Sermon Tone Analysis

Daniel 1 Youth Term 2

Introduction:

· This term in youth we are going to be covering the book of Daniel.

This is one of the books in the Bible in the section called the prophets.

Daniel is the first of what is called the Minor Prophets.

They’re not called Minor because what they have to say is less important, but they’re called Minor because they are shorter than the three massive books of the Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

· As we move into studying the book, we need to notice what the most important themes are.

We need to know why somebody who was intelligent and busy took time out of their life to write a book.

What were they trying to communicate to us?

In Daniel, there are really two important themes.

The first is God’s sovereignty.

Sovereignty refers to an area over which you have rule.

To speak about God’s sovereignty is to highlight the fact that God has rule over every aspect of creation.

Daniel shows this in a lot of ways.

Sometimes, he does so by comparing God to other great kings, other times by showing that it is only through God’s power that he has the ability to interpret dreams, and other times through God’s ability to save his people.

In whatever way he is doing it, Daniel is always at pains to show us that God is in complete control of everything.

· The second main theme flows from the first one.

If God is sovereign, in control of everything, then his people have a duty to be faithful to him, no matter what situation they find themselves in.

We see this throughout the book as Daniel and his friend repeatedly show themselves to be faithful believers, those who are willing to stand up to the relevant authorities if that is what it takes to honour God and glorify him.

And we see how God blesses them because of this attitude.

They advance far above those of their own age and rank, but similarly they are protected when they need it.

God is faithful, Daniel is saying, and so you should be too.

· There are two ways to understand how this two-part message is packaged.

The first is to look at it as a book of two halves.

The first half is a series of stories that illustrate these two themes.

They show Daniel and his friends faithfully serving their God and God using them to show his own power.

The second half of the book, however, is slightly different.

This contains a series of interesting, but really quite complicated visions.

Each one uses highly complex symbolism to try and bring across these same two themes, but to the Israelites who lived later.

Another way to understand the structure of the book has to do with its language.

Have a look at 2:4.

There, if you have a church Bible, you’ll notice that it says the wise men answered the king in Aramaic.

Up to this point, the text of the story has been in Hebrew.

From this point until the end of chapter 7, the original is written in Aramaic, a sister language of Hebrew, but one that was much more widely spoken.

Then from chapter 8 onwards it moves back into Hebrew.

And the point then would be to show the same two themes, but with chapters 1; 8-12 for the purposes of encouraging Israel only, and then chapters 2-7 being for the instruction of the Gentile too.

Either way, we are going to take it chapter by chapter.

Starting with chapter 1.

· So let’s read that and go on with our study.

1:1-7 – Colonisation and Reeducation

· Look at vv1-2.

What is being described here?

o The defeat and capture of Jerusalem.

· Right.

And who does it?

Who is responsible for the fall of Jerusalem, ultimately?

o Well, if you look at v2, it seems like it’s Nebuchadnezzar, but ultimately, it is in fact God.

· Why do you think Daniel wants to bring this up?

What is he trying to show?

o He’s trying to show the fact that God is faithful.

Now, while we often think of God’s faithfulness as a kind, happy idea, it isn’t necessarily.

One of the things that God is always faithful in is judgement.

· Read Leviticus 26:32-33.

These verses come in a section that is to do with the covenant.

God lays out the blessing he will shower upon Israel if they are faithful, and the curses he will rain upon them if they are not.

What does God say he will do here if they are unfaithful?

o He will devastate the land and scatter the people among the nations?

· So, what do we think is happening here?

o Daniel is bringing to mind the fact that while Nebuchadnezzar is indeed the one who conquered Israel, he was only acting as the instrument of God’s judgement.

· Now, as surprising as this might sound, I think it’s actually an encouraging truth.

Why do you think it might be encouraging?

Imagine being an Israelite watching Jerusalem fall.

What would you think about God?

o I think the temptation would be to think that God has lost control.

It would seem like what has happened is a greater power than him has come along and kicked him out.

But, by showing God’s hand behind everything that happens, Daniel is reminding the Israelites of the fact that God is still in control.

And this is a good thing, because although God is faithful to judge, he is also faithful to forgive.

Look further down at Leviticus 26:40-42.

It says this “40 “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me, 41 so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies—if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, 42 then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.[1]”

God will forgive.

So it’s important for the Israelites to remember what kind of God they are serving.

· Okay, given that, what orders do we have in vv3-5?

o They are basically told to round up all the young men who are of a certain intelligence level, who are good looking, from good families, and to bring them to Babylon where they would be re-educated and fed.

· Why do you think the king wants to do this?

o So that he has native officials he can use to govern his colonies.

Imagine how unruly a group of people would be under foreign power.

But now, Nebuchadnezzar has found a way to give people native officials, people who have grown up in the land, but who have all Babylonian sympathies and wisdom.

It’s a win-win for him.

· And who are four of these young Israelites that we meet?

o Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.

· And what’s the first thing that happens to them?

o They have their names changed.

· Why do you think this is?

o Well, all of their names had religious meanings.

They all related back to the God of the Bible.

By changing their names, the Babylonians were trying to distance them even further from their own culture, their God, and ultimately their own identities, so they could make for them new identities.

· So, by the end of this first section we have Jerusalem fallen, and our three heroes as exiles.

Not a great place to be.

1:8-21 – Holiness in a Foreign Land

· Just for a second, I want you to imagine you’re Daniel and his friends.

Your home has just been destroyed, you’ve been taken away.

They probably wouldn’t have been older than you guys.

You’re now living in the control of a powerful and ruthless nation.

How do you think you’d feel, and what would you be wanting to do?

o I’d be feeling pretty scared, and I’d be wanting to keep my head down as much as possible, and just keep the Babylonians happy.

· But what does Daniel do? (v8)

o He resolves not to defile himself.

· What do you think this means?

o It means that he resolves to keep God’s holy laws.

You see, Daniel understands that God’s hand was behind everything that happened, and so he wants to honour God even in circumstances where that is difficult.