Sermon Tone Analysis

Daniel 1:2

And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand,

The Lord was responsible for Nebuchadnezzar’s defeat of Judah.

Daniel understood that God was in charge of Gentile nations.

He viewed God as absolutely sovereign.

The word “Lord” here is Adonai.

Adonai refers to God as supreme master.

God was master of Jehoiakim’s situation.

The word “gave” indicates God’s absolute control.

Nebuchadnezzar was simply God’s tool or instrument for accomplishing His purposes for Judah.

with part of the vessels of the house of God,

The carrying off of the vessels of the Temple was a gesture of victory over and subjection of a nation.

“Part” of the vessels were taken at this time,

H4480

min    minnı̂y    minnêy

min, min-nee', min-nay'

For H4482; properly a part of; hence (prepositionally), from or out of in many senses: - above, after, among, at, because of, by (reason of), from (among), in, X neither, X nor, (out) of, over, since, X then, through, X whether, with.

and others when Jehoiachin surrendered 2 Kings 24:13 ; 2 Ch 36:18 ).

Later in Daniel, Belshazzar brought these vessels out for a banquet (Da 5).

Almost one hundred years prior, in 701 B.C., Isaiah had predicted this act of carrying off the articles of the Temple because Hezekiah displayed them to an envoy of Babylon ( 2 Kings 20:13 ).

which he carried into the land of Shinar [Babylon] to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god

“Shinar” is Babylonia, a place regularly viewed as hostile to God (Ge 10:10; 11:2; 14:1, 9; Is 11:11; Zech 5:11).

Nebuchadnezzar carried the vessels of the house of God to “the house of his god,” who was Bel or Marduk.

The main temple in Babylon was the Marduk temple near the Ishtar gate and a great ziggurat.

PRINCIPLE:

God always squares the account.

APPLICATION:

God always keeps His Word.

God prophesied previously that if Hezekiah exhibited the vessels of the Temple to a Gentile king, God would judge him (2 Kings 20:17-18 ; Is 39).

God never fails to do what He says He is going to do.

God will ultimately square the account.

It is very easy to forget that God will do what He claims He will do.

In a day when we claim our rights, we can never be indifferent to God’s rights.

OUR GOD REIGNS!

(Dan.

1:1‐2)

A note on the Scripture text that accompanies each individual message: the King James, along with the original Greek and Hebrew, have been used in an effort to achieve the greatest degree of accuracy and clarity.

Where words or phrases have been added to the original text in an effort to better express its meaning, those words or phrases have usually been indicated by means of [brackets].

Introduction

Put yourself in Israel’s place during the time of Daniel; your country is being besieged by the mighty Babylonian army.

The Babylonians are a violent people; speaking of the them,

the prophet Habakkuk writes:

(Hab.

1:9‐ 11.)

Furthermore, the Babylonians are a blasphemous people.

Describing the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem the Psalmist protests unto the LORD: (Ps 74:4‐8)

Finally, the Babylonians are a cruel people.

The Psalmist laments, (Ps 137:1‐3.)

The Babylonians conquer Judah, destroy the LORD’s temple, carry His people away into captivity—and the LORD has done nothing to stop them.

There is no divine act of deliverance, unlike the days of Hezekiah when the LORD miraculously intervened to save Jerusalem from the Assyrian army.

Back at that time Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: (Isa.

37:20.)

In response to that prayer, through the prophet Isaiah, the LORD assured His people: (Isa.

37:33.)

In accordance with His promise, the LORD proceeded to deliver Jerusalem from the Assyrian army:

Isa 37:36-37

But now there is no such deliverance from the Babylonian invasion.

What are the people to think?

Is the LORD unable to save them?

Are the “gods” of Babylon stronger than the God of Israel?

Can you feel something of the spiritual struggle that the people of God experienced in the time of Daniel?

Rather than seeing the kingdom of God advancing, they witness the pagan empire of Babylon asserting itself.

They find themselves being carried away, helpless to stand against this mighty foe, and they receive no deliverance from the LORD their God.

Why was the Book of Daniel given by the Holy Spirit?

What is the overarching purpose of the book?

It was given to remind and reassure God’s people that, despite the fact that they found themselves dominated by an alien and pagan empire (as the consequence of their own sin), our God reigns.

Christian, despite the spiritual adversity we may encounter in this present world, let us always remember the blessed fact that Our God Reigns!

Our God Reigns!

The ABSOLUTE Sovereignty of God

This is the overarching theme of the Book of Daniel.

In this present lesson let us now consider how this theme is presented to us throughout the book.

I.

We are Reminded that Our God Reigns by the Names and Titles of God that Occur throughout the Book of Daniel

The LORD is identified as “the God of heaven.”

(Dan.

2:17‐18)

The LORD is identified as “the great God.”

This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of the mountain, but not by hands—the rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold to pieces.

The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future.

The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy.

(Dan.

2:45)

The LORD is identified as “the God of gods and the Lord of kings.”

The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were enabled to reveal this mystery.”

(Dan.

2:47)

The LORD is identified as “the Most High God.”

(Dan.

3:26)

The LORD is identified as “the Most High.”

(Dan.

4:17)

The LORD is identified as “the King of heaven.”

(Dan 4:37)

The LORD is identified as “the Lord of heaven.”

(Dan.

5:22‐23a)

The LORD is identified as “the God who holds your life in his hands and who governs all your ways;” i.e., the king’s very life, as well as the course of his life, are under the sovereign control and direction of the LORD.

(Dan 5:23 b )

The LORD is identified as “the living God.”

(Dan.

6:20a)

II.

We are Reminded that Our God Reigns by the Great Acts of God that are Recorded in the Book of Daniel

It was the LORD who gave Daniel the revelation and interpretation of the mysterious dream that baffled Nebuchadnezzar and all the royal court of Babylon:

(Dan.

2:1‐2, 10‐11,19‐20,23,27‐28a)

The LORD answered Nebuchadnezzar’s challenge:

(Dan 3:13‐15,17,20,24‐27 )