WEBVTT 00:00:00.590 --> 00:00:05.209 It may be the death of a spouse or some other 00:00:05.209 --> 00:00:08.310 loved one or meaningful person in one's life. 00:00:10.410 --> 00:00:15.810 It may be the result of war. It may be the loss 00:00:15.810 --> 00:00:20.449 of health or the loss of one's financial security. 00:00:22.149 --> 00:00:26.649 But times come to the life of everyone when the 00:00:26.649 --> 00:00:30.859 world collapses. What do we do in times like 00:00:30.859 --> 00:00:33.920 that? Well, I believe that Daniel gives us a 00:00:33.920 --> 00:00:37.820 wonderful example of what to do when one's world 00:00:37.820 --> 00:00:42.259 collapses, when life comes to an end as it always 00:00:42.259 --> 00:00:46.600 has been. To understand how Daniel is an example 00:00:46.600 --> 00:00:48.340 of this, we need to think a little bit about 00:00:48.340 --> 00:00:53.200 the background of this book of Daniel. We need 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:58.289 to back up actually about 400 years. You may 00:00:58.289 --> 00:01:03.609 recall that David reigned over the whole nation 00:01:03.609 --> 00:01:08.510 of Israel after the death of Saul. He was a man 00:01:08.510 --> 00:01:12.189 after God's own heart and God blessed the reign 00:01:12.189 --> 00:01:16.129 of David. He was a man who made some mistakes. 00:01:16.709 --> 00:01:19.129 There were times when he sinned against God. 00:01:19.909 --> 00:01:22.689 He was forgiven because of his repentance and 00:01:22.689 --> 00:01:26.209 confession. But he also paid some consequences 00:01:26.209 --> 00:01:31.450 because of his sin. When David died, he left 00:01:31.450 --> 00:01:35.150 the kingdom to Solomon who reigned in his stead. 00:01:35.489 --> 00:01:38.310 In the beginning, Solomon was a good king. But 00:01:38.310 --> 00:01:42.090 in the end, Solomon departed from the Lord and 00:01:42.090 --> 00:01:45.810 made a mess of his life and made a mess of the 00:01:45.810 --> 00:01:51.530 nation. For upon his death, the nation of Israel 00:01:51.530 --> 00:01:57.500 divided. into two. There was the southern kingdom 00:01:57.500 --> 00:02:01.959 that adopted the name Judah. It was reigned over 00:02:01.959 --> 00:02:08.680 by Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. Two tribes essentially, 00:02:08.900 --> 00:02:12.699 the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Then there 00:02:12.699 --> 00:02:17.060 was the northern kingdom. That was called Israel 00:02:17.060 --> 00:02:20.659 or sometimes it was called Samaria because Samaria 00:02:20.659 --> 00:02:26.400 became its capital city. The first king was Jeroboam. 00:02:27.379 --> 00:02:30.240 And in all of the history, some 200 plus years, 00:02:30.280 --> 00:02:33.280 of the Northern Kingdom, there was not one single 00:02:33.280 --> 00:02:38.819 king who honored God and obeyed him. The Northern 00:02:38.819 --> 00:02:42.120 Kingdom, eventually, because of its apostasy, 00:02:42.919 --> 00:02:44.919 came under the judgment of God and went into 00:02:44.919 --> 00:02:49.719 captivity. The nation of Assyria, Assyria, came 00:02:49.719 --> 00:02:56.139 against Israel, Samaria. in 722 and destroyed 00:02:56.139 --> 00:02:59.599 the nation. The people were scattered throughout 00:02:59.599 --> 00:03:04.139 their empire. They brought in Assyrians to live 00:03:04.139 --> 00:03:06.400 with those few Israelites who were left, and 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:08.159 they intermarried and became what were called 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:11.639 Samaritans, who were hated by the full -blooded 00:03:11.639 --> 00:03:13.939 Jews. From that day onward, and we see that in 00:03:13.939 --> 00:03:18.819 the Gospels, don't we? The kingdom of Judah, 00:03:19.139 --> 00:03:21.340 however, the southern kingdom, existed beyond 00:03:21.340 --> 00:03:26.599 that. They too had their share of wicked kings. 00:03:27.740 --> 00:03:29.680 In fact, most of them were wicked, but there 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:35.439 were eight who were godly. The last of them was 00:03:35.439 --> 00:03:38.840 a man by the name of Josiah. You may remember 00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:42.419 him because he reigned beginning at the age of 00:03:42.419 --> 00:03:50.099 eight. Josiah reigned for some 31 years over 00:03:50.099 --> 00:03:56.659 the nation of Israel. Through the influence and 00:03:56.659 --> 00:04:00.939 assistance of his mentor, the priest, Josiah 00:04:00.939 --> 00:04:04.219 had a remarkable impact upon the nation of Judah. 00:04:06.819 --> 00:04:09.659 He undertook the rebuilding of the temple, and 00:04:09.659 --> 00:04:15.240 as they were doing that, perhaps as they were 00:04:15.240 --> 00:04:20.120 involved with some of the basic stones of the 00:04:20.120 --> 00:04:24.350 temple building itself, they came across a scroll, 00:04:25.029 --> 00:04:28.569 which was the Law of Moses. It seems incredible, 00:04:28.649 --> 00:04:33.329 but that law had been lost along the way. It 00:04:33.329 --> 00:04:36.470 was common in that day for nations to put important 00:04:36.470 --> 00:04:41.350 documents in the cornerstone of buildings, such 00:04:41.350 --> 00:04:44.069 as the temple, that's still done occasionally 00:04:44.069 --> 00:04:47.370 today, and time capsules. Well, apparently that's 00:04:47.370 --> 00:04:50.089 what happened. They broke open this time capsule, 00:04:50.089 --> 00:04:52.769 if you please, and found that book of the law, 00:04:53.850 --> 00:04:56.389 and they brought it to Josiah. And when he heard 00:04:56.389 --> 00:04:59.589 the law of God, he tore his clothing and commanded 00:04:59.589 --> 00:05:01.810 that the whole nation should hear this law of 00:05:01.810 --> 00:05:04.649 God, and he himself read it before the people. 00:05:04.709 --> 00:05:06.689 And there was repentance in the nation. There 00:05:06.689 --> 00:05:09.930 was reform in the nation. They reestablished 00:05:09.930 --> 00:05:13.350 their covenant with God. Josiah kicked out all 00:05:13.350 --> 00:05:18.560 of the spiritists and the mediums. that had grown 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:21.620 up in the nation and had been used by the people 00:05:21.620 --> 00:05:26.439 in their apostasy. The nation, generally speaking, 00:05:26.680 --> 00:05:29.759 turned back to God under the leadership of Josiah. 00:05:31.300 --> 00:05:34.199 When he was 39 years of age, though, Josiah made 00:05:34.199 --> 00:05:37.639 a mistake and it proved to be a fatal mistake. 00:05:40.220 --> 00:05:42.620 Perhaps the greatest power in the world at that 00:05:42.620 --> 00:05:50.319 time was Egypt. And Pharaoh Neco, N -E -C -O, 00:05:50.420 --> 00:05:55.300 as he was called, was going to battle against 00:05:55.300 --> 00:05:59.620 Babylon, an upcoming power, a power that was 00:05:59.620 --> 00:06:03.199 being renewed to the north and east of Israel. 00:06:05.019 --> 00:06:07.100 And in order to do battle with him, of course, 00:06:07.100 --> 00:06:14.319 he had to pass through the land of Judah. The 00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:19.480 king of Judah, Josiah, apparently in order to 00:06:19.480 --> 00:06:22.319 try to gain some favor from this growing power 00:06:22.319 --> 00:06:26.480 to his north and east, Babylon, decided to go 00:06:26.480 --> 00:06:29.579 out to do war against Pharaoh Nicco to try to 00:06:29.579 --> 00:06:33.079 stop him before he went on to do his battle with 00:06:33.079 --> 00:06:38.759 Babylon. And in the course of the battle, Josiah 00:06:38.759 --> 00:06:44.300 was shot with an arrow and died. The nation mourned 00:06:44.300 --> 00:06:48.360 greatly because of the loss of this godly young 00:06:48.360 --> 00:06:54.939 leader. And in his place they chose his second 00:06:54.939 --> 00:07:03.019 son, whose name was Jehoahaz. Now Jehoahaz, or 00:07:03.019 --> 00:07:06.879 Shalem as he was also called, was an evil man. 00:07:09.220 --> 00:07:14.860 He lasted, however, only a brief time. Because, 00:07:14.920 --> 00:07:17.180 you see, after the king of Egypt had gone on 00:07:17.180 --> 00:07:19.560 and done his battle with Babylon, he came back 00:07:19.560 --> 00:07:25.939 through Judah and Jerusalem. And he removed Jehoahaz, 00:07:25.939 --> 00:07:28.600 after just three months on the throne, and took 00:07:28.600 --> 00:07:32.220 him away to Egypt, captive, and put in his place 00:07:32.220 --> 00:07:36.000 his older brother, the first son of Josiah, Jehoiakim. 00:07:37.160 --> 00:07:41.060 Jehoiakim was also a very evil man. The people 00:07:41.060 --> 00:07:43.220 had chosen the second son because they felt he 00:07:43.220 --> 00:07:46.319 was better, apparently. But now, after just three 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:48.620 months, they had the man that they did not want, 00:07:50.220 --> 00:07:53.899 and that was Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim was an evil 00:07:53.899 --> 00:07:57.180 king. It is interesting, isn't it, that a man 00:07:57.180 --> 00:08:00.360 can be a godly man, a good leader of his nation, 00:08:00.980 --> 00:08:04.839 and yet, somehow along the way, lose the influence 00:08:04.839 --> 00:08:08.839 of his children. There's a lesson for all of 00:08:08.839 --> 00:08:15.439 us, parents. Jehoiakim began to reign in 608 00:08:15.439 --> 00:08:20.019 BC. Because he was placed on the throne by the 00:08:20.019 --> 00:08:24.699 King of Egypt, Pharaoh Niko, he paid heavy tribute 00:08:24.699 --> 00:08:32.360 to the King of Egypt for three years. And then 00:08:32.360 --> 00:08:38.059 he got tired of that and sort of rebelled against 00:08:38.059 --> 00:08:40.629 having to pay that. I should explain, during 00:08:40.629 --> 00:08:44.389 this time of his reign, Jeremiah was preaching 00:08:44.389 --> 00:08:49.750 in Jerusalem. And there was bitter feeling in 00:08:49.750 --> 00:08:53.070 Jehoiakim regarding Jeremiah. In fact, at one 00:08:53.070 --> 00:08:56.309 point he burned one of the scrolls of Jeremiah 00:08:56.309 --> 00:09:00.870 that pronounced judgment upon him. He was a man 00:09:00.870 --> 00:09:04.409 who, while he was raising this tribute from the 00:09:04.409 --> 00:09:07.750 people to pay to Egypt, also built himself a 00:09:07.750 --> 00:09:12.080 lavish palace, which was a detestable thing to 00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:17.220 the people of Judah. In that sense, he sort of 00:09:17.220 --> 00:09:19.960 reminded me as I was reading about him of Chacheshu 00:09:19.960 --> 00:09:24.000 in Romania, who in the midst of the great poverty 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:26.240 of his people was just milking them in order 00:09:26.240 --> 00:09:29.120 to enrich himself. And you've read the stories 00:09:29.120 --> 00:09:33.100 probably about the palace there that he built 00:09:33.100 --> 00:09:37.460 in Bucharest. and in which he lived in luxury 00:09:37.460 --> 00:09:41.240 while his people are in incredible poverty. Well, 00:09:41.279 --> 00:09:47.139 Jehoiakim was that kind of a man. In 605 BC, 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:51.440 in his third year, the Egyptians again went to 00:09:51.440 --> 00:09:54.879 battle against Babylon. The place that they did 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:57.899 battle was Carchemish, which was a rather famous 00:09:57.899 --> 00:10:01.799 city in that day, an area. And the Egyptians 00:10:01.799 --> 00:10:05.169 were defeated. by the Babylonian army at this 00:10:05.169 --> 00:10:10.490 point. In fact, never again did Egypt arise to 00:10:10.490 --> 00:10:13.309 the greatness that it had known in the many centuries 00:10:13.309 --> 00:10:16.409 before that. It really did end the Egyptians. 00:10:16.490 --> 00:10:19.470 They never have recovered to this day from the 00:10:19.470 --> 00:10:26.309 Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC. The general of 00:10:26.309 --> 00:10:29.529 the army of Babylon was the prince of the nation. 00:10:31.720 --> 00:10:35.019 who was reigning in sort of a co -regency with 00:10:35.019 --> 00:10:38.720 his father, Nebuchadnezzar. The prince's name 00:10:38.720 --> 00:10:43.879 was Nebuchadnezzar. Now he enters into the story 00:10:43.879 --> 00:10:51.580 of Daniel, as you well know. Nebuchadnezzar marched 00:10:51.580 --> 00:10:54.480 further south from Carchemish and entered into 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:58.759 the land of Palestine, came to the city of Jerusalem, 00:10:58.759 --> 00:11:05.580 and attacked it because, you see, Jerusalem was 00:11:05.580 --> 00:11:07.519 paying tribute to Egypt and he was just going 00:11:07.519 --> 00:11:13.879 to wipe up some of the spoils of the land. He 00:11:13.879 --> 00:11:20.019 took some booty from the city. He also took some 00:11:20.019 --> 00:11:24.480 of the young men prisoner, took them captive, 00:11:25.100 --> 00:11:28.100 sent them back to Babylon there to serve in the 00:11:28.100 --> 00:11:33.210 court of the king. It was not long after all 00:11:33.210 --> 00:11:35.870 of this happened that he got word that his father 00:11:35.870 --> 00:11:42.490 had died. And he rushed back to Babylon to be 00:11:42.490 --> 00:11:47.750 crowned the king of Babylon in September of 605. 00:11:49.129 --> 00:11:50.850 So that gives you a little bit of background 00:11:50.850 --> 00:11:54.009 regarding this man that we're going to read about 00:11:54.009 --> 00:11:58.129 and the nation of Babylon. By the way, Babylon 00:11:58.129 --> 00:12:01.389 came against Jerusalem three different times 00:12:01.389 --> 00:12:05.710 before it finally took away the nation entirely, 00:12:06.269 --> 00:12:08.730 destroyed it, destroyed the temple. They came 00:12:08.730 --> 00:12:10.610 the first time in this one we've talked about 00:12:10.610 --> 00:12:13.470 in 605 BC, after the Battle of Carchemish, when 00:12:13.470 --> 00:12:16.269 they defeated the Egyptians. And then it was 00:12:16.269 --> 00:12:19.610 several years later that they came again in 597 00:12:19.610 --> 00:12:23.509 BC. And again, they deported some of the best 00:12:23.509 --> 00:12:26.389 and the brightest of the nation, among them Ezekiel. 00:12:28.190 --> 00:12:32.830 And then once more, a final time, in 586, the 00:12:32.830 --> 00:12:34.929 armies of Babylon came against Jerusalem, and 00:12:34.929 --> 00:12:37.009 this time they obliterated the city, destroyed 00:12:37.009 --> 00:12:41.649 it, and took the Jews into captivity, to Babylon. 00:12:43.309 --> 00:12:45.330 Now we want to come to Daniel chapter 1, and 00:12:45.330 --> 00:12:47.470 with that bit of historical background, perhaps 00:12:47.470 --> 00:12:50.090 what is said here will kind of fall into place 00:12:50.090 --> 00:12:53.549 for you a little more. In the third year of the 00:12:53.549 --> 00:12:57.740 reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Now it's 6 00:12:57.740 --> 00:13:02.399 .05. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Notice 00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:05.860 Daniel calls him the king. This is a proliptic 00:13:05.860 --> 00:13:09.360 use of the word king. In other words, at the 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:11.320 time that he actually came to do the battle, 00:13:11.340 --> 00:13:13.720 he was the prince, he was the leading general, 00:13:14.279 --> 00:13:17.899 but he then became the king. And so Daniel refers 00:13:17.899 --> 00:13:22.100 to him as the king. The king of Babylon, Cambridge, 00:13:22.100 --> 00:13:26.500 Jerusalem, besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim 00:13:26.840 --> 00:13:29.460 King of Judah into his hand, along with some 00:13:29.460 --> 00:13:31.820 of the vessels of the house of God. There's the 00:13:31.820 --> 00:13:35.740 booty. And he brought them to the land of Shiner, 00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:39.539 that is to Babylon, to the house of his God, 00:13:40.200 --> 00:13:42.460 and he brought the vessels into the treasury 00:13:42.460 --> 00:13:46.620 of his God. The God of Babylon was the God Marduk, 00:13:47.419 --> 00:13:49.919 which some of you will recognize if you've studied 00:13:49.919 --> 00:13:53.789 world history or world religions. one of the 00:13:53.789 --> 00:13:58.289 main gods of the ancient Mesopotamian pantheon. 00:13:59.389 --> 00:14:02.190 And it says, the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief 00:14:02.190 --> 00:14:05.789 of his officials, or his eunuchs, to bring in 00:14:05.789 --> 00:14:08.330 some of the sons of Israel, including some of 00:14:08.330 --> 00:14:11.929 the royal family and of the nobles, youths in 00:14:11.929 --> 00:14:17.070 whom was no defect, who were good -looking, showing 00:14:17.070 --> 00:14:20.889 intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed 00:14:20.889 --> 00:14:23.980 with understanding and discerning knowledge, 00:14:24.799 --> 00:14:27.379 and who had ability for serving in the king's 00:14:27.379 --> 00:14:31.179 court. And he ordered him to teach them the literature 00:14:31.179 --> 00:14:34.259 and language of the Chaldeans, again another 00:14:34.259 --> 00:14:38.480 name for Babylon, especially in this period of 00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:41.840 its history. And the king appointed for them 00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:45.419 a daily ration from the king's choice food and 00:14:45.419 --> 00:14:48.419 from the wine which he drank, and appointed that 00:14:48.419 --> 00:14:51.909 they should be educated three years. at the end 00:14:51.909 --> 00:14:54.230 of which they were to enter the king's personal 00:14:54.230 --> 00:14:58.669 service. Now among them from the sons of Judah 00:14:58.669 --> 00:15:04.309 were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 00:15:05.490 --> 00:15:07.629 Then the commander of the officials assigned 00:15:07.629 --> 00:15:11.190 new names to them. To Daniel, he assigned the 00:15:11.190 --> 00:15:18.049 name Belteshazzar. To Hananiah, Shadrach. To 00:15:18.049 --> 00:15:25.129 Mishael, Meshach. and to Azariah a bednego. But 00:15:25.129 --> 00:15:28.389 Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile 00:15:28.389 --> 00:15:31.789 himself with the king's choice food or with the 00:15:31.789 --> 00:15:34.009 wine which he drank, and so he sought permission 00:15:34.009 --> 00:15:36.870 from the commander of the officials that he might 00:15:36.870 --> 00:15:42.730 not defile himself. Now God granted Daniel favor 00:15:42.730 --> 00:15:45.230 and compassion in the sight of the commander 00:15:45.230 --> 00:15:47.090 of the officials, and the commander of the officials 00:15:47.090 --> 00:15:50.549 said to Daniel, I am afraid of my lord the king, 00:15:50.649 --> 00:15:53.230 who has appointed your food and your drink. For 00:15:53.230 --> 00:15:55.690 why should he see your faces looking more haggard 00:15:55.690 --> 00:15:58.750 than the yous who are your own age? Then you 00:15:58.750 --> 00:16:02.850 would make me forfeit my head to the king." But 00:16:02.850 --> 00:16:05.210 Daniel said to the overseer, whom the commander 00:16:05.210 --> 00:16:08.210 of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, 00:16:08.330 --> 00:16:11.730 Michiel, and Azariah, Please test your servants 00:16:11.730 --> 00:16:15.409 for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables 00:16:15.409 --> 00:16:19.759 to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance 00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:22.059 be observed in your presence and the appearance 00:16:22.059 --> 00:16:24.720 of the ewes who are eating the king's choice 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:27.580 food and deal with your servants according to 00:16:27.580 --> 00:16:31.320 what you see." So he listened to them in this 00:16:31.320 --> 00:16:36.059 manner and tested them for ten days. At the end 00:16:36.059 --> 00:16:37.980 of the ten days their appearance seemed better 00:16:37.980 --> 00:16:40.379 and they were fatter than all the ewes who had 00:16:40.379 --> 00:16:44.759 been eating the king's choice food. So the overseer 00:16:44.759 --> 00:16:47.220 continued to withhold their choice food and the 00:16:47.220 --> 00:16:49.879 wine. they were to drink and kept giving them 00:16:49.879 --> 00:16:54.379 vegetables. And as for these four ewes, God gave 00:16:54.379 --> 00:16:56.659 them knowledge and intelligence in every branch 00:16:56.659 --> 00:17:00.440 of literature and wisdom. Daniel even understood 00:17:00.440 --> 00:17:04.500 all kinds of visions and dreams. Then at the 00:17:04.500 --> 00:17:06.680 end of the days which the king had specified 00:17:06.680 --> 00:17:09.380 for presenting them, the commander of the officials 00:17:09.380 --> 00:17:12.799 presented them before Nebuchadnezzar. And the 00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:16.210 king talked with them and out of them all, not 00:17:16.210 --> 00:17:19.390 one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Michiel, 00:17:19.470 --> 00:17:22.529 and Azariah. So they entered the king's personal 00:17:22.529 --> 00:17:25.650 service, and as for every matter of wisdom and 00:17:25.650 --> 00:17:27.789 understanding about which the king consulted 00:17:27.789 --> 00:17:31.430 them, he found them ten times better than all 00:17:31.430 --> 00:17:34.309 the magicians and conjurers who were in all his 00:17:34.309 --> 00:17:38.529 realm. And Daniel continued until the first year 00:17:38.529 --> 00:17:45.220 of Cyrus the king. That is, Daniel lived throughout 00:17:45.220 --> 00:17:50.700 the whole period of Babylon's greatness and until 00:17:50.700 --> 00:17:55.079 the first years of Cyrus, who was the king of 00:17:55.079 --> 00:17:58.920 Persia, the nation that then became prominent 00:17:58.920 --> 00:18:01.599 in the world after Babylon. But that will all 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:03.680 come to pass as we study through the book of 00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:08.180 Daniel. I want you to think with me this evening, 00:18:08.339 --> 00:18:14.200 just briefly, how Daniel's whole world collapsed. 00:18:15.559 --> 00:18:18.740 How everything was changed for this young man. 00:18:19.859 --> 00:18:22.259 The language that is used here would indicate 00:18:22.259 --> 00:18:26.759 to us that Daniel was a young teenager. Probably 00:18:26.759 --> 00:18:32.779 about 15 years of age when all of these events 00:18:32.779 --> 00:18:37.799 befell him. Now remember that during his early 00:18:37.799 --> 00:18:44.089 teen years or his late youth his preteen years, 00:18:44.369 --> 00:18:47.130 there was a lot of political turmoil in the nation. 00:18:48.170 --> 00:18:51.470 Daniel was evidently one of the sons of the nobility 00:18:51.470 --> 00:18:57.430 of the nation, maybe even of royalty. There are 00:18:57.430 --> 00:19:00.089 some who say that he was a descendant of King 00:19:00.089 --> 00:19:04.569 Hezekiah, who was the grandfather of Josiah. 00:19:06.109 --> 00:19:10.049 So Daniel was a part of the leading aristocracy, 00:19:10.049 --> 00:19:13.900 if you please, of the land of Judah. And so all 00:19:13.900 --> 00:19:17.519 of the intrigue and the coming of Pharaoh Niko 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:23.440 and the tribute being paid to Egypt and the Jehoahaz 00:19:23.440 --> 00:19:26.160 being taken away to Egypt and this evil king 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:29.440 Jehoiakim, all of that undoubtedly had a tremendous 00:19:29.440 --> 00:19:38.660 impact upon his family. And then 605 came. And 00:19:38.660 --> 00:19:41.480 Daniel is one of those who is selected and is 00:19:41.480 --> 00:19:46.240 taken away. from his family, from his city, his 00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:52.400 land, to a far -off place called Shinar, to the 00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:54.839 land of the Chaldeans, to the capital city of 00:19:54.839 --> 00:19:59.559 Babylon, never to go back again to the land in 00:19:59.559 --> 00:20:02.480 which he was raised. As far as we know, never 00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:06.099 to see his family again. He was taken away at 00:20:06.099 --> 00:20:10.660 the age of 15. He was taken away from a culture 00:20:10.660 --> 00:20:16.079 that at least in some sense worshipped Yahweh, 00:20:16.099 --> 00:20:20.240 the true God, to a culture that was very pagan, 00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:24.420 that had a pantheon of many gods that they worshipped. 00:20:24.700 --> 00:20:27.960 Obviously the culture was quite different. You 00:20:27.960 --> 00:20:30.039 need to understand that all of this had been 00:20:30.039 --> 00:20:35.680 predicted by God's prophets. God had warned His 00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:39.809 people again and again and again. that if they 00:20:39.809 --> 00:20:43.430 persisted in their rebellion against Him, that 00:20:43.430 --> 00:20:45.089 He would come and these things would happen. 00:20:45.130 --> 00:20:47.430 Let me show you an example. Isaiah prophesied 00:20:47.430 --> 00:20:50.670 about a hundred years before this. Look in Isaiah 00:20:50.670 --> 00:21:04.309 chapter 39. Isaiah is here speaking to King Hezekiah, 00:21:04.529 --> 00:21:07.460 whom we mentioned a few moments ago. who is counted 00:21:07.460 --> 00:21:12.619 among the good kings of Judah. And he says in 00:21:12.619 --> 00:21:15.980 verse 5, hear the word of the Lord of hosts. 00:21:17.059 --> 00:21:19.680 Behold, the days are coming when all that is 00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:23.279 in your house and all that your fathers have 00:21:23.279 --> 00:21:27.059 laid up in store to this day shall be carried 00:21:27.059 --> 00:21:31.039 to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord, 00:21:31.839 --> 00:21:36.160 and some of your sons who shall issue from you 00:21:36.220 --> 00:21:40.180 whom you shall beget shall be taken away and 00:21:40.180 --> 00:21:43.279 they shall become officials, again here the word 00:21:43.279 --> 00:21:47.359 is eunuchs, in the palace of the king of Babylon. 00:21:48.940 --> 00:21:51.779 Now think of this, this is a couple of generations 00:21:51.779 --> 00:21:57.500 before Daniel's day, a hundred years or so, and 00:21:57.500 --> 00:21:59.579 God has warned his people this is going to come 00:21:59.579 --> 00:22:01.819 to pass and yet they did not listen to the word 00:22:01.819 --> 00:22:06.349 of God. And now Daniel is among those ewes. taken 00:22:06.349 --> 00:22:09.670 away in fulfillment of Isaiah's words to serve 00:22:09.670 --> 00:22:13.309 the king of Babylon. So I said before, they took 00:22:13.309 --> 00:22:17.089 the brightest, they took the best away from Jerusalem. 00:22:18.710 --> 00:22:21.529 And then from the language here in Daniel chapter 00:22:21.529 --> 00:22:26.529 1, it is quite probable that Daniel was emasculated. 00:22:28.410 --> 00:22:35.259 And in that sense became a literal eunuch. That 00:22:35.259 --> 00:22:37.920 was not uncommon at all in that day with this 00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:41.859 kind of a prisoner and so in addition to losing 00:22:41.859 --> 00:22:45.119 his family Losing the culture in which he had 00:22:45.119 --> 00:22:50.400 grown up Leaving behind the city that he had 00:22:50.400 --> 00:22:53.779 come to love the city of Jerusalem With its great 00:22:53.779 --> 00:22:57.059 temple that Solomon had built Daniel probably 00:22:57.059 --> 00:23:03.339 at this point lost his identity as a male He 00:23:03.339 --> 00:23:08.460 then was put into a crash course of an education 00:23:08.460 --> 00:23:13.500 program to indoctrinate him into the philosophies 00:23:13.500 --> 00:23:17.839 and the culture of Babylon. He had all kinds 00:23:17.839 --> 00:23:20.680 of literature and philosophy and science and 00:23:20.680 --> 00:23:24.940 medicine and history and above everything else, 00:23:25.259 --> 00:23:28.960 magic. He was to be educated for three years 00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:31.019 along with all the other young men who had been 00:23:31.019 --> 00:23:35.200 taken prisoner. Now the purpose of this, understand, 00:23:35.279 --> 00:23:38.240 was to remove any vestige of his prior culture, 00:23:38.700 --> 00:23:44.200 his prior beliefs. It was to make him a thorough 00:23:44.200 --> 00:23:48.720 going Babylonian. It was to remove any influence 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:51.880 of the God of his fathers. And it caused him 00:23:51.880 --> 00:23:57.279 now to become one who was fully identified with 00:23:57.279 --> 00:24:01.789 all that was truly Babylonian. He was to be a 00:24:01.789 --> 00:24:05.390 Babylonian person. You need to remember that 00:24:05.390 --> 00:24:07.869 these people were quite advanced for their day. 00:24:09.609 --> 00:24:12.470 This Neo -Babylonian period that we're talking 00:24:12.470 --> 00:24:18.970 about here under Nebuchadnezzar inherited a great 00:24:18.970 --> 00:24:22.529 deal of knowledge. Nebuchadnezzar had a fabulous 00:24:22.529 --> 00:24:29.579 library in the city of Babylon. all of the writings 00:24:29.579 --> 00:24:33.339 and the research that had been done by the Assyrians 00:24:33.339 --> 00:24:37.200 and those nations and Sumerians and so on who 00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:41.059 lived in this part of Mesopotamia in the centuries 00:24:41.059 --> 00:24:44.920 before. In Daniel's day he would have been educated 00:24:44.920 --> 00:24:49.000 in the science and among the scientific discoveries 00:24:49.000 --> 00:24:54.000 that they shared in were how to calculate time. 00:24:55.480 --> 00:24:59.369 They discovered and employed a seven -day week 00:24:59.369 --> 00:25:03.509 in Babylon. And have you ever looked at your 00:25:03.509 --> 00:25:06.430 watch and noticed that it has 12 hours on it? 00:25:07.170 --> 00:25:09.730 And we count that twice in order to make a full 00:25:09.730 --> 00:25:15.150 day? Why doesn't it say 24? Why does it say 12? 00:25:15.230 --> 00:25:18.390 You ever thought about that? Isn't that a probing 00:25:18.390 --> 00:25:22.829 thought? Well seriously, have you ever thought 00:25:22.829 --> 00:25:26.400 why it's just 12 on your watch? Well, the answer 00:25:26.400 --> 00:25:30.259 goes all the way back to them, because they devised 00:25:30.259 --> 00:25:37.380 the fact that each day, night and then light, 00:25:38.099 --> 00:25:41.200 each day is composed, they said, of 12 periods. 00:25:42.460 --> 00:25:45.920 They calculated these periods in what we would 00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:50.400 call double hours of 120 minutes. But that's 00:25:50.400 --> 00:25:54.200 why we have 12 in our watches today. because 00:25:54.200 --> 00:25:57.119 of what they decided back there in the time of 00:25:57.119 --> 00:26:00.480 Daniel and Babylon, that a day is 12 periods 00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:05.420 of 120 minutes, not 24 periods of 60 minutes. 00:26:06.819 --> 00:26:10.039 They did a lot of research in the area of astronomy. 00:26:11.220 --> 00:26:14.700 They recorded all kinds of data. They watched 00:26:14.700 --> 00:26:17.980 for eclipses and anything that was unusual in 00:26:17.980 --> 00:26:20.920 the heavens. Now this was mainly to predict the 00:26:20.920 --> 00:26:24.220 future. And this kind of folded over into their 00:26:24.220 --> 00:26:28.839 religion and into their magic, which was astrology, 00:26:29.920 --> 00:26:33.359 which God of course condemned. In their science, 00:26:33.559 --> 00:26:38.319 they determined that a circle is 360 degrees. 00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:45.200 They devised a crude system of latitude and longitude 00:26:45.200 --> 00:26:51.289 in order to find locations. In their world of 00:26:51.289 --> 00:26:55.349 medicine, they had more than 500 different potions 00:26:55.349 --> 00:26:58.690 and drugs, most of them rather disgusting, but 00:26:58.690 --> 00:27:01.349 nonetheless these were devised to help cure people 00:27:01.349 --> 00:27:04.250 of their sicknesses. And so when it says here 00:27:04.250 --> 00:27:07.089 that Daniel and these others were studying literature 00:27:07.089 --> 00:27:10.750 and science and medicine, this was all that was 00:27:10.750 --> 00:27:13.349 involved. There was a great deal of knowledge 00:27:13.349 --> 00:27:17.539 for that day to be had in Babylon. And these 00:27:17.539 --> 00:27:20.900 young men were to be put into a crash course. 00:27:21.200 --> 00:27:24.920 Undoubtedly they were trained to speak the language 00:27:24.920 --> 00:27:27.099 of that day, which was sort of a mix between 00:27:27.099 --> 00:27:30.599 Arabic and Aramaic. They were undoubtedly taught 00:27:30.599 --> 00:27:39.039 to use Akkadian in writing. And then, more directly, 00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:43.640 it says that they were given food and wine to 00:27:43.640 --> 00:27:46.440 drink from the king's ration. On the surface, 00:27:46.619 --> 00:27:50.259 that seems like a pretty good deal. And for most 00:27:50.259 --> 00:27:53.339 of them, they accepted it that way, but not Daniel. 00:27:54.079 --> 00:27:56.579 Because Daniel and his three friends understood 00:27:56.579 --> 00:28:01.619 that this food, which was delectable and plenteous, 00:28:02.200 --> 00:28:04.799 and the wine, which was the best of the nation, 00:28:05.579 --> 00:28:10.180 that all of this was first presented to Marduk 00:28:10.180 --> 00:28:13.500 and the other gods of Babylon, and then presented 00:28:13.500 --> 00:28:16.559 to the king and to his court. so that they might 00:28:16.559 --> 00:28:21.720 eat of it. And they wanted these four people, 00:28:22.579 --> 00:28:24.420 Daniel and his friends, wanted nothing to do 00:28:24.420 --> 00:28:28.079 with that because they felt that that would defile 00:28:28.079 --> 00:28:31.099 them to eat that food that had been offered to 00:28:31.099 --> 00:28:35.359 these pagan deities. In addition to that, some 00:28:35.359 --> 00:28:38.339 of the food may have been unclean according to 00:28:38.339 --> 00:28:43.519 the law of God. Some commentators say also that 00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:47.460 to sit down in this kind of a meal, which was 00:28:47.460 --> 00:28:51.779 provided by the king, would be for them to accept 00:28:51.779 --> 00:28:56.799 friendship from him. And they did not want to 00:28:56.799 --> 00:29:00.920 do that. But nonetheless, they were provided 00:29:00.920 --> 00:29:07.079 all of this very best. And again, it was to fully 00:29:07.079 --> 00:29:11.740 make them Babylonians. And then the crowning 00:29:11.740 --> 00:29:15.450 thing. we might say in one sense, was the giving 00:29:15.450 --> 00:29:19.730 of a new name to these people. They took away 00:29:19.730 --> 00:29:23.450 their Hebrew names and each name was associated 00:29:23.450 --> 00:29:27.789 with Yahweh, the God of the Israelites, and gave 00:29:27.789 --> 00:29:31.109 them new names that each one was associated with 00:29:31.109 --> 00:29:36.730 the gods of the pagans in Babylon. So they took 00:29:36.730 --> 00:29:39.470 away even the identity of their names, how they 00:29:39.470 --> 00:29:43.039 were known. and tried to relate them to the gods 00:29:43.039 --> 00:29:46.980 of Babylon. You see, the attempt here is to destroy 00:29:46.980 --> 00:29:50.240 anything that had to do with the land, the culture, 00:29:50.420 --> 00:29:53.920 the god of which they learned when they were 00:29:53.920 --> 00:29:57.960 being raised. Now, with all of that presentation, 00:29:59.119 --> 00:30:02.839 do you understand how Daniel's world collapsed? 00:30:06.319 --> 00:30:08.200 Do you see how everything that had been brought 00:30:08.200 --> 00:30:12.759 up with His own identity, his own personhood 00:30:12.759 --> 00:30:17.279 had been attacked. How the very food that was 00:30:17.279 --> 00:30:20.259 put before him was given to him in order to identify 00:30:20.259 --> 00:30:24.740 him even further with this new place, this new 00:30:24.740 --> 00:30:29.099 culture. With all of this pressure to change 00:30:29.099 --> 00:30:36.140 and to conform, with every outward support removed, 00:30:38.279 --> 00:30:41.769 every visible sense of identity with the past 00:30:41.769 --> 00:30:45.170 gone. It would seem impossible, wouldn't it, 00:30:45.329 --> 00:30:49.349 that anybody could withstand this kind of pressure? 00:30:51.549 --> 00:30:54.769 His world collapsed and he seemingly had no choice 00:30:54.769 --> 00:30:58.269 but to adapt to all of this just in order to 00:30:58.269 --> 00:31:03.470 survive. But what did Daniel do when his world 00:31:03.470 --> 00:31:06.809 collapsed? I want to point out to you in the 00:31:06.809 --> 00:31:13.190 first place He held to his faith. He held to 00:31:13.190 --> 00:31:16.049 his faith in the God of his fathers, the God 00:31:16.049 --> 00:31:20.309 of the Scriptures. When your world collapses, 00:31:20.650 --> 00:31:24.650 that is the place to begin. Because that is the 00:31:24.650 --> 00:31:30.009 first place that is attacked. When your world 00:31:30.009 --> 00:31:32.690 collapses, the first question that comes to your 00:31:32.690 --> 00:31:39.589 mind is, where is God? Why did God let this happen 00:31:39.589 --> 00:31:46.029 to me? Here I was worshipping God, trying to 00:31:46.029 --> 00:31:49.109 serve God, and now look what's happened to me. 00:31:49.910 --> 00:31:54.829 My world has collapsed. Daniel gives us the example 00:31:54.829 --> 00:31:58.309 of the first thing we must do, and that is we 00:31:58.309 --> 00:32:04.529 must keep hold of our faith in God and not allow 00:32:04.529 --> 00:32:07.720 that to be set aside. The second thing I see 00:32:07.720 --> 00:32:10.480 that he did was that he held to his convictions. 00:32:13.059 --> 00:32:15.539 Daniel held to his convictions as to what was 00:32:15.539 --> 00:32:20.619 right and what was wrong. It specifically is 00:32:20.619 --> 00:32:23.700 related here to the food and the drink that was 00:32:23.700 --> 00:32:27.180 set before him. It says in verse 8 that Daniel 00:32:27.180 --> 00:32:33.140 made up his mind. King James says Daniel purposed 00:32:33.140 --> 00:32:37.799 in his heart. that he would not allow himself 00:32:37.799 --> 00:32:42.079 to be defiled by these foods. He had no choice 00:32:42.079 --> 00:32:44.460 in the matter of the name. He had no choice in 00:32:44.460 --> 00:32:48.980 his education, his re -education. He had no choice 00:32:48.980 --> 00:32:51.519 in the fact that he had to live in Babylon. But 00:32:51.519 --> 00:32:56.299 he did have a choice about the food. He could 00:32:56.299 --> 00:33:02.680 say no to that. And so he did say no. It seems 00:33:02.680 --> 00:33:06.309 here that Daniel purposed that he would not defile 00:33:06.309 --> 00:33:09.349 himself ahead of time, so that when the trial 00:33:09.349 --> 00:33:11.930 came, when the test, when the temptation came, 00:33:12.269 --> 00:33:16.789 he was already prepared to say to the commander, 00:33:17.869 --> 00:33:21.450 no, I'm not going to eat of this. Oh, that's 00:33:21.450 --> 00:33:27.089 wise. Before temptation ever comes to you and 00:33:27.089 --> 00:33:29.230 to me, we need a purpose in our heart ahead of 00:33:29.230 --> 00:33:32.269 time, what we're going to do at that moment. 00:33:34.559 --> 00:33:37.799 else we may, in the pressure of that moment, 00:33:37.960 --> 00:33:42.480 make the wrong decision. Daniel, when his world 00:33:42.480 --> 00:33:45.079 collapsed, not only held onto his faith in God, 00:33:45.640 --> 00:33:49.019 but he held onto his convictions about what was 00:33:49.019 --> 00:33:52.059 right and what was wrong, and he determined ahead 00:33:52.059 --> 00:33:55.599 of time he would not allow himself to be defiled. 00:33:57.420 --> 00:34:00.900 Young people, men and women listening to me tonight, 00:34:01.119 --> 00:34:05.460 let us likewise purpose ahead of time in our 00:34:05.460 --> 00:34:09.199 hearts that we will hang on to our convictions 00:34:09.199 --> 00:34:14.079 come what may. That what God says is right is 00:34:14.079 --> 00:34:17.340 right and what God says is wrong is wrong and 00:34:17.340 --> 00:34:20.119 God says that for good reasons and we will obey 00:34:20.119 --> 00:34:25.260 the Lord. Then I noticed that Daniel held to 00:34:25.260 --> 00:34:29.969 his courage. Daniel held to his courage to obey 00:34:29.969 --> 00:34:32.969 God rather than to succumb to the pressures, 00:34:33.289 --> 00:34:36.869 whatever the cost. Notice that initially, he 00:34:36.869 --> 00:34:39.769 simply sought permission from the commander. 00:34:40.570 --> 00:34:43.989 And the commander basically said, Daniel, I'm 00:34:43.989 --> 00:34:47.309 scared to grant this request to you. Even though 00:34:47.309 --> 00:34:50.730 God had given Daniel favor in his sight, his 00:34:50.730 --> 00:34:53.570 fear of Nebuchadnezzar was greater than the favor 00:34:53.570 --> 00:34:57.429 that he felt for Daniel. But Daniel said in verse 00:34:57.429 --> 00:35:01.090 11 to the overseer whom the commander had appointed 00:35:01.090 --> 00:35:04.429 over them, please test your servants for ten 00:35:04.429 --> 00:35:06.690 days. You see, Daniel didn't give up the first 00:35:06.690 --> 00:35:13.030 time. After that first request that they might 00:35:13.030 --> 00:35:15.070 not have to eat these things, Daniel might have 00:35:15.070 --> 00:35:18.489 said, well, you know, I tried. I did the best 00:35:18.489 --> 00:35:23.010 I could. I said no, and I have to do it anyway. 00:35:23.539 --> 00:35:25.579 I mean most of the other people are going to 00:35:25.579 --> 00:35:28.579 do it and my parents are gone, I'll never see 00:35:28.579 --> 00:35:33.260 them again. And I might as well go ahead and 00:35:33.260 --> 00:35:36.539 compromise and defile myself. I've tried to hold 00:35:36.539 --> 00:35:38.920 my line, I've tried to hold the standards I know 00:35:38.920 --> 00:35:41.539 that God wants me to hold, but it just hasn't 00:35:41.539 --> 00:35:44.760 worked out. But Daniel held on to his courage 00:35:44.760 --> 00:35:47.480 and he persisted. When he couldn't get his way 00:35:47.480 --> 00:35:49.880 with the commander, he went to the person under 00:35:49.880 --> 00:35:52.809 him who was directly over Daniel. to this man 00:35:52.809 --> 00:35:56.610 who's called the commander, or to the overseer 00:35:56.610 --> 00:35:59.969 rather, that the commander appointed, and he 00:35:59.969 --> 00:36:05.250 offered a test. And he said, test us for 10 days. 00:36:05.309 --> 00:36:07.610 Do you see the courage of this young man? Remember, 00:36:08.170 --> 00:36:10.670 we're talking about a young man in his mid -teens 00:36:10.670 --> 00:36:16.590 here. Daniel was willing here to push it. He 00:36:16.590 --> 00:36:20.949 was willing to say no again. rather than to betray 00:36:20.949 --> 00:36:25.110 God. Daniel was willing that he should stand 00:36:25.110 --> 00:36:27.550 alone with his three friends than to go with 00:36:27.550 --> 00:36:31.650 all of the rest. He held on to his courage. When 00:36:31.650 --> 00:36:33.630 your world collapses, you need to hang on to 00:36:33.630 --> 00:36:38.510 your courage. You need to do what is right, avoid 00:36:38.510 --> 00:36:44.130 what is wrong, and keep pursuing that with courage. 00:36:45.320 --> 00:36:47.739 And then finally I noticed that he held to his 00:36:47.739 --> 00:36:53.539 respect for authority. Daniel is very polite 00:36:53.539 --> 00:36:59.900 in verse 8 in his initial request. He phrases 00:36:59.900 --> 00:37:02.739 it that way from the language that is used here. 00:37:03.559 --> 00:37:08.619 He goes through the proper authorities. We notice 00:37:08.619 --> 00:37:13.659 that Daniel was not rude. Daniel was not a fanatic. 00:37:14.450 --> 00:37:20.989 Daniel was not belligerent in his attitude. Daniel 00:37:20.989 --> 00:37:23.610 gives us a wonderful example here in his respect 00:37:23.610 --> 00:37:28.789 for authority. It is possible for us to advance 00:37:28.789 --> 00:37:31.989 our convictions in such a way that we destroy 00:37:31.989 --> 00:37:37.090 our testimonies. Daniel held on to his convictions, 00:37:37.309 --> 00:37:40.429 his faith, and his courage, and at the same time 00:37:40.429 --> 00:37:47.550 he was courteous. He was a man who gives us here 00:37:47.550 --> 00:37:53.110 a tremendously important example of how to say 00:37:53.110 --> 00:38:01.929 no when that's the right thing to do. Daniel 00:38:01.929 --> 00:38:04.610 shows us what to do when our world collapses. 00:38:05.469 --> 00:38:07.309 There's one final thing I want to point out just 00:38:07.309 --> 00:38:11.130 in closing and that is this. Behind all of this 00:38:11.130 --> 00:38:18.480 that we see is a sovereign God. Behind what happened 00:38:18.480 --> 00:38:22.800 with Jehoiakim, it says the Lord gave Jehoiakim, 00:38:22.900 --> 00:38:27.840 King of Judah, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. 00:38:29.059 --> 00:38:34.059 God was behind that. God had warned His people 00:38:34.059 --> 00:38:36.460 again and again. In fact, God even said to them, 00:38:36.820 --> 00:38:42.710 it will be a time of 70 years. He said, you mark 00:38:42.710 --> 00:38:45.469 it on your calendars. It'll be 70 years that 00:38:45.469 --> 00:38:48.610 you will go into captivity because of your disobedience. 00:38:48.849 --> 00:38:52.530 Why 70 years? A common question is asked, and 00:38:52.530 --> 00:38:57.309 God tells us why in His Word. For 490 years, 00:38:57.469 --> 00:39:00.630 the people of Israel had failed to keep a law 00:39:00.630 --> 00:39:07.130 of God dealing with the land. It was called the 00:39:07.130 --> 00:39:11.280 sabbatical year. God had established the law 00:39:11.280 --> 00:39:14.280 that His people should till the land for six 00:39:14.280 --> 00:39:17.820 years. But on the seventh year, they were to 00:39:17.820 --> 00:39:21.639 allow the land to be idle. And then again, they 00:39:21.639 --> 00:39:24.659 would till it for six years. But every seventh 00:39:24.659 --> 00:39:28.219 year was to be a sabbatical year. And for 490 00:39:28.219 --> 00:39:30.260 years since they came into the land, the people 00:39:30.260 --> 00:39:34.300 had failed to do that. And so God says, I'm going 00:39:34.300 --> 00:39:37.320 to calculate that as 70 years that you've not 00:39:37.320 --> 00:39:39.920 kept and the land is going to be idle for 70 00:39:39.920 --> 00:39:43.000 years while you're in captivity. That's why it 00:39:43.000 --> 00:39:49.760 was 70 years. We notice the sovereign God also 00:39:49.760 --> 00:39:52.460 gave the youths favor in the sight of the commander. 00:39:52.920 --> 00:39:56.840 God granted Daniel favor and compassion. God 00:39:56.840 --> 00:40:01.500 is working behind the scenes here. God sustained 00:40:01.500 --> 00:40:06.380 them physically in this test. He allowed them 00:40:06.380 --> 00:40:10.619 to eat this vegetarian diet with the result that 00:40:10.619 --> 00:40:13.400 they were healthier than those eating this wonderful, 00:40:13.400 --> 00:40:18.480 delicious food. God sustained them. And not only 00:40:18.480 --> 00:40:21.039 that, God gave them wisdom and understanding 00:40:21.039 --> 00:40:23.719 in all of the training they had. That doesn't 00:40:23.719 --> 00:40:27.260 mean they didn't study. I know they had to go 00:40:27.260 --> 00:40:30.920 through the... The process of studying and laboring 00:40:30.920 --> 00:40:33.840 at the scrolls is like some of you are going 00:40:33.840 --> 00:40:35.780 to have to do yet tonight before tomorrow when 00:40:35.780 --> 00:40:39.000 school begins. They had to study, you see, but 00:40:39.000 --> 00:40:43.420 then when they did their part, God blessed them 00:40:43.420 --> 00:40:46.260 because of their obedience and gave them understanding 00:40:46.260 --> 00:40:50.579 and wisdom. Then beyond this chapter, we see 00:40:50.579 --> 00:40:57.079 that God gave to Daniel the privilege of unveiling 00:40:57.360 --> 00:41:02.139 what we call the times of the Gentiles. This 00:41:02.139 --> 00:41:04.360 is the prophetic portion of Daniel that we're 00:41:04.360 --> 00:41:07.840 going to study in upcoming weeks. But God gave 00:41:07.840 --> 00:41:13.480 to Daniel the privilege of unveiling what he 00:41:13.480 --> 00:41:17.539 was going to do for the next several hundred 00:41:17.539 --> 00:41:23.639 years. And in fact, what he was going to do in 00:41:23.639 --> 00:41:27.869 time that is yet to come. Maybe, What's going 00:41:27.869 --> 00:41:35.429 to happen in the 1990s? Maybe. The times of the 00:41:35.429 --> 00:41:39.369 Gentiles began when Nebuchadnezzar carried away 00:41:39.369 --> 00:41:42.949 Judah in the captivity. From that time basically 00:41:42.949 --> 00:41:47.809 until 1948, that land in Palestine was dominated 00:41:47.809 --> 00:41:53.429 by Gentiles. The fact that the Jews have it back 00:41:53.429 --> 00:41:56.780 today I think is significant. in the light of 00:41:56.780 --> 00:41:59.099 biblical prophecy, but again, that's in the future. 00:41:59.219 --> 00:42:02.239 We see God unveiling through Daniel what he's 00:42:02.239 --> 00:42:05.219 going to do through the Gentile nations. By the 00:42:05.219 --> 00:42:07.119 way, there's a philosophy of history that we 00:42:07.119 --> 00:42:10.400 come to because of all of this. That is, a history 00:42:10.400 --> 00:42:15.800 is not an accident, but history is what God is 00:42:15.800 --> 00:42:19.699 doing in the affairs of man. The Christian's 00:42:19.699 --> 00:42:22.480 philosophy of history is that God rules over 00:42:22.480 --> 00:42:26.989 the destiny of men and nations. God sets the 00:42:26.989 --> 00:42:32.329 limits. God controls history. And we see what 00:42:32.329 --> 00:42:37.010 has happened in Russia. Remember Brezhnev? Do 00:42:37.010 --> 00:42:40.349 you remember him? Do you remember the American 00:42:40.349 --> 00:42:45.110 president kissing him like a Judas? Pardon me. 00:42:45.590 --> 00:42:50.730 That's my opinion. Do you remember Khrushchev, 00:42:50.769 --> 00:42:54.889 some of you? I can remember the day. I was very 00:42:54.889 --> 00:42:57.630 young. But I remember the day when he pounded 00:42:57.630 --> 00:43:01.269 his shoe in the UN saying, we will bury you. 00:43:01.670 --> 00:43:06.510 Remember that? Where's Khrushchev today? Where's 00:43:06.510 --> 00:43:11.289 Brezhnev today? And why is Gorbachev doing what 00:43:11.289 --> 00:43:18.019 he's doing? God is the God of history. And I 00:43:18.019 --> 00:43:20.079 can't tell you all that's happening over there 00:43:20.079 --> 00:43:22.699 and why God is doing this or that, but I can 00:43:22.699 --> 00:43:25.360 tell you this, it is no accident that Gorbachev 00:43:25.360 --> 00:43:29.420 is here when he is. And it's no accident that 00:43:29.420 --> 00:43:32.079 what's happening in Eastern Europe this very 00:43:32.079 --> 00:43:40.139 night is happening. For a long time, things just 00:43:40.139 --> 00:43:46.539 seem to be rather stable, unchanging. in that 00:43:46.539 --> 00:43:48.719 part of the world and all of a sudden in a matter 00:43:48.719 --> 00:43:52.019 of weeks literally God has just turned things 00:43:52.019 --> 00:43:57.019 loose and I think we'll see some of that as we 00:43:57.019 --> 00:43:59.679 work our way through the book of Daniel. We see 00:43:59.679 --> 00:44:02.880 God preserving the Jews throughout their time 00:44:02.880 --> 00:44:06.739 in Babylon. It was a sad time for them but it 00:44:06.739 --> 00:44:12.179 was not a concentration camp. The Jews were able 00:44:12.179 --> 00:44:15.280 to conduct business in Babylon so much so that 00:44:15.280 --> 00:44:17.019 many of them didn't want to go back home after 00:44:17.019 --> 00:44:20.920 seven years. They lived outside the city walls 00:44:20.920 --> 00:44:23.519 in a particular area, kind of a suburb -like, 00:44:24.440 --> 00:44:27.960 and God took care of them in Babylon. But they 00:44:27.960 --> 00:44:30.760 weren't in the land of the promise. It was a 00:44:30.760 --> 00:44:34.119 time of judgment upon them. I think the best 00:44:34.119 --> 00:44:36.340 way just to bring it to a conclusion is to read 00:44:36.340 --> 00:44:39.510 a paragraph from Chuck Swindoll. who says, in 00:44:39.510 --> 00:44:42.070 a world filled with people who rebel against 00:44:42.070 --> 00:44:45.510 the divine king, it is inevitable that believers 00:44:45.510 --> 00:44:49.230 of all ages will face situations in which their 00:44:49.230 --> 00:44:52.250 convictions will be challenged. We who are parents 00:44:52.250 --> 00:44:54.989 need to repair our children for those occasions 00:44:54.989 --> 00:44:58.170 by both teaching them God's truth and modeling 00:44:58.170 --> 00:45:01.389 integrity. Just time out for a moment, that's 00:45:01.389 --> 00:45:06.849 why Daniel was the teenager he was. Because his 00:45:06.849 --> 00:45:11.760 parents taught him and modeled before him, apparently, 00:45:13.119 --> 00:45:16.280 their convictions about God and about what was 00:45:16.280 --> 00:45:19.619 right and what was wrong. And Daniel so caught 00:45:19.619 --> 00:45:22.239 that by the time he was a teenager that he could 00:45:22.239 --> 00:45:26.480 go to the situation he did and follow that example. 00:45:27.420 --> 00:45:29.400 Swindoll goes on to say, and all of us who are 00:45:29.400 --> 00:45:32.460 Christians need to personally commit ourselves 00:45:32.460 --> 00:45:35.880 to living God's way, regardless of the temptations 00:45:35.880 --> 00:45:39.019 to live otherwise. Recalling and applying two 00:45:39.019 --> 00:45:41.179 principles that are embedded in the first chapter 00:45:41.179 --> 00:45:44.159 of Daniel will help us keep that commitment. 00:45:44.539 --> 00:45:48.380 Number one, inner conviction can overcome any 00:45:48.380 --> 00:45:52.179 outer pressure to compromise. That's an important 00:45:52.179 --> 00:45:56.099 principle. And number two, God -honoring convictions 00:45:56.099 --> 00:46:01.420 yield God -honoring rewards. You know folks, 00:46:01.420 --> 00:46:06.619 when we're true to God, God will honor us. It 00:46:06.619 --> 00:46:14.280 is possible to live separated in pure life in 00:46:14.280 --> 00:46:16.960 the midst of cultural pressure to do everything 00:46:16.960 --> 00:46:22.380 wrong. It is possible to obey God when your world 00:46:22.380 --> 00:46:28.019 collapses. It is possible to be God's man, God's 00:46:28.019 --> 00:46:32.619 woman, God's teenager in the midst of a new Babylonian 00:46:32.619 --> 00:46:39.250 culture today. and be blessed of God and succeed 00:46:39.250 --> 00:46:43.690 and be used of God to make a difference. Oh, 00:46:43.809 --> 00:46:48.849 God, help us to be Daniels in our day. Lord, 00:46:48.989 --> 00:46:52.909 I pray that this chapter of your Word will be 00:46:52.909 --> 00:46:55.769 richly applied to our lives by the Holy Spirit. 00:46:56.010 --> 00:46:58.030 In Jesus' name, amen.