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Daniel: Chapter 1 |
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Setting Daniel is a unique book written by one of the greatest heroes in the Bible. It describes the work of God through men’s activities on this earth, both with Israel and the Gentile governments. Much is written in this book concerning Christ’s first and second advents, and His work in the world to bring salvation to all mankind. Daniel was a young, possibly just a boy, who was taken captive away from his land. Yet, he had been raised well in the ways of the Lord, and he purposed in his heart to follow God. Daniel’s commitment and faith in God was demonstrated repeatedly throughout this book. The twelve chapters provide both an historical account of those who were exiled from the land of Judea and Jerusalem into Babylon, and prophetic passages concerning rule of the Gentiles and Israel's future. This book's time frame extends from the days of Daniel to the rejection and crucifixion of Christ, then on to the millennial reign of Christ. The detail in its prophetic passages serves as a bridge to the book of Revelation. It begins with Israel’s captivity under the rule of the Gentiles, until the end of the tribulation period when Christ will return and establish Israel as a world kingdom. He will be King of kings and Lord of lords over the earth. Jesus will then sit on the throne of David to rule with a rod of iron, and thus fulfill all of the remaining prophecies and promises to the nation of Israel that can only be accomplished by his return. Historical perspective Daniel is a historical figure, and a contemporary of the prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah. Daniel was taken captive in the first invasion of King Nebuchadnezzar, and was a great witness of God to the king's court. Ezekiel was taken in the second invasion, and was God's man to the general population of the captives taken back to Babylon. Jeremiah was God's witness against those who survived the third and final invasion of King Nebuchadnezzar against the land of Judah and Jerusalem. The following chart is a summary of the three invasions.
These men along with Jesus referenced Daniel in positive ways. First, Daniel was associated with other great men of faith in the scripture, namely Job and Noah, Ezekiel 14:12-20. Second, Daniel's wisdom was referenced in one of the words of judgment of the Lord spoken through Ezekiel, where the prince of Tyre's wisdom was compared with that of Daniel's. Here, Daniel's wisdom served as a bench mark that others were measured against, Ezekiel 28:1-3. Finally, the Lord referenced Daniel as a prophet during His Olivet Discourse, Mathew 24:15. A high-level view of Israel's history leading up to King Nebuchadnezzar's invasions The nation of Israel was given privilege not given to any other nation ever existing in the world. The Lord called them out of Egypt millennia ago, and gave them His laws, His word, and through them came the promise of the Messiah, Deuteronomy 4:4-8, Romans 3:1-3. However, their faithfulness to all that was given to them ebbed and flowed over time, yet the Lord was faithful to His word and to all His promises. This resulted in Israel as a nation being removed from the land promised to them on two separate occasions, yet the Lord said through Ezekiel that He would bring them back from out of all the countries of the world for His own name's sake, and they will have a renewed relationship with the Lord, Ezekiel 36:16-25. It is important to know that the children of Israel were strangers and sojourners in the land with the Lord, for the land is the Lord’s, Leviticus 25:23-24. With this special relationship with the Lord came responsibilities. Prior to entering and possessing the Land that the Lord had promised them, and to take possession of it, the nation received the awesome responsibilities of being a people of the Lord, Deuteronomy 27:9-10. They were given blessings and curses based on their actions, Deuteronomy 28:1-2, Deuteronomy 28:58-59, Deuteronomy 28:63-64. As a nation, King David brought them into great prominence, influence, and wealth because he was led by the Lord. His son, King Solomon brought the nation to the pinnacle in the belief and worship of God in the early reign of King Solomon at the dedication of the temple of the Lord, 2Chronicles 7:1-4. The Lord had given great promises to King Solomon, and chose Jerusalem as the place where He would hear the prayers of His people, He would attend to that place and His eyes and ears would be there perpetually, 2Chronicles 7:12-18. Unfortunately, the slide away from the Lord also occurred at the end of the King Solomon's reign, 1Kings 11. The ultimate result of the growing unbelief in the nation of Israel, was that it was divided into the northern tribes and southern tribes. Over time, as a result of their open rebellion against the Lord, the Northern tribes become captive to the Assyrians, 2Kings 18:11-12. Much later, King Hezekiah was warned by the Prophet Isaiah of Judah would be taken captive by the Babylonians, 2Kings 20:16-18. The rebellion of Israel had against the Lord and His ways had digressed to such a degree, that despite the good King Josiah’s reign, God’s judgment would still occur, 2Kings 23:24-26, Psalm 137:1-7. This is what led to the first of two occasions that Israel was exiled from the land. The first conquest of King Nebuchadnezzar and taking King Jehoiakim captive is shown in the table above, 2Chronicles 36:5-7. The second occasion occurred centuries later, when Titus destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D., and the Jews suffered a worldwide dispersion. The Book of Daniel The book of Daniel can be segregated in a few ways for better comprehension of God’s work in the history of Israel and of the Gentile nations. Daniel chapter one through six can be viewed as a historical chronology of Israel’s years of captivity. However, the latter chapters, seven through twelve, restart the historical chronology of when the visions and dreams were given to Daniel, beginning in the first year of King Belshazzar. The events revealed to Daniel in visions, dreams, and the discourse with the angel Gabriel, are not given in a sequential prophetic timeline from chapter seven through twelve. For example, the events revealed in chapter seven occur after the events in chapter eight. Chapter nine then covers the entire spectrum of time from King Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of Jerusalem through today, and on through to the seven years of tribulation, and into the 1,000 year reign of Christ. Finally, chapters 10 through 12, which are all based on the same vision, recount the prophetic events in chapters seven through nine in more detail, and in sequential order. Mapped over this, is another scheme to segment the book of Daniel, which is the language it was written in. The beginning of the book is written in the Hebrew language, then in Aramaic, then resumes to the Hebrew language. Daniel held a supreme position in King Nebuchadnezzar’s court, and God had given him knowledge, skill in all learning, and wisdom, so it is not surprising that he would have been fluent in many languages. Perhaps the more subtle meaning ascribed to this change in language is to imply that God is speaking to both the nation of Israel and to the Gentile nations. For it is with the destruction of Jerusalem that we see a temporary end, but not the elimination, of the royal reign of Judah. From that time to the present, the world has witnessed a series of Gentile nations ruling over the affairs of Israel. Clearly, the association of Hebrew text to verses one through the first half of verse four in chapter two concern the captives. These verses are directly related to Daniel and his friends, and their faithfulness to God’s words despite the dire consequences they faced. The remainder of the verses in chapter two are God’s revelation to the Gentile nations so they would know of God’s sovereignty over all their activities until their end. The resumption back to the Hebrew text is found in chapter eight through the remainder of the book, which reflects God speaking to the nation of Israel directly. It is during the rule of the Medes and the Persians, that Israel was allowed to return to their own land to rebuild the temple, and eventually rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. It is the rebuilding of the wall that began the 70-week clock found in chapter nine of Daniel. The breakdown of the verses is as follows:
The following table also provides an insight on the book of Daniel concerning its two great divisions, that concerning Daniel and his three fellow exiles in a historical sense, chapters 1-6, and the prophesies revealed and interpreted to Daniel, chapters 7-12. The following is a variation of that written by Bob Deffinbaugh, Daniel: Relating Prophecy to Piety, Daring to Believe Daniel, whose article can be found at bible.org. The difference with the following table by a layman, besides the extra content, is whether the prophetic passages presented in Daniel chapters 7-12 are chronological or not. It is viewed in this site that they are not, as will be shown in pages on this site on Daniel 7.
A comparison of Daniel with Joseph, the son of Jacob Before delving into Daniel 1, it is instructive how the Lord had used both Daniel and Joseph in similar ways. There are several points of likeness between the two men. Primary among them is that despite the desperate situation that both faced as young men, they remained faithful in face of tremendous pressure to assimilate into the culture that they were violently thrust into and in separation from any family support to help sustain them in the faith of the one and true God of Israel. Most importantly is that the Lord was faithful to both and sustained them and kept them. There were many dangers and threats to them, yet the Lord had a purpose for their lives, and in both cases, the Lord demonstrated His sovereignty over man's activities. Both began their years in enslavement, but because the Lord was with them, they rose all the way to the position of being next to the pharaoh or King Nebuchadnezzar.
Outline of this chapter The first invasion of King Nebuchadnezzar In Daniel 1:1-2, the record of the time is given to set the stage for the introduction of Daniel, a
Learning the Chaldean's literature and language In Daniel 1:3-5, the record of Daniel's exile is given during his first years of his captivity. From the beginning, it is reported that Daniel was well favored among all of the others also taken into captivity. It was intended for this elite group with no physical blemishes, were educated, had an understanding of the expected behaviors, customs, and protocol within the king's court, were to receive special training and ultimately serve in King Nebuchadnezzar's court. These were to be taught the culture, religion, and their language. During this time, they were also to be treated with all of the king's food, which ended up being the one element of change that Daniel chose to resist in the name of God, so that he could observe the Lord's dietary laws that were levied upon the children of Israel. This was probably an intense training program, which for three years. Thereafter, the trainees were to appear before the king to be examined. It was probably a grueling examination. In Daniel 1:6-7, three other fellow exiles are introduced with Daniel. All four are found in this book to be incredible sound and stellar witnesses for God. Despite the remote and insolated conditions from that of the rest of the exiles, they sought how they could serve the Lord, and remain faithful to him, despite the very tempting and dangerous conditions they found themselves in. They resisted being completely matriculated within the Babylonian culture, which was most likely a primary goal of the training that they received. Being the conquered, it was up to the king to rename them, just as Pharaoh did with Joseph in the years preceding the days of Moses. At this time, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were given new names that were in recognition of the gods the Babylonians worshiped. The following table shows the names of these four young men and how they were associated with the attributes of the Lord, and the names that they received from the Babylonians and their meaning, which were associated with the belief of their gods, which was taken from Blue Letter Bible.
One of the reasons for Israel's judgment from God was her rebellion against the Lord by worshiping idols. Though the prophet Habakkuk wrote of the impending judgment, and who's cruelty and idolatrous behavior, God still used the Babylonians as an instrument of His judgment against Israel, which is never to be construed as God's as His endorsement of their behavior, Habakkuk 1. The Babylonians were later judged by God for all their atrocities and rejection of God. However, at this time, the four young Hebrew men were given names that may have been related to idols. These idols may have been some of the very gods that some in Israel had worshiped and caused the Lord's wrath to be vented against them, 2Kings 21:10-18. Testing and receiving God's favor In Daniel 1:8-16, a most extraordinary event occurs. Considering the helpless situation the Hebrews found themselves (in a worldly sense), they yet choose to follow and honor the Lord, in those areas that they could control. Their experiences compares well with what Joseph faced in the days that he was in Egypt before Pharaoh's dream. The is shown in the table on the comparison of Daniel and Joseph above. Both the Hebrews and Joseph were given new names that were an acknowledgement of a false god, but both continued in their faith and belief in the Lord, and gave Him all glory in whatever circumstance they found themselves in. So why did Daniel and the other three Hebrews choose to use their diet as the grounds to establish their faith with the eunuchs unto whom they were subordinated and not their names? Throughout this book, Daniel's Babylonian name is used interchangeably with his Hebrew name. Daniel 1:8 provides the answer, that Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the meat and wine from the king's portion of his meals. Unlike the name change, which did not defile a person, it was the consumption of certain foods, particularly those used in the sacrifice and worship of false gods, that defiled a person. Further, Daniel did not demand or protest the food given him, but as was already attributed to him, he acted wisely with the eunuchs by submitting a request. Undoubtedly, there was concern on the part of the eunuchs about this request, since not only were the Hebrews to be evaluated by the king himself in three years, but the training and charge of the eunuchs were under review as well. They were very interested in the mental and physical well-being of their charges as they appeared before the king. So it is no wonder that the eunuchs expressed great concern over this request. The fact that they would even entertain such a request is evidence of how God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. As seen over and over again, Daniel was well prepared for these courtly situations, and in this case offered to the eunuchs a test, a scientific experiment. After 10 days of the Hebrews' eating special diet, which was different from the king's, their countenance would be compared against the rest of the captives. Of course, the test proved that their physical appearance would not diminish but improve. Therefore, per Daniel's request, the king's portion was taken from them and a diet that complied with the Lord's commandments were given them. Behind all of this, is the Lord honoring Daniel and the other Hebrews for their faithfulness to His word, Psalm 31:21-24.
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Copyright (c) 2001, 2005, 2008, J.E. Huntley. All rights reserved.
young man taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. The map seen to the right, illustrates the general path and distance that the captives
traveled as they were displaced from their land to Babylon. The length of time of such a trip is recorded by Ezra when he and those with him returned to Jerusalem following their captivity under the rule of the Babylonians, 
