Bible Study: Daniel chapter 1

Daniel 1:1-5
Unusual opportunity

We are what we are because of the grace of God and not by our might / knowledge / talents.

Daniel was given an unusual opportunity. Out of all Jewish slaves, Daniel and his friends were honoured. The honour is because of the grace of God.

Daniel 1:6-8
Stand by Daniel

Wherever we are, we should stand for God and not be intimidated by men and their authority.

The Babylonians tried to change the identity and principles of the Israelites. Yet Daniel and his friends stood for their identities and principles.

1. Stand for identity: Daniel and his friends were renamed and called after Babylonian Gods. Even though their names were changed, yet their identities were not lost.

2. Stand for principles: Daniel and his friends were offered meat and wine from the table of the Babylonian King. This honour was given only for selected men. But even though they were slaves, bound by the King's laws, they never chose to go with their physical senses of 'taste'/'sight'.

They stood for God and did not sacrifice their principles, inspite of the King's decrees.

Daniel 1:9-14
Daniel was not put to shame

If we stand for God, we'll be placed in awkward position by men. But God'll surely honour us.

It is natural that non-Vegetarian foods have more calories than vegetarian foods. But in the case of Daniel and his friends, even when they ate pulses and vegetables, they looked healthier and stronger than the people who ate meat and wine. God is not controlled or limited by natural laws. If we stand for God, God will honour us irrespective of natural laws.

Daniel 1:15-20
God honoured Daniel and his friends

Though Daniel and his friends were slaves in Babylon, yet they were 10 times wiser and more brilliant than the Babylonians.

So, let us all please God wherever we are and whenever possible. God will surely give His grace to build our place on a solid rock and not on sinking sand.

"YOUR WALK TALKS LOUDER THAN YOUR TALK TALKS"

Blessing or curse: can we choose?

Sometime back, we heard about the surety of God's word: if He says something, it will surely come to pass, whether it is a blessing or a curse. But when does God pronounce a blessing or a curse? Can we choose to be blessed or cursed? Or, is it beyond our control?

Let's go step-by-step and understand this very important question.

1. What is a covenant?
A covenant is an agreement between two people, sealed with a sacrifice. In the Middle East, in ancient times, a covenant had a deep meaning. An animal sacrifice was made. The sacrifice was cut into two pieces. Both parties entering into the covenant walk through that sacrifice. It signified that:

• Both are dead to each other, in the context of the covenant.
• Both will live for each other, from that point onwards. That is, both will seek each other's good.
  
• Each person will have ownership over all the things possessed by the other person.

We see God entering into such a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15:9-18.

Later on, God entered into a covenant with Israel, through Moses. The covenant was sealed with the blood from an animal sacrifice (Exodus 24:8). This is the old covenant, which was not a perfect covenant. The perfect covenant was made when Jesus shed His blood on the Cross. He became the pure and perfect sacrifice for our sins. This covenant was between God and all mankind. This is the new covenant.

2. Blessing or curse
Joshua 23:14-16: "Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. But just as every good promise of the LORD your God has come true, so the LORD will bring on you all the evil he has threatened, until he has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the LORD's anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you."

As we see in the above passage, if the people of Israel kept the covenant of the Lord, they were entitled to God's blessings. Instead, if they broke His covenant, there were sure to be cursed. The above covenant is the old covenant. Now we are in the times of the new covenant. Does the same rule above hold good even now?

Matthew 25:31-46: talks about the last days, when Jesus will don the role of a Judge. He will separate the good people from the bad people. In verse 34, "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father ..." , and in verse 41, "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed ...". Going through the whole passage, we find that by their actions or inactions people were judged. If they did a good thing like helping a hungry person, or a person in prison, they were storing up for themselves eternal blessings. On the other hand, those who did not do a good thing (inaction) were storing up for themselves eternal curses. Eternal blessing or curse depends on the choices we make every day. Doing an evil thing, or not doing a good thing - both potentially stop a blessing and bring a curse!

So, yes! We do have a choice about whether we get blessed or cursed. And, yes again! It is within our control now, to choose to be blessed, and not cursed.

3. The basis for our actions: love
Not every kind of situation we face in life is covered in the above passage. When faced with a situation that is not directly addressed in the Bible, how do we make the right choice, so that we get blessed and not cursed? Matthew 22:35-40. Love is the key. Jesus puts it clearly: love for God, and love for our neighbours. When all our actions are based on love, we'll know for sure which is the right choice to make.

4. The enabler: Holy spirit
It is easy to see the truth above, but very difficult to imbibe this truth and apply it in ALL the situations we face in our day to day life. "Lord! I can love anyone, but that person!" "Lord! I can forgive anyone but her!" "Lord! I love you, but don't ask me to do that!" Infact, it is impossible to keep the above without the help of ... that's right: the Holy Spirit!

Personally, I tried to live the message, after preparing it. But it was tough! I thought it would be so easy to review my day, every night, see where all I've acted in a wrong way, and correct myself the next day. It didn't work out that way! I couldn't consistently sit down and do that review every night. And on the days when I did review my day, I found way too many areas where I had failed. It was so discouraging! It was then that I found the missing link. Without the Holy Spirit, we can never consistently choose blessing over curse.

If we have a living relationship with the Holy Spirit, and give Him room in our life, we will be one among the sheep in the day of judgement! Eternal blessings will be ours!

When we humble ourselves and seek Him ...

II Chronicles 7:14 "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

From the above verse, we understand:

1. God declares that we are His people by the words "my people". We are His people called by His Name.
2. His people should "seek His Face". In psi 27:8, Kings David says, 'My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek..'.
3. His people should "Humble" themselves before Him before seeking His face.
4. His people should "turn from their wicked ways". Only then, their prayers for themselves and their nation will be heard and answered.

1. Blessings for being humble

King Solomon
King Solomon humbled himself before the Lord and built the temple of God with the best materials available in his kingdom. Solomon prayed to God for wisdom to govern the people of God, rather than for riches or fame. God heard His prayer and blessed him. He even gave him what he had not asked for!

"I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both riches and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings." -- I Kings 3 :12,13

King David
Even though David was the King of Israel, he humbled himself before God and danced in front of the ark of the covenant, when it was brought back to Israel after so many years. When his wife was angry with him for dancing before all people, David said:

"It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD's people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes." -- II Sam uel 6:21,22

God blessed David: "David's fame spread throughout every land, and the LORD made all the nations fear him." - I Chronicles 14:17

Ruth
When she humbled herself and stayed with her aunt, God blessed her to become the wife of Boaz, a rich man in Israel that time. Because of her humbleness, she was part of the lineage of Jesus Christ. We see her blessing in:

"May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge." -- Ruth 2:12

Esther
Even Esther was blessed in the same way. She was living with her uncle and was without parents. Since she humbled herself and heard all the advice of her uncle Mordecai, she was chosen as the queen. God used her to protect the tribe of Judah. She left all her greatness and comforts and humbled herself by fasting for three days, which can be seen in:

"Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.". -- Esther 4:16

For her humbleness, God gave her the place of Queen Vashti and protected His people through her.

Daniel
When Daniel humbled himself and prayed , God revealed His prophesies to him.

King Hezekiah
When he humbled himself and prayed to God He added 15 more years in his life.


2. Curses for not being humble

King Hezekiah
King Hezekiah instead of giving glory to God, and speaking of His glory, he made a great show of his wealth to the Babylonians. So, the Kingdom of Israel was given over into the hands of his enemies.

King Solomon
King Solomon in the later part of his life, disobeyed God, married foreign women, and went seeking after other gods. He broke the covenant that God made with His chose people. So His kingdom started crumbling.


We have seen that when we humble ourself before God, He lifts us up. When we humble ourselves before Him, take time out to pray to Him, and seek Him earnestly (not just seek His blessings), He will surely hear our prayers. He will bless our personal life and family. He will also bless our nation through us.