Okay, so last week
I said that I will be looking at Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Not so. I'm just going to focus on how Daniel seeks God and how God answers him. This post is part of a greater study
I am doing of the book of Daniel
.
We return to the story as Daniel has just been notified that the king has ordered his execution along with the execution of all the other wise men of Babylon because the wise men (not including Daniel) were unable to tell King Nebuchadnezzar what he had dreamt and what that dream meant. After being told this, Daniel immediately requested an audience with the king to try and save himself and his friends.
17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
Daniel has acted before he knew what God would do. He went immediately to the palace to ask for some time and then he comes home and tells his friends that they need to ask God for help because if God doesn't do something they will die. This isn't to say that Daniel wasn't praying to himself the whole way to and from the palace for God's help, but that he had to act quickly if he was to have any chance of saving his life before he had the opportunity to stop and pray and consider his actions. He knew God's law well enough that he knew what he must do before he knew he'd have to make such a decision.
To me, this is one of the things Christians often over-think: what's God want me to do in situation X? Does God want me to find a new job? Does God want me to consider going into ministry? Does God want me to do blah blah blah? I get a little bothered when Christians try to make these important but mundane decisions more mystical than they are. In my mind, doing "God's will" means one thing and one thing only: know God's word and do what it says. You can do that in practically any station you hold and in all situations you are confronted with. Whether you switch jobs or not isn't something outside God's ultimate consideration for your life, but not every decision needs to be a spiritual crisis.
Know God's word and try to ferret out what decision will serve God best, it's no more mystical than that. If both decisions serve God fine, maybe God's giving you the freedom to express a preference. Should I drive down Anderson Ave.
or Bertrand St.
to get to work this morning? Does it matter? Maybe it will, but this isn't a mystical decision; it's a preference and a liberty. Gee whiz. God isn't going to be offended if you decide to have bologna instead of PB&J for lunch today. Seeking God's will in such things is mystical superstition, not Christianity.
Daniel doesn't seem to worry about what the right thing to do is. He merely thinks to himself, how can I move so that God is most glorified? Perhaps he's even just thinking, how will God rescue us from this? He is obeying fundamental spiritual truths as a way of finding his way through this spiritual crisis. Then, he goes home and says to his friends, "We've got to pray and pray hard because we aren't going to survive the week if God doesn't help us tonight." Daniel specifically takes actions that place him in God's hands. He, possibly, could have found a way to flee, but instead he works to place himself at God's mercy and then asks God to help them survive.
19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
When King Nebuchadnezzar told his wise men just a few verses earlier, "Tell me both my dream and its interpretation." The wise men answered, "What!? How are we supposed to know your dream? You are asking for the impossible." Well, God has done the impossible and revealed Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Daniel's response is the exaltation of God.
20 Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. 21He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; 22he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. 23To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king¿s matter.¿
Daniel praises God. He acknowledges God's preeminent wisdom and power. He acknowledges that nothing happens without God motivating it or allowing it. He notes that God is the one who grants wisdom and knowledge and how God is the one who reveals hidden things. He praises his omniscience, his knowledge of everything whether in the open or hidden. He thanks God for helping him. Daniel is obviously very excited about this. God has given him the knowledge that the king has requested and now he can go into the King's court and, hopefully, save his life and the life of his friends and glorify God in the process.
24 Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him, ¿Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.¿
And now, Daniel acts again with boldness. He goes to the guard and countermands the order that comes from the King. This is, again, very bold. I imagine that he and Arioch must have known each other well because I should think that if not, the guard might have had him killed on the spot for such a statement. We are talking about an order by the king of kings and the ruler of the entire world. Such things aren't talked against for fun.
The application for me is this: Know what is right according to God and act according to that knowledge. Obedience to God's word is the key to following God's will in all things. I've heard lots of times someone saying things like, "I think God is leading me to do X" when I can open up my Bible and show them a verse where the Bible says "Thou shalt not..." or gives a similarly phrased command (though, my Bible doesn't actually contain the word "shalt" since I prefer the ESV
translation). If the Bible says what you're doing is wrong in general, it's certainly wrong in your specific situation. You must also seek God's council and ask him for your needs.
Being in a place where you cannot rescue yourself is both a terrifying and glorious place to be. In such a place you are helpless and forced to ask God for aid. If you ever get into such a spot, God will either save you or not, but, ultimately, whatever happens will be for the good of God's people (Romans 8:28
). If He does save you, think of the testimony you have with which to glorify God! If He does not, think of the glory you'll experience in heaven! (Philippians 1:21
) It's a win-win, even if it's terrible to experience.
I have no idea what the likelihood is that any Christian will ever be in such a spot. Governments and economies are very fragile and the world could turn dark and merciless in a time considerably shorter than our lifetime. However, as things currently stand, it's unlikely that many Christians in my neck of the woods will face such a dark time. Yet, what applies in the most extreme circumstance applies just as strongly day to day in the mundane. If you don't know what the word says is good, you need to spend more time reading your Bible and listening to good sermons so you will know. Then, that should be the test you use to determine what actions you will take today. Do you do X or do Y? Let the word be your first guide and then make the best decision you can. If it's really big, pray and take your time. Decisions are either clearly made by circumstances or they're up to your preference, don't try to make this process mystical and superstitious.
And that's all I want to cover today. Come back next week when we take a look at how Daniel glorifies God through his knowledge of the King's dream.
Cheers.
