Lesson 1
September 12
Daniel - Review
The Prophet
Daniel; what do we know?
Most of what we do
know about Daniel comes from this book.
1. Daniel was of noble birth. 1:3 (one of the nations brightest young
men)
- as were his 3 buddies; Hannaniah, Mishael, Azariah.)
2. He was taken captive in 605 B.C. by
Nebuchadnezzar.
3. He lived the rest of his life in
4. Taken captive in 605, at age 15-18, and lived
at least until 536 B.C.,
the third year after Cyrus captured
5. During his life in Babylon God promoted
Daniel to high positions in the governments of the most powerful kings/rulers
of the day;
Nebuchadnezzar; Darius; Cyrus.
6. Daniel was contemporary of Jeremiah; whose msg was prepare for the coming judgment by the Chaldeans
for your idolatry, (Jer remained in the land during
the captivity until he died); also of Ezekiel.
7. Ezekiel was taken captive also; but in the
2nd wave in 598/597 B.C.
His ministry in captivity, as a priest,
was to demonstrate to the people that God was indeed faithful and that He would
deliver them;
That the nations that exulted over
their demise would be judged and that the nation of
8. Ezekiel knew of and spoke of Daniel. (although traveled in different circles in
Ezk. 28:3 (compares the King of Tyre to
Daniel and says "you are wiser than Daniel.") Ezekiel 14:14-20
Because of the nations rampant
idolatry, and
rejection of God and His word Ezekiel says there will be
judgment, the consequences of unfaithfulness in their relationship with God.
- vs:13
famine; vs:15 wild beasts; vs:17 the
sword, military defeat; vs:19 disease, pestilence
Background of the Book and its message!
1. Reason for the
fall and judgment. 2 Chr 36:14-21
- Dt
28:1-2; key
word is obedience; 45-48;
- Consequences for disobedience Deut.
28:64; 29:24-28
2. Need to understand
the major vpt, thinking of the nations of the day; and relate it to how they evaluated
the destruction of
- Conclusion: YHWH,
the God of Israel, must have been inferior to the god of the Babylonians; earlier for the NK
, the Assyrians gods.
- As a consequence,
it was necessary for God to display in
- Have a series of
confrontations between the followers of false gods, the pagan gods of man's
invention and the one true God, the Sovereign Lord and Creator of heaven and
the earth.
3. Have a series of
confrontations between the followers of false gods, the pagan gods of man's
invention and the one true God, the Sovereign Lord and Creator of heaven and
the earth.
4. During this time
of disgrace and humiliation of the Babylonian exile, it was essential for YHWH
to prove by His miraculous acts that He had allowed His people to go into
captivity in 587/6 B.C. not from
weakness, not from inferiority to the pagan gods of Babylon,
but to maintain His integrity as a Holy God who carries out His covenant
promises to His people!
The
theological emphasis of Daniel. (things to look for)
1. Absolute Sov of God; that the fortunes
of kings/rulers and the affairs of men are subject to God's oversight.
- Prin:
God allows His will to be challenged but not with success!
2. Power of prayer!! Major part of their lives.
As they faced each new situation.
3.
Detailed prophetic time line is laid out, history of the times of the
Gentiles; also "70
weeks of Daniel."
4. Underlying the whole scenario of Daniel is
the grace of God.
As we study Daniel
there are some conclusions that we should arrive at.
1. God is in control of history. How can we say that??
2. Part of God's plan is to allow sin to run its
course; to allow man to pursue the desires of his old nature and in effect to
challenge His will. Always unsuccessful
and always there are consequences.
- When man revolts
against the rule and authority of God, in essence he is saying I can do a
better job in running things than God can.
- One of the threads
through out human history is this, Who is going to influence man's thoughts, to
provide the F/O/R for decision making and the N&S's
for the function of his conscience;
Ø
We can see this chasm between God's
thinking/viewpoint and man's in Isa 55:8