Stranger in a strange land

Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king's descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king's delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king. Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. – Daniel 1.3-8

I have been preaching through 1 Peter about the whole notion of God’s people being strangers and pilgrims in the world. I keep looking for good illustrations of what it means to be strangers in a strange land. Then, as I started reading in Daniel I realised that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were the perfect picture.

Israel had been taken into captivity by the Chaldeans (Babylonians) as a result of ignoring God’s Sabbath years for nearly 500 years. This time is referred to today as the Babylonian Captivity. It was, in essence, going to be seventy years of enslavement.

So how was the nation going to handle being slaves again? Their heritage knew all about being slaves with their time in Egypt. But here it was again. What were they going to do?

These four men were going to make the best of it. Daniel and the others worked in government offices. The best have done the best they could because they rose to prominence and were seen by the government officials. Even in this strange land God’s men of character stood out.

As we wander through this world while awaiting our ‘better country’ this is the kind of life we should live. Instead of trying to make as many enemies as we can we need to be the very best we can be. We ought to be model citizens of our earthly home. The rest of the story is clear that these guys did this without compromising their faith.

This is world is not our home, but while we are here let’s use the time to serve our Lord where we are.