Daniel: An Introduction

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DanielAn Introduction
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• In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king
  of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to
  Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord
  delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand,
  along with some of the articles from the temple
  of God. These he carried off to the temple of his
  god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of
  his god

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• Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his
  court officials, to bring in some of the
  Israelites from the royal family and the
  nobility--young men without any physical defect,
  handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of
  learning, well informed, quick to understand, and
  qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was
  to teach them the language and literature of the
  Babylonians. The king assigned them a daily
  amount of food and wine from the king's table.
  They were to be trained for three years, and
  after that they were to enter the king's
  service - Daniel 11-5

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• Israel was a true theocracy. God used prophets
  and priests to deliver and administer his will.
  He used judges to help the people win victory
  when they were threatened by other nations and
  armies.
• Appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other
  nations have - 1
  Samuel 85

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• God is not enough. Because we cant see him
  with our eyes. We cant hear him with our ears.
  When we speak to him, we dont get confirmation
  that he heard it. So give us a king to follow
  and give our hearts to
• The people of God didnt want to trust God alone.
  They wanted to say they trusted God while really
  placing their faith in men.

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• BToL- Its never wise to insist on what God has
  warned against. He just may give it to me
• The people are worshiping false gods. They used
  the false gods as insurance
• BToL- The best way to conquer a foe is to first
  cause division among them. Therefore, the first
  line of defense against the enemy is unity

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• 722 BC- the Northern Kingdom (10 tribes of
  Israel) were conquered and carried away by the
  Assyrians
• 586 BC- the Southern Kingdom (2 tribes of Judah
  and Benjamin) were conquered and carried away by
  the Babylonians
• God didnt lose to the Babylonian king. He gave
  Nebuchadnezzar the victory

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• Either God is good enough to do what he said hed
  do and strong enough to carry it through, or hes
  not worth following
• Our God will not compete for our trust or our
  worship

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• Because you relied on the king of Aram and not
  on the LORD your God, the army of the king of
  Aram has escaped from your hand. Were not the
  Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great
  numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you
  relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your
  hand. For the eyes of the LORD range throughout
  the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are
  fully committed to him - 2
  Chronicles 167-9

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• Faith does not operate in the realm of the
  possible. Faith begins where man's power endsif
  it is a man's business to do the will of God God
  takes on himself the special care of that man
  therefore that man ought never to be afraid of
  anything - George Muller