The lesson to take away from this section is the world will frequently challenge our obedience and loyalty to God almighty. Apart from the fact that God is sovereign, it should be understood that deliverance is not necessarily physical always but can be spiritual also, (Matthew 16:25 Matthew 10:28 Revelation 6:9-11). Some may ask if God is faithful to deliver his people why then so many Christians who refused to offer incense to the emperor during the Roman empire suffered violent deaths.
The book of Daniel reports that the heathen kings exalted God’s name throughout the kingdom when he rescued Daniel’s friends from the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:28-29) and Daniel himself from the Lions (Daniel 6:26-27). God for his glory, miraculously delivers his people who display unconditional obedience even in the face of severe adversary. Later, Daniel says that God actually sent his angel to shut the mouths of each and every animal in the den. Lions are furious animals and the ones left in starvation are even worse and once again Daniel deliberately disobeys a royal decree in obedience to God. Daniel in Lion’s den is another occasion that reflects God’s deliverance available to people of total obedience. All that we know is God honored Daniel’s decision and within 10 days made them much healthier and better nourished than any other who consumed royal food.Ĭ. It is doubtful that 10 days would have been sufficient to carry out such a complicated evaluation. Although Daniel’s assurance to the officer in charge of their meals seems very simple to the naked eye, (Daniel 1:9-15).
Their obedience was best exposed in their answer to the king Nebuchadnezzar when they refused to bow before the golden image even if God does not deliver them from the blazing furnace. Deliverance for people of unconditional obedience is another major theme in the book of Daniel. Finally the decisions we make reflect the state of our relationship with God. Then his word is our standard for making decisions. The implications of this passage are we must make certain decisions as God has called us to lead a life of purity in a fallen world. After all, obedience is what you do when nobody is watching. Unlike Esther who defiled herself with the royal food and got married to a heathen king upon her uncle Mordecai’s advise (willingly and consciously) Daniel and his friends decided to remain loyal to God. Lesson:ĭaniel and his three friends stand out from the crowd because although they lived among a heathen people they refused to compromise their walk with God while most of the other Jews willingly and consciously chose to confirm themselves to ways of man. In Daniel 6:1-15 Daniel decides to disobey the king’s order in obedience to God. In Daniel 3:1-18 Daniel’s friends decide not to bow down before the image of Gold Nebuchadnezzar erected. The author of Daniel tells us two another major decisions of Daniel and his friends. Secondly, a portion of the meat and the vine was offered to the Babylonian idols before it was sent to the table.Ĭ. Yet they decided to refrain themselves because the meat served to them was from ceremonially unclean animals. As qualified officers serving in royal courts Daniel and his friends were entitled to the privilege of consuming royal food and drink. It is noteworthy the writer at the beginning of the book itself informs us of Daniel’s decision to not to defile himself with the royal food and drink, (Daniel 1:8) and his three friends seem to have followed his example.ī. Making godly decisions is a prominent theme in the book of Daniel. In today’s sermon, I want to place before you 3 valuable lessons I learned from the lives of Daniel and his friends. The life he led indeed reflected his name. What matters most about his life is how he remained faithful to God throughout his life, while living in a land where its inhabitants had not even heard of Jehovah. He never saw his family, friends or homeland again. Daniel was probably 16 years old when he was taken captive to Babylonia.