Introduction: Last week we began a series of sermons on Hero’s of the Faith, by talking about Moses. I was going to continue talking about Moses today, but then changed my mind. Instead I want to focus your attention on another great Hero of the faith, a man named Daniel.
The story of Daniel is a heroic story about faith and courage. It’s one of those stories that we first heard in the preschool department in Sunday School. One of the lessons we can learn from Daniel is to have the courage to say “no” to things that are wrong, while standing up for what we know is right.
Text: DANIEL 1:1-7 (NLT)
During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it with his armies. (V.1)
The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah. When Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon, he took with him some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God
and placed them in the treasure-house of his god in the land of Babylonia. (V.2)
Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, who was in charge of the palace officials, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives. (V.3)
"Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men," he said. "Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good sense,
and have the poise needed to serve in the royal palace. Teach these young men the language and literature of the Babylonians. (V.4)
The king assigned them a daily ration of the best food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for a three-year period,
and then some of them would be made his advisers in the royal court. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah. (v.6)
The chief official renamed them with these Babylonian names: Daniel was called Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael was called Meshach. Azariah was called Abednego. (v.7)
The first six chapters of the book are set in Babylon and tell the story of Daniel and his three friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The best and brightest Jews including Daniel and his friends were taken into captivity, when Nebuhcadnezzar King of Babylon, captured the city of Jerusalem in 605 B.C.
Many Christian young people today have trouble dealing with the temptations of the world when they go away to college. They move away from home, and mom and dad are no longer there to help them stay on the straight and narrow.
Moving away to college is one thing, but being forced to move 900 miles away from home, to the city of Babylon, which was one of the most ‘worldly’ cities that has ever existed was something completely different.
One of the most difficult things for Daniel and his friends was to remain faithful to their religious beliefs and values, in a city and country that was full of immorality.
In many respects we are facing a similar situation in America today. No we haven’t been conquered and taken captive into a foreign land. But in many respects we are more of a “Pagan” nation than we are a Christian nation. We are no longer “One Nation under God.” Instead we are “one nation under many gods.”
But let’s get back to Daniel. Our story begins when he is a young man. Even as a teenager Daniel had the courage to say no.
Daniel grew up during a very turbulent time in the history of the nation of Israel. As I said a few minutes ago God allowed King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to defeat the nation of Israel in 605 B.C. The King then instructed his soldiers to select a number of the most promising young men and bring them back to Babylon, where they would be given the best education possible and prepared to serve in Nebuchadnezzar’s government. Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Mishach, and Abednego, were some of the young men that were taken back to Babylon. We refer to Daniel’s friends by the names that were given to them when they arrived in Babylon. Daniel was also given a new name, which was Belteshazzar, but we generally refer to him by using his Hebrew name.
Someone once said, “If courage is the strength to say no,” “wisdom is the ability of knowing when to say ‘yes’ and when to say ‘no’.” Daniel and his friends possessed both Wisdom and Courage. They knew when to say no, and they had the courage to stand by their decisions.
You see, not everything Babylon had to offer was bad. Daniel accepted a Babylonian education and a Babylonian name. But he knew when to say no and stood by that decision.
Daniel’s first test was regarding his diet. Look at verse 8 with me.
But Daniel made up his mind not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief official for permission to eat other things instead. (8)
Now God had given the chief official great respect for Daniel.But he was alarmed by Daniel’s suggestion.
"My lord the king has ordered that you eat this food and wine," he said. "If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded for neglecting my duties." (10)
Daniel talked it over with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief official to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. (11)
Test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water," Daniel said. "At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s rich food.
Then you can decide whether or not to let us continue eating our diet." So the attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days. (14)
At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king. (15)
So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the rich foods and wines. (v.16)
As a regular part of the three-year training program the young men were fed from the kings table. The first time Daniel looked at the table he knew he had a decision to make. The feast that had been prepared for them included food that Jews were not supposed to eat.
Daniel could accept a Babylonian name, but he could not accept a Babylonian diet. He knew when to say “No.” He could have justified it by saying, “it’s not what goes into your body that matters but what comes out of the heart that really matters!” He could have said, “I’ll go along with it until I get my education; He could have said, “when in Babylon do as the Babylonians do”; He could have said, “Oh, I”ll never see Jerusalem again; so what’s the difference!” But He didn’t. He had the courage to say “NO.”
Some people might think that Daniel was being a little unrealistic about such a little thing as something to eat. But one of the things the story of Daniel teaches us is that the little tests of life that prepare you for the big ones. Jesus said, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” Luke 16:10. (NIV)
In other words Jesus was saying, if a person waits for a life and death decision in order to stand up for his faith, then he really doesn’t have any faith at all.
So Daniel said no, and made a deal with the king’s servant: “let us eat vegetables and drink nothing but water diet for ten days.” At the end of the ten days Daniel and his friends looked healthier than the rest of the captives, so the King’s official allowed them to remain on their special diet.
The Story says that God blessed Daniel and his three friends. They grew strong and wise. Daniel stood up for his faith. He had the wisdom to know when to say no and the courage to stick to it.
From that time on Daniel became a rising star in the king’s court. In the second chapter of Daniel he interpreted a dream for King Nebuchadnezzar. Like Joseph in Egypt, Daniel demonstrated the superiority of God’s wisdom over all the other wisdom of the world. The king was so grateful that he gave Daniel and his three friends leadership positions in his government.
The next way Daniel’s courage was tested was when he was called upon to interpret another one of the King’s dreams. It takes courage to speak God’s word even when you know that it isn’t going to be received very well. Nonetheless, Daniel had the courage to tell the King the truth.
Late one night, one of the King’s servants woke him up and told him that the king wanted to see him immediately. Daniel quickly got dressed and went to see the King.
When Daniel saw the king he was obviously shaken. He had had a terrible nightmare, and none of his magicians and astrologers had been able to interpret the dream. That of course is why Daniel had been summoned in the middle of the night.
Stammering and stuttering, the king told Daniel about his nightmare. There was an enormous tree so heavy with leaves and fruit that it gave shade to the entire world, and all of the birds and beasts of the earth flocked to the tree for food and shelter.
Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar that the Tree represented him and his Kingdom. Then the King told Daniel that a messenger from heaven, had given an order to chop down the tree and cut it’s branches off. Daniel told the King that this decree had come for God himself.
The King continued to share his dream with Daniel. He said, “The stump of the tree had its heart changed from a man’s heart to a beast’s heart. The beast now ate grass with the oxen and got wet with the dew of heaven; his hair grew long and matted and his nails long like a bird’s.”
Daniel didn’t hesitate. He said, King Nebuchadnezzar that’s what is going to happen to you in the near future. I wish it were not so, but that is what it means.
Daniel put it out there for the king to think about. He said, “Here’s your choice, King Nebuchadnezzar: When it happens, if you come to your senses and realize that God is God and you are not, if you repent and decide to be a king who reveres God and does justice, who practices righteousness and shows mercy to the weak, then your kingdom will be given back to you. If not, I hope you like the taste of grass because that’s what you are going to be eating for breakfast, lunch, and supper.
And it happened just like Daniel said it would. Nebuchadnezzar took an unexpected leave of absence, and for the next several years he looked and acted more like a wild animal than the most powerful King on the face of the earth. Then one day he looked up into the heavens and his mind cleared. His beast’s heart was changed back into a man’s heart, the kind of heart that knew to praise God. Leaving all fours to walk like a man again, He cried out, “O Most High God, your Kingdom is forever and ever.” 4:34.
Sure enough, not only did Nebuchadnezzar get his mind back but he also got his throne back. All because Daniel was brave enough to interpret the dream the way God revealed it to him. So King Nebuchadnezzar learned a lesson in humility and reality.
Let’s look at one more scene and one more act of courage from the life of Daniel. Daniel is no longer a young man, in fact he is a very old man serving another pagan King, named Darius.
Darius had reorganized the Babylonian Empire and decided to make Daniel one of its highest officials. Predictably, some of the other political leaders in Babylon didn’t like the fact that Daniel, a foreigner held such a high office. So some of them devised a plan to get rid of Daniel.
First they tried to find some dirt on him. Something that they could use against him and blackmail him into giving up his position of leadership. But after hiring the best private detectives in the business they couldn’t come up with anything that they could use against Daniel. According to the Scripture, “He was Faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.” 6:4 KJV.
The only thing Daniel’s enemies could find to use against him was his loyalty and devotion to God. They persuaded Darius to issue a decree that no one in the Kingdom was to pray to anyone other than King Darius for a period of thirty days. Darius, like many rulers was an ego maniac, and he liked the sound of it. He didn’t realize that it was just a trick to trap Daniel, who the King really liked and admired. When Darius signed the decree, Daniel had a choice to make.
Every day since he had been in Babylon he had opened his window that faced Jerusalem and had spent some time praying to God. He knew that if he continued to do this he would more than likely be thrown into the lions den. He could have prayed secretly. He could have just kept his window closed and no-one would have known about it. He knew he could have kept practicing his faith in private without placing himself in danger. But Daniel knew that a faith that is only practiced in private isn’t worth anything. So knowing full well what the consequences would be, Daniel opened his windows and began praying. The next thing he knew he was standing nose to nose with a hungry lion.
Darius, knew he had been tricked, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. According to the laws of the Medes and Persians, a Royal decree could not be overturned. Before having Daniel lowered down into the lions den Darius looked at Daniel and said, “May your God whom you serve continually deliver you.” V. 16.
King Darius didn’t sleep very well that night. The next morning he rushed down to the lions’ den and cried out, “Daniel, did your God deliver you.?” He opened the doors and Daniel looked up at him and said, “My God sent an angel to shut the mouths of the lions.” Vv.21-22.
We don’t know much about the rest of Daniel’s life. We know that he not only interpreted dreams for others but also had some dreams and visions of his own. Like the Apostle John on the Island of Patmos, Daniel saw visions of what we often refer to as “The End of Time.” These visions are visions that are filled with good news. One of those visions reveals that the Kingdom of God will reign forever and that it will be greater than the Kingdom’s of Babylon and Rome. According to Daniel’s visions “The good will eventually be rewarded and the wicked will finally get what they deserve. Regardless of how it appears at times, God and the forces of good will eventually prevail.
Looking at the life of Daniel should give us courage. It should help us remain strong in the face of temptation. When we are reminded of what he endured it should help us take heart and persevere during the dark times of adversity that come our way. It was this kind of courage that Jesus had in mind when He said, “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
Lessons we can learn from Daniel
1. Remain Faithful to the Lord regardless of the temptations.
2. Remain Faithful to the Lord despite the cost.
3. Be willing to share the Truth of God’s Word even if it isn’t politically correct.
4. Don’t compromise your faith for any reason.
5. A secret faith is really no faith at all.
