Sovereign Staying Power

A very significant, although easily overlooked, verse was pointed out to me in a message Sunday. Daniel 1:21 says, "And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus." As the writer of the book moves on from Daniel's spiritual character and physical prowess in the court of Nebuchadnezzar, he mentions in passing something of Daniel's longevity.

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, captured Jerusalem (and carried off the Hebrew captives) in 586 BC. Daniel was a young man, perhaps in his early teens at this time, and Daniel 1 speaks of his prominence in the court of Babylon. The verse states that Daniel maintained his presence in the court of the king all the way until the time of Cyrus, king of Persia. Cyrus gained superiority over the Medes around 546 BC. During that time, Babylon fell to Media, which was subsequently defeated by Cyrus.

The amazing thing is that Daniel survived the "spoils system" and maintained his position of influence and power for at least forty years through two major regime changes. The point was made to me that Daniel could have been tempted to sin against his convictions in the early going (1:8-16), making the excuse that he needed to "adapt" and "assimilate the Babylonian culture" if he was going to be able to retain his ability to influence the king. However, he chose to please and obey God, and God sovereignly maintained Daniel's presence far beyond what human scheming could have ever done.

Comments

Don Johnson said…
Hi Mark, interesting point. And just a sidenote...

I think Daniel was probably carried away in one of the earlier raids. I have been preaching through the OT chronologically for the last 4.5 months (4.5 mo to go!) and I seem to recall reading that he was likely carried away in 595 or so... not sure on the exact date.

Just thinking out loud... that would make his longevity even longer.

Regards,
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3
Mark Perry said…
Absolutely Don, I was just trying to give the shortest possible time. Thanks for pointing that out. Sounds like a great nine-month series you have going there!
Don Johnson said…
Yes, the series is a real blessing. Every service is devoted to it and our people are reading the OT chronologically along with the preaching. If I ever get around to a blog/website of my own I'll publish the schedule and notes. It has been a real eyeopener for all of us.

We are just now getting into Jeroboam/Rehoboam, so the head will start to swim with dates, names, places, etc.

Regards,
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3