In this post, we start our study of Daniel with a background to the theme we are exploring together – the theme of exile and eternity. And so the first Bible passage we look at is not from the book of Daniel but from a New Testament passage that reminds us that we are passing through this world and that our true home is an eternal and heavenly one.
To Read:
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. 10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
11 It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. 12 And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.
13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
(Hebrews 11:8-16)
Introduction to Exile and Eternity
Many Christians in the West seem to increasingly experience the reality of what it means to live as exiles. The culture we live in feels more and more alien, and sometimes even hostile, to Christians. Even if this is not so, it is always true that this world is not our home – we are simply passing through it as aliens (foreigners) and strangers (Hebrews 11:8-10, 13-16). We are in this world, but we are not of this world (John 17:14-16). So how do we live in this world, and navigate a culture that is often alien, sometimes hostile, and always trying to conform us to its ways (Romans 12:2)? How do we stay faithful in an alien culture?
A key to navigating this place of exile is to hold firmly to our heavenly hope, to maintain an eternal perspective (2 Cor.4:17-18). In this world we have no abiding city (Heb.13:14). We have set our hearts on another kingdom, a heavenly one (Hebrews 11:16). In times of shaking we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken (Heb.12:26-29). We do not set our hope on this world or anything is has to offer. And because faith springs from hope (Col.1:5), having an eternal hope enables us to navigate this cultural moment with a strong and steadfast faith. It does not mean we are against the world, taking sides in the cultural wars. Instead, living in this world, we respectfully give a reason for the hope we have, to those who will listen (1 Peter 3:15) – pointing them to a different and better world.
The New Testament tells us that what was written in the Old Testament was written for our encouragement and warning (Romans 15:4; 1 Cor.10:11). The books of exile are written to teach us how to live as exiles in this world. Over the next few months, we are going to look at one of them together – the book of Daniel. Daniel and his friends served as exiles in Babylon but kept faithful to their faith, even when it cost them. One of the things that becomes clear in the book is that Daniel had an extraordinary sense of God as the eternal God, sovereign above all things (e.g. Daniel 2:19-23). One of the main divine titles he used was ‘the God of heaven’. Daniel was profoundly aware of the heavenly realms. Among other things we can learn from this great book, we will learn that we can live well in exile when we live with a profound sense of eternity.
To Discuss:
- Do you have a sense of living in exile in our society? In what ways do you experience this?
- How do we live in the world but not of the world? How do we live as those who are passing through? How do we live faithfully in exile?
- What might it be like in practice to ‘live with a profound sense of eternity’?
To Do:
Spend some time talking to God over the next two weeks, asking him to show you more about what our eternal and heavenly home will be like and where this world falls so far short of that. Ask for him to deepen your longing for life and a world as it is meant to be.
Extra – To View
Here are some short videos from the Bible Project that can help you understand this theme and introduces the book of Daniel:
- On Exile
There is a PDF version of this study here