Have you ever noticed how fast things can change? People change. Culture changes. The rules change. But when everything around you is changing, what stays the same in you?
Daniel’s world was constantly changing. Different kings, different trials, different pressures. But through all of it, Daniel kept trusting God.
And that’s what I want us to see today: the world may change, but our God doesn’t, and neither should our faith.

So, let’s talk about Daniel and the three Hebrew boys.

Back in 605 BC, which stands for “before Christ,” during the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem and took it over. It says in Daniel 1:1 that this happened in the third year of Jehoiakim’s reign. Daniel was very young at this point, but he and the three Hebrew boys were different from the other young men because they were from the royal family and nobility of Judah.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear…” Psalm 46:1-2

The cool thing was, once they were taken to Babylon, they were going to be fed food and wine from the king’s table because they were going to serve the king. They were smart, capable, and of royal descent. But Daniel refused to defile himself with the king’s food and wine. Instead, he asked to eat vegetables and drink water. At the end of ten days, Daniel and his friends looked healthier than the young men who were eating the king’s food. Daniel 1:8 to 16.

At the end of their training, God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in all kinds of literature and wisdom. Daniel also had the ability to understand visions and dreams. Daniel 1:17. God was showing Himself to be strong and showing that His ways are right.

Then we get to Daniel 2. Nebuchadnezzar had this awful dream about a huge statue made of different materials: gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay. He wanted his magicians, enchanters, and wise men not only to interpret the dream, but to tell him what he had dreamed. Nobody was able to do it.

Except Daniel.

Daniel prayed and asked the Lord to reveal the mystery to him. God answered, and Daniel was able to tell Nebuchadnezzar both what the dream was and what it meant. Daniel 2:17 to 23 and 31 to 45.

“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

Then, later during Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, the three Hebrew boys, who were friends of Daniel, faced their own test. Their Hebrew names were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. We usually know them by their Babylonian names, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Nebuchadnezzar built a huge golden image and commanded everyone to bow down and worship it. But they refused. Because they would not bow down to the king’s image, Nebuchadnezzar ordered them to be thrown into a fiery furnace heated seven times hotter than usual. Daniel 3:16 to 19.

But when they went into the fire, they did not go in alone.

“The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.” Nahum 1:7

Nebuchadnezzar looked into the furnace and saw four men walking around in the fire. In Daniel 3:25, he said the fourth looked like “a son of the gods.” Many Christians understand this fourth figure to be a preincarnate appearance of Christ.

He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Daniel 3:25

When the three Hebrew boys came out, they were not burned. Their clothes were not damaged, and they did not even smell like smoke. Daniel 3:27.

Then we jump forward several decades.

Babylon falls in 539 BC to the Medes and Persians. In Daniel 5, King Belshazzar is holding a huge feast when the famous handwriting appears on the wall. Daniel interprets the message, and that very night, Belshazzar is killed and Darius the Mede receives the kingdom. Daniel 5:30 to 31.

Now Daniel is older. He is respected, and he is serving as a government official under a completely different kingdom.

And Daniel is still praying.

Daniel 6 tells us that Daniel prayed three times a day toward Jerusalem, with his windows open. His enemies knew this and convinced King Darius to make a law saying that anyone who prayed to anyone other than the king would be thrown into a den of lions.

“And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.” Psalm 9:10

Daniel knew about the law, but he kept praying.

Daniel 6 tells us that Daniel prayed three times a day toward Jerusalem, with his windows open. His enemies knew this and convinced King Darius to make a law saying that anyone who prayed to anyone other than the king would be thrown into a den of lions.

Daniel knew about the law, but he kept praying.

So Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den. But God protected him. Daniel 6:22 says that God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and Daniel was not hurt.

The cool thing about all of this is that there were literally decades between these events. Daniel was captured and taken to Babylon in 605 BC. A few years later, he interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. During Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, the three Hebrew boys went into the fiery furnace. Then Babylon fell in 539 BC, and later, under the rule of Darius, Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den for praying to God.

Different kings. Different empires. Different circumstances. Different times.

But the message stayed the same.

Trust God and obey God.

That is what I have always loved about this story, even when we did it for VBS. It all boils down to trusting and obeying God, especially when times are difficult and people around you are making bad decisions.

The world around Daniel kept changing, but Daniel kept trusting God.

And that is something we can still learn from today.