PRESSURE TO COMPROMISE
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Introduction
Introduction
-I read a story about a hunter who went out into the forest to shoot a bear. With winter fast approaching he planned to make a warm coat out of the bearskin. Soon he saw a bear coming toward him, he raised his gun and took aim. "Wait," said the bear, "why do you want to shoot me?" The hunter replied: "Because I am cold." The bear replied "But I am hungry, so maybe we can reach an agreement." In the end, the hunter was definitely well enveloped with the bear's fur, and the bear had eaten his dinner.
-As silly as that story is, I think that it is a vary apt illustration of what happens when Christians try to compromise with the world around them. Christians have their beliefs that are very much at odds with the world. In fact, John the apostle warns us:
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
-As the tired old cliche goes, we are in the world but we are not to be of the world. This means that the world system is not to determine what we believe and how we act because the world system is under the domain of the evil one. How can the values and the morals and the beliefs of two opposing systems, two completely different ways of looking at the world, two opposite worldviews, ever come to some sort of accord? They cannot. That is why the apostle Paul warns:
14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?
-If a Christian were to try to compromise with the world, the Christian would end up losing a whole lot more than they would gain, as was alluded to by our silly little story. And so we must stay strong and not budge an inch. And we get some encouragement in this from Daniel and his three friends. Let’s look at Daniel 1.
1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.
2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god.
3 Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility,
4 youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.
5 The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king.
6 Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah.
7 And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.
-During an early seige around 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar deported the young, bright, upcoming talents of the lands that were made part of his empire and brought them to Babylon to train them for use in his government. Some that were deported from Jerusalem and they included Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Everything that Daniel describes right at the beginning here was foretold by the prophet Isaiah after Hezekiah showed a Babylonian envoy all the riches of the temple and his palace. Isaiah forewarned:
16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord:
17 Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord.
18 And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
-Those deported from Judah (and elsewhere) are described as from royal families and the nobility, so it is possible that the families of these four youths were somehow connected to the lineage of David (and, if 2 Kings is an indication, descendants of Hezekiah) or those who served in his upper echelon. The Jewish historian, Josephus, claimed that Daniel and his friends were all members of Zedekiah’s family. Zedekiah was a son of Josiah and the last king of Judah before the destruction of Jerusalem. Either way, as one commentator notes, royalty from one kingdom was stolen away to serve royalty in another kingdom. More than likely, growing up amongst the royal family they would already have had some learning in diplomacy and the like. And the description given in v. 4 tells us that they are the best and brightest. Nebuchadnezzar wanted young men who were of teachable age—those whom they thought would be easily molded, who were the best and smartest to work with, in order to strengthen the empire and strengthen his reputation around the world.
-But v. 4 gives us a first glance at what Nebuchadnezzar wanted to do with these youth. He wanted to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans (which is just another way of referring to the Babylonians). Now, in one sense, there was a positive side to this. They learned the main languages used throughout the Empire (most especially Aramaic). They had access to the greatest library of the day and were able to learn from the brightest in religion and philosophy and math and sciences and histories (but it also would include things like magic and astronomy and astrology, important aspects of their religion and culture). They learned the cultures and religions and traditions of all the major people groups from their era. From one standpoint, it would be like someone from America going to Japan and being immersed in the culture and philosophy and religions from the East—something very foreign to us, but there is a lot of learning to be had. And they learned from the best—Babylonian learning was like the Harvard of the day, and actually even better. It says it was a three-year training—so it might be considered the best graduate school in the world.
-On the other hand, there was another side to this. Nebuchadnezzar may also have been trying to brainwash these young people through his pagan indoctrination. He may have been attempting to create an equivalent of the Hitler Youth—the youth organization of the Nazi Party. This included a thorough study of the religion of Babylon. He did not merely want them to know the intellectual and academic points of their religion, but wanted these youth to be steeped in it and follow it and embrace it. This can be seen by some of the episodes that occur later in the book.
-This can also be seen by the fact that the youth were all given new names for the Babylonian society. It was common in the Ancient Near East for someone’s name to pay homage to one’s God. This is found in the boys real, given names. In the Bible you see various derivations of the word God or the divine name Yahweh. The Hebrew word EL means God, and Yahweh is often shortened to just IAH or JAH. In the name Daniel, you see the EL at the end, and his name means GOD IS JUDGE. Hananiah means YAHWEH IS GRACIOUS. Mishael means WHO IS WHAT GOD IS? And Azariah means YAHWEH HELPS. Well, if these boys were going to be steeped in the religion of the Babylonians, their names had to reflect that, so they were given new Babylonian names—a break from the past, and an embracing of the new (at least that was the idea behind it, although the boys themselves had no choice in the matter). Daniel is given the name Belteshazzar which means MAY BEL PROTECT HIS LIFE (Bel being another name for Marduk the main Babylonian god). Hananiah became Shadrach which meant COMMAND OF AKU (and Aku was their moon god). Mishael became Meshach which means WHO IS WHAT AKU IS (an obvious play on his real name WHO IS WHAT GOD IS). And Azariah became Abednego which means SERVANT OF NEGO (with Nego being an intentional perversion of Nebo also known as Nabu, the second greatest god amongst the Babylonian religion, the god of wisdom).
-Part of the whole engulfment into Babylonian life also included the diet. They were given a portion of the same food that went to the king’s table. From one perspective, that would make sense. If you go to Japan, you eat Japanese food. If you go to India, you eat Indian food. If you are in Babylon you eat Babylonian food. And the king obviously only eats the best of the best since he’s the king. There may have been an innocent aspect to this in that Nebuchadnezzar wanted these youth to have the best so they would be the most physically fit and able to serve him better. But from another angle, it was just another way for these youth to forget their past and their upbringing and lead them into full immersion in being Babylonians. As we find out later in the chapter, this food would include things specifically deemed unclean that would defile a Jew according to law.
-Babylon was putting pressure on these Jewish youth to become a part of their ways. They found every possible angle to cause these youth to part ways with everything that they had been taught about their God, and instead to embrace a new religion, a new way of life, and a new ethic. Here’s the thing, nothing has changed (or to put it biblically, there is nothing new under the sun). Babylon is still trying to indoctrinate our youth (using Babylon as a symbol or picture of everything that is opposed to God—which is something that the New Testament writers did). The current culture wants us and our youth to forget the ways of God and His Word, and embrace the new morals. They want us to forget God and join them in their idolatrous observances. And we have to be wise to their devices.
-This world system that is opposed to God will appeal to us from so many different levels to try to wear us down and overcome our wills so that we will finally concede to what it is they are trying to accomplish. If we are not strong in the Lord and the power of His might, we may come to a point where we are sick of fighting and just throw our hands up and then give up. That is why we put on the armor and we stand firm. Yes, following the world system would be easier and more comfortable, but it is not right nor is it pleasing to God. Not that all the learning that the world gives is necessarily bad. You need to know your three R’s: reading, riting, and rithmatic. There is nothing wrong with learning philosophy and science, as long as you don’t embrace the world’s values along with it.
-No doubt, what Babylon offered the boys was a great opportunity—they would receive the best training the world would offer. They would serve in the government of the most powerful earthly entity at the time. But would the cost of compromise make it worth it? Or was there another way? Daniel and the boys showed that there could be a way. They were resolved to honor their God, and yet they resolved to do it within the context and culture within which they found themselves. And we can do the same. They were in the system and worked within the system without being conformed to the system. The will of God was actually for them to be where they were for God to use them in those high positions. But those high positions are not what defined them. Their imperial identities did not define them. And neither does our earthly connections define us. Our identity is who we are in Christ. And we will learn more about that next week.