Three Lessons from Daniel 1: Living as Kingdom Ambassadors.

Do you believe that God is the Lord over Marketplace? That He cares about every decision that goes in it? How can we fully live out as Kingdom ambassadors in the Marketplaces where God calls us to bless the world?

In Daniel 1, we see the group of Jewish people that were taken captive out of their land of Jerusalem and forcefully brought to a foreign land of Babylon. Among this group, Daniel, and his three friends (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) were chosen and brought to the King's court to be educated in the Babylonian culture and Babylon language for three years (vv.4-5). After this training, Daniel and his three friends were given new names that were reflective and representative of the Babylon gods (v. 7). With these new names, the Babylonians were trying to reshape and reform Daniel and his friends' identity away from the Lord of Jerusalem to the gods of Babylon.

The Jews in exile in Babylon must have been confused and questioned, "Was our Lord weaker than the gods of Babylon? Why were we then taken captive?" But, it says in Daniel 1:8:

"But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank."

What this verse shows is that Daniel and his three friends still believed that, even though they were exiles in the land, God was still the Lord over this nation. They believed that the same God who rules over Jerusalem is the same God who rules over Babylon. So, they resolved in their heart to keep their identity as the Lord's servants. By refraining from the king's food, they were reminding themselves, "Even though we are in Babylon and even though we are being inculcated with Babylonian culture, in our very core being, we are still the Lord's servants."

As a result of their resolve, we see in the next verses God giving Daniel and his friends divine favour (v.9), and divine wisdom (v. 17). It says in Daniel 1:17:

"As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams."

There are three things we can learn from Daniel and his friends:

1. God is the Lord over All Spheres of Creation.

If Daniel and his friends believed that the gods of Babylon were the Lord over Babylon, then they did not need to resolve to remain their identity as the Lord's servants. But, they believed that God is still the same Lord over Babylon, just as he was in Jerusalem. So, they resolved in their heart to follow the Lord's will, even in a foreign land.

A lot of times, in the Marketplace, we act in a way that seems to show as if God is not the Lord over the Marketplace. But, God is. This would mean that God needs to be honored in the way we perform, act, and lead in the Marketplace.

2. Engage the Culture but not assimilate to it.

Daniel and his friends were active students of Babylonian culture and language. In other words, they actively engaged with the culture of Babylon. But, they did not assimilate to it, meaning they did not lose their identity in the midst of a foreign culture that was trying to reshape who they were. Often we tend to think that our society's culture is so against what we believe, so we should stay away from it. But our call in this world is to be "in the world but not of the world." If we are to be the kingdom influences, we ought to do what Daniel did, actively engaging the culture but not losing our identity as God's children in the midst of it.

3. Wisdom belongs to the Lord.

Again in verse 17 above, it says God gave Daniel and his friends wisdom. As Daniel and his friends believed that God is still the Lord over Babylon and thus resolved to remain their identity as God's servants, God gave them wisdom so they could give good advise to the King of Babylon and bless the nation (v. 20). In fact this is God's heart. God wants to bless the world and the Marketplace through His people. To be used as God's channel of blessing, we need to act in divine wisdom, which belongs to Him alone. Book of James reminds us that God will give wisdom to those who ask (James 1:5).

Ultimately, the reason God sent Jews to the land of Babylon was not because he could not withstand the gods of Babylon, but because God wanted to bless the land of Babylon through his servants like Daniel and his friends. So, Daniel believed God is still the Lord, actively engaged with the people of foreign country by learning their culture, and worked with a divine wisdom to bless the King and the people of Babylon. In our world today, this is what God calls us to do. We can bless the people in the Marketplace by firmly believing God is the Lord over it, by actively engaging with the people of our culture, and by ministering in the wisdom of the Lord.