Remaining Holy in a Hostile World: Daniel 1--Be Holy as God is Holy
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Introduction
Introduction
What comes to your mind when you hear the word, Holy? Or the word Holiness? The Apostle Peter in his first epistle, 1 Peter quotes a common phrase from the book of Leviticus.
Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
The phrase is “Be holy, for I am holy.” This is a command from God.
For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth. For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
“Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.
Exodus 19:6 (NKJV)
And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a HOLY nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
If God wanted His people holy, what did He expect from them? Today we are going look at living a holy life. For Daniel and his three friends they grew up in a world that was falling apart, but in there early childhood with King Josiah there was a ray of hope. His life impacted at least a few in the land of Judah and God would bless his efforts.
Recap
Recap
Last week when I began the series: Remaining Holy in a Hostile World we began with the destruction of Jerusalem and Judah. I will start back in Daniel 1:1-8 as we dig into Daniel and his three friend’s background.
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 articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god. Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king. Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
God had told His people Israel to be holy as He was holy. He wanted His people to be set apart from the other nations that were around them.
“I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house. I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images. Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.” Bring out the blind people who have eyes, And the deaf who have ears. Let all the nations be gathered together, And let the people be assembled. Who among them can declare this, And show us former things? Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified; Or let them hear and say, “It is truth.” “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, And besides Me there is no savior. I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, And there was no foreign god among you; Therefore you are My witnesses,” Says the Lord, “that I am God.
Some might look at these passages and say “Jesus,” but God had called Israel to do the same thing we are called to do, be witnesses. Be a Light to those around us. Yet, as we saw last week things went down hill as we studied some passages in Jeremiah. God was trying to get their attention, but continued to sin and commit spiritual adultery with the Baals and Asherim. Yet, between the reign of evil King Manasseh and the exile of Judah, there was King Josiah. Josiah was the grandson of Manasseh.
King Josiah
King Josiah
Josiah became King in a very Hollywood style. His father was assassinated.
Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. So he walked in all the ways that his father had walked; and he served the idols that his father had served, and worshiped them. He forsook the Lord God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the Lord. Then the servants of Amon conspired against him, and killed the king in his own house. But the people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place.
Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
Father (Amon) assassinated
Josiah becomes King at the age of 8
He did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the ways of his father David, he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
When people remember us will they say that we were a person who did what was right in the sight of the LORD? Josiah had that reputation and although he would stumble at the end, he and the reforms he did would have a result on the four young men we are studying. Let’s look what happened in Josiah’s reign.
Now it came to pass, in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the scribe, the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the house of the Lord, saying: “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money which has been brought into the house of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have gathered from the people. And let them deliver it into the hand of those doing the work, who are the overseers in the house of the Lord; let them give it to those who are in the house of the Lord doing the work, to repair the damages of the house—to carpenters and builders and masons—and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house. However there need be no accounting made with them of the money delivered into their hand, because they deal faithfully.” Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. So Shaphan the scribe went to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “Your servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of those who do the work, who oversee the house of the Lord.” Then Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king. Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes. Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Achbor the son of Michaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.” So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And they spoke with her. Then she said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants—all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read—because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath shall be aroused against this place and shall not be quenched.’ ” ’ But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard—because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the Lord. Surely, therefore, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place.” ’ ” So they brought back word to the king.
18 years after he becomes king (he would have been around 26 years of age) he wants to clean up the Temple and make repairs.
He sends Shephan the scribe to count the money.
They start cleaning the Temple and repairing and something happens.
“I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.”
Remember what the Word of the LORD had said by Jeremiah?
The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ And those who handle the law did not know Me; The rulers also transgressed against Me; The prophets prophesied by Baal, And walked after things that do not profit.
They had gone so far as to the book of the Law (the Torah) was lost in the mess of the Temple. I hope that your Bible is not collecting dust and cobwebs, but that you are actively reading it.
Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes.
He tore his clothes. He knew they were heading to exile after hearing the Word of the LORD! The Word of God produces action.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
Josiah knew that he had sinned and that the nation had sinned and that they were all heading to destruction.
Chapter 23 shows the doer of the Word he was to be holy as God was holy.
Now the king sent them to gather all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem to him. The king went up to the house of the Lord with all the men of Judah, and with him all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the Lord. Then the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people took a stand for the covenant. And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests of the second order, and the doorkeepers, to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the articles that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. Then he removed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem, and those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven. And he brought out the wooden image from the house of the Lord, to the Brook Kidron outside Jerusalem, burned it at the Brook Kidron and ground it to ashes, and threw its ashes on the graves of the common people. Then he tore down the ritual booths of the perverted persons that were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the wooden image. And he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba; also he broke down the high places at the gates which were at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were to the left of the city gate.
His first thing was to have the people hear the book of the Covenant. Read Moses!
The King humbled himself and renewed the covenant. To keep the commandments, testimonies, and statues with all his heart and soul! To keep the covenant!
Then he puts it into action by getting rid of the idols, the Baals, Asherahs, and every other idol and burns them outside of Jerusalem
He got rid of the priests that were sacrificing to false gods.
He gets rid of everything thing that is causing his people to stumble.
Jumping down a few verses
Now Josiah also took away all the shrines of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the Lord to anger; and he did to them according to all the deeds he had done in Bethel. He executed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned men’s bones on them; and he returned to Jerusalem. Then the king commanded all the people, saying, “Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” Such a Passover surely had never been held since the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was held before the Lord in Jerusalem. Moreover Josiah put away those who consulted mediums and spiritists, the household gods and idols, all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him.
Takes away shrines in the high places that were still in the northern Kingdom (Israel)
Executed all the priests that were false.
The people keep the Passover. The last time they had properly celebrated the Passover it was in the time of the judges, over a century earlier.
All this happened in his 18th year of reigning. He took no time in repenting and reforming. This change, had a direct impact on the upbringing of Daniel, Hannaniah, Mishael, and Azariah and their families before the exile. They like King Josiah turned to the LORD with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their might. They had purposed in their heart not go back to the things that Josiah had rid the land from.
Conclusion
Conclusion
This is a new year and many times people make New Year Resolutions, but unlike many that last a week or two, how can 2022 be a year like the 18th year of the reign of Josiah. Maybe you need to brush off the dust and cobwebs from your Bible. Maybe there are things or people in your life that continue to ensnare you. You might not a Baal idol in your house, but are there things that you are placing in front of God? Can you say that you have turned to the LORD with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might?
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good?
Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.
So in 2022, be holy as God is Holy! Be set apart for Him and His work in your life!