Stranger Things: a study through Daniel

This Sunday we will start a new sermon series on the Old Testament book of Daniel that will take us all the way through the summer.

Daniel is an exciting book that focuses on the Israelites’ period of exile in the ancient city of Babylon. Daniel and his friends were among those first taken captive by the Babylonians in 605 BC under King Nebuchadnezzar. At that point, Israel became a vassal state of Babylon, who later completely destroyed Jerusalem in the year 586 BC.

It was a strange time in a strange land for God’s people. It was a period not unlike the one encountered by us modern-day disciples. This is why the apostle Peter uses the metaphor of a stranger to describe the ordinary Christian experience (1 Pet. 2:11). No matter our age or place, we are strangers in this world as we await God to consummate his Kingdom on this earth. It’s out of this tension that comes our series title: Stranger Things (Any association with one of my favorite Netflix series is completely incidental, completely.)

Daniel’s situation immediately stirs our interest. You might think the enthusiasm in this book would have led to a consensus of interpretation by Christians, but that’s not the case.  Daniel, in fact, similar to the book of Revelation, is one of the most misunderstood books in all the Scripture. For example, Daniel’s life is commonly turned into that of a moralistic, spiritual superhero. Some of you will remember the praise chorus from your childhood:

Dare to be a Daniel!
Dare to stand alone.
Dare to have a purpose firm.
Dare to make it known!

To be sure, Daniel’s life and those of his friends are inspiring, but it’s a mistake to read these stories moralistically. Doing this is a fundamental misreading of the Bible itself. Jesus reminds us that the entire Scripture bears witness to him and his saving work (Lk. 24:25-27; 44-48). Indeed, we are to read all the Scriptures in this light. Pastor and scholar Bryan Chapell reminds us,

My contention has always been that Christ’s grace does not wait until the last chapters of Matthew to make its appearance, but rather is the dawning light increasing throughout Scripture toward the day of the Savior.

No matter how faithful a follower of God Daniel was, if he rather than his God becomes our focus, we will have missed the redemptive purpose of this book entirely.

The great encouragement from this book emerges—whether focusing on the first half of stories or the latter half of visions — when we recognize that God is its hero, not Daniel. This was the truth God’s people most needed to grasp. What we learn is that even though God’s people are no longer in the Promised Land, their God is still with them. He is the sovereign God, reigning over all of heaven and earth and all of history.

This message is just as relevant for us today as it was to those who first heard the message of this book. We too must navigate a whole host of “stranger things” — from unbelieving neighbors who are hostile to our faith to a difficult boss who pushes back on any reference to our faith. How do we act? What do we do? Well, for starters, let’s not forget: no matter how much things may seem to be out of control, we can put our trust in God’s sovereign and gracious purpose. He is still the God over all, no matter if we’re living in “the upside down.”