“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example [or model] of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim. 4:12).
In previous issues we have considered the words of our Lord Jesus Christ as a perfect example for a believer, David as a good model of a Christian’s conduct, Timothy as a good example of divine love in action, and Stephen as a model of a good spirit. Now let’s focus on faith demonstrated in the life of a believer.
Faith Models
“Be thou an example [or model] of the believers... in faith.”
Now we’ll look at the life of Daniel, a young man whose life was characterized by faith. When the Spirit of God first introduces him to us, He calls him a youth (Dan. 1:4 JND). Daniel is one of those who was carried captive to Babylon when King Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem.
Shortly after arriving at the king’s palace, he ordered that Daniel and his companions be given the king’s meat and wine for their meals. It was a test for these youths. To a faithful Jew, this food would be defiling because it had been offered first to heathen idols. Daniel must have had godly parents who had clearly taught him the law of their God. Daniel knew what was right. His faith was solidly anchored in his God. In spite of where he was and who it was that he was now serving, “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank” (vs. 8). He settled the issue first in his heart before God, and with his faith in Him and only Him “he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself” (vs. 8).
The prince of the eunuchs worried that the change in diet that Daniel was proposing might endanger him and his job before the king. Daniel requested that they be tested for ten days. “And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children [or, youths] which did eat the portion of the king’s meat” (vs. 15).
As the Lord had said in an earlier day, “Them that honor me I will honor” (1 Sam. 2:30). God blessed Daniel’s faith. He granted him “favor and mercy before the prince of the eunuchs” (Dan. 1:9 JND). He gave him “knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams” (vs. 17). “In all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them [Daniel and his three friends], he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm” (vs. 20). All this was the result of the firm decision in Daniel’s heart to put his trust in his God and to live by that faith.
Then there’s the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of Daniel trusting his God for the wisdom and understanding to unfold the secrets of the dream in order to deliver God’s message to this powerful ruler. There’s the example of faith in Daniel’s three companions as they went through the experience of the fiery furnace with the Lord Himself, encouraged, no doubt, by the example of faith that they had witnessed in Daniel. There’s the vision of Nebuchadnezzar and the handwriting on the wall at Belshazzar’s feast Daniel’s faith gave him understanding of God’s message for these kings and the courage to proclaim it to them, though it was not a happy verdict for either monarch. And, finally, there’s the time in the lions’ den, where “God... sent His angel, and... shut the lions’ mouths... because he believed in his God” (ch. 6:22-23). All throughout his entire life, Daniel is a marvelous model to us of a believer who lived by faith. “The just shall live by his faith” (Hab. 2:4).
D. R. Macy