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The
Book of Daniel
Daniel was taught by Dr. James Modlish
Chapter
One
(Introduction
- 1:1-21)
The
Man:
Daniel
stands out as one of the greatest men of Old Testament
history. That he was a real man in history is proved by
(Eze. 4:14 and 28:3), as well as (Matt. 24:15 and Heb.
11:33). He was a teenager in the year 605 BC when
Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem and began his conquest
of Judah. There were several "deportations" of Jews to
Babylon, and Daniel was in the first group because he was
of the princely line (2 Chron. 36). It was the practice
of Babylon to deport the "cream of the crop" and train
them for service in their own palaces. (A result of
prophesy - Isa. 39:3-8).
Daniel was
still active in 539 BC when the kingdom was taken by
Cyrus; so he lived and ministered in Babylon for over 60
years. In fact, he lived through the reigns of four
rulers (Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus)
and three different kingdoms (Babylon, Media, and
Persia). His name means "God is my Judge". He held
several important positions and was promoted greatly
because of his character and wisdom, and because the
blessing of God was upon him. Nebuchadnezzar named him
chief of the wise men and a ruler of the land (2:28), a
position similar to a modern Prime Minister.
Nebuchadnezzar's grandson, Belshazzar, called Daniel out
of retirement and because he explained the handwriting on
the wall, made Daniel third ruler in the land (5:29).
Darius named him leader over the whole realm (6:1-3).
Certainly Daniel was God's faithful witness in a wicked
and idolatrous kingdom for at least 75 years.
The
Book:
Daniel
is to the Old Testament, what Revelation is to the New
testament; in fact, we cannot understand one without the
other. Prophetically Daniel deals with "the times
of the Gentiles" (see Lk. 21:24), that period of time
that began in 606 BC with the captivity and will end when
Christ returns to earth to judges the Gentile nations and
establish His kingdom. In the various visions and dreams
in Daniel, we see the program of Gentile history from the
arrival of Babylon, through the Conquests of the Medes,
Persians, Greeks, and to the rule of the Anti-Christ just
before the return of Jesus Christ.
this book
proves that "there is a God in heaven" (2:28) and "The
Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men" (4:25). Daniel
makes it clear that God Almighty is sovereign in the
affairs of this world; "history is HIS
story." God can take rulers off their thrones; God can
defeat the strongest nations and turn them over to their
enemies.
Notes:
Notice
chapter (1:5,15,18 and 11:40; 12:4,8,9,13) all have the
phrase "the end". this is no coincidence. This is used
often in the first and last part of the book because
Daniel is a book that deals with "the end times".
Notice also
that Daniel and his friends are tried 10 days (1:12) and
are found 10 times better (1:20). There is a figure in
Daniel 2 with 10 toes. Again this is no coincidence, for
the number 10 is the number of the Gentiles. The bulk of
the book of Daniel deals with the subject of Gentile rule
and power in the world.
I. A
Difficult Trial: (1-7)
A.
A New Home (1-2) - No longer were they surrounded by
the religious reminders in Jerusalem, and no longer would
they have the influence or their Godly parents and
teachers. When some Christians get away from home, they
rejoice at the opportunity to "let down the bars and live
it up"; but not so with Daniel and his friends.
B. A
New Knowledge (3-4) - The old Jewish wisdom had to go;
from now on it would be the wisdom of the world, the
wisdom of Babylon. They had to learn the wisdom and the
language of their captors. The king hoped that this
"brainwashing" would make better servants out of them. It
is too bad when young people abandon the Word of God for
the wisdom of men.
C. A
New Diet (5) - For the next three years the four youths
would eat the king's diet which, of course, was contrary
to the dietary laws of the Jews. No doubt the food was
also offered to the idols of the land as well, and for
the Hebrew youths to eat it would be acknowledge the
heathen gods.
D.
New Names (6-7) - The world does not like to
recognize the Name of God, yet each of the four boys had
God's Name in his name! Daniel (God is my Judge) was
changed to Belteshazzar (Bel protect his life). Bel was
the name of a Babylonian god. Hananiah (Jehovah is
Gracious) became Shadrach (the command of the moon god);
Mishael (Who is like God?) became Meshech (who is like
Aku, one of the heathen gods); Azariah (Jehovah is My
Helper) became Abed-nego (the servant of nego, another
heathen god). The Babylonians hoped that these new names
would help the youths forget their God and gradually
become more like the heathen people with whom they were
living and studying.
II. A Daring
Test: (8-16)
A.
An ordinary meal is often an opportunity for
testimony (vs. 8) (1 Cor. 8:4-9,12,13).
B.
"As a man thinketh in his heart so is he" (vs. 8) -
they changed Daniel's name, home, and diet but not his
character.
C.
God can take care of you, even in captivity (vs. 9)
(Prov. 16:7; 21:1).
D.
Human opposition can be overcome (vs.
10-16).
III. A
Divine Triumph: (17-21)
A.
"Let no man despise thy youth" (vs. 19).
B.
God will take care of those who take care of the
things of God (vs. 20).
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