It May Be Bondage, But Not Your Bondage

Bondage. Most folks seem to think bondage only occurs in bonds, chains, and ropes. Too often bondage is in the mind. Crippled by one's thinking most often is the culprit to self-imputed destruction. When reviewing the accounts of Daniel and the three Hebrew boys, we witness the account where Daniel and only Daniel, correctly recoils and interprets the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar. The King promises and gives Daniel great gifts of which he receives. But here something profound happens. Daniel is eleveated to a statesman, prime minister or what we would refer to as a Cabinet Member. But look at what Daniel does. He tells the king to elevate his friends the 'Three' to put them over the provinces of the kingdom. While he Daniel, remains in the King's court. It was a rather profound act of Daniel's requesting the promotion of his comrad's. What he was actually doing was setting him and his friends up in ways that they could be beneficial to the Israelites in bondage. Being in bondage and yet the bondage was not theirs. Daniel remained in his stead more than seventy years under three different kings and becoming more dominant, respected, and revered than any other. Even Ezekiel referred to him as an 'oracle' when he called the King of Tyre out of his conceitedness of himself. Then too, as we study in the Matthew Henry Commentary, Daniel was disregarded as one of the esteemed prophets by Jewish Rabbi. In my opinion, jealousy was a factor. Many of them felt that Daniel's locale as placing his status as one of the lower prophets because he was not writing from Jerusalem, nor did his 'simple' suffering mitigate his cause as being one of the majors. As this excerpt will suggest the aforementioned was in part correct but the main reason for this exclusion from being named among the major prophets was Daniels' acknowledgement of Jesus the Christ as the Messiah. The Blue Letter Bible Commentary on Daniel reads: "Some of the Jewish rabbin are loth to acknowledge him to be a prophet of the higher form, and therefore rank his book among the Hagiographa, not among the prophecies, and would not have their disciples pay much regard to it. One reason they pretend is because he did not live such a mean mortified life as Jeremiah and some other of the prophets did, but lived like a prince, and was a prime-minister of state; whereas we find him persecuted as other prophets were (ch. 6), and mortifying himself as other prophets did, when he ate no pleasant bread (10:3), and fainting sick when he was under the power of the Spirit of prophecy, 8:27. Another reason they pretend is because he wrote his book in a heathen country, and there had his visions, and not in the land of Israel; but, for the same reason, Ezekiel also must be expunged out of the roll of prophets. But the true reason is that he speaks so plainly of the time of the Messiah’s coming that the Jews cannot avoid the conviction of it and therefore do not care to hear of it. But Josephus calls him one of the greatest of the prophets, nay, the angel Gabriel calls him a man greatly beloved." Can you imagine the travesties of injustice that the Children of Israel could have suffered if Daniel, through God, had not been elevated and placed in the king's court? Daniel orchestrated seats in government for himself and his three comrades allowing them to have accessibility, visibility, and the capacity to barter on behalf of the Jews as well as determine policy and procedures for the captives. Moreso, that they were able after some time to return to Jerusalem eventhough it was still under Babylonian rule. Yet Daniel remained in Persia. It best suited him to remain in government to keep an earnest and spiritual eye on the present and future conditions of Israel. Was Daniel a captive, yes. Was he in bondage, no. This was an assignment Daniel was prepared for. Daniel didn't wait until he and his countrymen where captives to start praying three times a day. He had a relationship with God prior to, therefore when God prepares trouble for his people, he makes it easy. Does not his Word state, "His yoke is easy..." (Matt 11:30). Was not Paul and Silas in jail and at midnight they sang? Bondage comes in many forms. Depression is one of the biggest, saddest, destructive, tearing, laborious forms of bondage discovered today. Medical science is still uncovering the ill effects of depression. Especially in a time when all around is as sinking sand...i.e., the housing market, the credit and banking crisis, oil, fuel, and the environmental challenges with wars and rumors of wars, this is enough to make even the Sunshiniest Sally seek therapy in the form of a prescribed dosage of Paxil. But why does Sunshine Sally's bondage have to become yours? What has God prepared or rather, what is He preparing his people for? What is He showing you regarding the state of the world? What has He whispered in your ear regarding your family, your job, your future, your community? What does He have prepared for you to accomplish? Daniel could have left and returned to Jerusalem, yet he stayed to better the plight of his countrymen. He rose to the occasion to keep him and his people from meeting certain death. What occasion are you rising to? Even in the face of certain adversity, the three Hebrew Boys stood firm in their trust and belief in God. If He (God of Israel) doesn't deliver us from the fiery furnace, it does NOT mean that He was not able. Where do you stand and what are you standing on? Stay tuned...