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God Remembers His People (Daniel 1)

August 28, 2016 Preacher: Series: Daniel: The Faithfulness of God in Uncertain Times

Scripture: Daniel 1:1–21

Key Truth: God remembers and provides for His people amid difficult circumstances so that they may bear His image and glorify Him.

Introduction:

Q: How do your circumstances affect your relationship with God?

“The whole book of Daniel works from this perspective of a prophesied coming kingdom of God that shall supersede all the earthly kingdoms of this world. The assumption of the book is that God has a plan that will consummate in his kingdom, replacing all earthly, temporal powers. Daniel as God’s representative in the kingdom of Babylon appears as the inspired presenter of this universal divine plan.”

O. Palmer Robertson, The Christ of the Prophets

 

A Severe Faithfulness:

Daniel 1:1-2

“Yet the recognition that their fate came from the hand of God as a faithful act of judgment was itself an encouragement to the exiles. Their future was not controlled by Babylon or its gods, but by the Lord, the God of heaven (Dan. 2:19). The one who had sent them into exile had also promised to be with them there, and ultimately to restore them from exile after a time of judgment.”

Iain M. Duguid, Daniel: Reformed Expository Commentary

Q: Do you ever struggle with whether or not your circumstances are fair (i.e. where you were born; your family circumstances; where you can afford to live or go to school)?

 

In Babylon, But Not of Babylon:

Daniel 1:3-13

“Daniel abstained at first from the luxuries of the court to escape being tampered with. It was lawful for him and his companions to feed on any kind of diet, but he perceived the king’s intention. We know how far enticements prevail to deceive us; especially when we are treated daintily; and experience shows us how difficult it is to be moderate when all is affluence around us, for luxury follows immediately on plenty. Such conduct is, indeed, too common, and the virtue of abstinence is rarely exercised when there is an abundance of provisions.”

John Calvin, A Commentary on Daniel

Q: What most shapes how you live and the image you are being transformed into?

 

God Quietly Gives and Sets His People Apart:

Daniel 1:14-21

“Observe also that God’s grace is very quiet here….Grace is there and at work but doesn’t create a stir or make a racket. It seems to work so naturally and unobtrusively.”

Dale Ralph Davis, The Message of Daniel

Q: How has God provided for you in ordinary ways amid a difficult circumstance?

 

Application:

Daniel 1:1-21 teaches us that:

- to endure difficult circumstances , we must remember God’s sovereign faithfulness

-we are to be in the world but not of the world and most shaped by the Gospel

-God remembers us and gives what we need to glorify Him in difficult circumstances

“This incident illustrates for us an important principle: the way we think – about God, ourselves, others, the world – determines the way we live. If Nebuchadnezzar could only change these men to think like Babylonians, then they would live like Babylonians. Conversely, so long as they thought of themselves as the Lord’s, they would live as His servants – even in Babylon.”

Stephen R. Miller, The New American Commentary: Daniel

More in Daniel: The Faithfulness of God in Uncertain Times

November 13, 2016

God is Victorious

November 6, 2016

God is Opposed

October 30, 2016

God is not a God of Fear