DANIEL
- KEEPING YOUR HEART
Scripture
reading - 2 Kgs. 24:1-4
Setting
- Amid
the wicked kings of Judah, especially Manasseh (55 yrs 2
Kgs. 21) Josiah
(grandson of Manasseh) did right. He "cleaned house" -
reforming the wickedness
of the people - removing idolatry, destroying the offenders & promoters
of idolatrous worship, removing every vestige of idolatry - restoring proper
worship (passover) - & upon discovery of the law, having it read
to the people.
2
Kgs. 22:1-2 Josiah did right
2
Kgs. 23:25-27 No king was like Josiah - Yet God would still
overthrow
Judah
as He had promised.
It
was probably during Josiah's reign that Daniel was born. In a
climate of reform and
renewed attention to honoring God & observing His statutes,
Daniel must have been
influenced to faithfulness to God at a very
early age.
Probably
born at the end of Josiah's 31
year reign
- Daniel would have also lived under
the subsequent rule of Josiah's younger son, Jehoahaz (3
month rule)
-
then Jehoiakim
(11
year reign)
[Egyptian Pharoah Necho, who killed Josiah, imprisoned Jehoahaz, removing
him from the throne and putting Jehoiakim in his rightful place as
the older son of Josiah 2
Kgs. 23:28-ff)
2
Chron. 36:17-21 The 70 years of Judah's exile begins - Daniel
is among the first of the captives. (606
BC)
Dan.
1:1-7 Daniel is young, good looking, gifted, of royalty probably
still in his late teenage years.
4
young men - away from home & family - thrust into a different
culture, language,
& religious beliefs
(Idolatrous).
Their
names were changed. Why?
1.
To show authority over them & note their
subjection to their
captors
2.
In token of their being naturalized as citizens
of the Chaldean
empire
3.
To make them forget the God of their fathers
& the guide of
their youth,
4.
To wean them from their past & instill a sense
of allegiance to
their new nationality.
Daniel
= "God is my judge" >
Belteshazzar
= "Keeper of the hidden treasures
of Bel"
Dan.
4:8 "...Daniel....(his
name is Belteshazzar
according to the name of my god...)..."
Hananiah
= "The grace of the Lord" >
Shadrach
= "The inspiration of the sun"
Mishael
= "He that is the strong God" >
Meshach
= "Of the goddess
Shach"
(Under
which
name Venus
was worshipped)
Azariah
= "The Lord is a help" >
Abed-Nego
= "The servant of the shining fire"
Daniel
didn't leave his convictions at home:
Dan.
1:8-16 Daniel "purposed
in his heart"
-
He was committed to not defying
his conscience, even in the face of possible death.
Daniel
kept in his heart what he had learned at home & took it with him:
Lev.
11:44-ff Consecration
(holiness)
learned
in discernment between clean and
unclean animals (meats,
such as pork)
Abstinence
from eating of unclean meats.
(Self-discipline)
Self-
control,
Self-denial,
Discipline of mind
over the body
1
Cor. 9:24-ff "Do
you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the
prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. (25) And everyone
who competes for the prize is temperate
in all things. Now they
do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.
(26) Therefore I run thus; not with uncertainty. Thus I fight; not as
one who beats the air. (27) But I discipline
my body and bring
it into
subjection,
lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should
become
disqualified."
To
eat of the kings dainties may have involved a connection to the sacrifice
of such meats to the idol gods of their religion. To have eaten may
have been a matter of conscience.
1
Cor. 8:4-7 "Therefore
concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that
an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one.
(5) For even if there are 'so-called' gods, whether in heaven or on earth
(as there are many gods and many lords), (6) yet for us there is one
God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord
Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.
(7) However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some,
with
consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol;
and their conscience, being weak, is defiled."
Rom.
14:14-ff "He who doubts is condemned if he eats" -
Conscience
What
we learn from Daniel is to be
faithful in your youth
Eccl.
12:1 "Remember
now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult
days come, and the years draw near when you say, 'I have no
pleasure
in them.' "
1
Tim. 4:12 "Let
no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in
word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity."
Despise
- [kataphroneo]
- (kata
= down; phren
= mind) To think down on, to think slightly of.
Ezek.
14:12-14 Daniel, Noah & Job - worthy examples of righteousness.
What
we learn from Daniel is commitment
of purpose
- holiness
Prov.
4:23 "Keep
your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life."
Rom.
12:2 "And
do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and
acceptable
and perfect will of God."
What
we learn from Daniel is - serve
God where you are
1
Cor. 7:17-24 Slave? Free? Rich? Poor?
Home? Abroad?
Circumstances?
Phil.
4:10-13 Learning contentment - Confidence
in our faith & God's
power
What
we learn from Daniel is...
faithful Continuance
Col.
2:6-10 As you have received Christ, so walk
in Him. Rooted in Him
INVITATION
Col.
2:11-12 Baptism = the circumcision made without hands.
Gen.
17:11 "and
you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and
it shall be
a sign of the covenant between Me and you."
Baptism
is a sign of the New
covenant between God and man.
A
covenant is an agreement between two - both obligated to
faithfulness.