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WELCOME How to Use the DEVOTIONAL GUIDE WELCOME Welcome to our first ever sermon aligned devotional guide! Over the past few months a group of people from The Chapel - both staff and non-staff - have worked together to develop this study just for you. As we dive into the book of Daniel on Sunday mornings, we want to provide an extra resource to help you go deeper in your understanding of the book and the life of its main character. In this study you will not only explore the life of Daniel, the exile in Babylon, and interesting characters like Nebuchadnezzar, you will also see what it looks like to “live sent” in a world that is hostile to God. We have much in common today with Daniel and his friends! Our bottomline for the series is this: We can have courage in the chaos of life because of our confidence in God. We pray as you interact with this incredible Old Testament book and this devotional, your confidence in God will grow and give you the courage to “live sent.” Kevin McKee Andrew Bates How to UsE THE DEVOTIONAL GUIDE CHAPTER SUMMARY - Background information designed to help you understand the chapter better. BIBLE DISCOVERY - Biblical questions prompting you to read various passages and make connections. LIFE APPLICATION - Personal questions challenging you to apply what you have learned to your life. LIVE SENT - Intentional questions aimed at fulfilling our mission to help people meet, know, and follow Jesus. See Jeremiah 29 passage on page 28. These will be noted with this icon: PRAYER - A written prayer designed to spark a conversation with Jesus about what you have learned and want to apply to your life. 1 INTRODUCTION The book of Daniel opens in the middle of a crisis. It was the summer of 605 BC, in the heart of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish holy city of Jerusalem was attacked by Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Babylonian Empire, and 10,000 Jews were shackled into slavery and marched 900 miles from their home to the empire’s capital city of Babylon. What a heartbreaking scenario. How had God’s chosen people arrived here? To answer that question, flashback 1500 years. God selected Abraham and promised him a large family and a special land that, together, would bless the world. Several hundred years later, Abraham’s family, numbering around two million, found themselves enslaved in Egypt. In dramatic fashion, God rescued them, gathered them to Mt. Sinai, and initiated an agreement that required adherence to a certain set of laws. Contingent upon their obedience, they were either blessed or cursed, with curses including being exiled from their promised land. After establishing that covenant, God ushered them into Canaan, and they became the nation of Israel. Soon, the nation fractured into a northern kingdom and a southern kingdom (Judah) and consistently failed to follow God and His laws. Prophets warned, but to no avail. After centuries of unfaithfulness, God brought to fruition the curses of exile. Leading up to that fateful event, the Assyrian Empire had been defeated on the world stage and the Babylonian Empire had gained control of much of the known world. So, when they attacked Jerusalem in 605 BC, God gave them victory and allowed King Nebuchadnezzar to carry out the exile God had promised. Judah’s defeat resulted in the best and the brightest being hauled away to Babylon. This would be the first of three large deportations of Jews; the second would be in 597 BC, and the third in 586 BC when Nebuchadnezzar’s army razed Jerusalem to the ground, destroyed their beloved temple and carried the final group of Jews into exile. City of Babylon At that time, the city of Babylon was considered the largest in the world and Nebuchadnezzar took great pains to transform it into an empire of magnificence. Surrounded by 56 miles of walls, eight horses wide, Babylon had at least three palaces and over 40 temples to different gods. Towering above was a 650-foot glimmering enamel ziggurat, which was a pyramid-type temple believed to connect their gods to the earth. The city was also famed for the mysterious Hanging Gardens, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. ASSIMILATION The Babylonians strategically conquered their captives through a process called assimilation. They began by transporting the leaders, scholars and royals, along with their families, to Babylon. Next, they would indoctrinate them into all facets of Babylonian culture, including, of course, their religion. This method would rebrand their identity and sense of loyalty. Then these leaders, having become steeped in Babylon’s world view, would lead their home nation to remain subject to the empire. With Judah specifically, Nebuchadnezzar aimed to alter their monotheistic (one God only) view to include their polytheistic (many gods) view, thus destroying the Biblical worldview of the Jewish elite class. DANIEL THE MAN When Daniel was taken from Jerusalem, he was probably in his mid-teens, or possibly early twenties, and almost certainly of royal blood. He lived about 70 years as a captive in Babylon and never saw his home again. He served in the court of four different kings in two different empires. THE BOOK OF DANIEL Uniquely written, it is divided into two distinct parts. Chapters 1 through 6 include historical narrative accounts of Daniel and his friends. Chapters 7 through 12 are apocalyptic literature (see below) that describe a string of unusual visions. In addition, six of the chapters are written in pairs with parallel themes: 2 and 7, 3 and 6, and 4 and 5. Also, this book is written in two different languages. Chapter 1 and chapters 8 through 12 are in Hebrew, the language of God’s people. In chapters 2 through 7, however, the story is told in Aramaic, the Persian people’s common language and the international language at that time. 2 APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE This unique genre is foreign to many of us. The word apocalypse means “to uncover or reveal” and this style of writing is full of visions and striking symbolic images. In the Bible, God uses these signs and illustrations to pull back the curtain and unveil His divine perspective on a worldly situation. (To learn more, watch this 7-minute video from the Bible Project: https://bibleproject.com/explore/ video/apocalyptic-literature/) ORIGINAL AUDIENCE SCAN HERE! The book of Daniel was written to deported Jews in Babylon, who were likely spiritually weary after the defeat and exile of their nation. PURPOSE The purpose of the book is to provide hope that God is still in control. THEMES 1. The Sovereignty of God - Daniel beautifully displays God’s supreme power and authority over all nations, history, and people as the loving King of creation and redemption. 2. Kings and Kingdoms - Daniel illustrates God’s design to establish His own everlasting King, Jesus, and His kingdom. Through Him, salvation was brought to the world. 3. Living as a Believer in an Unbelieving World - God uses Daniel and his friends to model a “live sent” mentality, amidst persecution, in a culture that does not follow God. JESUS CONNECTION Clearly, Jesus highly valued the writings of Daniel. The New Testament records numerous examples of Jesus referencing Daniel. Jesus even adopted His most frequent title for Himself, “Son of Man,” from this book. As we read Daniel, we’ll find that God’s plan for Jesus as Savior and King are woven throughout the book, as well as His unveiling of Jesus’ Second Coming. TIMELINE (by chapter) 605-604 B.C. 602 B.C. 556 B.C. 554 B.C. 539 B.C. 538 B.C. CH. 3 | Nebuchadnezzar’s image CH. 5 |Belshazzar’s feast—Babylon falls CH. 1 | Captivity CH. 4 | Nebuchadnezzar’s tree dream CH. 9 | Vision of Seventy Weeks CH. 2 | Dream of the Image CH. 8 | Ram and the Goat Vision CH. 10-12 | Closing Visions CH. 7 | The Vision of the Four Beasts CH. 6 | The Lions’ Den 3 DANIEL 1 Daniel spent the majority of his life in Babylonian exile. Ushered into it as a teenage boy, he very quickly had to decide if he would stay true to God or bow to the pantheon of gods within his new culture. It was quite a choice to make at such a young age. But he chose well. In Chapter 1, Daniel immediately comes face-to-face with Nebuchadnezzar’s strategy for assimilating his new Israelite captives (see introduction). Instead of forcing them into submission, the king chooses to wine and dine them, while subtly giving them a new identity. Daniel’s quick response to the king’s tactics is the beginning of his legacy of bold faith. A legacy we still draw from today. Let’s look at this process more carefully. Daniel and his fellow deportees were assigned to an administrator that put them on a schedule. A variety of goals were established to transition these new residents into Babylonian culture. Through the reading, you will discover several of them, but for now let’s look closely at one of them: establishing new names. The chief official intentionally renamed each of them. Can you imagine suddenly being referred to differently? Couple that awkward feeling with the emphasis that names had in this time and culture. A name was intended to define and describe you as a person. Note the name changes and compare the meanings that were intended to redefine their beliefs and purpose: HEBREW NAME BABYLONIAN NAME Daniel - God is my judge Belteshazzar - Bel protects his life Hananiah - Yahweh is gracious Shadrach - companion of Aku Mishael - Who is what God is? Meshach - command of Aku Azariah - Yahweh is a helper Abednego - servant of Nebo By changing their names, Nebuchadnezzar had hoped to change their hearts.
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