Daniel's Decision of Faith
Comments for Study 1

Word: Daniel 1:1-21
Memory Verse: 1:8

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I. When Israel Did Not Maintain God's Blessings (1,2)

>1. What was the situation of the people of Judah and Jerusalem at that time? Read 2 Kings 23:29-30 and Jeremiah 46:2.

* "In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god." (1-2)

* "While Josiah was king, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah marched out to meet him in battle, but Neco faced him and killed him at Megiddo. Josiah's servants brought his body in a chariot from Megiddo to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in place of his father." (2 Kings 23:29-30)

* "Concerning Egypt: This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:" (Jer. 46:2)

* Isreal was defeated by Egypt (south west of Israel) in 609 B.C. (2 Ki. 23:33,34) Egypt made Jehoiakim king of Judah. (2 Ki. 23:33,34). Babylon (north east of Israel) attacked and defeated Egypt in 605 B.C. (2 Ki. 24:1-7) This brought Babylonian influence to Israel. But Israel was allowed to maintained their national, spiritual, and cultural identity. Jehoiakim, the king of Israel attacked Babylon in 597 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar defeated them and tightened his control over Israel. One of the things he did was to take around 10,000 selected captives. Among these including Daniel and his friends mentioned in this chapter and even Ezekiel, the author of the proceeding book in the Bible. The captivity lasted 70 years dating from Nebuchadnezzar's first decent on Judah and Egypt.

* This was the end of David's offspring earthly kingdom. In fact no Israelite or Jew reigned over Israel until 1948 A.D.

* "some of the articles from the temple of God" -Babylon did not take away all of the articles because some Levites and prophets of God hid them. Some believe they were hid at the treasury of the temple. The treasury of the temple was near Qumran, on the north western shore of the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea Scrolls found in the the late 1940s and '50s A.D. in caves near the sight confirm this. One scroll was copper. It states the articles from the temple, the original tabernacle, the deed to the temple mount in Jerusalem, gold, and silver not been dug up although some believe the scroll says they were hidden in and around Qumran.

* Assyria ruled the mideast until Bablyon defeated them a few years before Judea was taken into captivity. Babylon's rule over the mideast ended when the Persian Empire defeated them. The Persian Empire was larger than Assyria and Babylon's Empires. The Persian Empire was an alliance of the Medes and the Persians. Under their rule the Jews were allowed to return to their homeland.

>2. Review God's plans, promises and blessings for his people: Ex. 19:5,6; Dt. 6:5, 10-12.

* "''Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.'" (Ex. 19:5,6)

* "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Due. 6:5)

* "When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you--a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant--then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." (Deut. 6:10-12)

* God had made a conditional covenant with Israel at Mt. Sinai, after he led them out of Egypt. They continually broke the covenant. God did not. From God's point of view he was using the captivity to punish Israel and Judah.

* Nebuchadnezzar might have thought that he could defeat Isreal so easily because their God was weak. He did not know the truth. Even thought he thought like this God did not exclude him from being an instrument in bringing about his plan.

* Blessings are from God, but they don't mean that we are always right.

>Why had they not maintained God's blessing?

* They forgot the Lord their God who gave them everything. This means that they forgot to thank God and keep him first in their lives at all times. After Chrisitans accept Jesus as Savior and Lord, after Jesus leads us out of slavery of sin and the fear of death, we need to remember him and not forget his gift. Seeing how the Lord dealt with Israel and Judah how should we react to what he has done for us?

* They became lazy and relied on themsleves and their hertitage rather than continuing to walk with the Lord and relying on him.

* If we do not handle God's blessing right we will be punished by God.

* Blessings from God can become snares and traps if we hold onto them.

>What did he want his people to do? (Dt. 4:29; Jos. 24:13-14; Dt. 6:5)

* "But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul." (Deut. 4:29)

* "So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant. Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.'" (Jos. 24:13)

* "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Deut. 6:5)

* Fear God.

* Worship God.

* Serve God.

* Obey God.

* Keep our side of the covenant.

* Offer our blessings back to God. Do not hold onto them.

* This is the difference between practical and theretical.

II. Daniel's Decision of Faith (3-16)

>3. What policy did the king of Babylon establish toward the people of the occupied country of Israel?

* He plundered the land of everything that he could get his hands on that was worthwhile.

* He was cruel to them.

* He was a smart and cunning man.

* He used people for his benefit.

* He was self centered.

>What kind of men did he instruct his chief official to select?

* "young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians." (4)

* He took only the best.

>4. How and for how long were these select young men to be trained?

* "The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service." (5)

>What special benefits did they receive?

* a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table

* trained for three years

* They received every kind of learning needed for servicing the king and country. They received the best training the king of Babylon could afford.

* As long as Babylon was the regional power it seemed that their jobs were secure.

* Daniel and his friends were eunuchs. Isaiah 39:5-7 says, "Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the Lord Almighty: The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your fathers have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."

>What was the purpose of their training?

* To use them in the king's service

* He wanted to make kingdom the best.

>5. Who were the young men selected from Judah?

* "Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah." (6)

* Daniel and the young men taken must have known that the Lord was punishing Judah for their sins. Since those taken were from the royal family, they definately knew that the leaders were at fault and felt the brunt of the punishment.

>What new names did the steward give them?

* "The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego." (7)

* So that they would melt into the Babylon culture and lose thier identity as an Isrealite and fall into a sinful life.

* Belteshazzar means: May Bel protect his life. Daniel means: Jehovah is judge or judgement of Jehovah.

* Shadrach means: Samarian moon God. Hananiah means: Jehovah is gracious

* Mishach means: who is what Ago is. Mishael means: who is what Jehovah is.

* Abednego means: servant of Nego. Axariah means: Jehovah has helped.

>What does this reveal about the difficulty of being an exile--even one with privileges?

* You are treated as a possesion, without origin and history. Most Israelites were struggling at the bottom of Babylon society, unlike Daniel and his friends. It would be possible to forget about God and one's identity in Christ Jesus.

* This is also possible for believers in Jesus, who as Jesus said, "Are in the world, but not of the world."

* Joseph, son of Israel (Jacob) was brought down into Egypt in similar circumstances. He too had this threat. Moses also had a similar situation as Daniel.

* These young men's family are not mentioned. They were either killed in Jerusalem, or left in Judea. If the later, Daniel and his friend probably never saw their family again.

* While in this world, we will be surrounded by a often hostel world as Jesus said, "If they hated and persecuted the master, they will do the same to his followers," and "If they hated me, they will hate you also."

>6. What did Daniel do in his helpless situation?

* "But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way." (8)

* Daniel must have known that the king might not like it and have them punished or even killed. Still he decided by faith.

>Why did he make such a decision?

* He wanted to keep his identity as God's people.

* "Defile" -according to God's laws the Israelites were to obstain from eating certain foods. However, Daniel's decision goes beyond just following the letter of the law.

* Many things were changed in these men's lives, but through this one decision they wanted to keep their faith in the God of Israel. They decided to live by faith in their God.

* These men could have left the palace if they thought quickly or superficially. Daniel must have prayed before he made the decision to stay and to not defile himself with certain foods. These men stayed and served God where they were put at.

* Daniel only choose food and drink. He must have started wearing the clothes given to him, read the books given to him, and listened to their music.

* Daniel could have felt helpless, proud, rebellious, angry, full of doubt, fearful, and.or worthless. His faith and prayer life led him to make a decision of faith.

* Daniel made a decision right away, in the beginning, before anything else happened.

>7. How did he get permission to carry out his decision?

* "Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, but the official told Daniel, 'I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.' Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 'Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.' So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days." (9-14)

* Daniel apparently told the official the reason for his decision was so he wouldn't defile himself. The official must have udnerstood, but how much is not clear.

* Daniel first went to the chief official who said no. Then Daniel talked to the guard.

>What happened?

* "At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead." (15-16)

* How much of a difference would ten days make? Any real difference would have taken at least a week.

* God's blessing must have added to any effects that merely eating different foods. Jesus said, "Clean our hearts, not only the outside of the cups."

>Why is it important for a person to make such a decision of faith before God? (Ps. 24:3,4; Mt. 5:8)

* "Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false." (Ps. 24:3,4)

* "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." (Mat. 5:8)

* Believers in Jesus need to keep themselves pure even in the midst of the Babylon palace of corruption and sin.

* Our decisions of faith must come from a noble desire to keep pure, not from petty desires.

III. God was with Daniel (17-21)

>8. How did God help these 4 young men?

* "To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds." (17)

* Verse 20 states that Daniel and his friends were "ten times better." God blessed their decision of faith.

* Daniel could have decided only to study the word of God. However, he studied more than the word of God. He even must have studied things that didn't have anything to do with God. Daniel recognized that God put him in the palace with a mission to study all kinds of things. Perhaps he relected on Moses and Joseph's life circumstance too. There is nothing wrong with learning the world that God made, even learning these things from people who don't appear to obey and love God, as long as we make a decision to keep our identities of Christ followers.

* Daniel could have been slack in his studies too. However, he had to have put a lot of time and effort in his studies.

* Daniel and his friends were not professional rabbis (teachers of God's word). They were lay missionaries like Apostle Paul.

* "understand vsions and dreams of all kinds" -this gift seems to be spiritual and of God. This is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit written about in the New Testament as well.

* The Bible makes it clear that in the last days, the days that we are in right now, young men will see visions and old men will dream dreams. God often communicates to his people this way. As God told Moses, a face-to-face meeting with God would be to hard for us in our current state. Even the prophets who were servants of God were often overwhelmed when they were in his holy and powerful presence. Jospeh also had this gift.

>How is this consistent with God's promises and his ways of dealing with people? (Deut. 28:1-20; Deut. 4:28-30)

* "If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock--the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you. The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity--in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground--in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you. The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them. However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed. The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out. The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him." (Deut. 28:1-20)

* "There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him." (Deut. 4:28-30)

* Daniel served 8 kings of different kingdoms (Babylon was conquered by the Persians.)

* Most kings when they take over another nation, get ride of all the officials and put there own in. However, Daniel was never taken out of service to the new king and new empire. He was never killed or deported. People must have recognized God's hand on him and wanted to use his gifts for their kingdom and rule.

>9. How did they do their orals before the king? (18-20)

* "At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king's service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom." (18-20)

* they had to appear before a Godless noctorious king who attacked their country and took them captive.

>What does this teach us about God?

* God blesses our decisions of faith when we make them out of a noble desire.

* God can use anyone, anywhere if they make a decision to be his people by faith.

* God can use his people even in a godless place in the most unusual circumstances.

* God ways are not always what we want or in ways that is always pleasant to us.

>About how to obtain God's blessing?

* With respect and fear of God.

* To be ready to be used for God's purposes in any and all life circumstances.

* To be ready to be used in God's will and plan no matter where he puts us and how we got there.

* Don't get carried away with life circumstances.

* Make one small decision by faith.

* Learn and grow out of a devotion to the Lord.

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