Daniel 1:1-8

You may be feeling this is going painstakingly slow…in one way, it is.

Let me lay out a few thoughts.

·       First, I think the Book of Daniel is wildly applicable to our own day, therefore…

·       Second, I work to understand how Daniel’s frame of reference, how he thinks about his world through Biblical lenses, is in fact relevant for us today…

·       Third, it is not merely Daniel’s mind, it is how Babylon, this most foreign of worlds, is wildly similar to our own day.

This reflection is the final post in working to understand Daniel’s frame of reference. So far:

·      I’ve tried to set the stage that you and I, as we live in a world of moral outrage, struggling to find how we might witness our faith, might consider Daniel.

·      I’ve noted that Daniel believes, as all who believe the Scriptures, that God is involved in our world, and that God’s involvement gives our lives, meaning.

·      I’ve observed that when we state we believe God is involved in history, we then immediately have to deal with a reaction from people. The reaction is that people of faith, must be blind.

·      I’ve asserted that people of faith are in fact, remarkably similar to people of science!

Which draws my attention to: 

8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king’s dainties, nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

Daniel purposed in his heart he would not defile himself…a remarkable statement. 

It is remarkable for a number of reasons. The biggest reason, in my mind, is that Daniel still believes in this God who allowed him and his friends to be dragged off to a foreign nation and made into eunuchs. 

Why do I say he is a eunuch? Because the person supervising him is the chief eunuch. The text is not explicit. History tells us that people in Daniel’s situation more times than not were made eunuchs. That fact, plus that he is supervised by the chief eunuch, leads me to think Daniel has been neutered.

If “your God” had “allowed” this to happen to you, would you stay committed? Daniel has stayed committed. Why?

The answer is because Daniel sees the world with Biblical eyes. That God is sovereign. That God is in control. That God will discipline the people He loves. That God in fact sent prophets to the nation of Israel to warn, cajole, even woo, Israel to turn back to Him. And in the end, that God disciplines those He loves. 

Daniel understands that his situation is a result of a moral God.

I know that is a lot to take in. But the Bible presents the most deliberate and complete description of human purpose and destiny as we, humans, wrestle to discover our meaning behind, and within, our own human drama. 

And the most difficult element of this our grappling is when we come face to face with our individual moral difficulties in contrast with moral situation that surrounds us. 

Said simply, “Why am I, a pretty good person, suffering because a nation around me has abandoned God?” 

Daniel’s answer: because the God of the universe is a moral God. Rather than focus on his personal situation, Daniel commits his life to the God he believes is faithful.

What is your situation?