BIBLE CHARACTER: “And Daniel continued..”

Key features in an exemplary life…..

 

“And Daniel continued even unto the first year of King Cyrus.”

                                                   (Daniel 1:21)

 

 

The Bible is unlike any other book. Its writers often have a way of compressing a lot into a very few words. One such statement is found at the end of the first chapter of Daniel where we read that “Daniel continued”.

 

What a testimony this is! Here was no comet that blazed across the sky and then disappeared into the darkness. The light that shone forth in Daniel’s early life continued to burn brightly. Many start out well and begin to serve with great zeal and enthusiasm. They promise much, and their potential is recognized. Soon, however, the brilliance begins to fade – perhaps through disappointment or through an unrealized goal. Excellence is replaced by mediocrity, and great things are no longer achieved. The lustre has gone, and others are left to reflect upon “what might have been”.

 

Daniel was not like that. He began promisingly when he refused to defile himself with food that had been offered to idols and “purposed in his heart” that he would please God (Dan.1:8). What a challenging statement! This is, in fact, the first statement that is made about Daniel himself in the book bearing his name, and it provides the key for understanding his exemplary character. We need to consider the background in a little more detail, in order to discover what made Daniel such a remarkable man of God.

 

 

TRANSPORTED TO BABYLON

Faced with an unknown future in a foreign land and in a heathen culture, Daniel determined that he would remain true to his God. With other young Israelites who possessed intelligence, Daniel (perhaps just 16 or 17 years of age at the time) had been transported to Babylon. A first-class education had been planned, and the finest food had been made available. Daniel had all the potential to be a successful student in the Babylonian university. His name had been changed in order to wean him from his past and give him acceptance in the leading nation of his day. Yet we find this young man resolutely determining to remain true to his God.

 

Like Timothy many years later, Daniel must have known the Holy Scriptures from childhood, (2 Tim.3:15). He knew what his God expected of him and made up his mind from the very beginning that he would stick to his principles and honour his God – even if it meant the end of his prospects in Babylon. Knowing that certain aspects of that alien culture would “defile” him, Daniel “purposed in his heart” that he would remain true to the Lord and to His Word.

 

As we think of the bold stand taken by this young man, it is clear that his parents must have done a good job in training him to recognize the difference between right and wrong. Without their presence and support in Babylon, he was still able to stand on his own feet and remain true to his convictions which were born out of love for his Lord. This is the youth, who, in later life, was addressed as “a man greatly beloved” of God, (Dan.10:11).

 

The early part of Daniel’s life is extremely challenging. Today we are encouraged by the media (and by Christians who are moving with the tide) to be “politically correct” and tolerant of other viewpoints. Tolerance did not feature in Daniel’s vocabulary! His heart was set on pleasing the Lord – and ours should be too. Without being bigoted or rude, Daniel politely and yet firmly made his convictions known and stood by them – regardless of the consequences. It is all too easy nowadays to be swept along in the popular, easy-going form of Christianity where lifestyle, ambitions, and even music and worship mirror the unconverted world around. Surely it is time for believers, like Daniel, to purpose in their hearts that they will be separate from those things that are contrary to the plain teaching of the Word of God.    

The Lord honoured Daniel’s stand and endowed him and his three friends with wisdom and understanding surpassing that of their contemporaries, (Dan.1:20). With his university training over, Daniel “continued” in his commitment to live for the Lord.

 

 

NO COMPLACENCY

To start out well is one thing, but to finish well is another. Away from home for the first time, a Christian student at a college or university can honour the Lord in those early days – which is truly commendable. Later, however, after graduation and when life becomes more comfortable materially, it is possible to slip back into second gear. Not Daniel! He “continued” until Cyrus the Persian came to the throne – and he continued even beyond that point.

 

For more than seventy years this man of God “continued” until he was approximately ninety: such was the quality of his life! God used him to explain the meaning of Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams, to interpret to Belshazzar the writing on the wall, and God gave him personal revelations of significant future events. Daniel, who all the time was faithful to his God, ultimately proved God’s own faithfulness when he was delivered from the lions’ den. At the end of a long life he entered into rest, assured that “at the end of the days” he would stand in his appointed place, (Dan.12:13).

 

 

DANIEL’S LEGACY

How can we be like Daniel? Paul, in his writings to Timothy, supplies us with the answer. “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of,” (2 Tim.3:14). That is the secret. Many today are turning (either willingly or in ignorance) to new ideas and practices which plainly contradict the teachings of God’s unchanging Word. God has revealed His mind in the sacred Scriptures, and we must “continue” in them if we ourselves would be faithful to God. Barnabas encouraged the believers at Antioch“that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord,” (Acts 11:23). Daniel had that purpose. The Lord is calling us to be people with a purpose – people who will, by grace, “continue” until He comes or calls.