Tag Archives: Daniel

As Daniel Purposed in His Heart

Posted on by under Christian Living

            Do you remember what it was like to be a teenager, and to have to face the constant peer pressure of those who were around you?  Just imagine what it would be like to have to spend those years in a foreign country, where you might have very little say over what you could or could not do.  Imagine how difficult that would be in our youthful years.

            This was the case with Daniel and his friends, who were taken captive by the Babylonians in 606 – 605 BC, when they were likely only about 14 or 15 years old.  Yet, even in a foreign land as a captive, Daniel had a resolve to not defile himself.  Notice what is recorded about him, “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” (Daniel 1:8).  In this verse, Daniel resolves not to defile himself with the king’s food or wine.

            Daniel’s decision to abstain from the king’s food and wine was not just a matter of personal preference.  It was a matter of faith.  Daniel was committed to following the Mosaic Law, which prohibited the eating of certain food (Leviticus 11).  This could not have been an easy decision, but Daniel purposed in his heart ahead of time, before the temptations would have come, to do the Lord’s will.  Daniel was in a foreign land surrounded by others who did not share his beliefs.  The peer pressure would have been great to go along to get along.  However, Daniel remained faithful, and God rewarded him for it (Daniel 1:9, 17).

            Daniel’s resolve is a great example for us to remember to stand up for what God wants, even when it may be difficult – even when surrounded by non-believers.  When we purpose in our hearts to do what is right, we will be less likely to compromise godly values and beliefs, no matter what it costs us.  Remember, it is more important to be Christlike than to be popular.

But If Not . . .

Posted on by under Culture

OXYGEN Volume 10     Back in the days of Daniel, when the children of Israel were exiled in Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar decided to have a 90 foot tall golden statue constructed. The king then commanded that at the proper time all were to bow down and worship this golden image. There were those among the exiles, however, who were faithful to God and would not bow down to the image even though the penalty was death in a fiery furnace (Daniel 3:1-12). These three men, Meshach, Shadrach, and Abed-Nego, were not going to violate their worship to the one true God by bowing down and paying homage to the image Nebuchadnezzar created. Did they not know that this would cost them their physical lives?

     Meshach, Shadrach, and Abed-Nego knew full well what the penalty was for refusing to bow to the statue, and yet they remained unconcerned. They responded to the king that they need not be worried over the circumstances of their refusal, because their God was able to deliver them (Daniel 3:17). They knew that God had the power to save them from the physical death in the fiery furnace. Then they uttered three words that demonstrated their great faith in the Almighty God, “but if not” (Daniel 3:18). Even if God decided to not save them from the physical trial, they knew that God could still deliver them spiritually.

     How is our faith in times of trouble or trial? Do we have the faith to stand with the one true God, or do we see our trials as too difficult and give in to the rest of the world? Do we take the path of least resistance to avoid trial or persecution? Let us look to these three young men as examples of how we should approach physical trials. God has the power to deliver us from all sorts of physical trials. But if not, He is still the only one who can deliver our souls from everlasting destruction.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Wise Men

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CrystalBall_thumb      Perhaps you have heard of or seen a magician, who as part of their act reads the mind of a member of the audience.  If so, you know how impressive this seems on the surface.  Just how is it that a man can read the thoughts of another human being?  Later, when you find that there is some sort of trick or gimmick to explain the ‘magic,’ you realize that man just does not have the ability to read minds.  This, however, is not a new discovery.

     In the second chapter of the book of Daniel, we have recorded for us that Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had a most troubling dream.  He called for all of his wise men to come to him and tell him what the dream was and what it meant.  The wise men of Babylon were perplexed.  Without any sort of clues, or without Nebuchadnezzar telling them about the dream, there was no way for them to determine what the dream even was, not to mention what it might have meant.  They correctly stated that, “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.  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” (Daniel 2:10b-11 NKJV).  They understood that the power to know what was in the mind of a man was not something that another man had the ability to discern.

     This same truth holds today as well.  We are told in the New Testament, “For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:11).  Man cannot read the thoughts of another man.  That is what makes Daniel’s description and interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream that much more impressive.  Daniel was only able to tell the king of his dream and what it meant, because God made that information known to Daniel in the first place (Daniel 2:19-23).

     This event should prove to us that there is a God who knows all things.  Only such a God could be able to tell Nebuchadnezzar through His servant Daniel the details of his dream.  Likewise, there are things about God Himself that man can only know because God has revealed those things to us.  It is in God’s word, the Holy Bible that we can find out about who God is and what He is like.  Let us not neglect the great volume of information that we have at our fingertips about our God and about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Kingdom Come?

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Left Behind CageMany of us are looking forward to Jesus’ return with great anticipation. Regarding that return, there are many who expect Christ to set up an earthly kingdom and reign from Jerusalem for 1,000 years. Indeed, later this week a new movie based on the popular “Left Behind” series opens in theaters, which espouses this idea of Jesus’ coming kingdom. Is this really what the Bible teaches, or is it just good fiction?  Let us look at just a few scriptures to ascertain the answer to that question.

Long ago Joel prophesied that in the last days God would pour His Spirit upon mankind (Joel 2:28ff). In Acts 2, Peter makes mention of Joel’s prophecy and says that they were living in those last days that Joel was referring to (Acts 2:16-21).  So we know from this that the last days began some 2,000 years ago on that day of Pentecost.  Additionally, we see that Jesus told those who were listening to Him that some of them would not experience death until they had seen the kingdom come with power (Mark 9:1).  Just prior to Jesus’ ascension He told His disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until they received power from the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5).  About a week later, they received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2.  Therefore, they received the power when the Spirit fell upon them.  When the power came the kingdom came.

Furthermore, in reviewing Daniel 2, and the explanation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, Daniel describes four earthly kingdoms. The first of these is Babylon, followed by the Medes and the Persians.  Later would be the Greeks and then the Roman Empire. Then Daniel states that in the days of those kings God would set up a kingdom that would never be destroyed (Dan. 2:44).  This is further confirmation that the kingdom would be established during the days of the Roman Empire and was also fulfilled on the day of Pentecost as described in Acts 2.  Just as Jesus told Pilot, His kingdom was not of this earth but that it was a spiritual kingdom (John 18:36).

So then, what do we learn by putting some of these scriptures together? We see that there were some who lived 2,000 years ago that were not going to die before the kingdom came with power.  We see that power came when the kingdom was established on the day of Pentecost, and we see that the kingdom is a spiritual kingdom which is the church.  Christ came to seek and save the lost and to add them to His kingdom, the church, and He was successful in that mission.  Therefore, the kingdom that we are to seek entry into has been established for the past 2,000 years, and it is the church which Jesus built (Mat.16:18).