Daniel
Introduction:
Daniel was a Jewish man. When he was a young boy, or young teen the army of Babylon came to Judah which had been part of Israel until they separated from Israel.
They had a battle and Israel lost to the Babylonian army.
The Babylonian army took many of the people of Israel back to Babylon.
Daniel was a child of one of the Jewish leaders he and others of important families were taken back to Babylon.
While he was in Babylon he was given a good education and was taken care of very well. He was smart and wise. Other men soon looked on Daniel with favor.
Daniel was made a leader in the government of Babylon which was ruled by a king.
Daniel did very well. As time went by, Daniel was made higher and higher in leadership in the kingdom of Babylon. He became one of the king’s favorite advisors.
In the Bible, in kingdom’s we read where a king calls his “wise men” to come to him and help him decide on things. Daniel would have been one of these men and probably the most favorite.
The king of Babylon had a big army and they had gone to many lands and nations and won over them. The area of the Babylonian rule was very, very large.
Because of ruling over all this land and people the king of Babylon was looked on as a sort of god.
Babylon’s people worshiped idols many idols.
In some ways they also worshipped the king. The king had great power over the people.
Daniel always worshipped the true God of heaven. He was young when in was taken to Babylon but he never gave up his belief in God. He never let the men of Babylon turn him away from God.
Daniel had many troubles about this. Other men were jealous of Daniel because he was so smart and wise and because he was a favorite of the king.
Daniel did everything so well those men could not find anything that Daniel did that was wrong. They wanted to make trouble for him but they could not find anything to blame him for.
The only thing that Daniel did that they could complain about was that Daniel did not worship idols like everyone else. Daniel had respect for the king, but Daniel would never worship the king.
The men who were jealous saw that this was an area that they could make trouble for Daniel.
Daniel had friends (who were taken captive at the same time ) they also had done very well in the kingdom and they had moved up in leadership. They, too, had stayed true to believing in the true God of heaven. Men made trouble for them, too.
Daniel lived a long life maybe in his 90’s. He lived through the reign/rule of several kings.
He was an advisor to them.
At different times God gave Daniel special wisdom and the meaning of the king’s dreams. God also gives Daniel special visions and dreams about things for the future.
Because of these visions about the future people study the book of Daniel.
They compare it to the book of Revelation. Some of the things Daniel saw in his vision are the same things John saw in his vision. John lived hundreds of years later after Daniel was dead. But God showed them the same things that were to happen.
Chapter 1
Vs. 1-16
During the time that King Jehoiakim was the king of Judah. The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar came to have a war.
Judah was an area of the Holy Land that had been part of Israel. The king of Israel had ruled over all 12 tribes (groups) of the Jewish people.
But two of the tribes had an argument with the king of Israel and these 2 tribes pulled away and set up their own king. They called their part of the land Judah.
Jerusalem was the most important city in all of Israel. Now it is part of the Judah area.
The Temple of God was in Jerusalem.
When the king of Babylon won. He went into the temple and took many of the gold and silver things that were in the temple. He took them to his own kingdom.
Back in Babylon, the king told a man by the name of Ashpenaz to be in charge of the young men they had brought back from Judah.
He was to choose the best looking the smartest the healthy ones ,etc.
These young men would receive the best education. They would live in one of the king’s houses. They were to be trained to be leaders.
They also had to learn the language of Babylon. The Jewish men spoke Hebrew.
With Daniel there were 3 other young men from Judah who were chosen special.
Each of these young men were given Babylonian names.
Daniel was to be called Belteshazzar.
Hananiah was called Shadrach.
Mishael was called Meshach.
Azariah was called Abednego.
They were to be given the best food, meat, wine, etc. that the king’s men ate.
Daniel did not want to eat the rich fancy food that they were given from the king’s house. We do not know why. The Bible does not say. The Bible does say that Daniel did not want to “defile” himself. “Defile” means to make dirty or unclean. It is often used when talking about the things of God and sin or wrong doing.
Some Bible teachers think that it was because Daniel saw that the meat they were to eat had been offered to idols in a prayer ceremony to thank the idol and Daniel did not want to be part of that.
Daniel believed in the true God of heaven. He wanted the men of Babylon to understand that he worshipped a different God. And he would not be part of any worship of an idol.
Whatever the reason Daniel and his friends asked the man in charge to give them vegetables and water. Probably fruit, too. No fancy foods. Just food cooked in a simple way and water. No meat—-because of the idols.
The man in charge was afraid to do this. He was afraid Daniel and the others would become sick looking and the king would not be happy. The man did not want to get in trouble.
Daniel talked to the man. He asked him to try it for 10 days. If at the end of 10 days the men looked healthy and well then he would like them keep on eating the simple foods.
So the man agreed to 10 days. At the end of the days Daniel and his friends looked better and more healthy than the other men. So the man in charge let them keep on eating the simple foods.
Vs.17 The men have honored God in being clean and pure from meat from idols. They have shown that they will not have part of idol worship. Now God is going to honor them.
He has given Daniel and his friends extra ability to understand what they are learning.
They understand it quickly and remember it. God gives Daniel a special ability to understand dreams and visions.
Vs. 18 After 3 years of learning all of the young men were taken before King Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked to all of the men. The king liked Daniel and his 3 friends the best of all of them. He made them to be part of his group of advisors.
In all the things the king asked of them the king liked their answers the best of all of his wise in in all of the kingdom.
Daniel stayed until the first year of King Cyrus’s reign.