Daniel – Chapter 1
A. Chapter 1 Outline
I. Daniel The Prophet (1:1-7)
a. Babylonian Conquest (1:1-2)
b. The Kings Command (1:3-5)
c. The Hebrew Captives (1:6-7)
II. Daniel’s Problem (1:8-10)
a. Daniel’s Request (1:8-9)
b. Ashpenaz’s Reluctance (1:10)
III. Daniel’s Proposition (1:11-16)
a. Their Desire (1:11-13)
b. Their Diet (1:14)
c. Their Development (1:15-16)
IV. Daniel’s Profit (1:17-21)
a. Spiritual Revelation (1:17)
b. Royal Elevation (1:18-20)
c. Personal Continuation (1:21)
B. Message
God had made a covenant with the people of Israel, promising that He would care for them and bless them if they obeyed His statutes, but if they disobeyed, He would chasten them and scatter them among the Gentiles Lev 26:33 And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.
Instead of Israel being a light to the Gentiles and revealing the glories of the True and Living God, they became more like the Gentiles and worshipped their false gods. This is probably the reason for God giving the Israelite into the hands of the Chaldeans. Babylon was the home of idolatry so the Jews were sent there so they might learn to loath the idols they had loved.
Daniel was barely more than a boy when the Babylonian axe fell. Daniel was transformed from near royalty to iron captivity. His ministry spanned the entire period of the prophesied seventy-year captivity of the Jews in Babylon, so he could not have been much more than a teenager when Nebuchadnezzar came on the scene.
The approach of the Babylonians had been watched closely in Jerusalem and Judah. Nobody could have been ignorant of what their arrival meant. Jeremiah had been proclaiming it for years – and a high price he paid for it as well. The “Time of the Gentiles” was about to begin.
I. Daniel The Prophet (1:1-7)
a. Babylonian Conquest (1:1-2)
Here we find the fulfilment of what God had previously declared would soon take place through Isaiah, Jeremiah, and other prophets. For years God had been sending prophets to the backsliding kings of Judah, warning them that this day would come. Even though the children of Israel had been His chosen people, because of their sin He was going to give them over to the power of their enemies, and their land was to lie desolate.
According to Leviticus 25 – sabbatical year ????
God had told Israel when they came into the land that every 7th year was to be His. For 490 years they had not kept one sabbatical year. God had told them that if they gave every seventh year to Him they would have an abundance in the sixth year to last them until the harvest in the eighth year. They evidently did not believe God and thought that they would be better off themselves.
How many Sabbath years did they miss in a span of 490 years? 70
How long were they carried away captive for? 70
There were several deportations of Jews to Babylon both before and after the fall of Jerusalem, and it appears that Daniel and his three friends were taken in 605 BC. The prophet Ezekiel was sent to Babylon in 597 BC and the Temple was destroyed in 586BC.
b. The Kings Command (1:3-5)
Verse 3
The king’s policy was to train the best people of the conquered nations to serve in his government. He could benefit from their knowledge of their own people and could use their skills to strengthen his own administration.
However, in order to prevent these “bright sparks” from revolting or urging their seed to rebel in the future, it is possible that they were rendered eunuchs and therefore fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah 39:5-7 Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: [6] Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. [7] And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
When you read the Old Testament you find that the majority of God’s people do not always follow the Lord and keep His Commandments. It is always a “Faithful Remnant” within the Jewish nation that has come through the trials and judgements to maintain the divine covenant and make a new beginning.
Verse 4
The old Jewish wisdom had to go; from now on they would learn the wisdom of the world, the wisdom of Babylon. Not only do they have to learn the wisdom of Babylon but also the language of their captors (the world has a different language). The king hoped that this brainwashing would make them better servants.
God’s people often have to study things that do not agree with God’s Word.
Verse 5
For the next three years, the four youths were supposed to eat the king’s diet, which, of course, was contrary to the dietary laws of the Jews. No doubt the food was also offered to the idols of the land, and for the Hebrew youths to eat it would be blasphemy.
c. The Hebrew Captives (1:6-7)
Isn’t it amazing how the world does not like to recognise God’s name. Each of these four boys had “God” as part of their name. The Babylonians would give them new names, new gods, and new prospects. Each of the four new names exchanged the name of God for the name of a Babylonian idol.
Daniel (which means God is my Judge) was changed to Belteshazzar (Who Bel favours)
Hananiah (God is gracious) was changed to Shadrach (Illuminated by the sun god)
Mishael (Who is as God) was changed to Meshach (Who is like Venus)
Azariah (The Lord is my help) was changed to Abednego (The servant of nego)
Maybe the Babylonians thought that if these new names would help the youths forget their God and gradually become more like the heathens they were living with and being taught by.
II. Daniel’s Problem (1:8-10)
a. Daniel’s Request (1:8-9)
The king wanted to force these Jews to conform to the ways of Babylon. We face the same problems today. Satan wants us to be conformed to this world (Romans 12:2) God’s people resist the pressures that can “squeeze” them into conformity with the world. According to Romans 12:1-2 “conformers” are people whose lives are controlled by the pressure from without, but “transformers” are people whose lives are controlled by the power from within. Daniel and his three friends were transformers.
The Babylonians could change Daniels home, learning and name, but they could not change his heart. Daniel “purposed in his heart” that is his heart was fixed! Paul and Barnabas urged the early Christians in Acts 11:23 that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. This is the only way to keep from defilement.
He vowed that the standard would not be lowered, that obedience to his God demanded the same life of separation whether he lived in Babylon or Israel.
Daniel was not rude, obnoxious, or demanding. He requested … that he might not defile himself. Having made up his mind to remain pure, Daniel pursued his objective in a respectful, submissive manner. Verse 9 tells us that God had caused the prince of the Eunuchs to look favourably upon Daniel. It could be that God used Daniel’s attitude to win him that respect.
b. The Eunuch’s Reluctance (1:10)
The Eunuch feared to let Daniel have his way because he would be held responsible for any physical deterioration in the four young men.
III. Daniel’s Proposition (1:11-16)
a. Their Desire (1:11-13)
The four Jewish students didn’t threaten anyone; they didn’t stage a protest, or try and burn down a building. They simply excelled in their studies, acted like gentlemen, and asked Melzar to test them for ten days. Having heard his superior’s objections, Daniel proposed a reasonable alternative. The test Daniel proposed was long enough to obtain the desired results, but short enough to protect the interests of his superiors.
God’s ways only need a short time to prove their worth. Ten days were all it would take to prove that God’s dietary laws were superior to those of the court. To try to do what God suggests demands only faith in Him. His ways are the best ways.
Melzar, the chief steward, would himself determine the success or failure of the test. Daniel promised to abide by Melzar’s decision. Each of these acts demonstrated a great faith in God to be in control of the circumstances.
b. Their Diet (1:14)
The vegetarian diet that Daniel proposed was probably not confined to one single item but included a variety of lentils, beans, seeds and other similar foods, much more healthier than the rich, spiced concoctions, saturated with fat, that the others were offered.
c. Their Development (1:15-16)
Ten days later and the result of the experiment is there for all to see. The four Jewish boys were healthier in body and better looking than all the other students.
IV. Daniel’s Profit (1:17-21)
a. Spiritual Revelation (1:17)
God gave these four young men a suitable and swift reward. He “gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams” Here were men that God could trust with learning. They were like sponges; they soaked up knowledge with ease.
They became proficient in all of the sciences, in subjects that depend on human reasoning as the means of understanding. Daniel became proficient in dreams and visions, subjects that depend on divine revelation as the means of understanding.
b. Royal Elevation (1:18-20)
Time was up and it was make or break for Daniel and his three comrades. They stood before the king for inspection. Nebuchadnezzar tried the men with hard questions and it soon became evident that four young men outranked all of the others.
The king asked Daniel questions that stumped even the members of his court who were themselves famous in the colleges. Daniel outshone them all. He was “ten times better” than they were.
c. Personal Continuation (1:21)
Soon, Daniel’s skills would be put to the test. His promotion, when it came, would not be short term. His reputation would walk beside him all down the years. Others came and went, but Daniel continued, “unto the first year of king Cyrus”
He saw the 70 years of captivity begin, and he saw it end. I wonder if he was there to wave of the small band of pioneers heading back to the Promised Land. You can just see him now, an old man, one finger pointing to Jeremiah’s scroll, the other hand raised in thanksgiving and prayer.
