November 29, Reading Notes

Daniel 6

In my thinking, there are few chapters in the Bible that are as under-taught, underestimated and misunderstood than this chapter. This is one of those chapters that makes Bible study a lot of fun. Buckle up!

Vs. 1-3 Now, how is this possible? It should be impossible for anyone to read this and just accept it without wondering why Darius, the conquering general and ruler over this part of the Persian Empire, should elevate Daniel. Daniel was not only the final ruler of the Babylonian empire, but he has served Babylon as a high ranking official for 67 years. These are the guys you kill when you take over. Assuming Darius was a rational man, why would he do this. It doesn’t make sense. Darius must have had very good reasons to bring Daniel into his government.

Just for fun look at the following verses. Daniel 8:1-2, 9:1 and 11:1. This is happening in the first year of Darius.

That Darius was 62 years old meant he would have been in his twenties when Neb lost his mind. There were great relationships between the Babylonians and the Persians and Medes. As royalty, Darius would have visited Babylon many times on official business or in attending events. He may even have fed Nebuchadnezzar a carrot. He would have known Daniel, all his life, as the ruler of the province of Babylon and the chief of the wise men. Daniel’s eminence would have been even greater during the seven years Neb was grazing. We don’t know when Daniel was sent as an ambassador to Susa, but we find him there in chapter eight. This would have given Darius more contact with Daniel. Now, these could have been some reasons for Darius to have respected Daniel, but as we read on, we will find some more reasons.

Vs. 4-9 There are two things that are important to see here. First, these people were very religious, and to break the will of a people, you made them compromise themselves in the worship of their gods. We saw that in Daniel 1 & 3. So, as silly as this might sound to us, it made good sense to them. Second, in verse eight, it is very clear that Darius was an equal with Cyrus, in that he could sign a decree into existence that was binding and could not be broken in the entire Empire. Official records of this would be made and put into official books. This will come in handy to know at the end of the chapter.

Vs. 10-11 Daniel went and prayed anyway. Why? I’ve heard people attribute this to the faithful habits of a person having their quiet time and their sweet hour of prayer before the Lord. That is all great stuff. But, if you really want to know why Daniel prayed, as well as what he prayed, read Daniel 9:1-19. This was an absolutely crucial time in the history of Israel. Daniel’s passion for the Lord and for his people as representatives of the God of salvation was burning in him. The seventy years were up and a new government had taken over. Daniel knew his entire life had been directed by God to save his people. He was begging God to fulfill His promise. It is really deeper than that and we’ll see it in chapter nine. There was no way in the world, regardless of the enemy or the cost, that Daniel would not beg God for His people. (By the way, we’ll see later that facing Jerusalem in prayer was a part of a promise.)

Vs. 11-13 The trap was sprung, but as we saw in Esther with Haman, sometimes the traps you set for others have a way of biting you. In this case, the biting is meant literally.

Vs. 14-20 Here we go again. Darius is acting very strangely.

V. 14 I’ve heard this explained that Darius really loved Daniel and didn’t want to lose such a cool leader. Maybe, but how do you explain that Darius is very distressed. This section shows that Darius was fearful. Read on.

V. 15 This would not have endeared these men to Darius.

One of the things that leads people to misunderstand the depth of this book is that the first six chapters are seen individually, as children’s stories. Just for the fun of it, google, “Daniel in the lion’s den,” and then click on “images.” Notice how many of the pictures do not show that Daniel was in his eighties. I found one picture that looked like “Samson in the lion’s den.” Anyway, it should be impossible to read chapters 1-6 and not know that 70 years have passed.

V. 16 How did Darius have this information? I think Darius has known this about Daniel most of his life.

V. 18 No TV, no dancing girls, no nothing! Why in the world is a pagan king fasting, and to whom? Why couldn’t he sleep?

V. 19 Why is he going to the den so early and with so much agitation? Did he want to collect the bones? Guys like this never traveled alone, so the coach or the guys who carried him apparently had to do double-time.

V. 20 Why is he crying out in anguish? Just think of what Darius says here, “servant of the living God.” That is a grade “A” shocker. How did Darius know that?

I think Darius expected that God would act that night to save Daniel. I think Darius knew about all of God’s education of Nebuchadnezzar: the first dream, the dedication and furnace, and particularly the events that led up to Neb being punished. All of these actions were official Babylonian events, recorded in Aramaic, copied, sent out to the capitals of the provinces and filed. Then, the night that Darius took over, he heard of this strange event in the ballroom. He and Mrs. Darius walk in there the next day to decide on paint and drapes, and there on the wall he sees the words carved in the plaster. Not only did he know the stories of what had happened to Neb, but now he has become a part of that history of this mighty God who mixes Himself in empires and disciplines those kings who resist Him. For Darius, living in Babylon might have been kind of like inheriting a haunted house. I think that when Darius realized he had been tricked and maneuvered into putting Daniel to death, he feared for his life before God.

Vs. 21-23 Not only was Darius happy (and off the hook), but it was a visual sign and miracle to all of those officials and soldiers who were with him.

V. 24 Darius was also very mad.

Vs. 25-27 I just have a few observations here. First, another pagan king is worshiping God. Actually, Darius is doing such a good job of it, you wonder if this event moved him to become a worshiper of Yahweh.

Second, Darius writes a binding decree for the entire Persian Empire stating that people were to fear Yahweh. Remember that Nebuchadnezzar did this after the furnace. The force of Neb’s decree was that no one dare force the Jews to worship any god but their own. That decree protected the Jews up until the Persian Empire. When the Persians came to power, they hit the “reset” button and the Jews were threatened again with being forced to worship other gods. With this decree, the Jews again are a favored people in the Empire and they only have to worship Yahweh.

Third, this information, the entire written account would have been sent out in Aramaic to all the ends of the Earth, not just the Empire. Cyrus would have gotten a copy. The first year of Darius was also the first year of Cyrus. Guess what Cyrus did in his first year and after this event? He sent the Jews back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Was this event the catalyst to Cyrus’ decree? That makes a lot more sense to me than that God just whammied him and Cyrus mindlessly did it. Read Ezra 1:1-2, and you’ll notice that Cyrus had a lot of information, that he may have been influenced by what happened to Neb and that he might have read some of the official Babylonian documents that had been written by Daniel, that is, chapters 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7. (Chapter seven is interesting and was written in Aramaic, years earlier.) I think that God used this crisis to put the fire under Cyrus to seek the favor of God and to send the Jews home.

Fourth, look at what God does through crisis. In God’s hands, crisis is our friend. This should teach us something.

Fifth, though Belshazzar knew what God had done to Nebuchadnezzar, he failed to learn from it and paid the price. But this king not only observed, he took it to heart. Darius got an “A.”

2 Peter 3

Vs. 1-3 Peter is doing the same thing that Paul did with Timothy, telling Tim in both letters that in the last days there would be false teachers. In this case Peter is saying that there will come, from within the church, false teachers who, among other things, will cause others not to take certain things seriously. People will scoff at God.

Vs. 4-7 In this case they are creating doubt regarding the return of the Lord and judgment. Peter uses the example of the flood, to show that what happened once, will certainly happen again. The same Word that created, has brought judgment and will bring it again. I think the issue here is not only God’s delay, but whether He will bring judgment.

Vs. 8-10 Notice the prominence of the harvest and our mission in what Peter says here. The reason that God is waiting is for the harvest to be brought in.

Vs. 11-13 Since we know the judgment is coming, we should live a particular kind of life, following Jesus. By working in the harvest, bringing in those whom God will save, we are hastening the coming of the Lord.

Vs. 14-18 Notice here that Paul’s writings are equated as Scripture. The people are to resist the false teachers, wait on the Lord, honor God and work in the harvest during this time of God’s patience.

V. 18 says it all. Amen!

Psalm 119:129-152

V. 133 In reading this, I think of how strong David was when he was afflicted and distressed. He was forced to go to the Lord in His Word. It seems like David lived in the Word. When he got comfortable and busy and important in his palace, I think he let the Word gather dust, and we’ve read the results.

Vs. 147-148 I wonder if this was David’s quiet time.

Vs. 149-151 And here’s the reason David got up so early.

This makes me think that we need to pursue the Lord in times of “peace,” the way we do in times of need and distress. The reality of this life is that we live behind enemy lines, with people being deceived and destroyed around us, around the clock. God gives us peace, we shouldn’t abuse it by forgetting why he has left us here. We are to pursue God in this dark harvest, following Christ, reaching the lost, making disciples who make disciples. Very soon, both in the OT and in the NT we will begin reading about the judgment that is coming.

Proverbs 28:21-22

V. 21 I’m sure this was another reason that Jesus taught his disciples that we should expect our bread from God and lay up treasure in heaven. If that’s the case, we can’t be bought.

V. 22 I’m sure that “poverty of soul” is included in this.

If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this link Every Day in the Word. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/devotions/ and click on “Every Day in the Word.” 

I'm writing these comments to and for those who are following a One Year Bible and interested in growing deeper as a disciple, following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the growth of a discipleship culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging each other to follow Christ and work to reach out and make disciples who make disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal manual we have and key to our growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here or what we are to be doing. My comments are only meant to provide some explanation of the events or to show the flow of God's plan of redemption. My comments are in no way exhaustive, but are designed to keep us focused on Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups will grow in Christ and be willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with and encourage in their growth as disciples, disciples making disciples in the harvest.

If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's keyed to the NIV, so the result is, the commentators are constantly telling you what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never hurts.

I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible; in fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.

Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and is encouraged to take their own notes and make their own observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular tradition or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as I understand it. Send comment or feedback to dgkachikis@gmail.com.