"Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness" (Ezek. 14:14). These three men are given as examples of righteousness. In this article, let's consider the righteousness of Daniel.
Like Noah, Daniel was a righteous man living in a hostile environment. Babylon was a pagan city full of idolatry and immorality and Daniel was forced to live there after being torn from his home in Jerusalem (Dan. 1:1-6). Again, this must have been quite a burden.
But at least Daniel had other Jews around him who feared God. We read of such friends as Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, better known as Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego. When Daniel desperately needed an interpretation to the king's dream, he turned to his three godly friends "that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret" (Dan. 2:17-18).
Of course, Daniel is well-known by Bible students for a number of reasons. There is the story of the handwriting on the wall as recorded in Daniel 5, and of course there is the story of the den of lions in the sixth chapter. Even though the world was against him, Daniel never backed down.
In the end, His zeal for God was exemplified before several Babylonian and Persian kings: Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius and Cyrus, and perhaps others. King Nebuchadnezzar was a self-righteous idol-worshipper before Daniel came...but through Daniel, God humbled Nebuchadnezzar to the point that he learned to praise God (Dan. 4:34-37). Darius, likewise, was greatly impacted by Daniel's faith (Dan. 6:26-27).
Daniel is so impressive because as a young man, he surely was confronted with all sorts of "youthful lusts" in the Sin City of his day. And yet he refused to conform (Rom. 12:1-2). He was in the belly of the beast, so to speak, but not once did he falter. We would all do well to learn a lesson from Daniel, especially our young people. You CAN overcome the world! "Flee also youthful lusts" (2 Tim. 2:22).
But it wasn't easy for Daniel, and it won't be easy for us. Like Daniel, we must be people of constant prayer (Dan. 6:10) who regularly assemble with others of like precious faith (Dan. 2:17-18; Heb. 10:24-25). We cannot win the war fighting solo. We must, like Daniel, avail ourselves to the many tools and aids that God has prepared for us. Only then will we win the fight.
Thank you, Daniel, for your wonderful example.
And thank you, God, for ensuring that Daniel's story was recorded and preserved in Your holy word.
Like Noah, Daniel was a righteous man living in a hostile environment. Babylon was a pagan city full of idolatry and immorality and Daniel was forced to live there after being torn from his home in Jerusalem (Dan. 1:1-6). Again, this must have been quite a burden.
But at least Daniel had other Jews around him who feared God. We read of such friends as Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, better known as Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego. When Daniel desperately needed an interpretation to the king's dream, he turned to his three godly friends "that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret" (Dan. 2:17-18).
Of course, Daniel is well-known by Bible students for a number of reasons. There is the story of the handwriting on the wall as recorded in Daniel 5, and of course there is the story of the den of lions in the sixth chapter. Even though the world was against him, Daniel never backed down.
In the end, His zeal for God was exemplified before several Babylonian and Persian kings: Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius and Cyrus, and perhaps others. King Nebuchadnezzar was a self-righteous idol-worshipper before Daniel came...but through Daniel, God humbled Nebuchadnezzar to the point that he learned to praise God (Dan. 4:34-37). Darius, likewise, was greatly impacted by Daniel's faith (Dan. 6:26-27).
Daniel is so impressive because as a young man, he surely was confronted with all sorts of "youthful lusts" in the Sin City of his day. And yet he refused to conform (Rom. 12:1-2). He was in the belly of the beast, so to speak, but not once did he falter. We would all do well to learn a lesson from Daniel, especially our young people. You CAN overcome the world! "Flee also youthful lusts" (2 Tim. 2:22).
But it wasn't easy for Daniel, and it won't be easy for us. Like Daniel, we must be people of constant prayer (Dan. 6:10) who regularly assemble with others of like precious faith (Dan. 2:17-18; Heb. 10:24-25). We cannot win the war fighting solo. We must, like Daniel, avail ourselves to the many tools and aids that God has prepared for us. Only then will we win the fight.
Thank you, Daniel, for your wonderful example.
And thank you, God, for ensuring that Daniel's story was recorded and preserved in Your holy word.
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