Ministry and Powerlessness: The Implications of Daniel 1:1-6 for Our Situation in HK

　　In August, I asked a group of Th.M. students whether they felt it was pointless to attend class, especially one about the world of the ancient Near East, at such a time. They replied yes, that they felt a disjunction between what is happening in HK and their class. To encourage them, I told them this story. It happened to me many years ago, in the mid-90s, when I was still a graduate student. My wife and I were good friends with another couple from Hong Kong. The husband and I were students at the same school and our wives were close friends. Unfortunately, his wife was diagnosed with a relapse of cancer and there was nothing the doctors could do to save her. I remember one day I called him but he was not in. His wife answered the phone and we talked for a while. Of course, I asked her how she was doing. She told me that if the last effort of medication did not work, she would surely die. And then she cried. I felt totally helpless. During those days, I, too, felt as if all the knowledge I’d learned was useless.

　　The fact is that we do not just feel powerless in the face of something as big as the turmoil in Hong Kong. There are also many situations when we are powerless to do anything. How should we deal with it? In this article, I want us to look at a person who was also in a totally powerless situation. How did he deal with it?

Daniel Was Faithful

　　The book of Daniel has many historical questions and problems. I will not attempt to answer them this morning. I think the story was set at a time not long after Nebuchadnezzar’s first invasion of Judah (598 BCE). It was certainly before the destruction of Judah in 587/86 BCE.

　　Daniel and the cream of Judah’s society had been taken to Babylon. Jeremiah had prophesied in 605 BCE that Judah would be destroyed (Jer 25:9). Habakkuk also prophesied about the destruction of Jerusalem. The time of his prophecy is uncertain but I think it was also before Nebuchadnezzar’s first invasion. The reason is that he depicted it as an unexpected event (Hb 1:5). This was no longer true after Nebuchadnezzar’s first invasion. It was a hopeless situation. Babylon was an unstoppable power at this time and even God’s prophets had prophesied about Judah’s destruction. There was no hope for Daniel and his friends. There was no going back! The only news they could expect to hear was more bad news, about the final destruction of Jerusalem and Judah. Daniel was a young man at this time. How did he react to this powerless and hopeless situation?

　　Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the king’s food (Dn 1:8). In other words, he decided to be faithful to the LORD at this time. We do not know what other options he had but we know what options some people may take today in a similarly hopeless situation.

　　Give up his faith in despair. In view of our present situation, have you ever wondered whether prayer changes anything? Or, is trusting God by accepting a bad situation self-delusion? I have a friend who expressed disappointment with God when things took a turn for the worse in Hong Kong. I do not affirm his feeling. God has never promised that we will have a good time after becoming a Christian or that the world will become a better place.

　　Give up his life in despair. Some young people allegedly took their lives because of the current situation. This is a pity, for whenever there is life there is hope.

　　Act rashly or violently in despair. I was speaking at a youth camp recently and, of course, this issue came up. The youths said that they felt they needed to do something rather than accept their fate passively. I do not disagree with the need to act. But I told them it must be in line with their faith in the LORD.

　　Powerlessness could push us to do violent or rash acts we may not do normally, for example, getting angry with those around us because of personal failure. In my experience of working with emotionally challenged youths, the weaker ones were more prone to violence and outbursts because they felt they were being bullied.

　　Thus, whenever we feel powerless, we should be aware of the state of our emotional and mental state. Is it affecting our faith? Is it causing us to lose interest in life? Are we getting more irritable and prone to emotional outburst? This is why I am alarmed by the state of Hong Kong today. Many protesters feel powerless and strike out in anger. The police feel powerless because it is their duty to keep order even if they are blamed for it. Furthermore, their families are also being harassed and put in danger. The government feels powerless because there is no way they could give the people all they asked for and there is no avenue for negotiation. When everyone feels powerless, it is a very dangerous situation. We are sitting on a time bomb of powerlessness.

　　Daniel, on the other hand, resolved to trust God and continued to live faithfully for God. But how did he go about doing it?

Daniel Was Peaceable

　　There is a lively discussion of why Daniel refrained from the king’s food. After all, he did not seem to mind learning Babylonian language and literature. Also, he did not seem to mind being given a foreign name. In this he was similar to people like Joseph (Zaphenath-Paneah), Esther, Mordecai, and Zerubbabel, who were all given foreign names. These foods were the same food eaten by the king (1:5), so it was an honor given only to the elite group that Daniel and his friends belonged.

　　Possible answers: Perhaps Daniel thought the food was offered to idols. However, if so, the vegetables might also have been offered to idols. Perhaps the food included meat that was forbidden by the Mosaic Law. This is possible, but why refrain from wine as well? Perhaps it was a statement of his identification with the other captives, who ate mainly vegetables and drank plain water.

　　The word “defile” (יִתְגָּאַל) appears only a few times in the Old Testament. It refers to defiling by blood, which is linked to sin in Isaiah 59:3 and Lamentation 4:14. I think it was because Daniel thought they contained unclean meat. Maybe Daniel refused wine as well because people around him were getting drunk and living wantonly. Daniel wanted to keep sober and disciplined.

　　His moral stance was firm, but he went about his decision in a reasonable way. He did not just insist on not eating the king’s food. He consulted the chief eunuch who was in charge of them. Although the latter did not agree to it, he did not forbid them either. Next, Daniel consulted the steward who was directly in charge of their daily needs. Instead of insisting on his way, he requested for a 10-day trial of his diet. This made it easy for the steward to agree to his request. Daniel was aware that these people could not do as they liked. They were under authority just as he and his friends were under their authority.

　　Daniel’s faith was strong and firm, but it was not confrontational. Just because he chose to live for God did not mean that he clashed with those around him who did otherwise. This is not just the case in chapter 1 but is consistent throughout the rest of the book.

Daniel Is a Viable Example

　　But does it work? The reason some powerless people choose violence is that they feel being nice does not work. Violence at least gives them a sense of power and control. Here I do not want to discuss the place of violence in politics. What I want to say is that there is another way of dealing with powerlessness.

　　Contrasting models: Many Christians look to Elijah as an example of someone who stood firm against Ahab and Jezebel. However, at this time there was also Obadiah, who saved 100 prophets from Jezebel by hiding them in a cave and feeding them bread and water (1Kgs 18:13). Similarly, many of us look to Dietrich Bonhoeffer as an example of someone who stood against Adolf Hitler. However, at this time there was also Oskar Schindler who saved 1,200 Jews by hiding them in his factory. I am not totally discounting the need for confrontation, but I want us to take note of another viable and powerful model of serving God.

　　Daniel is one such example, but he is not the only representative of this non-confrontational model. Joseph was the vizier of Egypt. As a result, he saved many people, including Egypt from the famine. Ezra and Nehemiah were high ranking officials in the Persian Empire. As a result, Ezra was able to teach the Jews God’s words and Nehemiah was able to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Esther was a queen (or someone of a lesser rank) of the emperor. As a result, she saved the Jews in Persia from annihilation. God used them to save many people and accomplish his works. They were non-confrontational but not at all useless.

　　Moreover, “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (Jas 1:20 ESV). This does not mean that we should never get angry, especially in the face of injustice. We should be. But we cannot depend on the power of anger to produce the righteousness of God. In such an emotional situation as it is now, what we will most likely produce is not justice but scapegoats, sacrificed to appease the people’s wrath. This is not justice but more injustice. In the US a criminal can request to be tried in another state if he thinks he will not get a fair trial in his home state because the people are clouded by anger towards his crime. The fact is that seeking justice in a highly complex situation like now requires a cool head and a lot of work. It won’t happen until everyone calms down and considers the evidence on both sides.

Conclusion

　　Coming back to my experience with powerlessness at the beginning of this sermon, what helped me was the realization that we are all at different levels of powerlessness in such situations. The least powerless should be doctors, especially those specializing in treating cancer. However, they were powerless to save her, too. Even Albert Einstein would be powerless to help her, but does that make Einstein’s knowledge of physics useless? No, it was useless to save her, but it is absolutely crucial for many other things. Similarly, my Bible knowledge was useless in saving my friend’s wife, but it can be useful in other matters. The reality is that we are not powerless. We are just not omnipotent. In most instances we are at different levels of powerlessness with regard to the situation. No one knows how all these things will end. What is certain is that regardless of how they end, whether according to our wish (whatever it is) or not, we will encounter other situations where we feel powerless. Therefore, we must learn to handle powerlessness in a productive, healthy manner.

^* This article is adapted from the author’s sermon preached at the chapel service of Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary on September 4, 2019.