The Lord Reigns Supreme - September 9

Read Daniel 7:13-14 (ESV)

“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”

Reflect

Have you ever wondered how Christians are to remain faithful to God even when the culture is increasingly hostile to those who hold a biblical worldview? What should we do if Christianity becomes illegal?

Should we obey God or obey the government? We certainly aren’t the first people to wrestle with this issue. In Titus 3:1, Paul said that we should submit to the authorities. In Matthew 22:21, Jesus told the Pharisees that everyone should “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s” indicating that we should follow the civil laws of our society and pay taxes to our government. Christians should be good, law-abiding citizens. But what happens when God’s laws and the government's laws are incompatible?

Going back to the Bible and turning to the book of Daniel is a great way to answer this question. Daniel was a prophet during the entire 70 years of Babylonian captivity. In 605 B.C., when Daniel was just 16, he and three of his friends were carried off to Babylon in the first deportation of Jewish exiles. King Nebuchadnezzar knew that the best way to get the exiles to assimilate into the culture was to educate the young people in the new culture and seek to change their identities and their religion. For that reason, Daniel and his friends were educated in the Babylonian culture for 3 years and were given new names that glorified Babylonian gods rather than the One True God. Daniel’s name changed from “God Is My Judge” to Belteshazzar meaning “Bel Protect His Life.”

But Daniel and his friends didn’t just go along with all of the changes. In chapter 1, we see that they refused to compromise God’s commands by changing their Jewish diets and they were rewarded by God for their faithfulness. God gave them great wisdom and discernment which enabled them to rise to positions of prominence in Babylon.

Throughout the book of Daniel, we see God grant Daniel the wisdom to interpret dreams and visions which gave Daniel and his friends even more favor in the court. But we also see serious life and death predicaments arise for the four Jewish young men. First, we see his three buddies thrown into a fiery furnace for refusing to bow to the king’s idol. They told the king, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18). No matter what the consequences, Daniel’s friends refused to worship idols.

Likewise, when praying to the king became the only legal way to pray, Daniel refused to comply. He quietly carried on praying to the true God and he was thrown into the lion's den as a result. In both cases, Daniel and his friends were miraculously spared by God. But we know that being saved from suffering and death because we are obedient to God is not a biblical promise. The point is the example of their actions—when in doubt about who’s authority to submit to, the answer is God’s! God reigns supreme!

That was the key to Daniel’s ministry—God gave Daniel the ability to prophesy which empires would rise and which would fall because world powers are under God’s control. But the most exciting prophecy that Daniel made is our Scarlet Thread of redemption. In today’s verses, we read that Daniel prophesied about a “Son of Man” who would come down from heaven to establish a kingdom that would never end. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, called Himself the “Son of Man” many times in the Gospels identifying Himself as the one who will fulfill this prophecy. When Jesus comes at the end of the age, He will reign over everyone and everything forever.

So friends, who should we ultimately obey when we find ourselves in these types of sticky situations? Should we obey temporary, earthly authorities that God Himself deposes or raises up (Daniel 2:20-22)? Or should we obey the Son of Man who dominates every worldly power and reigns supreme forever over all, no matter the personal cost? The example of Daniel should give you the answer.

Respond

Lord, You never promised that following You would be easy. But I know that You are in control, and You reign supreme. So help me to obey You, even when it’s not popular, culturally acceptable, or even legal. Help me to trust You so much that I remain faithful to You no matter what the cost. Amen.

Reveal

Choose one area of life where following God’s Word puts you out of step with the culture around you. Invite another believer to join you in identifying one concrete way each of you can remain faithful when compromise would be easier, then agree to check in with each other about it. Your shared commitment can become a visible example to others that allegiance to Christ matters more than fitting in.