Daniel 1:9-21 God's Sovereignty, Our Faith, and Evil Leaders

We’ve already mentioned in this series that one overarching theme in the book of Daniel is the sovereignty of God.

What do we mean when we say God’s sovereignty.

Nebuchadnezzer actually gives us a great biblical definition of God’s sovereignty in Chapter 4:35

all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,

and he does according to his will among the host of heaven

and among the inhabitants of the earth;

and none can stay his hand

or say to him, “What have you done?”

This is what we believe to be true about God, not only in the good stuff, but in the really hard places too, like when 4 Jewish youths find themselves taken into captivity under Babylonian rule.

As things unfold we come to an intersection of two big thoughts that matter to most of us in this room.

The intersection is our faith, and God’s sovereignty. They don’t oppose each other, but are found in harmony in Scripture. In fact, here in this story, I believe it is Daniel’s understanding of how truly powerful and in control God is that fuels his strong faith.

That’s the first point I want to make:

1. Trusting God’s sovereignty fuels biblical faith and action.

That’s how it can be with you and I. In needs to be this way. Daniel and these men KNOW that God is with them. They see it in their perseverance while undergoing the besieging. They see it, when in v8. Daniel asks Ashpenaz to allow them to not defile themselves by eating the meat and wine from the king’s table.

Then it is v9, that we see God’s over-ruling sovereignty in this situation. “And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs,”

In other words, God caused an actual change in the heart of the chief Eunuch, so that instead of ill will, he would show them kindness. Instead of seeing Daniel as a rebel to the king, he had compassion on him.

Daniel trusted God and then moved in a direction that would glorify God and potentially bring him great opposition by speaking against the king’s strict orders, which was a politically risky move, by the way.

v10 gives us an idea of how dangerous this was. 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.”

First of all, the Eunuch should have and could have had him executed. But he didn’t. Instead, he shared this very real concern with Daniel, that he could lose his own head if he listened to his plan and then presented a malnourished group before the king.

Closed door right? Yes, and no.

Christians have invented funny sayings like, When God closes a door he opens a window. I sort of understand what’s trying to be said here. But consider this...how many times have you made a decision to do something for Christ, faced opposition, and then concluded that it must be a closed door, it must not be God’s will.

That’s not what we see with Daniel. Rather than throwing in the towel, we see boldness... a boldness you should all desire, to want so much to walk in obedience to the Lord Jesus, that the first sign of opposition doesn’t deter you, it emboldens you.

Daniel could have given up at the response of Ashpenaz, but he turns his attention to the steward, who was under the rule of Ashpenaz, probably in charge of their daily welfare, and he says this in v12. “Test your servants...”

The test was risky to say the least, but again, a sign of how sure Daniel was that God was with them.

So, the test is, we will eat this for 10 days. The rest of the captives will eat the kings diet, at the end of the 10 days look at us compared to them, and do according to what you see.

That’s confidence.

v14…he listened to them, tested them, and then after the 10 days what did the steward find? That they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than ALL THE YOUTHS WHO ATE THE KING’S FOOD!

God gave them incredible results. There’s no other explanation as to why a plant based diet would have these kinds of results in just 10 days, other than God.

Remember v9. And God gave Daniel favor.

God is sovereign over the situation. But let’s step back for a moment and notice a detail that could be overlooked. .

What do we notice about how Daniel conducted himself? He had faith in God’s sovereignty and power, but...

He was polite (your servants)

He was reasonable (only 10 days)

He did not put others unnecessarily at risk

He was full of Godly wisdom.

This was what Daniel’s faith looked like, and if I can remind you, it was in a political climate that was not FOR his faith in God, but against it, and hostile toward it.

James 3:17-18 gives us an incredible definition of the wisdom Christians are called to have. “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

This does not come naturally. It comes by the grace of God. The principle we can take from this is...

2. As a Christian you need strong biblical convictions, but those convictions must be lived out with wisdom and reason.

We see this in Daniel don’t we? We also see it in Paul in Acts.

Faith in a sovereign and powerful God leads to wise actions that have the furthering of the Kingdom in mind.

Faith in the sovereign plan of God also controls who we ultimately fear in this life.

The Eunuch feared king Nebuchadnezzar, and that determined his political stance. Daniel feared the Lord, and it moved him into a place of boldness, faith, and in his case, more influence.

So, three years of this goes by. Plants and water. Education under the Babylonian system. But God was with them, and v17 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.

In God’s plan, they are right where they need to be. They had great skill in learning, literature and wisdom, and Daniel was given the gift of interpreting dreams and visions, not because of their diet, but because God sovereignly gave it to them.

Let’s just observe a few things together for some application.

A. God had gifts intended for them all along, but their first priority was faithfulness to God, not achieving gifts.

It might temp you to think, man I wish I had the skills they had, and could interpret dreams like Daniel. But if you lose sight of the greatest command in all of Scripture, you’re missing the main point...

Matthew 22:37-39 “…love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… (and to) love your neighbor as yourself.”

What about “Seek first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you,” Matthew 6:33

Church, let Daniel’s faith in God remind you of this too.

B. Faithfulness to God does not always lead to favor from man or deliverance from suffering.

A biblical worldview includes the understanding that suffering and trials are not just a reality of life in a fallen world, but even necessary and used by God to strengthen the Church.

In other words, brothers and sisters, tests are good for the follower of Jesus.

1 Peter 1:6-9 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

C. God’s way is better

Perhaps the simplicity of that cliche statement is what somebody needs to hear to be jarred back to the truth today, back to the path of righteousness.

Be faithful to the truth. Guard yourself from compromise. Feed yourself on the good things of God, and like these 4, you will be “better nourished” than the rest.

Because of their obedience to God they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh then all the youths who ate the kings food.

God’s way is better. It does’t mean better things, or better jobs, or better cloths or careers…but being a man or woman who is planted and grounded in faith in Christ, WILL ALWAYS lead to blessings that the world cannot comprehend.

Not only did their skill surpass the other youths who did compromise, but as they honored God they were found to be more wise and with greater understanding that all the king’s magicians and enchanters.

We’re not talking about guys pulling rabbits out of their hats here. This would be scribes, ancient engravers and astrologers who would study the heavens and the stars, they would study omen’s, and in this case, use them to truly serve the good of the king.

Now the enchanters, this is talking about conjurers. Enchanters were there to communicate to the spirit world through spells and incantations. This is by no mistake witchcraft and paganism, both of which are still active in our world today, usually shrouded in light as a disguise.

The point is this… The wisdom of God and the wisdom of the Gospel surpasses all of this world’s knowledge. When you have the gospel, and you hold fast to it, you surpass the wisdom of the world, and you confound it.

1 Corinthians 1:26-29 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

Let’s conclude with this thought.

The kingdom of darkness is real. There are many who reject Christ, and are under the influence of evil, and they are real…But they no MORE real than the Kingdom and Ruler who set this whole plan in motion at the very beginning. And that’s Jesus.

The reason many flounder in faith through difficult times is perhaps because they truly do forget who’s in charge, and whose plan it is that is destined to succeed, and it’s not Satan’s. As we live in this world as exiles (Christian’s that is), in the now and not yet, In the world but not of the world, we walk simultaneously alongside a system that wants to distract us, lead us to compromise against the Word of God, lead us to fear, and anxiety. It’s agenda is the same as Babylon, to lure you into that kingdom. We need faith, Church!

May God bring you before kings, and rulers, and influencers, and bosses, and politicians, and neighbors, and pagans with a bold message for the Kingdom of God, and the laws that govern us, God’s Word, that trumps all earthly law and authority. Not every opposition is a closed door, but some are meant to embolden us. God is able to change hearts and alter circumstances. God is in charge. And because we are confident of this, we can walk with peace toward others, even loving our enemies, showing wisdom, and reason.

v19. There was none found like Daniel in all the land of Babylon. But Church, there is truly none like Jesus in all the universe. After his life, death and resurrection, the test was over. He faced temptation and he passed without compromise, and he he ascended to power and authority over every kingdom of man where he rules and reigns. To Him be dominion, and power, and honor forever, and ever…AMEN1