Exilic Witness: Lessons From Daniel

As spiritual exiles, we can learn so much from this book:

During this time of year, I am always back in the book of Daniel. Although a relatively short book of just 12 chapters, it has so much to offer us – especially in our day and age. Understanding the historical setting to the events found in the book (especially the first six chapters) helps us to grasp what Daniel and his friends were going through, and helps us to see its relevance for today.

A timeline I used a few years ago is worth sharing again here:

930 The Kingdom of Israel is divided into North and South
740-681 Isaiah warns of the coming judgment against Israel (the Northern Kingdom)
722 Fall of the Northern Kingdom (Isaiah dies – 681)
626-585 Jeremiah warns of coming judgment against Judah (the Southern Kingdom)
606 Daniel taken captive to Babylon
597 Ezekiel taken captive to Babylon
586 Fall of the Southern Kingdom (Jeremiah dies – 585)
539 Fall of Babylon to Persians
536 Cyrus decrees that the Jews can return to Jerusalem (70 years from the taking of the first captives in 606)
530 Daniel dies
516 Temple rebuilt (70 years from its destruction in 586) https://billmuehlenberg.com/2020/12/10/bible-study-helps-daniel/

So Daniel lived through one of the most momentous periods of ancient Israel’s history. And to see his relevance for believers today, consider these parallels. As to the Babylonian captivity:

-The Israelites found themselves in a hostile culture, whose values, worldviews and language was quite different.
-They went from being the predominant culture to a counterculture.
-They went from being cultural leaders to cultural captives.

So too the church today:

-The church has moved from the mainstream to the sidelines.
-The church has moved from being a world leader to a world follower.
-The church has moved from being a light on a hill to a light hidden under a bowl.

The Western church today is now in its own Babylonian captivity. We are now living in exile. We are now strangers in a strange land. How then are we to respond to all this? There are at least seven main responses from the story of Daniel that we should bear in mind as we ponder our situation today:

One. It goes without saying that we must be aware of the problem. Far too many believers today have no clue that we are now living in exile. They are woefully unaware and unconcerned about what is taking place all around us. They are apathetic and ignorant about the all-out war on faith, freedom and family. This is not how the Israelites back then felt. As we read in Lamentations 1:1-3:

How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations! She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave. Bitterly she weeps at night, tears are upon her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is none to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies. After affliction and harsh labor, Judah has gone into exile. She dwells among the nations; she finds no resting place. All who pursue her have overtaken her in the midst of her distress.

Two. Perhaps most important of all, we need to get God’s heart on all this. What breaks his heart should break our hearts. Many passages make this so very clear:

Lamentations 1:12 Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?

Lamentations 3:49-51 My eyes will flow without ceasing,
    without respite,
until the Lord from heaven
    looks down and sees;
my eyes cause me grief
    at the fate of all the daughters of my city.

Psalm 79:1, 5 O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;
    they have defiled your holy temple;
    they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.…
How long, O Lord?

Psalm 137:1-4 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?

Ezekiel 3:14-15 The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me. I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Abib near the Kebar River. And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days, overwhelmed.

Nehemiah 1:3-4 They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

Nehemiah 2:2-3 So the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.” I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”

Psalm 126:1-2 When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.

Would that Christians today had this same heartfelt response to the situation they currently find themselves in. Would that they grieved over what God grieves over.

Three. We are not to compromise while we live in exile. Daniel and his friends early on had determined to do this. As we learn from Daniel 1:8: “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.”

Four. Related to this, we are not to respond with a negotiated settlement. We are not to make deals with our captors so that we can get along easier. As we read concerning the famous story about the statue set up by Nebuchadnezzar:

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.  If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Daniel 3: 16-18)

Five. We must recognize that we might be in it for the long haul. Just as the exiles in Babylon were told they should get used to settling down for a while (70 years), so too the church today might be in this predicament for quite some time to come. As it says in Jeremiah 29:4-7:

This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

Believers today are also exiles. Consider these two New Testament texts:

1 Peter 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.

1 Peter 2:11-12 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

I have written more on this topic here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2023/08/21/seeking-the-peace-of-the-city/

Six. We must learn the language of Babylon. Since we may well be in this situation of exile for the long haul, we need to learn about the culture we find ourselves in so that we can better reach it. This was what the Hebrew youths were involved in:

Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles, youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king’s court; and he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. (Daniel 1:3-4)

Seven. Related to this, we must seek to get involved in the key areas of power and influence. That is what Daniel and his friends did, and they had quite an impact indeed in this pagan culture. As we read in Daniel 1:5: “The king appointed for them a daily ration from the king’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be educated three years, at the end of which they were to enter the king’s personal service.”

As we know, Daniel especially ended up making a powerful impact in the land, and even on the king. Whether or not we have such an opportunity to have such a huge impact, and end up meeting the movers and shakers of the land is not essential. We are just called to do our best to be salt and light in this dark and foreign world we find ourselves in. The rest we leave up to God.

And I know that God can use you to do great things. If he could take a young messed up hippy from Wisconsin and turn his life around so that he ends up having a bit of influence in a different country, getting to know many leaders, politicians, and even meeting Prime Ministers along the way, he can use anyone.

So keep persevering. We do not know how long this exile will last, but we need to make the very best use of the time and talents God has given us.

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