It’s important to study the prophecies that Daniel wrote, but it’s also important to understand the life that Daniel lived. Knowing God’s future plan and obeying God’s present will should go together. “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3: nkjv). “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?” (2 Peter 3: nkjv)
Both Daniel and Joseph were called of God to serve Him in difficult places at the center of authority in pagan empires. Both were cruelly taken from their homes and handed over to foreign masters. Both went through periods of testing, both were lied about and falsely accused, but both maintained godly character and conduct and became respected leaders in the nation. Most of all, both were able to minister to God’s people and help preserve and encourage the nation of Israel when the days were difficult. What Daniel wrote gave the Jews courage in the centuries following their release from captivity, and it will encourage them in the end times when they again experience severe persecution from their enemies.
It’s interesting to note that the book of Daniel and Paul’s letter to the Ephesians have much in common. Ephesians teaches us about the spiritual battle in the heavenlies (Eph. 6:10–18), and Daniel participated in such a battle (Dan. 10:10–21). Paul prays two prayers in Ephesians, the first for enlightenment (Eph. 1:15–23) and the second for enablement (3:14–21). Daniel and his friends also prayed that way, that they might understand God’s plan and receive the power they needed to serve Him and remain true to the end.
Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians emphasizes the spiritual posture of believers: we are seated with Christ (2:5–6), we walk with Him (4:1, 17; 5:1–2, 8, 15), we take our stand in Christ (6:11, 13–14), and we bow our knees to Christ (3:14). Daniel was a man who bowed his knees to the Lord, walked with Him, and was able to take his stand against Satan. He was given a place of authority in Babylon, but that was nothing compared to the authority God gave him from the throne of heaven. Daniel was a pilgrim and stranger in Babylon because his home was in Israel, and we are pilgrims and strangers on this earth because our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20–21). Like Daniel and Joseph, we live in an alien culture with people whose thinking, values, actions, and goals are totally different from and opposed to that of God’s people. And yet, just as Daniel and Joseph kept themselves pure and helped to transform people and circumstances, so we can become transformers in our world today.
The key to Daniel’s successful life and ministry is given in Daniel 1:8—“But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself.” He was a resolute man. He wasn’t intimidated by powerful people or frightened by difficult circumstances. Like Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms, he said, “Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.”
But what was the source of this man’s courageous and resolute heart? For the answer to that important question, let’s review the life of Daniel.
He Believed in a Sovereign God “The Most High rules in the kingdom of men” (Dan. 4:25, 32 nkjv; 5:21) is one of the basic truths taught in the book of Daniel. Dictators and petty politicians may have thought they were in control, but Daniel knew better. As a devoted Jew, Daniel knew that there was but one true God, the Lord Jehovah, and that He ruled all things with wisdom and power. The Babylonians changed Daniel’s address, his name, and his education, and they tried to change his standards, but they couldn’t change his theology! God was sovereign when He permitted Babylon to conquer Judah, and He was sovereign in sending Daniel and his friends to Babylon. In every aspect of Daniel’s life and service, he depended totally on the God of heaven who is sovereign over all things.
Some people associate sovereignty with slavery, when actually our surrender to God’s sovereign will is the first step toward freedom. “And I will walk at liberty, for I seek Your precepts” (Ps. 119: nkjv). We can yield ourselves to Him with great confidence because He is our Father, and He loves us too much to harm us and He is too wise to make a mistake.
Nor should divine sovereignty be confused with fatalism, “What will be will be.” Fatalism is belief in an impersonal force that’s working out its blind but inevitable purposes in this world, whether it’s the economic forces of materialism and Communism or the “survival of the fittest” in Darwinian evolution. One is tempted to ask, “What established this force? What keeps it going? If it’s inevitable, why can we resist it or choose not to accept it?” The Christian believer’s faith is in a personal God, a loving God who plans for us the very best (Jer. 29:11). “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Ps. 23:1).
He Had a Disciplined Prayer Life Jewish people were accustomed to pray at nine o’clock in the morning, noon, and three o’clock in the afternoon, the third, sixth, and ninth hours of the day, and Daniel carried that discipline with him to Babylon. Those who set aside special times of prayer are more likely to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17), for the special times of prayer help to sanctify all times and keep us in touch with God.
When Daniel and his friends needed to know Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and understand it, they gave themselves to prayer, and when the Lord gave them the answer, they prayed further and thanked Him (Dan. 2:14–23). When Daniel’s life was in danger, he went to his home and prayed, and the Lord delivered him from the lions (6:10). Frequently Daniel asked the Lord or His messengers for wisdom to understand the visions the Lord gave to him. Daniel depended on prayer.
In the church today, it seems that many people turn to prayer only when everything else has failed. Their translation of Psalm 46: is, “God is our last refuge when our own strength is gone and we don’t have anywhere else to turn.” What a tragedy! A. W. Tozer used to say, “Whatever God can do, faith can do, and whatever faith can do prayer can do, when it is offered in faith.” Daniel not only prayed alone but he also prayed with his friends, because he knew the value of two or three believers assembling together to cry out to God. “I’d rather be able to pray than to be a great preacher,” said evangelist D.L. Moody; “Jesus Christ never taught His disciples how to preach, but only how to pray.”
He Studied the Word of God and Believed It When Daniel and his friends left Jerusalem for Babylon, they carried with them some of the scrolls of the Old Testament Scriptures. We know that Daniel studied the prophecies of Jeremiah (Dan. 9:2), and we can assume that these godly young men had other portions of the Word as well.
Prayer and the Word of God go together (Acts 6:4). Someone asked an old saint, “Which is more important in my Christian life, praying or studying God’s Word?” The saint replied, “Which wing on a bird is more important for his flight, the right one or the left one?” As we read the Word of God and study it, we must pray for wisdom to understand and power to obey. We should also turn the Word into prayer. As we pray, we must remember what we’ve learned from the Scriptures, for the Word increases our faith (Rom. 10:17) and helps us pray in God’s will (John 15:7).
Daniel didn’t study the Word to impress people; he studied it to ascertain the will of God and obey it. When God enlightened him concerning the seventy years of captivity, Daniel immediately began to pray that God would forgive His people and fulfill His promises, and He did. When you know the Word of God and walk in communion with the God of the Word, you will have a resolute heart and be able to withstand the attacks of the devil.
He Had an Understanding of Spiritual Warfare Daniel 10 is a key chapter for prayer warriors, people who wrestle in prayer (Col. 4:12) and seek under God to tear down the strongholds that block God’s truth from getting into the minds of unbelievers (2 Cor. 10:1–6). When I was pastoring the Moody Church in Chicago, I met regularly with three ministerial friends, and together we devoted ourselves to warfare praying. By faith, we sought to attack Satan’s strongholds and open the way for the Word of God to change the lives of people in trouble. God gave us many wonderful victories in ways that we could never have imagined.
When by faith we put on the whole armor of God and depend on God’s power, God gives us the ability to “stand” and to “withstand” (Eph. 6:10–14). We aren’t just brave targets—we’re energized combatants! We hold the ground God has given us and we move ahead to capture new ground.
I recognize the fact that the whole concept of spiritual warfare has been abused by some and ridiculed by others, but that shouldn’t stop us from imitating great saints like Daniel and Paul who invaded Satan’s territory and stood their ground when they were threatened. Isaac Watts said it perfectly:
Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace, to help me on to God?
Sure I must fight, if I would reign; increase my courage, Lord; I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain, supported by Thy word.
He Sought Only to Glorify God “There is a God in heaven who reveals secrets,” Daniel told the powerful monarch, giving all the glory to the Lord (Dan. 2: nkjv), and later Nebuchadnezzar himself was glorifying God (v. 47; 4:34–35). When the king rewarded Daniel for his service, Daniel asked him to include his three friends, for they were an important part of the praying that brought the answer. When Belshazzar tried to smother Daniel with compliments and influence him with gifts, the prophet brushed it all aside and courageously interpreted the bad news to the king (5:13–17).
Throughout his long life, Daniel was a great man in the kingdom, but he used his gifts, abilities, and opportunities to honor God and minister to others. It has well been said that true humility isn’t thinking meanly of yourself, it’s just not thinking of yourself at all! Jesus came as a servant (Phil. 2), and His example is the one we should follow. I see many leadership conferences for Christians advertised these days; perhaps we need to organize some “servanthood” conferences; for a true leader is always a humble servant. This was true of Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, and Nehemiah, as well as our Lord and His apostles. Can we improve on what they teach us?
He Realized That He Had a Work to Do Like Joseph in Egypt, Daniel didn’t complain about his lot in life but tried with God’s help to make the best use of it. He knew that the sovereign Lord whom he trusted had a special plan for his life and he sought to fulfill it. He didn’t campaign for promotions; the Lord brought them to him. He did his work well, he was a faithful and dependable servant, and even his enemies couldn’t find anything to criticize (Dan. 6:1–5). If anybody deserved the divine approval of Jesus found in Matthew 25:21, it was Daniel.
Daniel was both a government employee and a prophet of the Lord. God gave him his high position so he could use it to serve the Lord and the Lord’s people. The record doesn’t tell us, but there may have been many times when Daniel represented the Jewish captives before the king and helped to make life easier for them. He may have influenced the decision of Cyrus to allow the Jews to go back home. We need dedicated believers in places of authority, men and women who can be examples of godliness and instruments of righteousness.
He Was Tactful and Considerate Some people have the idea that the only way to change things in the political world is to blow up buildings, block traffic, or attack people they consider evil. Daniel exerted considerable influence during the reigns of four kings, and yet he never resorted to force, accusations, or threats. “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all” (2 Tim. 2: nkjv).
When Daniel and his friends wanted to eat clean food, not food dedicated to idols, they didn’t stage a hunger strike or argue with those in charge. Daniel knew that any problems they created would reflect on the prince who was assigned to them and get him into trouble, so he took a different approach. He tactfully asked if they could be tested for ten days, knowing that the Lord would make the test successful. He won the respect and confidence of the prince in charge, and the word got out in the palace that the four Jewish boys in the training classes weren’t troublemakers.
Certainly Daniel didn’t agree with the theology or lifestyle of the people in charge, but even if he couldn’t respect the officers, he respected their offices. (See Paul’s teaching on this subject in Rom. 13.) He spoke respectfully to them and about them and cultivated “sound speech that cannot be condemned” (Titus 2: nkjv). Too often believers adopt a “holier than thou” attitude and fail to show proper respect for officials they disagree with, and this always hurts the cause of Christ.
He Had Insight into Human History Scholars have attempted to put together the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that we call “history,” but their best attempts have failed. Like the telephone book, the book of history has a huge cast of characters but no plot. Apart from knowledge of Scripture, we can’t interpret history accurately.
At the center of history is the nation of Israel. Why? Because Israel is God’s chosen vehicle to bring salvation to the world, for “salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22). At the center of the Israel’s history is God’s covenant with Abraham (Gen. 12:1–3) as well as God’s covenant with the Jews at Sinai (Ex. 20—24) and in the plains of Moab (Deut. 27–30). If Israel obeyed, God would bless them and make them a blessing to the Gentiles; if Israel disobeyed, God would discipline and use the Gentile nations to do it.
But the visions also taught Daniel that the nations of the world were beastly in character, like lions, bears, leopards, rams, and goats. Nebuchadnezzar’s pride changed him into an animal (Dan. 4), and it is pride that turns leaders into worse than animals as they devour one another. In one sense, our world is improving, and we’re grateful for every advancement in medicine, communications, transportation, security, and comfort. But in another sense, the nations of the world are becoming “cheaper and cheaper,” as God revealed in the vision of the great image (Dan. 2). It goes from gold to silver, from silver to bronze, from bronze to iron, and from iron to clay! There’s not only a decrease in value, but there’s also a decrease in strength. By the time you get to the feet and toes of the image, there’s nothing but clay to hold it together!
Daniel had no illusions about the future. He knew what the human heart was like and he knew what God had planned to do. No wonder his heart was resolute and nothing moved him or changed him! He could say as Paul did in the storm, “Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me” (Acts 27: nkjv).
He Lived Up to His Name Daniel means “God is my judge.” Daniel lived his life before the all-seeing eyes of the Lord and did the things that pleased Him. He didn’t worry about what the king thought of him or his interpretations; he simply delivered the message God gave him and left the results with the Lord. What difference did it make that the other counselors despised him and tried to have him killed? His life and reputation were in the hands of the Lord, and the will of the Lord was always best. Is it any wonder that the Lord greatly loved Daniel?
D. L. Moody often preached on Daniel, and here’s an excerpt from the message: Daniel thought more of his principles than he did of earthly honor or the esteem of men. Right was right with him. He was going to do right today and let the morrows take care of themselves. That firmness of purpose, in the strength of God, was the secret of his success. One of Mr. Moody’s associates, musician Philip P. Bliss, expressed this truth in a song that’s not used much today, but the message is certainly needed. The chorus says: Dare to be a Daniel! Dare to stand alone! Dare to have a purpose firm! Dare to make it known!
H O S E ABe resolute!