Sermon - Daniel 1:17-21 - Faithful - February 2, 2020
The first month of 2020 is already behind us, and this
morning we will wrap up the first chapter of Daniel.
We started by looking at how the king was trying to change the young Israelites from faithful servants of the One True God, to people who lived like the rest of the world. This is something we face every day. The pressures of this world are trying to get us to change in one form or another. Our only defense against the evolution of morals, beliefs, and what is considered normal is to stay focused on God. If we continue to look to our God and hold on to His Word we can stand strong.
Last week we looked at how Daniel took a stand and was determined to live righteously, he was not going to defile himself, and he was going to remain true to His God. At one point he hit a roadblock and could have easily given up, but he decided to keep following his convictions. Daniel made a choice and that choice was to make God THE Priority of his life.
No matter what is going on, we need to make our Lord Jesus THE Priority of our lives. We need to turn from our sin and repent, remember His teachings, trust in Him, and put our faith in Him and Him alone.
If we continue to ground ourselves in prayer and in His Word, it will help us to see God at work in our lives and help us to make Jesus THE Priority. The more time we devote to Him, the stronger our faith will become, and the more of a Priority He will be.
Daniel and his friends were living in a time of adversity. They had been taken from their homeland and were living in captivity. We know they were part of the 70-year exile that has fallen on their people for failing to follow God. Now, it could have been worse. Instead of living in a dingy dungeon they had about every luxury available to them. They had some of the best teachers helping them to learn the language, culture, and religions of the Babylonians. They were be prepared to serve the king.
It is highly likely that these guys many temptations thrown their way. From what we have seen so far, they have remained faithful. They continued to make God THE Priority of their lives.
Which brings us to our verses this morning.
Daniel 1:17
“17 God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams of every kind.”
The king was trying to indoctrinate Daniel and his friends and make them Babylonian like… but as we have seen they did what they could to remain faithful to the One True God. They kept God as THE Priority of their lives and as we see here God Blessed their faithfulness.
Reminds me of Jesus’ Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25. The master gave three servants talents to invest while he was gone. Two of the servants were faithful, invested the talents, and gave their master double what he gave them, and the master responded appropriately.
Matthew 25:21
“21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’”
The faithful servants in Jesus’ Parable were rewarded. Daniel and his friends were rewarded for their faith. No matter what happens on this side of Glory, we too will be rewarded for our faithfulness by being forgiven of our sins and being accepted into an eternity with our Lord and Savior.
Daniel 1:17 stated that God gave them four young men knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.
As much as the Babylonians would like to think that Daniel and his friends were filled with knowledge and wisdom from the quality of the education they had been provided. The knowledge these guys acquired had nothing to do with the books they read or the lectures they heard. The blessings they received were due to being good and faithful servants. They were faithful in little things and God was blessings them with greater things.
Proverbs 2:6-8
“6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 7 He stores up success for the upright; He is a shield for those who live with integrity 8 so that he may guard the paths of justice and protect the way of his faithful followers.”
We can learn a lot of things and grow in knowledge. We can learn how to apply that knowledge and become wise among men, but true wisdom and knowledge come from God. We are limited in what we can do on our own, but when God acts those limits do not exist. Just like Daniel’s understanding of visions and dreams. That was not something he learned through research and study; it was truly a gift from God.
While we may not be gifted with understanding visions and dreams or wisdom beyond our years, God does work in our lives. We are called to faithfully follow the teachings found in the Bible and the commands given to us by our Lord. When we walk in faith we can see our God work in us and through us.
Philippians 2:12-13
“12 Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.”
We may not always realize it, we may not see it at the time, but God is at work in each of us. As we faithfully follow Him, He faithfully works in us.
Have you ever sat down with someone who was struggling with something and the perfect words rolled right out of your mouth? You may have said a loving thought, quoted a Bible verse, or paraphrased something Jesus said. That was God at work in your life. That was Him giving you the knowledge and wisdom that you needed.
How about those times that you were in the right place at the right time? You may have bumped into someone who you were able to help them in a time of need. Might have been as simple as a friendly smile, a hug, a listening ear, a meal, a tire changed, or just about anything else. That is God at work in you and through you. As we walk in faith, our Lord works in us and through us to accomplish so much more than we could ever do on our own.
That is exactly what happened to Daniel and his friends. They were faithful and the Lord blessed them. We will see in the coming weeks that God blessed these guys so that they could be a blessing to others. When we are faithful, our Lord will bless us and allow us to be a blessing to those we are to help.
Daniel 1:18
“18 At the end of the time that the king had said to present them, the chief eunuch presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.”
The moment of truth has come.
After three years of studying the Chaldean language, culture, literature, pagan religions, and whatever else was thrown their way it was time to stand before the kind.
Daniel 1:19-21
“19 The king interviewed them, and among all of them, no one was found equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they began to attend the king. 20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding that the king consulted them about, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and mediums in his entire kingdom. 21 Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.”
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were taken to Babylon in their teens and would have been roughly 20 years old when they stood before the king. When you see that they stood out amongst the other young men who had been captured and went through the 3 years of training with them is a nice accomplishment but not that big of leap. People graduate from high school and college with honors every year.
If you look at verse twenty again, the king ‘found them ten times better than all the magicians and mediums in his entire kingdom.’
These guys not only graduated with honors, they jumped to the head of the line. They were found to have more knowledge and wisdom than the guys who had served the king for thirty years.
These guys did what they could to remain faithful to God and honor Him with their actions, and God blessed them. Having the benefit of their future being documented for us to read, we can see that God was at work in them.
Hebrews 12:1-2
“12 Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
I believe that God was using these events to build up and perfect the faith of these young men. These guys had no clue what was going to happen, but God knew that Daniel was going to interpret king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. God knew that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego where going to be threatened with being tossed into the fiery furnace. God knew that Daniel was going to be betrayed and locked into the lion’s den. God knew each of the events of the next 70 years, He knew what challenges they were going to face, He knew what was going to tempt them, He knew their faith needed to be strengthened.
God took their faithfulness in the little things, blessed it, and prepared them for the future.
The main point here is that we need to remain faithful to our Lord God. We need to make Him THE Priority of each and every day of our lives. In turn He will work in us. Sometimes that takes shape in helping us to be a blessing for others and sometimes His work in us prepares us for what is to come.
1 John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
When we turn to our Lord, He will work in us and He will work through us. Trust in Him regardless of the roadblocks, Trust that He will use you to be a blessing to others, and trust that He will prepare you for the future before you.
Our God is a faithful God!
Walk in Faith!
God Bless,
Robert
We started by looking at how the king was trying to change the young Israelites from faithful servants of the One True God, to people who lived like the rest of the world. This is something we face every day. The pressures of this world are trying to get us to change in one form or another. Our only defense against the evolution of morals, beliefs, and what is considered normal is to stay focused on God. If we continue to look to our God and hold on to His Word we can stand strong.
Last week we looked at how Daniel took a stand and was determined to live righteously, he was not going to defile himself, and he was going to remain true to His God. At one point he hit a roadblock and could have easily given up, but he decided to keep following his convictions. Daniel made a choice and that choice was to make God THE Priority of his life.
No matter what is going on, we need to make our Lord Jesus THE Priority of our lives. We need to turn from our sin and repent, remember His teachings, trust in Him, and put our faith in Him and Him alone.
If we continue to ground ourselves in prayer and in His Word, it will help us to see God at work in our lives and help us to make Jesus THE Priority. The more time we devote to Him, the stronger our faith will become, and the more of a Priority He will be.
Daniel and his friends were living in a time of adversity. They had been taken from their homeland and were living in captivity. We know they were part of the 70-year exile that has fallen on their people for failing to follow God. Now, it could have been worse. Instead of living in a dingy dungeon they had about every luxury available to them. They had some of the best teachers helping them to learn the language, culture, and religions of the Babylonians. They were be prepared to serve the king.
It is highly likely that these guys many temptations thrown their way. From what we have seen so far, they have remained faithful. They continued to make God THE Priority of their lives.
Which brings us to our verses this morning.
Daniel 1:17
“17 God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams of every kind.”
The king was trying to indoctrinate Daniel and his friends and make them Babylonian like… but as we have seen they did what they could to remain faithful to the One True God. They kept God as THE Priority of their lives and as we see here God Blessed their faithfulness.
Reminds me of Jesus’ Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25. The master gave three servants talents to invest while he was gone. Two of the servants were faithful, invested the talents, and gave their master double what he gave them, and the master responded appropriately.
Matthew 25:21
“21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’”
The faithful servants in Jesus’ Parable were rewarded. Daniel and his friends were rewarded for their faith. No matter what happens on this side of Glory, we too will be rewarded for our faithfulness by being forgiven of our sins and being accepted into an eternity with our Lord and Savior.
Daniel 1:17 stated that God gave them four young men knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.
As much as the Babylonians would like to think that Daniel and his friends were filled with knowledge and wisdom from the quality of the education they had been provided. The knowledge these guys acquired had nothing to do with the books they read or the lectures they heard. The blessings they received were due to being good and faithful servants. They were faithful in little things and God was blessings them with greater things.
Proverbs 2:6-8
“6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 7 He stores up success for the upright; He is a shield for those who live with integrity 8 so that he may guard the paths of justice and protect the way of his faithful followers.”
We can learn a lot of things and grow in knowledge. We can learn how to apply that knowledge and become wise among men, but true wisdom and knowledge come from God. We are limited in what we can do on our own, but when God acts those limits do not exist. Just like Daniel’s understanding of visions and dreams. That was not something he learned through research and study; it was truly a gift from God.
While we may not be gifted with understanding visions and dreams or wisdom beyond our years, God does work in our lives. We are called to faithfully follow the teachings found in the Bible and the commands given to us by our Lord. When we walk in faith we can see our God work in us and through us.
Philippians 2:12-13
“12 Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.”
We may not always realize it, we may not see it at the time, but God is at work in each of us. As we faithfully follow Him, He faithfully works in us.
Have you ever sat down with someone who was struggling with something and the perfect words rolled right out of your mouth? You may have said a loving thought, quoted a Bible verse, or paraphrased something Jesus said. That was God at work in your life. That was Him giving you the knowledge and wisdom that you needed.
How about those times that you were in the right place at the right time? You may have bumped into someone who you were able to help them in a time of need. Might have been as simple as a friendly smile, a hug, a listening ear, a meal, a tire changed, or just about anything else. That is God at work in you and through you. As we walk in faith, our Lord works in us and through us to accomplish so much more than we could ever do on our own.
That is exactly what happened to Daniel and his friends. They were faithful and the Lord blessed them. We will see in the coming weeks that God blessed these guys so that they could be a blessing to others. When we are faithful, our Lord will bless us and allow us to be a blessing to those we are to help.
Daniel 1:18
“18 At the end of the time that the king had said to present them, the chief eunuch presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.”
The moment of truth has come.
After three years of studying the Chaldean language, culture, literature, pagan religions, and whatever else was thrown their way it was time to stand before the kind.
Daniel 1:19-21
“19 The king interviewed them, and among all of them, no one was found equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they began to attend the king. 20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding that the king consulted them about, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and mediums in his entire kingdom. 21 Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.”
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were taken to Babylon in their teens and would have been roughly 20 years old when they stood before the king. When you see that they stood out amongst the other young men who had been captured and went through the 3 years of training with them is a nice accomplishment but not that big of leap. People graduate from high school and college with honors every year.
If you look at verse twenty again, the king ‘found them ten times better than all the magicians and mediums in his entire kingdom.’
These guys not only graduated with honors, they jumped to the head of the line. They were found to have more knowledge and wisdom than the guys who had served the king for thirty years.
These guys did what they could to remain faithful to God and honor Him with their actions, and God blessed them. Having the benefit of their future being documented for us to read, we can see that God was at work in them.
Hebrews 12:1-2
“12 Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
I believe that God was using these events to build up and perfect the faith of these young men. These guys had no clue what was going to happen, but God knew that Daniel was going to interpret king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. God knew that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego where going to be threatened with being tossed into the fiery furnace. God knew that Daniel was going to be betrayed and locked into the lion’s den. God knew each of the events of the next 70 years, He knew what challenges they were going to face, He knew what was going to tempt them, He knew their faith needed to be strengthened.
God took their faithfulness in the little things, blessed it, and prepared them for the future.
The main point here is that we need to remain faithful to our Lord God. We need to make Him THE Priority of each and every day of our lives. In turn He will work in us. Sometimes that takes shape in helping us to be a blessing for others and sometimes His work in us prepares us for what is to come.
1 John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
When we turn to our Lord, He will work in us and He will work through us. Trust in Him regardless of the roadblocks, Trust that He will use you to be a blessing to others, and trust that He will prepare you for the future before you.
Our God is a faithful God!
Walk in Faith!
God Bless,
Robert
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