Despite the faithlessness of the Jewish people (see Daniel’s prayer in chapter 9), God remained faithful. His would send the Messiah through them as He had promised, and He would be a descendant of David (Psalm 89). In chapter 1, we see several manifestations of Yahweh’s faithfulness.
1. He is still present. God’s presence was especially associated with the temple in Jerusalem. Daniel and his friends are 500 miles away. Yet the book of Daniel makes it clear that Yahweh is not bound to any structure or place—He is present with Daniel and his friends in the pagan world of Babylon. When the official over Daniel and his friends wants to put them on a special diet (possibly in violation of Jewish dietary laws), we’re told, “God . . . caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel” (1:9). This is needed news. When you are the Almighty One, You don’t need an ideal situation in order to work. He is with us wherever we are.
2. He is still sovereign. God not only works on the personal level, v. 2 lets us know He also works on the international level. Nebuchadnezzar would have believed that his capture of Judah’s king and plundering of the temple proved the superiority of his god, Marduk, to Yahweh. After all, the treasure from Yahweh’s temples ended up in Marduk’s temple, didn’t they? And didn’t they give names to Daniel and his friends (indicating their authority over them)?
But appearances don’t always reflect reality as this is one of those times. Verse 2 tells us that “the Lord delivered Jehoiakim into his hand” as well as the temple treasures. (By the way, Daniel will have more to say about the temple treasures in chapter 5).
3. He is still working for His people. Correspondingly, the people weren’t to look to Egypt (as Jehoiakim did) for deliverance. Neither military power nor diplomacy would save them—only God could do that. Though he and his friends are caught up in a bad situation, Daniel and his friends know this and that’s what makes them the salt and light among the Babylonians.
There’s a lot for us to learn from chapter one. Here’s some things that stand out to me.
1. It’s helpful if we can learn to look for the bigger picture. The immediate picture of chapter one is the difficult situation Daniel and his friends are in. The bigger picture is how God is working through them to accomplish His will. The immediate picture needs to be understood in light of the bigger one.
I know a husband and wife who lost their baby just days after he was born. Taken by itself, that’s a traumatic experience that seemingly has nothing possibly redemptive about it. Except that in this case, the mother began to wonder what happened to her baby boy after he died. Where was he? This led her to a Bible study where she learned her child was with the Lord. That led to her being baptized and giving her life to the Lord.
The immediate picture was a tragedy—her child had died and wasn’t going to return to her. The larger picture was that one day she could be reunited with him. I’m not suggesting that it’s always this easy to see the bigger picture, but I am saying that it’s a mistake to look at things in isolation. Everything is connected and under God’s sovereignty, He is working all things together for the good of those who love Him.
2. We should try to think of history as the unfolding of His Story. Looking at the bigger picture can help us to see history as the unfolding of His story. History is headed somewhere! From our perspective it often looks like history is nothing more than the story of man lurching around in darkness. While there’s truth to that, the bigger truth is that because God is in control, His purposes are being served and fulfilled even though we may not be able to see how that is happening. Because of our limitations (nearsightedness), our view of history is like looking at something through water—sometimes we see clearly but many times we see things in a distorted manner. The book of Daniel assures us that history is headed somewhere because God is in control.
3. We should seek to live honorably even among the dishonorable. Most of us are blessed to go to school, work, and live among many good people. We should thank God for that. But all of us know people who live dishonorably. Maybe they’ve made a clear choice to live that way or perhaps they are following the lead of others. Either way, their poor choice is no excuse for us to live at that level. We know better and our behavior should show it. Like Daniel and his friends, there’s always a need for disciples who live clearly and uncompromisingly before the world.
Be one of them!
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 