Daniel 1-3
Devotion by John Tullis (Ohio)
Part of walking with God involves making choices. Sometimes, these choices are very hard when you must decide between what you know is right and what is comfortable or easy. Often, through the power of His Holy Spirit, we often know what we need to do to please God (John 16:13). However, we live in a world that is against everything that God desires for His people (1 John 2:15-16). How do we continue to please God in compromising situations that challenge our devotion to our Father in heaven?
Often the land of the Bible found itself in conflict. When Daniel was a young man, Judah, the southern kingdom of the Hebrew people, was struggling under the leadership of King Jehoiakim. Judah had denied God and allowed foreign nations to pollute their devotion to God. Judah began to welcome idol worship (false gods) and began to lose faith and obedience to God. As punishment, God allowed the kingdom of Babylon to destroy Judah and enslave the people. The Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar believed in integrating conquered nations into the Babylonian empire. He ordered that some of the more cultured Judean youths be captured and moved to his own palace in the city of Babylon. There they would be assimilated into Babylonian culture. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, all of the tribe of Judah (Daniel 1:6).
Daniel and his friends were boys who dared to worship and follow God despite the culture they lived in. Even before they were captured by the Babylonians, Daniel and his friends resisted the cultural changes and influence of the Judean culture. Instead of bowing to foreign gods and worshipping idols, they chose to submit and follow the one true God. When their kingdom was punished and destroyed and they found themselves being hauled off to Babylon, they relied on the God who had always sustained them (Psalm 55:22).
In order to begin assimilating the captured youths into Babylonian society, Daniel and his friends were ordered to eat the king’s food and drink his wine (Daniel 1:5). Many times in the ancient world, the food that a king ate was food that had been offered to pagan gods. These foods would violate God’s law (Lev 1:1). Daniel resolved (“purposed in his heart” – Proverbs 4:23) that he would not compromise his devotion to God. As a result, God ensured that Daniel would receive favorable treatment among the heathen leaders of Babylon.
Daniel and his friends grew in influence, knowledge, and even physical fitness. They had clearly become the favorites of Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 1:20). God had recognized their faithfulness and their obedience to His word. He blessed them with learning and skill in literature and wisdom (1:17). Instead of bending their beliefs to impress their new masters, Daniel and his friends continued to remain devoted and obedient to God.
Daniel’s friends (now renamed Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednago) would once again be thrown into a situation in which they were forced to choose to obey God or Nebuchadnezzar. Challenged to bow down and worship a golden image of Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel’s friends choose to obey God (Daniel 3:17-18). They understand that this choice could result in their deaths, but they had resolved long before to honor God – no matter what the cost. As they were thrown into the fiery furnace, God demonstrated his faithfulness as no one was consumed by the flame. In fact, in the midst of the struggle, God sent His angel to walk with them – inside the flames (Daniel 3:25-27). We are never truly alone. Amid our own “fiery furnace”, God faithfully cares for us.
As Daniel teaches us, obeying God and being devoted to Him is much easier when we decide in advance to obey Him. As Daniel resolved to follow God, we too should resolve to follow God whenever compromising situations come along. It is not easy to remain faithful to God in every situation. Jesus promised to give us a “Helper” to help us live lives of devotion to God (John 15:26; 16:7). Through the power of the Holy Spirit, which is given to each of us who believe, God will help us to overcome sticky situations. It may not “feel” good at the time, but ultimately God will walk with us because of our obedience. Just as he walked with and helped Daniel, God will walk with and strengthen you. Resolve in your own heart to follow God today!
Questions for Discussion:
- Have you “resolved” in your own heart to follow God in every situation?
- Who is the Helper promised by Jesus? Do you rely on God’s power to sustain you during sticky situations?
- Besides rewarding Daniel for his faithfulness, what other motives would God have to reward those who are faithful?
Seek Grow Love 