A Question Of Values - Part 1

Culture and Engagement

Daniel’s life is a vivid example of a young man who understood God not just as the One who saves, but also a God who is enthroned above all the kings of the earth. This was the foundation of Daniel’s worldview, as he lived, worked, and witnessed not merely by reason, but by revelation of the God he served. Daniel’s life in Babylon, a culture drastically different to the one he grew up in, provides the Christian with fresh perspective for five hugely relevant questions of our times. Those are questions of history, values, identity, image, and resistance. It is important for the church to know that it is not enough to practice Christianity in the box called home and church. Like Daniel and his friends, if we need to effectively engage with the culture and disciple all nations, the church needs to develop a worldview like Daniel. Daniel maintained his private devotion, but also his public witness until the end of his life.

1. A question of history

   
   

   Daniel 1:2 “And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand….”

   
   

   Normally, we would expect the text to read, “And the Lord gave Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon into his (Jehoiakim) hand”. That would be more fitting to display God’s power over kings of the earth. But Daniel instead states the reverse, that it was God who was sovereign in giving the weaker king Jehoiakim into the hands of the more powerful king Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel perceived these events as representing the judgement of God on the nation of Judah. In chapter 9 he understood from Jeremiah’s prophecy that the exile of seventy years in Babylon was soon ending, and his people would be able to go home. To Daniel, his captivity in Babylon, was proof that God was in control of history, both his personal history as well that of the nation. The compromise of a previous generation, in no small measure, led to his people going into captivity in a foreign land. When the church lives in compromise today, there is a generation that will enter captivity tomorrow.

   
   

2. A question of values

   
   

   Daniel 1:2 “with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god.”

   
   

   This mention of Nebuchadnezzar taking the vessels from the house of God (temple at Jerusalem) to the house of his god in Babylon may seem odd. It appears to be an insignificant detail compared to the siege of Judah and the deportation of Daniel and others to Babylon. The vessels of the house of God (the temple in Jerusalem) represented the glory of God and were sacred. They were set apart for the worship of the God of Israel and represented an absolute value about God. In taking the sacred vessels to the house of his god in Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar was assigning a relative value to something that was absolute. This is what we see in culture, then and now, with relativism ruling over that which is absolute. Before long, what was relative in Nebuchadnezzar’s mind was assigned an absolute value. We see this in the worship of the golden image in chapter 3. This is a hugely important principle we must bear in mind. Are there areas where we have taken the absolute truth of God’s Word and assigned a relative value to it? And, have some of those relative truths become absolute truths for our lives especially in the areas of money, sex, and power and the kingdom of God?

   
   

3. A question of identity

   
   

   Daniel 1:7 “And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.”

   
   

   Babylon is a representation of the pervasiveness of culture. Babylon changes our names. To Mishael (who is like God?) was given the name Meshach (who is like Aku? the moon god). To Daniel (God is my judge) was given the name Belteshazzar (may Bel (Marduk) protect his life). Hananiah (the God who gives grace) was given the name Shadrach (command of Aku, the moon god) and Azariah (the Lord helps, or Yah has helped) was given the name Abednego (servant of Nabu, the son of Marduk). Nabu or Nebo is part of the name Nebuchadnezzar. A change of name conveyed a change of identity that was meant to facilitate an assimilation into Babylonian society. It’s what we now refer to as social engineering of culture and society. Everyone thinks and behaves similarly. We live in an age of #’s, aliases and deepfakes, with real identity masked.

We must draw strength and encouragement from God’s Word; it is the Lord who gives us our identity and true destiny. To Simon (Shimon in Hebrew meaning God has heard) was given the name Peter or Cephas (little rock), to Jacob (one who takes by the heel) was given the name Israel (prince with God or prevail with God). To Abram (exalted father) was given the name Abraham (father of many nations). Daniel’s life is an example to live out of our God given identity, that is eternal and has lasting impact. Next week, we will consider the two remaining questions on image and resistance.

Background

Kainos Church India, Bengaluru led by Ps. Manoj and Lincy Iype is a gathering open to all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Church is ideally located for believers in the Koramangala, HSR Layout, Agara, Sarjapur Road, Bellandur areas of Bengaluru and our Church Service in English starts at 10am on Sundays.

These notes are from the Sunday Sermon held on 8th June 2025