Morality_Corruption Series 2008

BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES: Segment 27

A Commentary by Ildefonso J. Rubrico

Good morning! This is Nene Rubrico, your host in Biblical Perspectives, the program that discusses important social issues according to biblical principles. This program is brought to you by Languagelinks.org, publisher of “Magbinisaya Kita” Primer and Phrasebook, since 1998, and authored by foremost Cebuano linguist, Dr. Jessie Grace Rubrico.

Men of Integrity in the Bible: Daniel

We will today continue with Daniel of the Bible. Living in a foreign land of their conquerors, among a people that did not recognize God but instead worshipped idols (and at times, their own kings as deities), it was a foregone conclusion that the Jews who were forcibly brought to Babylon in three successive waves (601 B.C., 598 B.C. and 587 B.C.) would soon forget their Jewish traditions and take on the ways of their masters. Not so with Daniel and some of his friends, as we will shortly see.

King Nebuchadnezzar lost no time in utilizing the Jews for service. Chosen for their good health, attractive looks, and mental alertness, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego began to learn the Babylonian language and literature and to eat the choice food and wine from the king’s table. Daniel, however, resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, asking instead for only vegetables and water . This was to be Daniel’s first test of his integrity: standing up to his values and beliefs. This is what most of us probably lack.

After ten days, he convinced his guard that he and his friends in fact looked healthier with the simple food they took. His guard was more than happy to exchange their choice food with vegetables. For the next three years, Daniel and friends surpassed the others in intelligence and looks, so they entered the king’s service as court pages. Daniel became the smartest page and could interpret dreams and visions, much to the delight of the king.

One time, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that disturbed him greatly. No one among his magicians could tell him his dream, much less interpret it, so he ordered them all killed. When Daniel heard about it, he prayed to God in heaven, who revealed to him the king’s dream and what it meant. He immediately went to the king and revealed the dream and its meaning. The king was so grateful he made Daniel his prime minister and, at Daniel’s request, promoted Daniel’s friends to high positions in the government.

Here, Daniel demonstrates his integrity for the second time: he saved all the wise men from certain death without thought of any reward. That he could have taken advantage of the situation (such as demanding for a bribe) was farthest from his mind. Daniel teaches us that a person of integrity thinks about the welfare of others and does not put a price to his generosity.

Daniel’s three friends – Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego – men of integrity also, underwent severe testing of their own. Over the years, Nebuchadnezzar had become proud. He made himself a 90-foot gold idol to whom, at the sound of music, everyone must fall down to and worship -or be thrown into a super-hot, blazing furnace. The royal decree was issued and all complied – except the three friends. The jealous palace officials reported this to the king who then ordered the three to prostrate themselves before the image. Their reply to the king is a classic that continue to inspire Christian martyrs who have shed blood for their beliefs down through centuries. They said: “O 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 save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”(Daniel 3:16-18). This honest reply only enraged the king some more and they were promptly thrown into the blazing furnace. In the face of certain and painful death, Daniel’s companions experienced the most-severe testing of their integrity: sacrificing themselves on the altar of their belief and principles. One should note that, unlike the second test of integrity, God this time was silent: seemingly, they were on their own, yet Nebuchadnezzar and his officials could not help but notice that there were four people walking about within the furnace. God was providing them a protector even within the furnace! How many times have we faced a similar situation? A serious crisis comes into our life. God, it seems, has chosen to be silent, and now we have to make a life-and-death decision. Are we going to abandon our integrity in order to save ourselves? In the end, not even the hottest furnace in the kingdom could singe Daniel’s companions. God saved them because they honored His name above and beyond the most-powerful human being in the ancient world at that time.

After this, Nebuchadnezzar had another dream that terrified him. None could understand his dream except Daniel who warned him thus: “Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue” (Daniel 4:27). Here, Daniel presents another facet of his integrity: his boldness to confront the king with his sins. How many of us have the stomach, the “guts,” to renounce the wrongdoing of our leaders? Certainly it can be a lonely and dangerous crusade, as many of our friends in media can attest. In any case, a warning or advice given in sincerity must be taken seriously.
Apparently Nebuchadnezzar ignored Daniel’s advice and even became more prideful. But a year later, his dream was fulfilled: Nebuchadnezzar became insane and lost his kingdom. Seven years later, he raised his eyes to heaven and began to praise God, whereupon his sanity was restored. This is what he said as he humbled himself before God: “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble” (Daniel 4:37).

Daniel was now and old man (about 80 yrs. old). He had served three Babylonian kings. Now, he was serving the new Persian king, Darius, faithfully and exceptionally well according to the Bible that, once again, he was appointed prime minister of the kingdom. This promotion did not please others, as we read from Daniel 4:6: - At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.

Accordingly, Daniel’s enemies tricked Darius to issue a decree that no one should pray to any god except only to the king. Like previous kings before him, Darius fancied himself to be a deity. Now, Daniel had always been a prayerful man, praying three times a day on his knees. Another principle is illustrated here: A person of integrity is a prayerful person.

So one day they reported this matter to Darius who reluctantly had to enforce his own law, because Daniel’s detractors kept reminding the king that “no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed” (Daniel 6:15). As the well-known story goes, Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den. After a few hours however, it was discovered that Daniel was not touched: the lions’ mouth had become shut. However, when Daniel’s detractors were also thrown to the lions, they were immediately killed.

The extraordinary life of Daniel the Statesman is best understood if one also considers him also as a prophet, as the Bible does. His long and distinguished service to at least five foreign kings, where he rose to become the prime minister of their kingdoms would not have been possible except that he led a life of high integrity: honest, consistent, self-sacrificing, humble, prayerful and true. No wrongdoing or dishonest gain ever tainted his private or public life. Because of this, he became “highly-esteemed” to God (Daniel 10:10) and was entrusted with a prophetic vision that “concerns a time yet to come.” (v.13). This vision was contained in a Book of Truth that Daniel had been instructed by an angel to “close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end.” (Dan. 12:4).

In a sense, Daniel’s life is similar to that of Joseph. Joseph was also a statesman as well as a prophet. He would have dreams and visions that accurately predicted future events. Sold by his own jealous brothers as a slave, he eventually found his way into Egypt where he became a lowly servant boy, then a trusted steward of one of Pharaoh’s officials, and finally appointed prime minister over the land by Pharaoh himself. All these because Joseph never compromised his integrity, never yielded to temptation, never took advantage of his position.

Which brings me to my last point: when someone has integrity both in his or her private and public life, God also gifts him with the gift of prophecy. In the next segment, we will cite other biblical personages who led a principled life of integrity and who also possessed the prophetic word.