“Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power. He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars. He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he is surrounded by light. I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength. You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded.” – Daniel 2:20-23
King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. It was deeply disturbing to him and he didn’t know how to handle it or what to do. He called all the wise men of the kingdom together to help him decide what to do next. Like any good leader, he sought advice, right or wrong, from those he trusted. He wanted to get to the bottom of the trouble he was facing and deal with it.
What he ended up doing instead was succumbing to his fears and declaring a decree that would have all the wise men of Babylon executed because they wouldn’t do what he wanted them to do.
When Daniel heard of this, the bible tells us that he handled it with wisdom and discretion. He went to his God-fearing friends and the bible tells us that, He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon.
God answered their prayers, they took the answer to the king, and he was truly impressed with the God of Daniel. The king said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings, a revealer of mysteries…”
Then the king appointed Daniel to a high position and gave him many valuable gifts. He made Daniel ruler over the whole province of Babylon, as well as chief over all his wise men. At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be in charge of all the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.
I don’t believe this was Daniels “dream job”! He was now working for a foreign government; one that held conflicting convictions and practices than he had. This government didn’t even recognize the traditions and history of Daniel’s heritage. But, here he was, in charge and influential. He was right where God wanted him so that God could speak into the times and lay out and accomplish His purposes.
Solomon reminded us that, “there is nothing new under the sun.” – Eccl. 1:9
So, let’s look to the teachings of the Apostles and prophets for matters of how we believers ought to behave when we are faced with conflicting political matters and controversial legislation in our own governing system!
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior. – 1 Timothy 2:1-3
Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone. – Titus 3:1-3
This seems like a good place to start!
