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NOVEMBER 29
Daniel 6
In my thinking, there are few chapters in the Bible that are as
under-taught, underestimated and misunderstood as 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 had 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 for bringing
Daniel into his government.
Just for fun look at the following verses: Daniel 9:1 and 11:1. All of
this is happening in the first year of Darius.
The fact 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 to attend events. He may have even
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 while Neb was
grazing. We don’t know when Daniel was sent as an ambassador to Susa, but we
find him there in chapter 8. This would have given Darius and Cyrus 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 reasons that were far
more powerful.
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 and 3. So, as silly as this might sound to us, it made good sense to them.
Second, in v. 8, 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 have been made, sent out
by courier and put into official books. This information about official recorded
decrees will come in handy 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, given in
Jeremiah 29:10, to end the exile after 70 years and return the people to
Jerusalem. It is really deeper than that and we’ll see it in chapter 9. 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 another promise in Scripture.)
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 back. 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. How do
you explain that? Read on.
V. 15 This would not have endeared these men to Darius. How many men
were a part of this conspiracy? Certainly there were the two other presidents,
but some suggest that many of the local leaders were a part of this. I've read
of numbers into the hundreds, but only so many men and their families would
have fit in the lion's den. I think the main actors here were those other
presidents and a few other high ranking men.
One of the things that leads people to misunderstand the depth of this
book is that the first six chapters are seen individually, as disconnected
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, but most people still visualize Daniel as a young
man.
V. 16 How did Darius have this information? I think Darius had 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 whom is he seeking by his praying and fasting? Why couldn’t
he sleep? What was he worried about?
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 all about 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 walked into their new ballroom the next day to
decide on paint and drapes, and there on the wall they saw the words carved in
the plaster. Not only did he know the stories of what had happened to Neb, but
now he had 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 Yahweh.
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. It was time for some
"payback." And just like we saw in the book of Esther, when the
decree was given to destroy the Jews, their enemies revealed who they were and
were dealt with.
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 only.
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 in chapter 3. The force of Neb’s decree was that no one dared
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 were again a favored people in the
empire and they were granted the freedom to worship Yahweh only.
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. Notice that they were sent to
rebuild the temple, not the city. The focus of Cyrus' decree was the worship of
Yahweh and wanting to earn Yahweh's favor. 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. He most certainly had been influenced by what
happened to Neb, and Cyrus 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 7 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. Darius was different. He not only
observed; he took it to heart. Darius got an “A.”
As disciples, when Jesus tells us to go into the harvest and not to
fear, I think He can really back that up. The question is, after reading all of
this, have we learned anything?
2 Peter 3
Vs. 1-3 Peter is doing the same thing that Paul did with Timothy, when
he told Tim in both letters that in the last days there would be false
teachers. In this case Peter is saying that, from within the church, there will
come false teachers who, among other things, will cause others not to take
certain things seriously. People will scoff at God. It happens, too, and as a
result, bitter, disillusioned, fruitless believers are easy to find.
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 the world
has brought judgment once, by water, and will bring it again. As sure as there
is a visible world, there will be a time of accountability before the Creator.
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 the importance of our
mission in what Peter says here. The reason that God is waiting is for the
harvest to be brought in. Notice that this judgment will come with fire on the
earth. That sounds like the book of Revelation.
Vs. 11-13 Since we know the judgment is coming, we should live a
particular kind of life, following Jesus. Since everything on earth will be
done away with, except people, saving people is the goal, not acquiring stuff
or fulfilling our desires. By working in the harvest, bringing in those whom
God will save, we are hastening the coming of the Lord. Notice that Peter adds
some reality here regarding the coming judgment and the promise of our future
not being on this earth, but on the new one. Too many believers still think
that heaven is on this earth. This earth and this time on earth is like the
foyer or entrance to a building. We haven't really entered the true building
yet.
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. Notice that there were other Scriptures besides what Paul had
written. This could be referring to the Gospels of Mark, Luke and the letter
from James.
V. 18 says it all. Amen!
The time to be working in the harvest is now, before God's judgment
begins. And, this is the perfect season in many Western nations to use
Christmas as a conversation starter, or to show kindness to someone in the name
of our Lord.
Psalm 119:129-152
Vs. 129-130 Here, the Word becomes the light to the soul, giving
understanding. Unfolding gives the
sense of the Word gradually making sense to us as we spend time in it daily.
Vs. 131-136 On the basis of the light you have, you know how to move
and respond in the darkness. David had plenty of darkness around him.
V. 133 David needed God to steady his steps and this came through the
Word. 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 tragic results.
Vs. 137-144 Righteousness
seems to be important in this section. Righteousness is like a standard, or measurement
or guide to help us. Driving "righteously" would be obeying the
rules, stopping at signs and staying inside the lines. We learn of God's guides
for us in His Word. David's adversaries were out of bounds in pursuing David.
It was a matter of knowing God's Word and living righteously before Him. David
was distressed by the danger and the unjustness, but the Word gave David
comfort. The righteousness of God and those standards expressed in the Word
pleaded David's case.
Vs. 145-146 David's interest in God and in His Word was with his whole
heart.
Vs. 147-148 I wonder if this was David’s quiet time. Notice the mention
of the promise.
Vs. 149-151 And here’s the reason David got up so early. David knew of
the steadfast love of God as revealed
in His Word. God was near.
V. 152 David knew that the Word was eternal.
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 around us being deceived and
destroyed, around the clock. When God gives us peace, we shouldn’t abuse it by
forgetting why He has left us here. We are to pursue Him 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 why Jesus taught His disciples
that we should expect our bread from God and lay up treasure in heaven. If
that’s where our bread comes from, we can’t be bought.
V. 22 I’m sure that “poverty of soul” is included in this.
Please Read
the Following Disclaimer
I'm writing the Reading Notes to and
for those who are following a One Year Bible and are 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, that is, 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 and important discipleship manual we have and it is the 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, or whom we are to be following. 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, as disciples, 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, 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 (BKC).
I read the BKC in doing background for the Reading Notes and refer to it quite
often. I also make reference to maps or charts in the BKC, though I will only
note where those resources can be found. Often you can do a search for these
and find them in Google books. Buying both volumes of the Bible Knowledge
Commentary would be a good idea.
I am not endorsing any particular
One Year Bible translation; in fact, I read something you probably don't, Die
Revidierte Lutherbibel, 1984. Unless noted, all Scripture quotes are from the
ESV Bible.
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. Often there is a breadth of opinion on certain events, both
historical and prophetic. Many of my views come from my church background,
theological training and my personal study.
I'm
doing this with discipleship in mind, meaning, I'm writing out thoughts that
will keep discipleship and our growth as disciples applied to what we are
reading. Remember, the real focus of the Reading Notes is to be a
supplement, a disciple’s commentary, giving motivation and insight so that we
will keep following our Lord in the harvest, reaching the lost and making
disciples, who make disciples. Being in
the Word every day, sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning directly from Him, is the
essential essence of being and making disciples.
May the Lord bless you as you follow Him in the
harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples, who make disciples. Dan
If you would like documents
containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
If you would like a full
presentation of discipleship read Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples.
Or if you are struggling with
insomnia and would like a long boring dissertation on disciple making, these
can both be found on https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
Reading Notes ©, Dan Kachikis
2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018
The One Year Bible © by
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton Illinois 60189
The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers.
All charts/graphics/outlines
from the Bible Knowledge Commentary are used with the permission of David C. Cook.
© 1983, 2001 John F Walvoord and Roy B Zuck.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary is published by David C Cook.
All rights reserved. Publisher permission
required to reproduce.
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