School starts tomorrow, so I camped out in Starbucks this morning to collect my thoughts and level my head. My reading led me to the first 2 chapters of Daniel.
In a recent sermon I listened to by John MacArthur about proper biblical interpretation, I learned that we so easily try to apply the bible to our lives instead of applying our lives to the bible. First, we must read the scripture at face value (content), then seek the context, and THEN ask what does this mean to me. Too often we ask "what am I going through right now?" and then we go and look for a passage "about" that. Well . . I may have been guilty of that this morning. I was thinking: "Who in the bible entered a new way of life with new scenery and remained steadfast?" . . .DANIEL!
So I set out to read about Daniel but the Lord drew my attention to the other not-so-wise-men in the story. . .
We all know the story of Daniel . . . handsome dude with 3 special Israelite bros all sent into exile but drafted by the king to be brainwashed into Chaldean culture (Daniel 1:1-7). The 4 men resolved to remain pure in their diets and lifestyles and were recognized by the king to be exceptional in all areas of life (totally the work of the LORD) (vs 8-16). We see early in the story a wide gap forming between the 4 godly men and everyone else:
- Daniel and his friends were living one, holy life under the direction of the LORD
- The rest of the "wise men" were living double lives: (one of "fake" wisdom and one of their true selves . . scared and clueless).
Daniel and his friends received all of their wisdom from the LORD and they obeyed his commands. They were not afraid to stand up for what the believed in and would not hide their faith from the king.
But what caught my attention today was the path of the other exiles. . .
The other wise men had no true wisdom at all. They were all Israelites. . . they all had come from the same culture. They had seen the scapegoat sent into the wilderness (Leviticus 16). They had seen the bloodbath of animal sacrifices for their sins. They had seen the priests' bloody robes and had smelled the stench of dead carcasses outside the camp (Lev 16:26-28). They had no doubt gone through many cleansing rituals for various ailments. They had learned the law and heard the prophets. They knew every rule in the book . . . and now they had been exiled to a distant land. They were suffering and their faith was about to be tested. . . The foreign king was bringing them into his palace and giving them his food! No one had to know! They were exiles after all. . . did they really have the "choice" to not eat the food the king had given them? Was obeying God in their diet worth losing their heads? Surely God would pardon their actions and besides, the religion was only a bunch of "rituals" anyway and the priest weren't around to judge them.
So when it came time to make a decision, Daniel and his 3 friends chose to stand up and trust the LORD that He would provide . . . while the rest of "wise men" lead a double life. For the purpose of this blog, lets call the "other wise men" the "cowards."
So Daniel and his 3 friends ate a kosher diet while the cowards feasted on the forbidden food and they ended up healthier than the cowards. Up to this point the only difference between Daniel and the cowards was diet . . . but their relationship with God was about to be tested.
King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream in chapter 2 that totally freaks him out and sends him into desperation. He called on the "wise men" to do what they were "chosen and trained" to do (interpret dreams and communicate with the gods.) Here is where we see the stark difference between Daniel and the cowards:
The word that came to mind was "desperation." . . A life of holiness gives you noting to hide . . . there is no desperation to cover anything up. Deceit leads to desperation because you are living two lives . . . and never shall the twain meet. It reminds me of an episode of Seinfeld where George freaks out about "sanctuaries colliding" between he and his girlfriend. He wanted to hide part of his life from her.
An honest life should bring more freedom than tension.
The cowards KNEW that they were not in communion with God and that the king would soon find out that they really had no answers at all. Not only were they not in communion with God, but they also believed that communion with God was impossible (vs 11) "whose dwelling is not with flesh." . . .Here lies a MAJOR point in our belief about God: HE IS WITH US
If God is not with us, then we are simply deists and faith is pointless because it accomplishes nothing (or rather the spirit in us would be quenched). The cowards could not interpret the dream because they thought God was simply another "god" that did not exist beyond rituals and ceremonial cleansing. . . God was an idea . . not a person.
When we believe this lie, we tend towards panic because tragedies leave us stranded. Any situation that we cannot fix ourselves . . . any situation in which God could work a miracle simply becomes a dead end. If God is not dwelling in us and working in us then what is the point? We have no religion at all. If God does not communicate with us, then any claim to be "with him" (aka: a Christian) is a lie because we are totally in the dark. God does not NEED us to accomplish his purposes. He is totally set apart . . .yet he came to dwell among us . .
So you see . . when He dwells in us then something changes . . we walk in light. There is just ONE life . . and it's all out in the open for everyone to see. There is no duplicity. This is a miracle! Every impossibility becomes a chance for God to work a miracle . . and that's EXACTLY what God did with Daniel. For the cowards, it was the end of the road. The disconnect between their head and their heart was threatened to become literal (the kind ordered all wise men to be beheaded.)
Therefore, our faith hinges on this idea that God is real and he does real work in our lives! Ask yourself: do I live in such a way that the miraculous work of the holy spirit is unnecessary? Do I pray within my means to provide? Do I take risks under the leading of God in which my "success" is totally dependent on God coming through in means which I cannot see?
This story along with every story in the Word points to one central event . . . one hopeful longing . . . once chance to be saved . . God needed to come and dwell among us . . to bring meaning to our lives. It all points to a longing for Emmanuel . . God with us. This is the "mystery" that the prophets longed for . . Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Col 1:27)
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