Follow God's will or follow the crowd?

I love the book of Daniel. It's my favorite book of the Old Testament. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah followed God's law and will for their lives even when facing the direst of outcomes. They are pillars of faith and fortitude. Daniel especially was steadfast through-out his life in his pursuit of God.

When we first meet Daniel in chapter one he has been taken into captivity and chosen along with other male youth to be trained for the King's service. Daniel along with Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (also known as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) meet their first challenge as they enter training for the King's service.

1) The first challenge: To eat from the King's table or not.

Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were to be fed meat and wine from the King's table. They were captives in a foreign country. However, to eat from the King's table would have broken God's laws and would have defiled them. It's not really like they had a choice and yet rather than defile himself Daniel was so bold as to ask for different food. 

Daniel 1:8-10 "But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”

Out of all the young men gathered and trained to serve the king only these four, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, chose to go against the grain. 

The question before them: Follow God's will or follow the crowd?

Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah hold true to God's commands:

Daniel 1:11-14 "Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days."

The outcome: God is Victorious:

Daniel 1:15-20"At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds. At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. 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."

2) The second challenge: Bow or Burn.

Faced with the decree to bow before a false idol Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego remain standing, even though the king commands they bow. When brought before the king they still refuse to bow, even at the threat of being burned to death.

Daniel 3:13-15 "Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

The question before them: Follow God's will or follow the crowd?

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah) hold true to God's commands:

Daniel 3:16-23 "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace."

The outcome: God is Victorious:

Daniel 3:25-27 "Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them."

3) The third challenge: To pray or not to pray.

Through schemes to trap Daniel and discredit him before the king all the other royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors come up with a law that no one can pray to anyone but the king for 30 days, knowing Daniel will not keep this law.

Daniel 6:6-9 "So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever! The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” So King Darius put the decree in writing.

The question before him: Follow God's will or follow the crowd?

Daniel holds true to God's commands:

Daniel 6:10-11 "Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help."

The outcome: God is Victorious:

Daniel 6: 16-23 "So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep. At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?” Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.” The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God."

When we live for Christ we will also stand out for Christ.

Ephesians 6: 10 - 18 says "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 

Theses verses in Ephesian always bring Daniel to mind because he exemplified this kind of faith all through out his life. Daniel had the full armor of God on.

Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah never doubt that God will be victorious. We too can trust in the strength of a God whose outcomes are always victorious.

The question before us: Follow God's will or follow the crowd?

~Naomi