A. No Obedience: no joy (vrs. 1-2)
1. 490 years they did not celebrate the years of Jubilee
2. Greed, lack of faith, over sight...
3. No one assumed that God was going to
really do anything about it
4. Jeremiah came and then Ezekiel to declare they were wrong and judgment was
coming
5. At the beginning of this book of prophecy, it begins with the recording of
the fulfillment of the prophecy about judgment for Israel's
moral failure
B. Contrast in Obedience: Daniel and
Friends
1. The situation: 4 of the Hebrews brought in were Daniel and his friends
2. Training in "the language and literature of the Babylonians"
3. Qualifications: "the nobility-- young men without any physical
defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed,
quick to understand, and qualified to serve
in the king's palace." (vrs. 3-4)
4. i.e. Daniel had had everything going his way when his world was destroyed
C. Test for the Obedient
1. Every excuse is given to Daniel and no one would have blamed
him for making any compromise
2. Verse 8 "But Daniel purposed in his
heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested
of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself."
3. The request to Melzar and the 10 day test
4. 17 To these four young men God gave knowledge
and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could
understand visions and dreams of all kinds.
A. Morality Counts
- Ps. 25:
14 The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant
known to them.
- e.g. Joseph: character
then revelation
- Romans 12:1-2
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer
your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your
spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of
this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what
God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."
B. Morality Costs
1. Daniel and his friends had to the face the possibility of the loss of
everything
2. Faith had to be exercised
C. Morality is in the small things, too
1. Some complain that Daniel's request was splitting hairs religiously
-
- 1 Tim. 1: 19 holding
on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected
these and so have shipwrecked their
faith.
2. Song of Songs 2: 15
"the little foxes, that spoil the vines:"
D. Morality is part of our worship
1. Again Rom. 12:1-2
2. 1 Sam. 2:30 "Those who
honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained."