Concluding thoughts on Daniel (part 2)

It was back in June that I began submitting blogs on Daniel and his three cohorts.  I have to confess to you that it feels like it’s been much longer than that.  I think it’s because I’ve had these blog installments in my head; I have been eager to share them, only to have life slow the process down.  But today is the conclusion of this blog series.

There’s one last phrase I want to look at from Daniel 1.  In Daniel 1:17 there’s an important statement made: “Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.”  This is a teaser to a large portion of the book of Daniel as a whole – prophetic dreams and visions.  So I would be remiss if I didn’t submit one last blog on how God used Daniel in relation to a dream or vision.  Initially, I was going to look at Daniel 2 as an example.  In that chapter King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream that Daniel interprets.  This dream has such relevance that theologians and end times scholars meticulously study it even to this day. 

But I actually want to look at Daniel 4 instead.  Why?  Well, let me ask you this question: have you ever seen a movie or TV show where you think you have the plot and characters figured out only to be presented with a big scene where you realized you were wrong?  This happened to me recently.  About halfway in, the writers threw a curveball that left me confused, and on the edge of my seat to discover what was going to happen.  Daniel 4 presents us with a similar curveball.

In Daniel 4, King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream that terrifies him.  Eventually, he goes to his trusted advisor – Daniel.  He lays out the dream, and he is confident that Daniel will explain it to him.  Interestingly, Daniel 4:19 states that for a time Daniel was “astonished” and “troubled”.  But he composes himself and presents a detailed interpretation; the king’s dream was a warning of what was going to happen.  God was going to take it all from him, his majestic kingdom, and even his sanity.  “You see, the Most High God rules,” Daniel continued, as I paraphrase verse 25.  “He gives kingdoms to whomever He chooses, until you acknowledge that, O king, you’re going to lose everything you have.”

A year passes, the king has forgotten all about the dream and Daniel’s interpretation.  He struts about like a proud peacock bragging about his majesty (verse 30).  Just as he finishes speaking, a voice from Heaven speaks, and confirms the words Daniel had previously stated. Nebuchadnezzar loses his reason.  He begins to think he is an animal; “he was driven from men and ate grass like an oxen; his body wet with the dew of Heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws” (verse 33).  There’s an image for you, just in time for Halloween!  Once again, all of this had been accurately predicted by Daniel’s interpretation of the king’s dream a year earlier.

But the chapter doesn’t end there.  Finally (many believe it was seven years), Nebuchadnezzar’s sanity returns to him, and he gets the point.  In his own words: “I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever.  For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation” (Daniel 4:34).  Nebuchadnezzar is a changed man!  My belief is that this pagan king became a believer through this.  It’s a debate that ultimately only God knows for sure, but I don’t think an unbeliever says, “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of Heaven, all of whose works are truth and his ways justice” (Daniel 4:37).

In conclusion, it was back in October of 2014 when the TV show “The Flash” premiered (I’m not going on a tangent; stay with me).  It features the adventures of Barry Allen alias The Flash.  I enjoyed both that first season, and every year since (they recently completed the seventh season).  In the pilot episode, Oliver Queen A.K.A. Green Arrow counsels Barry with these words: “You can inspire people in a way that I never could.”  Barry’s example has certainly inspired me these years.  But I’m also inspired by the example of another man – Daniel.  Daniel’s loyalty to God, his dedication to speaking the truth no matter how difficult, his prayer life, his integrity, and his virtue inspires me to walk the path of unselfishness and holiness.      

Kevin   

Concluding thoughts on Daniel (part 1)

As you may have noticed from the blog title, after today, I have one more blog on Daniel and his companions.  I have mixed feeling at the realization that we are near the conclusion of these series of blogs.  On the one hand, I’m pleased to finally be done with it.  But on the other hand, it is sad because it’s been motivating to see the life and example of these four boys.

We left off with Daniel and company boldly refusing to eat the improper food the king had provided for them.  They may have been in a pagan country, but they were not going to defile themselves.  Ultimately, after demonstrating that their health wouldn’t suffer, they were able to stick with their menu choice.  Then the text goes on to say this in Daniel 1, verse 18: “Now at the end of the days, when the king had said they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.”

It’s important to remember the overall context.  Daniel 1:5 tells us, “the king appointed for them…three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king.”  They had to be taught the customs, language, and literature of Babylon.  Some may wonder why they didn’t reject these three years of education outright.  Nebuchadnezzar had conquered Daniel and friend’s homeland; they were exiles in a foreign land.  Daniel 1:3-4 makes it clear that they were brought in to the palace for one reason: serve the king.  If they had defied this program, frankly they wouldn’t have lived very long. 

To put it another way: these boys knew it wasn’t an accident or bad luck that they were in Babylon; it was divine providence.  God had placed them right where He wanted them to be.  I’ve been reading Levi Lusko’s book “Through the eyes of a lion”.  I haven’t finished it yet, but what I’ve read (about half the book) I have thoroughly enjoyed.  At one point, Levi writes: 

“If you are reading these words, you have been given a unique powerful, custom-built platform. A voice. As long as there is breath in your lungs, you have a microphone in your hands. There are things God intends for you to accomplish that no one else has been chosen for. Words he wants you to speak.  Actions that speak louder than words.”

That excerpt inspires me.  It’s true for you and me, and it was also true for Daniel. So Daniel and his three cohorts submitted to the three years.  Let’s look at verse 18 again: “Now at the end of the days [the years of training], when the king had said they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.” 

What happened next?  Verse 19 states that there was no one else found that was like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.  In fact, verse 20 says that Nebuchadnezzar found them “ten times better” than everyone else he could have consulted.  Daniel 1:21 – the last verse of the chapter – says, “Thus Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus.”  According to my research, the first year of Cyrus’ reign was nearly six decades later!  I’m sure Daniel envisioned a different future for himself, but he submitted to God’s plan for his life.  I want to follow Daniel’s example and surrender to God’s will and plan for me.

Kevin

"Daniel in the dining room"

Previously, we saw that the world of Daniel and his three friends were turned upside-down; they were taken from their homeland after it was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar. They were subsequently put into an indoctrination process in the country of Babylon, even going so far as to give the boys new names. 

Daniel 1:5 tells us that Nebuchadnezzar assigned a particular diet to consume as well as wine for the boys to drink.  This arrangement didn’t sit right with Daniel.  Verse 8 is a key part of this whole chapter; it reads: “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor drink the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” 

Many years ago, I was in a church service where a guest preacher referred to this part of the text as “Daniel in the dining room.”  I borrowed that phrase for the blog title today.  First off, why did Daniel refuse the king’s food?  While the text doesn’t explicitly state the answer, it is interesting that twice in Daniel 1:8, the word “defile” is given.  Repetition is important in the Bible.  The narrator is trying to emphasize for them to partake in this was a big deal.  For the record, my view is this food and wine had previously been offered to Babylon gods, and so for them to indulge would basically be them endorsing the false gods. 

Daniel drew a line in the sand, and he spoke up.  He speaks to Aspenenaz, the chief of the eunuchs; he requests to not eat the food.  I can imagine Ashpenaz’s jaw practically dropping to the floor like in those old classic cartoons.  I hear him stammering, “You don’t want to eat the food because you don’t want to defile yourself?”  Finally, he composes himself and he responds, “I get that you have a conviction, but if the king sees you and your friends looking frail and weak, he’ll kill me” (that’s my paraphrase of Daniel 1:10). 

Note with me that Daniel could have spoken with anger and rudeness.  But he knew he was representing God, even if he was in a pagan land.  “Please test your servants for ten days,” he says (verse 12).  He makes a request, not a demand, that they only eat vegetables and water.  “Then let our appearance be examined before you…and as you see fit, so deal with your servants” (verse 13).  He spoke with courtesy and respect; what an example for us today in our increasingly unkind world!

I toyed with the idea of ending the blog here to create some dramatic tension, but these thoughts on Daniel have had enough delays already – incidentally, just so you know, I’m thinking there will be one or two more Daniel blogs after this.  But the fact of the matter is we read Daniel 1 with familiarity, yet no one knew what was going to happen at the time.  There had to be some nervous energy.  Finally the big day arrived.  Daniel 1:15 tells us that at the end of those ten days, Daniel and his cohorts looked better than the other youths who ate the king’s food.  So they let them continue on with their vegetables and water diet.

In conclusion, God’s supernatural power is on display in the book of Daniel.  We focus on how God kept the boys safe in the fiery furnace in Daniel 3, and rightly so.  As I said in a previous blog, that’s one of the great scenes of the Bible.  Furthermore, it is right and appropriate for us to focus on God’s supernatural protection of Daniel, in chapter 6, when he spent the night in a den of lions and there wasn’t a scratch on him.  What an incredible account!  But let’s not miss what God did right here in Daniel 1.  One resource puts it well:

“Miraculously, God kept these young men alive, even though they refused to conform to the indoctrination, diet, and religion of Babylon.  Daniel and his companions asked to be fed vegetables rather than the king’s unlawful food, and they were granted their wish on the condition that their health did not suffer.  God made them thrive physically beyond their peers because of their God-honoring obedience (Daniel 1:8-16)” (from https://www.gotquestions.org/Daniel-Belteshazzar.html) 

Kevin 

A solemn anniversary

It didn’t feel right for me to return to Daniel 1 (one day we’ll complete that chapter).  But today I felt it would be negligent of me if didn’t stop and mention the 20-year anniversary of 9/11.  That was such a painful, horrific day.  I vividly remember where I was when I heard the news, and I recall the emotions I felt in the hours and days that followed.

So many families were changed forever two decades ago.  While I didn’t directly lose anyone that day, I have been through instances of unexpected loss.  So I’m able to speak about the grief, pain, and hurt that comes from such a traumatic episode.  Frankly, losing a loved one changes your world forever.

Let me also acknowledge that there may be someone who is in the throes of loss right now.  Maybe not from 9/11, but it’s still sudden and visceral.  Maybe it’s a result of this covid world, or a medical crisis, or perhaps a car wreck.  Whatever the specifics, just know that I pray for you; I pray that you find comfort and solace in the arms of the Lord.

In conclusion, one of the lasting memories for me on 9/11 was when President Bush addressed the nation from the Oval Office that evening.  His words gave me incredible peace and calm.  I’ll never forget how, at one point, he quoted from Psalm 23; “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” 

Kevin

Follow-up remarks

Earlier this month, I reported how I had endured another loss; a friend both of the Bauer family and of my father.  This loss was a painful reminder of mortality.  In that blog, I mentioned how I had heard a sermon from Jonathan Evans where he relayed that the Dallas Cowboys had faced a painful loss; Jerry Brown Jr. had tragically passed away at age 25 from a car accident in 2012.  Jonathan stated that, as chaplain of the Cowboys, he decided to change what he was originally going to share with the team, and he decided to share the gospel instead.  It dawned on me that someone may wonder what “the gospel” even means.  Thus, I began to map out a blog with these questions: 1) What is the gospel?  2) How does one obtain it?  3) What difference does it make?  So that’s where we are going today.

#1: What is the gospel?

The gospel literally means “good news”.  God created us to be in an intimate relationship with Him, but that was wrecked by sin.  We humans are sinners, both by inbred nature, and by personal choice.  Greg Laurie once described sin as missing the mark.  One archer may come closer to the bulls-eye, but we all can’t hit it perfectly.  But Jesus, God in human flesh, lived the perfect life we could never live.  He died a bloody death on a cross as payment for all of humanity’s sin; and then He rose again, unequivocally proving His divinity as God.  Because of Jesus and His death and resurrection, humanity can be restored to a relationship with God.

#2: How does one obtain it?

The truth of the gospel is powerful and profound.  One does not obtain the gospel message through trying harder to be good or practicing works of merit.  No, it’s through simple faith and trust in Jesus.  The Bible says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).  We can have our sins forgiven, washed away, and remembered against us no more.  That really is good news!

#3: What difference does it make?

Someone may be wondering what all of this means for a person today.  Sure, it’s great to have sins forgiven and assurance of Heaven one day, but what about everyday life today?  There are multiple answers that could be given here, but my answer is it makes all the difference in the world, even on a daily basis.

Life can be painful.  We can be thrown curveballs we never thought possible.  For example, as I was preparing this blog today, I was thrown a curveball regarding the health of a loved one.  Health is so fragile.  And I’m learning that it’s worse to see someone you love sick than to actually be sick yourself.  A few hours later, I found myself sitting in an emergency care clinic, waiting on the diagnosis.  That venue is just dreadful because your mind can race with hypothetical situations, the dread of the uncertainty, and wondering what is going to happen next.  In the midst of all this, I had to remind myself, more than once, to practice what my pastor had just presented at church.  He had said, in the midst of the stress, fear, and uncertainty of life, Jesus Christ has this offer:

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29).  

I’m not making myself the hero here, but I can attest to you that there is rest for a weary soul, through Jesus.  This particular health challenge isn’t over, but my point here is simply this: there is nowhere else to go in the midst of the crushing blows of life but to Jesus.  Where else can you go?  Stress eating?  A bottle of alcohol?  Illegitimate sexual encounters?  Pornography?  Drugs?  All of these leave you empty, longing for more.  Nothing else makes sense but running to the God of the universe whose name is Jesus.    

Kevin 

Daniel in Babylon: "Remember who you are"

We’ve seen in the opening verses of Daniel that the Lord allowed Jerusalem to be conquered by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.  Daniel and his three friends – Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah – were specifically mentioned as those chosen to be indoctrinated in the ways of Babylon.  Daniel 1:7 says the boys were given new names.  Daniel was called Belteshazzar; Hananiah was called Shadrach; Mishael was referred to as Meshach; Ahariah was named Abed-Nego.  Why is this important?  Why are we given the detail of a name change?

When I read this verse, my mind goes to a storyline from the TV show “Alias” starring Jennifer Garner as CIA agent Sydney Bristow.  It ran from 2001 to 2006.  I’ve seen every episode; I certainly don’t endorse all that was presented, but I still enjoyed this TV show. The conclusion of season 2 of “Alias” presented arguably the greatest cliffhanger I have ever witnessed.  Sydney has an epic fight; she wins, but she is so exhausted from the struggle that she is rendered unconscious.  When she awakens, things have changed.  The love of her life, Michael Vaughn, had married someone else.  It's Vaughn who drops the bombshell: since that fight, everyone thought she was dead; and also: two years have passed!  

In season 3, we finally learn the truth of what had happened: a dangerous organization known as The Covenant had apparently faked her death.  And then they subsequently attempted to brainwash her that she was actually an assassin named Julia Thorne.  Etched in my memory banks is the ominous declaration The Covenant operative delivers to Sydney: “The sooner you accept that you are no longer who you were, the easier this will be.  Sydney Bristow is gone.” 

While it was much more dramatic in “Alias”, this was essentially what was happening to Daniel and his friends.  Nebuchadnezzar was trying to get them to forget who they were, and the lives they were living.  You see, there is something in a name.  Names matter because they carry identity.  Just as Sydney Bristow’s name carries with it identification to the CIA, so Daniel and his companion’s names carries identification to God. 

By the way, just so I don’t leave you hanging, Sydney Bristow didn’t succumb to The Covenant’s insidious plot.  One memorable scene of this saga is when Sydney, while seeking answers for what happened to her during those two years, actually kills the man who had previously tried to brainwash her.  It was entirely out of self-defense, and when she realized he knew something, she tried to interrogate him.  But, in his last moments, all he sputtered out was, “You were my favorite; you never broke.”  For months, he had tried to condition her, but Sydney always held on to the truth.

Daniel and his friends held on to the truth as well.  We see this right here in Daniel chapter 1.  Where the boys won’t partake of the king’s delicatessens; a stand that makes Ashpenaz, the one they directly answered to, fear for his own life (verse 10).  But I actually want leave that part of the text until next time.  Many other examples can also be cited. 

For instance, in Daniel 3, King Nebuchadnezzar sets up a golden statue and demands that everyone bow down and worship it.  But the boys courageously tell the king that they will not do so.  The furious king orders them to be thrown into a fiery furnace as punishment; in one of the great scenes of the entire Bible, God miraculously spares their lives from that fiery death.  In a public decree, Nebuchadnezzar ends up acknowledging God’s mighty power; “Because,” he concluded, “there is no other God who can deliver like this” (Daniel 3:29).  By Daniel 6, Daniel’s faith in the Lord is so recognized that another king, King Darius, refers to Daniel as the “servant of the living God…whom you serve continually” (verse 20). 

To conclude, I recently heard a sermon by Jonathan Evans, son of Tony Evans.  His words led me to modify what I was originally going to end with today.  He announced that one of his favorite movies is “The Lion King”; a film he called “powerful.”  You know the story: Simba – the main star – was told a damaging lie by Scar, the villain, regarding the death of Mufasa, Simba’s father.  It was so damaging that Simba left his homeland, and he lived without purpose and responsibility for decades.  “He started thinking this is the way of life,” Jonathan continued.  “But then his father came back to remind him… ‘You need to remember who you are.’  And then it reverberates, ‘remember, remember, remember,’ that’s when I got goose bumps.”

In the 1994 version of the movie, Mufasa’s words are potent: “You have forgotten who you are, and so forgotten me…you are more than what you have become.”  And then that line: “Remember who you are.”  Simba does remember who he is; as Jonathan Evans puts it, he remembers he is “a child of the king.”  This inspires Simba to face the pain of his past, and to confront (and ultimately defeat) Scar.  I took this as an encouraging challenge; I am to live in step with my name or identity – a child of God, or better stated: a child of the King.

Kevin

"These days on Earth are short; they are numbered"

I’ve chosen to deviate from Daniel again because I come to you reeling from another loss.  A friend – both of my dad’s and the rest of the Bauer family – passed away last week.  This came as a quite a shock because this individual was younger than my dad.  This loss seemed to reopen the wound of losing my father all over again.  I say this for several reasons, but primarily because the day of his homecoming to Heaven was close to the day Dad passed away 6 years ago.  Needless to say, I have been thrown for a loop emotionally and physically as a result of this news.

Years ago, I heard Rebecca St. James make a statement; I never knew just how right she was until I began walking through my own valley of the shadow of death.  She said, “These days on Earth are short; they are numbered.  Let’s seize the day – let’s be radical for God.”  

One of the gifts I received for my 40th birthday was a collection of sermons by Jonathan Evans – the son of Tony Evans.  I’ve been blessed by the life and ministry of Jonathan.  Here’s a man who dreamed of playing in the NFL, but God had other dreams for him.  He wisely submitted to God’s plan, and the Lord has used him for His glory. 

In one of the sermons, he states how one of the hardest times in his role as chaplain of the Dallas Cowboys was when Jerry Brown Jr. had passed away in a car accident.  What are you supposed to tell a shocked, heartbroken team?  So many players showed up at chapel who had never even been there before, because as Jonathan put it: “When mortality kicks in, there’s nowhere else to go.”  That statement made me think of the words of Peter in John 6.  Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life” (verse 68).  Jonathan went on to share how he changed what he was going to originally going to deliver in that chapel service to a gospel presentation; several gave their lives to Jesus.

To conclude, I know the subject matter of death is uncomfortable.  We don’t like to think about it.  All I’m trying to say is if there are important spiritual decisions to be made, they shouldn’t be put off.  Why not?  Why can’t we just coast?  Because only God knows what tomorrow holds.

Kevin