Daniel 1:8–21 - Drawing a Line in the Sand

Introduction

Opening Illustration: St. Valentine’s Line in the Sand

Valentine was an italian doctor who eventually became a priest in the Church. He lived in an interesting time in Roman history under Emperor Claudius II. Claudius was attempting to grow his military and he believed that marriage would be an obstacle for recruiting new soldiers. And so he passed a law that outlawed marriage. He thought this would not only help recruit new soldiers, but would make his existing soldiers more focused on their work.

Valentine was a priest at the time and he saw the ungodliness of this political measure. Valentine believed in the Word of God, that marriage is the fundamental building block of society. And so Valentine began to conduct secret wedding ceremonies defying Emperor Claudius’s new law (hence why Valentine has been associated with “love” ever since).

As a result, Valentine was thrown in prison. But in prison, Valentine continued to honor God. The Jailer, Asterious, became impressed with Valentine’s wisdom and recruited him to educate his daughter Julia. The three of them became close friends. Eventually even Emperor Claudius became impressed with Valentine. Claudius offered a full pardon to Valentine if he would just renounce his Christian faith and worship the Roman gods. Not only did Valentine refuse, but he came back to Claudius and encouraged Claudius to place his faith in Jesus Christ. Claudius became enraged and had Valentine killed immediately.

Personal

When Christians are living in largely pagan societies with largely pagan value systems, they must be keenly aware when and where they must draw their line in the sand. Like Valentine, we are living in our own “Babylon”, our own “Pagan society.” The pagan society around us, that constitutes the ideas that permeate our culture, are attempting to get each and every one of us to bow the knee to their gods. To abandon full trust in Christ. Where must we draw the line in the sand?

Contextual

Today we continue through our series on the book of Daniel. Let’s remember a bit of context of this book. We’re in the Old Testament, which means the events in this book were written and recorded hundreds of years before the life of Jesus. This book would have been included in the Bible that Jesus and his Apostles read. If you recall, Daniel was a descendent of King David in the Old Testament, which made him a cultural elite in ancient Israel. Israel had been attacked by a new world empire known as Babylon. Daniel, along with thousands of others from Israel, was taken by force from Jerusalem to Babylon to live as a refugee. And so this young teenager named Daniel finds himself suddenly immersed in Babylonian pagan culture. He’s given a new Baylonian name. He’s taught the new Baylonian literature. Daniel and his three close friends are placed in a cultural immersion program by King Nebuchadnezzar. The idea was that if Nebuchudnezzar could inculcate the cultural elite, and make them Babylonians, the rest would follow.

Today’s passage, Daniel continues in his cultural immersion program in Babylon. And we discover when and how Daniel drew a line in the sand of what he was and was not willing to do, while living in Babylon. Every Christian must determine between them and God where they draw the line in the sand.

Move 1: Explain the Text

Let’s read the text

Daniel 1:8-21 “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…”

Daniel Resolved in His Heart

This passage begins with Daniel “resolving in his heart not to defile himself by eating the Kings’ food.” The word here translated as “defile himself” carries the idea of “making oneself ceremonially unclean.” Daniel, living before the days of Jesus was bound by all of the Old Testament law, including specific Kosher food laws of what he could and couldn’t eat. It very well may have been the case that Daniel was concerned the food from the King’s table was not prepared according to these laws, and therefore it would have been sin for him to eat the food. For all he knew the fried asparagus had been fried in pork grease. It would be breaking God’s law to eat and enjoy such a food.

But we also notice that he “resolved” not to drink the wine, which was not included in these Kosher food laws. Which means that there was some kind of a spiritual fast taking place here. Certainly the law was at play, but Daniel’s aim is to go further than the law, and set himself apart as a follower of God. This arguably was a sort of semi-fast, not from all food, but from enough that he would remember come every meal, that He belonged to God, not to the King of Babylon.

Daniel Gracious Request, #Tyranny

Notice Daniel’s first move once he has decided in his heart not to participate in sin. He asks his boss if he can be permitted not to participate in the royal buffet every day. This is an important component. Daniel’s first move is not to flip tables. His first move is not to stage a protest. His first move is not to shoot off an angry tweet using #tyranny. His first move is to humbly make a request. We’ll come back to that point later.

God Gave Daniel Favor

Look at what verse 9 says, “God gave Daniel favor and compassion.” This is critical. We spend so much of our time worrying about how people are going to respond to any number of circumstances, as if our circumstance and we forget that we serve a mighty God. God is able to open doors and soften hearts. This is in all reality the great theme of all the book of Daniel and specifically the primary lesson from today’s text. The lesson for us focuses not primarily on how we are to behave as we follow Daniel. That is a fine lesson, and we will get there. However, the first and primary lesson is that God is orchestrating history according to his will. And that he has a way of making paths forward for faithful followers that we might never have imagined were possible.

The Chief’s Response

Daniel’s boss makes a good point. He essentially says to Daniel, “Daniel I like you, but if you don’t eat the food and you get sick and waste away, I’ll get killed for it.”

Daniel 1:10 “...So you would endanger my head with the king.””

Daniel Proposes a Test

Again Daniel has a gracious and very wise response. He says to the chief of the eunuchs, “Test us. Let us eat our own food for ten days and see how we look. If we look sick, then let’s talk about next steps then. But if we look healthy, then there is no risk to you at all.” The steward agrees to the plan. Again please notice the winsome first step. Daniel is doing all he can to honor God and honor the circumstances God has placed in him. His aim is not to recklessly make enemies. His aim is to demonstrate godliness in every situation. And God honors this profoundly. We’re told in verse 15:

Daniel 1:15 “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.”

How we Often Handle These Situations

See how God honors Daniel’s desire? Daniel has resolved in his heart to honor God and not sin. Many Christians today have not learned the wisdom of Daniel, to hold a conviction and work to see a way forward. I think there are at least three different approaches that modern Christians often take in these situations. Some of are like chameleons whose aim is to blend in. Even when the Word of God is at stake we say, “This is not the place to draw the line.” Others are pure fighters whose first move all the time is, “Line’s crossed, let’s fight!” There’s a time and a place to flip tables, but you’ll notice Jesus did not resort to flipping tables at every juncture. Still others are clueless. They’ve never developed the will or the ability to recognize that Babylon is not a neutral Kingdom but is in reality a Kingdom in opposition to God. The clueless person says, “Babylon’s pretty great.”

Daniel and his friends are none of these. They’re resolved in their heart to honor God, yet behave winsome in their first efforts at moving forward in a difficult situation, and utterly reliant on God.

Daniel Grows in Rank in Babylon

In verses 17-21 we see what happens as a result of Daniel’s faithfulness to his God in this trying circumstance. He not only grows in favor with his peers, but works diligently in his circumstances. He studies hard. And by the time all the attendees of the King’s enculturization program are presented to Nebuchadnezzer, none of the youth can match Daniel and his three friends in wisdom and understanding.

Daniel 1:20 “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.”

Because of Daniel’s senior rank in the Babylonian courts, he would eventually be a primary cause in the conversion of King Nebuchadnezzar himself to faith in the God of the Bible (but that is not for a few more chapters).

Move 2: Application

Living In Babylon

Let’s begin to transition from the text to our own lives and how we can think about applying this meaningfully into our own times. Like Daniel, we are living in “Babylon.” That term “Babylon” is used throughout the rest of the Bible to describe godless systems and governments. So when we say that as Christians we are living in “Babylon” the idea means that we are much like Daniel. We’re living as Christians in a society that does not treasure the God of the Bible, and in all actuality is often hostile to the God of the Bible. We are living in a society, like Babylon, that has constructed strange gods to worship. And the worship of those strange gods will drive your value systems. The challenge for Christians, is the same challenge Daniel had. As citizens in Babylon, where do we bend, and where do we draw a line in the sand. Joe Boot, who runs a ministry called the Ezra Institute up in Canda, says it this way:

“How should Christians relate to an increasingly de-Christianized public square where people are becoming either ignorant of, or hostile toward the worldview of the Bible? What are Christians to do when the insitutional church is marginalized, the exclusve claims of the gospel are viewed as bigotry and the moral law in Scripture seen as repressive and intolerant?” — Joe Boot

From Daniel we learn a few important principles to apply while living in Babylon.

Principle 1: Recognize that Babylon is Not Neutral

First, Babylon is not neutral. This is a vital principle that will help you transition from being clueless. Many people, Christians and nonChristians alike, imagine that the modern secular culture we live in is somehow morally and religiously neutral. They imagine that laws that are being passed from government and ideas that are being pushed on our children in schools and restrictions that are being placed on our institutions on what they can and cannot say, who the media elite choose to cancel or keep, the news that we consume are simply neutral ideas, not for nor against the God of the Bible. There is no neutrality. The Christian, like Daniel must, “resolve in His heart not to defile himself.”

Jesus’ Words on Neutrality

To be a Christian is to choose to follow Jesus as your Lord. It is to live with ultimate submission to God’s authority alone. It is to “resolve in your heart not to defile yourself” with Babylon’s filth. Jesus said:

Matt 12:30 “30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

In other words, there is no such thing as spiritual Switzerland. You cannot serve two masters. And the attempt to sit in a mythological neutral zone is in fact an attempt to stand against Jesus. Jesus said:

Matthew 7:24-27 “24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.””

Hear the clarity of Christ, “Build your life upon my word or you are a fool and your world will crash down around you.” As Christians we must protect against the tendency to make Jesus divisive language less divisive. According to Jesus there are two foundations for life with two absolute different destinations. Even the person who is ambivalent towards Jesus or perhaps has not yet made a choice for Jesus, by virtue of not yet making a choice is in the default position of having built their life on sand. This applies personally first and then corporately second. Individually we are saved by grace through faith. Every one of us are born rebels to God. The only method every made to forgive humanity for their sins is Jesus’ death and resurrection. The gospel of Jesus is the only rock to build your life upon.

John 14:6 “6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Principle 1 is that we have to reject the lie of our own neutrality before submission to Christ, and then reject the lie of Babylon’s Neutrality. Chicago is not neutral. They are opposed to our God and His ways. And much like Babylon, they want to enculturate us until we finally give up our edge and fail to hold the line at all.

Principle 2: God’s Word is Our Standard

Second principle, God’s Word is our Standard. Here we answer the question, how do we know when to draw a line in the sand. The answer, is whenever Babylon attempts to get you to do something or believe something that contradicts God’s Word, the line in the sand gets drawn.

Daniel was willing to bend a lot while living in Babylon. Daniel was willing to take a new Babylonian name. Why? Well - that didn’t techincally break any of God’s laws. It probably was not his favorite thing in the world, but he was able to separate his preferences from God’s ultimate standard. Daniel was willing to go along with his pagan education, even though he knew much of what they were teaching him about false gods was patently false and not true. It’s not sin to get your degree from a Big 10 school. When did Daniel draw a line in the sand? Daniel’s line was when Babylon asked him to do something that was in direct contradiction to God’s Word. To eat the food from the King’s table would have likely been sinful.

Begins By Knowing God’s Word

In order to apply this principle properly, you must know God’s Word. If you don’t know and treasure God’s Word, then you will never know when culture around you is asking you to do something that will break God’s Word. We hate sin because we love God. The Babylon we now live in loves many of the things God hates, and hates many of the things God loves. On these issues we cannot chameleons.

Illustration: Signing an LGBTQ+ Affirmation Statement in the Office

One clear example of how this might play out is on the topic of sexuality. We have come across many times is when offices ask you to sign your name to some kind of LGBTQ+ pledge. Can faithful Christians sign their name to a statement on sexuality that is directly at odds with God’s view on sexuality. The answer is no. Why? Well because to affirm such a pledge would be to directly contradict God’s stated word on the topic of sexuality, and would be to affirm a pagan view of sexuality that will leave individuals and society far worse off. The line gets drawn, not by our preferences but by God’s Word. “But this might cost too much. I might lose my job.” Yes indeed, this is why Jesus commanded us to “count the cost” before following him (Luke 14:28).

Here I Stand

The Christian is willing to live in Babylon. They are willing to walk the streets of Babylon, to shop in the stores of Babylon, to buy homes in Babylon, to make friends in Babylon, to raise kids in Babylon. It is not sin to live in Babylon. But when Babylon asks us to normalize sin, to celebrate sin, to teach sin to our children, we resist. As the Great reformer Martin Luther so famously said, “Here I stand, I can do no other.”

Principle 3: Attempt Reform Winsomely Where Possible

Principle 3 is that when we must draw the line in the sand, we always first attempt to do so winsomelessly. There is something about the seeds of America that has developed a culture of people who love rebellion. Literally, rebellion is kind of in the blood of America. We were born out of rebellion. Sometimes as I watch American Christians engage in honest attempts to resist Babylon’s pressures, they manage to skip steps 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of diplomacy and jumps straight into wholesale revolution.

If you look to Daniel, when he was asked to cross over a line in the sand, his first response was to lovingly request his boss if another way could be found. When his boss didn’t like that idea, Daniel kept thinking, “How can I respectfully find a way to work this.” Daniel didn’t want to get his boss killed. So Daniel was cunning. Jesus taught us:

Matthew 10:16 “16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”

Be cunning. Be faithful. Trust God. Remember the great lesson of this story, is that Daniel served a God who was in control, and who could make a way when others saw no way. There is a godly sense of prayer filled, humble, mature, wise pursuit of godliness that I have found God tends to honor.

Principle 4: When All Else Fails - Courageously Make Your Stand

Daniel’s winsomeness won the day because he earned relational equity with his boss. His plan worked. Where others just ate the food, Daniel trusted God to make a way forward that would honor God’s law, and God provided. Many times, this will be the case as you seek to honor God. But sometimes it won’t. We have a few great examples of this from Daniel’s own life. Later in Daniel 6, Daniel finds himself in another ‘Draw the Line Situation.’ Either he stops praying to God and only prays to King Darius, or he gets fed to the lions.

Daniel 6:10 “10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.”

We Are Witnessing

Notice the detail, that Daniel defied political tyrrany with the windows open. As a Pastor, here in Chicago I increasingly have major concerns about the Babylon we are living in. I am watching the news daily and it somtimes feels like Babylon’s insanity is getting a bit insane. On a global level. Nations that have historically prided themselves on democratic rule, are sinking to levels of government overreach that are verging on Orwellian distopias. Canada, with their new C-4 Bill has now criminilized any effort to help somebody who is suffering through Gender Dysphoria thereby criminilizing all pastoral work in this area. Australia has openly banned basic human rights in the name of combatting Covid, limiting how far a person can go from their home, and how much excercise they are permitted to have outside their house. My aim is not to be an alarmist. But I do take Ezekiel 3 and Ezekiel 33 quite seriously where Ezekiel is named a Watchman for Israel.

Illustration: Candian Pastors Doing This Well with Bill C-4

How have Christians dones this well. Let’s take Canada as an example. A few weeks ago Canada passed a law called Bill C-4 which criminilizes what they call ‘Conversion Therapy.’ According to the bill’s definition of ‘Conversion Therapy,’ anybody who attempts in any way to speak into a person’s life on the topic of sexuality using a Biblical Worldview can be criminalized. So if a Pastor teaches the Biblical worldview on gender, that there are only two genders and that it is not God’s design to try to pretend to be another gender, hypothetically they can be prosecuted under this law. So what did Canadian pastors and many faithful Christians do. They tried to work with the government speaking into this bill all along its path, they attempted to winsomely change the course. These efforts did not work and a tyrranical law was passed. Then the Christians rebelled. The Sunday after it was passed, thousands of Churches across Canada preached on the Biblical vision of gender and sexuality. This is a great example of living out the winsomeness of Daniel 1 with the boldness of Daniel 6.

My Aim as a Pastor

My aim as a Pastor is to equip you well for such a world. You must know when the Lord has called you to draw a line in the sand. On issues that are gray issues, we must be very gracious with each other as some may choose to draw their line slightly different than others. But on issues that are clear violations of God’s law, this is not the time to play the chameleon. The stakes are too high, the time is short, and we have work to do.

Closing

Look to Christ. Keep looking to Christ. Babylon’s great aim is to get you to look anywhere but Christ. But you musn’t take the bait. Cherish him. Live boldly for him. Raise your kids as devout followers of Jesus. When you go to work, do all you do not for a paycheck but for Him. When they fire you, thank God and rest in Him. When they promote you, thank God and rest in Him. When they cancel you, know that Christ is bigger. And when Christ opens a door, take it with Holy Spirit filled vigor. And in all things pray ceaselessly.