What do you think of as your distinguishing characteristics? How would other people describe you? Today on Truth for Life, we'll be introduced to an elderly Daniel. and find out how his unwavering faith and obedience to God became the source of blessing, honor, and loathing. Alastair Begg is teaching from Daniel, chapter six.
Well, in reaching chapter six, we've come to what is undoubtedly the most familiar story in the book of Daniel. Even people who know very little about the Bible will probably know something concerning Daniel and his lion's den. in the same way that they will know that Noah had an ark. But if we are tempted to dismiss or to sideline these recorded incidents in Daniel as being little more than good moralistic stories for children, then it is imperative that we reconsider. It is possible to go through these first six chapters of Daniel simply in a moralistic way, saying, These people were very good, and you should be very good as well.
Daniel was a very strong fellow, why don't you become a strong fellow? And of course, there's value in that, but that's not the reason we have the book of Daniel, and that's not the message of these chapters. Daniel knows that even when the external fabric of religion is dismantled and in some cases destroyed, as it is for many of our brothers and sisters throughout the world this morning. God remains God. and access to him remains the same.
And so it is that this book comes initially to readers who by this point were tempted to give up on the law of God, and Daniel says, I didn't do it and you shouldn't. And they were tempted also to give up on the idea that there would ever be any deliverance for them at all. And as Daniel has recorded these incidents, they have been galvanized into understanding that although the kingdoms of the world are in opposition to the work of God, still God remains God, and He is, and He will, accomplish His purposes.
Now, again, if we are tempted to say, well, it's a sort of nice story for children, it absolutely is not. It is the story of an innocent man pushing 80 years of age who is condemned to death because he chose loyalty to God over obedience to the state. That's the story. That's what we have recorded here. That immediately takes it far beyond the realm of Daniel was a purposeful fellow, and it really would be good if you were purposeful as well.
All right. There's a lot of water has gone under the bridge since Daniel and his friends had been snatched up and carried away into Babylon, recorded for us in Daniel chapter 1. And you remember on that occasion that they drew a line in the sand when it came to the matter of defiling themselves with the king's food. And at that point, we tried to make sure that we understood just exactly what was involved in that. Here were a group of young men.
They were very intelligent. They were the best of the characters that could be snatched away in the initial invasion. They were trained in the things of God. They had been raised within the framework of their Jewish homes. But now they were taken into an alien world.
They were re-educated, repatriated, they were given a new name. And they were confronted by every kind of temptation that any young man or group of young men would be confronted with. And if they had not made that decision in chapter one, then there would be no story for us to read in chapter six. this simple observation that what we are in our early years God being God will be what we are in our later years. If you think you're going to be something at 80 that you're not now, then you better start playing catch up.
Can I say to you today, don't wait till then. You're a teenager here today, you're a boy or a girl here today. Resolve in your youthfulness, resolve when life is opening before you, so that you may then prove in the chapter 6 reality the benefits of the decisions that have been made in the chapter 1. And also we should note that the greatest test for Daniel comes toward the end of his life and not at the beginning of his life. There's another one for us to notice.
Most of us, I think, have got the idea that all the temptation comes at the front end. And if you can just live long enough, there's nothing left to tempt you.
So far that isn't working for me. I don't know if it's working for you. And he faces the greatest temptation. The potential for collapse. as he pushes eighty.
Therefore The challenge that is before him is a real challenge. The people in Daniel's day may equivocate and capitulate if they wish, but Daniel says, and I am not for turning. I have not lived all these decades of my life to capitulate and do a U-turn right now as I face my own demise. It's a wonderful word. And it's a word to those of you who are a little older than some of the rest of us.
We're watching for you to see you run all the way to the end of the race, all the way through the tape, breast the tape. No silly stuff towards the end. Daniel He helps us in that. Incidentally, If our view of what it means to love and serve God is a sort of Superficial contemporary Western Christian view, then we're going to have a really hard time with this chapter. If my perspective on what it means to live for Jesus involves self-fulfillment, Freedom from pain, the pursuit of prosperity, the enjoyment of comfort.
Then we're going to find it precious difficult to identify with a decision made by Daniel, which says, I am going to do this even if I die for it. Is there anything that I would die for? Anything you would die for? That's the challenge that is here. But notice, first of all, that Daniel was distinguished.
He was distinguished, that's what we're told. Verse 3: This Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and the satraps.
Now, the context is this vast empire, the Medo-Persian Empire was the biggest empire that the world had ever seen to that point in history. And the king is responsible for ensuring that the empire works. Incidentally, you could argue the legitimacy of the idea that is the challenge confronting Daniel here simply on the basis of the fact that it provided an opportunity for the entire empire to be on the one page together, as it were. And as he has established his governmental structure, He's made sure that these satraps are placed strategically throughout the empire. You will notice it says, so that, at the end of verse 2, the king might suffer no loss.
In other words, he wants to make sure, presumably, that he doesn't lose territory and that he doesn't lose taxation. And in order to do that, he has put these key people in place. Watching how this has unfolded, he then determines that this Daniel character has such an excellent spirit in him. You read that phrase there towards the end of verse 3. That he says to himself, I'm going to put Daniel in charge of the whole operation.
I'm going to make him the prime minister. I'm going to establish him above the rest of these individuals. And so we're told in verse 4 that these colleagues of Daniel, who, when they realized what was going on, Knew immediately that there would be no way that they could fault him. on the basis of his Uh review. As uh a significant member of the government.
because verse 4 tells us that he was Not only of an excellent spirit in verse 3, but there was no basis for complaint or any fault. Because he was faithful. And no error or fault was found in him. He was faithful, he was trustworthy, he was reliable. That's jolly good, isn't it?
He would never have been regarded for the top job because he was an eminent servant of the living God. Just It was because he was good at his job. And it's good to be good at your job. Let's just notice that in passing. It's a significant thing to be a man of purity in a dirty world.
to be a girl of integrity in a shady world. to be marked by stability. in a world that shakes and moves. Underneath us.
Now when you when you take that as a profile You have to say to yourself, surely such an individual would be highly regarded by his peers? But that's not the case. He is distinguished. But secondly, and what will be finally He was also despised. He was despised.
The fact that he was in lane for promotion. Meant that they were in line essentially for demotion because they were not going to get the top floor in the corner office. And they didn't like that. And they despised him. In fact, down in verse thirteen, When they are speaking to the king, they refer to Daniel in this way.
Then they answered and said before the king, Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah. pays no attention to you. It's interesting. What are they doing? Informing the king that Daniel was in exile from Judah?
Like he did, like the king. Oh, he's an exile from Judah. I never knew that. No. What are they doing?
Well, they're demeaning him. They're not saying Daniel your favorite, or Daniel, who is such an exemplary, trustworthy, phenomenal character. No, they're saying Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, he is a second-class citizen. We we conquered Judah. Remember, King, we brought these characters in.
And from the perspective of the Persians. Tan Yo. was part of an inferior race. And bad enough that someone was going to get the top job over them. But for a foreigner to get the top job over there.
It's like some of you here in these American companies, and you find out that some soul from Yorkshire is about to become the CEO. Enough, I'm not getting the job, but why'd you bring somebody from Yorkshire of all places? Where is that?
Well, it's that kind of flavour, isn't it?
Now Because they're unable to fold them in his work. They have to come up with a plan that will force Daniel to choose between the law of his God and the law of the land. And that, of course, is exactly what they do. And they maneuver the situation in such a way, and you see that in the text that is before you, to get the king to establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, this is verse 7 now, so that whoever makes petition to any God or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions.
Now let me pause and just ask you a question. What possible right did these characters have to make such a law? What possible right does government have to make arbitrary laws? You see, this was an arbitrary decision. And in opposing it, Daniel wasn't simply protesting his right to pray to his own God.
But he was protesting against a view of the state. that refuses to recognize that there is a law higher than itself from which inalienable human rights Derive. I don't want to delay on this, and those of you who are thoughtful can think it through. But you understand the contemporary aspect of this. Whenever governments begin arbitrarily to take to themselves the making of laws that refuse to recognize that they are under the jurisdiction of the great lawgiver, then every culture is inevitably in danger.
And indeed democracy itself Because if you think about the British parliamentary structure or American constitutional law, the the very structure of democracy demands the existence, presupposes the existence That there is a higher throne, that there is a log ever. And in these Ten Commandments, there is a summation of that which God, who created the universe, decided and is convinced of the fact that these need to be part and parcel of our existence if we are able to secure the very inalienable human rights that we. Rely on.
Well, all of that is there for your consideration as you read this at home. They maneuver the king into passing this edict. They are agreed on this. They came in agreement, it says in verse 6. Two or three times, I tried to point it out as I was reading it, the phrase, and they came by agreement.
What a wonderful thing it is. You get politicians actually agreeing with one another. Fascinating, isn't it? They agreed. They came in agreement.
I don't care whether it's the Republican or the Democratic Party, you put them end-to-end, they couldn't reach a conclusion. Every single one of them, how are they going to agree? I disagree, I agree, disagree, I disagree, I disagree. Where can you get all these clowns agreeing? Where do they agree in this case?
They agree in their opposition to the living God. They are prepared to forsake all other aspects of their convictions in order that they might come in agreement and say, We don't want this living God stuff here. We don't want this Daniel in position here. We're not going to have this. This is our world.
And so in verse 7, they lie to the king. They tell him all, that's the beginning of verse 7, all the officials, all the satraps, the counselors, the governors, and so on. That's not true. If the king had been awake, he would have said, wait a minute, Daniel's not here, is he? But he wasn't awake.
I guess that's part of being a king. They stroked his ego. And they moved them along. We're only making sure that if anybody wants to do any praying at all, he can only pray to you, O king, verse 7. You see the king sitting up on his throne and say, Well, that's not a bad plan I kinda like that.
Everybody, yes. After all, I am the king. What do you have here? You have Sam II here. Psalm 2.
Look at these characters as they take counsel together against the Lord's servant and his anointed. That's what's happening here. They're cool. They're calculated and they're cowardly. And what they're seeking to do is to enact this in such a way that at the end of the day they will be able to lay the responsibility for Daniel's death at the door of the king and not themselves.
Masterful. But loved ones, what is the real conflict here? The real conflict here is the conflict which runs from the very beginning of the Bible all the way throughout human history. And we've been trying to point this out as we've gone through. that it is the conflict between light and darkness.
By the time Peter is writing, he describes the evil one as a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. And here, the lion is going to do the business of the destruction. of this Person who is so focused on the living God. You see, it wasn't that Daniel had trampled on his colleagues in order to get the top job. They probably would have been able to understand that and probably forgive it.
But what they couldn't handle. was that he had an unswerving commitment to Yahweh. And they knew that.
So that when he went in to pray, as it's described for us in the chapter, and he turned his face towards Jerusalem. It wasn't that he was simply having his quiet time. It wasn't simply that he was having his own personal devotional exercises, but he was actually declaring his conviction that the God of Abram, Isaac, and Jacob was truth and final truth, and in such a way that it left no space for believing that all of the other religions were equally valid. You see, pluralism can only tolerate pluralists. You see, in this context, people could believe in any God they wanted.
You've got a God, you've got an idea, you've got a spirituality, you've got a construct, you've got a concept. That's fine. We can absorb it all. Except one. Oh.
Don't start saying that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the true and living God, and there is no other God, despite this one. That's what they couldn't stand. Do you get the contemporary relevance of it today? It's increasingly unacceptable in the social climate of our day. Again, one of pluralism.
A place and a climate that makes space for just about every notion and idea. And you see it on the back of cars. I take photographs of the back of cars. I took one the other day again. I'm amazed at the confluence of philosophical mumbo-jumbo that is contained on the back of a car.
But there is a unifying principle in all of these when I take them. And that is, it's not that having given up on the God who made the universe, as Jesterson said, it's not that we believe in nothing, it is that we now believe in everything.
So there's just about everything on there. You can believe in this and that, and the next thing they all work. The one thing we cannot believe. It's what? Jesus says, I am the good shepherd.
I give my life for the sheep. I am the door. Anybody that came before me was a thief and a robber. I'm the only way. How politically correct is that?
Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me. That doesn't work in pluralism either. Paul says there is only one mediator between God and man, and that is the man Christ Jesus.
Well what happened to Krishna? What happened to Buddha? What happened to Muhammad? What happened to Joseph Smith? They have no place.
No place.
Now, you see how this worked out? When the power of the Holy Spirit is unleashed upon the apostles, they go out onto the streets of Jerusalem, and what do they say? We gotta tell you. That there is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which you must be saved.
And they said, well, we're not going to put up with that stuff. For the first time Really for the first time in my life. I find myself coming to terms With many of the statements of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. Where he gathers his disciples, and there's a crowd with him. And remember, he says to them, Blessed are you when people insult you?
persecute you. and falsely say all kinds of evil against you. Because of me. Rejoice. and be glad.
Now I say for the first time because most of my life I have listened to people come from other countries in the world and explain the pressure and the tyranny of whatever it is. I think of one of my good friends who's an ophthalmologist from Glasgow who established an eye clinic in Afghanistan. And telling me years ago when it was the moshud those guys, the first time around when we were on the other side from which we were on, the last time we were on a side. But but he told me that the only way that they could identify with another believer was if they were in a crowd. They were able to give each other a handshake.
And they would know that someone had come alongside them in a crowd and just held their hand in a particular way. I said, wow, what a strange thing.
Well, what if you just stood outside and told them that you love Jesus? He said, Oh no, we couldn't do that. You die for that.
Well, we're not there yet, are we? But maybe a little closer. And I think our studies in Daniel are helping us. If not for our generation, for the generation to come. I don't think that's alarmist, I don't think it's a rhetorical flourish.
I think it's just a safe reading of history. We're no longer We're no longer the moral majority. We actually never were. We are now the rabble minority. And if your view of Christianity does not allow for you.
to face that notion. Then I don't know. that either you or I, if I hold the same perspective. will be able to stand before what Paul refers to. In 1 Thessalonians 2.
as the mystery of lawlessness. You're listening to Alistair Begg on Truth for Life. If you've been benefiting from Alistair's teaching through the book of Daniel, let me encourage you to get his book titled Brave by Faith: God-sized confidence in a post-Christian World. Today's the last day we'll be recommending this practical book that comes with a study guide. Here's just a taste of what you'll be getting in the book.
Alastair writes, This life will not be easy, because there is raging around us a continual and irreconcilable war, and neutrality is not an option. life may get harder, society may get unfriendlier, faith in Christ may become still more unacceptable, and obedience to Christ still more costly. But Jesus reigns, and Jesus will return. We may not understand every part of the picture, but stand back and see the broad sweep of it. God has won.
God wins, and so we will prevail too, beyond the battle that you and I are a part of and must fight well in. Ask for your copy of the book Brave by Faith along with the study guide today when you donate to support the Bible teaching ministry of Truth for Life. You can give online at truthforlife.org/slash donate.
Okay. Call us at 888-588-7884. Thanks for listening. Why didn't Daniel pray in silence when his colleagues prohibited prayer? Couldn't he have prayed secretly, during the Edict, or in a place where he couldn't be observed?
Tomorrow we'll explore the answer. The Bible teaching of Alastair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life. Where the Learning is for Living.
