Old Testament Core Seminar

Class 23“Daniel”Old Testament Overview 1

Introduction

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• 1 Peter 1:1a. “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the . . .”

• KJV has “strangers” . YLT “sojourners”. Others “foreigners”.• What does Peter mean by calling us “strangers {in the world}”?

– Am I making my home in this world? – Is it uppermost in my plans and dreams? – How can I take advantage of the world’s opportunities to do eternal

good? – What does it mean to live in the world as a stranger—and yet live in it

nonetheless?

• That’s the focus of this study … A stranger in the land.• The first six chapters have well know accounts like the fiery

furnace and the lion’s den.• The last six are some of the most confusing and least-well-known. • Our goal is to piece the book together as a unified whole and,

learn more what it means to live as strangers in this world.

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Context:• Daniel is the only book that spans the length of the entire exile. • He came as a teenager in the first wave of exiles – he was an old

man when the first wave of Jews returned to Jerusalem 536/537.• At first the Babylonians were the dominant empire in that region.

Then they were conquered by the Medes & Persians in 539 BC. • Chapters 1-4, 7, and 8 occur during the reign of the Babylonians. • Chapter 5 records the fall of the last Babylonian king and the

take over of power by the Medes. • Chapters 9&6 record events during the Medo-Persian Empire. • God’s people of God are captured by Gentile nations and become

pawns as those nations struggle to rule the earth. • In in the process, God’s people are persecuted. • Who rules the earth? Babylonians? Medo-Persians, Yahweh?• Are their gods stronger than Yahweh?

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Theme:The Most High, the God of Daniel, sovereignly rules and reigns supreme over all mankind. Therefore His people are brave in the face of persecution. • Notice the use of God instead of Yahweh, his covenant name

used since the book of Exodus. • That’s because Daniel only uses Yahweh in chapter 9. • God is most often referred to as “the Most High.” Thus the lack

of the capital letters “LORD” in your English language Bibles. • Daniel is emphasizing that his god is God over all peoples of the

earth, not just the Jews. • Since Hosea they have been called “not my people”.• It is in chapter 9 that Daniel prays to Yahweh to end the exile.• The use of God’s name is a major hint about the message of this

book.

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• The message of most of the books of the Bible are quite clear.• For others you need an understanding of the author’s intentional

use of structure. And such is Daniel.• Look at this.

– It begins in chapter 1 with Daniel and Judah going into exile. – Near the end chapter 9 we see that it is time for the exile to end.– Chapter 2 focuses on king Nebuchadnezzar’s vision of a statue

representing four great kingdoms. – Chapters 7 and 8, more visions of kingdoms, with four kingdoms again in

chapter 7.

• The content of the 1st half of the book is reiterated in the 2nd.• This is structured as a “chiasm.” (Pairs of parallel passages

working from the ends of the book to its middle where the main point lies.)

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I. Chapter 1-9 – God alone is sovereign; His people are afflicted by pseudo-sovereigns A. Ch. 1 – Exile; People of God afflicted B. Ch. 2 – Four empires brought low by God’s king (type in history)

C. Ch. 3 – King sets himself up as god; People of God afflicted

D. Ch. 4 – Nebuchadnezzar brought low D . Ch. 5 – Belshazzar brought low′ C . Ch. 6 – King sets himself up as god; People of God′ afflicted B . Ch. 7 – Four empires brought low by God’s king ′

(eschatological) B . Ch. 8 – Four empires brought low′ A . Ch. 9 – Return from exile; Messiah afflicted ′II. Chapter 10-12 – Visions of the future

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• Set in the middle of those two stories we find chapter 4, verses 34 and 35.And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, "What have You done?“

• Major point of the book: God has humbled even the great king Nebuchadnezzar, conqueror of Judah.

• Some scholars have a slightly different versions of this chiasm.– The book is built around this amazing humbling of the kings of men.– The accounts in the first half help us understand the visions of the

second half.

• So, we’ll start in the middle and work our way out.

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Daniel 4 & 5:• Here we have prideful kings believing they rule over their large

territories by their own might … sovereigns of all sovereigns. • The first is Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Babylonians. • Chapter 4, he has a dream of a large tree with different birds

nesting in it, which is suddenly chopped down. • At this time Daniel has risen far in the Babylonian government

because of the wisdom God has given him.• He’s also shown himself to be an accurate interpreter of dreams,

of course as God has given him those interpretations. This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: They shall drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses. "And inasmuch as they gave the command to leave the stump and roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be assured to you, after you come to know that Heaven rules.”

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• There is no indication if the king believed him … but it came true.• Verse 30 The king spoke, saying, "Is not this great Babylon, that I

have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?“ Read 4:31-33.

• He didn’t recover until he confessed those verses we read earlier as the main point of the book. “He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth.”

• When he recovers he says, “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.” 4:37

• This last sentence leads us right into chapter 4’s sister chapter, chapter 5.

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• In chapter 5 the God delivers the same message to another king. • Nebuchadnezzar is dead and Belshazzar is running Babylon. • Belshazzar did not learn the lesson from Nebuchadnezzar’s pride

and humiliation. • He throws a big party and uses the sacred temple vessels from

Jerusalem as drinking glasses! • He too is given a vision from the Most High in the form of

handwriting on the wall,.• No one knows the meaning so Daniel is again called out of what

appears to be retirement to give an interpretation.

• He rebukes the king and them provides the interpretation v26-28. That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old. (5:30-31)

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Daniel 3 & 6:• Ch 3 contains the story Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego.• They refuse to bow down to the image - Nebuchadnezzar is

furious that anyone challenges his universal authority saying “Who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” v15

• Their response? “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

• This answer seals their fate with fire … but God rescues them! • And they are joined by a fourth who “looks like a son of the

gods.” (NIV)(God here is el-aw meaning “god, God, heathen deity”.)Rack, Shack & Benny

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• Chapter 6 gives a similar account with king Darius. • By now Daniel is an old man with as many enemies as friends. • His enemies look for a way to trap him but can’t a way.• So they use his commitment to pray to his God against them.• They convince Darius to pass a decree outlawing prayer to any

god but Darius—The punishment? Into the lion’s den!• But once again, God rescues his servant and turns the kings voice

to praise 6:26-27: “For He is the living God, And steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, And His dominion shall endure to the end. He delivers and rescues, And He works signs and wonders In heaven and on earth, Who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”

• Note – just because the true God reigns, it does not mean that His people will be exempt from persecution.

• In fact, it means that they will be the target for it.

King Darius' Dream Song

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• Those who would want to amass power unto themselves and establish themselves at the head of the universe will only see the people of the true God as getting in their way.

• Their faithfulness to the Lord will be a challenge to any earthly claim for absolute allegiance.

• Christians are first and foremost citizens of Heaven, before they are citizens of any earthly kingdom.

• But because of our confidence that the Most High does rule over the kingdoms of men, that we willing to endure great trial and tribulation for the sake of the truth about the God they love.

• God is preparing his people for the age in which we now live.• God is using his prophets to teach us what it looks like to be

citizens of a kingdom that is not of this world – the worse is yet to come!

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Daniel 2 & 7-8:• In chapter 2 Nebuchadnezzar

has a dream of a large statue, the meaning of which only Daniel can interpret.

• The statue had a head make of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, and feet of iron and clay mix.

• All destroyed by a rock, thrown it seems, from heaven, that grows to fill the whole earth.

• Daniel then goes on to explain that Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom is the golden head, but the Babylonians will be succeeded by three other kingdoms.

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• Of most interest in is that rock cut out without hands! • That is the Kingdom of Heaven, and the Lord Jesus Christ. • His conquest did not come through military might, but through

the preaching of the gospel did He conquer the hearts and the minds of the people of the Roman Empire.

• Christ’s Kingdom has spread throughout the entire world and is noted in v 44, it is forever.

• Daniel sees the victory of the preaching of Christ and the spread of His Church to every tongue, tribe, people, and nation.

• Chapter 7 brings the vision of four kingdoms, not as a history but a theological truth.

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• In chapter 7 Daniel has a dream of four beasts. – The first resembles a lion with eagle’s wings, – The second a bear devouring bones, – The third a leopard with four wings and four heads.– The fourth is so terrible that there is nothing to compare it to. Daniel only

says that it had great iron teeth, and many horns with eyes and a mouth to speak pompous words, and was destroying everything in its path.

• Followed by a vision of God, whom he calls The Ancient of Days. "I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire; A fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, And the books were opened. "I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.” (7:9-12)

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• So God destroys these beasts and who takes the power and dominion that was once theirs … the Son of Man? Read 7:13-14.

• Now read Mark 14:61-62• Jesus has divine right to approach God, to reign with Him, and He

will return to earth to publicly take what is rightfully His! • And so all God’s people will be vindicated. Verses 18: “But the

saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.”

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Daniel 1 & 9:• These chapters focus on the exile. • In chapter 1 the people of God go into exile. In chapter 9 they

are getting ready to come out!• In chapter 1, all four Jewish boys, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abed-Nego, placed in a Babylonian “Bachelor's Degree” program

• They are there because they’ve shown potential in someday serving the kingdom.

• They very bravely ask to be exempted from eating the foods outside of their religious dietary laws. Result? God blesses them.

• Even in exile, God blesses his people—and gives them wisdom.• Wisdom also falls under God’s sovereign rule and is theme of the

book of Daniel.• When we are tempted by the surrounding culture … pray for

wisdom.

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• In 9:2 Daniel understood the exile was almost over? But how?• He read the Bible!• Remember the book of Jeremiah? Daniel read and believed. • Daniel’s prayer, starting in verse 3, is eloquent, vigorous, moving,

and overwhelming. • Read all of chapter 9 a meditate on his prayer this week.• As you read, notice Daniel again refers to God as “Yahweh[Lord]

our God!” The end of the exile is dawning!• Recall in chapter 1, the exile was both physical and spiritual.• The people had rejected their God. • King Nebuchadnezzar attempted to assimilate these Israelites

into the surrounding pagan culture. • In chapter 9 we should expect an end to both the exiles.

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• And so we do. • The physical exile is about to end (v9:2). • The real exile that began

– when Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden, – the separation from God that we all experience because of our sins,

• … will not end simply with the Jews’ return to Jerusalem. • That exile only ends only when Christ atones for our sins. • Read 9:25-27.

"Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times. And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate."

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Daniel 10 - 12:• Chapters 10-12 don’t sit in that mirroring structure with the first

9 chapters, but they are just as important. • They contain more predictive prophesies about the future of the

people of God, both immediate future and into the last days. • They are both rich in the theology of the sovereignty of God (and

too much to cover in this course).

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Conclusion:• Daniel speaks to our life as exiles in this world.

– Chapters 4-5, that those who set themselves up against the Most High will indeed be humbled

– In chapters 3 and 6 we see what it looks like to be faithful servants of a sovereign lord even when we suffer persecution and opposition for our faith.

– In chapters 2 and 7/8, we see the “great powers” around us passing away and that God’s kingdom on earth is indeed coming.

• And shines light on the hope Daniel had that we can now see clearly of the end to our spiritual exile that has come in Christ.