Daniel My Gods bigger than your God 1

Daniel My God’s bigger than your God! 1

A crash-course in Babylonian Theology Red God Many gods exist These gods vary in power The more powerful the god, the more he can empower his army Yellow God 2

A crash-course in Babylonian Theology Many gods exist These gods vary in power The more powerful the god, the more he can empower his army Military victories & defeats are ultimately very spiritual experiences 3

Applied Babylonian Theology (BT-101) The destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple clearly prove “The God of Babylon > Yahweh” 4

The response of Jewish Theology: (JT-2730) The destruction of Jerusalem was not because YHWH was weak rather it was his faithfulness in punishing a disobedient people. ______, and _______ Deuteronomy _____, Jeremiah Kings teach this specifically! 5

The Counter-response of Babylonian theology Whatever… 6

God’s Counter-Response The Book of Daniel Jeremiah answers the question (For Israelites): “Whose fault was the exile? ” Daniel answers the question (For all others): “Is Yahweh weak? ” 7

The clue offered by the languages in the book OR just another way Structure is helpful 8

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What is the only common thread in all the stories? • • • The concept of “Faith” ? ? Daniel. . . ? ? Good Jewish people ? ? Dumb Kings ? ? The same audience ? ? 10

1 A The preparation of the prophet 1: 1 -21 Daniel 1: 1 -2 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 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. 11

1 A The preparation of the prophet 1: 1 -21 Daniel 1: 8 8 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. Daniel 1: 15 -17 15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. 17 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. 12

2 A YHWH’s Superiority over the Nations 2 -7 1 B Demonstrated in the Dream of Nebuchadnezzar, 2: 1 -49 Daniel 2: 2 -4 2 So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, 3 he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means. ” 4 Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it. ” 13

2 A YHWH's Superiority over the Nations 2 -7 1 B. . . Dream of Nebuchadnezzar, 2: 1 -49 Daniel 2: 5 5 The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. Daniel 2: 10 10 The astrologers answered the king, “There is not a man on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. Daniel 2: 11 11 What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among men. ” 14

2 A YHWH’s Superiority over the Nations 2 -7 1 B. . . Dream of Nebuchadnezzar, 2: 1 -49 Daniel 2: 27 -28 27 Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you lay on your bed are these: Daniel 2: 47 47 The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, 15 for you were able to reveal this mystery. ”

2 A YHWH’s Superiority over the Nations 2 -7 2 B. . . in the golden image, 3: 1 -30 Daniel 3: 1 -2 1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. 16

2 A YHWH's Superiority over the Nations 2 -7 2 B. . . in the golden image, 3: 1 -30 Daniel 3: 13 -15 13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue 17 you from my hand? ”

2 A YHWH’s Superiority over the Nations 2 -7 2 B. . . in the golden image, 3: 1 -30 Daniel 3: 16 16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. Daniel 3: 17 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. Daniel 3: 18 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of 18 gold you have set up. ”

2 A YHWH's Superiority over the Nations 2 -7 2 B. . . in the golden image, 3: 1 -30 Daniel 3: 19 19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual Daniel 3: 26 26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” 19

2 A YHWH's Superiority over the Nations 2 -7 2 B. . . in the golden image, 3: 1 -30 Daniel 3: 28 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Daniel 3: 29 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way. ” 20

2 A YHWH’s Superiority over the Nations 2 -7 3 B. . . in the pride & punishment of Neb, 4 Daniel 4: 1 -2 1 King Nebuchadnezzar, To the peoples, nations and men of every language, who live in all the world: May you prosper greatly! 2 It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me. 21

2 A YHWH’s Superiority over the Nations 2 -7 3 B. . . in the pride & punishment of Neb, 4 Daniel 4: 10 10 These are the visions I saw while lying in my bed: I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous. Daniel 4: 13 -14 13 “In the visions I saw while lying in my bed, I looked, and there before me was a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven. 14 He called in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and 22 the birds from its branches.

2 A YHWH’s Superiority over the Nations 2 -7 3 B. . . in the pride & punishment of Neb, 4 Daniel 4: 22 22 you, O king, are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth. Daniel 4: 28 -30 28 All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty? ” 23

2 A YHWH’s Superiority over the Nations 2 -7 3 B. . . in the pride & punishment of Neb, 4 Daniel 4: 32 -33 32 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes. 33 Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird. 24

2 A YHWH’s Superiority over the Nations 2 -7 3 B. . . in the pride & punishment of Neb, 4 Daniel 4: 34 34 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. Daniel 4: 35 35 All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done? ” 25

2 A YHWH’s Superiority over the Nations 2 -7 4 B. . . in the feast of Belshazzar, 5 Daniel 5: 2 2 While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. Daniel 5: 5 -6 5 Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. 6 His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees 26 knocked together and his legs gave way.

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2 A YHWH’s Superiority over the Nations 2 -7 5 B. . . in Daniel's victory over the lions, 6 Daniel 6: 10 10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Daniel 6: 16 16 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” 28

2 A YHWH’s Superiority over the Nations 2 -7 5 B. . . in Daniel's victory over the lions, 6 Daniel 6: 20 20 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions? ” Daniel 6: 24 24 At the king's command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions' den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all 29 their bones.

2 A YHWH’s Superiority over the Nations 2 -7 5 B. . . in Daniel's victory over the lions, 6 Daniel 6: 25 -26 25 Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language throughout the land: “May you prosper greatly! 26 “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. “For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. 30

What is the only common thread in all the stories? • • • The concept of faith ? ? Daniel. . . ? ? Good Jewish people ? ? Dumb Kings ? ? The same audience ? ? God himself 31

Daniel My God’s bigger than your God! 32

2 A YHWH’s Superiority over the Nations 2 -7 6 B. . . in Daniel's Vision of the future, 7 33

Chap. 2 Head of Gold Chap. 7 Chap. 8 600 BABYLON 2: 48 LION 626 BABYLONIA 539 500 MEDO-PERSIA Chest & Arms of Silver BEAR RAM MEDOPERSIA 8: 20 400 330 300 GREECE Belly & Thighs of Bronze Legs of Iron LEOPARD Terrifying and Frightening Feet of clay Beast GOAT GREECE 8: 21 200 100 ROME 167 B. C. MACCABEES 63 ROME Fall of AD 70 Jerusalem 34