Knowing God

Daniel 11:32

(32) He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.

This comes in a long passage describing various battles and changes of power. I believe that there is some consensus that this has to do with the Maccabean Revolt, which is where the holiday of Hannukah comes from. The Maccabeans knew their God and were ready to fight back.

Do you know your God? If so, how do you know Him? Do you know Him through your own sense of how a God should be? Is He merely a God of love? Is He a God of wrath? How do you know Him if at all?

He reveals Himself to us through Scripture. Yes, general revelation in the form of nature helps too. I don't understand how biologists can be atheists, but I know that many manage it. We know Him personally through His special revelation to His people. That is the God that demands our worship. It would be one thing if He merely demanded it, but He also deserves it. Let's worship the God who IS rather than the God that we create in our imaginations.

Seventy Weeks

Daniel 9:24-27

(24) "Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.

(25) Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time.

(26) And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed.

(27) And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator."

What does this mean? I can't say that I rightly know. I'm not even going to venture an opinion because I feel like this is a topic deep enough that it merits some serious study before chiming in.

However, I do appreciate something that my ESV Study Bible says at the end of the very long footnote regarding this passage. No matter how you see this all playing out the point is that God is sovereign over kings and kingdoms. Therefore, we can be sure that this passage means that God has a plan and He is going to carry it out. It would be nice if we could have more clarity about it, but ultimately it still gives us a place to bolster our faith.

Continued Work

Daniel 8:27

(27) And I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king's business, but I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it.

This is another summary of Daniel's reaction to an incredible vision he had of the future. He saw how kingdoms would rise and fall and then he even had Gabriel speak to him. Again, this is something incomprehensible to us and this verse gives us just a little taste of the effect it had on Daniel.

What strikes me is that after a time of recovery he went about the king's business. Maybe my problem is that I try to do work in the time I should be recovering, but were it me I would have a very hard time going about my business after having a vision like that. I think back to last Friday when I was consumed by something so trivial as the shipment of my iPod Touch. I was hoping to see it arrive in the area on Friday so I could pick it up, but I had to wait until Saturday afternoon. I didn't lose sleep over this, but my company definitely lost work over this.

I think Daniel was a better worker than I am. In fact, I'm pretty sure of it. It's common to use Daniel 1 as an example of how we need to be bold about our faith and priorities in the workplace. I think that is all well and good. However, we also need to recognize that Daniel stayed focused on what he had to do when he was supposed to be working. Here in 21st century America we all tend to think of ourselves as pretty dedicated and hard-working, but I suspect that if we wrote down what we were doing every 10 minutes we might discover otherwise. I know I would.

Great Alarm

Daniel 7:28

(28) "Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart."

This verse is at the end of Daniel's first vision where he sees four terrifying creatures. Each creature represents a different kingdom. There is of course debate among scholars as to what each creature represents. I don't want to get into that here.

What interests me today is Daniel's reaction to this vision. I once made a comment to a Christian brother about how foolish it was for Joseph to brag to his brothers and father about his vision. He made a good point in responding, "You have a vision from God and see how well you keep from telling anyone." Personally, I've never had a vision from God. I'm not sure that I'd recognize it if I did have one. If I had a dream where I saw the creatures Daniel described as well as the Ancient of Days sitting on the throne it would probably not be very ambiguous. I would be pretty sure about what I had seen.

This verse describes Daniel's physical reaction. At this point he has been around the block a little bit. He has seen God's faithfulness when he and his friends decided not to eat the king's food. He saw God's faithfulness when his friends were rescued from the furnace. He has an idea of what God is capable of doing and has a sense of God's character.

Yet he really had a physical reaction to this vision. I'm pretty sure that I would be greatly alarmed and that I would become even more pale than usual too. This verse reminds me that these are stories about real people. They aren't superheroes. They are men and women who had emotions just like we do. It's easy to look down our noses in hindsight sometimes. I know I have. I want to instead react with joy that God would use real people like Daniel to accomplish His will. It also encourages me that my humanity is not a hindrance to God accomplishing His will through me. It is not something that I need to destroy in some sort of gnostic way, but it is who I am. And, thanks to Christ, that is not a problem anymore.

The Whole Story

Daniel 6:24

(24) And the king commanded, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions--they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.

I like Veggie Tales in principle. I think it is good that kids are getting exposed to Old Testament stories. They present them in ways that are fun and relevant without really compromising the story. I thought that the Jonah movie was excellent, particularly the gospel choir while Jonah was inside the fish. I've seen some of the others like "Dave and the Giant Pickle" and enjoyed them too. However, there are a couple of problems with kids learning their Bible just from Veggie Tales.

One is that they tend not to show how the stories interconnect. Jesus is the theme of Scripture. This starts explicitly in Genesis 12 with God's promises of Land, Seed, and Blessing to Abraham and implicitly in Genesis 3 with God's promise to Eve. The story of David and Goliath is great and it can certainly inspire us to have a stronger faith. However, the traditional telling neglects the fact that this fits into God's overall plan to have one of David's children sit on the throne forever. I realize that may be a bit "heady" for kids, but the Bible is fundamentally about redemption in Christ. Otherwise it is no better than Aesop's Fables.

The other problem is that they tend not to tell the whole story. The verse I quoted is what happened after Daniel was pulled from the lions' den. One would presume that they were quite hungry after God shut their mouths all night. I do like how Lily's bibles tend to show Daniel sleeping up against a huge lion. I don't think it stretches the text too far to see the lions as becoming like little kitty-cats for a night.

However, this verse shows that they are still lions. It also shows God's justice in action. The Persians didn't fool around when it came to justice. Do kids need to hear about moms and kids being torn to pieces before hitting the floor of the den? Probably not when they're little. I have a friend whose 10 year-old son thought that this was really cool. My point is simply that we need to know our Bibles well enough to fill in some of these details when the time is right. I'm all for church telling Old Testament stories. I just want to make sure that I fill in the gaps that the stories leave.

Learn from the Past

Daniel 5:22-23

(22) And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this,

(23) but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.

This is the famous "writing on the wall" passage. King Belshazzar is rightly afraid after a hand appears out of nowhere and writes a mysterious message on the wall while he holds a feast for his people to celebrate his own perceived greatness. This whole event makes him literally weak-kneed. He just doesn't know what to do, so he calls Daniel. Of course, Daniel once again shows God's power and sovereignty over kings and kingdoms by interpreting the message. The message comes true that very night as Belshazzar is murdered.

I think that we tend to approach God the way Belshazzar does. We have a "break glass in case of fire" mentality. A crisis may bring us to Him initially, but once we see His power at work how can we turn away from Him? Yet that is what we do time and time again.

I urge you to turn to Him in the good as well as the bad times. The good part is that staying close to Him in the good times makes the bad times less difficult. It doesn't prevent the bad times, but we can deal with them a lot more easily if we are close to the Lord.

Stay close to Him! You won't be sorry.

Accepting Providence

Daniel 3:16-18

(16) Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.

(17) If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.

(18) But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."

This is one of those stories that even folks who couldn't find Psalms in their Bible have probably heard of. These faithful Jews refused to bow to the idol that Nebuchadnezzar set up and were sentenced to death in the fiery furnace. Here they show their unwavering faith in God. I am always impressed by verse 18 when I read this. They accept the possibility of "but if not."

This is a vital lesson for us here in America. This is the land of Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer. It is the land where God is supposed to give us what we want if we are faithful. I can't help but wonder what a Word of Faith person would do with this verse. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had a faith that went beyond what God would do for them. They were ready to face an excruciating death for their faith. They knew that God could deliver them, but they were under no assurance that God would deliver them. Yet they remained faithful.

This is great comfort to me in times of trial. The goal cannot simply be the resolution of the trial in the manner I think best. The goal must be resolution in a way that glorifies God. That's the focus that these young men had. Is that the focus you have or do you expect God to serve you?

Good Work

Daniel 1:16-21

(16) So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.

(17) As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

(18) At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.

(19) And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king.

(20) And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom.

(21) And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.

This is the end of the chapter that describes the situation for Daniel and his four friends. They were taken from their home in Judah and then trained to work for the king. God honored their decision to remain separate from the rest of the youths. They ended up better both physically and mentally than everyone else.

A note in my ESV Study Bible got me thinking about their situation. They were serving a pagan king among pagans. They remained faithful to God, but they still did their jobs. They weren't worried about the influences of the Babylonian culture, so they didn't hole themselves away in a bunker like the Amish. They still did their jobs and they even did them better than others.

This is a good reminder for me. My work environment is certainly pagan. It's not hostile to the faith, but it's certainly not open to it either. I have one coworker who goes to church each week, but he doesn't like to hear constant talk about religion. Two of my coworkers and I have some interesting discussions because of our varied faith backgrounds. We can get away with this, but it is hardly a Christian workplace and I constantly feel the tension that we need to tone it down a little bit. Many of my really good conversations with a friend who is very devout in his faith happen over instant messenger.

My point is that I see doing our work well as an example of:

Ecclesiastes 9:10

(10) Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.

Daniel and the three other exiles had work to do. They did it with all their might, but they didn't compromise their faith to do it. May we have a similar attitude as we go about our days.

A View of Prayer

Daniel 9:18-19
(18) O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.
(19) O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name."

One of my classmates made a great point about how we tend to view prayer. We are often quick to point out the errors of Open Theism, but we often pray like we really are Open Theists. We have this idea that God doesn't really have a set idea for how He is going to act, but if we just pray enough and get enough people praying then we will move His heart.

Certainly Scripture commands us to pray. Jesus makes it clear that prayer changes things. However, I would maintain that prayer is more about us getting our focus realigned with God's than it is convincing God that what we want is best. If He truly is sovereign then He has made up His mind in how things are going to be. Yet He does use means to accomplish His will and I believe that our prayers are part of that.

Daniel's prayers were radically God-centered. While he may have prayed for his aunt's sore hip at some point we don't have those prayers recorded. What we do have is this example of a prayer that is focused on God's glory with an appeal to God's name. Moses did the same thing when interceding for the disobedient people in the wilderness.

God is zealous for the glory of His name. Let's focus our prayers accordingly, amen?

Receiving Favor

Daniel 1:8-10
(8) But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.
(9) And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs,
(10) and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, "I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king."

I have heard this passage used in regards to how we approach our work. The idea is that we can take a chance in telling management that we are not going to work like everyone else does in terms of sacrificing family on the altar of success. God will then bless our boldness.

I don't think that is what this text is saying, but perhaps that is an application for us today. I do think it shows us that God does indeed work in men's hearts. Where was the free will of the chief of the eunuchs?