Paragraph # 1 Study # 2
October 2, 2022
Broadlands, Louisiana
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Introduction: In our studies in chapter one, there is one main point: God is to be
trusted because His words will prove to be true. As we began to look into chapter two a couple of weeks ago, we were confronted with some "troublesome" details that are deliberately in place because God is seeking out those who
trust Him. The "troublesome details" surfaced from the records of Daniel and Jeremiah in respect to the "timing" of the events that are being recorded.
In Daniel's case, we know from Daniel 9:2 that Daniel was aware of what Jeremiah had written as "the word of the Lord". This means that Daniel's words would not have contradicted Jeremiah's, so the two were in harmony with one another about the details in their respective records. Thus, Daniel's claim that Nebuchadnezzar's "dreams" began in his "second year" cannot be a contradiction to Jeremiah's statement that the fourth year of Jehoiakim was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 25:1). The "problem" is that Daniel says "Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem in the third year of Jehoiakim" and Jeremiah says that the fourth year of Jehoiakim was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar as king. All in all, the issue is whether Daniel was identifying Nebuchadnezzar as "king" in respect to when the events transpired, or he was identifying Nebuchadnezzar as "king" when he wrote the record 70 years after they transpired. Is the following statement "true": "President Reagan was a Hollywood "star" and he used his talents developed there to woo the people to vote for him"?
At issue, however, in this present study is the danger that Daniel and his three companions were in because of the mental condition of the king that was created by his repeated "dream". Thus, we are going to look into what was going on that created this danger.
- I. Daniel's Ability To Interpret Dreams and Visions: 1:17.
- A. This was not an unheard of ability in Judea because they had the record of Joseph and the importance of his ability to interpret dreams as given in the book of Genesis.
- B. But, the situation that Daniel faced was different from that of Joseph.
- 1. Joseph's ability was demonstrated by his correct interpretation of dreams that the dreamers related to him, but Daniel was restricted from the "telling" of a dream (2:4-6).
- 2. Daniel's situation was one of extreme danger; Joseph's was not.
- a. The king of Babylon was, in his own words, "anxious".
- 1) The same word is used in Genesis 41:8 in Moses' description of Pharaoh's distress.
- 2) And the same word is used in Psalm 77:2-4 where the psalmist is in significant distress.
- 3) This is an exact correlation to Daniel 2:1, 3.
- b. The king of Babylon was also extremely paranoid and aware of the machinations of men.
- c. The king of Babylon was unreasonable, but determined to do what he said he would do.
- d. But the Pharaoh of Egypt was neither that paranoid, nor that murderously intent.
- II. At This Point, Daniel Switches To The Language Of The Chaldeans.
- A. The reason for Daniel's switch isn't initially obvious, but it plays out through the end of chapter seven, and reveals his purpose.
- 1. He has a message for the Babylonians: compare 2:10 to 2:20-23 and 2:27-28.
- 2. He was living in a setting in history when the "abilities" of Yahweh are being seriously doubted by both Judeans and Babylonians.
- 3. He, having gained the outcome that had been promised by Habakkuk 2:4 in chapter one, was emboldened by that success to appeal to Yahweh to provide the information that the king was demanding, and, by that, demonstrated to his "Babylonian" audience that Yahweh was, indeed, superior to the gods of Babylon and its cadre of "wise men".
- B. This switch did not prevent Daniel's people from being able to "get the message" because they were able to read Daniel's records after 70 years in captivity, and they were given the experiences of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah to affirm the power of Yahweh, not an insignificant thing in the light of 5:22-23.
