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 Babylon, never returned to Jerusalem, the land.

 

4.  Taken captive in 605, at age 15-18, and lived at least until 536 B.C.,  the third year after Cyrus captured Babylon.

 

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 Israel would be restored and all of God's promises to Israel would be fulfilled in their entirety.

 

8.  Ezekiel knew of and spoke of Daniel. (although traveled in different circles in Babylon, knew of him but doubt they ever met)  

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 Jerusalem and the taking captive of the people of Israel.

- 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 Babylon that He was indeed the true God, that He was Sovereign, that He was in control of history!

 

- 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