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Daniel in the Lions’ Den (Daniel 6): 2 Ways to Miss the Point

July 19, 2012 in Daniel with 0 Comments

Daniel in the Lion's Den image of a lion Daniel in the Lions’ Den (Daniel 6) is one of the most well known passages in Scripture (Daniel 6). Most people know that Daniel in the Lions’ Den is the story of how God closed the mouths of the lions so that Daniel survived. (My sermon on Daniel in the Lions’ Den, “Standing for Christ Knowing that Victory is Certain,” is available online.)

Yet, if the story of Daniel in the Lions’ Den is one of the most well known, it is also one of the least understood. Too many view it only as a sentimental story. Below are two ways to miss the point.

Two Ways to to Miss the Point of Daniel in the Lions’ Den

1. Fail to Picture Scenes Today in Which We Must Fear God Rather than Men – Chances are most of us will never run up against an edict from a Persian king. However, anyone who aligns with Christ will find plenty of times when we are required to stand for Christ even though we are threatened with dire consequences if we disobey. If we are going to get the point of Daniel in the lions’ den, we need to picture situations where it has significance for today.

Will we stand up for a biblical view of marriage?
Will we stand up for the sanctity of life?
Will we require our daughters to dress modestly?
Will we say “no” to the wrong kind of entertainment?

2. Believe that Daniel’s Hope Was Not Just to Survive the Night -Daniel’s dream was not to make it through a night with the big cats. After all, surviving the lions’ den did not change much for him.

Daniel bounced off the bottom of the lions’ den an old man (at least 83 per Wood, 153). The next morning, he crawled out an old man.
He crawled into the cave an exile having not smelled the fragrance of home in almost 70 years. He survived the stench of cats for a night only to smell the stink of Babylon the next day.
Daniel landed with lions because of a hateful hoard, and he was pulled out with people hating him.
Daniel skidded into the Lion’s Den missing his parents. He crawled out the next morning still missing them. Daniel’s hope was not finally to survive the lions (Hebrews 11:33).

Daniel was looking forward to a better country – - that is a heavenly one (Hebrews 11:16). He did not receive what had been promised (11:39-40). Likewise, we may or may not make it through the lions’ den. As a matter of fact, soon enough we won’t. But we will get to the other side. Listen: the world wasn’t really a different place the next day for Daniel. But the heavenly city will be different. You can count on that. Take it to the bank.

The point of the Bible is not that we will survive every trial in a fallen world. The point is to put our hope in Christ being certain that very soon He will return (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

Parents and Children: Don’t Drop the Baton!

July 9, 2012 in Daniel, Parenting with 0 Comments

Christian parents: it’s not enough to learn a lesson in life. We need to leave a legacy with our children. Consider the diagnostic questions at the end of this post to evaluate how well you are doing as a parent in leaving a legacy. Listen to the sermon here.

In a relay race it doesn’t matter how far ahead you are, if you botch the hand-off, you lose. And in Daniel 5, we see that even though Nebuchadnezzar was humbled by God, his son Belteshazzar did not learn (Daniel 5:22). Father and son botched the hand-off from one generation to the next. The results were tragic (5:30).

The story begins with Belshazzar throwing a major party in which he defiantly chose to use the golden vessels stolen from the temple in Jerusalem. It was his way of spitting in the face of the God of Israel (Daniel 5:1-4).

Big mistake. No matter how bold people act, their brashness disappears before God.

Immediately after Belshazzar and his minions began drinking from the golden vessles the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the wall. Belshazzar’s bravado turned to terror (picture the Nazis in the final scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark).

With a goal of interpreting the writing on the wall, the Babylonians once again summoned Daniel and he reviewed their defiance of God and assured them that judgment was coming. Daniel reminded Belshazzar that he had every opportunity to learn that only God is great.

And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this,

The chapter concludes:

That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being sixty-two years old (Daniel 5:30-31).

Parents: Are you leaving a legacy?

The question for parents becomes, “How do we avoid making the same mistakes as Belshazzar?” The first thing to be said is that there is no magic formula. As a pastor, I have observed many Christian parents whose children rebelled against Christ. (Notice that there are 270 comments on this post about unpacking forgiveness with rebellious children!) I do not mean to imply that if parents had only followed some formula, things would have turned out differently. Yet, there are principles to be lived out in our homes.

You can evaluate how you are doing by considering diagnostic questions under each point.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God- Parents must remember that the central goal for our families is that our children would believe the Gospel. More than anything else, when we gather before the throne of Christ, we want our children to be there. And God’s Word is what he uses to reach lost people. This means that we must be in church where the Word of God is proclaimed and the Word of God must be heard in our homes as well.

Parents: How many times has your family heard the Word preached in the last six weeks? It’s not enough for your children to be in church time while you are in the sermon. The preaching of the Word is God’s specifically appointed means for passing on the faith. (See the centrality of preaching in the life of the church).
Parents: How many times in the last six weeks has your family heard your voice read the words of Scripture? It’s not that hard. But it does take the humility of acknowledging your need for God’s Word. For more, see this post about family devotions when one of our children was 3.

Pray, pray, pray- If our children our to follow Christ, then we must pray for them consistently and often. Prayer must be a way of life in our homes.

Parents: Do you have a place to pray? As I explain in this post, there is great value in identifying a place where you get down on your knees to intercede for your family.
Parents: Do you pray together as a family?

Identify and repeat the central stories of your family – We must lead our families in tracing the goodness of God in our own family history. Like Nebuchadnezzar, we all have stories about how God has shown himself in our lives. In some instances, we have learned from our failures. In others, we have seen God bless our obedience. It is not enough for us to know the lessons ourselves, we need to leave a legacy with our children.

Parents: Can you point your children to mistakes made in the family which need to be avoided?
Parents: Does your family know of several stories in which God provided or answered prayer in incredible ways? Family stories are one of our most powerful ways to teach our children.

Two ways to defeat pride. I recommend the easy one.

July 5, 2012 in Daniel, Humility with 1 Comment

Race Car Trashed Car Crash Pictures There are two ways to battle pride: the hard way and the easy way. I commend to you the latter. Either way you go, learning humility requires an experience.

On Sunday I preached on the pride puzzle in the life of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4). Daniel warned Nebuchadnezzar that pride was going to take him down. One would think that Nebuchadnezzar could have averted his downfall. After all, he was one of the most accomplished leaders in history (see hanging gardens, Babylon walls, victory over the Egyptians). Daniel warned Nebuchadnezzar that he was going down and the king knew Daniel was reliable (Daniel 2:46).

Yet, a year later, in the midst of his bragging, Nebuchadnezzar learned the hard way.

28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” 31 While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, 32 and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” 33 Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws. (Daniel 4:28-33).

Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar how to beat pride the easy way.

27 Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.” Daniel 4:27

Daniel’s phrase, “practicing righteousness,” might also be translated “giving alms to the poor.” Daniel realized that Nebuchadnezzar would not become humble through an intellectual exercise. If Nebuchadnezzar was going to become more humble, then he need to engage in worship. He needed to teach himself (by giving to the poor in this case) that God is the only King over all ages and all the earth. The pastoral point of the chapter is, only experiences which allow us to see ourselves in relation to God humble us. If we want to defeat pride the easy way, then we must act in ways which will yourself to experience the smallness of ourselves and meditate on the greatness of God.

If we do not choose to defeat pride by acting in ways that acknowledge the greatness of God, then we can count on the fact that God will provide experiences which teach humility. Herod, for example, learned the hard way.

20 Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. 21 On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. 22 And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” 23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last. (Acts 12:20-23).

Act in ways that acknowledge the glory and majesty of Christ. Serve, give, love, confess, be baptized, take communion, pray, hear the Word preached. These are the easy experiences by which we will defeat pride.

Calling these the “easy” way to defeat pride is not my description. It is what Jesus said: “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30. I commend to you Christ. Take his yoke upon you and learn from Him. He will give you rest.

Pride? You Probably Think This Post is About You

June 29, 2012 in Daniel, Humility with 5 Comments

Sunday (D.V.) I am preaching on the Daniel 4 and the “pride puzzle” seen in the life of Nebuchadnezzar. (Hit play at the end of this post if you need to know whether or not this post is about you. . .)

The puzzling part of pride is that we are powerless to combat it. Few want to be proud. There are exceptions like Muhammad Ali who never put a premium on humility. Yet, most know that the consequences of pride are severe.

It seems that it would be easy enough to tell ourselves to be humble. Yet, even capable and well-intentioned people walk precariously along the cliff of pride until they finally take a quick step over the edge. Case in point Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:33) or Herod (Acts 12:23) who was eaten by the worms.

Mac It’s Hard to be Humble Davis isn’t the only one finding it hard to be humble. Why is it that competent people, who are warned about their pride, and who want to be humble, are haughty right up to destruction? (Proverbs 16:18)

I am not posting on the heart of the answer yet, (though there is a strong hint here), but part of the reason we struggle to be biblically humble is that we misunderstand what true humility is like. Both C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton clear up a couple of misunderstandings about humility.

Chesterton said that we suffer from humility in the wrong place

But what we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction; where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays the part of a man that a man does assert is exactly the part he ought not to assert himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought not to doubt — the Divine Reason. Huxley preached a humility content to learn from Nature. But the new skeptic is so humble that he doubts if he can even learn. Thus we should be wrong if we had said hastily that there is no humility typical of our time. The truth is that there is a real humility typical of our time; but it so happens that it is practically a more poisonous humility than the wildest prostrations of the ascetic. The old humility was a spur that prevented a man from stopping; not a nail in his boot that prevented him from going on. For the old humility made a man doubtful about his efforts, which might make him, work harder. But the new humility makes a man doubtful about his aims, which will make him stop working altogether.” . . .

We are on the road to producing a race of men too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table. (Orthodoxy, chapter 3)

C.S. Lewis adds that humility is not always talking down about self

Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is a nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap, who took a real interest in what you said to him.

TWO Pictures (“Brick” Homework Gets Tougher)

June 19, 2012 in Daniel, Our Story Sermon Series with 5 Comments

It is not enough to simply teach our children Bible stories. We need to show them the significance of biblical truth for today. Here is one suggestion for parents.

Sunday (D.V.), I am preaching on Daniel 3. This is the account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refusing to bow down to an idol.

Bearing in mind that I came through on Father’s Day with incentives (see here), our kids should really be stoked to study the text. But this time a little more work is required.

Read Daniel 3 aloud. Parents you’re on the honor system here but do read the story aloud. Put it in your own words when necessary. But help your family see the text.
Draw a picture of the story on an 8.5X11 sheet of paper (or email me a computer image of the picture if it is not that size). There are all kinds of images from which to choose including a fiery furnace, a giant idol, and FOUR men in the furnace.
Draw a SECOND picture of something which can be an idol today. Remember – - idols are not just gold statues. And they don’t have to be things which are inherently bad. But if good things are put in the place of God, then they are idols.

So you should have read the text and done two pictures when you are done. The homework is due by June 29.

In regards to identifying idols in our day, keep in mind the words of Elyse Fitzpatrick:

Idols aren’t just stone statues. No, idols are the thoughts, desires, longings, and expectations that we worship in the place of the true God. Idols cause us to ignore the true God in search of what we think we need. Elyse Fitzpatrick

In my case, I like to read fiction. Reading fiction isn’t a bad thing per se. But if I started reading fiction to the neglect of Scripture – - -in essence looking for entertainment in place of God – - then it would be sin. I’m convicted even in writing this.

So help your child think through – - “What in our world might distract us from worshiping Christ with all our heart soul, and strength.”

Assignment for the Bricks: Daniel 2

June 5, 2012 in Daniel, Our Story Sermon Series with 0 Comments

Last week, we saw in Daniel 1 that God is the one who is sovereign no matter how formidable empires may appear. We should respond by being under Christ, identifying with Christ, be wise for Christ, and blessed as a part of our Lord’s people – - – zealous for Him (Titus 2:14).

This week, I am encouraging families (and Ben will again be taking care of those who follow through!) with this assignment.

Read Daniel 2 aloud. You don’t have to do it all at once. But do read it aloud.
Why was Nebuchadnezzar so upset?
Was the situation that Daniel faced dangerous? Why?
As we noticed in Daniel 1, what can we learn from how Daniel responded to the captain of the king’s guard (see Daniel 2:14)?
Extra Credit: Should we expect God to speak to us through dreams today? Why or why not? For a hint, read Hebrews 1:1-4 and 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

I am thankful for how many of our families did last week’s assignment!

Bricks: Be Ready for Our Story This Summer at The Red Brick Church

May 29, 2012 in Daniel, Old Testament, Our Story Sermon Series with 0 Comments

There will be a special treat for those who have prepared as families or individually for Sunday’s sermon . . .

This coming Sunday (June 3, 2012) at The Red Brick Church I will begin a new preaching series, “Our Story.” We will focus on Old Testament narrative and make the repeated emphasis that for those who know Christ, the Bible is our story. Scripture is all about how the Triune God is redeeming for Himself a people who will spend eternity with Him on the New Earth.

I want to encourage all of you (and especially our children and young people) to prepare for the sermon. If you do a few simple things, you will qualify for one sort of “treat” or another. Here is what you need to do.

First, pray that in our time in Daniel 1, God would show us wonderful things in his Word. Your prayer does not need to be long. But it does need to be from your heart!

Second, read Daniel 1 ALOUD either as a family or individually. But it only counts if you read it aloud. It will only take you a few minutes to do so.

Third, answer the following questions about Daniel 1:

Who is the book of Daniel about? (Hint: read verses 1:2, 1:9, 1:17)
Was Daniel defiant and disrespectful when he asked the chief official / eunuch for permission not to eat the royal food?
Why do you think Daniel and his friends were given new names?

Fourth, share this page/assignment with at least one other family or friend. It does not even need to be someone from our community (although that would be better!) It counts if you share it on someone’s Facebook wall. Just send the link to someone and encourage them to read Daniel 1 and visit our church if they don’t have a church home.