their lives and would not compromise their faith, He honored them with great success.
In fact, throughout their lives they continually out performed all of the King’s servants in every area of responsibility.
God also preserved their lives while serving under a less than rational king!
Ap. Honor God and He will honor you!
Throughout history we find examples of men and woman who put their faith in God into practice by honoring Him with their lives and the choices they made.
Daniel, Ester, David, Jonathan and Ruth
God still honors people who put their faith into practice and will not compromise with the world. Unfortunately many Christian’s today live like atheists!
They say they believe in God and that He is able to work in their lives…
…yet they live like God doesn’t exist!
The world needs to see our faith put into practice just as the Babylonian guards witnessed Daniel’s faith.
Dare to be a Daniel,
Dare to stand alone!
Dare to have a purpose firm!
Dare to make it known!
When we put our faith into practice we honor God with our lives and point unbelievers to faith in Jesus!
A troubled king (2:1-4)
Dan. 2:1 Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him.
Dan. 2:2 Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
Dan. 2:3 And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.”
Dan. 2:4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”
√ A troubled king
Early in his rule Nebuchadnezzar had a recurring dream that troubled him and kept him from sleeping.
Note “dreams” vs. “dream”
The word translated “troubled” in vs. 1 is the Hebrew word “paw-am” and means…
“To tap, i.e. beat regularly; hence (generally) to impel or agitate:—move, trouble.” ~ SRN 6470
That is, the effect of this dream on him was like beating his head against the wall as he tried to discern its meaning!
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So, the king called together all of his wise men (i.e. Chaldeans) and asked them to interpret his dream.
√ Dreams & interpretations
The Chaldeans were the 6th Century B.C. equivalents of Fraud. They professed to be able to interpret dreams through their understanding of symbols and signs.
They had built an entire philosophy (or psychology) based upon their research of dreams.
Like Fraud they would ask you to recall the dream and then they’d interpret it based upon their collective wisdom.
The problem of course is that their conclusions are totally subjective!
They had no real way to verify the accuracy of their interpretations because most dreams have no significance.
Only God can tell us what dreams mean (if anything) because God is the author of such and uses them as a means of communicating with people.
Ex. Joseph ~ the step father of Jesus
Ap. Direction from the Lord
If the Lord is speaking to you through a dream you’ll know because…
You’ll be able to clearly recall it
You won’t be able to ignore it
If you don’t know what it means, ask the Lord to give you the interpretation ~ He wants you to know so that you can obey!
√ Aramaic
Note in vs. 4 that the Chaldeans speak to the King in Aramaic…
“Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic”
…beginning with their reply through Daniel 7:28 the text is written in Aramaic!
Trouble for the Chaldeans (vs. 5-6)
Dan. 2:5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap.
Dan. 2:6 However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.”
√ Trouble for the Chaldeans
No doubt the king had asked these men to interpret dreams before, or perhaps he had heard them do so for his father.
But, this time, rather than tell them the dream and wait for their interpretation…
…he asks them to reconstruct the dream and then give its interpretation!
That’s trouble for the Chaldeans!
Their whole system of interpretation was based on their own wisdom and observation.
Therefore, they couldn’t interpret something they didn’t know!
We can only guess as to why Nebuchadnezzar decided not to tell them his dream.
He may have had reason to doubt the authenticity of their craft and wanted to be sure that their interpretation of this significant dream was correct.
The only sure test would be to have them recall the king’s dream.
His logic was that if they could really predict the future by interpreting dreams…
…then surely they could reconstruct his dream!
√ Moment of truth
Remember that Nebuchadnezzar was…
The sovereign king of the ancient world
Possessed every earthly pleasure & treasure
The world literally revolved around his whim
Yet, one thing was out of his grasp…
…the meaning of this dream that kept him awake at night.
Whereas before he may not have cared much for Truth, preferring instead to hear the vain babbling of his advisors who covered him in flattery…
…now he wanted to the know the Truth, the whole objective, absolute truth.
Because without that truth He couldn’t go on living.
Ap. Only God knows the truth
Like Nebuchadnezzar, all of us come to a point in life where the canned answers and prognostications of man and his wisdom simply won’t do anymore.
We have a dream
We’re visited by a senseless tragedy
The doctor says, “it’s cancer”
And suddenly everything in life shifts.
What we thought was important, doesn’t matter anymore.
When we were arrogant and loud, now we’re humble and quiet.
Whereas we once cared nothing about the hereafter, now we desperately wonder if there is a God and if there is how we might know Him.
It’s then that we’re no longer interested in the philosophies of men, or the intellectual banter of academics…
…all we really want is to know the truth.
Every person has a “
Such was the case for Nebuchadnezzar and the dream that wouldn’t go away!
Trouble for Daniel & Company (vs. 7-13)
Dan. 2:7 They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.”
Dan. 2:8 The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm:
Dan. 2:9 if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.”
Dan. 2:10 The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean.
Dan. 2:11 It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
Dan. 2:12 For this
reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all
the wise men of
Dan. 2:13 So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.
√ Trouble for Daniel & Company
This section may give us a clue as to why Nebuchadnezzar would not tell the Chaldeans his dream…
“For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.” ~ vs. 9
It would appear that he suspected that they had not been honest with him in times past…
…now that it was important to know the truth, Nebuchadnezzar demanded that the wise men prove that their methods were authentic.
So, because they could not do as he asked, Nebuchadnezzar commanded that all the wise men be killed!
However, trouble for the Chaldeans meant trouble for Daniel and Company because…
…they’re job classification fell under “wise man”!
Close
√ To be continued!
Will Daniel and his friends survive the king’s wrath, or will they be killed with the other wise men!?
We’ll pick up the story next week.
In the mean time we want to take home and make a part of our life from Daniel’s examples is…
Don’t compromise with world ~ there’s no blessing in compromise.
Put your faith into action & take a stand for God ~ He wants to show His power.
Use wisdom when confronting the enemies of God ~ don’t pick a fight.
Be ready to share the Truth with those who are looking for
it ~ everyone has a “
Remember, God still uses Daniel’s today!
Dare to be a Daniel,
Dare to stand alone!
Dare to have a purpose firm!
Dare to make it known!