There are many “short” stories that contribute to the “long” STORY that began in Eden and will culminate in the New Jerusalem. They fit into the history of Israel as the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle fit into the larger picture.
The conditions of these children of Israel have changed drastically. The northern kingdom had fallen much earlier (722 BC) and now in about 586 BC the southern kingdom had been totally defeated by Babylon. Many of the Israelites, especially of the upper classes, had been taken captive and settled in Babylon. Among them were Daniel and his three friends. In the Scripture from I Samuel thru II Chronicles we have read a great deal of the sins of Israel as they constantly rebelled against God. But somewhere in Israel there must have been pious families or faithful priests who had some influence. For Daniel and his friends were committed to God and to His commandments. They had obviously been exposed to the law of Moses and it had taken root in their lives.
Upon arrival in Babylon they were immediately confronted with temptations. They were likely still in their teens when they arrived at what must have been the University of Babylon. They were offered rich foods (certainly not kosher) and wines which were probably intoxicating. All the restraints of family and “church” that could have affected their behavior were gone. But they remained faithful. They were well disciplined. I wonder how many of our young people (and the rest of us as well) in today’s churches would have exercised that kind of discipline.
Perhaps the most important, or at least one of the most important component of our lives as Christians is discipline, usually translated as self-control. It is the final quality listed in Paul’s description of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22,23. By adding It at the end I don’t think Paul indicated that it was less important. Perhaps it wrapped things up because all of the preceding qualities had a relationship to self-control. Peter’s list of things that should be added to our faith are similar to Paul’s and also include self-control.
The word, “self-control” may be a mite misleading. It is not our controlling the “self” but rather the self being controlled. And the power to control ourselves is not within us but must come from without, although we are also involved in the process.
Perhaps I can illustrate that with an experience I had a few years ago (actually 70). I spent the summer of 1948 operating a grain combine from Oklahoma to Montana. At the front of the combine was a sickle bar that cut the grain and had constantly to be raised and lowered. The sickle bar probably weighed a half ton or more, and I, obviously, couldn’t lift it. But there was a toggle switch that operated an electric motor that did the heavy lifting. I think my using the switch is a little like the desire to control the self. But the actual power to control comes from God’s Spirit. Only by his power are we able to display the fruit of the Spirit. Daniel and his friends obviously had the desire to honor Jaweh in their lives but, as they would later confess, it was God who provided the power.
And, as is often the case, their exercise of discipline proved to have helped them.
A second temptation faced them, perhaps soon after the first one. An image of the king was constructed and it was to be worshipped by every resident of the kingdom. The three friends of Daniel could easily have feigned obedience to the king by going through the motions. But they were committed to honoring their God and refused to compromise by not demonstrating their commitment to Jaweh.
If there ever was a time when Christians should demonstrate their commitment to Christ it is today! There is so much compromise of principles by the “Christian” community that committed believers would be hard to miss. Ridicule of genuine believers is on the rise and believers are beginning to pay a cost for demonstrated commitment. Whether we are prepared to meet the challenge is up for grabs.
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