Lesson for October 28, 2020
Knowing the Bible
Lesson 23
The Book of Daniel
Daniel is one of the best-known characters in the Old Testament spanning a period of time from 607 B.C. to 534 B.C. Along with his fellow Israelites, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, the book of Daniel’s stories of his friends being put into the fiery furnace and then Daniel being put into the lion’s den are among the most popular stories in the Bible. These four young men, along with other Israelites like Ezekiel, were taken from Jerusalem to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar when he conquered the city. These young men were to be taught the ways and language of the Chaldeans (who were astrologers) so they could serve in the king’s court. (Daniel 1:1-4)
The book of Daniel is divided into two parts: 1) a historical part in chapters one through six and 2) a prophetical part in chapters seven through twelve. The central theme of the book of Daniel is that the God of Israel (Jesus Christ) controls history and that nations rise and fall according to His sovereign will. The book of Daniel in part parallels the book of Revelation in the New Testament. Both books reveal a lot about the dispensation of the Tribulation and the dispensation of the Millennium. In the book of Daniel, we see the rise of the Antichrist and the Second Coming of Christ.
The Bible must always be interpreted in the time in which it was written while considering the historical setting, comparing Scripture with Scripture, and analyzing the original language of Scripture. The historical setting for the Book of Daniel was national turmoil. The nations of Israel and Judah (the original nation of Israel had been split into two kingdoms – Northern [Israel] and Southern [Judah]) were under divine discipline for their rebellion against God and His Word, and for worshipping false pagan gods. As the book begins, the Northern Kingdom was in under the fifth cycle of divine discipline, which is characterized by the destruction of the nation. The Southern Kingdom was under the fourth cycle of divine discipline, which is characterized by military conquest and foreign occupation, lack of food supply and separation of families.
Daniel 1:1-31
Verses 1-4
“In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the vessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his god. Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles,youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king’s court; and he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.” In 605 B.C the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar seized Jerusalem as part of God’s divine discipline upon Judah. Nebuchadnezzar ordered the seizing of the Temple treasures and the capture of some of the young men of Jerusalem including those of royal blood. Daniel was a young man from royal Jewish blood who lived in Jerusalem and was taken to Babylon to be trained for the service to the King. Nebuchadnezzar commanded that they be trained in the Chaldean culture. Chaldea was the kingdom of King Nebuchadnezzar with its capital in Babylon. So began the journey of the young man of God, Daniel.
Verses 5-7
“The king appointed for them a daily ration from the king’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be educated three years, at the end of which they were to enter the king’s personal service. Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah the name Shadrach, to Mishael the name Meshach and to Azariah the name Abed-nego.” So began the brainwashing techniques designed to make these young men forget about God and their Jewish heritage and worship pagan gods and serve a pagan king. One technique used to accomplish this brainwashing was changing the names of the young men to Chaldean names. We must remember that Jews at this time were given names that had spiritual significance.
Daniel means “God is Judge” and emphasizes the character of God and His plan for the human race. God the Father judged His Son Jesus Christ on the Cross for the sins of the world. God the Son, Jesus Christ will judge believers at the Judgment Seat of Christ and unbelievers at the Great White Judgment. Daniel was by far the most remarkable of all the young men taken by Nebuchadnezzar as seen in the Chaldean name he was given, Belteshazzar, which means “Bel’s prince” (Bel was a chief pagan god of the Chaldeans). We also know that Daniel was a special righteous young man because he is mentioned in Ezekiel 14:12-20 along with two great men of the faith, Noah and Job. When a person is called righteous by God it means they are believers in Jesus Christ and faithful to God in living their spiritual lives. Being called a prince of Bel meant that Daniel stood out in appearance, intelligence and demeanor.
Hananiah means “the Lord is gracious” and emphasizes the grace of God in all His dealings with mankind. It was the grace of God the Father that sent Jesus Christ as the Messiah of Israel to this earth to pay the penalty of the sins of all mankind. It was the grace of God the Son in going to Cross as a substitute for us all. It is the grace of God the Holy Spirit that continues to deal with mankind in grace by convicting the world of sin, righteousness and judgment in an attempt to see everyone come to a knowledge of the truth regarding Jesus Christ. Hananiah, himself a special young man was given the Chaldean name of Shadrach meaning “illumined by the sun god.” He must have been quite striking in his appearance like a reflection of the sun.
Mishael means “Who and what is the Lord” and emphasizes the character of God, His attributes, His essence and His integrity. It is the character of God that He is attempting to form in the lives of believers in Christ through the study and application of Bible doctrine. Old Testament believers new a lot about the character of God. They had both verbal teaching handed down for centuries and many of the early books of the Bible in written form. In the courts of royalty and nobility these young men were taught the Word of God. Mishael’s name was changed to Meshach meaning “who and what is Ishtar.” Ishtar was the goddess of love which was meant to obscure the Person and character of God and morality.
Azariah means “the Lord is my help” and emphasizes the all sufficiency of God in providing for us all that we need in life. Not only did God provide a salvation solution for mankind, He also provided a predesigned plan for believers with all the logistical grace blessings necessary to fulfill His plan. Azariah’s parents must have named him knowing that God (Jehovah) is the One Who provides for us when we are faithful to Him. Azariah’s name was changed to “Abed-nego” meaning “the servant of the Nego,” which the god of wisdom and education. Azariah must have been a intelligent young man like his friends.
So, the goal of the Chaldeans was to “reeducate” these noble young men from Jerusalem and turn them into servants of the king. Through their reeducation program they hoped to tear down any previous ideas, beliefs or knowledge they had received in their upbringing as royalty and nobility in Jerusalem. They simply wanted to change them into Chaldeans.
Verses 8-13
“But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so, he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself. Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials, and the commander of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the youths who are your own age? Then you would make me forfeit my head to the king.” But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah,“Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be observed in your presence and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.” The test of faith for Daniel and his friends was would they defile themselves by abandoning the Mosaic Law and eating food offered to pagan gods (Deuteronomy 32:38) or would they remain faithful to God by following the dietary laws of the Mosaic Law. Daniel and his friends had obviously been well-trained in the dietary laws and most likely their families observed these laws in obedience to God.
Daniel made up his mind to stay faithful to God even if it meant death for disobeying the command of the King. For four teenagers this was quite impressive and demonstrates how Bible doctrine in the soul can give a believer divine perspective and strength to make the right decision in any circumstance.
This is a great lesson for believers today. We all make decisions daily that impact our spiritual lives and we want to be certain that those decisions are made from a position of strength and not weakness. The key to making good and wise decisions as Daniel did is Bible doctrine in the soul. Let’s not forget that the Mosaic Law is the Word of God (Bible doctrine) and was the means for Daniel and his friends in the dispensation of Israel to execute the plan of God. In our dispensation, the Church Age, we fulfill God’s plan by means of the filling of the Holy Spirit and Bible doctrine in our souls and not by keeping the Mosaic Law.
Once Daniel had made up his mind not to eat or drink the king’s food, he approached Ashpenaz, the commander of officials, to request a favor. This was obviously a bold move on the part of Daniel, remembering that he was a teenager. Notice that God was with Daniel as he approached Ashpenaz and had already granted Daniel favor and compassion from this chief of officials. Though Ashpenaz was compassionate and liked Daniel, he was afraid of King Nebuchadnezzar. He was afraid of being put to death for disobeying the king’s orders. From his human viewpoint he concluded that Daniel and his friends would look undernourished when the king saw them.
Verses 14-16
“So, he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days their appearance seemed better and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food. So, the overseer continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables.” Though Ashpenaz was afraid, Daniel and his friends were not. Perhaps they recalled the words of Isaiah found in Isaiah 41:10, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Daniel, not being easily discouraged, approached the person who Ashpenaz had appointed over Daniel and his friends with his proposal. Daniel’s proposal was simply that he and his friends be allowed to eat vegetables and drink water for ten days and see if they looked worse than the boys who ate the king’s food. Amazingly, the overseer granted the request and after ten days Daniel and his friends looked even better than the rest. The point is that a believer can never lose when he is properly applying the doctrine in his soul in obedience to God’s Word.
Verses 17-21
“As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams. Then at the end of the days which the king had specified for presenting them, the commander of the officials presented them before Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so, they entered the king’s personal service. As for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm. And Daniel continued until the first year of Cyrus the king.” Because Daniel and his friends had prepared themselves as young men in Jerusalem and learned how to study and learn Bible doctrine from the Old Testament writings, they were prepared to learn the knowledge of the literature and wisdom of the Chaldeans as well. God used prepared believers to accomplish His purpose on earth.
These young men were prepared, and God gave them the ability to learn and excel under the Chaldean system so that they were ten times more intelligent than all the others in the king’s court including his wise men (magicians and astrologers). Because of this, they were placed in the king’s personal service, which was part of the plan of God for them. The personal service of the king was a very high position and they were considered equal to the magicians, astrologers and the king’s advisors.
Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, through a series of events when Daniel was revealing and interpreting the king’s dreams about his rise to and fall from power, became a believer. Daniel chapter four reveals the change that took place in the life of Nebuchadnezzar as a result. Nebuchadnezzar did have to learn the same way that many of us do – by being brought to the depths of despair. Because of his continued arrogance, Nebuchadnezzar lost his kingdom, was driven out of his city and made to live with the animals. Finally, Nebuchadnezzar got the message that God alone is sovereign. Nebuchadnezzar’s response was faith in the Most-High (Jehovah) as evidenced in Daniel 4:34-37. The lifting up of the eyes to Heaven is a sign of faith, and notice he began to bless, praise and honor the Lord. The other result of the king’s salvation was an understanding of God and His ways. His kingdom was also restored to him and “excellent majesty” was added to him.
Daniel 5 and 6 chronicle the events of Daniel’s life under the rulership of Nebuchadnezzar’s son, Belshazzar, Darius and Cyrus. Under the rulership of Darius, Daniel was thrown into the den of a lion as punishment for refusing to worship the king. Daniel continued his custom of praying three times per day to Jehovah and refused to obey the decree of Darius. The law of the Medes and Persians had to be carried out despite the efforts of King Darius to overturn it.
As always, God delivered Daniel from the mouth of the lions and his accusers were devoured by the lions instead after the king had them thrown into the lion’s den. Daniel saw and recorded events related to the dispensation of the Tribulation, such as the domination of the believers by Gentile nations and the eventual overthrow of those powers at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. In Daniel 7 and following, Daniel began to prophesy about coming events, which began the prophetical part of his book. Four world empires appear in Daniel’s vision, which are likened to four beasts. The first beast was like a lion with eagle’s wings representing the Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar. The second beast was like a bear representing the Media-Persia Empire under Darius and Cyrus. The third was like a leopard representing the Empire of Greece under Alexander. And the fourth beast was like a beast with iron teeth, exceedingly strong and dreadful representing the Roman Empire (which will be resumed during the Tribulation). Daniel said that he continued to watch until all these Gentile world powers were “cast down” and the Lord Himself ruled the world (the Millennium). As with other prophets, Daniel prophesied about events that would be short-term and events that would be long-term before there fulfillment.