His Word is a Lamp: Daniel

To the faithful You show Yourself faithful. Ps. 18:25 (NIV)

Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah chose to honor God and not defile themselves by eating the king’s assigned food but they ate vegetables and drank water instead (Daniel, chapter 1). In so doing, they showed themselves to be faithful to God and this determined the tone of how they would walk as exiles in a foreign and hostile land. How do four young men who have just been ripped away from their families and homeland decide to make such a stand? I think it was two things:
Someone, either their families or other close folks & friends, invested in them so that they would know and serve the God of their fathers.
God, in His faithfulness, honored them for such a bold and confident decision in the face of direct indoctrination by King Neb.

In fact, we can see three things that God did in the first chapter:
He granted them favor (1:9) to carry out their resolve not to defile themselves.
He sustained them (1:14).
He gifted them for the purposes He had for them (1:17).

As we noted on Sunday, this was just the preparation phase for these four young men! 

In chapter two, Daniel interpreted the dream the king had, something no other person could do. It was God who revealed the dream to him, after he’d prayed with the other three guys about it. 

In chapter three, the three friends do not bow to the golden statue the king set up and they were thrown into the flaming, fiery furnace. 

Daniel would go on to have other dreams and visions having meaning about the kingdoms of the time and the kingdom of God. 

Daniel also would continue praying three times a day to the God of Heaven, in the face of the king’s edict that anyone praying or inquiring of someone else other than the king would be thrown into the lion’s den. Even in being thrown into the lion’s den, Daniel survived because of God being faithful to him and sending an angel to shut the lion’s mouth. 

So, we see that these young men walking through such difficult times in 600 B.C. have given us a model on how to live as sojourners in a land that is not our home (1 Peter 1:1-2). Perhaps even more so, they remind us that God is faithful to His people as they seek to live faithfully for Him. 

May we do exactly that through His power (2 Peter 1:3)!

Pastor Andy

Questions for Reflection:
When did you make a decision to put your faith in Jesus? 
Daniel resolved to honor God in this situation. What resolutions have you made to honor God? 
How has Jesus been preparing you to serve Him? Where do you currently see Him at work doing this? 
Where/how have you seen God’s faithfulness in your life? List some examples. 

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