As we continue with our Success in Babylon series, this week we look at Daniel after he and his friends were promoted after they had distinguished themselves in their period of training. No sooner had they distinguished themselves, they faced a crisis:
In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.” Then the astrologers answered the king, “May the king live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.” The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.”
Once more they replied, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it.” Then the king answered, “I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me.” The astrologers answered the king, “There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans" (Daniel 2:1-11).
Nebuchadnezzar was a difficult man to work with and for. He obviously had a short fuse on a bad temper, and he had high expectations for his advisors and officials. No one believed his standards could be achieved, and they were all about to get permanently "fired" for their inability to measure up.
DANIEL TO THE RESCUE
Daniel was included in the king's death edict, but when faced with this dilemma, he did not panic or hide. He simply applied his faith in God, right there in Babylon, on behalf of a heathen king and empire that had done him and his friends much harm:
When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him (Daniel 2:14-16).
Daniel believed that his God could perform the impossible, but it wasn't just something he talked or sang choruses about. Daniel acted on his faith and saved not only his life, but also the lives of the other wise men, most of them engaged in practices like soothsaying, consulting the dead, and sorcery--all practices prohibited by Daniel's God. Of course, we know the outcome:
Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision (Daniel 2:17-19a).
It is remarkable that Daniel received not just the king's dream interpretation, but also had the exact same dream! How did Daniel know he had the correct dream? How was he so sure? He was confident because he was an Old Testament man living in New Testament truth:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do (James 1:2-8).
THE LESSONS
If you are in Babylon, you can trust God to act according to your faith, even if you are serving what seems to be a secular or non-Christian entity. God responds to faith, and God still does the impossible, but usually for those who trust and ask Him to do so. What's more, God can assign you to express your purpose and faith in a setting that is less than ideal, a place not of your choosing or liking. I would tell the inmates in prison that God wanted them to express the best of who they were for guards and authorities who were sometimes harsh and demeaning. What's more, God expected them to be involved in making their Babylon a better place to live and work, and God expects the same of you, no matter how difficult your conditions or oversight.
Many saints tell me their favorite Bible verse is Philippians 4:13: "I can do all this through him who gives me strength." When they tell me that, I usually respond by asking, "So what are some of the 'all things' you are doing?'" They usually look surprised, for they are stating that they can do all things; not that they are doing all things--and there is a big difference, which distinguishes productive, doing Christians from non-productive, talk-only ones.
Are you giving your best in Babylon? Are you heeding God's directive in Jeremiah 29:7: "Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." Your "city" may be a place of business, a prison, a school, or even a church located in our around Babylon. Wherever it is, God is watching and waiting to get involved, and doesn't mind doing the impossible for His servants who ask and believe. The problem is not whether or not God can do it, but whether His people are willing. He is, if you are, so this week, find a place to insert your wisdom-giving God into your wisdom-starved Babylon. Have a blessed week.
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