Thriving in Babylon… Daniel: The Wisdom of God on Display

I am so thankful that you are joining us for this episode! I absolutely love Daniel for so many reasons. But I genuinely enjoy sharing things from his life that are usually not a part of the traditional stories. This is our final week in a short survey of his life. Please share this message with anyone you know that might listen.

Thriving in Babylon… Daniel: The Wisdom of God on Display

Daniel’s wisdom helped him pick his battles. Let me explain. As a teenage male, his country was defeated, his city destroyed, family and friends murdered, he was captured along with thousands of Israelites. What’s the first thing he seemed to do? Stand up for his faith, he did not want to defile his body and his God with unclean food. So, he respectfully and politely asked to pass on the king’s food and drink in favor of his kosher Jewish diet. When granted permission he did not make a big deal of it. He and his friends quietly ate according to the Jewish rules they had followed their whole life. At the end of the 10 days, young Daniel’s wisdom can be observed. When his theory proved correct and he and his friends were found in better condition than all the other young men, he did not gloat. He did not shame all the other Jewish young men who did not share their convictions. He did not seek an audience with the king to prove the ways of God and to try to implement these dietary rules for all the other trainees. What did they do?

They went to work. The three years of training began. At the end of the 3 years, it says that “In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.” Daniel 1:20

Daniel’s hope in God, the humble way in which he responded to each victory and the wisdom he showed as he picked his battles allowed him to advance up in the Babylonian ladder and earn the respect, trust and ear of the Babylonian leaders. Through this series, we have talked about the hope of Daniel, true biblical hope. The humility of Daniel. Committing to a life of respecting and serving others above ourselves in every situation. And finally, Daniel’s Godly wisdom. We must strive to live by and to demonstrate the wisdom of God in modern-day Babylon if we are to thrive. But what does that look like? How can we thrive?