Manthano

Saturday, July 9, 2022

Daniel 6:1-5 “God Help Us”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹It was fair before Darius to appoint upon the kingdom the governors one hundred and twenty that they might be in the all of the kingdom, ²and above them three administrators which Daniel [was] one from them as that the governors might be ones giving to them the account and the king not to him one suffering damage. ³Then this Daniel was distinguishing himself upon the administrators and the governors because the spirit of the excellence [was] in him and the king [was] one intending to appoint him upon the all of the kingdom. ⁴Then the administrators and the governors were ones seeking a pretext to find to Daniel concerning the kingdom and not ones being able to find all of a pretext and corruption because he [was] trustworthy and all of a negligence and corruption [was] not found upon him. ⁵Then these men [were] ones saying, “Not we will find all of a pretext to this Daniel unless we find [it] upon him in the law of his God.”

It is worth noting again the world that our Daniel lives in. At the age of 85-90, he has lived his life in a world literally convulsed with change. When he was born, Egypt and Assyria were the dominant world powers. As a young boy, Daniel got to live under godly king Josiah, but then saw that king killed, caught in the cross-fire of Egypt and Assyria battling against the rising Babylon. Then, no doubt to his godly parents’ grief, Josiah’s evil son Jehoiakim took the throne and a short time later, Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army appeared to besiege Jerusalem.

The next thing Daniel knew, Nebuchadnezzar was inside Jerusalem and Daniel and his friends were ripped away from their homes and families and drug 1,500 miles away to serve in the palace of Babylon. Daniel then saw several changes of government in Babylon until finally Belshazzar’s arrogant, inept, wicked rule brought an end to the head of gold. Belshazzar was slain and now Darius the Mede steps into the position of king over Babylon. The prophesied chest and arms of silver, the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, is now in power, just as Daniel had interpreted in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream some seventy years earlier.

In Aramaic, this chapter 6 actually begins with the last verse of our English Bible’s chapter 5, where our verse 31 says, “And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.” Once again, Daniel would be getting up in the morning with no idea what the day might bring. Belshazzar the king was slain. Suddenly there is a new man on the throne. Usually, conquering kings tended to kill everyone in the vanquished court to replace them with their own people. Daniel could have easily been just another victim in this swirling change of power. Yet he lives, as he has through every change he's seen since he was a young boy.

Now, rather than being slain, Daniel is actually elevated to be one of the three administrators over the entire kingdom, and Darius then plans to set him over it all. Enter his accusers, determined to see him killed. The intrigues of a high court just go on.

I want to suggest there is much for us to learn from all of this. We too live a world of swirling change. The chest and arms of silver ended. The belly and thighs of brass (Greece) came and went. The legs of iron (Rome) rose and fell. Now we are living in the age of the ten toes of the revived Roman Empire, the European Union, and our world seems to be rapidly moving to see the rise of “the little horn,” the AntiChrist. We now have people actually talking openly and seriously about their “one world order.”

Those of us with whiskers and gray hair were born and grew up in an America that was independent, proud, and powerful. We have sadly had to watch as the crooks and criminals gradually took over our government and have now all but totally destroyed everything this country was founded on. It is only a matter of time and, one way or another, it will all collapse. What we so proudly knew as freedom will finally end, and we will join the rest of the world as the hapless slaves of a few very rich, powerful people, awaiting only the actual rise of that “little horn.” In all likelihood, it is only a matter of time and they’ll be killing people by the millions—anyone who doesn’t buy their version of “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” The Bible calls it “a strong delusion of a lie,” and they will hate us in particular precisely because we see their propaganda for exactly what it is—lies.

So, here we are, just like Daniel, living in a world of swirling convulsions, of constant change, and the reality that those changes we will find in many, many ways very threatening first to our faith and then even to our lives. “How then shall we live?” Surely these five verses (and the rest of this book of Daniel) would teach us the answer to that question. What Daniel was is what we should be, God help us.

Open to the observation of even his worst enemies, Daniel was a man of sterling integrity. In the next post, I want to gather up a summary of the evidences of his character and ponder them together, but suffice it to say here that he was a man who did his job. He got up every morning and went to work. And the work he did was exemplary. But more than that, we can see clearly the engine that drove his excellence and that was his faith. Genuine faith, like Daniel’s, is a very real and constant relationship with the eternal God. As Peter said, “Do not fear what they fear, but, in your hearts, always set aside Christ as Lord.” It was precisely that relationship, that hidden work of the heart, that gave Daniel an unmoving moral compass.

Can I suggest that today, that is precisely what is needed amongst us believers? We too need again a faith that is not just our own unique set of rules but rather an intense and very personal relationship with the living God. But further, that is not something we exercise in a cloister somewhere; it is something we take with us as we live every moment of every day—living out the fruit of the Spirit in love and faithfulness, dependability, and excellence, and that particularly in our workplaces.

Though the changes of our world should swirl around us, though our companies should be bought and sold, the economy rise and fall, one boss replaced by another, and even our government devolve into one form or another of tyrannical oppression, yet, may we believers be just one more generation of Daniels to show the world there’s something worth living (and dying) for. Daniel is still encouraging our hearts 2,600 years later. May you and I be that same encouragement to our generation.

God help us.

Monday, July 4, 2022

Daniel 6:1-5 “Reality”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

These five verses teach us a lot about our Daniel, but they also teach us a lot about the world we live in. Again, may I remind us all Daniel is at work. Not only is he at work, he’s also doing an excellent job at work. And what does that get him? Enemies.

It is interesting that the text never tells us why these guys hate Daniel. We’re told that Darius observed Daniel’s excellent qualities and intended to promote him to be over the entire kingdom, then immediately we read about these fellows trying hard to discredit him. Pretty much everyone I read suggests the guys are just plain jealous, or perhaps they’re peeved knowing Daniel is a lowly exile. Perhaps it wounds their pride to have him promoted above them. I’d like to suggest another possibility. These guys are all crooks.

Just like politicians and corporate executives today, these guys took their positions fully intending to use them for every possible personal advantage. They don’t really have any intention of doing their job. They’re looking for every possible way to get more money in their bank accounts. They wheel and deal, bribe and swindle, cook their books, and basically do anything it takes so they can live a life of luxury and excess. Interesting that Darius is setting up this “120 governors with three administrators” specifically so that he “won’t suffer loss.” He is (wisely) trying to arrange his government to protect himself from crooks. Yet here they are and they get away with it because “everyone’s doing it.” Oops. Not everyone. There’s this Daniel guy who isn’t. There’s this Daniel guy who’s totally honest and actually does his job. Now, they’ll tolerate him as long as he stays in his department and doesn’t cause them any problems, but now, suddenly, the boss intends to put him over the entire kingdom.

What will that mean for them? TROUBLE. Big trouble. They’ll have to actually start doing their jobs, instead of sitting at their desks and hoping the phone doesn’t ring. Suddenly they won’t be able to make their shifty backroom deals. If they cook their books, there’s a good chance they’ll be found out. One way or another, if they keep up the way they’ve been doing things, with Daniel in charge, the king will find out they’re crooks! On the other hand, if they stop their crookery, they’ll have to actually live on their salaries!

I want to insert here, that, at first pass, it’s hard for us po’folk to understand why these guys hate Daniel. It’s hard for me to read how Daniel is such an excellent worker and then be hated for it. Really? In my world, way down here where we all have to work for our livings, we appreciate people who do their jobs. But therein is the problem, that’s not the world Daniel is working in. He’s working in the world of high management, the world of the politicians and corporate executives, the world of crooks. I personally think that is why everyone assumes the problem is these guys are just jealous. That makes sense to us bottom feeders. It makes sense for other workers to be jealous if someone of their rank gets promoted and it wounds their pride to see one of those someones suddenly getting placed over them. I would grant there may be some of that here, but I really suspect the much larger problem is that Daniel’s promotion threatens what are, in reality, just a bunch of crooks.

I guess, in some sense, it doesn’t matter why these guys hate Daniel. The sad fact of reality is that what we’re reading is a very real possibility we all have to live with—that as we would strive to follow Daniel’s example, to be honest and to do excellent work, what it may get us is hated. It happened to Daniel. It happened to Joseph. It happened to Nehemiah. It happened to Jesus! As He said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15:18).

In my personal experience, this has rarely been the case at work. Way down here in our work-a-day world, it’s almost always true that good work is something valued. Of course, that isn’t always true. You can work your tail off and get no raise, no bonus, not even a thank you, but then it rarely ever gets you animosity. Just in general, I would suggest that our Protestant work ethic is not only what the Lord wants of us (to work hard, do our jobs, be honest, etc.), it is also true that it will one way or another be to your benefit. As a wise author once wrote, “Hard work is your friend.”

Unfortunately, as we read here in this passage, it won’t always seem that way. Even for us po’folk, there will always be jealousy and wounded egos and, for those like Daniel who “rise to the top” there is the problem of chicanery and intrigue and political maneuvering. It is a reality we all have to recognize.

And what are we to do about it? Be a Daniel. Do it anyway. Do what we do because it’s right and because that’s who we’re determined to be. Us believers should be people who live by Col. 3:23,24, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for people, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Peter tells us, “Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, but in your hearts always set apart Christ as Lord” (I Peter 3:13-15).

What made Daniel different and what should make you and me different is that we actually have a moral compass. The Lord gives us principles to live by. For us there is and always will be right and wrong, and that moral compass He gives us ought to follow us to work every day. We should be workers just like Daniel. However, what these five simple verses teach us is that it may not always get us appreciated. It might even get us thrown in a lions’ den!

That is just reality.

Sunday, July 3, 2022

Daniel 6:1-5 “Fishes and Loaves”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

These five verses ought to be printed in gold letters. Would to God they were the Magna Carta of every single born again believer in this world. As I have often lamented, Evangelical Christianity has seemingly devolved to the point where people’s daily lives and especially their jobs have become a complete non-issue. Faith has no relation to work, apparently. “Faith” is seemingly about church and about having devotions and maybe even starting a Bible study over lunch at work, but it has nothing to do with who we are or what kind of work we do. I would suggest there is even an underlying attitude that our jobs are just a “necessary evil,” a distraction from what “really matters,” that if we were all really spiritual, we’d quit our jobs and run off to do something “important.”

May I point out, that isn’t at all what we see in these five verses? What our gracious Lord has provided for us here is a beautiful model of exactly what faith ought to mean in every one of our lives. Here we find our man Daniel, a man of very real faith, and what has it produced in him? A character so sterling, even his most bitter enemies can’t find a fault in him. Notice what the text says of him. He “distinguished himself.” He had “an excellent spirit.” His accusers “could find no fault in him," because “he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.” They even acknowledged he was a man committed to “the law of his God.”

I hardly know where to begin. My head spins with the truths we find here in these five simple verses. This might take several posts. First of all, we should realize that our Daniel is no longer a young man. At this point in the story, he’s been in Babylon for at least 70 years. If he was 15 when Nebuchadnezzar drug him here, then he is at least 85 years old! At least! Note that, in our English Bibles, chapter 5 ended with the observation that Darius received the kingdom at the age of 62. Then here is our Daniel at least 85. In our world today, Darius would just be retiring and Daniel would have been “out to pasture” for over 20 years! I’m reminded that “the righteous still bear fruit, even in old age” (Ps. 92:14).

That is very encouraging to me personally. As I sit here typing, I’m 65 years old. Everyone wants to know when I’ll be retiring. The funny thing is, right now, I don’t really want to. I enjoy engineering and don’t know if I ever want to quit. Maybe I’ll be one of those old guys who dies at his desk? Then again, I may get to a point where I just don’t have the energy to do the “8 to 5” every day or where I just don’t have the mind for it any more. However, if I do have the energy and if I can keep up the ability to do the math, what if I was still working at 85? Daniel was. Why can’t I? I guess Daniel’s example just gives me some sense of freedom--his example allows me to think that I don’t necessarily have to be controlled by today’s cultural “norms” of retirement and old age, that in God’s eyes, there’s nothing wrong with working as long as I’m able.

One reason that is important, as we see in this passage, is realizing the Lord is still using Daniel, even as he works into old age. May we be reminded where Daniel is? He’s at work. He’s doing his job. As he’s doing his job, who’s he interacting with? A whole world of people who need the Lord. And the Lord is able to make Himself known why? Because here’s a believer (and an old one at that!) whose faith has made him a man of sterling character and very, very commendable work habits. The workplace may not care a whit about your faith, but they highly value people who do good work!

It is Daniel’s work that provides an opportunity for the Lord to call attention to his faith. It is because Daniel is exemplary at his job that anyone even notices or cares about his faith. May I inject here, it’s not because Daniel has “Jesus is Lord” printed on his hardhat. It’s not because he runs around at work making a lot of noise about his faith. It's because he does good work – which brings me back to our Magna Carta. What a shame that the modern church completely ignores (and even disdains) people’s jobs. The workplace is the one place where believers are literally swimming in people who desperately need the Lord. It is one of the most important places where our light ought to be shining. Daniel’s did and so can ours.

Is Daniel alone? Is he the only person in the Bible who did good work? Hardly. The Bible is filled from cover to cover with people whose faith was notable precisely because they did good work. Who can forget Joseph? “Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned…with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate” (Gen. 39:4-6). Then there is Mordecai: “Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes,…he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews” (Esther 10:3). We meet Boaz diligently looking after his harvesters, hailing them, “The Lord be with you!” and them replying, “The Lord bless you!” (Ruth 2:4). Ruth herself was an extremely hard worker: “She went into the field and has worked steadily from morning until now…” (2:7).

It has always been true and always will be that most of God’s people will not be pastors and missionaries or involved in any sort of “full-time ministry.” The vast majority will always be just simple folks who get up in the morning and go to work, have families, change diapers, mow grass, and live generally what would seem to be very unimportant lives. It would seem most of us have nothing more to offer the Lord than “five loaves and two fishes.” But think with me, what was the point of that story? What did Jesus say about those few fishes and loaves? “Bring them to Me.” And what did He do? He blessed them and broke them and fed thousands!

And what does Proverbs tell us? “Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings…” (22:29). And why would the Lord have us work hard at our jobs, like Daniel? “Teach servants…to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in everything they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.”

I have been studying these five verses for quite some time, specifically because their practical truth is so profound. I’m almost thunderstruck by our Daniel and the example he sets before us. My heart wants to just stay here and keep pondering this man’s work ethics and keep asking the Lord, “Make me like him.” Am I like him? Could the same things be said of me? Do others find me completely trustworthy? Is it true that I am “neither corrupt nor negligent”? If the Lord wants to showcase my faith, can He do it through my work? Yes or no?

I do want to stay on this passage a while, but, for now, may we all be greatly encouraged that our jobs, our otherwise “uninteresting” lives, are the very “fishes and loaves” the Lord wants to use to draw our world to Jesus. God help me to be content to be what He’s called me to be. May He help us all to fill our days with “loving God and loving people,” and may that be especially true at our jobs. May He take our few fishes and loaves, bless them and break them, and somehow touch the lives of thousands. He’s done it before.