Download Continuing on with our chronology of life for the Judean captives we

Daniel 1 to 4
August 7, 2005
Continuing on with our chronology of life for the Judean captives we now enter Daniel. Daniel
and his three Hebrew friends were part of the first wave into captivity. Thus, this book of Daniel will take
us from the initial siege to the end of the captivity when Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Israel.
AIM: To know that we serve a living and true God just as Daniel did; to learn how to approach life’s
circumstances that are life threatening; to see how God honors those who do not compromise.
DAY ONE: Historical Background
1. Give the time frame, personages of this book using Daniel 1:1; 21; II Kings 24 :1-6; II Chron. 36:1-8.
Who is the reigning king of Judah at this time?
Daniel begins his book by giving us the time frame of when he and others were taken captive: in the 3rd
yr. of the reign of Jehoiakim. He then also tells us that he lived through the entire captivity until the reign
of Cyrus.
In II Kings we learn that Jehoiakim was a servant of Nebuchadnezzar for 3 yrs. and then he rebelled.
Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem with his armies to take Jehoiakim captive along with the treasures of
the Temple. From II Chron. we learn that Jehoiakim’s real name was Eliakim but was changed by
Pharaoh Necho to Jehoiakim. We also learn that he was not the next in line but that his brother who
followed Josiah was taken captive to Egypt and Eliakim/Jehoiakim was placed on the throne instead. We
learn that he was 25 yrs. old when he became king and he reigned 11 yrs. From II Chron. 36:6 we find
that he was bound in chains to be taken captive to Babylon and Jehoichin the son of Jehoiakim was made
king at the age of 8yrs. old.
We know from Jeremiah and Ezekiel that God is disciplining and judging the southern kingdom of Judah
for their sin of idolatry. 2. What king prepared the stage for the Babylonians to even think of plundering
the city of Jerusalem and the Temple? See II Kings 20:1-19. Hezekiah had been ill. Isaiah was told by
God that Hezekiah’s prayer had been heard. God not only healed him but also would add 15 yrs. to his
life. Hezekiah then received a ‘get well’ visit from the officials of Babylon. He was so delighted at being
healed that he showed all of the riches of Judah to them. Isaiah then questioned Hezekiah after their
departure as to what he had done. II Kings 20:17 says that because of this revelation a day would come
when Babylon would take all of the riches back to Babylon with his sons and grandsons.
We left off in our study of Ezekiel with the vision of the temple 3. Ezekiel and Daniel were
contemporaries. Also, in our study of Jeremiah we found out that the Babylonian Captivity would last 70
yrs (Jer. 29:10). Daniel lived in that time frame. According to Daniel 1:21 he served until the reign of
Cyrus. Who was Cyrus and what did he do? See II Chron. 36:22-23. Cyrus was the king of Persia. In his
first year of reigning his spirit was stirred to allow the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem and to allow
any who wanted to return to do so. This leads us into the books of Ezra and Nehemiah and the rebuilding
program.
4. Prov. 28:1b could be Daniel’s testimony: “… the righteous are as bold as a lion”. Let’s get some basics
about this man we are to learn about: What do we know about him?
Dan. 1: 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 12; 21 vs. 3: son of Israel including the royal family (some think Daniel was of
this group of royalty); v. 4 a youth; no defect and good looking; demonstrated that they were intelligent
(smart)—the brains of the group taken captive; had the quality of discernment (we will see this later as he
is tested); had the ability to serving (some versions say standing and it is meant by that they could actually
stand for long periods of time); teachable; vs. 5 given the kings food and wine and educated for a period
of 3 yrs. ; vs. 6 four of the Hebrews were named and in vs. 7 we see that their names were changed:
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Vs.8 “But” Daniel made up his mind not to defile himself; vs. 12 sought and appeal; vs. 21 he continued
in the king’s court through the reign of Cyrus
Dan. 2:14; 17; 47- 49; vs. 14; had gift of discernment and discretion; vs. 17 had faithful companions who
knew how to pray; vs. 47-49 God revealed mysteries to him
Dan. 4:8. Nebuchadnezzar noted that Daniel was filled with the Spirit of the holy gods (could this mean
that Daniel was filled with the Holy Spirit and that it was so evident to Nebuchadnezzar that it was
noted??)
Briefly describe the interactions between Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar in these 4 chapters.
Chapter 2: Daniel went into the king and requested time to declare the interpretation of the dream
Chapter 4: Daniel again is called upon to interpret a dream for Nebuchadnezzar
SUPPLEMENTAL IDEA QUESTION: Why is Nebuchadnezzar called the “king of kings” since Jesus
is the “King of Kings”?
Here and in Ezra this is a term denoting position within the world frame. Jesus is the true King of
Kings and will reign forever more, this is His title. In the OT it is merely a descriptive term used and
Nebuchadnezzar was the king of kings in his time reference for he was the king of the entire Babylonian
empire which stretched from Egypt to Syria, to eastward to the edges of what is today Iraq. According to
Isaiah 14:4 (KJV) Babylon was known for its vast amounts of gold. Nebuchadnezzar was known for his
oppressive tactics to keep his empire under control.
DAY TWO: “Dare to be Different”. Chapter one
5. Daniel and his three friends were now in captivity. What new things did the 4 Hebrew children have
to adjust to? New foods, new language, new literature and new school; new names, new places of
residence; new masters; promise of future positions in the king’s presence;
6. For what reasons might the Babylonians have changed their names?
Hebrew Names—often had ‘el’ or “yah” in their names gave glory to God, this would be offensive to
Babylonians who believed in many gods. Hebrew names were meant to glorify Jehovah, Babylonian
names then were mean to ‘glorify’ the gods of Chaldeans, Ba-al, Bel….
Daniel = Judgment of Elohim; God is judge,
Hananiah = Yahweh has favored me
Mishael = I am like unto Elohim
Ahaziariah = Yahweh has helped me
Belteshazzar = the treasure to Baal
Shadrach = inspired by god of sun
Meschach = he who belongs to gods sheshach
Abednego = the servant of nebo—one of false gods
7. Daniel’s first challenge: eat food and drink wine of the king. Note the word “but” in vs. 8. This gives
us a transition from acceptance to no compromise. If you accept the language, literature and ways, what
would be wrong about accepting the food and wine? Give at least 2 reasons for your thinking. Daniel
decided that he could accept clothes, place, literature, even language but foods NO because that would be
against he Mosaic Law that he knew well. He also knew that the foods he would have to eat would have
been offered to idols. In accordance with Babylonian ways, foods and wine were first offered to idols and
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then a certain portion would be poured out as a sacrifice to the idol. It appears that Daniel had learned the
Ten Commandments well: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me; Thou shalt not make any graven
image”. From that; Daniel would rather “be dead than defiled”. The Law specifically prohibited certain
foods as ‘unclean’. To eat of them would ceremonially defile a person according to Levitical Law. Among
the ancients; religion was not just a one-day affair but it affected their entire day-to-day life. Prior to
eating, the animals to be eaten would be slaughtered; and then a portion offered to the idols. The rest
would be sold in the market place. The food offered to idols then would be offered to the guests as
sacrificial and honored foods. Jews were not permitted to eat of this food: See Ex. 34:15. In the public
mind, doing so involved recognizing the pagan gods. Paul dealt with this in I Cor. 8 as well. Another
reason would be that the meat would not be slaughtered according to Levitical standards—kosher. (see
Lev. 3:17; 6:26; 17:10-14; 19:26). Daniel had a conviction that he lived – the question is do we????
But, note how he handled this appeal, from which we can learn.. Daniel utilized wisdom and persistence
as he followed the chain of command: he first went to the one over him: the commander of the officials;
when he did not receive satisfaction from him, he then went to the overseer who then gave permission for
the test to take place. PRINCIPLE: when at ought with the system you live in; use the appeal process.
Note he used the skill that God had given him of discernment and discretion. God tells us in Hebrews
5:14 that we can be discerning when we feed on the meat of the Word. Wisdom and knowledge begin
with the fear of the Lord. Discernment and discretion come as we know God’s ways..
8. Sometime ago we studied the “4-C’s” way of making a decision as taught by Josh McDowell.
(1)Consider the choice, (2) Compare the choice to God’s Word; (3) Choose God’s Way; (4) Count on
God for His provision and protection. Walk through the 4 steps and explain Daniel’s thinking using this
format.
Daniel considered the choices before him: eat the foods and drink the wine of the king or not eat those
Secondly, he compared his choices to God’s Word: knowing that the foods would be an offering to the
idols would be breaking the Commandments of God and secondly the Babylonian diet would consist of
foods that the Levitical Law would consider unclean. Lev 3:17; 6:26, 7:19; Lev 11; Lev17:10-14 Ex
34:15
Third: Daniel chose the ways of God: not eat foods offered to idols, not eat foods considered unclean;
Daniel then formulated a plan he felt would be acceptable to those in leadership
Fourth: Daniel implemented his plan of the appeal process and used his skill of discernment and
discretion. He then trusted God to lead him in the right direction and take care of his needs. It can be said
that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. However, good intentions remain just that unless we
act upon them. Daniel acted on that purpose within the framework of the opportunity open to him.
9. Give one other Bible characters that had a great influence in the affairs of a foreign nation and also is
the only other individual of which there are no negative comments made regarding his life. As a result
God used him to influence and bless that nation and his own as well. Discuss similarities between these
men. Joseph is the only other Hebrew character that influenced a nation as Daniel did. These are the only
two in the OT that stand apart as men of stellar integrity and of whom nothing negative is written.
DAY THREE: Nebuchadnezzar’s Nightmare. Chapter Two
10. How do you think God prepared Daniel for this test both before he came to Babylon and now in
Babylon? According to Deut. 6:7 parents are responsible to teach their children when they sit in the
house; when they walk with them; and when they lie down and rise up. Could it be said that Daniel’s
parents had taken this task seriously and prepared Daniel? Also, was he well taught in the Hebrew Law
and OT scriptures? In Daniel 1:9 it is also noted that God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love
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with the prince of the eunuchs. So he already had built a relationship with those in charge all by the
sovereign hand of God.
In addition Daniel well knew the principle in I Sam. 2:30 for them that honor me I will honor.
In addition, God gifted Daniel in the areas of wisdom, discretion; discernment, patience (persistence) and
creativity. t is noted that Daniel worked within the system not apart from it.
An additional note of Daniel’s pre-Babylonian and Babylonian preparation for trials and challenging
circumstances. Daniel’s life mirrors Christ in two specific ways. Do a comparison of Daniel and Jesus
A. Favor with God and Man
In Daniel 1:9 we are told that God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of
the officials. In Luke we read a similar statement: Luk 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and
stature, and in favor with God and man.
B. A Life molded by Prayer
A second point is that Daniel had a set routine of prayer each day according to Dan 6:10 Now when
Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his
chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and
gave thanks before his God, as he did formerly. Jesus also was known to start his day with
prayer and often spend the entire night in prayer. Mar 1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great
while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed – and- Luk 6:12
And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in
prayer to God.
As we study the life of Daniel we can then see that both Daniel and Jesus built a relationship with God
before they built a relationship with man. We can then challenge our students and ourselves in prayer
vigils and walk.
11. What was Daniel’s proposition to the prince of the eunuchs and how did the test turn out? That he and
his 3 friends be only given vegetables and water to drink for a period of ten days.
12. In what ways did God demonstrate His lovingkindness to the Hebrew children? They prospered with
the diet; their appearance was better; God gifted them with knowledge and intelligence in every branch of
literature and wisdom; in particular Daniel understood visions and dreams. We can learn a principle from
this: God protects His children when they put Him first. Daniel first demonstrated courage, courtesy,
meekness and tenacity under pressure in implementing his plan which would later become his trademark
as he faced the den of lions. God gives us small tasks and not if but when we are successful God gives us
larger tasks. PRINCIPLE: Daniel knew and practiced Romans 12: be not conformed to this world: but
be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable,
and perfect, will of God.
13. Give some reasons as to why Nebuchadnezzar would want the dream told before the interpretation?
There are several reasons that come to mind: he really could not retrieve the dream according the ways of
God to open the door for Daniel’s gifts to be used; he was testing to see if his wise men were pretenders
or really wise men; or he was just being irrational and stubborn. We may never know the true reason but
whatever the reason, God prepared the way for Daniel by this to demonstrate God’s holiness; God’s
wisdom; God’s sovereignty. It is interesting to note that even the ‘wise’ men knew that this could only be
given by the gods and they did not have those gods dwelling within their mortal flesh! How different
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Daniel! He had the living God within him to give him the wisdom he needed. He knew the truth of
Proverbs: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Daniel may have lived many centuries before Paul but his words come screaming to us from across the
ages: Rom 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 1Co 1:19 For it is written, I will
destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 1Co 1:20
Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish
the wisdom of this world?
Daniel also knew the truth of James’ words: Jam 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that
giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
DAY FOUR: Daniel faces a new Challenge
14. How did Daniel handle this new challenge? What can we learn from his ways both in chapter one and
now in chapter 2:17-18 about him, his prayer life and his friends’ prayer lives? First:Daniel demonstrated
persistence, wisdom, patience, fearlessness (he knew this principle: Pro 29:25 The fear of man bringeth
a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.). He had such confidence in the God he
served that he made a claim that he would be able to interpret the dream for the king. Secondly, he
sought help from his three friends and held a ‘prayer meeting’ seeking God’s mercies. QUESTION:
How bold are we in prayer? Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by
the blood of Jesus, Do we, like Daniel, go to God in reverential fear, to seek His favor and mercies asking
Him to utilize our skill to seek wisdom, answers as well as to save the lives of others as well as our own
life? Thirdly, although there was a crisis and perhaps even an emergency (after all Nebuchadnezzar at
this point was in an irrational mood having executed the order for all to be slain immediately), Daniel
took time to give honor, praise and thankfulness to the God of the universe who granted his petition. This
teaches us a principle: How quickly do we respond in thankfulness when God answers our petitions? Do
we pray and then forget?
15. When you are faced with a crisis in your life to what or to whom do you turn? PERSONAL
RESPONSE HERE
16. Nebuchadnezzar has now had opportunities to see the Hand of God at work in the life of these young
Judean captives. He noted one important fact about Daniel: See 4:8. When God uses you do others give
this testimony of your life? In Daniel 4:8 Nebuchadnezzar noted he was filled with the spirit of the holy
gods. Could this statement mean that he was filled with the Holy Spirit and thus he was demonstrating
that Fruit of the Spirit before his capturers? If true, then not only can we learn from this how to
appropriate the Spirit’s power in our lives but also we can claim and stretch our faith by what Peter said in
his letter. We are first given the living indwelling Holy Spirit but then it is up to us to as Peter says “make
every effort” . We are also commanded by Paul to: Phi 2:12 … work out your own salvation with fear
and trembling.
2Pe 1:3 I can pray this because his divine power has bestowed on us everything necessary for life and
godliness through the rich knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence.
2Pe 1:4 Through these things he has bestowed on us his precious and most magnificent promises, so that
by means of what was promised you may become partakers of the divine nature, after escaping the worldly
corruption that is produced by evil desire.
2Pe 1:5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith excellence, to excellence, knowledge;
2Pe 1:6 to knowledge, self-control; to self-control, perseverance; to perseverance, godliness;
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2Pe 1:7 to godliness, brotherly affection; to brotherly affection, unselfish love.
2Pe 1:8 For if these things are really yours and are continually increasing, they will keep you from
becoming ineffective and unproductive in your pursuit of knowing our Lord Jesus Christ more intimately.
2Pe 1:9 But concerning the one who lacks such things - he is blind. That is to say, he is nearsighted, since
he has forgotten about the cleansing of his past sins.
17. As believers in Christ we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit who resides within us. What
should the world be seeing within our lives as a result of this indwelling Spirit? The Holy Spirit residing
within us should be a demonstrable commodity to the world. Our very lives should be a demonstration of
that so that we are God’s living and walking testimony of His love and provision. Someone once said
“you may be the only Bible anyone reads”. If that is true, then our lives should reflect the Holy God to a
dying world and cause them to fall upon their faces or to say Blessed be the God of Shradach, Meshach,
and Abednego as Nebuchadnezzar did. QUESTION: So why is it that the world does not react like
Nebuchadnezzar when they come into our presence? What do we need to change so that the world
recognizes Jehovah? Which Fruit of the Spirit is lacking in your life this week and what will you do about
it?
DAY FIVE The Fiery Trial Chapter Three
18. God gives us small tests and builds to bigger ones. The purpose in all of these tests is what? To prove
our faith.
19. Augustine wrote: "He who for fear of any power hides the truth, provokes the wrath of God to come
upon him, for he fears men more than God.". In what way did the Three Hebrew Children demonstrate
they understood the truth of that statement and in turn demonstrate the truth of Rom. 12:1&2? In 3:16
they responded ‘we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter’. They had decided prior to
this that they would not conform to the ways of this pagan king even though it meant death to them. They
had been transformed by the renewing of their minds on the ways of Jehovah and His Word and thus were
able to stand-alone. They knew that truth of presenting their bodies a living sacrifice for the one they
served. They had learned the lesson well prior to and in this captivity of what idol worship does to one’s
belief system and one’s destiny.
.Why do you suppose Nebuchadnezzar built this statue? As he rehearsed the dream to himself, perhaps he
was gloating over the head of gold and within himself began to be prideful. Not only would he build the
image he saw in his dream but he would enhance it by building it in pure gold. Most theologians are not
sure if it was indeed made of pure gold or was wooden covered in gold. Either way it was enormous and
shimmered in the sunshine and was a sight to behold. Some believe it was more a political statement than
a religious statement, even though Nebuchadnezzar worshiped Merodach, the idol god. If you note in the
writing in 3:8 the words “all the peoples, nations, and men of every language” were in attendance. This
means that Nebuchadnezzar called all of his officials and men of importance to this “celebration” from all
corners of his kingdom. By making this statute and commanding them to bow down to it,
Nebuchadnezzar was making a statement to the entire kingdom that he meant to weld them into a
homogenous whole. Archaeologists have turned up inscriptions of the statue which indicate that it may
have represented a pagan deity.
20. How did God honor the stand of ‘daring to be different’? For Daniel, he lived past the reign of
Nebuchadnezzar and into the reign of Cyrus. He was given a position of prominence in all of the kings he
served. For the three Hebrew children they opened the window of opportunity for captive Jews to worship
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and not be persecuted. The king also caused them to prosper in his province. This was true for Joseph as
well. QUESTION: Where has God prospered you because you have taken a stand and ‘dared to be
different’ and yet you have demonstrated the Fruit of the Spirit to all with whom you come in contact?
Will you this day “Dare to be a Daniel” or The Three Hebrew Children or Joseph,” and in turn be thankful
to God for what He will do for you?
It is interesting that of all the thousands taken captive, these 4 stand out as the only ones history has
chosen to record as not willing to compromise. They show us that we may be in the minority but we will
be remembered. Where are the other thousand who did compromise? For all eternity the names of Daniel,
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego will be held in honor. The question then is: will we join them in the
journey of faith to the celestial kingdom prepared for us? Will we trust and obey: Heb 11:6 But without
faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Will we be among the cloud of witnesses in Heb. 12:1 who laid aside every encumbrance and the sin that
so easily entangles, run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes upon Jesus who is the
author and perfecter of our faith knowing that God will either resolve the situation or give them the grace
to see it to its completion. We can trust in that fact because of I Cor. 10:13 “there is no trial that
overtaken you that is not faced by others. He will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear,
And God is faithful: but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may has be able to endure
it.”
21. APPLICATION QUESTION: So far we have seen Daniel and his friends in challenging situations.
Often times come when we are faced with similar challenges and we wonder if we are able to face them
as Daniel did. But, the important question is not will you be able to face life threatening situations, the
question is how are you managing the every day situations that come across your path? How do you
behave in front of your neighbors? How do you handle yourself in the marketplace? Why are you worried
about facing the when you are not handling the simple every day occurrences God brings across your
path?