King David: Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations. (Psalm 145:13)

Nebuchadnezzar: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. (from Daniel 4:34)

Our church had a guest preacher who pointed out the connection between these two Scriptures. I spoke to him after the service about how King Darius proclaimed something similar after Daniel is rescued from the lions. “His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end.” It’s the same sentiment with some different words.

The pastor mentioned the idea that the kings were learning that from Daniel. It made me wonder if Daniel went around with a song on his lips.

Any Psalm of David was written before the Babylonian exile, which is where Daniel was during his tenure with these kings, and others.

I started thinking about how Daniel lived among this pagan people. He’s an example to us of how to live as Christians in an idolatrous culture.

We don’t see him preaching. We don’t see him railing against their idols. We don’t see him defiant, though he disobeyed their law. We see him as very submissive and respectful to his captors, but also entirely steadfast in his devotion to God despite circumstances. 

He was obviously a man of integrity, but he was taken captive and made a eunuch. That probably hadn’t been anywhere in his future plans. But he doesn’t turn bitter toward God; he honors His God who not only allowed it all to happen but had His perfect purposes in it.

Daniel is a beautiful example of how we are part of the whole and experience the consequences of the whole, but also of how God sees the individual and knows how to separate out His own.

Daniel quietly asks for kosher food. He leaves it up to the man in charge, just asks respectfully and God honors his heart. I assume he’s eating together with others and they see that the Hebrew boys are eating different food. He’s not hiding it. He’s also not flaunting it. Daniel doesn’t make a speech about the new law Darius signs forbidding prayer to God; he just goes and prays as he always did, with the window open toward Jerusalem. He doesn’t hide. He doesn’t make a scene, either. He honors God, but he also shows honor to the king.

Christians shouldn’t be disrespecting elected officials. It’s unchristian to do so. We should be praying for them. We should be humbling ourselves. We should be living in utmost integrity. We should look different from the world, not partaking of their delicacies, whether gossip or the latest hit movie.

We live in the world, but not of it. We don’t have the world’s ambitions and lusts. Our desire is set on knowing the Lord and making Him known. Our purpose is pleasing God and we walk in our one commandment, to love others.

And if we live loved and live to love, they will see and they will know, and we pray that when they do, they will put their trust in the Lord.

God used Daniel, quietly living out loud, to turn the hearts of kings to faith in the one, true, everlasting God.