Daniel, like many others of his generation, was a victim of poor leadership in the kingdom of Judah. The wickedness of King Jehoiakim forced God to release the dogs of war and they showed up on Jerusalem’s doorstep in the form of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. After laying siege to the city and taking the king of Judah captive, Nebuchadnezzar also took the best and the brightest of Jerusalem’s young men to Babylon where they would serve the empire.
Daniel was bright and educated. He probably never expected to see Israel or his family again. His deportation suddenly and irrevocably separated him from his family and the familiar reminders of his faith – the temple, the Torah readings, the sacrifices, the priesthood, and the feast days. It would have been easy and even “normal” for Daniel to feel abandoned by the God he had worshipped back home and even to wonder if the gods of Babylon were, indeed, more powerful than Jehovah. It would have been “normal,” but Daniel wasn’t normal.
Within this young man was a faith and a commitment to that faith that went beyond the ordinary. That faith, commitment and even stubbornness was revealed immediately as Daniel resolved not to partake of the “unclean” foods of Babylon even though he had been ordered to eat them. Maybe it was the arrogance of youth that made him stand against his captors but God honored his stand and gave him favor with his overseers.
As the account of Daniel develops we see that he was given power and influence by God, even in the midst of his enemies. He was given an amazing prophetic gift and an uncanny gift for interpreting dreams unparalleled in scripture. There is one verse in all of the Book of Daniel, however, that always catches my eye. In chapter 6, the intrigues of palace politics were rolled out. God had given Daniel so much favor with King Darius that Darius was planning to set Daniel over the financial affairs of the whole nation. Of course, this “foreign upstart” became the object of great jealousy and resentment from the “home boys” in the palace.
In their jealousies they plotted to discredit Daniel before the king. But the text says, “At this the administrators and satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt not negligent. Finally these men said, ‘We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.’”
Daniel not only had faith in the God of heaven, but integrity in every part of his life. That quality allowed God to entrust amazing spiritual gifts and influence to Daniel. How many of us desire great gifts in the kingdom of God and, perhaps, cultural influence but fail in the test of integrity and diligence? When these men began to turn over stones to discredit Daniel they could find no mismanagement of funds, no personal scandals, and no lack of diligence in the things that had been entrusted to him.
After they had turned over every stone and could find no dirt, they decided that they would have to find some way for the laws of Babylon to conflict with the laws of Daniel’s God. They new the man well enough to know that the faith that gave him power and influence with the king was a faith for which he was willing to go to jail or worse. Soon, Daniel found himself facing a den of liars who had no compunctions about what they were doing and who would seem to have the upper hand because he would not use his power and influence to destroy them.
You know the story. These manipulators “conned” an egocentric king into passing a law that for thirty days, no man could pray to another god or man except Darius, under penalty of death. Flattered by the suggestion, Darius agreed and soon these men brought reports that Daniel had been discovered praying to his God in violation of the new decree. Darius was trapped and as much as he tried to find a loophole for Daniel he could not. Daniel was tossed into a den of hungry lions but in the morning walked out unharmed because God had sent an angel to close the mouth of the lions.
What a model for those of us who want to move in greater power and influence for the kingdom of God because those spiritual things entrusted to us and are to be governed with wisdom, diligence and integrity. Without those character traits the show up first in the natural realm, the gifts and the influence might destroy us, wound the church, and dishonor the King we serve.
So maybe an inventory of our own integrity and diligence is in order. What could the enemies of God find in our current lives to discredit us and the God we serve? What small scandals might be lurking because of our careless words or actions? Sometimes we want to compartmentalize our life and live as if what we do or don’t do in one part has nothing to do with the other. We want to believe that we can seek God’s gifts, blessings, and influence and somehow think that the way we operate in the rest of our lives makes no difference. But the way we operate a business, pay our bills, speak truth to our customers or our spouse, relate to the opposite sex, work when the boss isn’t around, treat employees or the cashier at the convenience store has everything to do with how God will use us in his kingdom.
Jesus said, “So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? (Luke 16:11). The true riches Jesus spoke of are spiritual riches. Daniel challenges me. He was not perfect, since only Jesus was perfect, but he lived a life that honored God at every level. When men rose up to destroy him they could find no basis for accusation. When his faithfulness to God set him in opposition to the state, God was there with Daniel in the darkness, as the lions grew hungrier through the night. In the morning, Daniel walked out to the delight of Darius who then honored Daniel’s God. Those who had opposed Daniel had a date with hungry lions.
In the future, as I pray for more spiritual riches from God, I will try to take account of my integrity, diligence. and excellence in the other parts of my life so that God can trust me with more. As we look at a nation that seems to be bankrupt of character, lets pray that God will raise up more men and women like Daniel who will honor God in every part of their lives and live above reproach so that He can set them in places of power and authority as well.
