4I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at
east in my house and happy in my palace. 5I saw a dream and it made
me afraid and [the] mental pictures upon my bed and [the] visions of my head
alarmed me. 6And from me was made a decree to bring in before me the
all of the wise men of Babel which the meaning of the dream they should inform
me. 7Then came in the horoscopists, the conjurers, the Chaldeans,
and the gazers and I told before them and the meaning of it not ones
informing to me. 8And at last came in before me Daniel which
Belteshazzar by the name of my god and a spirit of holy gods [is] in him and
the dream before him I told. 9Belteshazzar, the chief of the
horoscopists, because I know that a spirit of holy gods [is] in you and
all of a secret not baffling to you. The visions of my dream which I saw and
the meaning of it, tell [me]. 10And the visions of my head upon my
bed, I was looking…
Since we’re trying to learn all we can from our friend
Daniel about living faith in a real world, I think it worth pausing once again
to consider this passage from his perspective.
Once again, let’s not forget that Daniel is “at work.” He
has a job, just like you and me, with a boss and co-workers. Let’s also not
forget that the place where he works cares essentially nothing about his God.
It is a place too often ruled by idolatry, cruelty, immorality, and deception.
It’s not the job he would have chosen, or the boss he would have chosen, or the
co-workers he would have chosen, or even in the place he would have chosen, yet
here he is, and so, if he is to live a life of faith, he’ll simply have to live
it in this very place.
Just stop and think for a minute how hard all of this would
be for Daniel, even right here in the passage before us. First of all, we’re
not told why Daniel comes in last. The king’s decree was for all the wise men
of Babylon to appear before him. People suggest a lot of reasons why Daniel
shows up last, but, for whatever it’s worth, I would suggest the obvious
explanation is that he, being the chief of the wise men, was detained with
other responsibilities and came as soon as he could. No doubt the Lord Himself
detained Daniel so that he could only arrive after it was clear the rest of the
wise men couldn’t do the job.
But Daniel was called and so he’s here. And what does his
boss ask of him? The impossible.
All sound familiar?
I noted back in chapter 2 that I think the Lord actually
wants us believers to do “the impossible” at our jobs. I rather suspect most of
the time what I’m asked to do at least contains some element of “impossible.”
Yet we believers, like Daniel, pray and ask the Lord to help us and often accomplish
exactly that – the impossible. I’m frequently very aware “it wasn’t me.” I hope somehow the
Lord is making that apparent to others, so they see not me but Him. I hope they
realize I’m not that smart or that skillful, or that I didn’t just “get lucky,”
but that somehow God is helping me. Clearly that was true of Daniel. Twice the
king acknowledges that “the spirit of the holy gods is in you.” Just as with
Daniel, I believe the Lord wants to arouse people’s hearts by showing His power
precisely by enabling you and me to accomplish the impossible at our jobs.
The thing is it is hard to be expected to accomplish the
impossible, even for us who know our God. It forces us to exercise our faith. I
have to face it knowing it’s impossible but choosing to believe that somehow
the Lord is at work. I need to just trust Him and proceed to do whatever I can.
Also, I need to be His humble servant through it all, which means I will be
respectful to my boss (even if he’s a raging tyrant) and kind to my co-workers
(even if they’re a bunch of back-biting charlatans) . Daniel didn’t have Col.
3:23,24, but he knew its spirit: “And whatever you do, do it with your whole
heart, as working for the Lord and not for men…it is the Lord Christ you are
serving!” Just like Daniel, as we go about “the impossible,” it is imperative
we learn to keep a humble, sweet spirit as we serve not men, but our wonderful
Lord. It wouldn’t have been easy for Daniel, and it won’t be easy for us, but
he proves it can be done.
I also want to point out again, just how unpleasant all of
this would be for Daniel. He works where? In Babylon. Remember this is Babel,
the very epitome of rebellion against God. Human history is in a sense “The
Tale of Two Cities” – Jerusalem vs. Babel – the city of God vs. the city of the
Devil, and Daniel lives and works in the latter. And what is his position? “Chief
of the Horoscopists.” The what? Chief of the necromancers and wizards and astrologists
and witches and warlocks! Back in Israel such people were to be put to death.
Daniel gets drug away from home as a young man to not only become one of these
noxious people, but the head of them all! I think I pointed out earlier, this
is about like being appointed head of the king’s brothel or his abortion
clinic.
How would you and I handle it if that happened to us? My
first response would be, “I’d rather die.” In my mind, I could see myself
refusing such a position and willingly being martyred for it. But can we all
pause and notice that isn’t what Daniel did? He accepted the position. And from
that pinnacle of evil, the Lord chose to shine very, very brightly the light of
His presence and power! Ponder that one for a minute. I think it proves conclusively
that you and I do not see our jobs through God’s eyes – but we need to. Desperately need to. Our job in this
world is to let our light shine…and it shines most brightly in the deepest
darkness. Probably few of us will ever be called to work in a place as dark as
Babel, but may our hearts be willing. May we be ready to set aside our
extra-Biblical scruples and go humbly and sweetly wherever the Lord takes us –
like Daniel.
There is so much more to see in this passage, but one last
thing – let’s notice again that even Daniel’s name he was given would be
obnoxious to him: Belteshazzar, “after the name of my god.” How would you and I
like being given the title, “Servant of Satan,” and have people call us that, have
to answer to it, and have to sign it with our own hand on official documents? That
is precisely what Daniel has been called to do. Right now, at this minute, I
don’t know that I could. It would certainly take some very earnest prayer to
convince myself it is “okay” and that I can do it actually being a servant of
the Most High God.
Yikes! The more you dig, the more you see just how awful
Daniel’s situation was. You and I will find ourselves in awful situations at
our jobs too. It’s unlikely any of us will ever face what Daniel and his three
friends faced – yet they prove to us it can be done. You and I can live a life
of faith even at our jobs, even in our workplaces. You and I can let our Lord
place us in what to us may be very unpleasant conditions, yet go on being His
humble, sweet, compliant servants, and so show our world He is a mighty God.
Like Daniel, may you and I see our jobs as holy callings. Like
Daniel, may we live in the presence of our God even as we work at the jobs He’s
given us. And may He see fit to accept our feeble, bungling efforts and use
them to shine His light into other people’s hearts.
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