Daniel is one of those books I usually neglect because of familiarity and difficulty. I decided to go through it at church because of class interest and because of its practical nature. There are some aspects of this book that can be difficult and I will address some of those sections. Some I will deal with on Sunday morning and not here. Others I may mention and then sidestep because I am not sure how to deal with them.
This is a place I want to welcome questions and discussion about all sections. I have often found we get to a much fuller understanding of the scripture when it is studied in community. Even if there is something I have skipped over here, you are more than welcome to present it and we can discuss.
I will sight the chapter and verse of the section in question. I will also use the page and line number for those of you who are using a manuscript. If you are not using a manuscript and would like to just let me know. I now invite you to look with me at the first section we studied in Daniel.
Section 1: Page 1.1-1.10 or Chapter 1:1-1:4 Introduction
One of the dominant themes in the first half of the book of Daniel has to do with the arrogance of Nebuchadnezzar (Neb.). Neb. had some reason to be so arrogant and this first passage lets us know why.
Daniel opens with a brief description of the victory Babylon had over the king of Judah, the God of the Hebrews and the people of the land. When we talk here about Judah we are speaking about the southern kingdom and really the only kingdom left at this point in history. The northern kingdom, Israel, whose capital was Samaria, fell to the Assyrians earlier in history. Now, Judah, whose capital is Jerusalem, is being conquered by the the next great empire, the Babylonians. These first 10 lines or 4 verses talk about the king, the vessels and those carried away. I would summarize this section by saying the king was rendered impotent, God was seemingly shown to be powerless, the people were left at the mercy of a pagan king and Neb. was the conquering king. This is why the arrogance may have been warranted. He was well on his way to ruling one of the most powerful empires of the day. What he didn't plan and what would later cause him great headaches, fear and frustration was that the God of the Hebrews had planned this time to make his people a blessing to the nations. The vessels may have been taken and God may have looked powerless but, in fact, his purposes and care for all nations was about to be lived out in the lives of four companions, who feared God more than the powerful king Neb.
