Surviving Babylon: Uncompromising
We hope you will join us as we walk through the book of Daniel together and please feel free to share this content with anyone you think might be blessed by it!
You can imagine Daniel’s first day in Babylon.
He arrived after months of walking in chains across deserts to the unfamiliar city looming over him in the distance. He would have entered the gates hearing a language that was not his own. He may have looked up to see statues of pagan idols he was forbidden to worship. He may have marched down the streets to the capital building, seeing food and a culture that was thoroughly foreign to his senses. And after a few moments of bewilderment he could have arrived in a local processing facility that would identify, separate, and shuffle captives off to their permanent homes and work in the city.
Some of those captives would be unshackled and made servants in the empire, some would be unbound to work in agriculture in the fields surrounding the city, but from the text we know that Daniel and his friends were being groomed for life among the cultural elites. So when it was there turn to be “processed”, it was clear where they would end up; under the charge of one of Nebuchadnezzar’s loyal guards.
This was the typical way Babylon bolstered its debauched society. It would conquer rival nations, kill the standing armies, deport the blue collar workforce and put them to work, and would reeducate the powerful, the well to do, and the intelligent from those vanquished nations, and reappropriate them serve in the upper strata of Babylonian civic life. This was the dangerous lot that fell to Daniel and his friends.
A part of that reeducation plan was to give them new names, since a name said something about your identity. Daniel arrived in that city with a Hebrew name meaning “God is my judge”. But not long after his arrival, he would be called Belteshazzar, which means “Prince of Bel” (a Babylonian title for the chief god of the city, Marduk), the god of wisdom, magic, and sorcery (Dn. 1:7).
And while the pagans succeeded in changing Daniel’s name, they could not change his nature and commitment to his God, which is what I want us to consider in part 2 of this series on Daniel. How do we live a life of uncompromising conviction to God while living in pagan Babylon? Let us consider these things together.
SURVIVING BABYLON PART 2
Uncompromising
THE SETTING
Daniel arrived in his Babylonian barracks much like Joseph arrived in his Egyptian jail cell (Gn. 39). But the comparison’s do not stop there. Both men were especially favored by God (Gn 39:21; Dn. 1:17), both men found favor in the eyes of the guards, who were watching them (Gn 39:22; Dn. 1:9), and both men would live long lives serving their respective pagan kings.
In Daniel’s case, he arrived at the very highest station an exile could ever hope to end up in. He was put into the kings barracks, which may have been their version of the Ritz Carlton or Plaza hotel. From the text it is clear that Nebuchadnezzar also intended to provide him, and all of the other new students, with food from his own table (Dn. 1:8), a rare privilege few could ever enjoy.
For instance, this kind of food would have been of the highest quality, the most opulent, and the very best tasting food anyone could come by. Even better, it would have been provided free of charge… So long as the students complied with the program designed to eliminate their heritage and make them thoroughgoing pagans.
Many of the fortunate Judeans, who found themselves in the king’s court, would relish the opportunity to feast on such foods. You can imagine them salivating over the menu of appetizers, meats, deserts, and wines! You can imagine them praising God that He would be so kind to them in their exile and give them such favor. But, Daniel did not see this as a kindness from God. He saw it for what it really was… Biblical disobedience. Let me explain.
To deny such a generous offer from the king would be seen as rejecting the king Himself, usually resulting in the death penalty. This meant Daniel would need to deny all of the benefits this food would afford Him, accept all of the consequences of that action, and trust that only God could deliver Him. To many, this could hardly be considered wise.
But, while this situation may seem fraught with complexity from our perspective, it was a very simple decision for Daniel. He could not give in and be defiled! Period.
And it is in this point that we learn 3 important truths that will help us as we live in a culture that looks and acts more and more like Babylon today.
THE INVITATION TO COMPROMISE
The original compromise happened in a garden and with food. That point should not be missed here. For the students in that room, even the Judeans, they saw this pagan food as good to eat. It was delightful to their eyes. The Babylonian officers were like the original serpent, promising that it would make them wise in their studies. And just like Eve, they took the polluted food, ate of it, and shared it with their companions. But, not Daniel.
Unlike Adam, Daniel and his friends knew that if they took the kings portion, they would be eating food expressly forbidden by God (e.g. Lev. 11). Let me say that again, the menu the king was providing them was explicitly banned in Scripture. So they chose to deny their own flesh, their own comforts, and their own safety, by denying this forbidden portion. They knew that compromise led to defilement and with defilement separation from God.
We need men and women who will live out this attitude and vision today… But how?
Today, we are not bound to a specific set of dietary laws like Israel. Plus, our culture is not really asking us to compromise with the food we eat. Peter discovered that all foods have been made clean based on the finished work of Jesus Christ (Acts 10) so our situation and Daniel’s are not quite the same. But do not be mistaken. Just because we are not being asked to compromise with food does not mean we are not being asked to compromise. It is happening every moment of every single day!
For instance,
When they ask you to bake a cake for a gay wedding, they are inviting you to compromise. That act would certainly would open up more business, more money, and it would not burn relationships… So long as you are comfortable compromising God for comfort.
The same is true in church. In order to remain relevant to the world, the church has eat the portion of Babylon, adopting all kinds of worldly practices, instead of remaining pure and undefiled before her God.
The list of errors and compromises could go on and on, but the solution is really quite simple. Daniel made up His mind not to disobey God. He decided not to participate in anything that God had forbidden. And by accepting that course of action he also accepted whatever consequences that the world would bring upon Him, which greatly honored God.
But, it also points beyond Daniel; to the one who perfectly lived without compromise, which leads to our second point.
CHRIST UNCOMPROMISED
When we see Daniel standing up for his faith, denying forbidden foods, despising creaturely defilements, we see the Biblical narrative sharply shifting to the redemptive. We know that as wholesome as Daniel was, he was not perfectly righteous or uncompromising. There were moments in his life where he gave in to doubts and fears, where he sinned, where he fell short, because the Bible says ALL people have fallen short of the glory of God and ALL have sinned (Romans 3)… That is except one.
Jesus Christ is the only human being to every live perfectly uncompromised! He is the true and better Daniel in a category all His own! Like Daniel, He was tempted with the king’s food. For in the wilderness, the king of this world, Satan himself, offered Jesus food from his own table, if He would cave into compromise. Like Daniel, Jesus Christ did not cave! But unlike Daniel, who got to eat vegetables and berries, Christ was left starving. Unlike Daniel who was rewarded for taking a stand (Dn. 1:18-21) Jesus Christ was crucified for His failure to compromise.
In every moment of His perfect life He never once caved to the weight of sin! He never bent toward error. He never fell into compromise because He was perfectly obedient, in all things!
Even though everyone around Him was bent on surrender He was our true uncompromising victor. And the reward? For the joy set before Him, He endured that awful cross, despising it’s shame, without a hint of bow in His unbendable will (Hb. 12:2). He climbed that hill, purposely and deliberately fixed on obeying the will of God! And now, because of His obedience, we can be forgiven. Because He sends His powerful Spirit, into the lives of all His children, He expects that we will be uncompromising too!
LIFE UNCOMPROMISED
Today, we have the opportunity to live like Daniel because Christ first lived and died for us! He has provided us with the power for uncompromised living and expects that we will employ it as we live in a world filled with compromise. What does that look like?
It means not participating in sin. It means rejecting the world’s lies and definitions. It means not adopting sinful ways of thinking or sinful expressions of behavior. It means doing nothing God has forbidden and being mindful to always do what our King has commanded!
Like Daniel, we must make up our minds to live undefiled by this world and in this world. Like Daniel, we must reject the comforts and the benefits that come with compromise and accept whatever consequences that will come for holy living!
And most importantly, like Daniel, we must know what the Word of God says! Think about it. How can we know what compromise is if we do not know what God has commanded? Like Daniel, we must read, study, memorize, and know what God has said so that we can live uncompromised today!
Finally, we must rest in the finished work of Christ our true and greater king. The Nebuchadnezzar’s of this world may be offended that we would reject their portion, but we would rather offend them than Christ. He lived an uncompromising life to equip us to live uncompromised in this life.
