Faithfulness; The Life of Daniel
Sarah Christensen
Daniel is one of the most faithful people I have ever heard of. When we open to the book of Daniel, the first thing we learn is that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has besieged Jerusalem. King Nebuchadnezzar, after taking the articles of the temple and putting them in the treasure house of his god, orders his officials to bring some young men to his court. There are some specifications for these young men in verses 3 and 4. They must be “members of the royal family or nobility, young men, with no physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the kings palace.” In verse 6 we first met Daniel as one of the chosen, a member of the nobility or royal family who passed all of these qualifications. Daniel, Haniah, Mishael, and Azariah, would be considered the full package. They had to pass all of these tests alongside many other young men. The next thing we learn about Daniel is in verse 7 the chief official changed his name to Belteshazzar. IN the first 7 verses of his book Daniel has been through a lot- his country besieged, the temple ransacked, he was taken from his noble family, and now they have to go and change his name! This is a lot to take in for a young man; personally I would be pretty upset at the world and God, wouldn’t you?
In verse 8 we learn that after everything that happened to Daniel, he is still following God! Assuming he is maybe 15 or 16, Daniel had already proven himself faithful to God when in verse 8 he refuses the king’s rich food because it is against his customs. Daniel was around my age. In verse 12 he asks to only eat vegetables, I have trouble eating my vegetables now, put steak on the plate of the guy next to me and giving me broccoli, would not be at my request. But in verse 9 God causes the official to show compassion on Daniel so they make a deal. For 10 days, in verse 12, Daniel and the other young men from Judah will eat only vegetables and water. Then the official will compare their appearance with the rest of the young men. They agreed and theses 4 young men eat vegetables and water for ten days. Their faithfulness is rewarded in verse 17, “To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.” This isn’t a Popeye sort of situation where they eat their spinach and become smarter. God rewarded them not for eating their vegetables, but for the faithfulness that it required to stick to their customs and rules. The bible doesn’t say, but I bet these four young men were teased for their faithfulness. They were teenagers who were giving up the choice food for vegetables. I imagine at times it was probably hard to do, and often they were probably picked on by the other young men. Faithfulness isn’t always easy; in fact, usually the challenge is what makes it true faithfulness.
After all this Daniel’s faithfulness was again tested by the new King Darius in Chapter 6. If you were in Sunday school you probably heard the story of Daniel in the Lion’s Den. This is going to be harder than eating your vegetables I’m afraid. The story begins with jealousy. Daniel becomes a great man, in verse 3, “Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom”. King Darius had 3 administrators, 120 satraps, and Daniel outshone them all. I don’t think that made his co-workers very happy. In verse 4, they began to search for fault in Daniel, but “They were unable to do so”. Can this guy be anymore perfect? These guys get so mad they start devising a plan, a very good plan. In fact, their speech to the king in verses 6-8 is extremely well planned. They complimented the king, played to his vanity and pride and then made sure they got the announcement in writing. These guys are smart! In verse 9 Daniel’s fate is sealed, the king puts it that everyone must pray only to King Darius in writing. Verse 10 is probably one of my favorite verses. Daniel hears about the law, goes home to his upstairs rooms, opens the windows, towards Jerusalem, and prays three times a day! Not only does he continue to pray, but he does it three times in their faces! This guy is absolutely crazy, absolutely crazy in his faith and devotion-best kind of crazy. The king gets word of his actions, I bet you these satraps are waiting at Daniel’s house for him to pray. I can imagine their faces as Daniel threw open all the windows and prayed. They sure run to the king and tell him quick. After waiting barely one verse they burst through the palace doors to tattletale on Daniel. In Verse 14, “the king was greatly distressed.” He made efforts to save Daniel. probably sent him messages.-’Daniel go pray in the basement or something quick, close the windows are you crazy?’ Daniel was still praying openly at sundown despite the king’s efforts and the king had to give the order. Can you imagine? The king tried to pardon him, and Daniel still prayed knowing the consequences. He knew what would happen, and still he threw open the windows. The hardest questions I have ever asked myself is ‘could I have opened those windows and prayed?’ More often than not I really hope God just calls me to eat my vegetables and not face lions. True faithfulness would throw open those windows, but true faithfulness is never easy. Daniel was thrown into the Lions Den.
When I get up to heaven I want to find Daniel and ask him what he was thinking at that moment. Have you ever heard a Lion roar? I heard one at a zoo and even behind multiple barriers of protection. I wanted to run away as fast as I could. These were most likely hungry lions. They probably were not being quiet as the officials prepared Daniel to be thrown in the cave. Bees scare me to death! One day when I was eating outside I heard a bee buzzing; I was off of that bench so fast I nearly toppled on my head as my feet tried to catch up. If I can’t face down a bee minding its own business how much more terrifying would it be thrown into a Lion’s den. Before the stone is rolled over the opening to the den, King Darius yells down “May your God who you serve continually rescue you.” Personally I think Daniel’s praises were mingling with those Lions roars. His prayers, his face lifted in praise, his songs,were still present. I just can’t imagine this scene without the voice of Daniel praying to God. The next morning King Darius gets up and hurries to the lion’s den at the first light of dawn. In Verse 20 “ When he came near the den he called to Daniel in an anguished voice ‘Daniel servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?’” What? The King just threw him into a lion’s den, does he think that Daniel could of survived. How on earth could that be possible? In Verse 22 Daniel answered from inside the lion’s den,“My God sent an angel and he shut the mouths of the lions.”! I would absolutely love to see the smug looks disappear off of those satraps’ faces. In verse 23, “...Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted God”. Completely whole, Daniel was taken out of the lion’s den, because he had trusted God. His Faithfulness was again greatly rewarded, not only that but in verses 26-27 King Darius says about God- “For He is the living God and He endures forever; His kingdom shall not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and He saves; He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the Lions.” Amen.
Daniel’s faithfulness was present through his entire life; it never wavered whether he was staring at the sharp fangs on a lion or a plate of broccoli. Daniel is someone I aspire to be like always. His faithfulness caused the message in verse 26-27 to be sent out to “All the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth.” I think it brought many hearts to God. I have a strong feeling King Darius was one of them. Daniel’s life was one of great faithfulness to God- what a wonderful legacy!