Living in Babylon

Daniel 6:1-28 “The Three Tests”

Philip Paul Bliss was born in 1838. He became a Christian as a 12-year-old boy during a revival near his home in Pennsylvania. After working on a farm as a boy, he became a schoolteacher. He loved to sing, but had received no formal training. Philip and his wife, Lucy, moved to Chicago, where his singing soon brought him to the attention of D. L. Moody. Moody encouraged him to give up secular work for a full-time ministry of gospel music. After much hesitation, Bliss agreed that this was God's plan for his life.  By 1876, aged 38, he had become probably the second most influential song writer of his day. He wrote a song to help teach his students the book of Daniel. Some of you may have learned it as a child:

"Dare to be a Daniel,
Dare to stand alone!
Dare to have a purpose firm!
And dare to make it known!"

The people who first heard the story of Daniel in the lion’s den were captives in Babylon or were facing one of the other challenges that followed their return to Judah. Life was difficult. The enemies were big. The fields had been fallow for 70 plus years. There were a lot of questions about how they could trust God – after all he had sent them into foreign exile for all those years. And the message of the book of Daniel is a response to these doubts and to these difficult times. And yet we could be living in Babylon today.

 I read a story recently about a pastor who preached a sermon on honesty one Sunday morning. The next day he took the bus to get to his office. After he paid the fare, he realized that the bus driver had given him back way too much change. During the rest of the journey, the pastor rationalized how God had provided him with some extra money he needed for the week. But he just could not live with himself, and before he got off the bus he said to the driver, “You have made a mistake. You’ve given me too much change.” And he proceeded to give back the extra money. The driver smiled and said, “That was no mistake. I was at your church yesterday and heard you preach on honesty. So I decided to put you to a test this morning!”

 This evening I want us to look at three tests which God gave Daniel - just in case he plans to try them out on you or me tomorrow.  These tests all came before Daniel was thrown to the lions. Raised as a child on stories like this, it took me a long while to realise that what happened in the lion’s den was not the point of the story. The outcome was almost inconsequential. Daniel would not have actred differently before hand. He would not have trusted in God less had he not survived. What mattered happened beforehand. The outcome of his encounter with the lions was in some sense determined by his encounter with the serpent.

 Three Tests:

 1. The Integrity Test (Daniel 6:3-4)

2. The Priority Test (Daniel 6:10)

3. The Dependency Test (Daniel 6:11)

 1. The Integrity Test (Daniel 6:3-4)
“Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so.” (Daniel 6:3-4)

We all desperately need models of integrity worthy of our imitation. But let’s face it. Models of integrity are hard to find these days. God knew that, and so he has given us a model of integrity worthy of our imitation in the life of Daniel. Pay special attention to the phrase “his exceptional qualities.” The word translated “exceptional” means “pre-eminent, superior, or superb.” It was because of Daniel’s exceptional qualities that the king was planning to promote him.

In verse 4 we learn that the king’s planned promotion of Daniel had caused the envy of his peers. So they plotted against him: “At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him. . . .”

You might think at first that Daniel’s exceptional qualities at work and his upcoming promotion would have brought praise from his peers. But this was not the case. Instead they made every attempt to get rid of him—and they almost succeeded. The satraps tried first to oust Daniel from office by accusing him “in his conduct of government affairs.” They did everything they could to find fault with Daniel’s job performance. But “they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him.” They were unable to find one single ground of accusation. There was not one shred of evidence of corruption.

How would you like to come under that kind of scrutiny? How would you like to have your public life and personal world come under that microscope? If for some reason, serious questions arose about your character and you began to be ruthlessly investigated, how would you hold up? Would that make you nervous? Is there anything you need to burn, hide or destroy? Are there any papers that need to be shredded? How would you do if you were to undergo an audit from the Inland Revenue?

A test of your personal integrity is how you handle yourself at work. The interesting thing in our text is that Daniel is like most of you in that his calling in life was not to be a pastor.

He did not spend his days in what is commonly called “the ministry.” Instead, he was a spiritual man who did his work for God and in the presence of God. Daniel did not fall into the trap of dividing his life into the secular and the sacred. Instead he had learned to see and live out all of his life in the presence of God. Theologians call this “Coram Deo,” which is a Latin phrase that means “before the face of God.” So when he did his work, he did it as an offering to God. His work was always done for the King above the king. That was why his opponents found no corruption in him.

Let me warn you here: When you learn to see your life and your work as “Coram Deo,” and you start taking a strong stand for personal integrity at work, you may be faced with trouble from your fellow workers, if they are dishonest and lazy. They will be very troubled if you are not like them. And because you will not be like they are, you will find that they will become envious and jealous and maybe even plot against you.

Are you trustworthy? Can people count on you to do what you say? Can people count on you to get the job done? At the end of the day, you who work outside of the home—how will your 8 hours have been spent as you work shoulder to shoulder with people in your office? Can you be counted on to do your best to see that the job you have been given gets done, and gets done properly? Or do you just squeeze by, barely covering yourself by last-ditch and half-way measures?

Trustworthy in your work—whatever it is—is not a small thing with God. It’s part of what it means to be a Christ follower. Daniel was the kind of man who remained faithful even when he was opposed. He had integrity and he was trustworthy even when continuing to be so was very difficult.

In verses 5-9 we find that because his peers could not find any flaw in his character or job performance, they devised a devious plan to trap him. They got the king to agree to sign an edict that for the next thirty days everyone had to pray to the king. For whatever reason, Darius agreed to the edict.

So what happened? They found Daniel praying, not to the king, but to his God—just as they expected. They went to the king and got him to agree that he could not have his law repealed. Then they told him about Daniel. Unable to save Daniel, the king reluctantly ordered that he be thrown into the lions’ den.

Daniel remained faithful to the very end—in the face of the most unfavourable circumstances. He had integrity and he was trustworthy. That is why he was thrown into the lions’ den.

There is a very important lesson here: As you seek to be a faithful man or woman, you will seldom get what you deserve from people. That applies both to criticism and to honour.

When you are genuinely deserving of honour, you will seldom get it. So don’t expect it. When the recognition you deserve doesn’t come, when the criticism you don’t deserve hurts, when the opposition, slander and gossip mounts, take it as a compliment and keep your integrity. How did Daniel keep his integrity and remain trustworthy?

Because he had already passed the second test.

2. The Priority Test (6:10)
“Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. (Daniel 6:10)

When Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Don’t miss this last phrase at the end of verse 10: “just as he had done before.” Daniel was not the kind of person that turned to prayer only in a time of panic. Instead he prayed consistently, three times a day, to God.

Daniel hears about this new less than half-baked rule– and what does he do? File a constitutional challenge? Appeal to the king? Set-up a Hebrew protest to march thru the streets demonstrating against the injustice of it all? Does he take out a newspaper ad? Does he set-up a petition drive. No, he goes home and quietly ignores the rule. No grandstanding. No speeches. He just prays according to the pattern he had adopted –three times a day – facing Jerusalem.

Why Jerusalem? It was the site of the temple – where God had made his presence known in a special way. Why three times a day? That was simply his practice – as it was, and is, of many Jews. Psalm 55:17 – “Morning, noon, and night I plead aloud in my distress, and the LORD hears my voice.”

The point being that Daniel didn’t try to hide his prayers (the window was wide open) but neither did he try to make a big deal out of it. He just went on with his spiritual disciplines – much to the delight of his enemies.

How is your time in prayer? What does it take to get you on your knees? A tragedy? A real crisis? Daniel had been praying as a habit of life. Please don’t tell me that you are too busy! Daniel was one of the top government officials of his entire nation. Somehow the priority of prayer was so important that he always made it a point to carve out the necessary time from his daily schedule to come before God in prayer—pouring out all his fears and worries and praise to God.  How are you doing in your devotional life?

 Are your spiritual priorities where they ought to be? Maybe its time to re-read the Purpose Driven Life again.  Daniel didn’t change his behaviour for anyone. He wasn’t intimidated by these threats. He remained faithful to his priorities. God came first what ever the consequences.

How did Daniel maintain his integrity? Because he had already passed the second test. He kept his priorities. He had developed spiritual disciples that fuelled his integrity. How did He keep to his priorities? Because he had already passed the third and most fundamental test of all.

 3. The Dependency Test (Daniel 6:11)

“Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help.” (Daniel 6:11).

 Here is the secret to why he had passed the previous two tests. He was strong in public because he was dependent in private. He kept to his spiritual disciplines because he had cultivated a relationship of dependency. He was asking God for help. For strength not to fail Him. For wisdom to glorify him. I doubt very much that Daniel was asking for the very thing that God gave him. Perhaps he prayed the way Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39).

 Do you pray this kind of dependency prayer? Trusting God knows. Trusting God knows best. Trusting God to glorify himself through what ever happens to you? God calls all of us to a life of integrity, to a life of priority and above all to a life of dependency. Dependency on Him.

 Ted W. Engstrom, in his book Integrity, has this anonymous quotation in his book:

When wealth is lost, nothing is lost;
When health is lost, something is lost;
When character is lost, all is lost.

Daniel lost all that he had in terms of personal wealth and freedom, but he never lost his integrity. Daniel didn’t know what he would experience in the lions’ den but he knew that God would be with him and he put his trust in God.

You do not know what you will experience in the lion’s den tomorrow but you can know that God will be with you. What matters more is that you pass these three tests today.

The integrity test, the priority test and the dependency test.

A grandfather was out walking with his grandson one day. “How far do you think we are from home?” he asked the grandson. The boy said, “Grandpa, I don’t know.”  The grandfather asked, “Well, where are you?” Again the boy said, “I don’t know.” Then the grandfather chuckled and said, “Sounds to me as if you are lost.” The young boy looked up at his grandfather and said, “I can’t be lost, I’m with you.”

 Ultimately that is the answer to all that worries or threatens us too. We are never lost; we are always safe—safe in the truest sense of the word when we are with God. That is the message of Daniel 6.The life of Daniel is really a model and an example of how God’s people can live in difficult conditions and come through victoriously. Even as the Jewish people were living in Babylonian captivity, so Christians today are pilgrims and sojourners in a foreign culture. We, like Daniel, must exercise our faith in God’s purposes and leading for our lives. We too must resolve in advance that we will not be defiled by the world. And whether our God delivers us or not from the lions’ den, we will remain faithful to him.

Dare to be a Daniel;
dare to stand alone!
Dare to have a purpose firm!
Dare to make it known.

Philip Bliss wrote the song in 1876 aged 38. On Friday, November 24, 1876, he sang at a ministers' meeting conducted by D. L. Moody in Chicago's Farwell Hall. Over 1,000 preachers were present. A favorite song that was sung, was Are Your Windows Open Toward Jerusalem Also, he introduced to the gathering a new song that he had just written the music for ... It is Well with My Soul. The words were written by Horatio G. Spafford. Three years earlier Spafford had sent his wife and children to Europe on their way to start a new mission in Palestine, promising to meet them in France. The ship sank and their four children were drowned. Spafford wrote the verses in mid-Atlantic on his way over to join his bereaved wife. The founded the Spafford home for children in Jerusalem. He asked Philip his friend Bliss to write the music for his verses.

On December 29 of that same year Bliss and his wife were taking the Pacific Express from New York to Chicago. In a blinding snowstorm, the train crossed a bridge near Ashtabula, Ohio. The bridge gave way, dragging the passenger cars into the ravine below. Bliss survived but a fire broke out. Fanned by gale like winds, the wooden coaches were ablaze. Bliss managed to crawl to safety through a window. Finding his wife was still trapped under the ironwork of the seats, he returned to the car, and remained at her side, trying to help her until the flames took their toll. No trace of their bodies was ever discovered. When his luggage was recovered, they found in his trunk that he had been working on new hymn. It was unfinished but the opening line was this. "I know not what awaits me; God kindly veils my eyes." More than 12,000 people attended the memorial service led by D.L. Moody, held for them in Chicago. Sometimes God rescues his Daniels by taking them home, and sometimes returning us to continue serving Him on earth. 

Dare to be a Daniel;
dare to stand alone!
Dare to have a purpose firm!
Dare to make it known.

May God help each one of us to dare to be a Daniel this week.

 

 

With grateful thanks to Freddy Fritz and Bradley Boydston for their inspiring sermons which I have made use of accessible from www.sermoncentral.com and also for the information on Philip Bliss found on www.wholesomewords.org/biography/biobliss.html