This will be a chronological and (for the most part) verse by verse study of the book of Daniel. I encourage you to look up the passages of Scripture for yourselves and research my claims. I truly believe that Daniel is one of the most challenging and encouraging books in the entire Bible. Because of it’s detailed prophecies, critics have extensively questioned it’s validity and when it was written. You can find all sorts of resources regarding the reliability of Scripture on the apologetics page of this website so I’m not going to address that aspect here. I pray that your heart will be blessed, excited, and convicted. The world needs more Daniels, Azariahs, Hananiahs, and Mishaels. The church must influence the culture, not the other way around if we truly desire to make a difference. Blessings as you study!

 

         I believe that in order to accurately interpret the Bible we need a minimum of three things.

1. Surrendered, obedient, open hearts

2. Historical context

3. Textual context (an understanding of the rest of Scripture)

        These principles guide my study, and I hope they will inform yours.

            In order to fully appreciate the Book of Daniel, we need to understand what has occurred when we arrive at verse one, and the third year of Jehoiakim king of Judah. Jehoiakim was the son of Josiah. He was made king by Pharaoh Neco after his brother Jehoahaz was deposed (our first interesting detail in this study)!

            2 Chronicles 36:1-5 and 2 Kings 23:31-35 situate us in the historical setting of Daniel. Jehoiakim was older than Jehoahaz, but the people chose the younger brother to rule. Maybe they thought he would be more malleable or less oppressive than his brother? Regardless, they appointed the king and then a foreign power invaded, imposed a tax, and changed the ruler with impunity.

            However, a little more than three years is hardly historical context. It doesn’t tell us much about the culture or families of Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, or Mishael. Their parents would have (likely) grown up in the reign of Josiah, so let’s talk about him.

            2 Chronicles 34:1 and 2 Kings 22:1-2 tell us that Josiah was eight years old when he began his reign, and that he reigned for thirty-one years. His father was assassinated after only two years on the throne, hence Josiah’s early ascension. Josiah was twenty-six years old when he began repairing the Temple (2 Kings 34:8). However, he began to seek God at sixteen and he began purging Judah when he was twenty. This is the first application. A genuine outward demonstration of godliness and repentance should always be preceded by an inward repentance. There were other kings who restored the Temple, but were not personally sorrowful over their own sin or the sins of the nation (i.e. Joash – 2 Chronicles 24). Josiah started his repentance and acknowledgement of sin in the right order. The theme of genuine mourning over sin and a turning to God in confession of our helplessness is developed throughout the book of Daniel. As we see the state of our nation, it is tempting to be fearful or throw our hands up in defeat. Daniel, and many other godly individuals throughout Scripture present a different picture. Their response was repentance and hope in God’s faithfulness – not despair and frustration. Where do we find ourselves? Is our response Biblical? Are we dwelling in God’s promises or are we watching our circumstances?

            So much of Josiah’s changes happened before he even found the book of the law (2 Chronicles 34:14, 2 Kings 22:8). God promised mercy to Josiah because he was repentant (2 Chronicles 34:26-28, 2 Kings 22:20). God was still going to judge Israel, but he vowed to wait until Josiah died. You would think that with this promise in mind, Josiah would try to live as long as possible. However, that is not what happens.

            2 Chronicles 35:20-27 and 2 Kings 23:29-30 tell us a story that seems the height of foolishness. Pharaoh Neco went up to fight at Carchemish around 609 B.C. There is a famous battle that happened in 607 B.C., that pitted Egypt and the remnants of Assyria against Babylon, but we’re not quite there during Josiah’s time. Instead of leaving Neco in peace, Josiah decides that he wants to attack the Egyptian army. Maybe Josiah felt threatened? Maybe he was looking for revenge after the way Egypt had treated Israel? Maybe he genuinely thought that God would give him the victory. Regardless, Josiah went to fight the world (Egypt) in his own strength and lost. Pharaoh even warned him not to fight. God always warns before judgment. Sometimes that warning comes from unorthodox sources, but it is still a warning (2 Chronicles 35:21-22).

            His death left the kingdom vulnerable. This isn’t a lesson about not fighting battles or not resisting the world’s lure. However, it is a vital lesson for those in leadership and anyone who is seeking to follow God wholeheartedly. See, if you read 2 Chronicles 34:5-7, 32-33 you realize that not only did Josiah cleanse Judah of idolatry, but he also cleansed a great deal of the Northern Kingdom that was lacking leadership after their captivity. He invaded Israel to right a spiritual wrong and God blessed him greatly. However, that was not the situation with Egypt. Josiah went to seek a battle with a nation that was marching to fight another ungodly nation. Josiah chose a battle that was not his. He chose a battle that was purely physical and hoped that God would give a spiritual blessing. God did not, and it ended in disaster.

            It’s not as though Josiah didn’t have anything else to do. He had ungodly children. He could have been discipling them and preparing them for leadership. Instead, he decided his priorities were higher than God’s. He accomplished something amazing with the Temple. Sometimes, after our greatest spiritual victories it is easy to think that God must want us to do bigger and better things. We must remember that all God is ever interested in is our obedience. Spiritual victory can make us feel invincible, but we can’t afford to forget that God is the only one who gives us the victory. We must choose our battles carefully. They can have drastic consequences.

            In order to fulfil prophecy, Josiah needed to die so that the rest of the Biblical timeline could come to fruition. However, that did not negate his personal responsibility for his decisions. God doesn’t bless the battles we believe are important or our agenda, but he will always equip us to fight the ones that involve his glory, worship, and character.

            So, nineteen kings, one queen, a long history of disobedience, and the final stage is set. Assyria and Egypt (previous world powers) have both fallen and a young Babylonian prince marches through the gates of Jerusalem. He doesn’t have time (or perhaps the inclination) to raze it to the ground because his father has just died, and he must return to Babylon to claim the throne. Instead of destroying Jerusalem, he rounds up the best, brightest, and most noble young men and packs them off to Babylon as an incentive for their parent’s good behavior.

            Daniel has seen one godly king die, one evil king deposed, and another powerless to stop the Babylonians. He has seen the world power structure shift and then he sees Babylon. Traditional military tradition would have welcomed the newly crowned king back as a victor. His spoils (the people and things) were paraded through the streets as evidence of his might. The city of Babylon was an ancient marvel. It was enormous, some estimate that the walled portion of Babylon was nearly ten times the size of Jerusalem. I think that is likely an exaggeration, but it is still remarkable to consider how overwhelmed these young men would have been at the sight of this city. Babylon had wide city streets, walls that we considered almost impenetrable and was overlaid with material that reflected the sun to look like gemstones. There were multiple temples, none larger than the one built to Marduk (the chief deity of Babylon). The boys would have been paraded through the streets until the procession ended at this false god’s temple. The vessels Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple that were meant for the worship of Jehovah were placed in the temple of a false god. Nebuchadnezzar was literally boasting that his god was better than their God.

            Many of us would have looked around us at our circumstances and agreed with the assessment that Babylon’s gods must be better. Maybe God wasn’t strong enough? That is apparently what many of those boys decided. However, the rest of this book is about four boys who changed history – literally – because they saw beyond the physical and knew the eternal. Josiah fought a battle that was not his and it cost everyone else greatly. We must not be distracted or prioritize our agenda. Daniel clearly learned that lesson.

            So, if you’re like Josiah and are trying to decide if you need to fight a battle, consider: is the issue spiritual? Is it an eternal matter? Is God warning us not to do this? Is it my agenda or is it in line with God’s will? If you’re like Daniel and feel as though all your hopes and dreams have suddenly been placed in a tomb – violated and disillusioned, look deeper. Look beyond the gold and glitter of this world. Look beyond the paltry substitutes for God, that sometimes seem quite overwhelming. Look beyond your own feelings of lostness and uncertainty – find the eternal.

            We desperately need to know God’s heart. We need to know him, not for the sake of knowledge, but because he is our wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30). When we are more in love with him than ourselves, we will be obedient and be able to trust that his plans are better…so, in the third year of Jehoiakim.