Daniel 1-2
This series is going to focus more on the eschatological events recorded in Daniel, but before we can look at these, we must understand the man that God used and how he responded to God’s direction in His life.
As an overarching theme we will consider Peter’s conclusion regarding eschatology and daily life: 2 Peter 3:11-17
PROLOGUE FOR DANIEL
We looked at some of this last week, so we will not plumb the depths of Daniel’s predicament and principles.
A few preliminary considerations are the literary structure of the book. It divides into two parts: chapters 1-6 are stories from the Babylonian court and chapters 7-12 are visions from God given to Daniel. The language of the book is of particular note as well: Daniel begins in Hebrew, but transitions abruptly in the middle of verse 4 in chapter 2 and continues in Aramaic until the end of chapter 7. The last four chapters are in Hebrew. The reason for this is interesting, as Aramaic was the international language… much like English is today. This conveys the idea that Daniel’s message is not just for the Jewish people… it is for all Gentile nations as well.
The last consideration is the author… Did Daniel write it? Many have questioned its authenticity, however for me it is sufficient that Jesus Christ called Daniel a prophet and quotes him in Matthew 24 as the sign to watch for when His Second Coming will be near.
In considering Daniel and his friends, we move through the following outline:
> Jerusalem’s plundering 1:1-2
> Nebuchadnezzar’s program 1:3-7
> Daniel’s principles 1:8-16
> God’s preeminence 1:2, 9, 17-21
PROMOTION OF DANIEL
In this section we will not look at Nebuchadnezzar’s dream - that’s next week. We will only consider how the story unfolds and how God’s men respond to the circumstances.
We will move through the following outline:
> Nebuchadnezzar’s panic 2:1-13
> Daniel’s pattern 2:14-23, 24-27
> God’s plan 2:28-47
> Daniel’s placement 2:48-49
CONCLUSION
Returning to 2 Peter, the challenge is to "dare to be a Daniel":
> Live a holy life before God
> Remember His patient grace
> Beware of false teachers
> Grow in knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ
> Praise Him
