Word of Salvation – Vol.49 No.37 – October 2004

 

There’s No Such Thing As A Free Lunch!

 

Sermon by Rev J De Hoog on Daniel 1

Scripture Readings: Psalm 2 (Daniel 1 to be read as the sermon is read)

Suggested Hymns: BoW 426; 459; 460:3,4; Rej 555; 355

 

Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ…

What kinds of thoughts do the words “hero” or “super hero” conjure up in your mind? Do you think of great deeds done in hugely trying circumstances, deeds of remarkable courage and tenacity done in the face of impossible odds?

As a child I dreamt of being a hero. I remember one particular circumstance of being at the beach in Kingston in Tasmania and seeing someone get into some difficulty out in deeper water. I watched him being rescued by another more powerful swimmer. I remember imagining what it would be like to rescue someone in that way. It was a particularly foolish fantasy because at that time I couldn’t even swim!

We think of heroes and super heroes as being people who are exceptionally brave in extraordinary ways, don’t we?

Perhaps you might think of Daniel and his friends in this way. Daniel’s friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, refused to bow down to an idol when the only alternative was certain death in the fiery furnace. Daniel refused to give up praying to God when the only alternative was being thrown into the lions’ den. What heroes they were!

But how did they become heroes? Just overnight, just suddenly? No, the heroism they showed in later life developed out of earlier steps of faithfulness they took in their first days in Babylon. We read about those early steps of faithfulness in chapter 1 of Daniel.

We saw last time that verses 1-2 of Daniel chapter 1 set the agenda for the whole book [Read Daniel 1:1-2]. From a human perspective, God’s people are in deep trouble. You could even say that God has been defeated. His people are in captivity, the symbols of God’s presence are on display in a pagan temple. But these first two verses don’t just take the human perspective, they take God’s perspective. We read that the Lord delivered Jehoiakim into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. And last time we saw that God did this in faithfulness to His own Word. From verses 1-2 we can understand two basic principles: First, that history is never accidental, that God is in control of all that happens. And second, that God is always faithful to His word – always, no matter what!

Now as we progress into the story of Daniel and his friends in chapter 1, we can begin to see how those principles have an impact on the lives of God’s people in a hostile world. And we see how men who would later become heroes take their first steps of faithful obedience to the Lord. Let’s follow the story and see.

Daniel’s account of life in Babylon begins by outlining Nebuchadnezzar’s programme of assimilation. The Babylonian king has decided to take the best that Judah has to offer, the cream of the crop, and turn them into valuable Babylonians. See how his programme of assimilation progresses step by step.

Step 1. Select the best. Verse 3 says: “Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility – young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace.” These men were the top rung of Israelite society.

Step 2. Teach them Babylonian culture. Verse 4: “He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.” The learning of Babylon was greatly renowned. The young men would learn religion, astrology, magic, philosophy, science, mathematics and the best literature of the known world.

Step 3. Provide for all their needs from the king’s table. Verse 5: “The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.” This was a great privilege. They were given the great honour of eating and drinking from the food prepared for the king himself, with the idea that after three years of training they would be completely committed to the king. ‘You don’t bite the hand that feeds you!’

Step 4. Remove their Jewish identity by giving them new names. Verses 6-7: “Among them were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.” This was a crucial blow to Jewish identity. For Jews, names were very important. Each of the names of the Jewish young men was composed of names of the God of Israel (El or Yahweh), and had meanings associated with God. For example, “Daniel” means “God is my judge”. He was renamed, “Belteshazzar”, which means, “May Marduk protect his life”. Marduk was the chief god of Babylon. Azariah means, “Yahweh helps”, “Abednego” means, “Servant of Affliction”.

Think about the situation these young men are in. Jerusalem has been defeated. The articles of the temple of God are on display in a pagan temple. And the top young men of Israel are being placed under the names of Babylon’s gods. Where is God in all this? Can God’s people survive? After three years of Nebuchadnezzar’s assimilation programme, will these four young men have remained faithful to God? Or will they have succumbed to the pressure to conform to their world?

Daniel and his friends decide to take a stand. They resolve to hang on to their faith. Verses 8-14 say: “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to show favour and sympathy to Daniel, but the official told Daniel, ‘I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.’ Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, ‘Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.’ So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.”

Daniel takes a stand in an area of his life in which he can act. There was very little he could do about deportation, re-education and a name change. But on the issue of food he could take a stand. It was a very radical thing to do. He was standing up to the great Nebuchadnezzar! The chief official was at first too scared to even consider Daniel’s request. If the chief official was afraid, Daniel and his friends must have been shaking in their boots!

It seems a rather strange thing to do, doesn’t it? If we wanted to take a stand somewhere, if we were choosing a place to say “No”, would we balk over the issue of food and drink? Probably not! What could be wrong with eating the king’s food and drinking his wine?

Some have thought that the king’s food was offered to idols before being served, and so Daniel refused it for that reason. But there is no evidence for this practice in Babylonia. Others think that perhaps the animals used to prepare the food were ritually unclean. But then why would Daniel also refuse the wine? The best explanation seems to be that in Babylonian custom, to accept food from the king’s table was to enter into a covenant relationship with him. It was to commit yourself to friendship and obligation to him.

We have a similar kind of understanding in our society today. If one businessman takes another businessman to lunch, and offers to pay for it, there is often a sense of obligation established. If later in the week the first man approaches the second man for a small favour, it’s hard to refuse. ‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch!’

Daniel and his friends refused the king’s food and drink because these provisions symbolised their dependence on, and commitment to, the king. They wished to be dependent and committed to the Lord their God alone. To accept food and drink from the king’s table would have limited Daniel’s ability to be God’s person. He wanted to say a clear “no” to assimilation. By eating a different diet, Daniel and his friends would show that they were distinctive, that they were God’s people first.

What Daniel did was right. But it wasn’t necessarily safe! Daniel had no guarantee that God would act to preserve him. He and his friends simply did what was right before God in the circumstances. They trusted that nothing happens by accident in history. They knew that God was in control, that they had been sent to Babylon for a purpose, for God’s purpose. Knowing this, they wanted to fit in with that purpose the best way they could. And to do that, they knew they would have to be as faithful to Him as possible.

In acting the way they did, Daniel and his friends lived out some very important truths about the way we should live in this world.

1. Know both the benefits and the dangers of this world. Daniel had a good sense of both the benefits and the dangers of being involved in the world. Being educated as a Babylonian and working in the king’s service was something that Jews could handle. Think only of Joseph many years before, and Nehemiah, whom Daniel may have known and shaken hands with. They all served with distinction in a pagan world. Jews could handle this because of their view of the world. The world is God’s world, the creation is good. God has given us many things to enjoy. Daniel knew how far he could keep company with his world. But he also knew when to say “no”. He knew when to avoid the world’s thinking. He knew what kinds of things really mattered and what did not.

2. Say “yes” to the benefits, in fact, be actively involved and master the good things and be leaders. You are the salt of the earth. Daniel knew when to say “No”, but he was never in retreat mode. He never withdrew from the world. God never wanted him to withdraw. In fact, God wanted him to master these things. See how God gives them great understanding of all they learned. Verse 17 says, “To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.” There is much in this world of great value and benefit, which we should accept with gratitude to God. We should beware of separating God the Redeemer from God the Creator. God who saved us is also God who made the good things of creation.

We should never imagine that the things of this world are automatically evil and to be rejected. Paul warns against an attitude of retreat from the world in 1 Timothy 4:1-5 – “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.”

See how strong Paul’s words are here. People who say that the things God has created are bad and to be avoided are demon-inspired and have abandoned the faith. And yet, how often do we retreat from the world and involvement in it because we are afraid? We are afraid of being dirtied or polluted in some way, or we are afraid of all the hard work that will be involved in actually leaving our Christian environment and getting our hands dirty in the world. Contrast this with Daniel’s attitude. He was never in retreat mode. Instead he participated in his world to the full, and sought to transform and recreate it.

Jesus calls us to be the salt of the earth. But salt is only effective when it’s spread about. It’s no good keeping it inside the saltshaker. It needs to come into contact with whatever it is flavouring and preserving. We need to do some hard thinking in this aspect of our lives as Christian people.

But there is also another truth in the life of Daniel that balances this one.

3. Say “no” to the dangers and false thinking of this world, on the principle that you must not allow anything to destroy even the smallest part of your identity as God’s person. You have been bought by the blood of the Lamb; do not allow yourselves to be bought by any other person or thing, no matter what the price.

Daniel knew there was a point at which he had to say “no” to his world. For Daniel, that point came in eating food and drinking wine from the king’s table. And the reason he had to say “no” at that point was that in Babylonian society, to accept the king’s provisions meant to accept an obligation and a commitment to him, which for Daniel would have compromised his commitment and obligation to the Lord. It would have taken away some of his freedom to act as God’s person, and to the extent that he had control over that, he decided that being God’s person was most important.

These truths are tremendously important for us to think through as we determine how we will be involved in the world. Suppose you are given the opportunity to be involved in some new venture, and you are trying to think through whether or not it is right for you to be involved. It may be a business venture, it may be joining a club of some kind, it may be a new possibility in your career or your recreation, it may be the possibility of developing a new relationship with someone of the opposite sex, it may be any number of things. But you want to please the Lord in the way ahead, and so you try to think the issue out. What are some basic principles to keep in mind?

First, as 1 Timothy 4:4 says, “Everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.” In other words, everything in God’s creation is good and can be accepted within the limits set by God’s Word and by your understanding of how He is guiding you in response to your prayers.

Second, as a Christian person, you belong to the Lord. As 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore honour God with your body.” And Jesus is addressed in Revelation 5:9 as “worthy… because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

Jesus has bought you at the price of His own life. If you have heard the message of the gospel, and have responded to it, and have embraced Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, you have been freed from the curse of sin and death. You are right with God, He has paid the price for your salvation. And so you see yourself in a new light. You say to yourself – In making this decision, I must remember that I belong to the Lord. No one or nothing else can buy me, can buy my loyalty, because I belong to the Lord. That’s me, a man or a woman of God. Is entering into this venture going to compromise my identity as God’s person in any way? Will making this decision reduce my freedom to live for God? If so, I will say ‘no’ to it.

These two principles create a very healthy tension in our lives. On the one hand, we can participate and get involved in the world in a robust way, for it is God’s world and it is a good creation. But on the other hand, there is also much evil in this world as a result of the sin of mankind. And so there will be times when we need to say “no” to certain involvements. There will be times when we need to say “no” so that we will avoid compromising our basic identity as God’s people. All of us must think carefully about how these principles apply to ourselves.

4. Know that God is in control of events, and has a purpose for everything that happens to you. You will not know all the details of God’s purpose. But the best way to fit in with God’s purpose for you is to be faithful in small things now.

Here is another huge truth that we can only touch on today. Remember what we learnt from verses 1-2 of this chapter. First, that history is never accidental, that God is in control of all that happens. And second, that God is always faithful to His Word – always, no matter what! Daniel had this perspective on his life in Babylon. Daniel and his friends could not have envisaged the amazing things they would be called to do in Babylon, and the huge influence they would have. In chapter 1, all they can see is that they need to abstain from the king’s provisions of food and wine to remain faithful to their God. But they knew that God was in charge, and that to best fit in with God’s plans they should take this stand.

We must adopt the same attitude. Who knows what God has in store for your life? No one does, except God! All He asks of you now is consistent faithfulness, so that you can best fit into the plan He has for you.

5. Faithfulness in small steps of obedience now can lead to heroism in the future. In chapter 1, God is preparing these four men for their future tasks. Imagine if they had compromised at this point. Imagine if they had folded and given in and been unable to be faithful in this very early stage of their lives in Babylon. They would never have been able to act heroically later. Growth in grace and usefulness in God’s service does not begin in the world of dreams, in the world of heroes and super heroes. It begins in the small decisions we make, in the nitty gritty harsh realities of everyday living. It was so for Daniel, and it will be so for the Daniels of today.

What is the conclusion of the matter in this chapter? Verses 15-21 say, “At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished that any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. To these young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds. At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them and found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.”

God acted in a marvellous way through Daniel and his friends. The chapter had begun with the question, Where is God? His people have been defeated, His city and temple have been ransacked, the articles of the temple that symbolised His presence have been put on display in a pagan temple. Where is God? Has He been defeated by the supergods of the superpowers? Is it perhaps time for Daniel and his friends to give up the old ways, the old time religion, and catch up with the new ways? Is it time for them to embrace modernity?

No, Not at all. The point is not so much that Daniel and his friends were so much superior. Rather, the source of their superiority is God. The gods of Babylon were no match for the God of the universe and these four young men have been used by Him to show His superiority. God is not dead; He is still at work. On the surface it appears that the victory belongs to the gods of Babylon. But outward defeat is not always a sign of true reality. Where it really counted, God had the victory, and this victory of His will become increasingly obvious as the book of Daniel proceeds. Nebuchadnezzar could only defeat Jerusalem by God’s permission. God enabled Daniel and his friends to stand firm, and God gave them success. God has been victorious.

When you stand faithful to God in a time of trouble, there is no guarantee that you will see remarkable results like Daniel did. Daniel resolved to be faithful, not knowing what God would do. As it happened, God had big plans for Daniel, and he saw remarkable results.

Such incredible things may not be so obvious in your life. But as you remain faithful to the Lord, He will work out His purposes through you. His work may be more subtle, but it will be no less sure. And one day you will be able to stand with Daniel and hear the Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Isn’t that worth striving for?

Amen.