God is Faithful

Let's turn our attention now to the book of Daniel.

We're going to spend our time this summer in this book.

It is one of my favorites, as you can probably know,

based upon one of the names of my children.

Daniel just shines from the pages of the Old Testament

as one who is devoted to God.

And what may not be clear

on the surface of this text

that while it may be speaking about the events

that are happening in Babylon,

it may be speaking of this character,

Daniel and his three friends,

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Really, behind all of this is the message of God.

Behind all of this is the testimony

of God's sovereign hand

to preserve His people,

to allow the light of Israel

to shine among the nations

and to capture a heart.

I believe we're going to find in Daniel chapter 4

Daniel 4 · chapter mention

of God working instrumentally

through these young men

and the testimony of their faith in God

to be a model and a witness

of the gospel, as it were,

a testimony of who God is,

the God of heaven,

in drawing Nebuchadnezzar

and his subjects to faith in Christ,

faith in God.

Open, if you would, please,

to Daniel chapter 1.

Daniel 1 · chapter mention

If you're using the Pew Bible,

it's on page 737.

I've often wondered if,

like Timothy,

Daniel also had a mother

or a father

who was instrumental

in building faith in him

and establishing him

for this special purpose.

This morning we're going to see

the faithfulness of God

shining through this passage today

in Daniel chapter 1,

Daniel 1:1–7

verses 1 to 7.

So if you're there,

please follow along with me

as I read just the first verse.

Daniel chapter 1, verse 1.

Daniel 1:1

It says this,

In the third year

of the reign of Jehoiakim,

king of Judah,

Nebuchadnezzar,

king of Babylon,

came to Jerusalem

and besieged it.

Now on the surface,

of course,

the events that are unfolding

in front of us

are the names of a king

or kingdoms

and the situation

that is taking place.

But hidden behind this

is the history of words

and the history

of God's testimony

and his faithfulness

for his people.

I just want to draw

your attention to this

as we begin our time today.

We see, first of all,

that God is faithful

to give his word.

God is faithful

to give his word.

Of course,

we're no longer

in first century Israel.

As we were studying

through the gospel of Luke.

We're no longer

even in Israel

or Jerusalem.

We're not speaking

the Greek language.

We're in Babylon here.

This is our new situation.

And this is some 600 years

before Christ

will walk the earth.

And about 400 years

after King David

reigned as king.

We find ourselves

in this book of Daniel.

Daniel,

Daniel,

which is kind of a mix

of history

and prophecy.

The first six chapters

are devoted

to kind of the story

of Daniel

and the life

of he and his friends.

All those familiar stories

that we have grown up

learning as children.

But then the last half

of this book

is about prophecy.

The apocalypse.

It's about these vivid

pictures of future kingdoms.

We're going to center

our study

during this summer

just in the first six

chapters of this book

so we can draw attention

to Daniel

and his faith in God

and how God works

through Daniel

to draw the heart

of a king

to himself.

Daniel is the author

of Daniel

which may seem

a bit confusing

in the first six chapters

because he refers

to himself

kind of in the third person

but then as we move

our way to chapter 7

through 12

we'll begin to see

more often

that Daniel

refers to himself

in the first person.

He uses I

and me.

In Daniel chapter 12

Daniel 12:4

verse 4

we find

this statement

but you,

Daniel,

shut up the words

and seal the book

until the time

of the end.

Daniel

as the author

of this book.

He's writing about

600 years

before Christ

and he focuses

his attention

in these first

couple of verses

on the situation

of Israel

and the situation

in history.

In the third year

of the reign

of Jehoiakim.

Who was Jehoiakim?

And I just want to

provide just a quick

and brief introduction

to try to get us

into the flow

of this narrative.

2 Kings 23

36 to 37

provides just a

commentary

on this

one of the last

kings of Judah.

It says

Jehoiakim

was 25 years old

when he began

to reign

and he reigned

11 years

in Jerusalem.

His mother's name

was Zebediah

the daughter

of Padiah

and Ruma

and he did

what was evil

in the sight

of the Lord

according to all

that his fathers

had done.

I just want to

draw your attention

to those last

two phrases.

He did what was evil

in the sight of the Lord.

He rebelled

against God.

He did not set

his affection

on the God

of heaven

on the God

of Abraham

Isaac and Jacob.

He decided

to follow his own

course which was

against the standard

that God had set.

But it was something

that his fathers

had done.

It was part of the

course of the

final years

of the kings

of Judah

the rebellion

against God.

So we find

for Jehoiakim's

son

who's Jehoiakin

we find

this commentary

in 2 Kings 24

2 Kings 24:13

verses 13 and 16.

So Nebuchadnezzar

he carried off

all the treasures

of the house

of the Lord

and the treasures

of the king's house

and cut in pieces

all the vessels

of gold

in the temple

of the Lord

which Solomon

king of Israel

had made

as the Lord

had foretold.

He carried away

all Jerusalem

and all the officials

and all the mighty

men of valor

10,000 captives

and all the craftsmen

and the smiths

none remained

except the poorest

people of the land.

And he carried away

Jehoiakim

to Babylon

the king's mother

the king's wives

the officials

and the chief men

of the land

he took into captivity

from Jerusalem

to Babylon.

And the king of Babylon

brought captives

to Babylon

all the men of valor

7,000

and the craftsmen

and the metal workers

a thousand

all of them

strong and fit

for war.

The best

of the best

were taken

from Jerusalem

to Babylon

and Daniel

would have been

part of that

first wave

of captivity

around 597 B.C.

Why did all

of this happen?

Well it happened

because of what

we find in verse 20.

For because

of the anger

of the Lord

it came to the point

in Jerusalem

and Judah

that he cast

them out

from his presence

and Zedekiah

rebelled against

the king

of Babylon.

This hadn't been

this hadn't happened

for no reason

it happened

because of

the explicit

word of God

in sending

prophets

to Jerusalem

and to Judah

to warn them

about his standard.

This passage

is a little lengthy

and so I want

to encourage you

to turn to

2 Chronicles

with me.

2 Chronicles

36

beginning in

verse 12

if you're using

the Pew Bible

it's on page

388

it would be

beneficial for you

to see this

for yourself

so you can

even underline

the portions

of scripture

that deal

with the

faithfulness

of God

as it relates

to giving

his word.

Notice in

verse 12

it says

speaking of

the kings

of Judah

he did

what was

right

excuse me

what was evil

in the sight

of the Lord

is God

he did

not humble

himself

before

Jeremiah

the prophet

who spoke

from the mouth

of the Lord

he also rebelled

against King

Nebuchadnezzar

who made him

swear by God

he stiffened

his neck

and hardened

his heart

against

turning to

the Lord

the God

of Israel

now drop

down to

verse 15

the Lord

the God

of their

fathers

sent

persistently

to them

by his

messengers

because he

had compassion

on his

people

in his

dwelling place

but they

kept

mocking

the messengers

of God

despising

the words

his words

and scoffing

at his

prophets

until the

wrath of the

Lord

rose against

his people

until there

was no

remedy

God

faithfully

sent

his word

God

faithfully

consistently

generation

after generation

prophet

after prophet

warned his

people

to obey

and so

what we

find in

this

first

couple

of verses

that

Jehoiakim

and the

people who

were living

in Judah

and Jerusalem

are not

just

captives

and not

just

subjects

of circumstance

but under

the divine

hand of

God

are experiencing

now the

consequences

of this

faithful

word of

God

that he

has sent

them

over

and over

and over

again

God

had given

faithful

warnings

to his

people

God

was

a faithful

God

to send

his message

through his

messengers

and as we

turn to

verse 2

and 7

of Daniel

Daniel 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

now coming

back to

Daniel

not only

is God

faithful

to give

his word

but we

find that

he's faithful

to keep

his word

and we're

going to

find that

in our

passage

in a

number

of

different

ways

God

is

faithful

to

keep

his

word

the

very

first

picture

of God's

faithfulness

is found

in verse 2

notice

the Lord

gave

Jehoiakim

king of

Judah

into his

hand

with some

of the

vessels

of the

house

of God

and he

brought

them

to the

land

of

Shinar

to the

house

of his

God

and placed

the vessels

in the

treasury

of his

God

how is

God

faithful

in verse 2

how would

you fill

in this

blank

well God

is faithful

to punish

his people

God

is faithful

to bring

punishment

on his

people

we can

rejoice

in a

God who

is faithful

to keep

his word

even

when

that word

leads

to our

own

discipline

and God

is setting

the trajectory

God is

helping

his people

understand

if he

is faithful

to keep

his word

to punish

his people

he will

also be

faithful

to keep

his word

to bring

back

his people

back to

the land

of

Judah

which is

what's

going to

happen

in 70

years

from the

beginning

of this

captivity

God is

establishing

himself

as a

faithful

God

to keep

his word

and he

does this

by punishing

his people

this word

the Lord

gave

Jehoiakim

king of

Judah

into his

hand

is the

word

delivered

it's the

word

to describe

God

giving them

over

he is the

one who

is sovereignly

involved

in the

events

that we

find

on the

pages

of

Daniel

chapter

one

it wasn't

Nebuchadnezzar's

military

might

or brilliance

that brought

about the

downfall

of Jerusalem

it wasn't

his prestige

or power

or strategic

genius

that allowed

him to

conquer

the known

world

it was

the hand

of God

and by

his power

permitting

Nebuchadnezzar

to do

these things

there are

details

that we

don't have

time to

cover

this morning

but it's

not a

coincidence

that we

find

in our

passage

this morning

a reference

to the

land of

Shinar

notice that

in the

second half

of verse

2

he brought

them to

the land

of Shinar

to the

house of

his God

and placed

the vessels

in the

treasury

of his

God

the last

time this

word was

used

the

reference

to

Shinar

goes all

the way

back to

Genesis

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11

and if you

remember the

details that

take place

there in

Shinar

this is where

the people

assembled

to build

a tower

to God

in a place

of Babel

this is the

birthplace

of Babylon

this is the

location where

the first

showdown

really

of a

religious

people who

were internally

religious

and seeking

to get to

the God

of their

own

making

are matched

and confronted

by the

one true

God

the God

who

helps them

understand

his

supremacy

helps them

come to

terms

with who

he really

is as

the God

of all

here we

are again

back in

Shinar

where God

is going

to demonstrate

his

faithfulness

his

faithfulness

to a

people

not only

to punish

but also

to preserve

and that's

what we

find in

verses 3

to 5

God

not only

punishes

his

people

God

preserves

his

people

the grace

of God

will be

so prominent

as we read

through

these first

six chapters

of Daniel

I trust

it will

encourage

your heart

Judah

at this

point

is now

taken

captive

10,000

captives

from Jerusalem

are making

their way

or have made

their way

to Babylon

they're under

discipline

but through

the narrative

of Daniel

we're going

to find

God's

loyal

subjects

are blessed

they're

thriving

in the land

Daniel

and his

friends

are thriving

in a place

of discipline

that's

a picture

of God's

preservation

on them

we see

the Lord

in his

hand

written

across

especially

this first

chapter

let me

just briefly

draw your

attention

to it

we saw

it already

in verse

2

where the

Lord

gave

but drop

down to

verse 9

we're going

to pick

this up

next week

and we'll

see

and God

gave

Daniel

favor

and compassion

in the sight

of the chief

of the eunuchs

God is

working

instrumentally

God is

the one

who's

over all

God is

the one

who's moving

the hands

and the

activities

of those

who are

responsible

then in

Daniel chapter

Daniel 1:17

1 verse 17

notice

as for

these four

God gave

them learning

and skill

in all literature

and wisdom

and Daniel

and understanding

and all visions

and dreams

God is preserving

his people

these

descendants

of Abraham

God

is

setting

his

affection

on them

God

is

blessing

them

and

allowing

them

to flourish

even in

this land

of captivity

of course

he does

this

according

to his

word

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 23:3

23

verse 3

God

states

to Jeremiah

I will gather

the remnant

of my

flock

out of

all the

countries

where I

have

driven

them

and I

will

bring

them

back

to

their

fold

and

they

shall

be

fruitful

and multiply

God

had set

his

people

apart

he was

preserving

them

for himself

and

we see

the way

in which

God

is working

through

Daniel

and through

his

three

friends

to preserve

them

in this

place

so that

he can

draw

them

back

as well

as

many

others

as we'll

find

in

the book

of Ezra

we look

at this

testimony

of these

young men

and we're

challenged

by their

courage

as they

stand

for God

but written

behind

all of

this

is the

hand

of God

who is

instrumentally

working

through

these

young

men

but notice

the shift

in language

that takes

place

once we

get to

verse

three

this

hand

of

God

will

now

work

its

way

alongside

the

hand

of

men

this

assumed

power

of

men

as

Nebuchadnezzar

will

exert

his

supposed

authority

we're

going to

see

this

interplay

not only

through

this

chapter

but also

through

the

remaining

chapters

the

king

wants

to

exert

himself

the

king

wants

to

establish

that

he's

the

authority

and we

find

throughout

the

book

of

Daniel

that

God

will

demonstrate

that he

is

the

one

true

transcendent

sovereign

and ultimate

authority

over life

but in

verse three

we find

how this

plays out

we find

then the

king

commanded

Ashpenaz

his

chief

eunuch

to bring

some

of the

people

of

Israel

both

of

the

royal

family

and

nobility

used

without

blemish

of good

appearance

and

skillful

in all

wisdom

endowed

with

knowledge

understanding

learning

and competent

to stand

in the

king's

palace

and to

teach

them

the

literature

in the

language

of the

Chaldeans

then in

verse

five

so

then the

king

assigned

them

a daily

portion

of the

food

that the

king

ate

and of

the

wine

that

he

drank

they

were

to be

educated

for three

years

and at

the

end

of

that

time

they

were

to

stand

before

the

king

king

Nebuchadnezzar

seeking

to establish

himself

as the

authority

of

Babylon

as the

authority

of the

known

world

we're

going

to see

that

authority

the

true

authority

the

authority

of

God

who

plays

in

and

through

the

rest

of

the

story

throughout

Daniel

it

didn't

matter

that

the

king

commanded

it

didn't

matter

that

the

king

appointed

God

is

the

one

who

is

working

instrumentally

behind

the

scenes

to

cause

the

results

that

he

wants

to

cause

and

to

put

his

men

in

place

the

city

of

Babylon

was

a

foreboding

city

unlike

anything

that

Jews

had

ever

seen

before

Babylon

was

the

largest

city

in

the

known

world

covering

about

four

square

miles

this

massive

river

the

river

Euphrates

would

flow

through

this

old

city

and

of

course

the

tradition

of

the

hanging

gardens

one

of

the

seven

wonders

of

the

world

was

supposedly

there

in

Babylon

the

walls

of

the

city

were

massive

so

that

Greek

historians

claimed

that

Babylon

surpassed

in

wonder

any

city

in

the

known

world

the

walls

he said

were

56

miles

in

circumference

80

feet

thick

and

320

feet

high

now

that

is

likely

an

exaggeration

but it

gives you

the sense

of the

foreboding

and

intimidation

of this

structure

in the

minds

of those

who lived

during

that day

it

was

an

impenetrable

city

it

was

a

tribute

to

the

power

and

the

supposed

glory

of

Babylon

and

of

Nebuchadnezzar

as the

king

so to

be

in

that

city

as a

captive

and

then to

be

given

this

unique

opportunity

to

stand

in

the

court

of

the

king

to

be

an

influence

for

an

empire

was

an

unimaginable

honor

Nebuchadnezzar

issues

this

command

selects

these

group

of

captives

and

notice

here

at the

end

of

verse

3

and

4

what

are

the

criteria

to

bring

the

people

of

Israel

both

of

the

royal

family

and

of

nobility

which

means

that

he

is

gathering

from

the

captives

of

Israel

and

he

is

gathering

those

specifically

from

Judah

and

those

who

were

of

nobility

which

means

that

Daniel

and

his

three

friends

were

likely

from

the

royal

family

were

likely

a

part

of

the

nobility

there

in

Judah

the fact

that they

were

young

men

is

a

designation

for

those

who

were

boys

and

educated

in

the

land

about

14

years

of

age

Nebuchadnezzar

wanted

these

young

men

to be

teachable

to be

pliable

to be

willing

to learn

new

things

Daniel

and

his

friends

were

also

required

to be

in

good

physical

health

and

the

word

that's

used

here

is

without

defect

which

reminds

us

of the

same

criteria

that was

used

for

priests

they

could

not

have

a

blemish

or

defect

so

Daniel

so

Daniel

and

his

friends

were

without

blemish

without

defect

it

speaks

of

their

intelligence

showing

aptitude

not

just

the

the

the

expanse

of

knowledge

that

they

had

but

their

aptitude

and

ability

to

learn

and

to

retain

new

things

they

were

quick

to

understand

of

course

they

would

learn

to

speak

and

write

in

the

languages

of

the

day

in

Hebrew

and

Aramaic

and

Persian

one

might

wonder

why

these

descriptions

are

given

to

us

in

the

text

and

I

think

again

it

points

to

the

hand

of

God

in

preserving

these

men

in

setting

them

apart

for

himself

it

said

at

the

time

of

the

siege

of

Nebuchadnezzar

coming

against

Judah

in

Jerusalem

there

were

as

many

as

380,000

Jews

that

lived

in

Judah

and

Jerusalem

so

estimates

of

about

80,000

to

100,000

actually

living

in

Jerusalem

and

if

you

remember

how

many

captives

were

taken

we're

talking

about

10,000

captives

which is

about

two and

a half

percent

two and

a half

percent

of those

who were

living

in

Judah

in

Jerusalem

that

were

actually

taken

as

captives

to

Babylon

and

then

of

all

of

those

who

were

selected

out

of

the

captives

of

Judah

and

Jerusalem

to

stand

before

the

court

only

four

are

given

to

us

as

those

who

remained

loyal

and

committed

to

God

those

who

met

the

criteria

those

who

I

believe

God

selected

and rose

up

and

promoted

so they

could

carry

out

his

purposes

in

the

courts

of

Nebuchadnezzar

God

is behind

the events

of what

we read

and

through

this

we see

that

God

is

preserving

his

men

for

himself

and

finally

we find

in

verse

6

and

7

that

God

places

his

people

God

preserves

his

people

he

punishes

his

people

but