Introduction To the Book of Daniel

Greetings to all of you. Well, I've been blessed already this morning. Thank you for the inspiring thoughts that you dropped upon us already, for our ears to hear, and all the good lessons that we can apply, truly much more than a children's lesson, Brother James, that you gave, and may we be able to climb that ladder in a good and right way. Well, Brother Ephraim, I titled my message this morning, I thought of, that I would like to speak on, is the introduction to the book of Daniel. Now, for some of you, you may well wonder, or not wonder, why I would choose to speak out of the book of Daniel at a time like this, because of my appreciation for prophecy, and Daniel is one of the greatest prophets that I consider in the Old Testament, and speaks very profoundly over a long period of time, even all the way to the end. But this morning, I would like to not focus on the latter half of the, of the book, but rather in the beginning, and I would, if I have time, I may mention things that have happened along the way in the first six chapters. Introduction to the book of Daniel. Daniel lived to be an old man, from what I can gather, he lived almost the entire length of the Babylonian captivity. As I understand who this great prophet was, it's just a young boy, maybe 14 or 15 years of age. He was taken captive in the land of Judah, in Jerusalem, perhaps somewhere right there in the middle of things, when Nebuchadnezzar came in, his first trip, I think he actually made about three, I believe, to overcome the rebellion and resistance and chaos that was going on in the land of Judea, and in Jerusalem, by the ungodly kings that they had at that time. And he, along with his three friends, which are thought to have been maybe 14, 15, 16 years of age, were taken captives, and if they weren't eunuchs before, it seems like they had their manhood taken away and were made eunuchs or put in with the eunuchs in the city of Babylon. A city completely foreign to them with heathen leadership, although with what they were facing in Judea at that time in their lifetime with these boys, they had a lot of heathenism going on also, because Judah had fallen profoundly away from the ways of God in the most of the life, I would say. I tried to determine a little bit as to maybe in whose reign they were born, but it seems very possible to me, and I'd be open for correction, I did not finish my study on this, it is an interesting study, that they may have been born in the days of Hezekiah the king, because I know that I look at the length of the reign of Jehoiakim when, who was reigning at the time, and we have the revival of Josiah after Hezekiah, and he was killed in battle, and so I'm not sure, I don't want to mislead anyone there, but it seems like that he may have reached all the way back at least close. In fact, I'll perhaps read a little bit out of Isaiah later on to show you that it is thought most times that at least as three Hebrew children, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were sons or grandsons of Hezekiah the king. So if I look at the kings that Daniel spanned, we notice in chapter 6 that Darius was the king when he was cast into the den of lions, and by that time he had already spanned four kings in Babylon. He was taken captive in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, and then went on next to Belshazzar the king, and finally to Cyrus, and then to Darius, even though there's a bit of discrepancy as to whether those men were next to each other or whether they even might have been the same man, but I don't want to give it that way. I seem to feel like they were two separate men. So he had spanned four kings already in the book of Daniel there after he was taken captive, and if he lived to when Cyrus or Darius was king, then he must have been an old man at that time. So he has thought by various historians that he might have been 80 or 90 years old. If he would have been 14 when he came into Babylon, then he would have went through all those kings and then ended up in his old age, having been in Babylon nearly the entire 70 years. There's no evidence that he ever went back to Judea, but that he probably would have died in Babylon. There's no indication that he was ever married, and of course being a eunuch we could understand that that would have been the case, but here he was a man who simply is was a very, very outstanding man. Along with Brother Karl's testimony and others who have alluded to it already this morning, one of the great reasons that we lift this man up is because of where we are in our day. It is very much applicable as we consider ourselves and having seen the deterioration of the fear of God in our own nation, and yes, the fear of God having fallen and having deteriorated and been taken away much in our nation the last 40 years, and we now find ourselves with an extreme amount of heathen influence rather than a God-fearing one that we would have had when I was a child. So I chose to introduce this man and to lift him up because of what he ministers to us here today. It's not a small thing. We find ourselves in the midst of a situation like he did. He had a heathen king, he had unbelievers all around him, and yet he he demonstrated to us a stance, a faith, a practice, a clear line that he drew for his own life as to how much he could do there and how much he couldn't do that he was asked to do, and he took a firm position throughout all those four kings and was highly respected, although misunderstood at times and tricked. The kings were tricked into making decrees, or at least one of them was, like Darius, against him to try to remove him from his position because it seems like that he had such a good reputation and such an upright life that there was a lot of jealousy and envy settled in to the rest of them. And I don't know whether this was just some of the other men, who all they were, that conspired against him, but definitely they did that and wanted to remove him from office. Sound familiar? Surely does today, doesn't it? Sounds familiar, all this time it seems to be the man in charge of this nation that people are conspiring against and trying to remove him from office. Certainly a incredible revelation in the past few weeks here as to the political coup or political thing that was created here in the last three, four years to try to remove our president from his office. Just a sobering thing to see that such a thing can happen in what we would have never considered possible in years gone by, but rather felt that the nation would have risen up and dealt with it very clearly and very profoundly. Daniel the Prophet. Who was Daniel the Prophet? Now, yeah, I just wanted to put the question out. I don't know if I'll ask it openly for an answer, but as to how many kings this man's life spanned, he at least would have would have been probably in Josiah and in Jehorakim before he was taken captive and taken to Babylon. But one of the things that's so challenging about this man is that in the midst of that kind of departure and that kind of an apostasy that he experienced in his homeland in his young years, that yet he had the kind of training and uprightness and integrity that came into his own heart, that he was able to take his stand as a young boy so clearly when he got into Babylon, is to me an amazing thing. And the courage I take from that young man, you know, we older ones, we talk many times about what about our children? What about our grandchildren and great-grandchildren now that we have a number of them? What is going to happen with them as things continue to progress and deteriorate further and further and the church fall into apostasy and departure from the Word of God and from truth? But take courage that, and that's why it's so important that you adhere to the teachings that you're hearing and that you're receiving here Sunday after Sunday and in your home, I'm persuaded, and that you take them deeply, deeply to heart that no matter what comes, you will be able to go right through it. You'll be able to sail through it with the help of God, even though that we know the Antichrist will declare war against the saints and we'll be allowed to overcome them, but nevertheless all of us can save our souls or be saved if we adhere to that which is right and true and no matter what happens because even in death that should not remove us from the promise that we have. I was amazed in my reading a little bit in the seriousness of the apostasy at that time when I read in 2nd Kings chapter 24, this is concerning Jehoiakim, that his sins were so great and you know it's just hard to understand that so few years it seems that they had such a great revival under the king and yet things had deteriorated so far that they were unredeemable or unforgivable. In verse 4 he says, and also for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood which the Lord would not pardon. There was no forgiveness, there was no pardon for the sin of Jehoiakim and the things he had done because it also mentions in verse 3 I think it is that he had repeated a lot of the same things that Manasseh had done and so they that that was committing an unpardonable sin of shedding, it says he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood. So we see this young man Daniel and his three friends and they came out of that type of situation, that type of corruption right in the middle of Jerusalem where they had set up that kind of an idolatry and the sacrifice of children and which is what I take was happening in the sin of Manasseh and was again repeated by Jehoiakim as things deteriorated so far from the revival that they had under Josiah and so here we have these young men that were taught in the ways of God and they were so upright in their heart that when they were taken captive at the age of 14-15 years of age they had that kind of stability and loyalty to God and his commandments in their heart that they wouldn't defile themselves to eat the king's meat or to drink of his wine. Daniel the prophet. It is thought according to the first book the first chapter of Daniel that the writing of it was would have began he Daniel wrote the book himself and that it would have began somewhere around 604 BC. The captivity of citizens of Judah and Babylon lasted for 70 years as God had foretold through the prophet Jeremiah in 25 verse 11. Jeremiah was a prophet when things were deteriorating back in Judea and Jerusalem and you know what would help me making a lot of mention of it what he had to go through as a prophet by warning them of what would come. During this time Daniel served in prominent positions in the government of for I think it would have been Babylonian and medieval Persian rulers including Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius and Cyrus. In the first year of the reign of Darius around 539 BC Daniel came to understand or simply proved to himself again the prophecy of Jeremiah that predicted a 70 year captivity of his people and Daniel 9, 1 and 2 the end of the seven years was approaching at that time. Daniel was likely in his 80s and 90s by that time he had lived a long life but the Bible does not tell us how old he was when he died makes no reference of his death. I don't think it does anyway. Daniel wrote the book of Daniel during the 6th century BC because the book of Daniel contains so many detailed prophecies of things that happened centuries later some skeptics have suggested that it is a fraud written much later in history. They simply cannot conceive and believe that a man could prophesy things that would come to pass in the future to the degree of which he did and and they come to pass so the reason why he must have wrote it the book must have been written a lot later after the things that happened because they don't want to accept the miracles that he did. But revealing revealing the future is God's prerogative or God's opportunity. Through Isaiah God declares remember the former things of old for I am God there is no other I am God and there is none like me declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things that are not yet done saying my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure Isaiah 46 verse 9 and 10. Now concerning Daniel being a eunuch we have we have him being a young man and I don't know what gave Nebuchadnezzar such a desire to get these foreign Jewish boys into his palace there and serve in the palace but it seemed like he had a feeling that they would have wisdom and understanding beyond what the Babylonian young man did and that was an amazing revelation to him later on as it was later on determined that he was turned ten times better than all the the local young men in Babylon. Shall we read the first nine verses of the book of Daniel. In the year third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon into Jerusalem and besieged it and the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand with part of the vessels of the house of God which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his God and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his God and the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of the eunuchs I believe he was also a eunuch perhaps and he was kind of the leader of them that he should bring certain of the children of Israel and the king's seed and of the princes children whom was no blemish but well favored and skillful in all wisdom and cunning and knowledge and understanding science and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace in whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans and the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat and of the wine which he drank so nourishing them three years that at the end thereof they might stand before the king now among these were the children of Judah Daniel Hananiah Mishael and Azariah unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar and to Hananiah of Shadrach and to Mishael of Meshach and to Azariah of Abednego but Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat and with the wine which he drank therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuch and the prince of the eunuch said unto Daniel I fear my lord the king with whom who has appointed your meat and your drink for why should why should he see your faces worse than the children which are of your sort then they then shall you make me endanger my head to the king I think I'll just stop there and here we have a tremendous insight and inspiration as to the caliber the character of this man in this hour there he was separated from family who knows but there were so many people that may have died in the siege of Jerusalem that maybe his family wasn't living anymore it's just so comparable to the life of Joseph that we just went through in the past year in our Bible study that here again he was in a strange and foreign land him and his three friends and put into the into King Nebuchadnezzar's palace and he was groomed there in order to be the nice nice young upright young man beautiful looking and well filled out you might say and so on that he was looking for in hopes that in three years that he could then stand before the king or be right in with the king and be one of those men that stand at attention perhaps maybe even a protector of the king and so on like or maybe just a servant to do whatever the king wanted done very interesting also that the king was so open with the matter that he wanted him to have the meat and the drink of the king's table he was allowed him and his three friends were allowed to eat at the king's table but now we have a conflict because there were things on that table that Daniel did not feel clear to participate eat out was it because things weren't bled right is a possibility was it because there was meat that was sacrificed to idols that's another possibility but somehow as a young man to eat of that food and drink of that wine he just did not feel clear that he would be able to do that and so he came and made his humble request that he would not be that he would not defile himself with the king's meat of course the man who was in charge there feared for his own life if he would allow him to have that liberty but Daniel in his great wisdom came up which he was a he was a wise young man came up with a 10-day test that he would eat pulse which appears to have been vegetables or grain or something of that nature and not eat of the king's meat and drink of the wine which was at the table and the man allowed that to happen allowed him to give that test and at the end found out that the young men were much fatter and much nicer than the others who were eating at the king's table I should have said at the beginning it appears like he might have taken about 25 or 30 young men out of Jerusalem so we only have this account of these four and they stand out above all the rest in the fact that they had this uprightness and this integrity and honesty of their lives in comparison to the rest of them and I just attribute that to the fact maybe it's too much of an imagination but we would have to say there if he was taken at that young of an age there surely was an excellent training situation or program behind him and I would just give this admonition to you young ones here today never despise what is being put into you to help you in light of in the land of which we are living and the society that we have to deal with when so much anti-christian influence is coming upon us out of this world and even from the apostate church so everything that is being put into you that is trying to form you and and cause you to be able to have your roots going deep into clear biblical truth and uprightness and godliness never never despise that never shake that off as we notice here in present situations with the Gooch family as the third young man was also implicated in un-christian activity and texting his brother and so on we now find three or four of the children that seems like that did never that had never happened and perhaps they were a certain age already when their parents became Christians and joined the conservative church and took them along and tried to bring that influence upon them but for some reason it never took they never embraced it I have to think of our own experience here charity and effort of both where people pulled their young people in here who were disobedient and worldly and they were so hope to try to salvage their family by bringing them under this preaching and influence here but they were not able to get it across to them and get that teaching into their heart and as soon as they had opportunity whether it was before or after there were 18 years of age they just went out and went their own way right back to where they came from and even beyond it's a choice that we make concerning all these things young people it's a choice that you have to make you cannot ride on the coattails of your parents and expect that battles just rub off and somehow you can get to heaven on that you will have to make a choice like these young men did and when they were separated from their family and from their homeland and from what was left of the Christian community of those who were still faithful back in Judea when she apparently had some in the fellowship and there must have been a group of the thousand a few thousands that had not bowed their knees to bail back in Elijah time maybe some of them still left here and so that may I emphasize a fact that you like Daniel and his three friends must make that choice the words that stand out to me are in chapter or chapter 1 there in verse 8 it's a fact that Daniel purposed in his heart and that's what it'll take that's what it will take you'll have to stand back or climb the ladder as brother Mark did this morning and view the entire situation of the environment that you're in you can view our government and what's going on there a bit that's what your parents might explain to you or share with you what's happening in the government of the United States of America you can view the churches and you can ask questions maybe you do and why do they do that or why don't they practice this and those are the kind of things that you should view from your vantage point in life but in the midst of a whole situation you must purpose in your own heart what you're going to do with the information that you're getting all this information you're taking in from us as preachers and teachers from our church as a general life of the church from your parents from your home school and I encourage you so much between the ages of 12 13 and 18 especially those ages are very crucial very critical for you to climb that ladder and to look out over the all things that you have seen and known and make your choice and make it of such solidity is such consecrated way that no matter what would happen to you though somebody would come to your door and take you away from your home wouldn't change your resolution a bit but you would have decided and you have resolute decision made that you would not want to defile yourself with the things of this world and believe me they are defiling whether you look at the music world which you have to deal with whether you look at your friends and acquaintance that you have to deal with whether you look at where you go and what you look at and what you view and what you read in the books you read and all those things where you go what kind of recreation that you choose to how far you're going to go and where you will draw the line like these men did when they got into that heathen country and they got into the king's house and the fear surely would have been upon them that if they don't do right they could very easily just be removed like that we see that these even the men who were in charge of them feared the king in that way that if they don't do just exactly what the king wants they could be removed in a minute so that's my encouragement to you this morning out of this opening that you that you purpose in your heart to not defile yourself with the king's mean people could think well it doesn't matter that much I'll take you know what else should I do this is set before me you know why can't I for this time just participate the law is going the temples going and destroyed back in that home and I don't have to follow all those things right now but no they could not and would not do that would not defile themselves with the king's me I wanted to I had failed to finish or come across this scripture in Isaiah concerning who these boys might have been and what kind of influence they may have had from home before they got into captivity earlier in the history of the kingdom of Judah we find Hezekiah king of Judah unwisely shown the treasures of the house to the emissaries of the king of Babylon in Isaiah 39 verse 2 God inspired Isaiah to pronounce a prophecy about his descendants Isaiah said to Hezekiah hear the word of the Lord of hosts behold the days are coming when all that is in your house and what your fathers have accumulated under this day will be carried into Babylon nothing shall be left sayeth the Lord and they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you whom ye will beget and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon so it seems very clear that that's what that's who these boys may have been descendants direct descendants of Isaiah of Hezekiah the king of Judah we notice here the names were changed and in that they were given heathen names I have to think of Daniel being called Belteshazzar one of the main gods that they served in those days was the God Bell which had to do with the bail I think was considered to be the same in some parts of history he was called Bell and other times bail and here he had that very name after Nebuchadnezzar's God attached to his name and called Belteshazzar and the rest of them I don't know what their names meant either but it seems a possibility that they were also names of their false gods but Daniel was a faithful man of God rather than defile himself like it's so clearly spelled out here with the food that was provided by Nebuchadnezzar Daniel and his three friends chose a different path and God blessed that effort we have very clearly in this scripture and after the test was made the appearance were found to be healthier by the steward who had appointed over them in Daniel chapter 1 here next we have the just giving a bit of an overview of some of the other things that happened in these earlier chapters in chapter 2 we have Nebuchadnezzar having a dream and getting all the magicians and the soothsayers and and the wise men of the kingdom of Babylon in to tell him the dream and he didn't remember the dream he wanted them to interpret the dream but they said we can't tell tell us the dream and we'll tell you the interpretation of it he said I don't remember the dream I want you to tell me what the dream was and the interpretation now and so when they couldn't do that he made a decree he was going to destroy all these young men and of course that would have included Daniel and his three friends Daniel immediately went and very quickly and asked the overseers that they would appeal to the king to give him some time and that he would try to he would by God's wisdom give the interpretation now and that's exactly what happened he was able to tell Nebuchadnezzar the dream and tell him the interpretation there but something happened there he saw the the dream was a great image it was an image of a head of gold and then it was a breastplate of brass and and then on down to the loins into the feet of iron and clay and out into the toes but something I believe went into the head of Nebuchadnezzar because in chapter 3 it seems like he lifted himself up and made an image of gold and I wonder whether he didn't get the idea of the fact that the prophecy that was given and interpreted by Daniel made him the head of gold he said thou art this head of gold and so the next chapter we have him making an image of gold in the plain of Dora Daniel must have been away at the time when this whole thing came about but he decided desired to worship that they were carnal men they were heathen men even though they saw the goodness of these young men and realized that they had some wisdom and ability that they didn't have as that the wise men of Babylon didn't have yet they were heathen men and so they they followed their carnal desires therefore in chapter 2 we have that given and then but one of the things that one of the highlights that I have from the book of Daniel is in that vision that there was a stone cut out of the mountain without hands that struck that image at the very base of it and ground it to powder and destroyed the entire thing and then as it says here in verse 34 of chapter 2 thou saw us till that a stone was cut out without hands which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay and break them to pieces then was the iron and the clay and the brass and the silver and the gold broken to pieces together and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floor and the wind carried them away that no place was found in them and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth this was a very profound prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ and the image and the that was given there was that thou Nebuchadnezzar art that head of gold but then next after Nebuchadnezzar would be the Medieval Persia Empire which the Medes and the Persians would have been Cyrus and Darius when they came in by night after Nebuchadnezzar overtook it without a big fight and then finally that happened through Belshazzar it went from Nebuchadnezzar to Belshazzar and Belshazzar had the handwriting on the wall and of course that night he was he was killed and the and the Medieval Persian army came in and took over and what is so interesting is the fact that Daniel continued to be that important man in the kingdom even though the entire rulership changed from Babylon to Medieval Persia yet Daniel's position never changed in fact in all four kings in Babylon Daniel's position never changed apparently when the new kings came in and took rulership the the reputation of Daniel was so great so high that they just wanted him to continue to be the ruler of the kingdom of course he got that position by interpreting these dreams for the kings there at the beginning for Nebuchadnezzar and so on and and they were given he was given that position because of him being able to interpret the dream and that lasted throughout his entire life it appears Daniel faithfulness to God given him he was given knowledge skill and understanding from God God saw these fruits of Daniel and his three friends and gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom to Daniel God also gave understanding in all visions and dreams as a result God's blessing upon Daniel and his three friends the king found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm in verse 20 in the media after the the situation with the plane of Dora like I said many people think Daniel must have been away somewhere on official business for the king and wasn't there at the time but all at once this thing come into the head of this king and he wanted to he wanted to build an image to himself and and then have everyone bow down at the song of or at the playing of the musical instruments everyone should fall down and bow down to him and of course we all know the story of how three men would not bow but one of the things that we noticed was the methods of capital punishment that was in place in those days we have a a burning prairie furnace here that people were thrown into if they disobeyed the king later on we have a den of lions today we have different methods and throughout history we know that many different methods were used to put the fear of disobedience into the people and threaten them and and many times those things were used firing squads and crucifixions and starvation in a dungeon and just many other ways that were exercised throughout the years in but that's the way it was here it seems like they were ruthless in their their exercising of of this capital punishment that they had so in this case King Nebuchadnezzar had the had the fiery furnace and even made it seven times hotter when he found out that they had disobeyed him it seemed so easy for them and their heathenism to fly into a rage and to just make unbelievable demands of the people but I just once again the solid training that purposing in their heart the true commitment of these boys came to the light came to the surface here the only way a man can do that the only way any of us can stand up to some of the threats that may be made against us in times of persecution like has happened to many of our ancestors and much of the church and even what they're going through today in many countries of the world because they will not accept Islam or will not bow to it or will not because they get converted even among the Jews it has been a very difficult thing for someone to leave the Jewish faith I understand that certain parts of the Jewish community will even have a funeral for them today and actually carry a coffin out to show the rejection of the individual that has become a believer and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior but again I want to lift up the strength and the faith and the endurance of these men well we know what happened they submitted themselves to whatever and were thrown into the fiery furnace and the fire was so hot that it even destroyed the men who put them in but it seems like the environment that they were in was like cool breeze and a green grass or something of that nature not a hair on their head was singed and they came through and the king saw the fourth man with him in there in the midst of it and that is such a beautiful illustration of what needs to happen in our lives today we need the fourth man to be with us in all that we face and we look at our situation today and we don't know where it's gonna go we hear a lot of threats and a lot of plans that are appeared to be thought about and made against the Christian Church against homeschooling against not taking the vaccine and all these different things ideas are being thrown out and we have no idea what all that will mean but can we have that uprightness that no matter whatever that even if we get thrown into the fiery furnace the fourth man is with us and that doesn't mean we won't suffer that doesn't mean we won't be fined thousands of dollars for not complying or lose many of our liberties and privileges which are already beginning but I just plead again for that uprightness and that stability and that purposing of the heart that can be deep within us that no matter what would happen no matter who the king is though it our present president would lose the election and somebody much worse would get in and we would all at once wake up to a very different situation that what we have today because we have his protection one of the great blessings this past week is we got that clear mandate from him that all the churches should be opened up and people should go to church and worship their God and that was an amazing command that came from him and I just I'm so blessed by that that he has the highest authority in the land even though the governors are saying this and that and other things he came above them all and said open the churches and meet together you need it and gave a beautiful speech there concerning it all but that may change that only every four years there's a reelection and we're only a half a year barely that away from the next election where we have do not know who is going to be our leader who's going to be our president our roots deep enough that should those that are against Christianity be voted into office and all kinds of things change like the man in Chicago the leader the governor of Chicago or the mayor of the city of Chicago I forget now which one it is church isn't necessary you don't need to meet they should shut down at least for another three months and maybe permanently and we realize those are the kind of thoughts that are in their minds that are in their heads are we that close to those kind of brewers that may take over it appears that we are and certainly as we stand in this transition time not knowing it's just this virus has brought out all this stuff that's in men's heart and they have verbalized themselves concerning these things I yet want to go to we have we have them rescued out of there and then they were promoted Nebuchadnezzar promoted the three young men and began to refer to their God as the God of them and seemed to have high respect for them well I would like to yet talk a little bit about the the experience in Daniel 6 we have Bill Scherzer the king making a great feast in chapter 5 and we have the handwriting on the wall there and again Daniel was remembered in having been the interpreter dreams and the Queen made even though that the king was trembling Bill Scherzer was trembling the Queen referred to Daniel that he should be sought and brought in which happened and he interpreted the handwriting in the wall there are ways on the balances and found one and that night the the Grecian king came in King the Grecian government came in and overthrew him and took his life and now we have that change taking place there now we have the the would have been medium Persia yet yes that had the experience with Bill Scherzer now we come to Darius in chapter 6 and just looking at that chapter 6 verse 1 it pleased to rise to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty princes which should be over the whole kingdom and over these were three presidents of whom Daniel was first that the princes might give account under them and the king should have no damage then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes because an excellent spirit was in him and the king thought to set him over the whole realm there was something so magnetic about him something so trustworthy something so resolute that it didn't matter who the king was they all pretty much came to the same conclusion this man had an excellent spirit this man was an example this man was to be trusted and they were able to put all kinds of authority upon him and he would carry it out and expedited in a good and upright manner so here we have Daniel being promoted here by Darius King Darius and he had a large kingdom at this time and he couldn't handle it all he needed men and so he looked for men who and Daniel was the first he was preferred above the others now jealousy and envy sets in in a greater way I don't know why it didn't maybe beforehand in that way although it seems to have with the three Hebrew Cherwin also that was an influence from the community some men who put that idea in in their heads to to prove all things out there as it was but here we have this again where envy and jealousy has set into the people's lives and they began to figure out how can they remove this man how can we get rid of him and once again we're reminded of some of the things that we read and hear about today how all kinds of ways have been sought the last three and a half years and we now found find out that there was a plot all the way through from the very inauguration January three and a half years ago to somehow find a way to remove this man from office and they have tried every which way but again there was a God in heaven as Daniel says who rules over the kingdom of men who sets men down or raises men up and he rules over their affairs and that's the only thing we can conclude that has happened that they their aims were not accomplished so that's the way it was here with Daniel envy and jealousy seemed to sit in in verse 5 it says and said these men we shall not find any occasion against this Daniel except we find it against him concerning the law of his God they began to think ah maybe his religion he is loyal to his religion and if we somehow can influence King Darius to make a decree and make a rule that will somehow challenge him in his worship that we might be able to get him so that's what they did they went into Darius and once again a heathen King he should have he should have sensed the plot but he didn't you know his own ego I believe for his own lack of God in his life but my that's a pretty good idea that we could make a rule that the only one that is prayed to the only one we bow down to or worship would be the old king and he just the pride of his own heart went for it and agreed and believed that and said that sounds pretty good why don't we do that and he agreed that they of course helped everything get together and set it up and he stamped it with his stamp which is the law of the Medes and Persians are unchangeable you cannot reverse it and all at once then they went over to Daniel's house and watched and there's once again a great lesson that we have for today I fear how many people would I fear how many people would have said I can surely make it a month without praying I can surely wait a month before it was only for 30 days before I look toward Jerusalem and make my he had he had the wisdom and the prophecies he knew that 70 years was determined and the time was getting close when he would when Jerusalem would again be restored and the Jews would be allowed to trickle back home again and reestablish the Jewish nation in fact it happened under these Kings under Darius and so on but but he wouldn't do that and we ask ourselves why didn't he do that just for a little bit change his practice change his procedure a little somehow he considered that a breach of his loyalty and his faithfulness to God and he couldn't do it and he or he wouldn't do it and it the interesting thing about it young people he didn't even consider it didn't even seem to bother him he didn't spend a couple of sleepless nights before he decided what to do he just went back into his room opened the window towards Jerusalem and prayed like he did a poor time no change are our roots that deep do we have that little compromise and that little adjustable things concerning our convictions or how quickly do we give in and change them a bit here or there because of the pressures of other people around us even if it's just a little youth group or or maybe just our family or maybe just a community in which we live and they bring the wrong music to the meeting and they begin to play games that we're not comfortable with and they want to watch movies that we cannot watch and they and we get into the midst of those situations and we have a decision to make and so hard it is for us to get up and say I can't do this I can't go there and take a clear position and even so for nearly all of that in our situation there's no death penalty there's no consequences of a lion's den can you imagine as a method of capital punishment in his day with Darius he had a den of hungry lions waiting on anyone that would disobey the government he would get thrown in and that was clearly stated and everyone knew that those ten of lions were there that didn't change Daniel's mind one bit and like I say we can't even read that he was troubled by it says now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed he went into his house and the windows being opened in his chamber of toward Jerusalem he kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before he's gone as he did a fourth time just like he always had that's how it was well the men who had been jealous and envious of his position they came near speak before the king concerning the king's decree and said to him hast thou not signed the decree that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within 30 days saved unto the old king shall be cast into the den of lions the king answered and said the thing is true according to the law of Medes and Persians which alters not then answered they and said unto the king that Daniel you see their attitude that Daniel always in the limelight always ruling over the affairs and being ahead of us we can never catch up to him we can never get voted in above him he is over top of us all the time which is of the children captivity of Judah regardless not the old king nor the decree that thou has signed but make it his petition three times a day then the king when he heard these words was so already pleased with himself and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him and he labored to the going down of the Sun to deliver him then these men assembled under the king and said unto the king no all King O King that the law of the Medes and Persians is that no decree nor statutes which the king established may be changed then the king commanded they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions now the king spake and said unto Daniel thy God continually he will deliver the precious words from a heathen king who had by that time seen so much fulfilled and so much done and he knew the history of what had happened in some of the kings I believe before him and he knew that what Daniel would do and whatever would happen would come to pass and he actually had the faith that the God that he believed in would deliver him from the den of lions imagine he labored all day to try to figure out a way that he wouldn't have to throw him in but finally he realized as they kept after him that the law of the Medes and Persians can't be altered and he finally realized he has to throw him in but when he did so he believed that God would deliver him now it's interesting to watch the modernists of our day and some of the things they come up with on this they say well the lions were well fed they didn't they weren't hungry but he hid himself there's just a few lines down there and he went back in the cave somewhere and in the back and hid himself there and that's why they didn't attack him but the answer is how hungry were they when the enemies were thrown in so hungry that they were torn to pieces before they ever hit the ground they were hungry and probably made by God a lot hungrier yet at that time but we have Daniel thrown in there and not a mouth open up against him amazing amazing thing that God has done you know young people again I tell you 14 15 16 18 year old there's a God in heaven who rules over the affairs of men he can do what his will is and all we need to do is put our trust in him and our confidence that should things be difficult and should the authorities have to do something with us because of our faith let it never shake you or you one bit that's what happened with Daniel it doesn't even indicate that he feared the thing and that he sweated it out that day as fear of what might happen to him he probably knew what was going on and the king the words that the king had with him seemed so apologetic he was so sorry that he had to do it that he put him in there but once again the fourth man showed up in this case it was the second man Daniel was down there alone but another person showed up an angel from heaven came down there and shut the mouth of the lions and they couldn't open their mouth didn't matter how hungry they were they weren't able to open their mouth and take one little snip out of him he was just calm and once again like the three Hebrew children his dear friends it I could imagine he might have slept well he might have found a rock for his pillow or somehow made himself comfortable down there the Lions just slowly maybe walking around as I can imagine and none of them made one attempt to come at him and bite him they all kept their distance I often wondered how visible the angel was to Daniel it appears to me like he saw the angel because he knew an angel had come and shut their mouth and he told sir Darius that when he got out but you know who was miserable that night not Daniel no someone else was miserable and that was the king he labored all night without sleep tossed on his bed or whatever maybe he didn't even go to bed I'm not sure how it says that didn't take special note of that but he he wouldn't he couldn't sleep early in the morning he rushed down there and had his men open that door and call it has your God delivered you let me read that the king went to his palace and passed the night fasting he couldn't even eat supper neither were instruments of music before him that was any sleep went from him then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste into the den of lions and when he came to the den he cried with a lamentable voice on the Daniel and the king spake and said to Daniel Oh Daniel servant of the Living God is thy God whom thou service continually I like that word continually not when it suits not when nobody when I have no opposition and everything is going well thy God who now service continually able to deliver thee from the den of lions question mark then said Daniel on to thee under the king Oh King live forever my God has sent his angel and I shut the lion's mouth and they have not hurt me for as much as before him innocency was found in me and also before thee Oh King have I done no hurt no guilt on Daniel's heart at all he didn't think well maybe there was some things I did that I kind of deserve this he knew he was innocent all the way through and he knew he was not only innocent before God but he was innocent before the king he had done nothing then was a king exceedingly glad for him and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den so Daniel was taken up out of the den and no manner of hurt was found upon him because he believed in his God and there we have the great secret of the entire matter he believed in his God let me tell you brothers and sisters that is my desire I desire this morning in the midst of all this confusion politically economically and whatever we find ourselves in we have so much to be grateful for yet I would say no one is starving all have plenty to eat that we are very grateful and thankful but I just desire to have that kind of faithfulness that no matter what comes that I would have that loyalty and faithful unshakable faith in my God to be able to take it calmly like I said Daniel it was not how was that there was no hurt in him at all what's found upon him because he believed in his God and then the king had him brought up and so I want that personal faith in God to be at each one if you're over 14 years of age and you consider Daniel and the example that he is you consider the three Hebrew children approximately the same age I would guess that were taken as these young boys into the palace of a groom to be good boys for the king and eat the king's meat and do whatever he tells you but these boys had a line that they had drawn in their lives they knew what they could do and what they couldn't do and they did what they could do so well that they had the respect of the king in their lives they were greatly appreciated they were ten times better than all the magicians and the astrologers and and soothsayers and all that they had a good reputation but then they were tested and tried by the people who were jealous of them and jealous of their position and they were put to the test and they were not found to compromise they were not found to to give in one bit and God made a way for them and delivered them so may God help us in our whatever may be our future that from our youth we could have that line drawn we will not bend we will not bow as the songwriter gives it that though we be challenged and pushed and bartered and threatened and whatever concerning all the things of life that are before us we know what we can do and what we can't do and that's not very easy always to find that balance and to find where all to put that by our occupation by the environment in our work and by the community and most of all by family I think one of the greatest threats I've said numerous times I'll say it again is from family who want everyone to be together and everyone to be one and just ignore all of our differences and just love one another and so be drawn into things that we are very uncomfortable with at times but we do them anyhow because it's family so may God help us and give us much grace this morning to take that position in life and to make that commitment before God search the scriptures climb the ladder this morning and view your life and view all the influences that are coming your way and make your decision and make it firm in Jesus name thank you shall we pray shall we bow our heads for prayer father in heaven I pray this morning would you give all of our young men our young ladies Lord that are the same age that Daniel and his three friends may have been or maybe even older ones even to us of old age is our resolve like that examine our hearts oh God and teach us and help us Lord to make that resolute commitment before you that the God whom we serve we will obey we will not depart from him though the times get tough and things are different than what we have known them though we never turn return to the normal that we had only a few months ago may we be faithful to you in all things I pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us and as brother Carl mentioned to have the right attitude in the midst of people whose anger is mounting and we seem to have an underground civil war going on in the hearts of many who may yet come to injure one another we don't know but we cannot go with them we cannot take that part but rather we trust in our God that he will guide us and he will take our hand and help us through whatever we may face we pray it in Jesus name amen