Resistance in Exile

Or 'The Victory of Vegetarianism'

Daniel 1

Big Idea: train yourself in godliness by resisting the world and depending on God

Introduction

In the second half of the twentieth century two important books were written that tried to predict the future of our culture, particularly with respect to technology and the media. They talked about what mass communication and technology might do to us as people. The first book was George Orwell's 1984 and the second was Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. The scary thing is that both were written long before the Internet, Mobile Telephones, Digital High-definition Plasma Televisions and iPods.

Orwell envisaged an oppressive and aggressive "Big Brother" using the media against their wills to deprive people of their autonomy, their history, their privacy and individuality. In contrast, Huxley pictured humanity passively drowning itself in a sea of irrelevance, completely self-absorbed in meaningless pleasure.

So last Thursday night, as my entire extended family gathered to watch the Finale of Australia's Biggest Loser, I realised that Huxley was right and Orwell was wrong [1] . Immersed in 21^st century culture, we cannot get enough of Television that shows us other very ordinary people either loosing weight or having plastic surgery or even just living in a big house with a bunch of even more ordinary people—a show, strangely enough, called Big Brother. It seems that our problem is not so much with our bodies but it is our minds and souls that are flabby and overburdened with petty pleasures.Put simply, we are amusing ourselves to death and no one really cares. We live in a culture that proclaims pleasure, leisure and our appearance is god. At least, that's what I started to think last Thursday nightduring Australia's Biggest Loser.

I want to illustrate my point by making three observations about our society: (i) the predominant use of the internet is not the sharing of useful information but the sharing of trivia; or worse still, the sharing of pornography; (ii) so-called 'recreational' drug use is becoming widely acceptable [2] , especially with people under the age of 25—we seek chemical help to numb our reality or to 'have fun' that we cannot generate ourselves,... just because we can [3] ; and, (iii) mobile phone sales have reached the point of 100% market saturation for people aged 14-55, and the primary driver for new development is now as a conduit for entertainment [4] .

Forgive me if I sound a bit too 'gloom and doom' but my simple observation is that we live in a time and place that is dangerous for our souls: we are amusing ourselves into oblivion.

Today we begin a new sermon series on the book of Daniel, a book that every Sunday School graduate knows so well. It's the book of great adventure stories—Daniel in the Lion's den, the fiery furnace, the spooky hand writing on the wall, and lots mystical monsters in dreams. As Australian adults in the 21^st century we might well ask what any of this has to do with our lives today. We'd like to know if this part of God's revelation has anything to say to the way we live here and now, to what we do, and to our daily struggles.

Well the reason we've chosen to look into the book of Daniel for the next nine weeks is that it speaks directly into our situation, perhaps with more relevance than we'd ever imagined. The world that Daniel lives in is very similar to our own. You see, both Daniel's world and our world are persuasively anti-God. They are places that are caustic to faith. Both he and we face the challenge to ignore God and fit in with the way that the rich and powerful are living. Or alternatively, to just surrender ourselves to meaningless indulgences that distract us from God altogether. And yet, in both Daniel's world and ours, God is working his purposes out in ways far greater and more glorious than we'd ever imagined. And what I think we'll find as we engage God in the book of Daniel, is that we'll come to the startling awareness that he is using us, even us, to bring these purposes to fruition.

Setting

To see how all this happens, let's turn straight to Daniel chapter 1 where we're dropped right into the middle of Daniel's world. Have a look at verses 1-2 as I read them out.

^{Dan. 1:1} In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ² And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god.

The action begins in the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah: the year 605bc [5] . The great Nebuchadnezzar lays siege to Jerusalem and then God hands his own king over to the Babylonians, along with some booty from the Temple.

Notice the beginning of verse 2: 'The Lord delivered Jehoiakim into his hand'. The Lord is the one who surrenders Israel's king and the temple articles to be carried off to Babylonia.

We might well ask, What on earth is going on? What's God doing? It looks like he's been defeated and robbed by the gods of the Babylonians. Has he given up on Israel and changed to Nebuchadnezzar's side?

And notice where they have been taken. They are carried off to temple of Nebuchadnezzar's god on the plains of Shinar [6] , exactly the same location where the Tower of Babel was built back in Genesis 11 [7] . It looks like the humans who attempted to build their way to heaven back in Genesis 11 have finally triumphed over the God and taken his chosen people into captivity [8] . So what on earth is going on here?

To start to answer some of these questions, we need to see where Daniel fits into the whole Bible. You see, the Bible shows us that all of history is undergirded by the purposes of God. Life is not just a series of random events. The past, the present and the future are shaped by God's plan for saving a people for himself. And like Daniel, your past, your present and your future are shaped by God's plans. The problem at the beginning of the book of Daniel is that God's people being carried off into exile as the prisoners of a pagan king seems like a significant detour in God's plan.

What is God's plan? Back in Genesis he promised Abraham that he would make of him a nation of people, who would have their own land, and live under God's rule or government. And through Abraham's offspring every nation of the world would be blessed. Through the 12 sons of Abraham's grandson Jacob, or Israel as God renamed him, we see that nation begin to grow, even though they are slaves in Egypt. Eventually Moses leads this fledgling nation out of Egypt into their promised land. And after a few false starts, King David leads God's people, now living in God's land, to start to live under God's rule.

But it's not long before David's successors lead the people astray worshipping other gods, living corruptly, ignoring God's ways and the warnings he sent through his prophets. Eventually God decides that he will take away Israel's land and their freedom. In the years leading up Jehoikim's capture, the prophet Ezekiel makes it clear that Israel's exile in Babylon will be punishment for their sins as well as the means of purifying Israel from its unfaithfulness so that they will be loyal to God (see Ezek 39:21-29). The exile will not be permanent. This diagram may help.

When God hands the king of Israel and the temple articles over to Nebuchadnezzar who carries them off into exile, God is doing exactly as he said he would [9] .

So that's Daniel's situation. This is a book about what do you do when your world is trashed; when God seems to be out of control, when he appears to have abandoned his good purposes for your life. Of course that is not the case, but I'm sure that's how Daniel would have felt. This is a book for exiles like you and me in these days between Jesus' first and second coming. Daniel shows us how to understand our exile in an anti-God culture and to still thrive, confident in the purposes of God.

The Babylonian Plan: assimilation

And so in verse 3 and following, Daniel is caught up in a very difficult situation. Nebuchadnezzar's plan is to assimilate Israel into his ways, his world culture and religion. His plan is to obliterate any memory or knowledge of God and his ways. Look at verse 3 with me:

^{Dan. 1:3} Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility  ⁴ young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.  ⁵ The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service.

^{Dan. 1:6} Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.  ⁷ The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.

So Babylon already owned their bodies, now they wanted their minds and souls as well. Daniel and his friends were being trained in the ways of the Babylonians; where Marduke and Baal were chiefs among many gods. Nebuchadnezzar wanted them to dress like Babylonians, to eat like Babylonians, to think like Babylonians to feel like Babyloniansand behave like Babylonians. I imagine he thought, "If I get them while they're young they'll willingly serve me forever."

Notice that part of this process of assimilation involves being identified with new names, Babylonian names. Of course, in those times a person's name was more than just a label; it formed a unique part of their identity, their character. Daniel's new name was to be, Belteshazzar, which means 'Prince of Baal'.  His assimilation into a culture in direct opposition to God was to be complete.

And yet, already we know that Nebuchadnezzar's plan will fail. We remember, history remembers, this man not as Belteshazzar but as Daniel, which means 'God is my Judge.' Daniel will live his life before God alone, not caring for anyone else's opinion or judgment of him: God is his Judge.

So already we are given a clue as to how to live well in our culture. Our lives are played out before an audience of one: God is our Judge. Not the public opinion polls, not the town gossip, not your boss, the club president or your best friend: we are accountable to God alone for the way we live in these days. He is our Judge. His opinion of you and your actions is the only one that ultimately matters.

Daniel's resolution: resistance in exile

So how will Daniel maintain his purity and his connection with God over and against Nebuchadnezzar's plan of indoctrination and assimilation? The answer is Vegetables. At least, that's what it looks like at first glance. Follow along as I read again from verse 8:

^{Dan. 1:8} But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.  ⁹ Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel,  ¹⁰ but the official told Daniel,  "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you."

^{Dan. 1:11} Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah,  ¹²  "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink.  ¹³ Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see."  ¹⁴ So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.

In a world that is fights against true faith in God, Daniel resolves to eat vegetables. It seems a fairly arbitrary line of resistance to establish, doesn't it? But remember that Daniel and his friends are effectively prisoners of war being re-programmed and groomed for Nebuchadnezzar's purposes. They have no real choices, few options, and very few freedoms. Like political prisoners in our times, the food they are given is one of the few avenues of protest available to them. So Daniel and his friends make a resolution to reject the Babylonian lifestyle and mindset in a way that would remind them of God's ownership of them.

The key word here is in v8: 'defile'. Why the vegetarian's diet? Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine [10] . Daniel wanted to remain devoted to God. The opposite action of defile is to purify or make holy. His commitment was to purity before God because holiness matters. And wherever you are in this world the same is true: if you are a member of God's kingdom, your personal holiness matters.

So even though the finest delicacies in the land were provided from the King's table, Daniel trained his appetite to please God; to show himself devoted to him.

Similarly in our situation, we need to train our appetites to show our devotion to God. I don't mean our culinary preferences, I mean training the appetites of our mind and soul. Just consider what you feed your minds in an average day. How much television do you watch compared to how much time spent feeding your mind with God-focussed input? No really, do the sums. Do you watch the news, maybe some sport, perhaps another couple of shows? Is that 1 hour, 2 hours or more per day? And per week? Compare that number with how long you spend reading God's word, Christian books, and in fellowship with other Christians in a Home Group or at church?

Now you judge for yourself: are you happy with that comparison? Are you training your mind in the ways of the Babylonians without any reference to God, or are you ensuring that, like Daniel, you are not defiling yourself?

That's just a quantitative measure—hour for hour. What about the quality of what you feed your mind? What kind of things are you feeding your mind from the television? What about the content of your Internet browser? If you feed Babylon-food into your mind that fills your heart, shapes your consciousness and eventually comes back out in the way you live. Good stuff 'in' means good stuff 'out'; garbage 'in' means garbage 'out'.

So the vegetables were all about Daniel drawing a line of resistance early, where it was easier to do so, rather than later when it would be much harder. Daniel was nailing his colours to the mast he belonged to God and not to Nebuchadnezzar. In the same way, drawing a line in sand a long way from sin might be helpful for us because the closer we are to real temptation and the real possibility of sin, the harder it is to obey.

But beware of Pharisee's mistake artificial barriers that become a 'law' by which we judge others and look down upon them.

God's sovereign rule in Exile

As we think about Daniel drawing lines of resistance against an anti-God world, we see that he trusts that God reigns supreme, even in exile. Daniel's vegetarian defiance was an expression of dependence on God. Have a look with me at verse 15 and following:

^{Dan. 1:15} At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.  ¹⁶ So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

^{Dan. 1:17} To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

Do you see how Daniel's vegetarian trial was also an expression of dependence on God? There would have to be a Divine intervention for the trial to have worked. The miracle was that Daniel and his friends actually got fatter on the vegies than on the King's fare [11] . That's what the original language says: they were fatter [12] , more plump, than the others and they looked better for it.

The trial was an expression of dependence on God. The outcome was completely God's in domain. Yes, Daniel and his mates had to eat the vegetables, but whether this expression of devotion to God would amount to anything was all up to God. Daniel was openly placing himself and his reputation under the sovereign power of God.Would you do that? Do you do that?

Do you think that Daniel was blackmailing God? 'God, you make me fat on vegetables or else!?' I don't think so, God is never put on trial in this way in the book of Daniel [13] . Instead Daniel wants to demonstrate that, even though he is subject to the Babylonian King, he is also the subject to a far greater King, the God of Heaven and Earth. And it is to this King that he trusts himself completely.

God's sovereign rule in Exile now

Now all along I've been suggesting that we live in a similar situation to Daniel and that there are lessons to be learned.

This is the kind exile in which we live: in the time between the first and second coming of Jesus. It sure would have been nice if, once we were saved, God just helicoptered us our of here straight to heaven. But that is not his purpose. Jesus said as much in his prayer in John 17. He prayed to his Father:

^{John 17:15} My prayer is not that you take [my disciples] out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of it ^18. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

Do you see God's purpose? Just as Jesus was not of the world but sent to the world, so are we. Our purpose in this time and place is to carry on the mission of Jesus. He has sent us here it is in that sense that we are in exile. We live within a foreign society while our first and greatest loyalty is to another king, the Great King, the Lord of Heaven and Earth.

Our difficulty is that the values and culture of this world are caustic; they are a danger and a threat to our faith. We know that our citizenship is in heaven and yet we are tempted to try to fit in here; to try to impress and pander to the Babylonians. So what does Daniel teach us to do?

We train ourselves in godliness by withstanding the world and depending on God. We will need to draw lines of resistance, standards that we will not compromise. But then we go further to positively shape our character by God's word: his ways become our ways. Daniel shows us that Holiness is not an occasional hobby but a daily habit of the heart. We will do well to follow his example.