Things You Need to Know... from the Book of Daniel
Notes
Transcript
The MacArthur Bible Commentary
According to Hebrew custom, the title Daniel is drawn from the prophet who throughout the book received revelations from God. Daniel bridges the entire seventy years of the Babylonian captivity (c. 605–536 B.C.; cf. 1:1; 9:1–3). Nine of the twelve chapters relate revelation through dreams and visions. Daniel was God’s mouthpiece to the Gentile and Jewish world, declaring God’s present and future plans. What Revelation is to the NT prophetically and apocalyptically, Daniel is to the OT.
1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, 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 placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. 3 Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, 4 youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. 5 The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. 6 Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. 7 And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.
19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. 21 He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; 22 he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. 23 To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”
17 Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. 18 O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.” 20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the Lord my God for the holy hill of my God, 21 while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. 23 At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision. 24 “Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. 25 Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. 26 And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. 27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”
The Book of Daniel is not about Daniel. It is not about lions or fiery furnaces or dreams or visions. It is a book about Yhwh’s sovereignty, Yhwh’s supremacy, and Yhwh’s salvation. It is the story of the Father, Son, and Spirit who sovereignly rule life, reveal and illuminate truth, and strengthen and stand with us in trials.
The Book of Daniel is not about Daniel. It is not about lions or fiery furnaces or dreams or visions. It is a book about Yhwh’s sovereignty, Yhwh’s supremacy, and Yhwh’s salvation. It is the story of the Father, Son, and Spirit who sovereignly rule life, reveal and illuminate truth, and strengthen and stand with us in trials.
Do you believe that God is sovereign right now, tomorrow, the future?
Do you believe that God is sovereign right now, tomorrow, the future?
The Lord controls and rules over time and history. He is able to direct all of life. The prophetic nature of scripture points to the sovereignty of God, in that he is able to say with certainty what will happen because he ordains it to happen.
The omniscience of God, he knows all
The omnipotence of God, he is all powerful, therefore he has control over all things
The omnipresence of God, he transcends not just space but also time
To that God is all knowing, all powerful, all present is to acknowledge His sovereignty
The providence of God is a result of His sovereignty - he is able to be good because he able to not only do that which is good because of his omniscience and omnipotence, but he is able to determine what good is because of his omniscience and his omnipresence. In other words…
The sovereignty of God demands that God be trusted completely.
(1) The sovereignty of God over time
right now, tomorrow, the future
The Lord determines WHEN events happen. The captivity, the length of the captivity
1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.
(2) The sovereignty of God over countries
right now, tomorrow, the future
37 You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, 38 and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold. 39 Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. 41 And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,
47 The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.”
God controls the rise of nations, the hearts of ALL rulers
(3)The sovereignty of God over circumstances
right now, tomorrow, the future
in Daniel’s captivity, in his career, in the fiery furnace, in the lion’s den
(4) The sovereignty of God in your choices
Daniel would not eat, Daniel would not bend the knee, Daniel would not stop praying
8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.
49 Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court.
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.
45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”
And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin.
If the Lord truly is sovereign it will affect your choices.
You will believe and trust the word of God. - it is certain and true
You will make choices based on God’s control.
You will place a priority on prayer. - as he had previously done
You will make choices based on what God wants and not on what the culture says you should do. - but if not we will not serve your gods
“But if not” is a statement of trust in the Lord
It is a statement of trust in the the Father, Son, and Spirit who sovereignly rule your life, reveal and illuminate truth to you through the word of God, and strengthen and stand with you in trials.