A Lesson from the Exiles
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In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.
We are living in an unprecedented time.
We have never lived in a pandemic before, especially one that has lasted for nearly a year!
We are having to adjust our lifestyles around the realities of this disease.
The political turmoil going on today is unlike anything we have seen before.
The sheer emotion of people concerning our government and its leaders is beyond description.
We are getting a new president.
They are trying to impeach the old president…again.
And we are left to wonder what the future will look like.
How are we supposed to react?
Do we turn a blind eye?
Do we make a protest?
Do we build secret fortresses and go into hiding?
As hard and scary as it may seem around us, we are not the first to experience hardship.
Others, like Daniel, have had to deal with
a political situation they didn’t agree with.
circumstances that were out of their control.
Governments that were antagonistic to their faith.
These exiles and persecuted believers are listed in the Bible as heroes of the faith.
I think we can learn from them just how we should respond to the situations around us today.
Faithful in the Fire
First of all, as we look at these men and women, we have to notice their faith in God.
When Daniel and his fellow Israelites were captured, they didn’t blame God for their captivity.
In spite of their situation, they kept trusting God and remaining faithful in their obedience to him.
Daniel saw that the king’s menu was filled with things that God had said were unclean.
He had a choice:
Go along with the king’s menu and not make a problem.
Create a protest or go on a hunger strike.
Humbly ask that he and his friends be allowed to choose their own menu on a trial period.
But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food. So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.
While many of the Israelites ate what the king gave them, Daniel and his friends were blessed for their obedience to God.
They were healthier than the others.
They grew in wisdom and understanding.
Likewise, Joseph, when he was sold into slavery, could have chosen bitterness.
He could have tried to escape.
He could have taken the offer of Potiphar’s wife and hope to use her to gain his freedom.
Instead, he chose to honor God where he was by doing his best in all circumstances.
He never stopped believing that God had a purpose for him.
He served Potiphar faithfully.
When Potiphar threw him into jail because of his wife’s lies, Joseph faithfully served the jailor.
When the baker and wine taster were imprisoned with him, Joseph could have turned his back on them, but instead interpreted their troubling dreams for them.
When Pharaoh brought him out of prison, Joseph interpreted his dreams and faithfully served again.
When he was finally reunited with his brothers, they feared him.
While Joseph had grown powerful and could have gotten revenge on his brothers, his response was this:
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
A Gentle Firmness
When Daniel and his friends rose to prominence, others became jealous and looked for ways to destroy them.
King Nebuchadnezzar, and later King Darius, created laws requiring everyone to worship them as gods.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego quietly remained standing while others bowed to Nebuchadnezzar’s statue.
Daniel disobeyed Darius’ law by continuing to pray only to God.
But these men did not make a public spectacle.
They did not publically reprimand the king for his decision.
They did not stage an uprising.
They continued to serve their masters in any way that did not contradict God’s laws.
Others had to go out of their way to catch them in the act of disobedience.
And when they were caught, they didn’t try to fight back.
They knew there would be consequences for their actions.
And they chose to accept those consequences, trusting God would take care of them.
They were thrown into the fiery furnace.
Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den.
And none of them knew if God would choose to deliver them or welcome them into glory.
The early Church suffered greatly at the hands of both Rome and the Jewish leaders.
They were branded criminals for proclaiming salvation through Jesus’ death and resurrection.
The apostles were arrested for proclaiming Jesus in the temple.
and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.
Do you want to know how we should respond to everything going on around us?
Jesus tells us this:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Our job in this time is to continue being the Church.
We’re not here to promote a political agenda.
We’re here to promote righteousness.
We’re not here to demand our rights.
We’re here to be the servants of all, including those who are opposed to us.
We’re not here to make America great again.
We’re here to build an eternal kingdom.
We’re here to be salt and light.
We’re here to share the gospel.
We’re here to minister to the lost, the broken, and the suffering.
We’re here to reach the rebellious, love the unlovable, forgive the unforgivable.
We are called to stand strong, to love God with everything we have, and be faithful to our dying breath.
The early exiles weren’t going around telling everyone how bad the situation was.
They were telling everyone how good God is.
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,
but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
Be faithful.
Trust God to be there and get you through this.
Don’t get angry or bitter.
Keep the attitude of the humble servant.
Be a servant to ALL.
Whatever happens to us in this life, we have a promise of eternal joy with Jesus in New Jerusalem.
Keep the faith!