Tag: daniel

Last week we noted that king Nebuchadnezzar had been given a dream by the Most High, by the God of the Jews, the only true God.  He was quite troubled by this dream.  He didn’t know what it meant.  So, he called his advisors to him, but was unwilling to tell them his dream as a test to see if they truly could interpret his troubling dream.  They couldn’t tell him what his dream was and demanded more time.  This enraged the king and he intended to have all his advisors (which would have included Daniel and his three friends) mercilessly and cruelly killed.  They were all in a very precious position.  The king wasn’t about to give in to his advisors and recount his dream to them.

But what about Daniel?

The first part of his response is found in vv. 12-15:

12 Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. 13 So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. 14 Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. 15 He declared to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. 

The king’s patience had grown thin.  He was now “angry and very furious.”  The word “furious” coming from a root similar to that from which came the Hebrew word for the wrath of Pharaoh (Gen 40:2; 41:10).  But Nebuchadnezzar had rightly judged that his soothsayers, psychics and astrologers were impotent to help him in his need, so he “commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed” (Daniel 2:12).  He had no use for wise men who had no wisdom.

“As was already evident in the scale of the rewards that he promised and the punishment he threatened, Nebuchadnezzar did nothing by halves.  In line with the king’s normal pattern of overreaction—it is tempting to say “overkill”—the decree of death involved far more people than those who had faced the original demand to interpret the dream.  Perhaps he concluded that if the wisdom of his counselors was insufficient for this crisis, what good was it in any situation.  The failure of his diviners to reveal his dream and its meaning thus resulted in a decree of death for all his wise men, including Daniel and his three friends (v. 13)” (Iain Duguid, Daniel in Reformed Expository Commentary, p. 21).

Warren Wiersbe makes the point that in chapter 1 “Satan had lost one battle, but now he would try to pull victory out of defeat by having Daniel and his friends killed.  The Evil One is willing to sacrifice all his false prophets in the city of Babylon if he can destroy four of God’s faithful servants.  Satan’s servants were expendable, but the Lord cares for His people” (The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: Old Testament, p. 1349).  On a deeper level, the king’s decree was an attempt by Satan to rid the world of Daniel.  But Daniel’s life was in God’s hands.

In the midst of his anxiety the King went for the quick fix: kill them all!  If he had thought it through, he may not have included Daniel and his friends.  But he didn’t think it through.  Fortunately, someone else slowed things down and did think things through (Daniel).

So the death warrant was signed and sent out, so that “they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them” (Daniel 2:13).  Why?  Simply because they were a part of this class of advisors for the king.  It was not that Daniel had become a sorcerer, magician, or enchanter (cf. 2:2); such positions would have compromised his devotion to Yahweh.  Nor had Daniel failed the king as the other advisors had.

It is not entirely clear from verse 13 whether the executioners killed the wise men right where they were when found or whether they were being collected for a public execution.  The latter is more likely the case as subsequent scripture reveals that Daniel has the time to ask questions and pray.

Put yourself in Daniel’s shoes for a moment.  After being preserved out of the holocaust of the destruction of Judah and then miraculously protected in the king’s court even though they had not eaten the king’s food, and now they were condemned simply because the king had had a sleepless night and was upset with his counselors!  It seemed proof of the monumental meaninglessness of life!  Yet, in the face of all this, Daniel did not panic.

Although the wise men previously could hardly be accused of discourtesy, there seems to be an additional dignity and calmness in Daniel’s approach to the problem. As Keil expresses it, “Through Daniel’s judicious interview with Arioch, the further execution of the royal edict was interrupted.”

The arresting officers arrived and Daniel replied “with prudence and discretion” (2:14) to Arioch.  “Prudence and discretion,” how these qualities are needed today, especially in the midst of escalating anxiety and anger.  Here again we see an example of Daniel being a “non-anxious presence.”

Daniel’s calmness and courage in the face of acute anxiety show what kind of man he really was.  Remember, crises do not make the man, they reveal the man.  Daniel illustrates how a great man handles a crisis.  Don’t panic.  De-escalate the situation through a calm demeanor and sound reasoning.

I think, first of all, that this means that Daniel didn’t just blurt out the first thing that came to his mind.  He stopped to think.  He remained calm.

Prudence is the virtue of making wise, God-honoring choices and acting in a way that is consistent with the way God has ordered life to be lived.  As Jerry Bridges points out, “Prudence uses all legitimate, biblical means at our disposal to avoid harm to ourselves and others and to bring about what we believe to be the right course of events.”

Jay Wood says that prudence “is the deeply anchored, acquired habit of thinking well in order to live and act well” (“Prudence” in Virtues and Their Vices, p. 37).  What is amazing is that Daniel had this ability as young as he was.  It often takes years to develop such a skill in life.  This is one of the reasons Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs, to “give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth” (Prov. 1:4).

Joseph Pieper, in Four Cardinal Virtues, says that our knowledge transforms into prudent action through three stages: deliberation, judgment, decision (p. 12).  Our prudent actions and decisions depend upon having done the work of deliberation prior to the moment of action.  In other words, think before you speak or act.

The other virtue is discretion, not discernment, but discretion.

Discretion “is “the ability to avoid words, actions, and attitudes which could result in undesirable consequences.”  A person practices discretion by thoughtfully considering the possible consequences before taking any action.  He values silence, both to allow himself to think before he speaks, and then after he has spoken, to allow the hearer to consider his message.  He is cautious and thoughtful, because he knows careless actions often hurt people and damage relationships.  He wants to help others, and he realizes others may be influenced by his choice of activities, music, and entertainment” (https://iblp.org/character/discretion/).

Discretion is a combination of knowing just what to say, when to say it and how to say it.  Again, it is amazing that Daniel possessed this ability while yet a young man.

Carelessness, recklessness, impulsiveness, Irresponsibility, and a lack of concern are all opposites of discretion.  If we possess these diabolical traits, we will fail to see others as important or worth our effort to respond to them in a tactful and healthy relational way.  We will have the world’s mentality of “let it all hang out” or “I just tell it like it is,” which we believe gives us permission to say a careless word, even unintentionally, that causes hurt or to use words and actions to tear others down.

Perhaps the king’s decision in itself did not surprise Daniel, since he surely realized that many of the wise men were charlatans (deceivers).  However, the harshness of the verdict puzzled him. 

It is quite possible that the purge of these imposters had already begun.  While the ESV says in v. 13 that “the wise men were about to be killed,” that it was imminent, the NKJV says “they began killing the wise men.”  Do Daniel’s words to Arioch resolve this when he says, “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon…”?  Maybe they were being assembled for execution, but the executions were not yet in progress.  On the other hand, it may be that he is merely asking that it be stopped at this point.  Regardless, it was a very precarious position Daniel was in.

But he didn’t allow this to push him into an impulsive reaction.

Instead, what Daniel did was ask a question of Arioch, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” (v. 15)  Notice that Daniel begins not with an accusation or demand, but a question.  He didn’t just hear part of the story and then fly off the handle and react.  He asked and then listened so that he could understand the whole picture.  He determined to hear things from Nebuchadnezzar’s point of view (through Arioch).  He curiously inquired about the situation in order to gain more information.

Kent Hughes, in his book Disciplines of a Godly Man, said, “The true test of a man’s spirituality is not his ability to speak, as we are apt to think, but rather his ability to bridle his tongue.”  We should be “quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger” (James 1:19).

Proverbs 18:13 gives us this wise advice: “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.”  In other words, do go off half-cocked, slow down and get the facts before you react.

Too often, we start talking without really knowing what we’re talking about.  “At the most practical level, this describes someone who habitually interrupts.  Interrupters see no real need to let the other person finish.  They aren’t really engaged in a genuine conversation.  They aren’t responding to what you actually said.  Rather, they see the interaction as one more opportunity to air their own opinion” (Tim and Kathy Keller, God’s Wisdom for Navigating Life, p. 188).

Many arguments could be avoided by first asking simple, neutral questions and then listening, really listening to what the other person has to say.

Good listening involves three things, according to Wayne Mack:

1. Letting the other person speak without interruption.

2. Giving the other person your undivided attention.

3. Making sure you really understand what the other person is saying or thinking.

For example, if a husband comes home hours late, his wife might say, “You don’t care about the nice meal I made. You are always late. You always put your work first.” It would be much better first to ask a question, and not a loaded question such as, “Why are you home late again?”

A better question would be, “Is everything OK?” or “were you delayed?”

Neutral, fact-finding questions can help you understand the whole story rather than acting based on assumptions that may turn out to be false.

And Carolyn Mahaney says, “Attentive listening entails an eagerness to hear everything with regard to (another’s) thoughts, feelings, and experiences.  It’s more than just keeping our mouths shut.”  It’s an eagerness to understand the other person.

One thing listening does is that it slows down our response.  We don’t launch into our perspective or our solution right away.  Talking right away really does give us good exercise, for we have a tendency to jump to conclusions, fly off the handle, carry things too far and dodge responsibility for myself.

Daniel and his friends had not been at court when the king asked for the professionals to come and interpret his dream, so he personally applied to the king for a stay of execution, promising something that the court psychics were unable to provide—to tell the king his dream and the interpretation of that dream.

Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king. (Daniel 2:16)

John Walvoord says, “In verse 16, only the briefest summary is offered of what actually transpired.  Undoubtedly, Daniel expressed to Arioch the possibility that he could interpret the dream and secured Arioch’s co-operation in going before the king.  It would hardly have been suitable, especially with the king in the mood he was in, for Daniel to go in to the king unannounced without proper procedure.  Possibly, the king by this time had cooled down a bit.  In any event, Daniel was given his audience in which he asked for time and promised to show the king the interpretation” (John Walvoord, Daniel: The Key to Prophetic Revelation).

In contrast to the other wise men who were so filled with terror that they had no plans and had already been cut off from any additional time, Daniel, who had not been a part of the king’s frustration with his older counselors, was granted his request.  It is possible that his calm demeanor, his courage in speaking forthrightly to the king, and his previous integrity enabled the king to give him favor.

How he gained access is not reported, but the reason for his request is not surprising: “that he might show the interpretation to the king.”  This was an act of faith, for Daniel did not even have knowledge of the dream yet.  Apparently he was very persuasive, because he left the palace alive.  Surely, although Daniel had proven himself “ten times better” (Dan. 1:20) than the other wise men already, it was once again the favor of Yahweh (Dan. 1:9) upon Daniel that made the difference.

So God may have put this thought in the mind of Nebuchadnezzar: “Why kill my four best counselors just because of the incompetence of the others?”

Notice that unlike chapter 1, where Daniel went through the chain of command (being new to Babylon and the king’s court), and he addressed his petition to the chief of the eunuchs, the one directly in command.  Then he didn’t go directly to the king.  But here Daniel goes directly to the king.  He doesn’t back down in fear just because the king’s authority is absolute and his mood is sour.  He approaches the king with God-given courage.  Why?  Because he feared God more than he feared man, even the most powerful, most fearsome man on earth!

Apparently, with the promotion he had received from the king back in chapter 1 had afforded him more opportunities to associate with the king.

Verse 16 says, “Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.”

The first thing that Daniel asked for was time.

Isn’t it interesting that Nebuchadnezzar would not give his professional psychics any more time (v. 8, “you are trying to gain time”), but was willing to give Daniel time (v. 16ff)?  Could he discern a difference in motivation between Daniel and his other advisors?

It definitely shows his high respect for Daniel.  This was a highly unusual move for an imperial king who had just condemned his top brain trust for making the same plea.  But Daniel had God’s favor.

Daniel asked the king for time, for a time when he could return and “show the interpretation to the king.”  So this wasn’t just a stalling tactic. Daniel knew that it would take time to listen to the Lord and to wait upon Him for an answer, and Daniel was willing to take the time if the king would grant it.  Even though God had given Daniel an unbelievable power to understand and interpret dreams and visions, that gift didn’t keep him from praying when the crisis came.

Apparently, Daniel’s request had a ring of confidence, something that was missing entirely from the whining of the professional court psychics.

Gleason Archer reveals:  “The stage was now set to show the reality, wisdom, and power of the one true God—Yahweh—as over against the inarticulate and impotent imaginary gods the magicians worshiped.  It is the same general theme that dominates the remainder of the book and serves to remind the Hebrew nation that despite their own failure, collapse, and banishment into exile, the God of Israel remains as omnipotent as he ever was in the days of Moses and that his covenantal love remains as steadfast toward the seed of Abraham as it ever had been” (“Daniel” in Daniel-Minor Prophets, Vol 7 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, p. 42).

But this is not all that Daniel did, as we will see next week.

Several years ago I preached a Labor Day’s message entitled “How to Work for a Jerk.” I imagine many of us have had to work with someone who is difficult and maybe even disgusting. Maybe they are brilliant, but they don’t know how to communicate well or how to get along with people. If there’s a trail of people who feel demeaned, de-energized, and hurt wherever that person goes, that’s usually an indication that you are working for a jerk.

One person online says, “My boss keeps giving me impossible tasks and then gets upset when I don’t manage to complete them. How do I explain that any engineer in my position would have the same difficulties? Ever felt that way? I imagine that Nebuchadnezzar’s chief advisors felt this way when Nebuchadnezzar demanded not only that they interpret his dream (something they could at least fake their way through), but also to repeat his dream back to him (something he could verify).

1 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. 2 Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.”

So far, so good. This is what they were hired for, what they had trained for. At this point they were expecting that the king would recount his dream to them so that they could interpret it.

Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” (Dan. 2:4)

You tell us the dream and we’ll tell you the interpretation. Deal? That’s the way this works, right?

Nebuchadnezzar couldn’t know for certain that the wise men would give a correct interpretation of his dream. But he could test their ability to tell him what he had dreamed. So, he throws them a curveball, one with enough juice on it to make it impossible to hit.

Notice first that from this veres to the end of chapter 7, the language of the text of Daniel changes from Hebrew to Aramaic. Aramaic is a sister Semitic language that the Jews adopted during the intertestamental period and spoke during the days of Jesus’ incarnation.

Why change to Aramaic here? Because Daniel 2-7 focus on the “times of the Gentiles” and the Gentile world powers that would dominate the middle East for the next several hundred years. Aramaic was the lingua franca of the ancient Near East and it was a fitting vehicle for God to use when speaking to and about the Gentile kingdoms. In fact, the very first words in Aramaic are the words “O King.” When Daniel gets back to Hebrew in chapter 8, he is once again dealing with prophecies that pertain primarily to the Jewish nation and its destiny.

Some have taken this reference to Aramaic and the succeeding text to be communicated in Aramaic as proof that Daniel was actually written in the 2nd century B.C. Critics of the Book of Daniel have alleged that Aramaic was not in use when Daniel is supposed to have lived, in the sixth century B.C., but that there is evidence of its use in the second century B.C., when many of them believe the book was written.

However, Aramaic was spoken even as early as the patriarchs. Jacob was referred to as a “wandering Aramean in Deuteronomy 26:5 and Laban actually uses an Aramaic loan word when he calls a pile of stones “Jegar Sahadutha” (יְגַ֖ר שָׂהֲדוּתָ֑א) erected as a memorial of the covenant between him and Jacob, while Jacob called it “Galeed” (Hebrew for the same thing). So the presence of Aramaic here does not demand that these events took place in the second century B.C. but rather in the sixth century B.C.

Now these professionals ask Nebuchadnezzar for the details of the dream so that they can provide an “interpretation” that would satisfy him. It may be mumbo jumbo, but this is what they made their living doing, just like psychics do today.
But Nebuchadnezzar was too clever to fall for their tricks. So he says…

“The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation” (Daniel 2:5-6).

I don’t think that Nebuchadnezzar had forgotten his dream, but rather that he wanted to test these psychic experts to see if they could really do what they claimed to be able to do! They claimed to be able to do the impossible, so Nebuchadnezzar wants them to PROVE IT!

Such a capricious action on the part of a monarch is in keeping with his character and position. It may have been a snap decision arising from the emotion of the moment, or it may have been the result of frustration with these men over a long period.
The punishment for failure seems very severe (being “torn limb from limb”), but this is consistent with a method of execution used by ancient eastern monarchs. Gleason Archer described one method of dismemberment: four trees were bent inwards and tied together at the top. The victim was tied to these four trees with a rope at each limb. Then the top rope was cut and the body snapped into four pieces.

This punishment for failure was no idol threat, as proven by Nebuchadnezzar’s harsh treatment of King Zedekiah (2 Kings 25:7), two Jewish rebels named Ahab and Zedekiah (not King Zedekiah Jere. 29:22), and Daniel’s three friends in Daniel 3.
Not only would these men suffer physical harm and death, but their homes would “be laid in ruins,” thus affecting their families’ ability to survive.

It is as if Nebuchadnezzar suspected all along the emptiness of the diviner’s ability to foretell the future and was determined to put them to the test.

On the other hand, if they could succeed in interpreting the dream, he would reward them with “gifts and rewards and great honor,” which Nebuchadnezzar eventually does to Daniel.

So he made a further demand in vv. 7-11.

The Babylonian experts were now shaking in their boots. They knew they couldn’t interpret a dream that Nebuchadnezzar was unwilling to report to them. They were diviners, not prophets. They retort, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation” (Dan. 2:7). Their slim hope was that Nebuchadnezzar would change his mind and now disclose his dream. They felt like they were calling his bluff.

But Nebuchadnezzar seemed to see through their ruse. The truth was surfacing that they were all bogus. Though they were the best the world had to offer, they couldn’t do the job that needed to be done.

It is possible that he had long suspected their fraud and now he saw the opportunity to put them to the test.

The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm–if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation” (Daniel 2:8-9).

We can’t help but notice that Nebuchadnezzar here expresses little faith in his own system. While he may have had suspicions that these men were imposters, it didn’t really both him until it affect his own future and peace of mind.

Nebuchadnezzar seems about to purge his kingdom of the whole lot of these magicians who, in reality, were absolutely useless to him. Talk about high anxiety!
He sees them as trying to buy time (“gain time,” v. 8). He also accused them of agreeing to “speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change.” In the context of this chapter (cf. 2:21), he seems to be implying, “until the regime changes and I’m no more.” Nebuchadnezzar’s accusation implies that he did remember the main facts of the dream sufficiently to detect any invented interpretation which the wise men might offer.

So he reinforces that he means for them to “tell me the dream” so that he will be assured that they can give a correct interpretation.

They immediately declare the impossibility of Nebuchadnezzar’s demand. In view of Nebuchadnezzar’s troubled spirit (vv. 1, 3), warnings of destruction (v. 5, 9a), and accusations of flattery (v. 9b), the wise men declared the impossibility of what he demanded.

The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” (Daniel 2:10-11).

Note the comprehensive phrases: “There is not a man on earth,” “no great and powerful king has asked such a thing,” of “. . . any magician or enchanter or Chaldean” (v. 10). “C’mon man, you’re expectations are out of this world.”

The Chaldeans proceeded to explain, with abundant flattery, that what the king requested was humanly impossible. No one could tell what the king what he had dreamed. Only a god could do that. Furthermore, no king had ever asked his counselors to do something like this before! The strategy of the wise men was to convince the king that he was being unreasonable, not that they were proven incompetent.

Well, how do you think that went over?

Did Nebuchadnezzar himself think such a request was unreasonable? Perhaps his previous encounter with Daniel, who had “understanding in all visions and dreams” (1:17), and who along with his three friends was “better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all [the] kingdom” (v. 20), had given Nebuchadnezzar unrealistic expectations of his own band of astrologers and magicians.

Only the immortal gods, they say, could provide this information, and the implication was that these men could not get that information from the gods. Yet normally this is precisely what they claimed to be able to provide: supernatural information.

Their confession sets the stage for Daniel’s ability to do precisely what they said no person could do, because only the God of Israel can predict the future (Isaiah 41:21-23). Here is the uniqueness of the God of the Bible, who is both able and willing to reveal His plans and purposes to mankind. And this forms the polemic in the book of Isaiah for why the God of Israel is superior to any idols: they cannot predict the future.

They were partially accurate that “no one on earth” could reveal and interpret the king’s dream; however Daniel, who was on earth, had connections with the real and true God of heaven who could interpret it.

Ironically, the ideas of the gods dwelling with man was not conceivable in Babylonian “theology,” but from the beginning of the Hebrew Scriptures, Yahweh was a God who did dwell with his people. He was in the garden of Eden with Adam and Eve (Gen. 2:15-25; 3:8), his glory filled the tabernacle the Israelites carried to the Promised Land (Exod. 40:34-38), and he indwelled the temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 8:1-11). Israel’s God is not only the high and holy God whose glory fills the heavens, but also the God who dwells with those of a humble and contrite spirit (Isa. 57:15). The story of the world’s true Lord is that of a God who dwells with flesh. And, in the outworking of God’s redemptive plan, one day the Word himself would not only dwell with flesh but become flesh (John 1:14).

“By issuing this impossible challenge, the king was unconsciously following the plan of God and opening the way for Daniel to do what the counselors could not do” (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: Old Testament, p. 1349).

Nebuchadnezzar was a smart man, smarter than some of our contemporaries who are fooled by psychics and astrologers, palm readers and tarot cards and seances.
Hitler and Germany were lured by evil spirits into occult practices. Before they were through, they had devasted Europe, destroyed Germany, and left the world prey to the evils that now beset it. Whatever “gods” exist, above, and beyond horoscopes and Ouija boards and incantations of black magic, they are dark, satanic “gods.”

Graham Scroggie writes: “Daniel 2:10 shows in one single sentence that all of the astrology and necromancy and oracles and dreams and mantic revelations of the whole pagan world for six thousand years are nothing but imbecilities and lies, and it proves that all the religions and arts and sciences and philosophies and attainments and powers of men apart from God-inspired prophets and an all-glorious Christ are nothing but emptiness and vanity as regards any true and adequate knowledge of the purpose and will of God” (Daniel: A Detailed Explanation of the Book).

Notice that the Chaldeans acknowledge the existence of such “gods” (v. 11), but here they confess that they were far beyond their beck and call.

Verses 12—16 then gives the king’s decree.

12 Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. 13 So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. 14 Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. 15 He declared to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. 16 And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.

The king’s patience had grown thin. He was now “angry and very furious.” He rightly judged that his soothsayers, psychics and astrologers were impotent to help him in his need, so he “commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed” (Daniel 2:12). He had no use for wise men who had no wisdom.

“As was already evident in the scale of the rewards that he promised and the punishment he threatened, Nebuchadnezzar did nothing by halves. In line with the king’s normal pattern of overreaction—it is tempting to say “overkill”—the decree of death involved far more people than those who had faced the original demand to interpret the dream. Perhaps he concluded that if the wisdom of his counselors was insufficient for this crisis, what good was it in any situation The failure of his diviners to reveal his dream and its meaning thus resulted in a decree of death for all his wise men, including Daniel and his three friends (v. 13)” (Iain Duguid, Daniel in Reformed Expository Commentary, p. 21).

Warren Wiersbe makes the point that in chapter 1 “Satan had lost one battle, but now he would try to pull victory out of defeat by having Daniel and his friends killed. The Evil One is willing to sacrifice all his false prophets in the city of Babylon if he can destroy four of God’s faithful servants. Satan’s servants were expendable, but the Lord cares for His people” (The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: Old Testament, p. 1349). On a deeper level, the king’s decree was an attempt by Satan to rid the world of Daniel. But Daniel’s life was in God’s hands.

In the midst of his anxiety the King went for the quick fix: kill them all! If he had thought it through, he may not have included Daniel and his friends. But he didn’t think it through. Fortunately, someone else slowed things down and did think things through (Daniel).

So the death warrant was signed and sent out, so that “they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them” (Daniel 2:13). Why? Simply because they were a part of this class of advisors for the king. This was a reverse “class action lawsuit” where one person was bringng charges against a group for failure to provide services expected. Realize that it was not that Daniel had become a sorcerer, magician, or enchanter (cf. 2:2); such positions would have compromised his devotion to Yahweh. Nor had Daniel failed the king as the other advisors had. But he was simply automatically grouped in which all the others. The king was upset with all of his advisors.

What would Daniel be able to do in such a circumstance?

Daniel had resolved not to defile himself with the king’s food and wine. But taking a stand is just one part of dealing with difficult temptations that involve others and their expectations. One must not only take a stand, but do so in a calm and courteous way. God is concerned not only that we do what is right, but that we do it the right way.

As we noticed last time, Daniel “asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself” (Dan. 1:8) and while the chief of the eunuchs was favorably disposed towards Daniel, he feared that this would show badly on him if these young men failed the test, in this case a physical health test based on their menu.

So what Daniel does is to offer an alternative, a test, another way, but a different way, to accomplish the same desired results.

11 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.”

Notice that in this case Daniel goes down the chain of command. He isn’t speaking to King Nebuchadnezzar, nor Ashpenaz, the chief of the eunuchs, but to the steward “whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over” them.

“Let us try another diet and see if we do not look as healthy (or even healthier) than the others,” says Daniel. Daniel didn’t go along with the crowd. He didn’t bow to the pressure of the herd. Instead, he boldly suggested another way to accomplish the very same purpose, a way that would allow him to remain ritually pure.
He saw another way (another alternative option) that would not only fulfill God’s will but it would also prove that the God of the Jews was better. Daniel put his own life on the line believing that God would protect him for doing what was right.

It is clear from v. 12 and following that all four of the young men were in this together (“Test your servants”). Daniel, however, appears to have been the leader among them as well as the spokesman to the authorities. Yet the decision was a mutual one made by all four young men

It is likely that Daniel did not want the credit for their appearance to go to this pagan king and his training process. He wanted God to receive the glory. So he proposed a way that would both please the Lord through his obedience and also glorify God by showing what God could do.

Why do I say that?

Believe me, this decision to stand against what the king was suggesting was an act of defiance against the god Marduk. Marduk was suddenly being challenged by Yahweh (through his representatives) right there in his very own city. By narrating the fact that Daniel and his friends prefer a different diet, the author establishes a base of operation for Yahweh within Marduk’s god-space.

The battle will culminate, in vv. 17-20, with Nebuchadnezzar’s examination and affirmation of the superiority of Yahweh’s representatives. Not only are these three representatives of Yahweh wiser and superior to all the other young men, but also to Nebuchadnezzar’s own counselors! The lesson is that if Yahweh can invade Marduk’s own “god space” and show himself superior there, he can certainly protect his people who have to live out the days of their exile in the land of Marduk or wherever they are.

Their decision to be obedient to God paves the way for a long life of faithful service to God even in enemy territory. All of that could have been far too easily sabotaged by giving in at this one “small” compromise. But they stood their ground in a seemingly insignificant situation, which I believe enabled them to stand their ground in much larger issues in their lives later on. We all have temptations to compromise. That’s why, like Daniel, we need purpose and resolution because if we compromise now, we’ll regret it later.

Now, the word translated “vegetables” is from the Hebrew word zērōaʿ, which has the basic idea of that which grows from “seed” (zeraʿ). This would include not only vegetables but fruits, grains, and bread made from grains (so Goldingay, 6). This would have been quite a healthy diet. The test, then, was simple: if after ten days the Hebrew youths looked fine, they could be allowed to continue the alternative diet.

Verse 14 says, “So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days.”

Again, that this steward “listened to them” and didn’t just dismiss them out-of-hand shows that God was working on their hearts to give Daniel favor.

“The vegetarian diet that Daniel proposed was probably not confined to one single item but included a variety of lentils, beans, seeds, and other similar food—spartan fare, indeed, but probably much more healthful than the rich, spiced concoctions, saturated with fats and spices, that the others were offered” (John Phillips, Exploring the Book of Daniel, p. 40).

Daniel’s personal choice of holiness had a powerful influence on three areas of his person (1:15-17, 20). First, Daniel’s body “looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food” (v. 15).

15 At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food. 16 So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.

Okay, you do realize. don’t you, that people normally go on salad and vegetable diets to lose weight, not gain it. Right? These were the guys who skipped the meat and deserts…and they gain weight. Obviously God was in this! Also, for this to happen in the space of just ten days is quite amazing. I mean, who has seen such drastic results from any diet in ten days? Anyone?

As Amir Tsarfati says, “When we determine to do what is right, the Lord will be there with us 100 percent of the time. He won’t just be watching us from a distance, rooting for us and hoping it all turns out okay. He will be intimately and intricately involved” (Discovering Daniel, p. 34).

This was a spiritual contest. Daniel had invited this comparison and God made sure that whether the comparison was done qualitatively or quantitatively then the Children of God still came out shining. And look at the use of the word all. Daniel and his friends were not ‘on average’ better than the others. Every one of Daniel and his friends were better than every one of the others.

Second, his spirit was in tune with God, who gave him a special ability to understand visions and interpret dreams of all kinds (v. 17).

17 As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams

Between verses 16 and 17 three years have now passed. The Lord had given all four Hebrew youths knowledge and skill in learning and wisdom. To Daniel alone, the Lord also gave the gift of understanding in all visions and dreams.

Here were men whom God could trust with learning. They soaked up knowledge with ease and used it for good purposes, for God’s glory, rather than their own.

When Daniel protested, he protested as a participant within the system, rather than an outside observer. This allowed him to be more sympathetic with those he served. We will see that in his relationship with Nebuchadnezzar and Darius in the following chapters.

Notice that these gifts came from God: “God gave them learning and skill…” Of course, this doesn’t mean that the young men didn’t study and apply themselves to learning, but behind and above it all, it was a gift of God to them.

God enjoys rewarding his children for their obedience. In 1 Sam. 2:30 we are told, “those who honor Me, I will honor” (NASB). How and when God chooses to honor his children, however, is his prerogative. Sometimes it may not be until glory.

Paul Tanner notes that these steps all contributed to the good results that we now see in their lives. First, they, likely from their upbringing back home in Jerusalem, knew what God desired of them. They had memorized the Torah. Second, that process of meditation helped them develop an inner conviction to obey. Third, whether planned ahead of time or given in the moment by the Holy Spirit, they had a wise implementation, wise in the way that they communicated. Fourth, they endured in their obedience and submission. The outcome: God blessed them and distinguished them.

The Babylonians could change everything—his diet, his location, his education, his language, even his name—but they couldn’t change his heart. Why? Because his heart was engaged with God’s Word.

Also, realize that visions and dreams were one of the ways that God communicated back then. Today we have the finished canon of Scripture from which to determine God’s will (Heb. 1:1-2).

We also see the academic abilities in verse 20.

“In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom” (v. 20).

Third, their political position was elevated. It soon became evident that these four young men outranked all of the others and, of those four, one was without peer. The king asked this one, young Belteshazzar, questions that stumped even the members of his own court who were themselves famous in both the colleges and the court. Daniel outshone them all. He was “ten times better” than they. “None was found like Daniel…”

Fourth, we see the personal continuation of Daniel’s ministry. Others came and went, whether wise men or kings, but Daniel continued “until the first year of king Cyrus” (v. 21). He was there at the beginning and the end of the seventy-year captivity. “We see him [then] standing in the shadows as that small band of pioneers set out for the Promised Land, an old man, his finger pointing to Jeremiah’s scroll and his hand raised in thanksgiving and prayer” (John Phillips, Exploring the Book of Daniel, p. 41).

Note: This verse does not say that Daniel died in the first year of king Cyrus. Daniel 10:1 records a vision given to him in the 3rd year of king Cyrus. The purpose of Daniel’s statement about King Cyrus is to show that Daniel’s career spanned into the period of the Persian domination of Babylon.

Daniel does not reveal much about his relationship with Cyrus; however, Cyrus proclaimed the emancipation of the Jews recorded in Ezra 1:1-4 and 2 Chronicles 36:22-23. Daniel may have given Cyrus the prophecy of Jeremiah that was fulfilled in 536 B.C., the first year of Cyrus, for him to read for himself.

Application

It is unlikely any of us with face a life-and-death decision over an issue of obedience. But we do face situations every day when we have a choice to say yes to God or yes to ourselves. Some of these may be big decisions, but most will be small. In those lesser times, the enemy may whisper in our ear as he did to Eve, “It’s really no big deal. Just this one time.”

Every decision as to whether we sin or not is a big one, because every sin is big. Not only does it separate us from our closeness with God, but it has a cumulative effect. Jesus told His disciples, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much” (Luke 16:10). I have seen far too many Christians shipwreck their faith after giving in to little sinful compromises.

Peace comes from knowing you are right with God. Hope comes from holding on to the promises the Lord gives to us when we are right with Him. Daniel experienced a bounty of spiritual blessings because of his faithfulness.

I read about a 400-year-old redwood that suddenly and without warning toppled to the forest floor. What caused the death of such a majestic giant? Was it fire? Lightning? A strong wind? A post-mortem examination revealed a startling cause. Tiny beetles had crawled under the bark and literally eaten the fibers away from the inside. Although it looked healthy on the outside, on the inside it was virtually hollow and one day finally collapsed.

The same thing happens when we refuse to stand our ground for Christ. Every time we compromise something bad happens in our soul. Eventually all those little decisions add up and we become hollow on the inside even though we may look great on the outside.

Devotion to God is something that even a teenager can experience, yet it is something that all of us have to maintain and nourish (regardless of our age or maturity). Devotion to God develops in proportion to the degree that we are “God-centered” in our lives. It is futile for us to expect that devotion and obedience will take place in our lives apart from being “God-centered.” Listen to the advice of Jerry Bridges:

The practice of godliness is an exercise or discipline that focuses upon God. From this Godward attitude arises the character and conduct that we usually think of as godliness. So often we try to develop Christian character and conduct without taking the time to develop God-centered devotion. We try to please God without taking the time to walk with him and develop a relationship with him. This is impossible to do.

As Bridges wisely advises, we must take the time to develop a relationship with the living God. Otherwise, devotion and obedience will never really develop in our lives. What are you doing to develop a God-centered devotion? Are you taking regular time to be alone with God? Are you communing with him in prayer and actively studying his Word?

It is sometimes easy to excuse ourselves in our thought life and actions because of the world we live in. If we are not careful, we begin to define our standards in relation to the world rather than in relation to God himself. We can be lulled into thinking that as long as our standard is just a little bit better than the world’s, we may think we are pleasing God (cf. Titus 2:11–13).

Look what God did for this courageous teenager:
• God protected Daniel (when he proposed the test)
• God prospered Daniel (during the test and afterward)
• God promoted Daniel (in the eyes of the King)

I cannot read this story without thinking of the words of God to Eli in 1 Samuel 2:30b, “Those who honor me I will honor.”

In 1873, P.P. Bliss wrote a gospel song about this story that became very popular but has in our day become virtually unknown. It is called “Dare to be a Daniel.” Likely you sang part of it in Sunday School or Vacation Bible School.

Standing by a purpose true,
Heeding God’s command,
Honor them, the faithful few!
All hail to Daniel’s band!
Many mighty men are lost
Daring not to stand,
Who for God had been a host
By joining Daniel’s band.
Many giants, great and tall
Stalking through the land,
Headlong to the earth would fall,
If met by Daniel’s band.
Hold the gospel banner high!
On to victory grand!
Satan and his hosts defy,
And shout for Daniel’s band.
Refrain:
Dare to be a Daniel,
Dare to stand alone!
Dare to have a purpose firm!
Dare to make it known.