Short Reflection from Daniel 1-12

[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (LRAU) as a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible]

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟙:𝟝

"The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king."

Three years Degree course to be an administrator, huh? Three years of preparation for the preliminary exam!

 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟚:𝟜𝟡

"And Daniel made request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego over the administration of the province of Babylon, while Daniel was at the king's court."

Daniel was promoted, and he was able to promote his friends.

Esther became queen and she was able to influence the king to promote Mordecai to the highest.

Joseph became great in Egypt and he was able to bring his whole family to Egypt during the time of great famine.

If you are a manager in a company, hire all your friends, even if they aren't the smartest guys. 😂

 

 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟛:𝟙𝟜

"Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, ‘Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?’"

Nebuchadnezzar mandating everyone to bow down before the image is parallel with the government mandating us to bow down to the image of public health (coronavirus).

Godly people are brave people!

 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟜:𝟛𝟟

"Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride."

God shall humble the proud because He is just!

 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟝:𝟙𝟟

"Then Daniel answered and said before the king, ‘Keep your gifts for yourself or give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him.’"

God's people do God's work not for money.

 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟞:𝟛-𝟜

"Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because he possessed an extraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom. Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him."

Jealousy. Faithfulness. Courage. Reward. Vindication.

 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟟:𝟚𝟠

"At this point the revelation ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were greatly alarming me and my face grew pale, but I kept the matter to myself."

Why didn't Daniel tell others? Was it because there weren't competent people? If Daniel, himself, couldn't understand the depth of the vision, surely, none will understand. Opinion of others would create only more confusion and cheap. He had to make sure the vision is well guarded against corrupt interpretation.

Hmmm! Daniel kept the matter to himself!

 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟠:𝟚𝟞

"The vision of the evenings and mornings Which has been told is true; But keep the vision secret, For it pertains to many days in the future."

Keep the vision secret. Well, we don't need to know everything, yes even what's written in the Bible.

 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟡:𝟙𝟡

"O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name."

Leaders ought to pray for the people like this!

 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟙𝟘:𝟙𝟟

"For how can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my lord? As for me, there remains just now no strength in me, nor has any breath been left in me."

The humility of Daniel. He did desire his prayer to be answered but didn't expect to be answered by an angel of God. Certainly, he didn't consider himself worthy of the attention of an angel! Yet v19 vindicated Daniel to be a man of high esteem, a worthy man on the surface of the earth!

 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟙𝟙:𝟜𝟝

"He will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him."

No matter the identity of those mentioned in this chapter. They are bad but under the control of God. Christians can remain calm that in the end we shall win and reign!

 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟙𝟚:𝟙𝟘

"Many will be purged, purified and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand."

Christians, count yourselves blessed that you know Christ, not just because of the surpassing worth of the knowledge of Christ, but also because it is impossible to become one, if not by the grace of God.

Those who read Bible regularly, count yourselves blessed because it's impossible for a natural man to thirst after godly discipline.

Count yourselves blessed when you understand what the Bible says because God has sealed up the truths of the Bible to the wicked so that they might perish, yet He has revealed them to us.

Bible Reading Reflection from Daniel 1-12

[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (FG) as a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible] 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟙:𝟠

"But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself."

Normal people follow the crowd. Normal people are actually "fools." That's why everyone wants to be somebody, better than normal people. Even smart and good people under pressure give up. Good people when they see others prospering through compromise, and when nothing bad happened to such, and everyone seems to be doing, they too are often swept away.

Well, a faithful man shines best in persecution, in darkness, just as your mobile screen shines best in darkness. Daniel was mandated to eat the King's food, by the order of the King. Daniel was a young boy, a captive, not even a citizen. He shone in this situation, and God honored him. There's no excuse when you say, "Everybody was doing it, so I thought it was ok." It should have been, "Everyone was doing like that, so I decided to be different. It motivated me all the more to be different"

 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟚:𝟚𝟠

"But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these:"

Live differently because of your conviction upon your daily walk with God, and when people ask "Really?" you should be able to say, "Not really, but there's a God in heaven, and He is my God."

Start using "There's a God in heaven" in day-to-day life's conversation! 👍

 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟛:𝟙𝟟-𝟙𝟠

"If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."

Everyone will pray more if God answers each time he/she prays. Everyone will serve God if God rewards him/her accordingly. Everyone will praise God if God blesses him/her prosperously.

And if you do that, you are not different from anybody. And if you stop when God doesn't respond, or if you would continue only if God continues, be aware that your god is yourself; you don't know the God of the Bible.

Satan thought Job would stop worshipping God if God stopped blessing him. Job knew the real God of the Bible. So, even in unthinkable suffering, Job worshipped God. He said that he will still worship God even if God slays him! Wow! Habakkuk decided to worship God even if there be no fruit on the vines and no herd in the stall. Daniel's three friends chose to worship God even when they were under torture. Even if God abandoned them to be burnt up, they will worship only God. These people truly know God.

Now, relate that to your prayer life. Relate that to your walk with God. Even if God shatters your dream, will you choose to live for Him? And btw, life is full of disappointments, shattered dreams, and failures. It will always be no matter whether you're righteous or wicked. And God does not exist to fix your problem. You exist to worship God. And he who lives for God, God makes sure to honor him.

 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟜:𝟙𝟡

"Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while as his thoughts alarmed him. The king responded and said, 'Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.' Belteshazzar replied, ‘My lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you and its interpretation to your adversaries!’"

Daniel served the king faithfully, desiring his well-being, his prosperity. This king is a pagan king and Daniel was a man of God.

You can serve your boss, your company, your government faithfully. You can desire their prosperity even if they don't know God. You can still love them and work for them. Look at Daniel.

But Daniel never compromised his conscience, so he was thrown into the pit of lions. Daniel was always godly. He would do nothing evil. But he lived with these pagan people without complaints, without disappointment. He seemed to enjoy his life. After all, everywhere is sinful and sinners all around. Even inside the church. So, live life.

However, in v27, we see the real color of Daniel. He always must have been preaching the gospel of repentance. He even preached to the king. True love speaks the truth. Daniel really loved the king enough to tell him the truth to repent.

 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟝:𝟙𝟘-𝟙𝟙

"...O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change. 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕒 𝕞𝕒𝕟 𝕚𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕕𝕠𝕞 in whom is the spirit of the holy gods..."

The book of Daniel is famous for the phrase "there is a God in heaven." And deservingly, it is mentioned "there is a man in your kingdom" concerning Daniel.

Live a life that people may say about you like that— there's a man who can do this. Be that man!  Joseph Chamberlain said, "On every committee of thirteen persons there are twelve who go to the meetings, having given no thought to the subject and ready to receive instructions. One goes with his mind made up to give those instructions. I make it my business to be that one."

 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟞:𝟝

"Then these men said, ‘We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.’"

Would we be blameless and faultless like Daniel! Even at the highest scrutiny, he was pure.

Jesus challenged His accusers if they could find any sin in Him; they couldn't!

 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟟:𝟚𝟚

"Until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom."

Believers will be vindicated and be rewarded. After all, the universe is God's universe, therefore, the people of God will rule the universe again.

The godless, wicked, unbelievers, sinners are just like a vapor; they shall not last. We will reign with Messiah!

 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟠:𝟚𝟝

"And through his shrewdness He will cause deceit to succeed by his influence; And he will magnify himself in his heart, And he will destroy many while they are at ease. He will even oppose the Prince of princes, But he will be broken without human agency."

Even the high and mighty of the earth are nothing in the sight of God. The most powerful person ever in world history will be the Antichrist. And some of the most powerful people ever will be those who oppose God.

No surprise if powerful people are full of anti-Christian activities, values, or teachings. And no surprise if we lose and they succeed in a moment. They shall lose and we shall triumph in the end. For believers, victory is not primarily the survival of the physical body, but the endurance of the faith on this side of heaven.

The real victory in every sense awaits, not in this life!

 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟡:𝟛

"So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes."

The discipline of a pious man. Piety is an art we must recover again.

Prayer. Supplications. Fasting.

It even had sackcloth and ashes!

 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟙𝟘:𝟙𝟛

"But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia."

Do not misapply this verse to think that fasting or prayer or spiritual discipline should last for at least 21 days. Daniel never had that thought. Actually, he intended to keep going until he understood v12. Probably he thought a day fasting would be okay, or a week, but he would go on until he understood.

Do we pray like that? Do we wait on God like that? Or do we give an ultimatum to God? Why do we set fixed days or amounts of time for certain things, which btw is not wrong? Actually, Paul recommended that to the Corinthians. But do you think through why, and know why any fixed days or amount of time? Daniel didn't have a fixed number of days, but until he understood.

 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟙𝟙:𝟙

"In the first year of Darius the Mede, I arose to be an encouragement and a protection for him."

An angel protecting king Darius. God sustains life. The devil wants to steal, destroy, and kill.

It's God who sustained Hitler till his death. It's God who sustains Modi, Kim Jong Un, everyone. When He said, it's done, like the dogs that come for the crumbs under the table when the master had his lunch, the devil will pounce upon.

God, indeed, sustains both the righteous and the wicked. Nobody lives on his own by his own strength or wisdom. Actually, even this angel was unable to battle against the demonic force, so Michael, the commander of God’s army had to help him. And puny man thinks he can hold off, that he can handle by himself!

 

𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟙𝟚:𝟚

"Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt."

It's like the book of Revelation. The resurrection of the dead – to life and to shame. And Daniel was assured of the resurrection to everlasting life in the last verse of the last chapter of the last book of the Major Prophets of the Old Testament (v13)