WHO IS IN CHARGE? This is the question that gets answered in Daniel. If victory in heaven is our only victory, then the whole Bible, including each one of us, is irrelevant. Daniel is an announcement to the captives that no captivity will end in anything other than God's glory and the destruction of the captors. Daniel is an affront to independent man who believes himself to be his own god. Man is not the center of things, God is. Since the beginning, Man has wanted to usurp God's throne and BE God.
WHO IS DANIEL? Daniel was 17 years old when he was taken
captive to Babylon (in Nebuchadnezzar's first deportation) to live in the
king's palace. YOUNG AND ALONE, he was
of "royal seed", along with
three other young men, who were being trained as courtiers. Rather than defile themselves with idolatrous
feasting, they abstained and lived as vegetarians and after a 10-day trial,
they were in better shape than anyone.
Ezekiel refers to him as a model of "righteousness" and
"wisdom" (Ezek 14:14,20; 28:3).
Daniel lived up to his call as
part of a nation of "the royal
priesthood" (1 Pet 2:9), as
SALT and LIGHT. The Daniel's faith in God is an alien and
disruptive force! And Daniel's God is a
too-jealous God!
WHAT IS BABYLON? Babylon represents man-centered
"religion". Babylon believed
man could live independent from God, and in fact, rivals God for our
affections! Babylon and its systems represent counterfeits and substitutes for
relationship with God Almighty. Babylon represents
the "spirit that's in the
world" (1 Co 2:12; 1 Jo 4:3) - and wants us to forget God
as being not worth knowing. That we can
achieve "paradise" without God!
Babylon offered healing, wisdom, luxury, power, "the good
life" - all without knowing their Source!
But, in the Book of Daniel, we learn that man is NOT the center of all
things - GOD is. The GOAL of history is not "paradise"
- but to re-gain communion with God, Who IS our paradise.
WHO IS GOD? God ordains all things and it is His Will
alone that has purpose. He cannot be
used, but ALL THINGS ARE HIS to use as He wills. It is INSANE to think that a man can set
himself up to rival God and not fall.
There is no existence outside of God.
God is sovereign and is a "too-exclusive" Husband to His Elect
people. When we submit to His rulership,
God becomes our JOY and our SALVATION. WHO IS NEBUCHADNEZZAR? Early Jews believed him to be A BEAST. To show that he had preeminence over Jehovah God, he brought all the Temple implements to Babylon and put them into his god's temple! To enforce his palace-workers' loyalty (including the Hebrews), he made them all eunuchs and gave them Babylonian names. I can understand Nebu's reasoning: "Daniel" means "God is my judge" or "God's judge". "Hananiah" (Shadrach) means "God has favored me". "Mishael" (Meshach) means "There is none like God". "Azariah" (Abednego) means "God has helped me". And later, in throwing them into the fiery furnace, it was like throwing three promises into the fire, not just three men.
WHOSE SLAVES WERE THEY? Even slaves serve "as unto the Lord", for kings reign only by God's decree. The devil cannot set kings up or take them down, without God's say-so. Of these Hebrew slaves, 1:17 says that "God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom:" And in 1:20 says, "And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm."
NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S NIGHTMARE: When you set yourself up to rival God PUBLICLY, God becomes "your worst nightmare". Nebu's "dream" showed him that he was NOT the one in charge of history, that life did not revolve around himself. Nebu challenged all human "wisdom" to interpret his dream without even telling them what the dream was. After stalling for time, they told him that was impossible. In his rage, Nebu decreed that all wise men were to be slain (including Daniel et.al.). When God revealed the nightmare to Daniel, 2:20-23 contained Daniel's worship and it pretty much sums up the whole Book of Daniel and what it's really about. READ IT. "Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; ..... He sets up kings and deposes them....etc." NOTE: Everyone works for God. The course of history is under God's rule - He holds all history, all times, all seasons, in His own hands. Future things are "dark", but God is light and "in Him is no darkness at all." No wise man can know the secrets of the future - not even Daniel. "But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets". (2:28)
RESPONSE: Whatever we use to sustain us apart from
faith is a COUNTERFEIT god to us! All
substitutes are deceptive, empty, unfulfilling, unsatisfying, disappointing -
and eventually take us captive. We
become BOUND to them! And they hinder us
from "finding" God. Here was
Daniel, young, alone, without parental oversight, un-accountable for all
intents and purposes. Yet, he insisted
on personal holiness and faithfulness to Jehovah. If he hadn't, he would have become irrelevant
in the Babylon court. As it was, his distinction
made him valuable to the king. If he had
become bitter or angry and looking for revenge, he probably would have been
killed quickly. Instead, Daniel was
"graced" by God, equipped to rule and to serve. Notice
what kind of person God used: a fanatic in a hostile environment. A young man "going against the
flow". Nebuchadnezzar thinks he
owns him - but he can't own Daniel, because Daniel is already God's servant! Daniel is distinct, holy, a man of prayer,
outspoken, courageous, faithful to God, a man with a mission.
1 PETER 3:8 - 4:6
STRENGTHENING
OUR FAITH IN GOD: When we are afraid, we makes us
live subject to circumstances and their consequences. Faith is not the opposite of fear; rest is. We learned that in Hebrews. Rest is a place of settled faith in God,
trusting Him with the outcomes. Faith is
the assurance of the invisible, spiritual realm. We live as if God is present and
visible. 1 & 2 Peter were written to
show us how faith is strengthened - what makes it easier to live in God's rest
(the Land, as it were)?
How Faith Works in
Relationships: I think this gets a big section of 1 Peter
because it's the hardest place to trust God.
People just seem to have a way of getting under our skin and then
finding out what's really in there. LET
ME SAY THIS: When we are "in rest"
(see Hebrews), we can be vulnerable without being diminished in any way. Col 3:3 says "For you are dead, and your
life is hid with Christ in God." KJV Phil 2 says when we are like Jesus, we have
no rights, no dignity, and no reputation to protect. In other words, trials come to burn
away self-preservation so that our faith is strengthened.
Be a Blessing: I believe there is extra grace on us when we serve others, especially
others who can't "pay you
back". It says in 3:9 that we are "called"
to BE a blessing and to INHERIT a blessing.
To bless someone means "to
empower" them in some way. It
might be just to retrieve something they dropped on the floor. When we are insulted, we bless. When we are slandered, we bless. When we are accused, we bless. God is watching. Don't let fear control you; bring your mind
into your trials with you.....knowing that God "has your back". We do not need to fear what
"outsiders" fear because we are connected to God - living
God-centered lives. We trust God with all our outcomes.
The only time we "answer back" is when someone asks
"what's wrong with you that you don't want to join our fun?" or to
know why we don't
defend ourselves, demand our rights, or complain. (The Golden Rules for
Christians) Jesus SUFFERED for us when
we didn't care about Him and were considered "unjust" and "unrighteous" in order to
bring us to God; can we suffer just a little bit if it means someone might come
to God?
Preaching to the Dead: ( Keep in mind that this is still a pattern for us to follow in
strengthening our faith): There is
no Biblical proof that Jesus preached in hell after His death. He went straight to "Paradise" (Luke 23:43).
And why would He preach only to
Noah's generation? Were they being held
in a separate place from everyone else? The
teaching of "purgatory" rests on this Scripture alone, so it is
important to interpret it correctly and in the context of the rest of the Bible. We are STRICTLY FORBIDDEN to contact the dead
in any way (Lev 19:31; Deut 18:10-14, et al). The truth is that once a person is dead from the earth, there is
nothing we can do to release them from wherever they ended up. There is no sacrifice or prayer that will
release them.
So, what does this
mean? It means that thru the agency of
Noah, Jesus Christ delivered a message to Noah's rebellious, disobedient generation
at that time when they were still alive - and who are NOW "in
prison", because they had HEARD THE TRUTH but
rejected it. The same flood that
destroyed unbelievers, "saved"
the eight in the ark. Just
like the fire that comes thru life experiences. The same fire that destroys
unbelievers, gives life and strength to the faith of believers. So don't be shaken by those who harden
themselves against us and against Jesus now.
Keep believing. PREACH AND
PRAY!!!!
Just like Jesus: (Here is our pattern and example again:) 4:1-2 refer to our abysmal
need for approval. That dies by
being burned alive. "To suffer in the flesh" is to DIE. See Rom 6:6.
When you are dead, you won't sin any more. (Gal 2:20) So when we consider ourselves "crucified with Christ", and
(Col 3:3) "dead" - we don't
need anyone's approval any more!
Always remember:
our default is unspeakable joy. We live
God-centered. Anything that gets in the
way of that must be destroyed or done away with. The people who don't understand spiritual
things, think we are strange! I've been
called "fanatic", "nuts", "crazy", "stupid",
"living in denial", and told that I think I'm better than anyone else
because I'm not participating in their debauchery. Trust
God with the outcomes. He judges both
the living and the dead. He might not wait until they are
dead to pass judgments.
More Preaching to the Dead: This refers to people who were
already dead, having already heard the Gospel while still alive and been born
again. The people around them judged
them and condemned to death death, yet they are still alive to God. This is our encouragement: we cannot be
killed! We just pass thru the veil into
God's presence. Tho people around us do
their worst, we cannot be separated from God.
Stay "in faith" without any fear.
RESPONSE: Someone told me once that today is
preparation for tomorrow, so pay attention to details. Don't excuse the little stuff, because it
might make a difference tomorrow. What
is difficult to do the first time, becomes easier with practice. I am developing a practice of thanksgiving out
loud INTENTIONALLY. We are commanded "In every thing give thanks: for this
is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 1 Thess 5:18 It keeps my focus on God instead of on
myself. It causes faith to arise in my
heart. Otherwise my "default" would
be myself! As soon as I start feeling
sorry for myself, or feel angry over some insult, I am no longer in REST, but in FEAR.
And remember how God defines fear:
"an evil heart of
unbelief" (Heb 3:12). So as the
fire gets hotter, I praise louder. I
thank God for His excellence, for His mercy, for His wonderfulness, for His
strength, and yes----that my washer and dryer are not in the basement, but on
the main floor. (no steps) Since my Mom went to be with Jesus on 9/5/12,
I praise God that I will see her again - that she is not "lost" or
dead.
PSALM 119:65-80
Psalm 119:73-80 are
titled "yod", the 10th
Hebrew letter, and it pictures a closed hand - a small dot almost. Because the yod is so small, it also represents
humility. When "Jacob" was
changed to "Israel", the only letter he kept was the
"yod". "Yahweh",
God's name begins with "yod". This
section so titled says that when we
humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, He will exalt us to where we
become examples for others to follow.
PROVERBS
28:14
The
"fear of the Lord" is the
trembling awareness that life has meaning, and my choices have consequences. It is the same thing as living a
God-centered life. I am happy because
the blessing and favor of God are on me.
If we harden our hearts toward God, NOTHING will ever be right, and in
our heart-of-hearts we will know it. 
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