Living Faithfully in Exile (Daniel 1)

Introduction

Please take out your copy of God’s word and open with me to the book of Daniel as we begin our new summer series this morning. We will be covering Daniel 1. Feel free to use your table of contents to find Daniel. Or if you want to grab that Red Bible there in your seats, you can find Daniel 1 on page #875. 

If you have been in the church for any length of time, you have likely heard some of the stories in the book of Daniel. For there is the well known story of the three young men who refused to bow down to the golden image of King Nebuchadnezzar and were thrown into the fiery furnace as part of a death sentence who were then delivered by God from death. Then there is the even more well known story of Daniel and the lion’s den. An account where Daniel himself was spared from death by the mouths of the lions being closed by God. 

Of course there is then uniqueness to the book of Daniel. For not only do we have these well known stories found in Daniel, we have visions of what was to come in the future at the end of the days. Because of these visions, some eagerly seek to study the book of Daniel while others at the same time shrink back from the very idea of studying the book of Daniel.

However, the importance of Daniel is not to figure out the visions to know the exact details of how the end plays out. Nor is it even primarily about the story of Daniel and his friends. The book of Daniel is about God. In fact, we can sum up the book of Daniel as follows:

Despite the exile of Israel, God is still sovereignly carrying out his plan to redeem a people to himself. For it is he who is working through every event.

This big theological truth is not just important for Daniel and his three friends, it is important for us today. It is important for us to understand that despite whatever else is going on in the world around us, despite every evil, despite the rising and falling of nations, there is one who stands completely in control. One who is working out his grand plan and purpose according to his perfect wisdom! This one being both the creator of the universe, as well as its sustainer. The LORD, our God. YHWH. 

As we then prepare to dive into the book of Daniel, let me help set the stage for us about the book of Daniel. Daniel covers a 70 year period beginning in the year 605 BC when King Nebuchadnezzar sieged Jerusalem and began removing those from Judah and bringing them into exile in Babylon. And Daniel ends around the year 535 BC. 

Daniel in its writing is a book written originally in two languages, Hebrew and Aramaic. Daniel 1:1-2:4 starts in Hebrew, then in 2:5 switches to Aramaic up through chapter 7. And then it switches back to Aramaic. This tells us something of the purpose of Daniel. Daniel was written not just for the Hebrew people, but also for the sake of the nations, particularly those in Babylon to see who but the LORD could do such wonders. 

Further, Daniel was written not an exact chronological structure. Chapters 1-6 move more chronologically, but then chapters 7-12 do not follow that chronological time order. Rather then the whole of the book is written more with an intentional purpose. A purpose to behold God and the coming of his Kingdom that brings deliverance for his people. We see this emphasized by the chiasm the literary structure of Daniel has. A chiasm is, “a literary structure where parallel elements correspond in an inverted order (i.e., A-B-C-Cʹ-Bʹ-Aʹ).” [1]

The Literary Structure of Daniel

1, Exile to the unclean realm of the dead

2, Four kingdoms followed by the kingdom of God

3, Deliverance of the trusting from the fiery furnace

4, Humbling of proud King Nebuchadnezzar

5, Humbling of proud King Belshazzar

6, Deliverance of the trusting from the lions’ den

7-9, Four Kingdoms followed by the Kingdom of God

10-12, Return from exile and resurrection from the dead

God’s providence through and over all things is then the main focus of this book as this structure further emphasizes. 

What is providence? To borrow from Keach’s Catechism, also known as the Baptist Catechism, 

Q.14: What are God’s works of providence?

A.14: God’s works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.

Friends, this is the book of Daniel, a book that I pray will encourage us this summer as we study it together. Let us now hear from the word of the LORD from Daniel 1. Read Daniel 1…

Main Idea: God’s own faithfulness is what allows us to live faithfully in the midst of our exile.  

God’s Sovereign Rule 

Daniel’s Quiet Resolve

God Honors Faithfulness

Point #1: God’s Sovereign Rule (Daniel 1:1-2)

Look again at Daniel 1:1-2…

2 Kings 25 tells us the details of how this siege of Jerusalem took place in the year 605 BC. How Babylon was able to conquer the southern kingdom of Judah. This setting the stage for the Babylonian exile and how it came about. 

However, we also see that this was not simply by the doing of King Nebuchadnezzar. That it was the LORD who gave Jehoiakim and Judah into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. This being according to his purpose and plan to humble Judah through exile. A purpose and plan foretold by earlier prophets. The prophets of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. 

In fact, many of you have probably heard and maybe have even quoted one of the verses from Jeremiah telling of this exile. 

Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

This verse is often used without any recollection of what surrounds it and shapes it. God has a plan for his people. A plan to take them through the judgment of exile into Babylon for 70 years to humble them to the point that they return to him and call out to him. And only then will he restore them. 

What is taking place in the exile of Daniel is the doing of the LORD in the fulfilling of his plans and his purposes. It is the LORD who then allows Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon to conquer Israel. At the same time, it is the plans of the LORD that will prevail in the end. 

This is the intro of the book of Daniel. And it is the theme of the entire book of Daniel. Nothing happens, nothing prevails, nothing lasts apart from the Lord. For in the end his kingdom alone will stand in glory!

This was true in the days of Daniel when he and his friends were seized from Jerusalem and taken into exile in Babylon. It was true in the days of Jesus when he was seized by the Jewish leaders, beaten, crucified under the orders of Pilate. And it is true today, regardless of how chaotic you may think the world to be. All things are under the sovereign rule of the LORD and we need to rest in that. We need to rest that God in his goodness appoints and removes rulers. That God in his goodness is ruling over every part of history and how it will play out. 

Brothers and sisters, behold your God and his sovereign rule! For the way to comfort in the midst of uncertainty, hardship, and suffering is not to know the end of these things. It is to know the God who rules over it. And it is in knowing this God that will enable you to remain faithful in the midst of these things. But before we turn there, we must turn with the text and consider what it looks like to live in the midst of exile. 

Point #2: Daniel’s Quiet Resolve (Daniel 1:8-16)

Per God’s purpose and plan, his people have been taken into exile. Exile into the land of Babylon. Babylon, which is also known as the land of Shinar, see there in verse 2. Shinar is an interesting reference. Because it takes us back to Genesis 11. Genesis 11 being where the tower of Babel was built. A tower declaring the glory of the people. A tower that was built in the land of Shinar,

And it is in this place of Shinar where the rejection of the LORD, YHWH continues. A place where self-glory still reigns. And it is then in this place that Nebuchadnezzar’s, the king of Babylon, god dwells. And it is here where the vessels from the temple of the LORD are brought as almost a mockery of the LORD and an exaltation of self. 

An exaltation that he continues to pursue as his scheme is not yet finished. Nebuchadnezzar is no fool. He doesn’t simply want to overthrow Judah by force and have the people perpetually fighting him. He seeks to subdue the nobles, the most elite of Judah through immersing them into Babylonian culture and life He wants to brainwash these young, noble Jews and cause them to forget who they are as Hebrews and to make them Babylonians. Look at verses 3-5…

The cream of the crop are brought in. They are to be taught in the ways of Babylon. The literature, the language. They are to do this so they may serve the king in his court. And besides this teaching, King Nebuchadnezzar orders that they be assigned a daily portion of his food and his wine to taste of the delicacies of Babylon. And furthermore, he gives them a new identity through new names. Verses 6-7…

Sinclair Ferguson in his Preachers Commentary on Daniel is super helpful here. He writes:

The way we think—about God, ourselves, others, the world—determines the way we live. If Nebuchadnezzar could only change these men to think like Babylonians, then they would live like Babylonians. [2]

That’s the goal for King Nebuchadnezzar. He seeks to have the captives from Judah begin to live as Babylonians as a result of their exile. 

And friends, we live in a world that too wants to make us live just like it. A world that wants to subtly make us forget the God who made us in his image. A world that slowly wants to remove any distinction between them and us. But not in the over aggressive ways, but a little here and a little there. 

Through the years one of the most talked about things from evangelicals has been the removal of the Bible from the schools. Yet maybe the bigger brainwashing tactic of the world has not been the removing of the Bible from the school, but the downplaying of the Bible in the church if we are to win people to Jesus. A downplaying of the study and immersing ourselves in God’s word. 

And this is but one of many ways culture has pressed against us, slowly brainwashing us into adopting the strategies of the world to grow the church while it waters down the church and her doctrine to be more like the world until we become completely irrelevant.

But this is not the way. It is not the way of the faithful. It is not the way of those belonging to God. The way of those who have seen the glory of God. Verse 8…

Daniel resolves to not defile himself in the ways of the king and Babylon, starting in the quietness of his own heart. Daniel does not wish to pollute himself, to become as one who is unclean before the LORD. Daniel has a resolve to remain holy, to be distinct. 

To resolve is to fix, to determine to keep from defilement in his pursuit of holiness. But notice the way in which Daniel carries out this resolve, this determination. It is not by waiting until he climbs the ladder of influence in Babylon. Nor is it a resolve to pursue holiness by an outright revolt against King Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon. Daniel’s resolve comes from the quietness of his heart and is carried out in the same quiet steadiness. 

Christian, there are many today who want to say they have a resolve to pursue holiness. To stand distinct in the world. A distinction that is a drastic contrast from how we see Daniel’s resolve carried out here.  A resolve that seeks to draw attention. But this resolve is not a resolve of the LORD, but of man. 

Sinclair Ferguson captures this well in his The Preacher’s Commentary on Daniel:

True faithfulness in Scripture is first exercised in small things and in private. If we fail there, any faithfulness we show in public will be hypocrisy, a performance for the crowd and not an expression of loyalty to our Lord. [3]

But see Daniel’s quiet resolve still there in verse 8, he asks the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. A request to not eat of the king’s food and king’s wine. 

Why is there such a quiet resolve to avoid food and wine? There is much speculation as to why this specific resolve. Certainly the Jews had laws regarding food. In Leviticus 11:1-47 and Deuteronomy 14:3-20, specific foods are called clean and unclean. A law that the Babylonians certainly would not have followed. For they certainly ate pork which was unclean for the Jews. 

But the forbidding of wine would not make sense here in fear of defiling themselves from what was unclean. For the taking of wine was not forbidden under the law of God. Therefore there has to be more to this resolve of Daniel and fear of defiling himself. 

Therefore, while some arguments make partial sense, none makes full sense apart from this. Daniel’s resolve to not be defiled by the food and wine of the king has to do with his refusing to be swayed by the delicacies of the king and a giving of allegiance to him. Daniel’s resolve is therefore rooted in his desire to remain loyal to his God, the only true God. Recognizing he is still at work and is worthy of allegiance to. 

For Daniel understands that if he were to fill his belly with the delicacies of the king, his belly would be full and he might deny his God. Daniel likely here has in mind these words from Solomon found in the book of Proverbs:

Proverbs 30:8–9 ESV

8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, 9 lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.

No wonder Daniel seeks to abstain from the king’s food and the king’s wine in his pursuit of holiness. He fears the idea of profaning the name of his God. 

As Daniel makes this quiet resolve within though, he is not alone. Verse 9…

The LORD gives Daniel favor in the midst of his resolve to remain faithful to him. Favor before the chief of the eunuchs to soon hear Daniel’s plea and grant him favor to carry out his request. 

Those to whom the LORD has called to himself, he will never abandon, and certainly not when they are faithfully seeking to follow him. See the extent of God’s favor to help Daniel carry out his resolve. Verses 10-14…

Despite the chief eunuch’s fear of the king, Daniel is able to plea with the chief eunuch to simply test him, along with his three friends for 10 days. And the favor of the Lord comes through, as the chief eunuch agrees to this idea of testing. 

A request that is made by Daniel out of faith. Faith in the Almighty. Faith in the Sovereign Lord who is over everything. Daniel makes the request that they be fed vegetables and water vs the kings food and wine. This request had nothing to do with a special diet of vegetables that he knew would make him and his friends better in appearance and healthier. But that was the result. Verses 15-16…

The testing of Daniel, Hannah, Mishael, and Azariah resulted in these four being better in all measurements. Appearance and fatter, healthier rather than skinny and lack of energy. And instead of the four being forced to the kings delicacies, all the others began to be given their diet. A diet of vegetables and water. 

How then should we rightly apply this passage to our lives? Should the take away for us be the call to a Daniel fast of vegetables and water for both our health and to keep from being defiled? Absolutely not. 

The application here for us as Christians is that we are to first trust the LORD and his sovereign hand over all matters and seek to live faithfully, starting from the quietness of our hearts. A faithfulness that is lived out in the little, everyday moments of life. Being distinct in the way we live, the way we talk, the way we act, the way we treat others.

Faithfulness is not about a moment or some big scale event. Faithfulness is the little moments of everyday life. As Christians then, faithfulness is shown when we are faithful Christians at home, in our jobs, in our communities, in the world. It is faithfulness while walking through the grocery store, in the restaurant when out to eat. Faithfulness in the classroom, on a sports team, or other activities. It’s faithfulness in refusing to defile ourselves in these moments. 

It’s faithfulness to keep ourselves distinct from the world in the way we think, the way we live, the way we interact. A faithfulness to be different in all of these things rather than trying to fit into the world. 

A good litmus test for us in this pursuit of distinct faithfulness, would people be surprised when they find out we are a Christian. Surprised because outside of that statement, we seem to be just like them? 

This is the quiet pursuit of faithfulness we are to pursue Christian. But we will only be able to pursue this kind of faithfulness when we see God’s faithfulness and trust in him. Faithfulness comes when we recognize we serve the one who is truly faithful and truly good and truly powerful. 

Point #3: God Honor’s Faithfulness (Daniel 1:17-21)

Look at verses 17-21 again. We read…

God gives favor to Daniel, Hannah, Mishael, and Azariah. He gives them favor to learn and increase in all literature and wisdom. And to Daniel the ability to understand all visions and dreams that will be a lasting importance for him and the others in their Babylonian captivity that we will see as soon as next week in chapter 2. 

God gives them favor above all the others that Nebuchadnezzar sought to raise up, making them of greater value to the king than their companions. A favor that will endure 70 years and the changing of kingdoms from the Babylonians to the time of the Medes with King Cyrus taking over. 

God continues to sustain Daniel as Daniel continues to trust in him and walk in his ways. 

GOSPEL PLEA OF GOD’S WORTHY TRUST…

Conclusion

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Endnotes

[1] Douglas Mangum. The Lexham Glossary of Theology. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014)

[2] Sinclair Ferguson. The Preacher’s Commentary: Daniel. (Thomas Nelson: Nashville, TN, 1988) 32. 

[3] Sinclair Ferguson. The Preacher’s Commentary: Daniel. (Thomas Nelson, Inc: Nashville, TN, 1988) 33.