We’ve been looking at how Daniel saw the world—his Biblical Worldview—and noted that he chose to not defile himself with what the king was providing.
What is this world that Daniel finds himself in the middle of? Is it a world that is so repulsive that a person would immediately seek to not conform?
Quite the opposite. Babylon is grand. The Encyclopedia of Ancient History notes:
“By 600 BCE, Babylon was so impressive it was considered the center of the world; certainly by the Babylonians themselves and, seemingly, by others. A clay tablet dating to this time, discovered in the ruins of the city of Sippar (north of Babylon) and presently in the British Museum, presents the ancient world revolving around Babylon. The tablet purports to be a map of the world but actually marginalizes most of the regions surrounding Babylon, including Sippar. The map's origin is Babylonian and how it arrived in Sippar is unknown but it is possible this piece is one of many held by cities who honored Nebuchadnezzar II's reign and his great urban center. As Michael Kerrigan notes:
In presenting a view of the world, any map at the same time presents a 'worldview' – an ordered set of assumptions and attitudes. This one, with its breezy metro-centrism, its apparently unquestioning assumption that Babylon was the hub at the heart of things, speaks volumes for the self-confidence of the city. (36)
The great temples and monuments were accented and made accessible by new roads and special attention was given to the creation of the Processional Way for the Festival of Marduk during which the god’s statue was taken from the temple and paraded through the city and out beyond the gates. This road was 70 feet (21 meters) wide and ran from the temple complex in the heart of the city out through the Ishtar Gate in the north, a considerable distance of over half a mile (nearly a kilometer) in length with walls rising over fifty feet (15.2 meters) on either side. These were decorated with over 120 images of lions, dragons, bulls, and flowers in gold.”
The Babylonians would view themselves as the world’s leading power—because they were. They would consider themselves, and their views, as the right views. Religious views, political views, economic views—all their views would be the dominate ones.
Daniel arriving at Babylon, and being in the king’s court, would be analogous to someone arriving in Washington in the early twentieth century—and then being put on staff in the Whitehouse.
But it is not as glamorous as I suggest.
Daniel has been dragged from his country. Daniel has had his name changed. Daniel has been neutered.
But there is something more. Something bigger than what has individually happened to Daniel.
Babylon’s view of Daniel’s God is that this Yahweh is merely one god among the various gods from the myriad of nations that Babylon has conquered. Babylon places the sacred vessels of Judah in its museum, along with all the other sacred vessels from other nations they have conquered.
This action relativizes Judah’s God.
In Daniel’s world Yahweh is the only God, and His Law is perfect. In Daniel’s world, his view of his God is absolute.
Babylon is offering him what they might think is the opportunity of a lifetime. He just needs to “dial down” his religious views.
Can you see any parallels with our world?