Sorry it's been so long since I've posted, I've had no free time in about a month lol. I thought it would be fun to share a bit more of what I've been doing, so here's an excerpt from my homework this week. =) It looks long and daunting, but it's actually really interesting to put together and I hope you can appreciate what God had shown me in it. We do one of these essays for each book of the Bible after we've read it out loud in our small groups and gotten a lecture about it in class. On average, we do 5 of these a week. These last few weeks, though, it's been more like 7. Needless to say, we don't do much else. ;) I picked the book of Daniel to share because everybody loves Daniel =) It's a book people are a little more familiar with than, say, Habakkuk. (Although I highly encourage reading Habakkuk - it's not too long and jam packed with good stuff!) Daniel is also one of my favorite characters from the Bible. ^_^ DanielHistorical Background and Context:
(We have to give two or more paragraphs of the historical context of the author and the time period in which each book was written. It doesn't change the impact of the message, necessarily, but it does help explain why certain messages were being given at that time and what impact it would have had on the people hearing them.) The book of Daniel was written by Daniel, whose name means “God is my judge.” “Possibly a member of Judah’s royal family, he was taken captive to Babylon around 605 BC, at the time of Babylon’s first invasion of Jerusalem.” (Source View, pg 1118) Even as a young man probably in his teens, Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were committed to follow God’s commands and not defile themselves by becoming like the Babylonians. They continued to serve YHVH as God and refused to eat unclean food or to prostrate themselves before idols of any kind, even in the face of certain death. Despite being blatantly countercultural, all four of these godly men were protected by God and given incredible favor in this pagan land as they followed God. “Daniel ministered for the full duration of the Babylonian captivity as a prophet and government official, and he continued on after Babylon was overcome by the Medes and Persians in 539 BC.” (Nelson’s, pg 230) He was taken in Babylon as a captive in 605 BC and served until 536 BC when he was likely in his 90’s. (Kerry Neve Ast) The dreams he interpreted were for the king of Babylon, but the visions he saw were for the people of Israel. What he saw largely pertained to their future, so he recorded it all and preserved it for them. During this time, there were many kings that came into power. Daniel was trained and served in the Babylonian court and he had a strong influence on king Nebuchadnezzar. In fact, Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams with the help of God and came into a place of very high authority in the government because of it. Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded by Belshazzar, an Assyrian who did not know Daniel. He only called on Daniel to interpret the divine handwriting the night before he was killed and Babylon was conquered by Darius the Mede. Darius also appointed Daniel into a position of authority and seemed to love him very much based on his reaction when he was tricked into sentencing Daniel to be thrown into the lion’s den. Because Daniel lived a righteous life before God and man, he was shown favor in both the Babylonian and Persian empires as an honored wise man and government official. Meanwhile, his people were living in exile in Babylon and eventually were allowed to return to the land of Judea under the decree of king Cyrus of Persia. This is also during the time that Ezekiel was prophesying to the people in exile and overlaps the time that Jeremiah was a prophet to the people still in the land. Summary: (We also write basic summaries that include the reason the book was written and the basic layout of the structure of the book. This helps for looking back and locating where something was said.) The purpose for Daniel to write down the visions he was shown was to fill a void of hope. The people in exile were depressed and did not know what would happen to them in the future. They had no way of knowing what God would do or what would become of them as a people, so God sent Daniel these visions as words of prophecy about their future. The main idea of this was to give them hope and to assure them that YHVH is the God that sees them and knows their future. He gave it to them to be a sign that would be confirmed as everything unfolded just as He said it would. Daniel 1 is an introduction to Daniel, his friends, and what happened to them as they were taken into captivity. It is written in Hebrew. After this, Daniel can be broken up into two main sections: history and prophecy. The first main section (Daniel 2-7) chronicles the events that happened in Daniel’s lifetime, the kings he served under, and a story of what happened to his friends as well. It is written in Aramaic as it pertains to the Babylonian and Persian kings. In this, he interprets the dreams of king Nebuchadnezzar and serves the other kings as well. The second main section is Daniel 8-12. It contains the visions Daniel saw from God throughout his time in service. These can be broken up into four visions: the four beasts, the ram and goat, the seventy weeks, and the vision of Israel’s future. (Nelson’s, pg 231) Character and Nature of God: (I think this is my favorite section. We pull out verses that show aspects of God's character and then briefly explain what God showed us in each one.) >>“God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams.” (Dan 1:17) God is the giver of gifts. He is the one who enables us to operate in ways that the world can’t. He is the one who takes our natural talents and abilities and augments them with His spirit so He can use them to further His kingdom. >>“That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision.” (Dan 2:19) God is the revealer of secrets. He is the one who gives visions in the first place, so He is the one who can reveal them to His faithful servants. >>“The God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, your majesty.” (Dan 3:17) YHVH is truly above every earthly or spiritual power. No matter what is being brought against you, we are guaranteed that God is bigger. >>“Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!” (Dan 3:27) God cares about the little things. He saved their lives as well as every single hair on their heads. He even protected them from the smoke. We often put Him in a backwards box that says He is too great to care about things that are not of ultimate importance, but I think He is so great that He is able to care about things too small for us to even recognize. I think He cares deeply about those little details and fleeting moments that we let pass by. >>“There is no other God who can rescue like this!” (Dan 3:29) God is unparalleled! It wouldn’t mean much if there were other powers that we could lean on instead of Him, but He is not a God who can be compared to anything else. His mighty hand can go where nothing else can and perform miracles that no one else could touch. >>“The Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world. He gives them to anyone he chooses – even to the lowliest of people.” (Dan 4:17) God is the King of kings, and He is the authority over authorities. He gives them their positions and has no problem with raising up people who don’t deserve it. God's Redemptive Plan: (Which we call GRP for short. These are verses where we see God's plan to bring redemption into a situation or any place where He had restored something that had been lost, broken, etc.) >>“Then the king appointed Daniel to a high position and gave him many valuable gifts. He made Daniel ruler over the whole province of Babylon, as well as chief over all his wise men.” (Daniel 2:48) Simply by being faithful to God and obeying His commands, Daniel is shown favor in this pagan king’s court and is almost instantly brought full circle from being a slave to a man with authority. (Sound familiar? This is a pattern with God) Way to redeem Daniel’s circumstances! >>“I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!” (Dan 3:25) Nebuchadnezzar was blatantly dissing God when he threw His servants in the fire for standing true to their God, so the fact that then [possibly] Jesus showed up to save them is just so cool. They stood for God, and so He stood for them. >>“Then the king promoted [Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah] to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.” (Dan 3:30) Daniel was not the only one who was rewarded for faithfulness! Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah put their lives on the line for God and ended up being rewarded for their faith almost immediately. That’s not something you see very often – God’s hand is so clearly on their lives! After they proved that they would be faithful in any circumstance, He opened the door for them to have even more influence over the nation. >>“I wish the events foreshadowed in this dream would happen to your enemies, my lord, and not to you!” (Dan 4:19) I think it is redemptive that Daniel showed such loyalty to the king that had displaced him from his home, kidnapped his people as slaves, and destroyed his home. Somehow, God still gave him a heart for Nebuchadnezzar and he truly wanted to see his king be blessed. He didn’t harbor any bitterness or hatred, but was able to honor his authority the way God would have him. Now that’s kingdom! >>“But the stump and the roots of the tree were left in the ground. This means that you will receive your kingdom back again when you have learned that heaven rules.” (Dan 4:25-26) God’s discipline does not last forever, even for a wicked, pagan king like Nebuchadnezzar. He does not teach us lessons if He isn’t going to give us a chance to walk out what we’ve learned – that would be mean-hearted punishment. Discipline sees an area where you need growth, gives you the lesson even if it’s hard,and then lets you go back and try again so can apply what you learned. That’s the way the father’s heart works, and He even showed that grace to a king that didn’t know Him. >>“My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight.” (Dan 6:22) I couldn’t talk about Daniel without throwing this verse in. I mean, how cool is it that God shut the lions’ mouths?! Trickery and intrigue had been employed to try and take Daniel out, but God wouldn’t have it. It backfired on the evil men who had tried to kill him, and God ended up being glorified in an awesome way. Making Him Known: (This is the most obscure of the sections. As I understand it, this is the application section. Any verses that we can pull out lessons that are applicable for our lives today.) >>“But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods.” (Daniel 1:8) We should not be willing to let our convictions bend for the comfort of the culture we are in. What Daniel did was not easy for the Babylonians to understand or accept, but even as a young man he knew to stand up for what he knew was right. We should have the same or an even higher level of conviction to live the way God has commanded. >>“Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon.” (Dan 2:17-18) Daniel recognized the power of unity. He knew not to stand alone when everything came to a head – he went to the people who kept him accountable and asked them to stand in prayer with him. We are not supposed to go lone wolf in the kingdom of God. God created us to stand together as a community and a body, especially when the enemy is attacking us. >>“Then Daniel praised the God of heaven.” (Dan 2:19) Always praise God for what He has done. Always. >>“O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us…But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, your majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” (Dan 3:16-18) We do not answer to earthly authorities. We need to honor them when God has placed us under them, but they are not the ones we actually answer to. God is the one who we truly answer to and we should only be concerned with what He thinks about us. We cannot live boldly for Jesus if we are intimidated by what people will think of us. >>“I want you all to know about the miraculous signs and wonders the Most High God has performed for me.” (Dan 4:2) When God has done something in our lives, we should want to tell everybody about it! Even Nebuchadnezzar understood that. God’s works are worth telling everybody about. God is such a gift and a blessing, it would be irresponsible and dishonoring to keep that to ourselves. >>“Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor.” (Dan 4:27) That’s a pretty straight forward call to repentance. >>“My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored the one who lives forever.” (Dan 4:34) This may sound like two things happening in succession, but eastern thought doesn’t separate them and I wouldn’t want to either. Sanity = praising God. To not praise the God who is worthy of all our worship would be insanity. To see His power and not respond with utter reverence would be crazy. So for us to walk in sanity is to lift His name up in praise. That is the only logical and natural response to encountering His glory – to make Him known! >>“But they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy.” (Dan 6:4) That is how all of the people of God should live! That is the kind of example we should be giving everywhere we go. To honor God with every part of our lives results in us being noticeably different from the world in a good way. Where people living for themselves would act selfishly or dishonestly, people living for the glory of God should only give reason for His name to be honored. >>“But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open towards Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.” (Dan 6:10) This goes right back to not being intimidated by man. If you truly fear God alone, then no threat should be enough to change the way you live for God. Live unashamed for God and He will be unashamed of you.
1 Comment
Gay Brown
11/22/2015 08:13:29 pm
Hi Erika,
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