Skip to content Embracing Purpose Through Daniel's Story - Daniel 1 Apr 29 · 14 min ...more
Embracing Purpose Through Daniel's Story - Daniel 1
April 29, 2025 · 14 min
Reflect on the life of Daniel, whose prayerful spirit allowed him to stand with purpose amidst adversity, in our new series starting today.
Series Stand on the Word - Video On Demand April 29, 2025 · 14 min · Stand on the Word - Video On Demand
Reflect on the life of Daniel, whose prayerful spirit allowed him to stand with purpose amidst adversity, in our new series starting today. ...more Show the full description Show less Reflect on the life of Daniel, whose prayerful spirit allowed him to stand with purpose amidst adversity, in our new series starting today.
Series Stand on the Word - Video On Demand Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Support this leader
Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Give
Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
94K followers
Family Research Council is serving in the kingdom of God by championing faith, family, & freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview.
94K followers
Introduction to the Book of Daniel 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Well, behind me is the Mediterranean. I just finished running alongside it on the beach. I'm in Israel. Guess what? Today, we begin the book of Daniel and a a remarkable book.0:22 The book is the account of a prophetic man of god whose life was marked by prayer and purpose. There's a lot for us to learn in this book. His advancement came to adversity and0:34 challenges that many would say were unfair, but God used those difficulties as opportunities as Daniel looked to and yielded to god. Verse 1 of chapter0:46 9, and god gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs. Now let's begin with some of the background on the book of Daniel. Daniel was a contemporary, as we've talked0:58 about before, of Ezekiel and Jeremiah. Each of them had a designated lane of ministry that complemented 1 another. Very different circumstances. They had differing results. They1:09 all face challenges, some more difficult than others, but they complemented 1 another much like the body of Christ. Different members, but 1 body. Now Daniel's name means god is1:21 my judge. Nebuchadnezzar took Daniel captive in the first deportation in 6 0 6 BC. His exact age, is unknown, but he was young. Various scholars place him1:33 between the age of 12 and 17. We'll maybe go into that a little bit more later. Now he came from the tribe of Judah and most likely from the royal family. He did not have the office of1:45 prophet or or priest, although he was called a prophet by Jesus and rightfully so. Now the first half of the book of Daniel is a historical account. His life in Babylon covered the span of the1:57 70 years of captivity of Judah from start to finish. And and in case I forgot I forget to point this out later, Daniel saw within his lifetime, the rise and fall of the first great2:09 world empire. Daniel was there when Babylon reached the zenith of its power and the splendor under Nebuchadnezzar who ruled for 45 years. In all, Daniel2:21 served in the in in some capacity under 6 different kings, and and some of them hostile takeovers. Talk about the favor of God in staying on mission. Babylon was2:32 situated in the cradle of humanity near the region of the Garden of Eden. Now today, it is uninhibited pile of rubble. But in Daniel's day, it was the premier city of the then known2:44 world. Babylon was the place of the tower of Babel. It was home to 1 of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, Nebuchadnezzar's hanging gardens. The city was a massive, fortress.2:56 Walls the walls are 300 feet high, 80 feet thick, stretching 60 miles around the city. Today, as they sift through the ruins of,3:09 this and other great empires, it's a reminder of the fleeting nature of the things of this earth, even the most powerful things. It may see seem like it could last forever, impenetrable,3:21 but here today and gone tomorrow. In the ruins of this great city, it also reveals the source of its weakness, idolatry, extravagance, and3:33 wicked luxury, which historians and scholars say were unsurpassed in the history of the world. They had it all. Now Babylon, which the Bible and this3:45 is important. The Bible uses it as a type of the world as a whole. Despite its military and economic greatness, it's gone, but there is a kingdom that is everlasting, and that3:57 is the kingdom of God. The second 6 chapters of the book of Daniel are prophetic stretching from the days in which he lived into the times of the coming messiah yet to be fulfilled.4:09 Now in, it is in this prophetic portion of Daniel, in large part, that the critics have seized upon, claiming that Daniel could not have written these books saying that it had to have4:21 been written during the time of the Maccabees, which was 1 70 to 1 64 BC after the events of Antiochus Epiphanes, whose actions4:33 Daniel actually, prophesized about in great detail. They, the critics say that they're this prophecy is too precise and had to have been written after the fact.4:46 But isn't that the nature of divine prophecy? Well, several sources point to the book of Daniel's existence way before the Maccabean time, including Jewish historian Josephus,4:58 who provides the account of Alexander the Great coming to punish the Jews in 3 32 BC for their allegiance to Darius, where the high priest,5:10 Jeudah, meets Alexander on his way to the city and shows him the book of Daniel and his prophecy concerning Alexander. And Alexander's wrath is in turn to favor,5:22 and he actually worships at the temple. The captivity of Daniel, this is another important point, marks a turning point in Israel's history and arguably the world5:34 history of the world. This marks the beginning of the times of the Gentiles. The the the the reign of Israel, the theocracy ended in the time of the Gentiles5:45 began as AR Fawcett wrote. He said, quote, earlier prophets from the standpoint of Israel treated Israel in its relation to the world powers. Daniel from Babylon, the center of the5:57 then world power, treats the world powers in their relation to Israel, so it turns. Now Tulsa also point pointed out that Daniel's residence in Babylon and his6:08 high official position there gave him an insight into world politics fitting him to be the recipient of these political revelations. While his spiritual experiences gained through Nebuchadnezzar's6:21 humiliation, Belshazzar's downfall, and the rapid decay of the Babylonian Empire itself as well as the miraculous deliverances that we see6:33 of him and his friends all fitted him for understanding these things from a spiritual standpoint. Alright. Let's begin. Verse 1, chapter 1 of the6:45 book of Daniel. 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 gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand6:57 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 vessel vessels in the treasury of his god. Now make note of these vessels,7:09 which were holy unto the lord. These came from the temple because we're gonna see them again in chapter 5. And the message there is those who profane that which is holy to the lord, it often becomes the instrument of7:20 their downfall. Verse 3. Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the7:32 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 and7:44 to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. Again, we don't know the exact age, but the clear implications are young, pliable, and moldable children that could be indoctrinated7:56 and trained in the ways of the Babylonians. Now, I think I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. A person's worldview is formulated between the age of 158:08 months and 13 years. There is a reason for the government's unrelenting effort to educate children at earlier and earlier ages because that's when their worldview is formed.8:21 You know, when the the government's offering to take your kids at 2 years old, 3 years old, it's not an act of benevolence to help parents. It's to do exactly what the Babylonians were doing in8:33 Daniel's day, indoctrinate the children into the ways of Babylon. And what does Babylon represent? The world system. But take note, in the account of Daniel, we see how8:44 parents alright. This is important. How they can inoculate their children against this effort. Verse 5, the king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king8:56 ate and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for 3 years. They were at the Babylonian University. And at the end of that time, they were to stand before the king. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah,9:08 Mishael, Azariah of the tribe of Judah, And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names. Daniel, he called Belteshazzar. Hananiah, he called Shadrach. Mishael, he called Meshach.9:20 And Azariah, he called Abednego. But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food or with the wine that he drank. Therefore, he asked the chief of9:32 the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. Now where did Daniel come up with this idea not to defile himself? I mean, it certainly wasn't on the magazine rack on the camel that he was walking9:44 behind on his way to Babylon or a program, on the captivity march entertainment system. We don't read this, but I think we can we can confidently assume that his9:56 parents his parents taught him to follow the lord as a child. When we do what is in the power of our hands to do, look what god will then do.10:08 Right? So we can't control everything about our children. Proverbs says, raise up child when he the way that he should go, and when he's old, he will not depart from it. Our role as parents, grandparents teach our10:19 children when they're young, god will do what only he can do, but we have to do our part. Verse 9, and god gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of eunuchs. Now this is the10:31 key. Right? This is the key. The favor of God. Where does that come from? Where does the favor of God come from? For 1, it's obedience to God. You're not gonna have the favor of God without obedience to10:43 God. Now you know the rest of the story. He and his 3 friends excelled and were promoted. Verse 17. And for these 4 youths, God gave them learning and skill and all literature and10:54 wisdom. And Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. So how did they excel? How did this happen? And we're gonna see more of this throughout the book of Daniel, but it came through the hand of God.11:06 Verse 18. At the end of the time when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar, and the king spoke to them. And among all of them, none was11:18 found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore, they stood before the king. And in every manner of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them 10 times11:29 better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. Now the final verse of chapter 1 is the bookend of the captivity,11:41 not Daniel's life. He lived a few years longer after the captivity of, Judah ended. Verse 21, and Daniel was there until the first year of king11:53 Cyrus. So, I mean, he saw it all from start to finish. You know, when we stand for the lord and his truth, and and we're gonna see this throughout the book of Daniel. When we stand for the12:05 lord and his truth, we will not stand alone. He will stand with us. Father, we thank you for your word, and the lord is so excited to, begin the book of Daniel. And, again,12:17 we pray for the holy spirit to lead us through this study, revealing to us the truth of your word and its application to our lives. Your word is here for a purpose. It's living. It's alive, and it speaks to12:29 our lives. And we ask that, we would yield ourselves to you like Daniel and his his, friends did. That, lord, they yielded themselves to you, and you used them in great and mighty ways.12:41 Lord, they they face challenges, but they overcame. And father, I pray that our eyes would be upon you, and you would use us in these days in which we live to stand firm for your truth to point12:53 others to the cross of Jesus Christ. We pray and ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning. Pray for us. I got a group of pastors that I'm leading through, Judea and Samaria on13:05 some important, an important mission. I'll probably talk about that, in the days ahead. But pray for us, and, until next time, keep standing on the word.13:17 Today's study comes from the stand on the word bible reading plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you13:29 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Introduction to the Book of Daniel
Comments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
Comments
Keep it kind. Comments are public.