This is our eighth week in our Success in Babylon series, in which we have been examining the reasons for Daniel's success after his exile to Babylon. If you missed any of the series, you can access them all here, but for now, let's go back and reexamine Daniel's promotion to be the chief of all the wise men and see what lessons we can learn for us today.
MODERN BABYLON
We have entered a world that is similar to Daniel's world in Babylon, which is the reason we are studying his life to see how we can survive and thrive in a spiritually-hostile environment like he was. Babylon was a magnificent city and culture. It had massive buildings, a strong economy, and because of its military conquests, a diverse culture made up of the many people Babylon had conquered. When Daniel arrived, he had come from a culture where everyone thought, worshiped, and worked the same. In Babylon, Daniel was only one voice among many, and that is the situation the church finds itself in today.
There was a time when the church was the dominant and main, if not the only voice, in Western cultures. Now that's changed, and believers don't quite know what to do. In a sense, the church and its members have retreated, hoping and waiting for a revival or reversal that may never come so they can regain their dominant voice. That is why we as individuals, and the church in general, needs to study how to survive in a spiritually-hostile world, and that is why Daniel is the perfect role model. We must now be content with influence because there are many voice vying for the hearts and minds of people.
We passed over rather quickly that after his interview with the king and then his interpretation of the king's dream, Daniel was promoted to be over all the wise men of Babylon (see Daniel 2:48). Think about that. Daniel has responsibility to oversee the soothsayers, necromancers, magicians, sorcerers, and conjurers in the realm. What were those business meetings like? "We will now hear a report from the sorcerers in south Babylon to hear what they are conjuring up these days?" This was nothing like what Daniel had grown up with in Judea.
A CHANCE TO SERVE
When no one could interpret the king's dream after first telling the king what his dream was, the king ordered all these wise men to be put to death, including Daniel and his friends. Daniel's attitude could have been, "Good. They are all a bunch of sinners doing things Yahweh forbids. I didn't want to be here in the first place, so if we all die, we die." Instead, Daniel intervened and saved all their lives. He was not bitter and did not have victim's mentality, or an attitude that said, "Uh, this is not in my job description and is above my pay scale. Sorry."
This is the reason we chose Daniel when we taught inmates, for their prison environment was similar to Babylon. We encouraged them not to sit out their sentence playing cards or pool. We urged them not to just to survive but thrive by finding opportunities to display excellence in their work and behavior. Many of the guards harassed them, but we taught them to submit to unfair treatment with joy and patience. Some of the inmates were promoted to positions of significance and trust because they learned how to exist and prosper in their Babylon. It may be time for you to do the same.
If your purpose is expressed and fulfilled in the church, that's great and you have important work. Most people's purpose and creativity, however, are not expressed in church but in the spiritually-neutral (or worse) spheres of business, education, the military, or social work. If we learn to do what Daniel did and, more importantly, be who Daniel was, then we will be promoted in Babylon, just like he was: "The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom" (Deuteronomy 28:13).
THE EARTH IS THE LORD'S
The Lord was the one who orchestrated Daniel's relocation to Babylon, just like He did Joseph's to Egypt. And there is a good chance God has you where you are for a purpose, and it's not just to work out something in your heart. God wants you to give the best of who you are and who He made you to be to Babylon because He loves all His creation. He has sent you because He is reaching out to the Babylonians and is taking care of His creation: "The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters" (Psalm 24:1). God cares about Babylon and because He does, He assigned you a place there. You are not to tolerate that position, you are to celebrate it and represent the Lord well.
Good took some of His best and gave them an assignment in Babylon, where there was great danger and risk. They accepted their lot and God was with them. They were never totally in sync with Babylon and faced harassment and persecution their entire stay, but God preserved them and they continued to excel and stay true to their values. The same may be true for you, and it will be important for you to keep your eyes on the prize of the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant" as you serve your time in Babylon, not because you have done something wrong, but because God had a purpose for you being there. Have a blessed week.
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