Greater Than Daniel

Intro

Alright if you have your Bibles turn with me to the book of Daniel. We are going to look at the amazing picture of Jesus that this man is. Daniel is my absolute favorite man in the Bible. This book is one i have read through and done Bible studies on and every time I enjoy it even more. Lets get a quick idea of when this is taking place. After David and Solomon are both dead, the nation of Israel remains split and evil kings start brining in idol worship. As they rebel against God He will give them over to another nation. That nation is Babylon. Babylon will take some young Israelite men to train for positions under the king. We are given the name of 4 of them. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They are good looking, skillful, smart, and teachable. The king, Nebuchadnezzar, would have them eat with him and drink with him and he would care for them while training them. But Daniel and his 3 friends refuse to eat the kings food. He didnt want to become like the Babylonians. He wanted to be set apart. And there is another word for saying set apart. Holy. After 10 days Daniel and his friends are healthier than the ones who were eating the kings food.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

17 As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

So these men are being blessed by God. They chose His way over the kings way and God is using them for it. Notice how the king chooses young men to do this with? He isn’t choosing older more capable men. When we are younger we are still learning. Our brains are still being formed. It is a lot easier for us to change our minds. We are also quicker to adapt and we can be more effective. This stuff is all great but the downside is that it makes us vulnerable. This is exactly when Satan will attack you and me. He starts when we are kids. He tells us lies through our thoughts and through other people. Those lies might be small at first but those lies will keep growing and growing until they take you over. A lie like you aren’t enough, you are bad at this, or you failed. He uses situations to make us believe lies about ourselves. For me he told me I was bad at public speaking because once when I was in front of people having to give a presentation I completely panicked. But he used that lie to cripple me. To make me not want to public speak ever again. Or maybe its someone your parents telling you something they see that isn’t true but it hurts you and you believe it. Sometimes the people Satan uses to lie to us have good intentions and are the closest people to us. This is why we have to stay vigilant. We have to be active and remove those lies. We need God to search our hearts and reveal those lies to us. Because apart from Him we are powerless against those lies. And if we dont remove those lies they will lead to sin. In fact I bet the very sin you are struggling with right now was caused because you believed a lie from when you were a kid. Maybe you believed it was a way to cope with stress. Or the lie is that this sin won’t hurt you or anyone else. David believed that lie when he slept with Bathsheba. That no one would know. Daniel here doesn’t believe those lies that they are filling him with. He stays strong in the Lord. He puts God first and removes those lies.

Chapter 2 sees Daniel interpreting the kings dream, and chapter 3 is what I am wanting to camp out in for a few minutes.

It starts with King Nebuchadnezzar making a massive golden image and he would command everyone to when they hear music to fall down and worship it. And if not they would be thrown in a fiery furnace. But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse. The king tells them the law and look at how they respond in verse

English Standard Version Chapter 3

17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

The furnace is heated 7 times the normal amount because of how angry the king is. So hot that the people who threw these men into the furnace died.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”

27

English Standard Version Chapter 3

27 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them.

So we see that there is a 4th man in the fire. Not only that but when they are pulled from the furnace they didnt even have a singed hair or even smell like smoke. You guys all know when you are near a fire for a period of time, that night when you get home all you smell is smoke. This is incredible. Who is that 4th man in the fire? Well I believe it to be Jesus. So here is the first way we see a picture of Jesus in this book. Jesus is the 4th man in our fire. As we go through challenges and face persecution or whatever it is… Jesus is the 4th on in the fire. Walking through that situation with us, protecting us, keeping us company, and delivering us. We aren’t having to face this world alone. The next few chapters show us more about Daniel interpreting things for the king. People start hating him so they do this in chapter 6. They convince the king to pass a law that targeted Daniel

English Standard Version Chapter 6

5 Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”

This law says that if anyone says that if anyone is found praying to anyone besides the king is to be thrown in the lions den. Now Daniel had a routine. Part of that routine was to pray in his house with his window opened towards Jerusalem. He did this 3 times every day. He is surely aware of this law being passed with his position. But in spite of this law he goes and prays. The men tell the king and the king has no choice but to throw Daniel into the Lion’s den.

English Standard Version Chapter 6

16 Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” 17 And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him.

19 Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. 20 As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” 23 Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. 24 And the king commanded, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.

The king loved Daniel. He didn’t want him to die or be thrown into this pit. Imagine you are in Daniels shoes here. You were praying to your God and now you are in a pit with lions. But here God delivers him. He seals their mouths shut and Daniel survives. So we have seen God rewarding these men's faithfulness. It might not have been easy and it might have been scary but God delivers them. We arent promised deliverance here on earth but we know God will deliver us to eternity no matter what happens here on earth. And no matter what happens we know that He is by our side through it all. Every step we take, every high and every low He is with us. The rest of this book is prophetic. Daniel receives prophesies from God and a lot of them will come true. One prophesies about Alexander the great. There are end times prophesies that Revelation will make mention to as well. We see a man who was faithful in everything. He didn’t conform to the world but he stayed different. He chose God and the things that were important instead of bowing to man.

Christ Connection

So Jesus when tempted to sin would not believe the lies Satan told him but instead used the words of God to counter the lies. Daniel did the same thing. And God calls you and I to do the same. To replace the lies we have believed with the truth of Gods word.

Jesus is the 4th man in our fire and the one who seals the mouths of lions. He is always with us no matter our circumstance. And we can believe with confidence just like Daniel and his friends did that Jesus will show up in our time of need. He will be with us for comfort, peace, and to guide us through the dark times.

Jesus was unwilling to conform to the world He came to. Daniel was unwilling to conform. Jesus let them lead Him to a cross. Daniel let them lead him to a Lion’s den.

David shows us what it means to live for God no matter where we are. He could have given in. He was captured and brought to a foreign land as a young man. He could have embraced the culture and lived like the king. instead he chose to remain different and follow God’s way instead of mans way.

Application

We all have a choice. Do we want to believe Satan’s lies and conform to the world? Or do we want to replace those lies with the life giving Words of God? If you are saved today you might still be believing lies. And those lies may have led you to a season of compromise and sin. We must remove those lies and replace them with the truth of God. How do we do that? By praying and asking God to reveal those lies and once we are aware of those lies we take action against them. The Bible has verses that target those lies but how would we know that unless we are intentionally spending time in His word?

For the unbeliever. You are powerless to remove those lies. You cannot do it apart from God. The only thing that trying will get you is burnt out and tired. Run to God. Romans 10:9-10

Romans 10:9–10 ESV

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Confess and believe. He will rescue you from sin. He can be the 4th person in your fire but you have to want that. You have to believe that He wants to deliver you from your sin. It will be the best decision you can ever make. Lets pray.