Staying Strong in a Hostile World 2024 - Week 2

Or how we can align our character with God's, and respond to the hostile ones who don't understand our loyalty to Yahweh | Staying Strong in a Hostile World 2024 | Book of Daniel

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“This book [Daniel] will show us what we can expect from this life, and how we can and must remain faithful and courageous in our world.”
~author David Helm

How Not to Flip Out when the World Flips You Over

Last Wednesday, our small group of about a dozen had a lively discussion on Daniel chapter 1 and also chapter 2. Those two chapters contain many concepts that we all could study and chat about for hours. We didn’t have hours so we focused on Daniel’s character and how he lived his life faithful to Yahweh despite the very pagan culture around him.

Points to Ponder

Here are a few points we discussed about Daniel, how he remained faithful, along with his three friends Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach), and Azariah (Abed-nego).

Daniel and his three friends left behind a friendly and familiar world of nobility in Jerusalem to endure exile in a strange and sacrilegious world of nobility in a foreign land.

Imagine that for a moment.

They were torn from everything beloved and familiar. Their lives were flipped completely upside down. How did they conduct themselves?

They didn’t live with hearts filled with hatred toward their enemies. No. Daniel and his friends chose to respect their captors while remaining faithful to their God. They respected King Nebuchadnezzar’s desire to feed them fine foods from his table. They also proposed a solution that would respect the king as well as honor Yahweh’s dietary laws. God rewarded their loyalty to Him by ensuring the four men glowed with health and vitality at the end of the dietary trial period. As a bonus, the chief of the royal eunuchs didn’t lose his head and his life.

What about us?

We can strive to embrace the same attitude of loving and respecting our enemies when we have to deal with those hostile to us and our faith in Jesus Christ. I’ll be honest, this is one of my biggest challenges, it’s hard for me to live this way consistently. I’m humbled by Daniel’s example.

Now, buckle your seat belts because this is a longer post that others I’ve published in the past. It’s okay to read it in chunks over this week when you have time.

Daniel Chapter 1

The first chapter in Daniel is rich with lessons for us. However, I’m going to spend this section on one verse, for its concept is vital to our staying strong in a hostile world.

Daniel Resolved that He Would Remain Faithful

Daniel 1:8-9 (ESV)
⁸ But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. ⁹ And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs,

Let’s look at this verse in other English translations:

• But Daniel resolved (English Standard Bible; Lexham English Bible; New International Version)

• But Daniel determined (Amplified Bible, Classic; Christian Standard Bible; Holman Christian Standard Bible; New Living Translation; The Voice)

• But Daniel purposed [in his heart] (KJV; NKJV; Orthodox Jewish Bible)

• But Daniel placed upon [his heart] (Lexham English Bible, translation note; New English Translation, translation note)

• But Daniel made up his mind (Living Bible; New American Standard Bible; New English Translation)

The Hebrew word is śym [ שׂים ]. This is a critical word to understand for śym was Daniel’s foundation for his faith in Yahweh, a foundation upon which Daniel built his life during 70 years in exile in Babylonia (Babylon).

שׂים śym: lay, set (down), arrange; fix, stand, put, install, mount, establish, confirm
~The Abridged Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Old Testament, Logos Bible Software

The synonyms that speak to me are placed upon, arranged, fixed, put, installed, mounted. Why? Because they are action verbs. Someone has to do something to get a result. And, the first example that popped into my feeble brain was mounting pictures on a wall.

Finerframes.com

We do something to have beautiful art on our walls. And, we need tools to hang pictures on walls. I usually pull out a lot of tools, including a spirit level, to make sure the pictures are hanging straight and aren’t crooked.

In the same manner, we need to take up spiritual tools to actively resolve to stay strong in a hostile world. We can’t just think about it, we need to take action and use effective tools to strengthen our faith muscles every day, like these tools:

• Getting personal with God

• Memorizing God’s word

• Worshiping Him in song (with other believers as well as alone)

• Expressing gratitude (even for the little things)

• Developing a daily, conversational prayer life

What other tools can you think of? Please share them in the Comments, and what you’ve learned or experienced from using those tools.

Daniel Trusted the Results to God

Daniel 1:9 and 17-19 (ESV)
⁹ And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs,

¹⁷ God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams of every kind. ¹⁸ At the end of the time that the king had said to present them, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ The king interviewed them, and among all of them, no one was found equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they began to serve in the king’s court.

Daniel remained faithful, trusting the results in God. The Lord chose to bless Daniel and his friends for their loyalty to Him and the four men received a promotion to serve in Nebuchadnezzar’s court. However, one day that honor turned into a terrifying situation. Did Daniel freak out?

Daniel Chapter 2

Daniel 2:1-6 (HCSB)
¹ In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled him, and sleep deserted him. ² So the king gave orders to summon the diviner-priests, mediums, sorcerers, and Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. When they came and stood before the king, ³ he said to them, “I have had a dream and am anxious to understand it.”

⁴ The Chaldeans spoke to the king (Aramaic begins here): “May the king live forever. Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”

⁵ The king replied to the Chaldeans, “My word is final: If you don’t tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be made a garbage dump. ⁶ But if you make the dream and its interpretation known to me, you’ll receive gifts, a reward, and great honor from me. So make the dream and its interpretation known to me.”

Daniel faces an impossible situation. Although Yahweh had blessed him with the ability to understand visions and dreams, King Nebuchadnezzar refused to tell the details of his dream to any of the wise men in Babylonia, including Daniel and his friends.

An Anxious King

King Nebuchadnezzar’s strange dream tormented him. In his anxious state of mind, he refused to reveal the dream to his wise men even after they told him they couldn’t interpret his dream, and that no one could but their gods “whose dwelling is not with mortals”. Can you imagine being the king of the great and mighty Babylonia, and hearing all of your learned and wise men telling you no mortal can interpret his dream? In his frustration and anger, the king condemned them all to death.

An Audacious Prophet

Daniel 2:13-16 (HCSB)
¹³ The decree was issued that the wise men were to be executed, and they searched for Daniel and his friends, to execute them.
¹⁴ Then Daniel responded with tact and discretion to Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁵ He asked Arioch, the king’s officer, “Why is the decree from the king so harsh?” Then Arioch explained the situation to Daniel. ¹⁶ So Daniel went and asked the king to give him some time, so that he could give the king the interpretation.

Daniel didn’t freak out. He “responded with tact and discretion” to the one man who could grant Daniel access to the king. Daniel had his audience with the king, gained some time to consult with his friends, and he even told the king he would be able to interpret the secret dream. What an audacious man of God! What courage! What confidence he had in the Lord! He then went back to his three companions and urged them to join him in radical prayer to Yahweh, for time was short, and their execution was drawing near.

An Amazing Almighty God

Daniel 2:17-19 (HCSB)
¹⁷ Then Daniel went to his house and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about the matter, ¹⁸ urging them to ask the God of heaven for mercy concerning this mystery, so Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the rest of Babylon’s wise men. ¹⁹ The mystery was then revealed to Daniel in a vision at night, and Daniel praised the God of heaven

Daniel not only interpreted the king’s dream for him, Daniel gave all of the praise and glory to Yahweh, the God of heaven, the One above any and all gods, especially those worshiped in Babylonia. Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged Daniel’s God as above all others yet he never made a heart commitment to the God of Israel, he never followed Him. He did promote Daniel and his three friends into the highest governing positions in the region (and, he didn’t kill off the other magi).

Living in a culture hostile to Yahweh, Daniel shows that courageous faith in Yahweh—along with personal integrity and persistent prayer—is the way to live. The stories of Dan 1–6 demonstrate how the people of God can live righteously, even in a culture that opposes their faith. Daniel and his three friends ask Yahweh to deliver them from life-threatening danger and impossible dilemmas, and He is faithful to answer.

John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016).

Daniel’s life provides us with these examples on how we can stay strong in a hostile world:

• Courageous faith in Yahweh

• Personal integrity

• Persistent prayer

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Application: What About You?

How’s your prayer life with God? Can you set aside daily conversational time with your Father God, your Abba (Daddy), and make time to truly listen to Him?

How’s your time in God’s word? If you don’t have a small group in your area for attending a Bible study in person, try the Bible app by YouVersion. It has a feature that let’s you invite any friend(s) to join you, even if they live hundreds of miles away.

Who are your enemies, the ones hostile to you because of your faith in Jesus? With them in mind, can you take baby steps, from today forward, to genuinely love them, respect them, and pray for them? (Absolutely, begin with praying for them. Prayer is no small thing.)

And finally, will you resolve, determine, purpose in your heart, place upon your heart, make up your mind to remain faithful to Yahweh, the LORD God of Israel, as things in your world grow more hostile?

God has already resolved, made up His mind, to be faithful to you. You just celebrated His amazing faithfulness on Easter, only a couple of Sunday’s ago.

Will you decide live like Daniel?

Maranatha, come Lord Jesus.

Soli Deo Gloria!

If you’re a not-yet follower of Jesus Christ, please come along on this journey with us. You are welcome here.

And, I invite you to read my series on the book “What Does God Want?”.

Conversation & Community

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