INTRO:
•This world is not our home… We are aliens and exiles in a world that is hostile to its rightful King and to us His followers.
•The opposition comes both from culture at large as well as from those who rule. But as we will discover - God is in charge of who is in charge.
•On top of that it seems that the world around us is not only hostile but it increasingly seems like it has gone mad.
Righteousness is mocked and Evil is celebrated.
Shame is gone and Sin is encouraged.
Good is evil and Evil is good
A US Governor quotes the Lord Jesus Christ on his pro-abortion billboards.

DANIEL gives us hope, because our God is sovereign.
DANIEL reminds us that God is in control of who is in control.
DANIEL encourages us to stand firm in a hostile world.

BOOK OVERVIEW - DANIEL:
In the TaNaK (Thora - Law, Neviim - Prophets, Ketuvim - Writings) Daniel is part of the Writings grouped with
the Books of Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Ezra and Nehemiah, I Chronicles, and II Chronicles.
In the Vulgate (Latin translation), the Septuagint (Greek translation) and the German Luther Bible Daniel is placed as part of the Prophetic books, a position our English Bibles adopt as well.

The book contains twelve chapters of which chapters one through six contain the biography of Daniel and his friends and chapters seven through twelve contain the visions of Daniel which is rightly classified as prophecy. Some commentators have posited that chapters 1-6 introduce the man while chapters 7-12 provide his message.

Daniel is a book of Eschatology - a teaching on hidden things that are now revealed. Some have called the the Revelation of the Old Testament.

The book is written in two languages; Aramaic and Hebrew. Chapters 2-7 are written in Aramaic the language of Babylon and most of the ancient Near East, while chapter one and chapters eight through twelve are written in
Hebrew, the language of the covenant people of Israel.

Following this linguistic division scholars have suggested that chapters 2-7 represent the time of the Gentiles and therefore were written in the language of Assyria, Babylon and Persia; whereas the section that deals with Israel in relation to the Gentiles is written in Hebrew. (Robert Culver following Carl Auberlen)

Daniel has been much maligned and discredited by modern critical scholarship, but Old Testament writings such as Ezekiel 14:14,20; 28:3 attest to his life and historicity. Jesus and the NT writers certainly believed in the book of Daniel and quoted from it:

Jesus believed in Daniel
•Matthew 24:15
•Mark 13:14
Paul
•1 Corinthians 6:2
•2 Thessalonians 2:3
•2 Timothy 4:17
Other New Testament Authors
•Hebrews 11:33
•1 Peter 1:10
•Revelation - many allusions

One Reason why modern critical scholarship has not dealt kindly with Daniel is that the book includes a heavy dose of the supernatural.
To believe Daniel is authentic means the miracles in the book are real and the detailed prophecies contained in it in fact originated in the 6th century B.C. Both elements would force the reader to acknowledge the supernatural.
Jesus makes similar claims about himself. He encourages the people to believe his claims to messiahship by asking them to evaluate his miraculous works and his prophetic words. (John 14:11 + 29)

Historic Setting:
After years of being ruled by the Judges Israel demanded a king and God obliged their desire to be like the nations around them. (1 Samuel 8:4-9) The first king, Saul is disobedient and God removes not only him, but his household and the tribe of Benjamin he represented. Instead God chooses the tribe of Judah and David to rule over Israel as king. David rules from 1010-970 BC and is succeeded by his son Solomon who ruled from 970-930 BC. However, despite auspicious beginnings Solomon forsook the God of Israel and was led astray by his many wives to worship other gods resulting in the divided kingdom following his death.

The Northern Kingdom was ruled by a succession of wicked kings from a number of different dynasties and was called Israel with its capital in the city of Samaria. It was made up of 10 tribes, all but Judah and Benjamin. The Southern Kingdom was called Judah and maintained its capital in Jerusalem. The kingdom of Judah was ruled by the descendants of King David; of its 19 kings 11 were wicked and 8 were godly.
In 722 Assyria defeated the Northern Kingdom and took Israel into exile, an exile they would never return from.
2 Kings 17:7-23: Israel is gone, the Northern 10 tribes are taken into exile, only Judah remains.

For centuries God had threatened exile. He sent his prophets to call Israel and Judah back to the covenant, but they would not repent. For 490 years they have been in rebellion against God. Nearly 500 years of turning their backs to God and offering their worship to the idols of the surrounding nations. 500 years of apostasy and idolatry with very few exceptions.
According to God’s Word they have denied the land its Sabbath so God is going to put them into exile for 70 years one for every Sabbatical Year they have deprived the land of in rebellion to God’s command.

They have worshipped false gods and repaid God’s kindness with rebellion. A reckoning is coming.

Nabopolassar King of Babylon (626-605 BC father of Nebuchadnezzar) had freed the Neo-Babylonian empire from Assyrian rule. He conquered Niniveh, the capital of Assyria, in 612 BC and sent his son, Nebuchadnezzar, to deal with Pharaoh Neco of Egypt, whom he defeated in 605 BC at Charchemish. Nabopolassar died the same year and Nebuchadnezzar ascended to the throne. His reign was not without opposition, but he reigned until 562 BC and died peacefully and in power.

After his death Babylon had a number of short lived rulers:
•Amel-Marduk - 562-560
•Neriglissar - 560-556
•Labashi-Marduk - 556
•Nabonidus - 556-539 BC He hated Babylon and ruled from elsewhere appointing his son Belshazzar as co-regent

Cyrus rules Persia from 559-
He conquered Babylon but did not live there or reign from there instead he appointed Darius the Mede.

God had blessed Israel; He delivered them from slavery in Egypt, gave them His covenant promises and regulations, defeated her enemies time and again, gave them the land he promised to their father Abraham and laid low the surrounding nations. Israel was perfectly set up to flourish, but they rebelled against God’s covenant and so He gave them over to their enemies…
God’s judgment had become inevitable…

VERSE BY VERSE:

v.1 - In the third year of Jehoiakim
Compare this statement to Jeremiah 25 “in the 4th year of Jehoiakim”
Jewish reckoning started from the start of the sovereign’s reign.
In contrast, Babylonian reckoning counted the first year as the ascension year and started counting in year 2.

Judah was defeated its nobility and royalty taken hostage and its Temple vessels brought as tribute into the house of Nebuchadnezzar’s god. In antiquity this would normally be a sign that Babylonian gods were superior, but the text makes a different assertion: “The Lord gave Jehoiakim into Nebuchadnezzar’s hand…”

In 605 Jehoiakin becomes a vassal king —Jerusalem remained intact until 586 BC when the Babylonians conquered the city and destroyed the Temple— and the Temple was still standing. How did Nebuchadnezzar receive the Temple vessels - maybe a payoff similar to the payoff to Sennacherib of Assyria. (2 Kings 18:13-16)

v.2 - Young royals taken as hostages
700 mile walk to Babylon
Babylon was used as the epitome of evil. The scriptures use Babylon as the chief personification of evil. E.g.
With a mighty voice he shouted: “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil [1] spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird. For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries.
… Rev. 18:2-3
Horror of warfare / siege / capture

v.3 - Mutilation and Emasculation
Two reasons I believe this is likely:
Ashpenaz the chief of the Eunuchs is given charge of Daniel and his friends
Isaiah’s prophecy clearly states that some of the royal line would serve in Babylon and be made eunuchs (Isaiah 39:7 and 2 Kings 20:16-18)

v.4 - The University of Babylon
- Re-education - all the Knowledge of Babylon
- Indoctrination - all the philosophies of Babylon and the religion, astrology and superstition of Babylon.

v.5 - the King’s Portion

v. 6-7 - Re-named
- Daniel = God is my Judge - Belteshazzar = O Lady (wife of Bel) protect the king.
- Hananiah = Yahweh is gracious - Shadrach = I’m very fearful of the command of Aku
- Mishael = Who is like our God - Meshach = Who is like Aku (the moon god)
- Azariah = Yahweh is a helper - Abednego = Servant of the shining one (Nebo)

v.8 - RESOLVED
- Compromise Demanded - but Daniel and his friends refused even at pain of death
- God honors the faithfulness of Daniel and they are exalted to kingly service

v.9-16 - Testing in the arts of Babylon
- Language
- Literature
- History
- Mythology
- Religion
- Omen reading and Dream interpretation
- Magic Arts

v. 17-21 - GOD GIVES FAVOR
- Thriving in Babylon
-Graduated top of his class
-Did not compromise his beliefs
-Promoted again and again
-Three national revivals - Nebuchadnezzar, Darius,
-Given wisdom and insight beyond anyone in their age

APPLICATION:

•“But our citizenship is in heaven – and from it we await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body by the power by that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.
Philippians 3:20- 4:1 ESV

•“Dear friends, I urge you as foreigners and exiles to keep away from fleshly desires that do battle against the soul, and maintain good conduct among the non-Christians, so that though they now malign you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God when he appears.”
1 Peter 2:11-12 NET

•God is in control - He is our only hope!
•This earth is not our home - We wait for a better one!
•Stand firm - We must be faithful in a hostile world!