Faith In Hard Times

Can you think of a time or a season in your life when you struggled to be faithful?

How was your faith tested?

How were you pressured to acquiesce to culture or the people around you?

How did you respond?

How do you typically respond in times like this?

The Book of Daniel gives a look at world in history which very much looks like our world today. It was decaying. A world that was very much depending on their own beliefs and not relying on what they had been told by God. This included the southern kingdom of Judah which had been attacked by King Nebuchadnezzar on three different occasions. The kingdom was giving into what he was telling them. Daniel and his friends would remain faithful to the God they were raised to believe and trust instead of giving into the belief that N was a god who they should put their faith and trust in.

Daniel 1:1–7 ESV

1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 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. 3 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, 4 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. 5 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. 6 Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. 7 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.

Why would Nebuchadnezzar want to assimilate the young people into Babylonian culture?

What was he seeking to eliminate?

Why change their names?

Their names had significant meanings within their culture and faith

Daniel - God is my judge Beltashazzar - Bel protect him

Hananiah - God has been gracious Shadrach - The command of Akku

Mishael - Who is what God is Meshach - Who is what Aku is

Azariah - The Lord has helped Abednego - Servant of Nebo

How was the process described in these verses connected to their identity?

Daniel 1:8–16 ESV

8 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. 9 And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, 10 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.” 11 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 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.” 14 So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. 15 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. 16 So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.

What tension do you think Daniel and his friends felt in their new position?

They are being put in a position to go against things they have been taught all of their lives. Daniel and his friends had learned the scripture and knew what they were supposed to do and what they were and weren’t supposed to eat.

Why would Daniel and the others refuse the king’s food?

Have you ever been in a position where you wondered about the food you were eating and how it had been prepared?

Daniel and his friends didn’t know where and what had been done to the food they were supposed to eat. What was it to begin with? Had it been offered to idols?

The only safe thing they knew they could eat was vegetables and water. So this is what they asked for.

How do we see God’s sovereignty and faithfulness at work in this passage?

We see God at work in the one who was feeding them. He was actually going against what the king had told them to do.

Through what the four were eating and drinking, they actually were healthier than the ones who were drinking and eating what the king was feeding to the others. Because fo this the eunuch or the one watching them allowed them to continue on the die they had asked for.

Daniel 1:17–21 ESV

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. 18 At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. 20 And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. 21 And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.

How did God demonstrate His provision and favor toward Daniel and his friends in these verses?

How does this encourage you to be faithful to God in the midst of pressure to do otherwise?

Even in the midst of what these young men were facing, God strengthened them. He puts Daniel in such a position, he will become a leader with the king. These guys not only grew stronger physically, which you might expect from the healthy choices they were eating, they also grew in wisdom and knowledge. This was something which had to be a God thing.

God was strengthening them even in the midst of their oppression.

Some questions to think about:

How does our culture seek to conform our identity to its expectations?

How can we make sure our identity is secure in Christ, even when our faith is tested?

How have you struggled to be faithful when tested in the past?

How does Daniel’s obedience inspire you to be faithful, even in ways that might seem insignificant (like the food he ate)?

How can living faithfully before God in small ways provide big opportunities to share the gospel with others?