Introduction to Daniel

JASON MARTIN

Daniel / Daniel 1:1–7

The Road to Babylon

Daniel 1:1–7 ESV

1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And 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. 3 Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, 4 youths 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 and language of the Chaldeans. 5 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. 6 Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. 7 And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

1. The symbolism of Babylon is another theme that runs through all of Scripture.

a. from the towel of Babel in Genesis 11 to the great end-times harlot of Revelation 17

b. it represents 3 main things

i. human pride and rebellion against God

ii. spiritual adultery and idolatry

iii. economic seduction - making prosperity our security

c. While Egypt represents bondage and the place you want to escape from - Babylon represents the worldly system that we all need to decide whether or not to adopt or align with

2. God had warned Israel for hundreds of years to repent

Deuteronomy 28:36–37 ESV

36 “The Lord will bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. And there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone. 37 And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the Lord will lead you away.

a. God told Israel before they ever entered Canaan:

i. If they obeyed;

1. blessing

2. prosperity

3. peace

ii. if they rebelled;

1. famine

2. invasion

3. exile

4. foreign oppression

b. Babylon is the Covenant curse coming to pass

Israel Chose Idolatry Instead

Leviticus 26:34–35 ESV

34 “Then the land shall enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land shall rest, and enjoy its Sabbaths. 35 As long as it lies desolate it shall have rest, the rest that it did not have on your Sabbaths when you were dwelling in it.

i. God told them He would send them back out of the promised land and the land would finally enjoy it’s rest.

1. This becomes important later

a. The Babylonian captivity wasn’t an unexpected tragedy. It was the fulfillment of God’s covenant warnings if they would not be faithful to Him

b. The Nation of Israel started off as 1 family. While in Egypt for 400 years, they grew to between 2-6 million people. This was why Pharaoh was so afraid of them.

c. Then God raised up Moses to bring them out of Egypt and to the Promised Land.

i. They would be there for about 400 more years during the period of the judges.

d. Then God raised up kings like Saul, David, and Solomon and Israel was united under one king

i. after Solomon died, there was a civil war and the kingdom was split into 2. the northern kingdom, and the southern kingdom

e. the Northern Kingdom was called Israel and consisted primarily of ten tribes

i. it’s capitol was Samaria

ii. it had 19 kings in it’s history and none of them were ever considered righteous throughout their history

iii. it lasted for about 209 years

iv. it was destroyed by Assyria in 722 BC and never existed as an independent kingdom again - and the people were taken off into exile.

1. These are known as the Lost Tribes of Israel

v. This region later became Samaria, home of the Samaritans of the New Testament

f. the Southern Kingdom was called Judah

i. The remaining 2 tribes

ii. It’s whose capitol was Jerusalem

iii. This was David’s dynasty

iv. Had a few good kings at different points in time

v. it lasted for about 325 years

vi. eventually became just as corrupt as Israel

1. The sins of Judah are listed repeatedly in the Book of Jeremiah

a. idolatry

b. child sacrifice

c. injustice

d. corrupt leaders

e. false prophets

f. empty religion

2. The people didn’t take their sin seriously. They believed that God would never let them be conquered - they were His people after all. At least they were better than the pagan people that surrounded them

a. Jeremiah preached that He not only will let them fall, and His wrath is building up

God Sends Prophet After Prophet

1. Before the Babylonian exile, God sent in order;

a. Amos

b. Hosea

c. Isaiah

d. Micah

e. Zephaniah

f. Habakkuk

g. Jeremiah

2. They all preached the same message

a. repent or judgment is coming

b. the people refused to repent - and judgment came

3. The world around them is changing and Babylon is gaining power

a. For almost 300 years Assyria ruled the middle east

i. it’s capital was Nineveh

1. this is where the prophet Jonah reluctantly went years before to preach repentance to - or else God would destroy them

a. They repented for a while and God’s judgement was delayed

b. Then, in 612 BC Babylon and the Medes destroy Nineveh

i. The kingdom of Assyria starts to collapse

c. Three years later in 609 BC King Josiah of Judah dies in a battle at Megiddo

i. Judah loses it’s last good king

ii. Egypt takes control over Judah and forces them to pay tribute to them

d. 4 years after that in 605 BC Is one of the most famous battles in history - the Battle of Carchemish

i. Nebuchadnezzar defeats Pharaoh Necho

ii. Babylon becomes the world superpower

iii. Judah now pays tribute to them

e. This is exactly where the book of Daniel begins

4. Why Doesn’t Babylon Destroy Judah Immediately?

a. Nebuchadnezzar wants taxes - rubble doesn’t profit anybody

b. Babylon gave Judah chance after chance - but they rebelled repeatedly

Three Major Deportations

1. The first deportation (Daniel 1:1-7) into exile was in 605 BC

a. Nebuchadnezzar removes the

i. nobles

ii. princes

iii. educated young men

iv. royal family members (tribe of Judah) - which included:

1. Daniel

2. Hananiah

3. Mishael

4. Azariah

v. he also took the Temple treasures and artifacts

b. The purpose was to weaken Judah by destroying any type of leadership and leaving mostly the poorest to farm and work the land to generate taxes

i. This strategy would strengthen Babylon on the backs of the Hebrews

2. The second deportation (Ezekiel 1:1-3) happened in 597 BC

a. King Jehoiakim’s rebellion against Babylon fails

i. then king Jehoiachin, his son, surrenders

b. Babylon takes captive all of the

i. soldiers

ii. craftsmen

iii. priests

iv. officials / politicians

c. about 10,000 people in total this time

i. Ezekiel goes in this group

d. Zedekiah becomes the puppet king, placed there by Nebuchadnezzar

3. The third deportation (Ezekiel 24:1-2, 33:21) happened in 586 BC when Zedekiah rebels

a. Nebuchadnezzar gets fed up

b. Jerusalem is besieged

c. the Temple is destroyed

d. the walls are destroyed

e. the palace is burned

f. Judah collapses

4. by 582 BC, all of the remaining leaders have been removed, and Judah effectively ceases to exist

Where is Babylon?

1. People sometimes imagine a straight line East to West

a. They needed to travel around the Arabian desert

i. from Jerusalem

ii. North through Syria

iii. along the Euphrates river

iv. South to Babylon

b. The distance was about 900-1,000 miles on foot

i. it would take several months

ii. most of them never saw Jerusalem again

Why Take the Best Young People?

1. This was standard policy for Babylon. They educated the elite captives in;

a. language

b. literature

c. religion

d. politics

2. The goal was to force the Hebrews to assimilate and become Babylonians

a. God had other plans

Historical Evidence

1. One of the strengths of studying Daniel is how much historical support it has from outside the Bible

a. There are Cuneiform tablets describing many of these events, including those in Daniel 1

b. There are pottery shards written just before the fall of Jerusalem describing the events of that time

c. There are numerous royal inscriptions for Nebuchadnezzar

d. The excavation of the Ishtar Gate

e. Babylonian ration tablets that record king Jehoiachin and his sons receiving food allowances

Daniel Begins

1. The exile wasn’t God losing to Babylon - it’s proof that He keeps His word

a. Most of the Israelites thought Babylon conquered their God

i. Jerusalem was destroyed

ii. the Temple was plundered

iii. they were being marched a thousand miles away into a pagan land

iv. it looks like God failed

2. Daniel is going to show the opposite

a. God raises kings

b. God removes kings

c. God gave Jerusalem into Nebuchadnezzar’s hand (Daniel 1:2)

d. God rules Babylon just as surely as He ruled Jerusalem

Daniel 1:1–2 ESV

1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And 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.

3. This is the key to the entire book of Daniel

a. Nebuchadnezzar believed he won because of his military power - so did many of the Jews

b. When one nation conquered another, they would carry their sacred objects to their own temple. This symbolized one god defeating another

i. The Philistines did this with the Ark of the Covenant and Dagon’s temple.

ii. In each case, God gave these holy things over in judgment

c. Daniel immediately tells us in the first two verses who was really in control

i. Everything that follows after that reminds us God is sovereign over history - even in exile

ii. It doesn’t say Babylon defeated Judah - it says “The LORD gave...”

iii. This was God’s judgment come down

d. God even calls Nebuchadnezzar ‘My servant’ in Jeremiah 27:6.

i. not because he worshipped God

ii. because God was using him to accomplish His purposes

Exile isn’t the end of Israel’s story

1. To the exiles, Babylon feels like the end - How could they be faithful now?

a. the Northern Kingdom of Israel had long ago been conquered

b. now there’s no Temple

c. no sacrifices

d. no king on David’s throne

e. no homeland

f. everything that defined Israel’s history was gone - taken away by God Himself through the wicked hands of Babylon

2. God uses this situation to do some of His greatest work

a. Daniel receives visions of the coming kingdoms - Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome

b. Ezekiel sees the Glory of God leaving outside Jerusalem and joining them in exile in Babylon

c. the local gatherings begin that would eventually develop into the Synagogue system

d. the exile reminded the people that God’s Presence isn’t confined to one place

e. the exile takes away the false security and forces the people to trust Him instead of their symbols

3. Application: The book of Daniel reminds us that our circumstances don’t determine God’s Presence or purpose

a. when bad circumstances come in so many different areas

i. your job

ii. your marriage

iii. your diagnosis

iv. your children

v. your country

b. Daniel is teaching us not to ask “where is God?’

i. Scripture says He’s with us

ii. instead ask ‘what is God accomplishing through this?”

4. God didn’t abandon Judah. He was;

a. disciplining His children - like a Good Father does

b. preserving a faithful remnant - as He always will

c. and preparing history for something greater

5. This same God still rules over every

a. government

b. economy

c. election

d. crisis

e. and circumstances - good or bad

6. Our confidence is not in our circumstances

a. it’s in His sovereignty

Romans 8:28 ESV

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

i. this doesn’t mean everything itself is good

ii. it means nothing is outside His Authority

The Road to Christ

1. Daniel points us forward past the exile to the greater story of redemption

a. Israel was sent into exile for covenant unfaithfulness

b. yet the prophets repeatedly promised that after judgment would come restoration

2. it would come through the promised Son of David

a. this is why Matthew starts the way it does

Matthew 1:1 ESV

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Matthew 1:17 ESV

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

3. Like Daniel, Jesus lived faithfully under pagan rule - so can we

a. Jesus bore the ultimate exile and experienced the Covenant curse in place of His people.

Galatians 3:13 ESV

13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—

4. The exile points to a bigger problem than geography

a. humanity was exiled from the presence of God because of sin all the way back in Eden in Genesis 3:23-24.

b. Jesus came to bring us home

5. Through His death and resurrection, he reconciles sinners to God and secures the promise of a Kingdom that has no end and can never be conquered.

a. that’s the Kingdom Christians concern ourselves with

b. the kingdoms of this world are passing away

6. Daniel’s visions are going to culminate in the reign of a King called “The Son of Man”

a. Jesus repeatedly applies this Name to Himself over 80 recorded times in the New Testament - His favorite Title for Himself

7. The book of Daniel shows the difference between those who think they rule and the One True God that actually does

a. the New Testament answers the question once and for all

Matthew 28:18 ESV

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

8. This is why believers can live faithfully in Babylon, or America, or anywhere else

a. we know our King already reigns - and

b. His kingdom will outlast every empire this world can build

What does this mean for us?

1. Scripture doesn’t come right out and say it, but the implication here is that these boys were castrated and made to be eunuchs to serve the king

2. they were to be taught the literature and language of Babylon

3. they’re names were changed;

a. Daniel = God is my Judge

i. Belteshazzar = Bel, protect the king

b. Hananiah = YHWH has been gracious

i. Shadrach = I am fearful of Aku

c. Mishael = Who is like God?

i. Meshach = Who is like Aku

d. Azariah = YHWH has helped

i. Abed-Nego = servant of Nabu

4. This is all part of Babylon’s assimilation strategy;

a. change their language

b. change their education

c. change their diet

d. change their names

e. change their identity

5. But they could not change their allegiance

a. Everything was designed to make them forget who they were

b. Our culture still tries to define us.

c. It tells us where our worth comes from.

d. It tells us what truth is.

e. It tells us what success is.

6. But before you're an American...

a. Before you're a Republican or Democrat...

b. Before you're successful or struggling...

c. If you're in Christ, your primary identity is that you belong to Him.

Exported from Logos Bible Study, 4:18 PM July 20, 2026.