So as I explained this morning, we're going to be looking at the Book of Daniel, the first six chapters this evening. So if you'll turn your Bible into the Book of Daniel, chapter 1. Which can be found on page 737 in the Pew Bible. And what the title of this message is Daniel's Faith in Adversity and what I want to do. is I want for us to look at Daniel's circumstance, and his prayers, and the things that happened around him, and how he dealt with that, how he applied his faith in a difficult situation, and so that we might be able to walk away with an encouragement to do the same. So I'm going to start in chapter one and give us a little bit of the history background. I want to read the first few verses. My voice is scratchy tonight. I got a cold recently, so I'm going to be popping throat lozenges along the way, and hopefully my voice stays with me. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand and 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. Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, the chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, 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." And so our brief history, we know that Israel went into exile first. They were Their sins were more egregious than Judah's. And so they were taken first. Nevertheless, Judah in 605 BC, it was their turn. And so what we've read is Jehoiakim was the king in place at the time. The Lord sent the Chaldeans, bands of Syrians, bands of Moabites, bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it. So who does the Lord use to judge Judah? A nation even more wicked than they. And so we know they're judged because because they joined themselves to the idols of the land that they conquered. And so, they're in trouble for this. There were three waves that lasted 20 years in their, to bring them to exile. Daniel was in that first group of captives. And the common thread in this book is an emphasis on the way the absolute sovereignty of God operates in the affairs of all nations. So Daniel, Daniel's of the tribe of Judah. He's of the royal family. He's about, we figure about 20 years old, and he's being trained in the royal family. And so he gets chosen as one of the, he's bright, and he gets chosen as one of the scholars to learn his new land's ways, to learn their laws, to learn their ways, to learn their language, to learn about their gods, I suppose, as well. And so they're going to train Daniel in this way, he and his mates. Sorry. So he's about 20 years old, and they're in unusual circumstances, captives. So I like to call this next section Daniel's Resolve. Verses five and six, the king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate. And we know the story very well. They were educated for three years and at the end of this time they were supposed to stand before the king. And the king would examine them himself. And when the king did, he was very impressed with Daniel, of course. But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the king's food or with the wine. So they asked that they, of course we know the story, they asked that they would not eat the food. Maybe it was, there was pork, maybe it was sacrifice to idols, but they asked not to be defiled by it. Perhaps the niceties of Babylon would draw their hearts away from the Lord, and they wanted to keep themselves separate. It says they ate desired to eat vegetables. But if you do a little bit of research, you'll find it was called pulse, which would really come down to beans, peas and lentils. So it's a little bit more robust than cabbage or something like that is which I would imagine. Matthew Henry has an interesting comment about this. He said, those that had thus endured or become accustomed themselves to hardship and lived a life of self-denial and mortification of sin could the more easily endure upon the fiery furnace and den of lions rather than sin against God. So as the story goes along, Nebuchadnezzar has a dream. And you know he has a dream about the image with the head of gold and the body of bronze and iron legs and mixed with clay at the bottom. And I'm not going to get into that. But what the king does is he has this unreasonable request. Now what does he do? He tells his wise men, and by the way, he doesn't go to Daniel. He tells his wise men, interpret my dream. They said, well, tell me the dream. No, just you tell it to me, or I'm going to kill all you guys. So it's a very unreasonable request. He's a very wicked bear. And now there seems no hope, because they have no idea what his dream was. So even though Daniel impressed the king after his three-year probation, he was temporarily forgotten. And so this actually heightens the drama. This guy named Ariok approaches him to kill him. So, you know, they go through the land. All right, magicians and all you guys come out, we're going to kill you now. And he comes to Daniel. And I guess maybe Daniel was the first one they approached or something because I didn't hear anything about anybody else being put to death yet. So, Daniel hears this and he says, you know, what is this you're talking about? Let me seek the Lord and I will ask the Lord to interpret the dream. The Chaldeans are saying there's no man, there's not a man on earth that could interpret this dream. And so this, of course, this process is exalting the Lord, is it not? So Daniel asks his fellow captives to pray with him. And that's significant. Just like Esther asks Mordecai to pray, she doesn't just do it herself, she asks, and so Daniel asks his fellow captives to pray with him. Doesn't it seem that the Lord brings us to circumstances beyond ourselves so that our only recourse is to seek the Lord in prayer and for His mercies? First Corinthians 127 to 29 tells us, but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. So again, these magicians are no match for the wisdom that comes from God. So now we find Daniel's in the right place at the right time. Of course, he's a captive. And I want us to imagine this, Daniel's around 20-ish, and he's born into the time of judgment, and he spends his life in Babylon. He's captive, he's going to go through a couple of more kings, but he's going to be a captive all his life. And as I've read the first six chapters of Daniel, I thought about how the narration lacks almost all emotion. There's one spot, place in chapter six where there's a little bit of emotion. And I thought, isn't that interesting? And even in light of what we heard this morning about God breathing out the word of God and we imagined God's narration and how he wanted it to play out. Daniel is a pretty straightforward book. This happened, this happened, this happened. Even when they were conquered, there's not a lot of detail for what happens there. So now I want to look at Daniel's doctrine. Now we'll change to chapter two. This is after Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Starting in verse, and we'll look at verse 23. 20 to 23, I'm sorry. Daniel answered when the mystery was revealed to him, blessed be the name of God forever and ever. to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons. He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and hidden things. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter. Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar his time is limited. And this is also interesting because Nebuchadnezzar doesn't get angry with him. What does he do? He promotes him, doesn't he? He remarkably receives the prophecy and promotes Daniel. But is the king humbled yet? The king gives a demonstration of faith, but is he humbled? Like I said, he recognizes, look at... Well, we'll skip right over Chapter 3, and I'll give this small comment of Chapter 3. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego witness to Nebuchadnezzar, right? Their contemporaries set them up, and they get thrown into the furnace, and it backfires on Nebuchadnezzar. So now Nebuchadnezzar has seen the glory of God a second time, and so I like to call that their witness to him. And then we have chapter three, verse 26, where Nebuchadnezzar says, Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning, fiery furnace, and he declared, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out and come here. And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego come out. So he's calling them the servants of the Most High God. He's getting something there. He's getting something. He's picking something up. But he hasn't learned his lesson. So he has another dream. And what is our second dream? Our second dream is where Nebuchadnezzar learns that he's going to be removed, and he's going to live like an animal for a period of seven years. This is Daniel giving an interpretation of it, verse 24 of chapter 4. O king, it is a decree of the Most High which has come upon my lord the king. Notice Daniel's respect to this wicked king. That you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven. And seven periods of time shall pass over you till you know So I guess the Lord's trying to teach Nebuchadnezzar a lesson, is he not? I've heard so many times the statement, the US is the most powerful nation in the world, or the President of the United States is the most powerful man in the world. And, you know, that's great, but I think that's kind of boastful. I think we may be that power right now, but only 70 short years ago, who was the power in the world then? Was it not Great Britain? The sun did not set on the territory of Great Britain. The sun never set. And that's not the case anymore. And I thought of also how In the scenario of the World War II period, don't we remember that some German scientists defected to America and they built a bomb here and that affected the outcome or the flux of power? Who's doing this? Who's setting these things up? Do we, are we so foolish as to imagine that our nation will stay the most powerful nation in the world forever? Doesn't it all take as someone to have a weapon stronger than ours and the threat of using it against us for us to back down? All is directed by the sovereign hand and will of Almighty God. So Nebuchadnezzar learns this lesson. after this last bout of pride. Daniel 4.35, remember, he was, it took him about a year before he ended up going to live with animals. And after he came out of that, after the Lord restored his mind, verse 34 of chapter four, at the end of the days, I and Nebuchadnezzar Lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me. And I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored Him who lives forever. For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation. all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing. And he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. And none can stay his hand or say to him, what have you done? I know. So chapter four, Nebuchadnezzar fades and we know his son comes to reign, Belshazzar. And remember in chapter one, in the captivity, when they took everything from Judah, they brought the vessels of the house of God and brought them with them. So the golden glasses and all that. Well, this is going to trip Belshazzar up. So he didn't learn from his dad's lesson. And the Lord came to him with the writing on the wall, the hand. And he didn't, again, he's looking at magicians and so forth, and he's trying to find out what this means, but nobody can tell him. But his mom comes to the rescue and says, well, there's this guy, Daniel, and he will tell you the interpretation. So we're all the way in chapter five, verses 26 to 28 now. where Daniel is giving the interpretation. This is the interpretation of the matter, meaning God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end. Tickle, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting. Perez, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. Just that night, he'll be murdered and he'll lose his kingdom. So Persia conquers Babylon in the year 539 BC. So this is 66 years after Judas conquered. So that would put Daniel in his 80s. Safely, we'd put him in his 80s. And so Daniel serves Darius. The new king and his righteous life continues to be a stench to the wicked. And so a plot is hatched to destroy Daniel by setting up a false image and commanding all to bow down to it. This next last section is considered called Daniel's Constitution. So when Daniel knew, I'm sorry I didn't write the verse down, I'll just read it from here. When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, of course, remember the document, that anybody, when you hear the symbols and all the racket, that you're supposed to worship this image, right? I know we're running through this, and we're in chapter six. I always think of the Veggie Tales. Because I think they, it's so funny because the, The description is repeated in scripture, and you're like, you know, and they mention those eight instruments, and then they mention it again, and in VeggieTales, they really highlight that, and you're thinking, that sounds ridiculous, right? Anyway, Daniel knew that the document had been signed, and everyone had to worship in it, and if you didn't worship, you'd be thrown into a lion's den. So what did he do? He went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber, open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God. Well, think about that. Daniel's in his 80s, and he's a captive. He's away from his homeland, away from the temple where they worshipped, struggling to practice his faith, and he gave thanks. He gave thanks before his God as he had done previously. And then these men who concocted the plot came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God. Chapter six, verse 16. The king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. And the king declared to Daniel, may your God, whom you serve, continually deliver you. Of course, the king's hands were tied, right? He couldn't do anything because he had signed an agreement that he would kill anybody who didn't worship the image. So the king expresses regret and hope for Daniel's deliverance. And in verse 20, I found some emotion. The king comes near the den where Daniel was, and he cried out in a tone of anguish. And the king declared to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you serve continually been able to deliver you from the lions? This is Daniel's been in there overnight and the Lord, of course, stopped the mouths of the lions. We all know the story. And that the king was hoping the king was hoping that Daniel would be OK and listen to Daniel's respect toward the king. Again, verse 21, then Daniel said to the king, OK, live forever. Do you have to say that? No, but he's respecting this authority that he of his captor. King, live forever. My God sent his angel and shut the lion's mouths and they have not harmed me because I was found blameless before him and also before you, O King. I have done no harm. And so the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up. And we know the rest of the story. His accusers and their families were thrown into the lion's den and they never even made it to the floor of the den before they were devoured. Well, I have some takeaways. Daniel has shown us how to behave in seeming insurmountable situations. Very difficult situation that he was in, being a captive, being under wicked kings who put people to death that they didn't like. And so his resolve was to honor the Lord no matter who was in power. And to work and be useful where he was placed. So our encouragement, I would say, is to hold fast when the going gets really tough and see how the Lord may use you. And follow Daniel's example and pray for mercy. Daniel prayed for mercy when he was one of the magicians that were all going to be taken away. So, you know, Daniel didn't say, well, you know, the Lord is sovereign and I'm a captive and I guess we're all going to die now. He prayed for mercy for him and he prayed for others. And can you imagine a worse predicament than be thrown to lions? I also thought about how. the Lord places believers, of course, you know, we can gather this, the Lord places believers in strategic places. Well, think about Vice President Pence. Everybody, most people believe he's a professing believer, and most people believe it's genuine. And so consider him, consider others that are in the cabinet, consider others in other lands where wicked rulers are, and pray that the godly people in those regimes would influence these wicked rulers. One more comment. Deuteronomy 4.25. As I thought about the captivity, and all the trouble that Judah went through because of their sins and their ruler's sins. And we know throughout scripture when the Lord judges, he always has promise there, too, because he's always thinking about his covenant children. Why did they get judged? Because they're his, right? Deuteronomy 4.25 says this. When you father children and children's children and have grown old in the land, if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything and by doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord, your God, so as to provoke him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed. Now that sounds pretty bad. That sounds pretty rough. And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you. And there you will serve gods of wood and stone and work of human hands, and neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell, or that neither eat nor see. But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find him if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. We'll stop there. The Lord brought judgment, but you know the Lord brought them back, too. The Lord will be honored, and those who dishonor him, especially his children, will pay a price for that. The Lord also offers promise in judgment if we return to him. Thank you.