The Life Group literature is about Daniel this month, and it came to me to teach the three lessons. Tomorrow I don't expect a full group and class is cancelled on the December 28. So this is my casual but factual lesson.
Daniel is actually mentioned in other parts of the Bible. Ezekiel 14:14, 14:20, 28:3
Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,” says the Lord God.
even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.”
Ezekiel 28:3 (Behold, you are wiser than Daniel! There is no secret that can be hidden from you! A message to the prince of Tyre, sarcastic, judgment.
Ezekiel lived in Judah and then Babylon and this probably was preached about ten years after Daniel went to Babylon. Apparently even by then his fame for wisdom and righteousness had spread.
The point is that Judah will be judged for their sins and that the land would not be spared even if the most righteous men were there, not for their sakes. Daniel is put in a legendary category with Noah and Job. It is possible that this is referring to some other Daniel from way in their past, and that is a matter of debate. We do not know if Daniel had children, so that part does not apply to him. But the Daniel from antiquity was not a worshiper of The LORD, but of Baal, so that doesn’t fit much.
Matthew 24:15 is the other place (repeated in Mark). The abomination of desolation in Daniel. Jesus says, after that takes place, run from Jerusalem into the hills. Some think this is about the past, the near future, or the far future (before Great Tribulation).
I think we should study Daniel as a certain person in a certain position/situation, like a case study, and see how he dealt with situations. Then compare that to the direct teaching of the Bible. Clearly, a study of Daniel shows that he measures up as a godly example, as Paul says in I Corinthians 10:11 - “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”
Daniel has three other events in his life, other than the visitations involving prophesies..
Belshazzar’s feast in 5 - He reminds me of the woman in the “We do not care club.” He is an old man who has served in Nebuchadnezzar’s court for years, and Belshazzar is young and foolish. He is not Neb’s direct son, but descendant, which is common in the Old Testament (as in begats). Daniel knows that 70 years are almost up and the Jews will be returned in a few years, and that Babylon is done for. So he just tells the young king the truth and is not interested in his “issues.” These gifts and rewards and riches do not impress him. That night follows the history of the fall of Babylon and the beginning of Persian Empire.
Daniel 6 – A perfect example of what we call civil disobedience. “We ought to obey God than man” said Peter and John after they were imprisoned. Acts 5:26-32. Daniel was not going to stop praying despite a dumb and rash law the King Darius made. Persians made laws that could not be broken, but the value of that is that they would not make rash laws. This happened in Esther as well. Darius is a co-king with Cyrus, his nephew. There has been controversy over that for those who deny the truth of Daniel.
Daniel 9: His prayer ministry. He prays this when he realizes that Jeremiah’s prophesy is about to be fulfilled and finished. He takes ownership of the sins. WE, not they. I think we need a lot more “we.” This is a good prayer to study.
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