Wavering People, Unwavering God (Daniel 1:1-7)

Well good morning everyone! If we haven’t met, my name is Dan and I serve as one of the pastors at Park | Forest Glen. It’s really good to be here today with you.

If this is your first time here today, or you first time watching us, today is a good day to start because we beginning a new sermon series today. At Park, we see all of the Bible as relevant for the way we live…and believe that God has something for us in every part of the Bible…even those parts that can be challenge or confusing to understand. And because we believe that all of the Bible matters, we want to preach And teach through all of the Bible. So our typical pattern is that our pastors get together and we’re praying about what we should study next as a church.…and we landed on the Book of Daniel.

Series Introduction

Now, if you’ve been a Christian for a while, or are at all familiar with the Bible you know the book of Daniel has a bit of a reputation. It’s got some stories that are very familiar even in the broader culture…stories like Daniel and the Lion‘s Den. We use phrases tokay that reference stories in Daniel…like, ‘the writing’s on the wall’, to talk about the how the end of something is being made clear…that comes from the book of Daniel!

And it also records some visions and dreams that Daniel either has or interprets…that claim to reveal pieces of the future. And, to be honest, some of these visions sound a little out there. Through the series, when we get to those vision, we’re really going to slow down and look closely at them because I think it will help best understand what Daniel is talking about AND it will help us make sense of some other sections of the Bible that seem to talk about the same kinds of things.

Bit here’s how I want to use our time today. We’re just getting started and I know not all of know much about this book of Daniel so we’re going to take some time to get on the same page today. We’re going to do a brief introduction to the book, talking about who Daniel was..what the book is all about…and how it fits into the larger story of the Bible. And then we’re going to look at the two major themes that show up all throughout this book—and they are both present within the first two verses of chapter one…the themes of a wavering people but an unwavering God. And my hope is, that we walk away today, we’re thinking about the power and goodness of God that shows up our lives…our own stories…even in the failure and brokenness that we carry with us.

So let me read the passage, I’ll pray and then we’ll get started.

Daniel 1:1–7 ESV

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.

Introduction to the Book of Daniel

Alright, let’s get started.

We’re going to start off with just some basic questions that will help us get our barrings with this book.

Who Was Daniel?

Here’s the first one, “Who was Daniel?”

What we know about him is really what we can piece together from v. 3 (Daniel 1:3).

Daniel 1:3 ESV

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,

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had surrounded the city of Jerusalem…and as part of conquering the city, he took some of the upper class back to his own empire…where they would be raised, trained, and function as like emissaries or diplomats for the regions they were originally from. Daniel was a boy, probably around the age of 14 who was from the Royal family in the Kingdom of Judah.

When did Daniel write the book?

Look at v. 1 (Daniel 1:1)

Daniel 1:1 ESV

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.

Historians are able to piece together from a bunch of different sources that this event took place around 609 BC. The Babylonians were a very advanced civilization that were known for keeping meticulous records and so we’re able to pinpoint when a lot of this stuff started to take place. Again, Daniel would have been about 14 years old when Nebuchadnezzar had him removed back to Babylon. But, as we’ll talk more about though this series, over the years, Daniel became a very person in the empire; rising through the ranks and given more and more responsibility—he actually outlives king Nebuchadnezzar and is still in Babylon when the Persian empire takes control.

There is about a 75 year timeframe that is covered in the book and Daniel would have written this towards the end of his life around the years 533 BC.

And this may seem like we’re getting into the weeds here a little too much, but when we believe the book of Daniel was written is actually really big deal.

Remember, there are several major visions or prophecies…things that have not yet happened, but Daniel is seeing and describing. At Park, we join with the long history of God’s people in believing that prophecy is real…that God is able to miraculously provide a vision about the future and does so from time to time. In fact, a good chunk of the Old Testament is made up of what we call ‘prophetic literature’…it’s describing things that had not yet happened when they were written…prophecies pointing forward to the person and work of Jesus…and some of them that have still not happened.

But here’s where things get interesting.

Some of the prophecies in Daniel are so specific and spot on that most modern scholarship on the Bible takes it as self evident that the book of Daniel could not have been written until hundreds of years laters.

Let me give you an example. In Daniel 7-8, there is a prophecy about a kingdom that is going to come from Greece and destroy the Person empire…it even goes as afar as describing the kind of conquerer this person would be and how his empire would expand…and to a T, the unanimous belief is that Daniel was describing Alexander the Great—one of the most famous military leaders of ALL time—and who more importantly did exactly what Daniel prophesied would happen…about 200 years after Daniel was alive. And Daniel describes this with such detail that many scholars look at it and say, ‘There’s no way it could have been written BEFORE Alexander the Great!” Because in order for it to have been written beforehand you would need to them believe that the prophecy was real…and you’d need to believe that the God who Daniel describes as bringing these things about was real…but it’s far easier to assume that those things can’t be true and therefore Daniel must have been written after the time of Alexander the great.

And the reason this is important is because depending on when you believe this book was written…Daniel is either writing down things that are revealed to him by God…telling real stories of real rescue…and recording events that will actually take place and therefore PROFOUNDLY matter for way we live and engage in the world around us...

The book of Daniel is essentially fiction. Inspirational fiction, maybe…but at best it would essentially be a form of religious propaganda…at worst, it could be intentional deception.

At Park, we believe the book of Daniel was written by Daniel and around 530 BC before any of the events he describes took place. We’re actually going to be releasing a video this week that goes into some more detail about why we take that position. You’ll be able to find that on our YouTube channel.

How does the Book of Daniel fit in with the rest of the Bible?

Alright, here’s the last question we’re goin got look at today.

“How does the Book of Daniel fit in with the rest of the Bible?”

And actually, I think this is one of the questions thats probably the most important we can ask when we’re looking at any book of the Bible…it gives us the context and sets up what’s happening and why.

Look at v. 1 again (Daniel 1:1-2

Daniel 1:1–2 ESV

Now, like I said earlier, that gives us a good time stamp of when all this is going on, but it doesn’t tell us anything about why this is going on. To see that, we actually have to step back to for a moment and look at the larger story of the Old Testament. And I’m going to fly over this really quickly—and we’ll just look at the first 5 books of the Old Testament…the Pentateuch.

Genesis

The book of Genesis shows tells the story of God’s creation—the creation of the world around us, but also the creation of his People—the people of Israel—a people he established to be his ambassadors to the nations around them. They were supposed to live in away that told others who God was and what he was like.

Exodus

The book of Exodus describes how God’s people grew, suffered, but were rescued from Egypt and brought to a new land where God would provide for them and they would continue on mission of making God known to the world around them.

Leviticus and Numbers

In the books of Leviticus and numbers, we read the covenant that God made with Israel…where He shows them how they ought to live in the world around them…and spelled out the ways they were supposed to be distinct from the world around them…not because they were special or better, but because God is Holy - and their distinctness was to be a reflection of God’s holiness. Here’s the point…God’s desire was to use his people as the primary way of revealing himself to the world.

Deuteronomy

That brings us to the book of Deuteronomy…maybe the most important book in the Old Testament. It is essentially a written version of a sermon the Moses gave to God’s people before they entered the promise land. He reminded them again what they were supposed to do…how they were to be a Light to the Nations…they were to put God’s goodness, compassion, kindness…His Holiness on display in the world around them and they were supposed to show their loyalty to God through their obedience to His commands; that they would live the way God had called and created them to live.

This brings us to Deuteronomy chapter 28. And if the book of Deuteronomy is the most important book in the Old Testament…chapter 28 is probably the most important chapter in Deuteronomy in terms of understanding everything else that happens in the rest of the Old Testament including the book of Daniel.

Deuteronomy 28

In chapter 28, Moses explains to God’s people that as they enter into the promised land, they are standing on the cusp of great blessing or cursing. That if they would remain loyal to God…to worship Him alone…to serve and honor Him…and not be lured off by the the false gods of the people in the land…if they would go on the live out the commandments that God had given them…practice obedience….they would experience great JOY and BLESSING. They would experience life the way God had intended it to be lived and enjoyed.

BUT

If they would turn from the commandments…if they were to waver back and forth between worshiping God on one day and the other gods the next day…if they were to pick and choose the commandments they wanted to follow…if they were to pledge their loyalty to someone or something else…this would bring about a curse. The land of promise would become like a prison…they would be harassed, unprotected….carted of as slaves…it would lead to suffering…because of their rejection of the life God had prepared for them. It would lead to an exile…where they would be expelled from the land God had provided for them.

Moses says it this way in v. 47 (Deut. 28:47-50)

Deuteronomy 28:47–50 (ESV)

Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you. The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, swooping down like the eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand, a hard-faced nation who shall not respect the old or show mercy to the young.

And, spoiler alert, the rest of the Old Testament, from Deuteronomy onward is the story of how God’s people essentially chose the curse. How they slowly but surely lost their loyalty to God…and started to look elsewhere…they were steppin‘ out on that relationship. Now, from time to time, God would speak to the people through prophets. People like Isaiah, Ezekiel, Micah, Jeremiah and a few others were sent as messengers to God’s people to call them to turn from the their way of life and return back to God…to be loyal to HIM…to return to a lifestyle of obedience…and that if they did not…it would bring about the curses we read just read in Deuteronomy 28.

And while over and over again, the Old Testatment affirms that God is slow to anger and abounding in love…there comes a time when His Justice demands judgement—even over his people. And two nations are brought forward to do exactly what is spelled out in Deuteronomy 28. The Assyrians and Babylonians…nations that have been raised up and are on the world stage because God will use them to bring judgement on His people.

A Wavering People

And this brings us back to Daniel 1:1 (Dan. 1:1-2)

Daniel 1:1–2 (ESV)

Nebuchadnezzar is there to bring about judgement on God’s people for their failure to live the way they’d been created to live. And you see God’s POWER put on display, right? v. 2 makes it clear that Nebuchadnezzar didn’t just happen to come to Jerusalem…he didn’t just, by his own military strength besiege a city…but it was the Lord who gave Jerusalem to him! It is the Lord’s power at work here…even the name for God here in v 2…in the original Hebrew is the name Adonai…a title used to describe POWERFUL rulers.

But the fact that Nebuchadnezzar is here at all brings up the first major theme that shows up in the book of Daniel—that God’s people are a wavering people. It’s idea that God has set up a way to live…that he has given a standard for humanity to live by…a standard that has not been meet…it’s not met by His people…in fact, in the New Testament, Paul in the letter of Romans makes it perfectly clear that no one has met it…that all of humanity has failed.

Romans 3:23 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Our Human Condition

But I’m really intentional with that word wavering to describe humanity…because I think it captures an important nuance for us that can easily be missed.

It makes me think of being at the park when I was kid with a tetter-totter…not like one of the safe ones they have now all over the place…but real kind…the kind of equipment that almost seemed designed to hurt you. Did you ever try and stand right in the middle of one of those? You need to try and balance right in the middle of it…but your kind of wobbling on either side—leaning this way or that way…that’s what it means to waiver…to go back and forth…it’s easy to stand on either side…you won’t fall that way…but when you’re in the middle you waiver.

This is what God’s people were doing…it was like he said “I want you live this way, not that way….but instead they tried to do both.

Wavering is this back and forth process we experience as a part of being human…for the most part, people are generally not as bad as we could be…but that does not makes us completely good either…any more than saying “Well, it could be worse…” makes looking for parking an enjoyable experience!

And this is not just a way to describe God’s people in the Old Testament…it’s the way to describe humanity…and our human condition.

It’s why I can stand here this morning…preach…sing…pray…but if get back home and that guy moved my dibs cone again after I shoveled out the space so my pregnant wife can easily get in and out of the car…It’s because I waiver.

It’s why you can say you love your wife and would be willing to do anything for your family…but as soon as their backs are turned you’re back at the same thing you promised you’d never do again…it’s because we waiver.

And our wavering is our failure. Our wavering is our sin.

And one of the haunting parts of the book of Daniel it shows us God takes our wavering seriously. That He is not one who turns a blind eye to what is evil…he does not just turn away and write off how we live with a causal, ‘Boys will be boys…girls will be girls’ mantra. No! It shows us that God is a POWERFUL god of Justice and therefore a God who will bring judgement for our failure…who will bring about judgment for our sin…friends, we are a wavering people.

An Unwavering God

And yet the good news we proclaim today is that we have an unwavering God. That he looks at our brokenness…our wavering…our failure and sin…and still shows us a POWERFUL kindness that we do not deserve…a mercy that we have not earned. The book of Daniel WONDERFULLY puts on display that God is not just a god of POWER but he is a God of RESCUE…and therefore we have hope. He is the God who we’ll see, powerfully rescues Daniel from the Lions den…who POWERFULLY rescued three men from a fiery furnace…and he is the God who has not and will not completely reject his people, but POWERFULLY rescue them and he does that through the person and work of Jesus!

The book of Daniel tells the story of a wavering people and an unwavering God. It tells the story of our brokenness, failure, and sin…while we have all…in some way…failed to live the perfect life God has called us to…the book of Daniel points forward both to the real judgment we deserve AND to the one who took that judgment on Himself! It points forward to the one who has lived the life we should have but failed to live…it points forward to the one who has been perfectly obedient to all of what God called his people to…to what he called US to! The book of Daniel points forward to Jesus. Who lived the perfect life…and while our wavering has earned judgment…the good news is that Jesus LOVINGLY and WILLING choose to step in to our place…to take on himself the judgement that we have earned…to die IN OUR PLACE…FOR OUR SIN and WAVERING back and forth…that HE WOULD TAKE WHAT WE DESERVE so we could live the life that HE EARNED! So that when we put our faith in Jesus, we are brought into this new life to be part of this new kind of Kingdom and it’s the kingdom that Daniel describes and everlasting and never-ending!

Conclusion

Alright, I want to end our time together with one more question.

What do we do with the book of Daniel?

“What do we do with the book of Daniel?” What difference does it make for us? Does it matter?

First, I’ll say this. Some of you are here today listening to this message because you’ve come on the arm of a friend and you would not describe yourself as a follower of Jesus. I want to say, I’m glad you’re hear. As we go through the book together, the book of Daniel is a bit like a warning for us. It is a warning that there is a God…and he cares far more about evil and injustice than we ever could…and he will do something about it…he is the God OF Justice and so he is the God OF judgement. But I want you to hear that there is hope. This same God of justice is the God who rescues…and you can experience that rescue by putting your faith and trust in Jesus…recognizing that He lived the life you should have lived, died the death you should have died…and offers you forgiveness through faith!

For others of you…specifically those of you who are followers of Jesus…this series through Daniel is going to put on display week after week, that we are a wavering people…but we serve an unwavering God…a God who is powerful….who rescues…and demonstrates his power throughout the course of our lives! And so this book ought to be a PROFOUND and deep encouragement to you…that while we waver and move back and forth, He is steadfast. He is sure. He is our rock. He is our foundation. He will not be moved. He will not change. He will be faithful. He will be true…He will be sure. He will be your very present help. He will be with you. He will be FOR you…He will rescue…and a wavering people serve and unwavering God.