Faithful Strangers: Daniel 1 - 5 - 6
Integration vs. Distinctiveness ("our citizenship is in heaven")
Living life in a foreign land:
by becoming the Elite, Daniel & friends reap oppotunity
- Trying not to withdraw from the culture but remaining faithful
- The time of testing - of challenges to Jewish customs, to the Jewish diet,
God's hand is over this
............
The Writing On The Wall
Daniel 4:32; 37 into Daniel 5
Nebuchanezzer's dream & recognition:
v.37: "those who walk in pride, He is able to humble"
Heb. 1 : God's voice, a reminder that: "In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son ..."
[God] "has spoken through the prophets" : Ezekiel - Daniel - Hosea
Belshazzar's banquet: showy display of splendour with feasting & nobles in attendance
The queen recalls Daniel's talents & skill from before (v.11/12) & says to send for him.
v.20: Change in heart causes the shift:
But when [Nebuchadnezzar's] heart became arrogant and hardened with pride,
he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory.
v.21: Position & power comes from God:
[Nebuchadnezzar] was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal [...] until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and sets over them anyone he wishes.
- Daniel's rebuke (v.23):
22 “But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this.
Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven.
You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand.
But you did not honour the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.
mene, mene, tekel, parsin
Aramaic: Numbered, numbered; weighed, divided.
A warning (for the exiles) & an encouragement ("atawale")
What's notable afterwards is the King's response - or lack of
- even after hearing how Nebuchadnezzar changed his ways -
consequently: "That very night", judgement falls & the King dies.
- What form does your pride take?
- Where in your life are you worshipping things rather than the God who made them?
cf: The parable of the Pharisee & the Tax Collector (Luke 18)
For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled,
& those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Kill your pride.
Heaven rules.
............
Daniel 6 / WR
In the lion's den
'From intrigue to simplicity':
Daniel 6 - parallels to Chapter 3
- a fiery furnace;
- from being commanded to do what God forbids;
now, being forbidden to do what God commands.
The confessional: "... the things we have left undone"
Twin challenges:
- Not to do what we do
- To do what we ought to do
Faithfulness = refusing to compromise
Daniel's behaviour reflects the habitual "just as he done before";
godly under pressure because of his regular prayer life:
- Not dramatic, just a quiet ordinary daily habit
- Not the hero .... the director's eye is elsewhere; Daniel has only one line in this.
The account in Daniel 6 is given from the perspective of the officials & the King.
The king cannot deliver him (v.16) as his actions have made him impotent
Darius' first question: "has your God been able to rescue you?"
- Who is the King here, who is in charge?
Standing firm: our call is to remain faithful
Parallels between Daniel & Jesus:
- Betrayed by friends & peers
- Arrested whilst praying
- Condemned by a weak ruler who wanted to save him
- Stone rolled in front to enclose him
- Someone who came out of the tomb alive
John 1: 29
Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
The Lamb (Ram) of Genesis
The Passover lamb of Exodus
Revelation 5: The Scroll & the Lamb
Deliverance:
To deliver forgiveness
To act decisively
To take away sin
Living life in a foreign land:
by becoming the Elite, Daniel & friends reap oppotunity
- Trying not to withdraw from the culture but remaining faithful
- The time of testing - of challenges to Jewish customs, to the Jewish diet,
God's hand is over this
............
The Writing On The Wall
Daniel 4:32; 37 into Daniel 5
Nebuchanezzer's dream & recognition:
v.37: "those who walk in pride, He is able to humble"
Heb. 1 : God's voice, a reminder that: "In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son ..."
[God] "has spoken through the prophets" : Ezekiel - Daniel - Hosea
Belshazzar's banquet: showy display of splendour with feasting & nobles in attendance
The queen recalls Daniel's talents & skill from before (v.11/12) & says to send for him.
v.20: Change in heart causes the shift:
But when [Nebuchadnezzar's] heart became arrogant and hardened with pride,
he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory.
v.21: Position & power comes from God:
[Nebuchadnezzar] was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal [...] until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and sets over them anyone he wishes.
- Daniel's rebuke (v.23):
22 “But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this.
Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven.
You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand.
But you did not honour the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.
mene, mene, tekel, parsin
Aramaic: Numbered, numbered; weighed, divided.
A warning (for the exiles) & an encouragement ("atawale")
What's notable afterwards is the King's response - or lack of
- even after hearing how Nebuchadnezzar changed his ways -
consequently: "That very night", judgement falls & the King dies.
- What form does your pride take?
- Where in your life are you worshipping things rather than the God who made them?
cf: The parable of the Pharisee & the Tax Collector (Luke 18)
For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled,
& those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Kill your pride.
Heaven rules.
............
Daniel 6 / WR
In the lion's den
'From intrigue to simplicity':
Daniel 6 - parallels to Chapter 3
- a fiery furnace;
- from being commanded to do what God forbids;
now, being forbidden to do what God commands.
The confessional: "... the things we have left undone"
Twin challenges:
- Not to do what we do
- To do what we ought to do
Faithfulness = refusing to compromise
Daniel's behaviour reflects the habitual "just as he done before";
godly under pressure because of his regular prayer life:
- Not dramatic, just a quiet ordinary daily habit
- Not the hero .... the director's eye is elsewhere; Daniel has only one line in this.
The account in Daniel 6 is given from the perspective of the officials & the King.
The king cannot deliver him (v.16) as his actions have made him impotent
Darius' first question: "has your God been able to rescue you?"
- Who is the King here, who is in charge?
Standing firm: our call is to remain faithful
Parallels between Daniel & Jesus:
- Betrayed by friends & peers
- Arrested whilst praying
- Condemned by a weak ruler who wanted to save him
- Stone rolled in front to enclose him
- Someone who came out of the tomb alive
John 1: 29
Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
The Lamb (Ram) of Genesis
The Passover lamb of Exodus
Revelation 5: The Scroll & the Lamb
Deliverance:
To deliver forgiveness
To act decisively
To take away sin