This is a part of a sermon series in the book of Daniel. You can watch more here.
This morning we will be in Daniel 1. You can turn to page 100 in our devotional or you can turn to Daniel 1 in the Old Testament. The book of Daniel isn’t really about Daniel. The book of Daniel is about the hand of the Lord at work in our life, even when we don’t see the hand of the Lord at work in our life.
Sometimes people take the stories of Daniel, which are powerful stories, and turn them into heroic stories about Daniel but the book of Daniel was written so that we might be in awe of God and reminded of how the Lord works in our lives today. Let’s jump into God’s Word. Let’s look at Daniel 1, verse 1:
Daniel 1:1, “1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.”
We are in the Old Testament. We’re all starting from different places on our spiritual journey so let’s frame the conversation.
The people of Israel start with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph (You might have heard about Joseph), Joseph is sold into slavery by his own brothers, ends up in Egypt where the people of Israel are enslaved for 400 years until Moses leads Israel out of slavery, “Let My people go!”
After Moses we see Joshua lead Israel into the promised land where the Lord is ruling and leading over His people until they cry out for a king like the other nations.
The first king of Israel is a guy named Saul who didn’t do a great job but the next king was David and King David leads Israel to the height of world influence.
It’s after King David that Israel eventually splits into two kingdoms; ten tribes to the north and 2 tribes to the south. I know it’s a lot but in the 700’s BC the ten tribes to the north are dominated out by Assyria, modern day Turkey.
But in the 500’s BC the 2 tribes to the south are taken over by Babylon, modern day Iraq and the people of Israel are literally deported from Jerusalem, (Do you see that in verse 1?) they are “besieged” so as to surround, capture and deported 700 miles away to Babylon. This is the context for the book of Daniel.
It would be like watching a neighboring nation conquer our capital, burn our homes, slaughter our warriors, so that the women and children are marched 700 miles to Mexico City to live in a foreign land under foreign rule. Take that in for a second.
Could you imagine what that might have been like for us personally? The Babylonians were a world empire. They were terrifying. There is a passage at the end of Habakkuk and he describes the power of the Babylonians forces shaking the ground beneath his feet as certain death is coming.
Can you imagine foreign nation toppling our capital? Can you imagine being drug out of your home and taken to a foreign land? Could you imagine what that would have done to your faith? That’s the context for the book of Daniel. Look at verse 2:
Daniel 1:2, “2 The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the vessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his god.”
Again, we see the “house of God” is being torn down in Jerusalem, so that the articles of their faith in Israel were being taken into a foreign land so that these are people who must have felt like God had completely abandoned them.
In addition, notice the wording in verse 2, “It is the Lord who gives ‘Jehoiakim King of Judah’ into the hands of the Babylonians hand.” Do you see that in verse 2?
It’s possible we could look at the challenges in our passage this morning as though the Lord was unable to provide or protect Israel but I need you to see the tension in verse 2, “It is the Lord who gives Israel over to the Babylonian King.”
We wrestled with this tension a little in the book of Judges and the book of Joshua, didn’t we? In the context of Daniel, you need to know the spiritual leaders in Israel were wondering from the Lord. The people in Israel were doing what is right in their own eyes.
We could read books like Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Habakkuk where there are men warning Israel to turn to the Lord, calling them to stop doing what is right in their own eyes, but over and over the people of Israel don’t listen, so the Lord, in His love, raises up a neighboring nation to bring discipline.
Now, for some of us this is difficult to imagine because we have only thought of the God of Scripture as loving, gracious and kind, and He is those things, but when we turn from the Lord over and over and over and over and over then in His love He will bring discipline, not to be hurtful, but to soften our hearts, so that we humble ourselves and turn to the Lord. Does that make sense? Let’s Look at verses 3-4:
Daniel 1:3-4, “3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles, 4 youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king’s court; and he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.”
In verses 3-4 we see the king strategically looking for the best and brightest of Israel. Do you see that? The king of Babylon is looking for those who are of status, attractive, intelligent, potential for wisdom to make good decisions.
Just to be clear, this isn’t the King of Babylon being generous but strategic. He is looking for people who are going to make his nation stronger! Look at verse 5:
Daniel 1:5, “5 The king appointed for them a daily ration from the king’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be educated three years, at the end of which they were to enter the king’s personal service.”
I want you to see the intentionality of this foreign nation to indoctrinate these new people being brought into their empire. The king is ordering for them to be taught the literature and language of the Babylonians. They are bring brought into the king’s personal service. They are being intentionally educated. Look at verses 6-7:
Daniel 1:6-7, “6 Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach and to Azariah Abed-nego.”
In verses 6-7 we get to meet some of these elite people from Israel going through this indoctrination and they are assigned new names to reflect their new home in Babylon.
It’s like every part of their life is being re-wired to forget about the God of Scripture and instead get on board with their new life in Babylon.
I need you to see that our story today isn’t that different from Daniels story 2,500 years ago. Just as Daniel and his friends are being indoctrinated into this foreign nation, you need to there is cultural indoctrination that is still taking place in our world today.
We aren’t being indoctrinated into Babylonian beliefs and values but we are being indoctrinated to humanism, self-determinism, individualism and our American culture every day, so that we are being wired to not think about the God of Scripture and instead get on board with our American culture today.
I want to go slow here, because I am guessing that most of us see ourselves as independent thinkers, free will, people who do what we want to do but God’s Word is pressing in our soul this morning so as to say, “Really?
For example, my daughter graduated from a charter school that was highly populated with children from other nations, so periodically the school would have a world culture day where they would come to school to celebrate their cultures from Nigeria, Ethiopia, Turkey, Iraq and sometimes these students would make fun of my daughter and say, “What will you do to celebrate your culture, because Americans don’t have a culture.” (Did you get this Mary?)
As her father I would laugh and say, “Ha, ha, ha, that’s so funny. Tell me their names so I can hunt them down.” But really, it is funny because the whole reason these families from other nations are coming to our country is because of our American culture.
These students were wearing our American culture, eating our American culture, consuming our American culture, and slowly, every day, being indoctrinated to our American culture.
In fact, most parents from other countries who are living in the United States are filled with fear because they know their children, overtime, are going to abandon their home culture and become completely intoxicated by our American culture, and most of those children will never see it coming!
In the book of Daniel, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were being indoctrinated to the Babylonian culture and in the same way, we are being indoctrinated into our American culture. Look at verses 8-9:
Daniel 1:8-9, “8 But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself. 9 Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials.”
Maybe we’re not aware of our American indoctrination but Daniel is aware of his Babylonian indoctrination and notice how Daniel responds in verse 8. First, Daniel “makes a decision in his mind.” It is a decision of the will.
It isn’t because Daniel is emotionally manipulated to make some decisions, feels pressure from his friends., Daniel doesn’t want to disappoint his parents but Daniel decided in his mind what was important to him. Do you see that in verse 8?
This is still applicable for us today. There are influences all around us every day. Please don’t think you are impervious to being influenced by people and ideas in our world. Every person is influenced by these things; therefore, we want to work toward discovering who we are and make up in our mind to chase after those things.
Second, Daniel identified that food and drink from the king is where he would draw the line. We don’t know why Daniel landed on those things. Maybe it was because it was the most visible? Maybe because those things were the most tempting? Maybe it was because those things were likely sacrificed to foreign gods and participating in those things would have been an act of worship unto those gods?
We don’t know, but, in the same way, as a follower of Jesus today we would do well to make up in our minds, “What does it look like for me to be set apart as a follower of Jesus in 2025?”
As a follower of Jesus, we are taught that this world isn’t our home, therefore, we need to wrestle with this question, “What does that look like for me today to put my thoughts on things above and not on things below?”
The Amish decided it was electricity. There is nothing unholy about electricity but that was the line for them to draw. Some people won’t wear make-up, so when you see them, you know where they draw the line.
Sometimes churches will force those lines on everyone at the church, so that it can become legalistic like don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t chew or date girls that do.
We don’t want to force these things on one another, but we would do well to be thinking, “How am I set apart as a follower of Jesus at school, work, neighbors and family?” How am I guarding against being influenced and indoctrinated into the American culture of our day?
Third, notice how Daniel takes these steps in verse 8? Daniel seeks permission to disagree in an agreeable way. Daniel goes through the right channels to make these requests so that Daniel is giving himself every chance of accomplishing his goals.
In the same way, it would be easy to slam the door, shout at people, or be jerks to other people, but God’s Word is challenging us to swim against the grain in a way that is honoring to the Lord. Look at verse 10:
Daniel 1:10, “10 and the commander of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the youths who are your own age? Then you would make me forfeit my head to the king.”
Does that make sense? If Daniel isn’t eating the food and drinking the wine he is going to look malnourished and the life of the commander over the Israelites. Look at verses 11-14:
Daniel 1:11-14, “11 But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance be observed in your presence and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.” 14 So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days.”
Again, it would be easy to elevate Daniel as the hero of this story but we must remember the subtle reminders of God’s hand involved in the book of Daniel, even in difficult situations.
It is the Lord’s favor and compassion in verse 9 that gives Daniel this opportunity. Did you see that? It is the Lord’s perseverance in Daniel that moves Daniel through this process to keep trying.
It is the Lord’s protection over Daniel’s life for Daniel to have these conversations. It’s the Lord’s provision to even preserve Daniel’s life through the deportation.
It’s so easy for us to think, “If I follow the Lord, if I do the right thing, life will be easy, suffering won’t come” but that isn’t what we see in the life of Daniel.
Daniel is following the Lord and there are hardships all around Daniel. The Lord is with Daniel in those hardships but it doesn’t mean we won’t experience hardships. Look at verses 15-16:
Daniel 1:15-16, “15 At the end of ten days their appearance seemed better and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food. 16 So the overseer continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables.”
Who knew vegetarians were so biblical? The point of our passage is that you are supposed to read verses 15 and 16 and think to yourself, “That doesn’t make sense.” These other people are eating the best food, drinking the best wine and yet Daniel and his friends were looking healthier than everyone else. It’s the Lord!
Yesterday our church family got to host a clean comedy show! Literally 12-months ago I did an open mic for fun and it went horrible but for some reason I kept going. I remember talking to Jennifer King in our church family and she said, “You should talk about being a pastor.” It’s been great! It’s the Lord!
I remember talking to Geraline Browning about some difficult challenges she is walking through right now and Geraline said, “Yes, it is very difficult but I am learning so much trusting in the Lord, I am learning so much about the holiness of God, I am growing closer to the Lord.” How’s that possible? It’s the Lord!
I remember talking to Jac and Amanda Greene and they are walking through Jac’s health problems, they had both of their mother’s living in their house, literally set up a bedroom in their dining room and yet when you talk to them they speak of God’s grace and provision in their life. How’s that possible? It’s the Lord!
I could keep going, right? We could set up a microphone and people come up one after the other and it doesn’t mean every story will end with a red bow where confetti falls from the sky but man after man, woman after woman would come up and recount the hand of the Lord on our life. Praise God!
Listen to me church family, don’t glaze over this too quickly. Perhaps you are in a season of plenty right now and this doesn’t resonate with your soul as much, but please know there are challenges coming in life.
It might be financial, relational, vocational, medical…but in time, they will come. Hide these truths in your heart. Write them down. Set reminders on your phone to remember the hand of the Lord is at work in our life, even when things are difficult. Look at verse
Daniel 1:17, “17 As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams.”
The King of Babylon had tasked his officials to identify young people from Israel who were gifted and talented but in verse 17 we see these gifts and talents are from the Lord. It is the Lord who gives them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature. Did you see that in verse 17?
It’s at the end of verse 17 that we begin to see some foreshadowing of the story, because the Lord is going to involve Daniel in visions and dreams from the King of Babylon. Look at verses 18-20:
Daniel 1:18-20, “18 Then at the end of the days which the king had specified for presenting them, the commander of the officials presented them before Nebuchadnezzar.19 The king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s personal service. 20 As for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm.”
Surely the hand of the Lord is upon them! All the magicians, conjurers (this is where the magi from the east come from at the birth of Jesus) these are the people in the king’s court and yet the king recognizes the wisdom of Daniel and his friends. It’s the Lord!
It’s as though the Lord has eternal plans at work that we could never fathom, so He puts us in places, He gifts us with talents, He opens and closes doors, so that we are in the right place at the right time for His glory and His purposes.
In the moment, Daniel is being deported from his country. In the moment, Daniel is seeing his home, family, everything familiar burned down, destroyed as he is forced into another nation.
In the moment, Daniel is having another culture forced into his life. In the moment, Daniel would have every reason to abandon his faith, turn from the Lord, trust in Himself and yet the Lord is still at work in His life. Do you believe that church family? Look at verse 21 to close out our time.
Daniel 1:21, “21 And Daniel continued until the first year of Cyrus the king.”
Look at that little verse. It’s a throw away verse. It’s a conclusion to a chapter verse but there is so much in that little verse.
King Cyrus wasn’t the Babylonian king but the Persian king, modern day Iran, who conquers Babylon, so that it is as if Daniel is saying, “Kings come and go, nations come and go, circumstances come and go but Daniel was there, not because of Daniel, but because of the Lord.” Isn’t that good?
There are going to be so many times in life where we are going to think, “This isn’t going to work.” We are going to think, “Maybe the Lord forgot about us?” Maybe it feels like that in our church family right now? Maybe it feels like that in areas of our personal life? We there are thoughts like, “The Lord doesn’t care?”
And yet God’s Word, in the book of Daniel, is whispering into our souls, “Not even close.”
North Village Church
This sermon is brought to you by North Village Church, a non-denominational church in Austin. established in 2009 and built around Jesus and Bible teaching.
Are you looking for a church in Austin? At North Village Church we put Jesus at the center of our church family. We worship together every Sunday at 10:30am, encourage Christ centered fellowship through groups, and host special events such as Bible studies and Theological Training, to ensure that we are rooted in in God’s Word. We also serve our local community in association with several Austin based organizations.
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