Willing to Suffer

Last week I suggested that as Christians feel increasingly like “exiles” in our society, we find guidance from the prophet Jeremiah, who, writing to the residents of Jerusalem just before their exile in Babylon, told them: “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jeremiah 29:7). I noted that the Hebrew word translated “welfare” is “shalom,” which means, borrowing Cornelius Plantinga’s phrase (who is actually paraphrasing a line from the movie Grand Canyon), “the way things ought to be.” The exiles, then, are to be present in Babylon in such a way that their lives contribute to the flourishing of Babylon. This is completely counter-intuitive, but consistent with Israel’s calling, given to Abraham, to bless the nations (Genesis 12:3).

The biblical book of Daniel is set during the Babylonian exile, and, in the life of Daniel, we see an example of what “seeking shalom” might mean for us today. The book of Daniel is divided into two sections: chapters 1-6 tell the stories of Daniel, and chapters 7-12 tell the visions of Daniel. Among the many observations we might make about Daniel’s life in exile, I’d like to focus on three.

First, in chapter 1 we see that Daniel is fully immersed in Babylonian society. He is educated in the “literature and language of the Chaldeans” (1:4), and is even given a Chaldean name, Belteshazzar (1:7). Daniel served as a “wise man” in the King Nebuchadnezzar’s court. However, Daniel refused to eat the king’s food, because doing so would violate the dietary restrictions laid down in the Jewish Law. So, on one hand, Daniel participated in the life of the king’s court, offering him counsel, yet he was unwilling to compromise his identity as a Jew.

Second, in chapter 2, the king has a dream that none of the wise men can interpret. As a result, the king orders that all the wise men be put to death. Daniel, however, responds with “prudence and discretion” (2:14), and asks for permission to see the king about his dream, believing that Daniel’s God can provide the correct interpretation.

Finally, in chapter 6, the king (now Darius the Mede) puts Daniel in a position of prominence, but many of his colleagues become jealous and begin to look for a way to discredit Daniel. Knowing that Daniel is a faithful Jew, they convince Darius to pass a decree prohibiting prayer to anyone or anything other than the king himself. We read that “although Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he continued to go to his house, which had windows in its upper room open toward Jerusalem, and to get down on his knees three times a day to pray to his God and praise him, just as he had done previously” (6:10). Again, Daniel continues to serve in the court of a pagan king, yet refuses to compromise his Jewish identity.

In all three of these examples, Daniel serves the king, yet puts himself at great personal risk in his refusal to compromise his Jewish identity. Underlying Daniel’s refusal to compromise is a deep faith in God’s power. Daniel believed that God was able to make him physically strong apart from the king’s food, he believed that God was able to give him wisdom to interpret the king’s dream when others could not, and, finally, Daniel believed that prayer and praise to God were so important that he willingly put his life at risk to do so.

Daniel, then, becomes a model for exiles by serving Babylon while refusing to compromise his identity as one of God’s people. As Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann observes, “As U.S. society grows more deathly . . . and as the church in the United States grows more marginal in that society, these narratives may have peculiar resonance for the practice of faith.” He goes on to suggest that “Christians, like these ancient Jews, cannot simply collude with the state,” yet, “cannot retreat into a safe sectarian mode of life, but must be present to public reality.”

I’ll close by observing an important moment in Daniel’s life. In chapter 4, after Daniel has demonstrated wisdom by interpreting the king’s dream, he boldly says, “Therefore, O king, may my counsel be acceptable to you: atone for your sins with righteousness, and your iniquities with mercy to the oppressed, so that your prosperity may be prolonged” (4:27). In other words, because Daniel was present at the king’s court, and he trusted God to the point of being willing to suffer, he was able to counsel the king to seek shalom in Babylon.

As we embrace the identity of an exile, then, let us allow God to put us in the midst of our city, seeking God’s wisdom and God’s strength, trusting that our call is neither to collude with the powers that be nor to retreat from them, but rather to seek the shalom of our city, the city of our exile, longing for its flourishing while willing to suffer for the sake of obedience. As we do so, all the while we long for a greater city, “whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10), which is “the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away” (Revelation 21:2-4).

Shalom,

Chris