Good Thing About the Exile

Jerusalem and Judah were captured by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 605 BC.  The Prophets, most notably Jeremiah and Ezekiel, made it clear the reason for the debacle was the idolatry and disobedience of the leaders and the people.  But, as God promises, He works all things together for good for his people (Romans 8.28).  In particular, Daniel made it to Babylon.

Just like God used persecution of the early Christian church to send witnesses to Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth, so He used the exile to place Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah in the King’s court (the last three are better known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego).  God equipped them to show the king’s steward the benefits of a healthy diet in Chapter 1, interpret dreams in Chapters 2 and 4, stand up to the king’s unrighteous demand in Chapter 3, read the handwriting on the wall in Chapter 5, and withstand ravenous lions in Chapter 6.

The kings of Babylon, the Medes, and the Persians needed to know about the One True God of the universe, and the four friends made it clear.  Nebuchadnezzar said “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries” (Daniel 2.47); “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants” (3.29); and “I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever” (4.34).

Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon, saw the writing on the wall (literally) but the message was too late to help him.  Darius the Mede called Daniel the “servant of the living God” and made a decree that “in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end.  He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.”

Thus the most powerful men on the earth knew about the most powerful God in the universe, and they proclaimed his name widely!  And, the kings of Orien Tar (for a long time I thought those three guys worked with a specific brand of road sealant) quite likely had knowledge of the Old Testament prophecies because Daniel had brought them to Babylon.

Rest of the Story

Paul Harvey had a famous radio signature where he would tell an often familiar bit of history and then reveal “the rest of the story” – the background that made the initial news even more amazing.  He would have loved to tell (and probably did) two such events that are contained in the book of Daniel.

You probably know that Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego were tossed into the fiery furnace after they refused to bow to King Nebuchadnezzar’s giant idol (Daniel 3). An angel rescued them, and they emerged with unsinged hair, unburned clothes, and no smoky smell.  The poor guards who tossed them in, however, were killed by the flames.  The rest of the story is the aftermath – Nebuchadnezzar issued a proclamation forbidding anyone from speaking against the God of the three unburnable boys.

And you have most likely heard that Daniel was tossed into the lion’s den because he continued to pray to his God (Daniel 6).  Daniel was sealed in overnight but was taken up out of the pit with nary a scratch.  His accusers, however, when cast into the same  hole, were overpowered by the lions so ravenously that all their bones were broken before they hit the bottom.  Again, the rest of the story is the proclamation made by King Darius – not only was God praised abundantly, but all men in the kingdom were to “tremble and fear” before Him.

Strengthening Group Prayer

I suspect that one way to improve the quality of GROUP prayer times is to encourage strong personal devotions.  This is based on listening to wise brothers and sisters at our morning prayer time or at leadership meetings or during worship services.  I can hear influential scripture passages in many of the prayers offered.  Phrases are pulled from God’s promises, Paul’s prayers, Jesus’ discourses, the Psalms, and many other verses into a flow of adoration, thanksgiving, and requests. 

Four things that may help build stronger personal and group prayer:  (1) Start a Bible reading time by asking God for more facility in prayer.  (2) While reading any scripture passage, look for ways to pray the words back to the God who wrote them. (3) Pray aloud in personal devotions, consciously speaking complete sentences. (4) Practice. 

Additional items added 8/27/14:

(5) Read the prayers in scripture, capturing the ideas and learning from them

(6) Memorize the words of scripture to pray them

(7) Pray with your spouse or other belivers during devotion time

(8) Sing psalms / hymns / spiritual songs and use them as prayers

 

Psych

Fear of small spaces:  Claustrophobia.  Fear of Clowns: Normal

 

I may be crazy, but I least I have each other

 

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself… and spiders

 

I often question my sanity.  Still waiting for a reply.

Fruits of Godly Grief

In 2 Corinthians 7, Paul lets the church know that one of the reasons he wrote the letter was the hope that it would give them grief!  He then gives blessings that came from this godly grief:

-It produced repentance in some

-It leads to salvation without regret (as opposed to worldly grief that produces death)

-it produced earnestness

-it produced eagerness to clear oneself

-it produced indignation, fear, longing, and an earnestness for Paul and Timothy that provided comfort to them.

This has an echo of Paul’s first letter (1 Corinthians 11.18-19)  “I hear that there are divisions among you.  And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.”  Paul seems to be saying that the way people act when handling controversy tells a lot about their character.

How Disciples Know What To Say

We know from 2 Timothy 2.2 that Paul urged Timothy to entrust what he had heard to faithful men who will be able to teach others – the four generations (Paul, Timothy, faithful men, others) model of passing on the gospel of Jesus Christ.  This has worked pretty well for two thousand years.

It is also amazing how God set things up so that the right message would be shared at the beginning, especially since it took the original twelve Disciples awhile to figure out who Jesus was (Luke 9.20).

Jesus Taught.  He was a model for the early disciples for three years, teaching with parables, prayer, reprimands, and actions.  After the resurrection, on the road to Emmaus while talking to two disciples, “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24.27). Shortly afterward, while with the whole group, “He opened their minds to understand the Scripture, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things’” (vs 45-48).

The Holy Spirit Worked. Christ made a promise that the Holy Spirit fulfilled – words would be given to the disciples when needed.  Flames and tongues were signs of the Spirit’s deep work at Pentecost (Acts 2).  Paul and John were given special revelations (2 Corinthians 12.1-10, Revelation 1.1-3) to enhance their understanding. The New Testament authors were guided in their writings just like the Old Testament authors had been (2 Timothy 3.16). 

The Church Followed. God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) has guided his elect through councils, theologians, and most importantly, the sacred scriptures, to show the need to rely on Him for combatting heresies and staying with the gospel truth.  People are natural sinners, so it is no surprise that divisions and splits occur.  But God is jealous for His church, so it is also no surprise that there has been a well-defined message handed down over centuries, and God keeps His people on track.