“Daniel - Intercession: beginning years”

We come to Daniel tonight as another illustration of one of the Lord’s great intercessors in the Bible.

It is no secret to you that he is one of my favorite examples, a man whose view of the entire plan of Jehovah was spectacular and so very, very majestic.

This was God’s prophet who was given a telescopic view in which he saw the coming of Christ, and even beyond, to His enthronement as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

I look at such references as Dan 7:27, just as an example.

Read along with me in your Bibles - Daniel 7:27.

“And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.”

There was nothing small nor confined about his vision of the Lord’s kingdom in this statement.

And, as we shall see, this grand characteristic of his was developed from an early age. 

We first hear of Daniel when Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, conquered it and all of its inhabitants, Daniel among them. 

To get the proper sense of what is taking place in this story, we need to note that Nebuchadnezzar also took along ‘...part of the vessels, or articles, of the house of God’ in his plundering of the city. (Daniel 1:2)

These articles were put into ‘the treasury of his gods’ (also in v 2), a move that symbolized to the world that the captivity included, not only the people of the land, but their ‘god’ who was epitomized by the temple furnishings.

Later on, in chapter 5:3, Belshazzer is seen as using some of the goblets that they had taken which indicated that, instead of the usual melting down of the precious metals, the temple treasures had been kept intact.

‘Why is this so important?’, you may ask.

When a nation’s ‘god’ was captured, it was placed into the treasury as a symbol of it having been seized. 

This made the captives’ god subordinate to the enemies’ gods.

To further underscore the servitude and submission of prisoners, food was used as another means.

Not only was it often first dedicated to their pagan deities, but the control of it, especially large amounts of it, was a symbol of total domination and total assimilation into the culture and ways of the prevailing powers.
 
Daniel’s purity concerns, his worries about the purity of his body, - that was a real concern for the integrity of his own people. 

Purity laws served as an effective barrier to assimilation into a pagan world so it was an important spiritual bulwark against the dangers of a disappearing people. 

But, more importantly, - the greatest indignity was the scandalous affront against the integrity, the sovereignty and the truth of the Most High God, the God of the Israelites.
 
The issue whittled down to this one main point: the dependence on the royal favors and wealth of the captors, making the Most High God subordinate to Babylon and all of its riches and fame.

For these reasons we read, when Daniel was offered the royal dainties, in v 8, he “...resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine...’, so he purposely asked permission to abstain from the food rations offered.  

Why was not this young upstart captive cut down for his blatant insubordination to his captors?

His request to the officer in charge was certainly not a sign of enthusiastic submission to the royal fare offered to these young people!

It is in verse 9 that we have the answer to the question: ‘Now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.’  

God’s delivering power was active as these young men purposed in their hearts to honor Him.
 
They stood together - all four - in the conviction that they would fair well under the humble arrangements they made with the palace manager.

And their faith was well placed for the Lord sanctioned it with good health, which is seen in v.15: ‘And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat.’

And, now look at how the Lord further honored their stand in v 17: ‘As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.’

At the end of the trial period, they were brought for inspection before the king.

Four young teenagers appeared in Nebuchadnezzar’s court, - in a setting of awe and majesty that could have easily been the makings of another snare for pride, or for blatant, rebellious attitudes before the king.

But - no - they apparently behaved admirably and humbly for the king was impressed since ‘he found none equal’ to these young men as he talked to them.

‘In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers in his whole kingdom.’ (v 20)

Now - that is a powerful witness to the saving and delivering action of God - who can match it?
 
The amazing part for these very young people who can be so easily influenced and drawn away - is that they remained steadfast to their faith in the Lord. 

Through it all, Daniel reached the place of capital influence for the development and the preservation of the Lord’s design and purpose for His people, a fact we will see at another time as we continue on with Daniel’s life.

But how was this possible, particularly in such young lives - lives who do not have the experience of past years to draw from?

The starting place, as it always is, was deep within his heart as he inwardly answered his own disposition before the Lord.

Look at Daniel 1:8 again: ‘...Daniel determined in his heart that he would not defile himself...’.

He certainly knew and was convinced of the direction his life was to take - he had something definite in view, - prompted by his holiness of heart and life - something that sought to glorify his God, the God Who was being so maligned by these pagans!

He kept this ever in mind, and to hold on to this kind of life and heart, he placed himself on guard, consecrating himself entirely over to Jehovah.

Although it is not so recorded in chapter one, there can be little doubt that the condition of his heart toward the Lord was thoroughly impregnated with prayer.

How could it not be, especially when we see the powerful influence he had in his later career as an effectual intercessor!

Even under the most unfavorable conditions for holding fast to his faith in Yahweh, - even as young as he was at the time, probably somewhere between 13 and 16 years old, - Daniel proved conclusively that “one can definitely be a servant of God Most High even though he is an island in the middle of heathen waters.”

He clearly bore witness to the separation between the sacred and the profane, - what is of spiritual importance up against what is only temporal, fleeting worldly pleasure and thought.

To ‘trust in the Lord and do good’ is an easy verse to say, but far harder to do.

This heart attitude of trust in the Lord Who will ultimately triumph is so important, I wish - no, I pray, that we would all grasp this as our lifeline forever.

To pray to this end where we so trust Him to work out the final results of things leaves us worry-free.

Have you ever thought about that?

This let Daniel to just get on doing the right thing, knowing that God would take care of the wrongs being done to him, to God’s people, and to God.

Learning this at a young age became important for him as he got older.

It gave him the experience to be ready to receive deep insights into the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. 

Such a heart and life cannot be maintained and sustained unless there is much communion and fellowship with the living God Who prepares the Lord’s servant for such valuable and priceless revelations.

Look at the discovery Daniel made in chapter 2, verse 22: ‘He [the Lord] revealeth the deep and secret things...’.

How could he know that, except it was learned through heartfelt communion with the Lord?

The constancy, the courage, the unfainting perseverence, the giving such striking attention to his relationship with God, being so concerned of God’s glory shining out from God’s people - surely, all that shaped his character daily to the extent that he is now seen as one of the outstanding examples of the Lord’s army of intercessors.

He saw beyond the momentary pleasures, did he not?

It reminds us of Moses who also saw beyond and above the offerings of the world when he ‘refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin...’, (Heb 11:24-25)

You know - when we stop to consider - much of the weakness and the barrenness of the Christian life is because of no true vision of Christ, of His absolute righteousness, of the purposeful course of life in Him.

We cannot possibly gauge our advances in this life in Christ if we have no idea of where we are going. 

To have that definite point of furtherance - of progressing onward - there must be something clear-cut before us toward which we are aiming.

Jesus said of Himself in Jn 8:14: ‘...I know whence I came and I know where I am going...’.

His was not an aimless life; He knew where He was going, but He also knew He could not progress without unfainting devotion to God, His Father, and constant communion and fellowship with Him.

Prayer was the bond to His Father, and Daniel, as well as all of the other great intercessors the Bible cites, also indicates this.

The intercessors - those praying ones in Christ - are always those who have a definite view toward the deepest work of grace possible in their lives.

They are the ones who go steadily after holiness of heart and life - not satisfied until the Lord has blessed them with the ‘very finest of the wheat.’ (Ps 147:14)

When we look at prayer in this way, we find that the more we pray, the more definite our way becomes and the higher we reach in understanding the Life Eternal that resides within.

As Daniel illustrates, it is not up to others to fix our goals for us in spiritual attainment, but it is up to us to seek out the very finest.

Notice, also, how Daniel and his companions made remarkable strides in their heathen education.

Go back to v 17, which I read earlier; ‘As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom...’.

And it continues saying of Daniel; ‘...and Daniel had understanding in all kinds of visions and dreams.’

He gained an unprecedented insight into the Chaldean mind, learning how to interpret the various images of the heathen culture.

He learned all about it but never ingested a single partical of it for himself.

How appropo the Scripture is of: ‘the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord...’ in Daniel’s case!

He did not follow the current conditions under which he was forced to live - he did not allow it to change the shape of his place before his God.  

He proved that nothing is worth any thought at all that does not make fellowship, prayer, and devotion to the Lord the main feature of life.

Of course, some of those steps were steep, were rough, but they did demonstrate to the watching world, the reserves and strength Daniel had.

Yes, he lived in a hostile world because he was forced to live under Babylonian captivity. 

But, he lived admirably, always holding high the witness of the Most High God.
 
No one could capture the bent of his heart that gravitated always heavenward, anymore than they could capture the living God and bring Him under subjection.

Daniel’s steadfast witness and testimony brings to our hearts one of the greatest challenges for every Christian: living according to what the Lord’s perfect will and thought dictates.

It pushes us to the challenge of that prayer that prays: 
‘Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord.’ (Ps 19:14)

This leads to the great unity of purpose: that desire to please God according to His revealed will.

This is the prayer that fashions a man’s life; the prayer that is the measure of a man’s spiritual worth; the prayer that is what molds him and makes of him a ‘man of God’.

This was the start of Daniel’s career in the court of the heathen land.

His prayer life would prove to be invaluable as he grew on in years.

As I said earlier, Daniel did not always have a flowery bed to lie in nor a smooth road to travel.

But he always did have that inner heart glued to the heart of God, a heart that continuously sought out the divine will in all matters, a determination in his heart that ‘...he would not defile himself...’, a determination he made in his teenage years and one that lasted a lifetime. 

Again, I urge each one of us, to “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.”

And then to pray: “Let the word of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”
                                      AMEN!