The Saga Continues - Daniel



Daniel 1:1-2
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.

One of my very earliest memories of childhood is being told the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the book of Daniel. My paternal grandmother used to tell me that story every afternoon before my nap when I was at her house. That on-going event in my life sparkles as one of the factors that led to my deep love of the Scriptures. That is a precious memory for me. Today, we begin our study of the book of Daniel. It is a logical choice for us, because we have just finished reading the historical account of the collapse of Judah, brought on by their apostasy and idolatry. One of those who suffered the punishment from God for these sins is the prophet Daniel. Apparently, he was part of the royal family and seen by his captors as worthy of education and indoctrination. He was probably a teenager at the time of his capture and the book of Daniel tells his story as well as being miraculously prophetic about the up-coming history of the region. Daniel also is given and writes about his amazing visions into the heavens as he sees things that only a few have seen since in similar visions (Paul, John, Jeremiah, Isaiah . . .)

As we read the first 2 verses of Daniel, we find a repeat of what we learned at the end of 2 Kings. God’s people have been captured by Babylon (King Nebuchadnezzar) and they will spend the next 70 years there as the slaves of the kings. In reality, the people of God settle well into life in Babylon. When they are offered the chance to return home after the 70 years, most remain in Babylon! They have homes and families and have made lives for themselves in a foreign land. But a few do return home to rebuild the wall and the temple in Jerusalem.

As we read verse 2 of Daniel 1, we find that the Lord is the one responsible for handing Judah to Nebuchadnezzar. They have earned God’s wrath and He gives them into enemy hands. It is important to remember that God is sovereign and in control at all times. That is one of the major themes of this book.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The
Read more

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl
Read more