Daniel (ESV Edition) E-Book

Rodney D. Stortz

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: Preaching the Word
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 544

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

The book of Daniel abounds with powerful imagery showcasing God's unmatched glory and wise plan for the future. In this accessible commentary, pastor Rodney Stortz highlights the coming triumph of God's kingdom, offering pastors and Bible teachers a resource to help them explain and apply Daniel's message to Christians today. Stortz's careful exegesis and perceptive applications focus on personal holiness, the wisdom and power of God, and the importance of Daniel's prophecies concerning the Messiah and the Antichrist. In addition, this commentary looks to the New Testament to shed light on Daniel's prophecies about the future.  Part of the Preaching the Word series.  

Leseprobe

PREACHING the WORD

DANIEL

The TRIUMPH of GOD’S KINGDOM

RODNEY STORTZ

R. Kent Hughes

Series Editor

Daniel

Copyright © 2004 by Elizabeth B. Stortz

Published by Crossway

1300 Crescent Street

Wheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided by USA copyright law. Crossway® is a registered trademark in the United States of America.

Cover design: Jon McGrath, Simplicated Studio

Cover image: Adam Greene, illustrator

First printing, ESV edition 2016

Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture references marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture references marked NRSV are from The New Revised Standard Version. Copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Published by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author.

ISBN-13: 978-1-4335-4876-5

PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-4877-2 Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-4878-9 ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-4879-6

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Stortz, Rodney D., 1950–2003

Daniel : the triumph of God’s kingdom / Rodney D. Stortz ; R. Kent Hughes, general editor.

p. cm.—(Preaching the word)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 13: 978-1-58134-550-6 (alk. paper)

ISBN 10: 1-58134-550-X

1. Bible. O.T. Daniel—Commentaries. I. Hughes, R. Kent. II. Title. III. Series.

BS1555.53.S76      2004

224'.507—dc                                                                                                 222003019028

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

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This book is dedicated to my three daughters whose love for the Lord Jesus has made their parents’ hearts overflow with great joy. Thank you for walking in the truth like Daniel did even when the way was difficult.

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” (3 John 4)

The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed . . . it shall stand forever.

DANIEL 2:44

Contents

Cover PageTitle PageCopyrightDedicationA Word to Those Who Preach the WordPreface  1 No Compromise (1:1–25)  2 The Wisdom and Power of God (2:1–23)  3 Revealer of Mysteries (2:24–49)  4 Faith Standing before the Fire (3:1–30)  5 Pride Comes before the Fall (4:1–37)  6 The Handwriting on the Wall (5:1–31)  7 Family Sedans of the Faith (6:1–28)  8 What Is the Meaning of All This? (7:1–16)  9 Thy Kingdom Come (7:17–28)10 A Stern-Faced Man of Intrigue (8:1–27)11 O Lord, Listen, Forgive, and Act (9:1–19)12 Good News, Bad News (9:20–27)13 The Man in the Golden Sash (10:1—11:1)14 His Story Written in Advance (11:2–20)15 The Two Great Crises (11:21—12:4)16 The End (12:5–13)NotesScripture IndexGeneral IndexIndex of Sermon Illustrations

A Word to Those Who Preach the Word

There are times when I am preaching that I have especially sensed the pleasure of God. I usually become aware of it through the unnatural silence. The ever-present coughing ceases, and the pews stop creaking, bringing an almost physical quiet to the sanctuary—through which my words sail like arrows. I experience a heightened eloquence, so that the cadence and volume of my voice intensify the truth I am preaching.

There is nothing quite like it—the Holy Spirit filling one’s sails, the sense of his pleasure, and the awareness that something is happening among one’s hearers. This experience is, of course, not unique, for thousands of preachers have similar experiences, even greater ones.

What has happened when this takes place? How do we account for this sense of his smile? The answer for me has come from the ancient rhetorical categories of logos, ethos, and pathos.

The first reason for his smile is the logos—in terms of preaching, God’s Word. This means that as we stand before God’s people to proclaim his Word, we have done our homework. We have exegeted the passage, mined the significance of its words in their context, and applied sound hermeneutical principles in interpreting the text so that we understand what its words meant to its hearers. And it means that we have labored long until we can express in a sentence what the theme of the text is—so that our outline springs from the text. Then our preparation will be such that as we preach, we will not be preaching our own thoughts about God’s Word, but God’s actual Word, his logos. This is fundamental to pleasing him in preaching.

The second element in knowing God’s smile in preaching is ethos—what you are as a person. There is a danger endemic to preaching, which is having your hands and heart cauterized by holy things. Phillips Brooks illustrated it by the analogy of a train conductor who comes to believe that he has been to the places he announces because of his long and loud heralding of them. And that is why Brooks insisted that preaching must be “the bringing of truth through personality.” Though we can never perfectly embody the truth we preach, we must be subject to it, long for it, and make it as much a part of our ethos as possible. As the Puritan William Ames said, “Next to the Scriptures, nothing makes a sermon more to pierce, than when it comes out of the inward affection of the heart without any affectation.” When a preacher’s ethos backs up his logos, there will be the pleasure of God.

Last, there is pathos—personal passion and conviction. David Hume, the Scottish philosopher and skeptic, was once challenged as he was seen going to hear George Whitefield preach: “I thought you do not believe in the gospel.” Hume replied, “I don’t, but he does.” Just so! When a preacher believes what he preaches, there will be passion. And this belief and requisite passion will know the smile of God.

The pleasure of God is a matter of logos (the Word), ethos (what you are), and pathos (your passion). As you preach the Word may you experience his smile—the Holy Spirit in your sails!

R. Kent Hughes

Wheaton, Illinois

Preface

When Daniel had finished writing his book, he was confused and exhausted. He said, “I heard, but I did not understand” (12:8a). Then he asked the Lord, “What shall be the outcome of these things?” (v. 8b). In other words, “How will this all come together in the end?”

The Lord replied, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end [or the last days]” (v. 9). The words of the prophecy were sealed. The Lord would give no more prophecy about the future to Daniel, and he would not explain it anymore “until the time of the end.” We know from Acts 2:17 that “the last days” began at the time of the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.

The Apostle John tells us of an interesting event in Heaven in those days, described in Revelation 5:1–5. The Lamb who had been slain was standing beside the throne. In the right hand of Him who sat on the throne was a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. John wept, because he thought there was no one worthy to open the seals and explain the prophecies found inside.

Then the elders said to John, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” When he does so, the prophecies of Revelation 6—22 are revealed. They both explain in greater detail the things Daniel was asking about and add new prophecies about the return of Christ. The scroll of Daniel was unsealed by the Lamb through the writings of the New Testament.

This commentary on Daniel will use the light of the New Testament to unseal the scroll of Daniel in order to give a clearer understanding of his prophecies. By God’s grace and through the help of his Holy Spirit, you will not be as confused and exhausted when you finish this book as Daniel was when he finished writing it the first time.

Throughout this commentary and the pages of Scripture the God of Daniel is revealed to us. He is a God who loves his people and is in sovereign control over all the events of this world. He is concerned about our holiness and our fears; so he shows us how he worked in Daniel, and he tells us about our future.

The Author

The book claims to have been written by Daniel (10:21). Also, Ezekiel recognizes Daniel as a historical figure:

Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord GOD . . . even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness. (Ezekiel 14:14, 20)

Daniel documents the dates of the beginning of his book and the dates when he received each of the prophecies. If these dates are a lie and Daniel did not receive these prophecies between 605 BC and 536 BC, then how can we believe anything else written in the book? Jesus trusted the content of the book of Daniel, for he quoted it in Matthew 24:15.

The Historical Background

Before studying the book of Daniel, knowing some of the key people and the key dates of the history of Israel will be helpful.

1010–970 BC King David rules over the united kingdom970–930 BC King Solomon rules over the united kingdom966 BC The temple of the Lord is dedicated in Jerusalem930 BC The Kingdom of Israel is divided into North and South740–681 BC Isaiah warns of the coming judgment against Israel722 BC Fall of the Northern Kingdom (Isaiah dies—681 BC)626–585 BC Jeremiah warns of coming judgment against Judah606 BC Daniel taken captive to Babylon597 BC Ezekiel taken captive to Babylon586 BC Fall of the Southern Kingdom (Jeremiah dies—585 BC)539 BC Fall of Babylon to Persians536 BC Cyrus decrees that the Jews can return to Jerusalem (70 years from the taking of the first captives in 606 BC)530 BC Daniel dies516 BC Temple rebuilt (70 years from its destruction in 586 BC)

Chapter Overview

Before studying this commentary on the book of Daniel, knowing the overview of the content of Daniel will be helpful for getting the big picture. We don’t want to lose sight of the forest as we study the trees. Note in particular that the focus of the prophecies is limited in scope. Daniel does not prophesy about many different things, but rather about three main things that are repeated several times. He prophesies the first coming of the Messiah, the coming of Antiochus Epiphanes, and the second coming of the Messiah.

Each prophecy relates to one of these three. Both times the Messiah enters our world it will be preceded by a severe time of persecution for God’s people. The first time the Messiah came was preceded by the coming of Antiochus Epiphanes. The second time the Messiah comes will be preceded by the coming of the Antichrist.

You will notice the cyclical nature of Daniel’s apocalyptic literature. He first speaks of the Antichrist, then he introduces Antiochus. Next he tells us more about Antiochus before he tells us more about the Antichrist. Then Daniel switches the order one last time as he asks a question about the Antichrist, followed by one last question about Antiochus.

If the reader will keep these three main characters in mind—Antiochus, Messiah, and Antichrist—the prophecies of Daniel will be much easier to understand.

Now take a look at this brief overview of the book, noting the references to the three main characters.

DANIEL 1Daniel and his three friends: men ofconvictionNebuchadnezzar IIDANIEL 2*Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the statue of the four kingdoms  

•Head of gold

Babylon (636–536 BC) 

•Chest and arms of silver

Persia (536–333 BC) 

•Belly and thighs of bronze

Greece (333–146 BC) 

•Legs of iron with feet of iron and clay

Rome (146 BC-400 AD)   THE MESSIAH COMES THE FIRST TIMETHE KINGDOM OF GOD ENTERS OUR WORLDDANIEL 3Daniel’s three friends: men of faithNebuchadnezzar IIDANIEL 4The conversion of NabonidusNebuchadnezzar IIIDANIEL 5The handwriting on the wallBelshazzarDANIEL 6Daniel in the lions’ denDarius the MedeDANIEL 7*Daniel’s prophetic zoo of four kingdomsBelshazzar (553 BC) 

•Lion

Babylon (636–536 BC) 

•Bear

Persia (536–333 BC) 

•Leopard

Greece (333–146 BC) 

•Beast

Kingdom of AntichristANTICHRIST PREDICTED   THE MESSIAH COMES THE SECOND TIMETHE KINGDOM OF GOD COMES IN ITS FULLNESSDANIEL 8*Daniel’s vision of the ram and goatBelshazzar (550 BC) 

•Ram

Persia (536–333 BC) 

•Goat

Greece (333–146 BC)   ANTIOCHUS PREDICTEDDANIEL 9*Daniel’s vision of the seventy weeksDarius (539 BC)   THE MESSIAH COMES THE FIRST TIMEDANIEL 10*Daniel’s vision of theson of manDarius (536 BC)   THE MESSIAH APPEARS TO DANIELDANIEL 11:1–35*Daniel’s vision of the kings of the southand north ANTIOCHUS PREDICTEDDANIEL 11:36—12:4*Daniel’s vision of the Tribulation andresurrection ANTICHRIST PREDICTEDDANIEL 12:5–7*Daniel’s question about the secondgreat crisis ANTICHRIST PREDICTEDDANIEL 12:8–13*Daniel’s question about the first great crisis ANTIOCHUS PREDICTED

* denotes prophetic chapters

1

No Compromise

DANIEL 1:1–25

DR. BRYAN CHAPELL tells a story of the wife of a full-time student at Covenant Seminary. Like the wives of many seminarians, Karen was earning money to keep her husband in school and food on the table. In her case, Karen made her living as a quality-control inspector for a major pharmaceutical company.

One day, through faulty procedures, the automated machines produced a large order of syringes that became contaminated and therefore failed inspection. Karen reported the problem to her boss, but he quickly computed the costs of reproducing the order and made a “cost-effective” decision. Because so much money would be lost in replacing the syringes, the boss ordered Karen to sign the inspection clearance despite the contamination. She refused, but this did not get her off the hook.

Because of certain federal regulations, only Karen could sign the clearance forms. If Karen did not sign, the syringes could not be marketed. The boss urged and threatened, but Karen would not budge. The impasse between Karen and her superior led to a visit from the company president. He also computed the costs of reproduction and issued his decision: The forms must be signed. Karen would have the weekend to think over whether or not she would sign the clearances. The president told her that if she was still determined not to sign the forms on Monday, her job would be in jeopardy.

In fact, much more than Karen’s job would be in jeopardy. This was her only means of income, and it was a well-paying job, not easily replaced. Randy’s education and their family’s future were severely endangered. The hopes, dreams, and career plans of many years could be shattered as a result of the choice that had to be made in the next two days. When Dr. Bryan Chapell, the seminary’s president, told this story, he concluded with the following words: “For this young couple, all the theological jargon and doctrinal instruction about consecration, righteousness, and holiness suddenly came down to this one concrete decision: Could they afford to remain undefiled from the contamination the world of business practicalities urged Karen to approve?”1 What would you do?

This couple’s predicament is similar to what God’s people have faced in all ages. The first chapter of Daniel well illustrates that there have always been pressures on God’s people to compromise their holiness. As the chapter unfolds we will also see how important the preparation to pursue holiness is. The chapter concludes with the demonstration of the power of personal holiness.

The Pressure to Compromise Holiness (1:3–8)

The pressure that we all face was experienced by Daniel and his three friends. Daniel sets the stage to describe this pressure applied by the king in verses 3, 4:

Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace.

These were top-notch young men from the royal family and nobility in Israel. According to Jerome’s Commentary on Daniel, Rabbinic tradition holds that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were descendants of King Hezekiah, based on Isaiah 39:7.2 In that verse Isaiah speaks these words to King Hezekiah: “And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

Daniel was probably in his early teens when he was taken captive, because he was still alive seventy years later when the captivity ended. Perhaps Daniel was thirteen to sixteen years old when he was taken captive around 606 BC. Ashpenaz, a member of the pagan royal court, began to apply pressure on these teenagers. We and our children experience some of the same pressures.

There is pressure to change our thinking (1:4b): He was “to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.”

Imagine the influence these pagan Babylonian teachers had on these teenagers. The Babylonians’ literature promoted their worldview, their view of man, their view of God, their view of sin, and their view of redemption, which were all directly opposed to everything these young teens had been taught and believed while in Israel.

Through archaeological evidence Tremper Longman III concludes that undoubtedly one of the subjects Daniel and his friends would have been taught was the Babylonian art of divination.3 They learned how to make predictions by interpreting unusual terrestrial and celestial phenomena and by examining sheep livers. In Mesopotamia, omens were considered the primary way by which the gods revealed their will and intentions. When powerful communicators keep telling you the same thing over and over again, it is hard not to be influenced. But these methods of divination would all be diametrically opposed to what these young men had been taught from God’s Word. Daniel probably knew these words of Isaiah:

And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. (Isaiah 8:19, 20)

Though Daniel and his friends went through the classes, they apparently resisted the pressure to change their thinking. This can be seen through the historical accounts of these young men in the chapters to follow.

The pressure on Christians to change their thinking today comes from the print media, movies, and television as well as from teachers. For example, we have all experienced the pressure of our society trying to change our thinking about homosexuality, calling it an alternate lifestyle. Books, even on the elementary level, teach children about “Heather who has two mommies.” They teach children that this is a good alternative. God calls it both shameful and a perversion in Romans 1:26, 27:

For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

In some cases the world has succeeded in changing our thinking on such subjects.

In his sermon on Romans 1:24–32, R. Kent Hughes said, “A mainline denomination’s magazine carried an admonishment that said essentially this: Homosexuality should be accepted as a variant lifestyle—the homosexual relationship is neither unnatural, sinful, nor sick.”4

We need to stand firm and resist the pressure. Be encouraged that Daniel and his three teenage friends stood firm against the Babylonian attempts to change their thinking. We will see what these Jewish teenagers and their parents did to prepare to withstand the pressure, because it is not easy. Christian, though the forces against you are great, take heart, stand firm, and dare to be a Daniel.

There is pressure to change our worship (1:6, 7).

Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

The name Daniel means “Elohim is my judge.” Elohim is one of the Hebrew names for God. The name Belteshazzar means “May Bel protect his life.” Bel is one of the gods of Babylon. Hananiah means, “Yahweh is gracious.” Yahweh is the personal name of the God of the Bible. Shadrach means, “Aku is exalted.” Mishael means, “Who is what Elohim is?” while Meshach means, “Who is what Aku is?” Azariah means, “Yahweh is my helper,” and Abednego means “The servant of Nebo,” another Babylonian god.

As the March 26, 1976 issue of Christianity Today stated, “Albania has joined the list of countries taking away one of the most personal and private possessions of its citizens: their names. After all, someone named Abraham or Ruth or Mark might someday wonder where his name came from! That could lead to a time-consuming search for a Bible or other religious literature. In the process, the unfortunately named Albanian might absorb some of the teachings of the outlawed book. That result, in the view of the government, would be very bad.”5 The Babylonians changed the Hebrew teens’ names in an attempt to make them forget the true God and change their worship, but it appears throughout the entire book that Daniel never did forget the name he was given, which honored the true God. Even the king (in chapter 6), when Daniel was in the lions’ den, came to him the next morning and used his Jewish name saying, “O Daniel, servant of the living God . . .” (v. 20).

The Babylonians removed God’s name from the Jewish young men then, and today in America secularists are removing God from our schools and from public life. For example, evolution is taught as a scientific fact, and the truth of God being the Creator is either repressed or openly attacked.

In a sermon entitled “Why I Believe in Creation,” D. James Kennedy of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church gave this interesting example of those who want to suppress the truth:

An article in Time Magazine said, “Last week, after years of study and calculation, two respected California astronomers, Allan Sandage and James Gunn, made the following announcement: “The universe will continue to expand forever.”

Sandage said about his finding: “It was a terrible surprise, because we have held that the universe is eternal. If it continues to expand forever, then it shows there was a beginning.” Dr. Gunn added that people will passionately hold to the idea that the universe is oscillating contrary to the evidence, because if they give it up, you have a beginning of the universe. If you have a beginning of the universe, then you have a Creator, a God, to whom you must answer.

Many want to dismiss God as the Creator of the universe, because a God that powerful would be worthy of our worship and our obedience. Some would put pressure on our children to change their views of the origin of the universe in order to change their hearts and worship. Christian, though the pressure is great, take heart, stand firm, and dare to be a Daniel.

There is pressure to change our way of living (1:5, 8).

The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. . . . But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.

Up to this point Daniel and his three friends had shown no outward resistance to their assimilation into Babylonian culture. They didn’t skip their Babylonian literature classes, and they answered to their Babylonian names. That is what makes this encounter so striking. Why did Daniel draw the line here? Why did he suddenly say, “No compromise”? What is wrong with eating the royal food and drinking wine? It was not that Daniel was a vegetarian or one who abstained from wine, because later (in Daniel 10) he refrained from meat and wine for a period of three weeks of mourning (vv. 2, 3). That implies that he normally ate meat and drank wine.

There were two problems with the royal food the king offered. First, some of the meat was unclean according to the Mosaic Law. The verb “defile” (ga’al) used in verse 8 denotes religious defilement. Daniel and his three friends were not willing to compromise by disobeying God’s commands in eating “unclean food.”

Second, all the meat served at the king’s table was offered to idols before it was eaten. In his book Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization, A. Leo Oppenheim tells us about the care and feeding of the gods of Babylon. We learn in his book that sumptuous food would be offered to the gods, and after the meal, whatever was left would be brought to the king’s table as the royal food.6 Daniel would not compromise by eating meat offered to idols.

Revelation 2:14 says, “But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols.” In Daniel’s day, eating food sacrificed to idols was a sin against God. Daniel was willing to be holy regardless of the cost, and he was not willing to compromise his holiness. Are you willing to take the risks that sometimes come with holiness?

These risks are very real. Karen did refuse to sign the clearance forms for the contaminated syringes. She lost her job because of her no-compromise decision. She was not willing to disobey God’s command to be honest in all things.7

Here is another example that was closer to home for me. My youngest daughter, Bekah, loves to play soccer. One spring she tried out for a select team and made it. She was so excited. Then we found out that most of the games were on the Lord’s Day. We called the coach and told him that Bekah would not be able to play in any of the Sunday games. He said that if she would not play on Sunday, she could not be on the team. (It is interesting to note that 2 Chronicles 36:21 says that ignoring the Sabbath was a primary reason for the seventy-year captivity that took Daniel and others to Babylon.)

This was a great disappointment, but Bekah chose to remain undefiled. She dared to be a Daniel and stood firm for the Lord. To some it seemed like such a small thing. For Daniel, not eating the meat was a small thing, but it prepared him for much bigger challenges later in his life, as we will see in later chapters. Remember, he who is faithful in small things will be faithful in greater things.

Whenever we pretend that walking in holiness is easy, we fail to prepare those who must take a stand in this world. The time will come for every believer when such a stand must be made. Look with me at Daniel and his preparation to pursue holiness.

The Preparation to Pursue Holiness (1:1, 6, 9, 10)

Three young teenagers living far away from home—how could they be so strong? How could they stand so firm against the pressures of the Babylonian culture? There had to be some serious preparation. Just as a soldier who goes into battle is prepared before he goes to the front lines, so we as Christians must take seriously our preparation to pursue holiness. Daniel experienced three influences.

There was the influence of the church (1:1).

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.

If Daniel was sixteen years old in the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim (606 BC), that means he was born in 622 BC. Do you know what incredible event took place that year? Josiah, who became king of Israel when he was eight years old, opened the doors of the temple of the Lord that had been sealed shut by his grandfather Manasseh. Josiah did that when he was eighteen years old.

Inside the temple, the priests rediscovered the Word of God that had been lost. The priests began to teach the people God’s Word, and a great revival began in Israel. Daniel grew up in a living, vibrant church devoted to the Word of God—a community that did not compromise the teaching of Scripture.

My wife and I have been so thankful for the faithful teaching of God’s Word in our church congregation. From the preaching ministry through Sunday school, from our Christian school through the youth ministry, our three girls have learned the Word of God through faithful teachers who taught the whole counsel of God and did not compromise. Our children and young people have been prepared to apply God’s Word to the difficult situations of our world. They have been challenged not to compromise their holiness. Today there seem to be very few churches that teach the Word without compromise.

There is the influence of parents (1:6).

Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah.

We don’t really know anything about Daniel’s parents except that they named him “God is my judge.” That gives us a small glimpse as to the high view of God they had, which they passed on to their son Daniel. It was as if his parents said, “You will not always have to give an account to us. But one day you will give an account to our great God who made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them. He is watching over you always. He knows what you think, and he sees all you do. He alone is your judge, so watch your life and doctrine closely.”

The psalmist likens our children to “arrows in the hand of a warrior” (Psalm 127:4). We have about eighteen to twenty years of strong influence in the lives of our children to shape them and sharpen them as we would an arrow. The psalmist says that we need to “tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done” (Psalm 78:4). We must first introduce them to the mighty, personal God who loves them and has blessed them.

Then the psalmist says we are ready to teach the commands of God:

He [God] established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments. (78:5–7)

Through the teaching of God’s Word in the home, and as a result of consistently living it in our homes, our children will come to know God personally and will be ready to walk in holiness. We will shoot the arrows out of our nest and into the world, and “He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate” (Psalm 127:5).

The godly influence of his parents along with the support and influence of the Church of Israel prepared Daniel for a life of holiness with no compromise. But there was one more very important influence. This was the most important influence of all.

There is the influence of the Lord (1:9, 10).

And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.”

When Daniel asked Ashpenaz for permission to avoid eating the food sacrificed to idols, Ashpenaz was afraid. But God was at work in the heart of that man. Daniel 1:9 says, “God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs.” If God was moving the heart of a pagan official, how much more does he work in the heart of one who believes in him? According to verse 17, it was God who gave knowledge and understanding to Daniel and his friends.

As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

Apart from God’s work in our heart, we cannot walk in holiness. Jesus said:

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:4, 5)

To remain or abide in Christ you must first have received him as your personal Lord and Savior. The abiding in Christ continues as you listen to him through the reading and studying of God’s Word and speak to him through prayer, asking for the grace to apply his Word to your life. As you develop these disciplines, you will bear the fruit of holiness.

In order to overcome the pressure to compromise our holiness, we need to have an adequate preparation to pursue holiness. We need to be bathed in the teaching of God’s Word through our parents and the church. We also need a life of abiding in the vine, Jesus Christ, for apart from him we can do nothing and will compromise. But when we dare to be a Daniel in a world full of compromise, we will discover the power of personal holiness.

The Power of Personal Holiness (1:11–14)

Daniel then spoke to a guard appointed by Ashpenaz, because that official was too afraid of the king. This is what Daniel said:

Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king's food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.

Daniel did not want the credit for their appearance to go to the king and his training process. He wanted God to receive the glory.

His personal choice of holiness had a powerful influence on three areas of his person (1:15–17, 20).

At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food. So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. (vv. 15–17)

First, Daniel’s body was “better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food” (v. 15). Second, his spirit was in tune with God, who gave him a special ability to understand visions and interpret dreams of all kinds (v. 17). Third, his mind was sharp. “And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom” (v. 20). They were only teenagers beginning their careers, and already they were head and shoulders above grown men. God does bless his people in a unique way in body, mind, and spirit when they dare to be Daniels, walking in holiness and refusing to compromise.

Remember Karen, forced to leave her job at the pharmaceutical company? God did bless her. Because she would not sign the clearance forms for the contaminated syringes, the order was not delivered to the customer on time. Officials of that company investigated the delay and discovered how Karen had protected them from the contaminated syringes, even at the cost of her own job. The customer then hired Karen and increased her pay.8

Paul writes in 1 Timothy 4:8, “While bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

His personal holiness had an influence on three influential kings of Babylon (1:18–21).

At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.

According to verse 21, Daniel remained in the palace until the first year of Cyrus, King of Persia. He and his friends had an influence on Nebuchadnezzar II (606–560 BC) in the first three chapters of Daniel. He had an influence on Nebuchadnezzar III (555–539 BC), also called Nabonidus, whose pride was broken and who surrendered to the Lord in Daniel 4. Then he influenced Belshazzar (553–539 BC), who saw the handwriting on the wall in Daniel 5. Daniel was there to interpret the writing and give the message to the king. Daniel had a powerful influence on these three Babylonian kings, even though the kings were in authority over him.

When my daughter, Bekah, told the coach that she would not play on the Lord’s Day, the coach told her that he was sorry, but the league would not allow a team or an individual to play unless they played on Sunday. She was told that this could not be changed. She was very disappointed.

I do not know the details of what happened, but about an hour later the coach called and said that they could play all their games on Saturday if they would be willing to play two games on Sundays. He agreed to do that, and so did the other girls. There is a powerful influence of personal holiness that sometimes is missed in our quickness to compromise.

I do not want to give the impression that everything always works out perfectly according to this world’s standards when we practice holiness. The world may readily praise idealism, but it rarely tolerates ideals. The world did not, could not, and would not understand Jesus. Why, then, should we expect the world to understand us if we stand up for him and his Word? The Holy One suffered at the hands of sinful men and was crucified by them. Should we expect to be treated any differently? Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:12, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

His personal holiness had an influence on his three friends (1:7, 8).

And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego. But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.

All four young men were given new names, but it was Daniel who first resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine. And Daniel’s three friends followed his lead. Not only that, but two chapters later in this book we will see these three young men standing all by themselves in front of a fiery furnace facing death. Daniel is nowhere to be seen. Remembering the resolve that Daniel had alone and how he brought them into the test, they then stood firm without compromise before a powerful king in a test bigger than the first.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (3:16–18)

All of God’s people face pressure to compromise their holiness. We all need to have adequate preparation to pursue holiness with the realization that personal holiness is a powerful influence on ourselves and on those around us, preparing us for future challenges.

My friend Bryan Chapell worked for a major road construction crew in western Tennessee one summer while he was in college. It was a great paying job, and since jobs were hard to come by, it was important that he keep this one.

One morning his supervisor told him he was doing such a good job that he was going to get a special privilege. The man owned a hunting lodge nearby, and he wanted Bryan to spend a day or two at the lodge enjoying the outdoors. Bryan thanked him for the privilege but explained that he really needed the money. The boss told him that was no problem because he would keep him on the payroll.

He was off like a shot to the lake. That evening Bryan was at the lodge eating catfish when the phone rang. It was his father. When he had gotten home from work, his mother explained where Bryan was and under what arrangements. The voice on the other end of the line asked, “What are you doing collecting company pay without doing the work?”

Bryan had not thought of it that way. He didn’t want to think of it that way. He argued, “Dad, I can’t go back to my boss and tell him what he asked me to do is not ethical. He will be offended and fire me. How am I going to get through college if I do not have this job?”

His father answered, “I know you need this job to prepare for what you want to do. I also know what you need to prepare for life . . . and this is not it.”9 What would you do? Bryan went home. God prepared him for life. Today he is president of Covenant Theological Seminary.

2

The Wisdom and Power of God

DANIEL 2:1–23

IT HAPPENED TO ME AGAIN. I woke up in a cold sweat, my heart pounding and my mind racing. I’d had a dream, the same dream I have had over and over for the last twenty years. The dream usually occurs on Saturday nights. In the dream I am sitting in the pulpit chair on the platform of our sanctuary with my Bible open on my lap. Everyone in the church is singing, everyone except me. I am feverishly looking through my Bible for my sermon notes. As I come to the realization they are not there, I feel increasingly powerless. My legs are getting weaker, and my arms are feeling limp. I realize that I have no idea what I am going to say. In my dream the singing stops, and I get up weak and powerless, my mind empty. I begin to speak, but the people are obviously not interested in what I am saying. One by one they begin to leave. I look at my wife, and she is frowning. Finally, when everyone else has gone, my wife gets up to leave. At that moment I awake in a cold sweat, thankful that it was all just a dream.

Dreams like that are usually the result of worry and an overactive imagination. They are not a divine revelation of the future—I hope! But there are times when God has come to weak and powerless people who lack wisdom and understanding and revealed things about the future that only he would know. He knows because wisdom and power are his.

God came to a weak and powerless king who lacked wisdom and understanding. Now, by this world’s standards Nebuchadnezzar was considered both wise and powerful. But Paul reminds us that “The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25). God chose to demonstrate his almighty power and his unfathomable wisdom to a man who was inebriated with his own lust for power and wisdom in order to show just how weak and foolish that man really was. Since God is the source of all wisdom and power, we must turn to him. As we study the first part of Daniel 2 we will discover the problem, the prayer, and the praise.

The Problem (2:1–16)

One night God sent Nebuchadnezzar dreams that he could not interpret, and the king woke up in a cold sweat. “His spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him” (v. 1). The most powerful man came face-to-face with his weakness. Immediately he called for the wisest men in his kingdom—the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and Chaldeans. Using dark magic, mysterious incantations, and the position of the stars, these men had been trained to interpret dreams and give the meaning to the dreamer. Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream” (v. 3).

The Chaldeans were the first to speak. They asked the king to tell them the dream first, so they could give the interpretation. The problem arose when King Nebuchadnezzar for some reason doubted the wisdom and integrity of his sages:

The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” (vv. 5, 6)

The Chaldeans again asked the king to first tell them the dream, but the king stood firm in his decision not to tell the dream. Then the Chaldeans said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand” (v. 10a). How right they were. No human being has the wisdom and power to tell a man his thoughts as well as to interpret those thoughts. As Paul asks, “Who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him?” (1 Corinthians 2:11a).

The Chaldeans continued to whine:

No great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. (2:10b, 11)

They were half-right this time. It was true that God alone could reveal the mystery, but what the sages did not know is that his Spirit does live among men. As Paul added in 1 Corinthians 2:11b, 12:

So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.

But the wise men of Babylon did not have the Spirit of God living in them, so they could not know the dream or the interpretation. They were weak and powerless to do what only God can do.

This made the king so angry that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. That included Daniel and his three friends who were in the service of the king. Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, went out to put the wise men to death when he came upon Daniel. When Daniel was told he would be executed, he did not respond with defensiveness and anger but spoke to the commander with wisdom and tact. With discretion and good taste in conversation, you can make even your enemies be at peace with you.

The pro-life ministry at the church I pastor is involved with sidewalk counseling every Saturday outside an abortion mill where babies are murdered for money. We are careful to obey all the laws, and we season our conversation with salt as we speak. The driveway into the clinic is narrow, so when a car stops to pick up literature from us about unborn babies, they may block the driveway for at most two minutes. The escorts at the clinic, who with smiles wave young, fearful women into the parking lot, use this as an occasion to call the police, even though we are not blocking the driveway for long. We are careful to encourage the driver to pull forward when someone else pulls up.

One Saturday morning a woman was taking some literature and speaking with Pam, one of the women in our church, when a second car drove up. Pam finished the conversation quickly, but the police were called anyway by the escorts from the clinic. When the officer arrived, he immediately approached Pam who has been legally involved in sidewalk counseling for twelve years. Pam is a soft-spoken mother of three. The officer asked for her I.D. and told her that she would be arrested. She asked why, and he said that he would tell her later. People from our church responded with wisdom and tact, asking permission to videotape the arrest. Permission was granted.

They handcuffed her, even though she had broken no laws, and pushed her into the police car to take her to jail. She was not defensive at this injustice. She did not angrily demand her rights. When the captain arrived to verify the arrest, the people from our church responded with wisdom and tact. They asked permission to pray with Pam before they took her to jail. Permission was granted.

At the jail, Pam was fingerprinted and photographed. One officer came by and asked why she had been arrested. Pam told him that she was accused of “demonstrating on the street,” a charge usually made against prostitutes. She asked him why the police had charged her with that crime. The officer shook his head and told her not to worry because she would not be held more than fifteen minutes.

Daniel also spoke with his potential executioner. “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” (2:15). When the commander told the story to Daniel, Daniel asked for more time so that he might interpret the dream.

The Prayer (2:17–19a)

Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night.

Daniel knew immediately what he had to do, but he wasn’t going to do it alone. He returned to his house where his three friends were staying. He explained to them that they would all be executed the next day if God did not reveal to them Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its interpretation. Those four men were on their knees in fervent prayer all through the night. They felt the urgency, they felt their helplessness, and they knew that only God was great enough to perform such a miracle. I think the reason that we do not pray more faithfully and fervently is because we don’t feel the urgency; we tend to be self-sufficient, and we do not see our God as big enough. So there are times when God brings things like this into our lives and into the lives of our friends to bring us to our knees.

After signing the contract for this book, doctors discovered that I had cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and serious form of bile duct liver cancer. When I first heard from the doctor that I had cancer, I felt the sentence of death, just like Daniel and his three friends were faced with a sentence of death. The elders wanted to gather in our worship service to lay their hands on me and pray for healing through the surgery and follow-up treatments. On the day of my surgery a group of people gathered in a circle to pray for me in the hospital lounge, and another large group of people gathered in the sanctuary at church to engage in fervent prayer for six hours. People in our congregation felt an urgency and helplessness that many had not experienced before. They pleaded for mercy from the God of heaven.

I felt so unworthy to be the focus of such concerted prayer over the next three months, but what a delight to be used by God in this way to stimulate people to prayer. This illness brought our church closer together as a family and closer to the Lord in our dependence upon his wisdom and power.

“Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night” (2:19). We have a great God who hears and answers prayer. I experienced that truth. Surgery was performed, and they found that it had not invaded the bile ducts. That was the first good news. They were able to remove the entire tumor, and it had not yet spread to other vital organs. Then came an aggressive six-week treatment of chemotherapy and radiation. The chemotherapy was on a twenty-four-hour continuous pump, and radiation was five days a week. There were warnings of many physical side effects that many people experience with such an aggressive treatment. Through the prayers of God’s people I not only was delivered from most of the side effects, but I was able to keep preaching and working the whole time.

Daniel and I had both felt the sentence of death. So did the Apostle Paul, for he writes in 2 Corinthians 1:9–11:

Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

God’s answer to the prayers of the young Israelites made them burst into thanksgiving and praise.

The Praise (2:19b–23)

Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.”

Daniel praised the God of Heaven for his power, wisdom, and revelation. Many rulers and leaders in the world have power but lack wisdom. They can be very dangerous because their power is not kept in line through wisdom. And many people in the world are wise, but they are not in positions of power; so their wisdom may be useless in bringing good to many people. But God is both powerful and wise. He governs the world with wisdom, so we need not fear his power. But what Daniel discovered that is most amazing is that God is willing to share some of that wisdom and power with simple and helpless people to bring glory to his name. Daniel prayed, “To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might” (2:23).

The Power of Our God (2:21)

He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings.

Daniel learned this from the content of the dream the Lord revealed to him. In the dream he saw a succession of four kings rise to power only to be overthrown in time. Daniel knew from Isaiah 40:22–24, written a hundred years before his birth, that God alone has the power to raise up kings and depose them.

It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.