Daniel 1:21 – “The Plan”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

²¹And Daniel was until the year of the first to Cyrus the king.

The NIV offers the smoother translation: “And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.”

This little sentence of seven Hebrew words speaks volumes. The first verse of this chapter began in around 605 BC with Daniel around 15 to 20 years old. This last verse carries us about 66 years later to 539 BC when the Medo-Persians under Cyrus conquered Babylon. Doing the math, at that time, Daniel would have been around 81 to 86 years old. As Daniel was to discover reading the book of Jeremiah (25:11), the Jewish captivity in Babylon was to last 70 years. So we note that Daniel’s lifetime spanned this momentous period in Jewish history known as the Babylonian Captivity.

Daniel was born under godly king Josiah in Judah, who died in battle when Daniel would have been like 11 to 16. He then had to live under Josiah’s incredibly wicked son Jehoiakim, who finally brought down disaster on Judah when Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came and conquered the City of Jerusalem. Daniel and his friends were then torn from their families and their homes and their homeland and taken to serve in the Babylonian court under Nebuchadnezzar. Ancient history tells us that Nebuchadnezzar reigned about 43 years until around 562 BC. He was succeeded by his son Evil-Merodach (who released Jehoiachin from prison – II Kings 25:27-30). Evil-Merodach apparently only ruled for two years and was killed by his brother-in-law Neriglissar, who only reigned about four years and was succeeded by his son Labashi-Marduk who was murdered after only 9 months and succeeded by Nabonidus who soon thereafter made his son Belshazzar his co-regent. Belshazzar ruled over Babylon while his father apparently traveled extensively. It was this same Belshazzar who was ruling when Cyrus conquered Babylon. He is the same Belshazzar we will read about in chapter 5 with the hand-writing on the wall.

Daniel lived through it all. His life spanned the Babylonian Captivity with all the concurrent tumultuous political upheavals of the international scene.

It is remarkable to me to step back and see God’s hand in all of this. The Lord could have said to Daniel what He said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jer 1:5). Daniel could have said with David, “All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be” (Ps. 139:16).

God knew. He knew it all. He knew it all from the beginning. He created Daniel for this very purpose. Daniel was born and died at exactly the right times to make him a candidate for the Babylonian and Persian courts and then to carry his ministry though to the very end of the Jewish people’s Babylonian captivity.

Daniel didn’t know it all from the beginning. As a boy in Judea, Daniel didn’t know what his life would be like. He didn’t know he’d be torn from his family. He didn’t know if his “vegetables” experiment would work. He wouldn’t know his friends would survive the fiery furnace. He wouldn’t know he’d survive the lions’ den. He didn’t know when the Persians conquered Babylon whether he’d be executed or if he would be respected and elevated to a high position. He was not born knowing God’s plan for his life.

Neither are we.

But you and I can read the story of his life. You and I can see God’s amazing plan for Daniel, wonder at the Lord’s providence, and admire Daniel’s faith and courage.

But we don’t get to read the story of our lives.

We, like Daniel, have to live our lives from beginning to end, never knowing what tomorrow will bring, usually never able to see the “big picture.”

I would guess most of us live our lives really not sure even why we’re here. I wake up this morning and realize it is December 24, 2016. I don’t even know what today will be about, much less the rest of my life. We have some plans, especially being Christmas Eve day. But what will really happen? I don’t know. What part will the Lord want me to play in it? I don’t know.

But I believe it does us good to realize my life is no different than Daniel’s. He didn’t know either.

But he lived it well.

And why? Because he lived it in faith.

He lived it believing that “the Most High rules in the nations of men.”

We too need to live our lives believing that this same great God is not only masterfully orchestrating the sweeping international events in which we live, but also the very personal, minute to minute details of our seemingly mundane days.

Daniel was born for a purpose.

You and I were born for a purpose.

Daniel didn’t get to know that purpose ahead of time.

And neither do we.

But he lived his days in faith.

And so can we.

And, like Daniel, if we will simply live by the same faith, somehow the days will add up to years, will add up to a lifetime, and at least in Heaven, we’ll find out it was all for a great and grand purpose.

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord … Surely he will never be shaken … he will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, confident in the Lord. His heart is secure, … in the end he will look in triumph on his foes …” (Ps. 112).

Lord, this is Your world, not mine. Help me today to love well, no matter what that means or how I need to accomplish it. May faith in You conquer my fears. May I be confident in You and be content to let You “rule in the lives of men and nations.” You’ve got the plan. Help me be a willing part of it.