DANIEL’S CAPTIVITY
Paul W Burton
Daniel 1: 1, 2, 8-16; 3: 1, 8-18, 24-27; 6: 4-11, 16-22
I
think the exercises of Daniel and his companions have a certain counterpart to
the exercises of Ruth that we considered earlier. Ruth was helped, through the sovereign work of God, to turn her
back on her own country and the circumstances in which she was brought up and
commit herself fully to the people of God, finding her inheritance in another
sphere where the blessings of God were to be found. I trust there might be some stimulation in your heart to do the
same - to move from the circumstances in which naturally you live your life to
find your place in the area where God has purposed you for His blessing.
Daniel was
brought up in the sphere of God’s purpose. He was an Israelite and lived his
early years in the land of promise. I
think we could say from the exercises that are brought out in this book that
Daniel valued his inheritance and that he loved the land. In the governmental ways of God, Daniel had
to move from that land, where I am sure he would have wished to live his life,
into another land altogether. He went
into captivity. In that sense, his experience was the opposite toconverse of
Ruth’s. I think both experiences are
something the believer knows. I trust
you might come to enjoy, value and appreciate the wonderful richness of the
blessings that God has in His heart for you, and the realm in which those blessings are
found. Then you find that you have to
go back into this world where Christ is not, into a sphere that is alien to the
believer and completely different to that which you have enjoyed of heavenly
things. It is part of the ways of God
and His wisdom enters into it. I cannot
exactly explain why God should do that but we are to accept it. There is a sense in which we are in
captivity. If you go to school, or if
you go out to work, the time which you spend there is not exactly time you can
spend doing what you want to do, even if what you want to do would be profitable
with respect to the Lord’s things. If
you are at your employment it would not be right to sit at your desk all day
reading your Bible, even though it might do you a lot of good in your soul. You have to do what somebody else asks you
to do, as long as that does not impinge on your conscience before God. There is a certain amount of restriction in
it and sometimes it might seem quite irksome.
Sometimes you might feel really on fire for the Lord and you would
really like to pursue His things and Monday morning comes and you have to take
up something else. If you carry your
exercises before God it will not be to your spiritual detriment, and from the
examples of scripture there is something very distinctive that God uses through
the experience of captivity. If you look at the captives of scripture you get
remarkable things coming out of such persons.
You get remarkable things coming out of Daniel not only from the
practical matters of life that he faced, of which we have read, but also in
what God revealed to him. There is a
striking correspondence between that which Daniel wrote of and that which John
wrote in the Revelation, and perhaps it should be no surprise to us that John
was in captive circumstances as well.
There seems to be certain things that God does through captives, those
who accept the position of restriction, that is distinctive. So do not be discouraged by things that seem
to take a lot of time and from which there does not always seem to be much
profit, because if you go through those experiences with God He will bring out
something distinctive through them.
Daniel
was taken out of one sphere and put into a completely different sphere which
would not have been of his choosing.
One of the first points with Daniel is that he accepted the ways of God
in discipline. He did not fight against
it; he did not get despondent and down-hearted about it. He felt very deeply what God had had to
bring upon His people but it did not cast him down;, he
accepted it. He lived his life in this
foreign land in a very profitable way.
My exercise in reading of Daniel is to raise with us the exercise of how
we are to be kept in a foreign land, in a place of captivity. That is the anomaly of the believer, our
life is not here; it is somewhere else and everything connected with what is
real and attractive to the believer is not here;, yet we
have to live here. It is a scene that
would cast many things in the way of the believer to seek to divert him. You might ask, how then is a believer to be
kept in this sphere? How was Daniel
kept? If we look at Daniel’s history he started off in this book as a young man
and he lived right through the captivity without, as far as scripture records,
ever going back to his land. For Oover seventy
years Daniel lived in a completely foreign sphere without ever losing the true
value of his inheritance or of his link with God. He faithfully served those under whom he was put in God’s
governmental ways and yet never lost sight of the pre-eminence of the claims of
God. I think this is an exercise that
many of us would feel: how can you go through life here with its pressures and
difficulties, maintaining a righteous and faithful walk with a good testimony,
yet holding to the supremacy of the claims of God despite all that Satan would
subtly put in front of you?
I
would like to reiterate something that we covered in the reading. One thing that I think is essential is that
we have some impression of the pre-eminence of Christ. What does the Lord Jesus mean to you? It is
a very simple thing; it is something perhaps we often ask in the gospel. I think we need to go on asking it;,
what does Christ mean to me? Is He pre-eminent? I think it is important we come
to some definite point, the earlier in our lives the better, when we
acknowledge that Christ is everything.
You might have aspirations in regard to what you want to do for a
career, or for a husband or wife, or many other things but if, in the ways and
the will of God, those things were never given to you, would you be happy? Is Christ enough for you? The reason I press this is because when
tests and disappointments come and things become very contrary in our
circumstances naturally, if Christ is everything to you, it will keep and hold
you. I think many of us know what it is
to drift at times; we may not always be kept in the living gain of our
appreciation of the Lord Jesus but I do believe if you have come to some
distinct appreciation in your soul of His pre-eminence it will preserve you. I think something of the exceeding
preciousness of God’s thoughts in relation to the land and Jerusalem must have
been deeply engrained on Daniel’s heart and soul thatwhich kept and
sustained him through the years of captivity.
On
being carried away into captivity, Daniel must have soberly considered what his
life would be and the experiences through which he might have to pass. He seems to come quickly to the conclusion
that, if he was to be preserved, as belonging to the people of God, and not
become integrated into the Babylonish kingdom, he must keep himself from the
things that would pollute him. He
“purposed in his heart that he would not pollute himself with the king’s
delicate food”. It was a deliberate
decision that Daniel made. He accepted
the governmental ways of God, he accepted his place in captivity, but he did not
accept that he had to act like those around him, andor take part in,
all the things that theythose
around him did. He had the knowledge of better things and he would
not pollute himself. You might say it
was a small thing, the king’s delicate food was not a thing of gross evil, as
some of the things they had to face later were, but Daniel’s purposing in his
heart with his companions preserved them, enabling them to stand faithful when
the tests got greater when the enemy came in and tried to break down their
faithfulness to God. I think what
greatly helped them was that at the outset they would not compromise in regard
to the things that this world would offer.
I would simply say to each one to purpose in your heart not to pollute
yourself with the things of this world that will be to the detriment of your
enjoyment of the spiritual and heavenly things, that may lead you to go against
the injunctions and exhortations of scripture or may lead to coldness in your
affection for Christ. It may not be a
big thing but be assured that that one not very big thing will lead to another
not very big thing and so pollution will get in. Pollution spreads, and before you know it things have become
contaminated well outside the area where the pollution first came. That is like the body and life of the
believer;,
the world’s things can enter in and contaminate. Daniel said, in our language, 'Christ is pre-eminent, nothing must take
anything away from my link with Him and the things that I enjoy in His love'.
The
next test we read of comes in chapter 3 in regard to the image of gold that
Nebuchadnezzar had set up with the instruction that all were to fall down and
worship it. You might say that is obviously quite wrong, not something we would
do and perhaps you think it does not really affect us very much in this
country. In some areas of the world
these things do still literally happen and perhaps you think that no one is
telling you to bow down before an image, but I think this image of gold
would speak of the greatness, pride and achievements of man and his world. I suppose Nebuchadnezzar may have got the
idea of his image from the previous chapter when Daniel had explained his dream
to him when he saw a great image, “This image’s head was of fine gold” (Dan 2:
32), and Daniel had said to Nebuchadnezzar “thou art this head of gold”, Dan
2:v
38. I suppose Nebuchadnezzar had
thought, 'Tthat
is very good, I will set up an image like that and all can worship it'. We live in a
day that is marked by man’s pride in his achievements. You can look at the world, its
entertainment, its religion, its technology and science, and how proud man is
of it. He would bow down to this
knowledge and greatness to the point that man claims to be utterly independent
of God. Man and man’s world would replace every thought of God with this golden
image. Whatever it is that you might
have an interest in, whether it is in science, technology or sport or whatever,
the pressure is to fall down before the pinnacle of man’s achievements,
independent of God. Of course man does
not often stop to think that in all his achievements and his civilisation, the
things that blight man’s world are not diminishing. The prisons are not getting any less full, wars, strifes, famines
and disasters are no different despite man’s advancement in knowledge and
technology. It is very seductive, and you might be very impressed by man’s
technology. We may have to use it as
part of our responsibilities in this world, but do you bow down to it? I think that these things, which are part of
this world, can very quickly become a large part of our life and it can draw
you away, if you allow it, from the things of our Lord Jesus and from the
preciousness of your link with Him. I
contrast the simplicity of Christianity with the complicated nature of man’s
world. Your link with God through Christ in the power of the Spirit is a
profound yet simple matter. The life of
a believer as lived to God, a life of piety and dependence upon God to provide
your needs day by day is a very simple but precious thing and is in sharp
contrast to the complexity of this world and its system. Is there not something very attractive in
stepping aside from all the confusion, complications and inconsistencies of
this world and enjoy your link with Christ in a sphere of things that will
never fail. I would desire that the
pre-eminence of Christ in our heart may preserve and keep us from being drawn
into the things of this world and its system that men bow down to.
It
was a considerable test to the faith of these men, but how beautiful is their
answer. Nebuchadnezzar says, you are going to be thrown into the fiery furnace,
and these men reply,
“If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning
fiery furnace” - maybe they had read Isaiah’s prophecy, “When thou passest
through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not
overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned”,
Isa 43: 2. They laid hold of the
promise of God. They come into Hebrews
11, not mentioned by name, but witnesses of those who could go through these
things in the strength of their faith in God.
Do you have that absolute confidence and faith that God will see you
through? You do not have to compromise
with this world; you do not have to rely on the world and its
organisations. Men would say, 'iIf you join with
us we will look after you and fight for your job for you'. God will take care of us and He can preserve
your job if it is His will, but it is not for us to dictate what He will
do. I can seek to walk in faith and
dependence upon God but I cannot demand that God preserves me from certain
things that may come upon me in this world; but we do know that God will be
with us through the circumstances heHe passes us through. These men in Daniel say, “But if not, be it
known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods”. Prove that faith,
that link with God, through the pressures of life here, not just as a theory,
but something that you prove day by day with God. If we try to avoid the
testings and sufferings, and sometimes we do, we will lose out because we will
not prove the reality of what faith in God can do. How often we turn to God as
a last resort - He should be the first and only resort for the believer.
I
have often wondered where Daniel was in chapter 3. I am sure he did not fall down before the image, but he is not
mentioned there. Daniel has his own
test in chapter 6. Here the enemy has
another try. Daniel is no longer a
young man here;,
he was probably in his eighties by the time we come to chapter 6.;
hHe is an older
man now - but still faithful. Think of
the faithfulness of a man that had remained all these years, yet still the
enemy tries to find a chink in Daniel’s armour and interrupt his link with
God. That is what the enemy is doing,
seeing if he can find one chink, something that would lead you one step away
from dependence on God. You might think
we do not have many lions’ dens these days, but we have, “a roaring lion” who
“walks about seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5: 8); that is a
reality. Thank God for the power that
shuts the lion’s mouth for those that depend upon Him. Paul proved that, “I was delivered out of
the lion’s mouth”, 2 Tim 4: 17. It is
very real; not just a Bible story we like to read as a child. Daniel’s God is
our God, His power and willingness to shut the lion’s mouth is still
there. The Lord said of his own, “I
send you as sheep in the midst of wolves” (Matt 10: 16), you may say, w'Was that the
wisest thing to do?'. You may not think the sheep would spend very
long alive in the midst of wolves, but the Lord says, “As to those whom thou
hast given me, I have not lost one of them”, John 18: 9. Do you have trust in the Shepherd care of
the Lord Jesus that sends you into an environment where, according to human
wisdom and resources, you cannot possibly survive? Daniel’s test was dependence on God. It is very subtle, it says,
“whosoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days, except of
thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions”. Would not the enemy have suggested to Daniel
that it would be worth compromising just for thirty days - 'iIt would not stop
you praying Daniel;
just do not be seen to be doing it for thirty days and everything will be
fine. You have your place in the
kingdom, the respect that you have amongst men, you should not throw all that
away'. Sometimes the enemy would speak like
that. Paul was willing to be a fool for
Christ’s sake. It is right that we
should seek to have a good testimony amongst men in as far as it is possible,
but not to the detriment of the claims of God upon us.
How
well these men knew Daniel! They knew
that in his faithfulness he would not stop praying, which is why they devised
this decree. That is a remarkable
testimony of Daniel. So, he goes very
deliberately, with that same purpose of heart, as soon as he knew the decree
was signed. It says, “he went into his
house; and, his windows being open in his upper chamber toward Jerusalem, he
kneeled on his knees three times a day, and prayed and gave thanks before his
God, as he did aforetime”. Such a man
is owning that his link with, and dependence on, God comes before everything
else. There is no other claim that can
ever be greater or have priority over your link with God. Daniel “kneeled on his knees three times a
day”. If we can assume that he started
this custom as soon as he came into captivity, and I think from his history we
can suppose that he did, then Daniel would have prayed towards Jerusalem in
excess of seventy four thousand times.
What faithfulness, what committal, what desire he had, and here he is,
some sixty eight years into his captivity living in a foreign land, with his
desire and feelings for what related to the purpose of God unchanged and
undiminished. Daniel stood apart, not
polluted, not diverted, not having lost his link with God, his outlook still
towards Jerusalem. Do you still have
that desire, that longing, that motivation for the things of God? In Philippians 3 Paul bursts out, “to know
him, and the power of his resurrection”, v 10.
Do you know him well enough yet?
Paul would know the Lord Jesus far better than I do, I am assured of
that. Paul was in prison, coming
towards the end of his life, a life spent serving the Lord, yet the burning
focus of his life was not to be released, but “to know him” - a desire undimmed
by the trials and the sufferings that he had been through. Is that what you
think about when you get up in the morning - is it “to know him”? Think of the experiences of the day through
which you pass, troubling maybe, difficult sometimes, joyous other times, but
through it all can you say: 'I have known Him a little better'? Have you gone through those circumstances
with the Lord Jesus,
just as the divine presence was known by those three men in the furnace?. Daniel knelt and prayed. If there is one thing that will keep us in
this world, in an environment that is hostile and completely alien to the
believer, it is prayer.
I
will quote again what we had in the reading but as it is rendered in the
Authorised Version, “exhorted all with purpose of heart to cleave to the Lord”,
Acts 11: 23. That verse encapsulates
the committal of Daniel and Ruth.
May
it be so for His Name’s sake.
London
18th September 2010