Over the last few weeks I've been taking the youth through the story of Daniel... backwards. We've started in chapter 6, with Daniel taking a stand that ends him up in King Darius's iconic den of lions. We also discussed the 3 Hebrew children and Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace (ch. 3), Belshazzar's debaucherous party with the hand literally writing on the wall (ch. 5), and Nebuchadnezzar's own personal testimony of a dream God uses to warn him he's going to lose his mind if he doesn't repent (ch. 4). That leaves us now with only two other chapters in the history portion of Daniel.
This coming Sunday, we're talking about Daniel's first stand. It's a boring one, as we'll see in a bit. And it's one that doesn't seem to make a big difference, not even spiritually. But the thing is, this is a big deal; and it's the reason I have been going backwards through the book. I want the students to understand that his first stand is what allowed God to work through him and his friends so powerfully and publically.
His first stand was simple. If you don't already know, in chapter one of this book, Daniel and his three Hebrew friends decide to remain true to their commitment to kosher food. Nothing more and nothing less. Really... it's not a big deal, and probably one that wouldn't even really be noticed. Maybe it was a hard decision to make simply because the alternative was truly the best steaks and meat entrees available anywhere in the entire known world up to this point. These guys were being "force fed" the best that Babylon had to offer. Honestly... that would be a hard decision for me to make. :)
But Daniel and his three friends chose to stick with the commitment that their parents had made for them back before they had been taken away from their homeland and families. You could argue it was just a symbol, but truly they were choosing to remain obedient to the Most High God. God's purpose for this kosher food system was to keep them from being just like everyone else. So many times in our lives we're worried about being mainstream. Even when we choose to be different, we're often not choosing to be different but instead just choosing to be like a crowd that's distinct from our first group. Read that last sentence again.
God wanted his people to be different, to be peculiar. Daniel and his three friends chose God's way and what did it get them? It got them a small amount of infamy with the guard and the others in charge. But they stuck with it and asked the guard to test them and see if their "different" diet would really be worse for them as he thought. After the test, it was proven that they looked better, not worse.
So what's the big deal anyway? They made a little choice. No flames, no lions, no disembodied hand writing on a wall, no king going insane--actually no miracle at all.
I believe this was a Godly setup. God set up his kids and gave them an opportunity for huge success, but that setup started with this simple, boring story. Without this stand, Daniel and the other 3 would have been seen as no different from the others court magicians and dream interpreters; they can do a nice party trick, but really nothing more than that. But BECAUSE of this stand, God proves them to be different not just on the surface, but deeper, where it counts. This stand makes them well known; it gives them the type of notoriety we are so often scared of. But this very thing God uses as a platform for His glory!
And God wants US to be different on the deeper level, too. So many times, we're looking for something showy, something flashy, but He's waiting for us to be "faithful with little," with the boring things of life. And when we prove through our faithful obedience that we are truly His, He is ready to do amazing things through us. I'm tired of boring life, aren't you?!?
Lord, we have heard of Your fame.
We stand in awe of Your deeds, O God!
Repeat them NOW, God.
In OUR time, make them known.
Though we deserve Your wrath, give us mercy.
Habakkuk 3:2
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