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Voddie Baucham - A Tale of Two Kingdoms · Voddie Baucham Sermons

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  Speaker 1: Open your Bibles to our new book. We finished the
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  Speaker 1: book of Romans and now we are heading back to
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  Speaker 1: the Old Testament and we are in the book of Daniel.
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  Speaker 1: Daniel chapter 1. The book of Daniel has much to
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  Speaker 1: say about living in the midst of turbulent times. It
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  Speaker 1: would be a fitting title for the book of Daniel
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  Speaker 1: would it not? Hope in the midst of turbulent times.
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  Speaker 1: Whatever you have gone through, I guarantee it has not
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  Speaker 1: risen to the level of Daniel's despair. I guarantee you
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  Speaker 1: that your worst day was better than what Daniel experienced
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  Speaker 1: when he and many of his countrymen were dragged off
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  Speaker 1: in chains to a foreign land. And yet, The book
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  Speaker 1: of Daniel stands to give us hope in the midst
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  Speaker 1: of those turbulent times. Listen to this from one commentator.
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  Speaker 1: Over against the might of Babylon and the seeming superiority
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  Speaker 1: of her gods, two questions face exiled Jews. Is Israel's
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  Speaker 1: God truly God as compared with the Babylonian ones? And
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  Speaker 1: will God forgive the sin of his people today and
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  Speaker 1: resume fellowship with them. The first question is answered in
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  Speaker 1: Daniel by his recounting of the might of Israel's God
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  Speaker 1: as he exercises his sovereignty over all human kingdoms. The
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  Speaker 1: kingdom theology of the book of Daniel is an answer
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  Speaker 1: to the exile's concern over the uniqueness of Israel's God.
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  Speaker 1: The book of Daniel also answers the second question. Not
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  Speaker 1: only is the theme of kingdom present, but also that
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  Speaker 1: of covenant. Covenant is present implicitly in the narrative sections
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  Speaker 1: of the book with the emphasis on the distinctiveness of
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  Speaker 1: Daniel and his companions in their exilic setting. However, in
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  Speaker 1: chapters 9 through 11, the covenant theme appears explicitly. Is
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  Speaker 1: our God truly God? And will he forgive us and
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  Speaker 1: redeem us? Those are the questions, not just for Daniel.
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  Speaker 1: Those are the questions for us. Is my God truly God?
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  Speaker 1: And in the light of my circumstances, will he redeem me?
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  Speaker 1: Will he rescue me? Will it eventually be all right?
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  Speaker 1: If you have not asked those questions, you just haven't
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  Speaker 1: lived long enough. Amen? Amen. Those are the questions with
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  Speaker 1: which we all wrestle. And those are the questions that
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  Speaker 1: Daniel answers. Daniel is one of those books that we
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  Speaker 1: know about, but only in part. And we know about
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  Speaker 1: it only in part because most of us have only
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  Speaker 1: ventured to try to understand the first half of the book. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: And that badly, because oftentimes when we go to the
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  Speaker 1: first half of the book, there's several ways that you
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  Speaker 1: can divide the book of Daniel. There's two halves. There's
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  Speaker 1: the narrative half, chapters one through six. And most of
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  Speaker 1: us know about the narrative half in chapters one through six.
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  Speaker 1: It's narrative, like 40% of the Old Testament is narrative.
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  Speaker 1: And we get there and it's great. Of course, the
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  Speaker 1: way we deal with it is not so great. Because again,
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  Speaker 1: we don't have a redemptive historic approach. We don't have
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  Speaker 1: a Christ-centered approach. So all we're left with is moralism.
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  Speaker 1: Daniel and his friends are great. Be like them. Like
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  Speaker 1: the old song, dare to be a Daniel, dare to
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  Speaker 1: stand alone. That's the way we look at the book
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  Speaker 1: of Daniel. It's moralism, pure and simple. Here's what they
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  Speaker 1: did that was good. Do that so that God will
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  Speaker 1: be pleased with you and that all may go well
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  Speaker 1: with you. We messed that up and that's the easy half.
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  Speaker 1: The difficulty comes in the second half, in the apocalyptic section.
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  Speaker 1: beginning at chapter 7, where there are all these dreams
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  Speaker 1: and visions that Daniel is interpreting. And for most of us,
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  Speaker 1: we don't even bother reading through those. We just go
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  Speaker 1: get a good study Bible or something that will tell
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  Speaker 1: us what we're supposed to believe about the symbols. If
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  Speaker 1: you can't say amen, you ought to say ouch, okay?
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  Speaker 1: We don't even wade through that. And of course, why
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  Speaker 1: should we wade through that? Because after all, it really
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  Speaker 1: doesn't have any value at except for maybe to interpret
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  Speaker 1: some of the signs of the end times. Isn't it
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  Speaker 1: amazing that we're okay with that idea, that God gives
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  Speaker 1: a book, and the book of Daniel is written probably
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  Speaker 1: somewhere around 530 B.C. Some folks will put it later
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  Speaker 1: than that, and there are several reasons for that, but
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  Speaker 1: Daniel's probably dated somewhere around 530 B.C. The events in
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  Speaker 1: the book of Daniel take place between 605 and 537 BC.
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  Speaker 1: The book is written shortly thereafter, around 530, or completed
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  Speaker 1: shortly thereafter, around 530. But isn't it interesting that we're
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  Speaker 1: okay with the idea that God would have a book
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  Speaker 1: of the Bible written and half of it is absolutely
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  Speaker 1: meaningless to all people in all times except those who
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  Speaker 1: happen to be here at the end. Really? Is that
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  Speaker 1: what you think? Now, I know what's going on inside
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  Speaker 1: you right now. Because inside you right now, you're going,
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  Speaker 1: I know I'm supposed to like shake my head no
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  Speaker 1: to Pastor Votie right now because it just really sounds
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  Speaker 1: bad the way he put it. But before he said that, yeah.
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  Speaker 1: So my answer is... No, God did not give us
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  Speaker 1: a book that was without meaning or is without meaning
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  Speaker 1: for everyone except those who are alive at the end
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  Speaker 1: of the age. It had meaning for the exiles, and
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  Speaker 1: it has meaning for us. Every last bit of it
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  Speaker 1: has meaning for us. Not only can you divide it
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  Speaker 1: into two halves, but you can also divide it into
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  Speaker 1: two languages. This is unique about the book of Daniel.
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  Speaker 1: Daniel chapter 1 through Daniel chapter 2 and verse 4a
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  Speaker 1: is written in Hebrew. Daniel chapter 2 verse 4b through
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  Speaker 1: the end of Daniel chapter 7 is written in Aramaic.
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  Speaker 1: Then it goes back into Hebrew again. So three sections,
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  Speaker 1: two different languages. The Hebrew section, the Aramaic body, and
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  Speaker 1: then the Hebrew closing of this letter. It's another way
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  Speaker 1: that you could divide it. But since we're not going
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  Speaker 1: to be reading Hebrew and Aramaic, we won't divide it
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  Speaker 1: that way. There's a third thing that you see here.
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  Speaker 1: In the Aramaic section, there is a chiasm. Now, we've
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  Speaker 1: talked about chiastic structures before. You know the structure kind
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  Speaker 1: of like a cross, if you will. There's a chiasm
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  Speaker 1: in the second section, the Aramaic section, which is very
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  Speaker 1: important that it's written in the Aramaic language and written.
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  Speaker 1: has a chiastic structure. And it is just the Aramaic
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  Speaker 1: portion that has the chiastic structure. What is the chiasm?
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  Speaker 1: Now again, we don't have a chart up here for you,
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  Speaker 1: so it's difficult for me to show you. So I
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  Speaker 1: will try to walk it out for you. Think about it,
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  Speaker 1: going on a piece of paper like this, okay, in
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  Speaker 1: and then out. But visualize it as I move. In
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  Speaker 1: chapter 2, there's A dream of a statue representing four kingdoms.
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  Speaker 1: Chapter 3, there's worship of the golden statue or perish
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  Speaker 1: in a pit. Chapter 4, there's the judgment of King Nebuchadnezzar.
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  Speaker 1: Now we're going to start the same thing in reverse.
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  Speaker 1: Chapter 5, there's the judgment of Belshazzar. Chapter 6, worship Darius.
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  Speaker 1: or perish in a pit. Chapter 7, a dream of
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  Speaker 1: four beasts who represent four kingdoms. Perfect chiastic structure. Very
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  Speaker 1: rarely seen anywhere. But here, in the Aramaic portion, there
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  Speaker 1: is a perfect chiasm. And there is a message there
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  Speaker 1: in that structure. We'll talk about that as our time
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  Speaker 1: goes on. But here in this section, Daniel chapter 1,
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  Speaker 1: verses 1 through 7, we see, as I said, a
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  Speaker 1: tale of two kingdoms. Let's read this section together. In
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  Speaker 1: the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar,
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  Speaker 1: king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it. Let
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  Speaker 1: me just sort of put a footnote here. Let me
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  Speaker 1: just put a pin in it at this moment. Because
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  Speaker 1: there are people who would say, well, see, there's already
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  Speaker 1: a problem because the Bible contradicts itself because Jeremiah said,
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  Speaker 1: that it was in the fourth year of his reign
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  Speaker 1: and here it says that it was in the third
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  Speaker 1: year of his reign just know this just let me
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  Speaker 1: answer that as simply as i possibly can remember that
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  Speaker 1: daniel's in babylon he's using the babylonian rendering of the
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  Speaker 1: reign of the king Remember, Jeremiah is using a Palestinian
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  Speaker 1: rendering of the reign of the king. For Daniel, the
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  Speaker 1: reign goes like this. There's the year of ascension where
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  Speaker 1: you become the king. The next year is your first year.
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  Speaker 1: The year after that, your second. The year after that,
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  Speaker 1: your third. Palestinian rendering would be the year of your
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  Speaker 1: ascension is your first year. The year after that, your second.
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  Speaker 1: The year after that, your third. The year after that,
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  Speaker 1: your fourth. An example of this is if you've ever
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  Speaker 1: been over in Europe and you get on an elevator.
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  Speaker 1: Here in America, if you get on an elevator and
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  Speaker 1: you go up one floor, you're on the second floor.
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  Speaker 1: In many places in Europe, you get on an elevator
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  Speaker 1: and you go up one floor and you're on the
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  Speaker 1: first floor. It could mess you up. Now, imagine hundreds
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  Speaker 1: of years from now, somebody finds documentation saying, And there
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  Speaker 1: was an author in England who wrote about something that
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  Speaker 1: happened on the second floor. And an author in America
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  Speaker 1: who wrote about something that happened on the third floor.
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  Speaker 1: And the people say, there's a contradiction here. It must
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  Speaker 1: not be true. That's the same thing here in Daniel
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  Speaker 1: chapter 1 and verse 1. Okay? It's just a different
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  Speaker 1: rendering of how you start the first year of the reign.
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  Speaker 1: Verse 2. Verse 2. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king
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  Speaker 1: of Judah, into his hand with some of the vessels
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  Speaker 1: of the house of God. And he brought them to
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  Speaker 1: the land of Shinar, to the house of his God,
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  Speaker 1: and placed the vessels in the treasury of his God.
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  Speaker 1: Then the king commanded Ashfenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring
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  Speaker 1: some of the people of Israel, both of the royal
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  Speaker 1: family and of the nobility, youths without blemish of good appearance,
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  Speaker 1: skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding, learning, and
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  Speaker 1: competent to stand in the king's palace and to teach
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  Speaker 1: them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The king
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  Speaker 1: assigned them daily portions of the food that the king
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  Speaker 1: ate and of the wine that he drank. They were
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  Speaker 1: to be educated for three years. And at the end
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  Speaker 1: of that time, they would stand before the king. Among
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  Speaker 1: these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe
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  Speaker 1: of Judah. Don't think for a minute that that's unimportant.
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  Speaker 1: They're in the midst of exile. And there's a book
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  Speaker 1: that's written that basically says to the people of God,
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  Speaker 1: God is going to preserve his people. In the midst
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  Speaker 1: of it, there's four characters that he picks out as
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  Speaker 1: the principal characters of the story. And they are all
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  Speaker 1: from the tribe of the promised seed from whom the
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  Speaker 1: scepter is never going to depart. That's just amen, hallelujah,
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  Speaker 1: praise the Lord right there, just by itself. Just that
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  Speaker 1: these four guys are from the tribe of Judah. And
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  Speaker 1: the chief of the eunuchs gave them names. Daniel, he
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  Speaker 1: called Belteshazzar. Hananiah he called Shadrach. Mishael he called Meshach.
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  Speaker 1: And Azariah he called Abednego. There you have it. The
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  Speaker 1: tale of two kingdoms. And it's set up perfectly. First,
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  Speaker 1: in the tale of two kingdoms, we see a tale
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  Speaker 1: of two kings. We see on the one hand, the
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  Speaker 1: king of Judah, Jehoiakim. And on the other hand, Nebuchadnezzar,
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  Speaker 1: the king of Babylon. Now, Jehoiakim was the son of Josiah.
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  Speaker 1: He was an ungodly king. Listen to this. In 2
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  Speaker 1: Kings chapter 23, beginning verse 36. Jehoiakim was 25 years
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  Speaker 1: old when he began to reign, and he reigned 11
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  Speaker 1: years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zebediah, the daughter
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  Speaker 1: of Padiah. Of Rumah. And he did what was evil
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  Speaker 1: in the sight of the Lord according to all that
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  Speaker 1: his fathers had done. In the days, in his days, Nebuchadnezzar,
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  Speaker 1: king of Babylon, came up. And Jehoiakim became his servant
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  Speaker 1: for three years. He was an awful king. His father
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  Speaker 1: was a good king. He was an awful king. He
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  Speaker 1: was put on the throne by an Egyptian pharaoh named Necho. Necho.
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  Speaker 1: as he attempted to exercise control over Syria-Palestine. Think about
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  Speaker 1: these two major superpowers. Egypt in the south, just below Israel.
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  Speaker 1: Babylon above Israel. They are fighting for dominance in the region,
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  Speaker 1: and the crossroads between the two is this little sliver
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  Speaker 1: of land and a small country called Israel. When Josiah
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  Speaker 1: was killed in battle, the people that had enthroned his son, Jehoahaz,
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  Speaker 1: who represented an anti-Egyptian faction. This situation lasted for three
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  Speaker 1: months while Necho was busy in Haran. Necho basically deposed
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  Speaker 1: Jehoahaz and sent him off as a captive in Egypt.
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  Speaker 1: Pro-Egyptian Jehoiakim was then placed on the throne with the
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  Speaker 1: expectation that he would be loyal to to Egypt. Because
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  Speaker 1: they're all afraid of the Babylonians coming down from the north.
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  Speaker 1: The situation changed dramatically when Nebuchadnezzar gained control of that
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  Speaker 1: region following the Battle of Carchemish. You remember this one
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  Speaker 1: from your ancient history. There he put down the Egyptians
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  Speaker 1: for good and established their dominance in the region. The
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  Speaker 1: guy on the throne in Egypt was when the Babylonians
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  Speaker 1: established their dominance over the region in the Battle of
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  Speaker 1: Carchemish in 605, by wiping out the Egyptians, was Jehoiakim,
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  Speaker 1: who had been loyal to the Egyptians. Jehoiakim played the
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  Speaker 1: role of reluctant Babylonian vassal for several years, but after
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  Speaker 1: Nebuchadnezzar's failure to invade Egypt in 601, He again broke
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  Speaker 1: with Babylon and sought to support Egypt in the rebellion.
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  Speaker 1: This disloyalty proved fatal and led to the Babylonian siege
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  Speaker 1: of Jerusalem, ultimately finishing them off. And that started in 597.
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  Speaker 1: So there you get a little picture of the history
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  Speaker 1: of this that's basically summed up in this phrase, in
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  Speaker 1: the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar,
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  Speaker 1: king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it. In
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  Speaker 1: the next verse, you see that there are things that
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  Speaker 1: are carried off. You assume that the king was probably
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  Speaker 1: carried off as well, but... Note that in this tale
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  Speaker 1: of two kings, here's what you don't see. You don't
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  Speaker 1: see here is a godly king in a godly nation
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  Speaker 1: and a godless king in a godless nation and they
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  Speaker 1: battle to see who's supreme. No, you see a godless
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  Speaker 1: king in a godless nation who comes through, wipes out
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  Speaker 1: a region and a king who was faithless to God
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  Speaker 1: happens to be on the throne when God judges his people. See,
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  Speaker 1: we love to sort of reduce the Bible to good
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  Speaker 1: guys and bad guys. It's not that simple. And one
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  Speaker 1: of the reasons it's not that simple is they're all
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  Speaker 1: bad guys. Amen. Just like you and I are all
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  Speaker 1: bad guys. So if you want to understand the difference
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  Speaker 1: between these two kingdoms, you don't necessarily just look at
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  Speaker 1: the two kings. There has to be something else. Not
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  Speaker 1: only is there a tale of two kings, but there's
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  Speaker 1: also a tale of two gods. You see, in the
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  Speaker 1: ancient Near East, when you go to battle, you go
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  Speaker 1: and call upon your God. This idea of these secular
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  Speaker 1: nations like we have today, not so much in the
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  Speaker 1: ancient Near East. In fact, that's very recent when you
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  Speaker 1: look at world history. The idea has always been that
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  Speaker 1: you call upon God to go before you in battle.
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  Speaker 1: You want to fight on the right side and God
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  Speaker 1: to be with you on your side as you go
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  Speaker 1: into battle. In the ancient Near East, if you defeated
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  Speaker 1: a foe, you always brought their gods with you as
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  Speaker 1: captives just like their people are captives. Because when you
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  Speaker 1: defeat their gods, you say to them, our God is
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  Speaker 1: stronger than your God. You belong to us. Your God
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  Speaker 1: bows down to our God. So Nebuchadnezzar comes in and
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  Speaker 1: doesn't just take Jehoiakim. He goes to the temple and
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  Speaker 1: he takes away artifacts, making a statement about his God
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  Speaker 1: compared to the God of Israel, which would lead to
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  Speaker 1: the dejection, the further dejection of the people of Israel. Remember,
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  Speaker 1: they're not reading Daniel, they're living it. So they don't have,
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  Speaker 1: for example, verse 2. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king
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  Speaker 1: of Judah, into his hand with some of the vessels
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  Speaker 1: of the house of God. The Lord gave him into
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  Speaker 1: his hands. Folks, the Lord is doing this. God is
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  Speaker 1: sending his people away into exile. God is allowing them
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  Speaker 1: to be wiped out. God is allowing the nation to fall.
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  Speaker 1: God is doing this. And if there is a message
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  Speaker 1: in the book of Daniel, that's the message. God is
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  Speaker 1: in control. See, oftentimes we like to say that God
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  Speaker 1: is in control when things are going the way we
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  Speaker 1: want them to go. And all of a sudden, when
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  Speaker 1: things don't go the way we want them to go,
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  Speaker 1: our first question is, where is God? Why? Because according
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  Speaker 1: to our theology, when God is in control and doing
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  Speaker 1: what he's supposed to do and paying attention, he's making
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  Speaker 1: stuff happen the way he and I agree it ought
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  Speaker 1: to happen. But if he's not agreeing with me, then
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  Speaker 1: he's slumbering or sleeping or falling down on the job.
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  Speaker 1: And we kind of go, you know what, God, I
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  Speaker 1: know you're busy and everything, but can you fix this?
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  Speaker 1: Because this is not how my life is supposed to go.
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  Speaker 1: Let's look first internally. And then externally to see the
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  Speaker 1: hand of God on all this. Look at chapter 2
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  Speaker 1: and verse 8. And God gave Daniel favor and compassion
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  Speaker 1: in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs. I'm sorry,
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  Speaker 1: chapter 1 verse 8. Chapter 1 verse 17. As for
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  Speaker 1: these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in
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  Speaker 1: all literature and wisdom. And Daniel had understanding and visions
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  Speaker 1: and dreams. Chapter 2 verse 11, the thing that the
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  Speaker 1: king asks is difficult and no one can show it
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  Speaker 1: to the king except the gods whose dwelling is not
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  Speaker 1: with flesh. Then in chapter 2 beginning verse 20, Daniel
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  Speaker 1: praises God for giving him what these men have already
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  Speaker 1: said only comes from God. Chapter 2, verse 28. But
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  Speaker 1: there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and
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  Speaker 1: he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be
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  Speaker 1: in the latter days. Look at chapter 2, verse 44.
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  Speaker 1: And in the days of those kings, the God of
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  Speaker 1: heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed,
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  Speaker 1: nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. Look
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  Speaker 1: down with me at the end of verse 45. A
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  Speaker 1: great God has made known to the king what shall
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: be after this. Look at verse 47. Let's go to
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: chapter 3 and look beginning at verse 17. If this
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: be so, our God whom we serve is able to
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: deliver us out of your hand, O king. Go down
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: to verse 25. He answered and said, but I see
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: four men unbound walking in the midst of the fire,
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: and they are not hurt, and the appearance of the
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: fourth is like the son of the gods. Go down
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: to verse 28. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, Blessed be the
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. Now
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: let's go to chapter 4 and look beginning in verse 34.
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: This is Nebuchadnezzar after his seven years of what we
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: would call schizophrenia. At the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar,
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: lifted my eyes to heaven and my reason returned to
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: me and I blessed the Most High and praised and
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: honored Him who lives forever. For His dominion is an
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: everlasting dominion and His kingdom endures from generation to generation.
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: and He does according to His will among the host
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. And
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: none can stay His hand or say to Him, what
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: have you done yes this is a tale of two
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: gods but only one of them is God Nebuchadnezzar's gods
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: are not God And throughout this, what do we see?
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: That God is in control. But here's the question. If
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: God is in control, why are Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego,
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: and all the other young men taken away, castrated, and
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: then made to serve a pagan king? Why? For that
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: we go outside. the judgment of God against Israel. Habakkuk 1.5.
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: I did an event a while back. This is several
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: years ago. And it was a missions conference. And they
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: had as their theme, their theme was beyond belief. And
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: it came from Habakkuk 1.5. Again, theme of the conference
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: is beyond belief. And their theme verse is Habakkuk 1.5.
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: Look among the nations and see, wonder and be astounded.
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: For I am doing a work in your days that
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: you would not believe even if someone told you. Wow.
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: Missions conference. Beyond belief. Look among the nations. I'm doing
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: something that you wouldn't believe even if someone told you.
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: And so they wanted me to preach from Habakkuk 1.5
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: at the missions conference. Small problem. I kept reading. Listen
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: to 6 through 11. For behold, what's the thing that
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: God is doing that you wouldn't believe even if somebody
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: told you? Look among the nations. There's something happening that
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: you wouldn't believe even if somebody told you. For behold,
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: I am raising up the Chaldeans. There's Babylon. That bitter
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: and hasty nation. who march through the breadth of the
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: earth to seize dwellings not their own. They are dreaded
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: and fearsome. Their justice and dignity go forth from themselves.
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than the
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: evening wolves. Their horsemen press proudly on. Their horsemen come
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: from afar. They fly like an eagle, swift to devour.
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: They all come for violence, all their faces forward. They
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: gather captives like sand. At the king they scoff. At
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: the rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress, for
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: they pile up earth and take it. Then they sweep
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: by like the wind and go on, guilty men whose
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: own might is their God. What's the thing that God's
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: doing that you wouldn't believe? I'm going to bring a
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: wicked king to judge my people. But wait a minute, God.
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: We're your people. How are you going to use a
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: godless nation to punish your people? Is there another godly one?
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: Find me a godly one and I'll use them. Oh,
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: you can't? Okay, here come the Babylonians. Jeremiah 5.15 Behold,
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: I am bringing against you a nation from afar. O
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: house of Israel, declares the Lord, it is an enduring nation.
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: It is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: do not know, nor can you understand what they say.
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: We could go on and on, and on, and on.
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: They're here because of wickedness and sin. They're here because
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: of kings like Jehoiakim. They're here because of idolatry. Here's
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: the irony. They serve the one true and living God,
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: and for whatever reason, they keep going after other gods.
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: And God says, you want to go after other gods?
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: I can arrange that. God, we want a king so
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: that we can be like the other nations. Really? You
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: want to be like the other nations? I can arrange that.
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: They were wicked. And God judged them. Remember those two questions.
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: The first question, is our God really God? That's the
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: first question. Is our God God? really God? The answer
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: is yes. And he proves that even in the midst
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: of the most horrible circumstances. Have you ever been there?
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: Is our God really God? I know you've asked that
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: question I've prayed with some of you as you've asked
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: that question why is this happening if God is really
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: God but understand the theology on the other side of
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: that question here's the theology on the other side of
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: that question If God's really God, then bad stuff shouldn't
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: happen to people who belong to Him. Really? The spotless,
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: sinless Lamb of God was crushed and killed by the
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: Father for the Father's glory, but you shouldn't experience bad stuff.
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: Who do you think you are? Do you have any
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: idea what you deserve? Do you have any idea what
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: justice would look like in your life today based on
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: what you thought, said, and did on yesterday? Have you
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: any idea? We still live in a fallen world. God
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: owes us nothing. He is sovereign over all things. Like
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: I said, the last time I checked, the death rate
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: was one per person. It awaits us all. It awaits
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: us all. The question, is our God truly God, is
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: not answered by your circumstances. Daniel screams that to us.
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: Is our God really God? Really, you asking that question?
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: Because Nebuchadnezzar's got all these guys and they can't figure
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: out his dreams. Who can? God's people can. Really, you're
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: asking if God's really God? They throw us in the
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: fiery furnace and we didn't burn. And we weren't alone,
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: by the way. And you're asking if our God is
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: really God? Are you serious? Really? They threw Daniel in
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: a lion's den with lions who were hungry and they
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: did not eat him. Really? Is our God really God? God? Yes,
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: he is. Yes, he is. The creator and sustainer of
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: the universe and nothing catches him by surprise. And he
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: will even turn your trials into a testimony. This is
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: the only thing that keeps us from spiraling out of
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: control when difficulties come. Amen? Amen. Yes, our God is God. Yea,
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: you are with me. There's also the action of Nebuchadnezzar
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: against Daniel. As we see this battle against God, even
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: in their names... Look at what he does at the end.
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: Beginning of verse 6. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael,
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: Azariah of the tribe of Judah. The chief of the
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: eunuchs gave them names. Daniel he called Belshazzar. Now Daniel's
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: name means my judge is God. Dan and El. Dan, judge.
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: El from Elohim. My judge is God. This Belshazzar means
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: something akin to the protector of the king. Hananiah's name, again,
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: you see Yah in there. Hananiah's name means Yahweh has
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: shown grace. They changed his name to Shadrach. It's a
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: combination of Aku, a Sumerian or Elamite moon god. Aku
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: is gracious. Misha, which is very similar to Micah. Who
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: is what God is? Micah is who is like God. Micah, Mishael.
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: They change his name to Mishak or Misa'aku. Who is
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: what Aku is? Azariah. Again, you see Yahweh there. Mishael,
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: you see El, Elohim. Azariah, you hear Yahweh again. It
• 34:32
  Speaker 1: means Yahweh has helped. They change his name to Abednego.
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: or Abednego, servant of the god Nebo. All four of
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: these young men have names that speak to who their
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: god is. And all four of these young men are
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: renamed to speak to who Babylon's gods are. Yet, interestingly enough,
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: as you go through this book, though Daniel was renamed,
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: and even when he's forgotten, the queen, when she sees
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: the handwriting on the wall, does not say, hey, I
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: remember a guy named Belteshazzar. He should be about 80
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: years old now. She says, how about Daniel? Amen, hallelujah,
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: praise the Lord. How about Daniel? Here's what's so ironic
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: about this. Their names are changed in order to strip
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: them of their God-given identity. And if you say to
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: the average Christian, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, they don't know
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: who you're talking about. You have to say Shadrach, Meshach,
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: and Abednego. We still allow their identity to be robbed
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: from them. Not only is this a tale of two
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: kings and two gods, but it's a tale of two cultures.
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: Look at verses 3 through 5. Then the king commanded Ashkenaz,
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: his chief unit, to bring some of the people of Israel,
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: both of the royal family and of the nobility. That's
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: very important. Of the royal family and the nobility. Youths.
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: So we know they're of the royal family. We know
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: they're of the nobility. Youths. without blemish, good appearance, skillful
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding and learning, competent
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: to stand in the king's palace. So at least eight
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: things about these guys are very important. This is not random.
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: This is not random. He wants specific people from Israel
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: for a specific task. What is that task? And teach
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The king
• 37:16
  Speaker 1: assigned them a daily portion of the food that the
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: king ate and of the wine that he drank. We're
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: going to change their names. We're going to change their learning.
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: And we're going to change their diet. They were to
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: be educated for three years. And at the end of
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: the time, they were to stand before the king. Listen
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: to this from George Schwab. The youths were expected to
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: eat new foods. were given new names and forced to
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: learn the culture of Babylon. They were being systematically indoctrinated
• 37:53
  Speaker 1: and distanced from their Israelite heritage. At the end of
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: the process, they would no longer be Jews but Babylonians.
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: They would have new identities. That was the goal. That
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: was the goal, to destroy their identities. How do we
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: destroy their identities? Through education. You know the great irony?
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: The great irony is that people run to this passage
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: of Scripture in order to justify sending Christian children to
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: government schools. When the fact of the matter is, this
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: text teaches us that if you want to destroy someone's identity,
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: you have to re-educate them. There's some myths about Daniel
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: that are important in this regard. Number one, there's a
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: myth that Daniel and his friends were very small boys.
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: In fact, they're often referred to as the three Hebrew boys,
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: like the little kids, you know, eight, nine, ten years
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: old or so. Secondly, that Daniel and his friends gained
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: their knowledge from the Babylonians. That's why they were so brilliant,
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: because they learned the Babylonian stuff better than other people did.
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: They did better in their education. Thirdly, Daniel and his
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: friends represent the ideal, i.e., we should be willing to
• 39:23
  Speaker 1: send our children to the Babylonians of our day so
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: that they can gain knowledge and status. within the context
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: of Babylonian culture. Here's the reality. Number one, Daniel and
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: his friends were young men between 15 and 20 years old. Secondly,
• 39:46
  Speaker 1: Daniel and his friends had gained their knowledge from the
• 39:49
  Speaker 1: covenant community in Israel. Listen to the requirements again. He says,
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: beginning at verse 3, the king commanded Ashkenaz, his chief eunuch,
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: to bring some of the people of Israel, both of
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: the royal family and of the nobility. So first, their
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: families were important. He wanted them to have a certain
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: family background so that they could be useful to him. Secondly,
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: youths without blemish, he wanted them to be of good
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: appearance so there's no defects and they're very attractive. skillful
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: in all wisdom. Why? Because they've already completed their education
• 40:35
  Speaker 1: by the ages of 15 to 20. They're already very
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: well educated and they've demonstrated the fact that they're skillful
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: in all knowledge. Not only were they educated in the
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: covenant community of Israel, but they were the best and
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: brightest at the end of their Israeli education. Endowed with knowledge,
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: understanding and learning and competent to stand in the king's place.
• 40:59
  Speaker 1: This means that they were sharp young men who already
• 41:03
  Speaker 1: demonstrated the kind of not just skill and intelligence, but
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: also the kind of demeanor and personal presence that made
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: them capable to stand before the king long before they
• 41:17
  Speaker 1: learned their first Babylonian word. You see, the message here
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: in this clash of cultures is not, that we run
• 41:29
  Speaker 1: to the Babylonians to gain their knowledge so that we
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: can be elevated in their culture. No, the fact of
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: the matter is the message is the opposite. When we
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: understand who God is, God is the one who makes
• 41:51
  Speaker 1: us knowledgeable and skillful and wise. The fear of the
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Not just downloading information.
• 42:06
  Speaker 1: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: What we see here is not just the superiority of
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: their gods, but the superiority of their culture because it
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: is ordered by God. So much so that we'll see
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: next week that when they finish their training, the young
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: men are 10 times better. Why? Because they really picked
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: up on that Babylonian stuff so well. Folks, this is
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: the occult. They're learning the occult. They're learning occultic practices.
• 42:52
  Speaker 1: And note also that when it comes down to it,
• 42:55
  Speaker 1: and the king needs somebody to do what these guys
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: were trained to do, nobody can do it. Daniel does
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: not come back and serve the king because he learned
• 43:06
  Speaker 1: occultic practices better than the people of the occult. He
• 43:12
  Speaker 1: goes back and prays to God. He doesn't even do
• 43:14
  Speaker 1: what they taught him to do. So far from being
• 43:19
  Speaker 1: a picture of that would encourage us to embrace the
• 43:23
  Speaker 1: Babylonian culture and to see ourselves as part of the
• 43:27
  Speaker 1: Babylonian kingdom, this is a picture that says you don't
• 43:31
  Speaker 1: need the Babylonians, they need you. God is enough. You see,
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: when we find ourselves outnumbered and we find ourselves in
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: pressure situations, We have a tendency to turn to whatever's close.
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: The fact of the matter is, Daniel says to all
• 44:00
  Speaker 1: of us, where you turn is to God. There's two questions.
• 44:08
  Speaker 1: Remember those questions? Number one, is our God truly God? Secondly,
• 44:21
  Speaker 1: Will he and really can he redeem us? The answer
• 44:38
  Speaker 1: to both of those is a resounding yes. But hear this.
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: Daniel and his friends died slaves. They did not die
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: in a rebuilt Jerusalem and a reconstituted Israel, holding their
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: hands up high and victorious before Almighty God, and yet
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: their God is still God. Daniel and his friends were castrated,
• 45:21
  Speaker 1: They did not have children to be the next generation
• 45:25
  Speaker 1: to go and change the culture. And yet, their God
• 45:32
  Speaker 1: is God. Daniel and his friends served not just the
• 45:38
  Speaker 1: Babylonian king. but also the Medes and the Persians. They
• 45:44
  Speaker 1: were slaves to everybody. And yet their God is God.
• 45:51
  Speaker 1: And they learned something that you and I need to learn.
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: Regardless of where you find yourself, the most important thing
• 46:04
  Speaker 1: is that you identify yourself with the covenant community of
• 46:07
  Speaker 1: God's redeemed people. Who just happens to live wherever you live.
• 46:14
  Speaker 1: That's who we are. Is this not a picture of
• 46:23
  Speaker 1: who we are as Christians? We are redeemed. We find
• 46:29
  Speaker 1: ourselves in Christ. And yet there is a world out there.
• 46:35
  Speaker 1: The kingdoms of this world out there that is absolutely
• 46:38
  Speaker 1: at odds with us, absolutely against us, absolutely opposed to us,
• 46:44
  Speaker 1: always seemingly finding new ways to try to oppress us
• 46:48
  Speaker 1: and oppose us. And when that happens, all of us
• 46:52
  Speaker 1: need to remember, number one, our God is God, and
• 46:55
  Speaker 1: number two, our God will redeem us regardless of the circumstances.
• 47:01
  Speaker 1: And that does not have to mean And everything looks
• 47:07
  Speaker 1: the way we think it ought to look. Is it
• 47:14
  Speaker 1: okay if God redeems you in the midst of slavery
• 47:19
  Speaker 1: and leaves you in slavery? If it's not, you don't
• 47:22
  Speaker 1: understand the gospel. Is it okay that God redeems you
• 47:27
  Speaker 1: in the midst of bondage and leaves you in the
• 47:30
  Speaker 1: midst of that bondage, never to get you out? If
• 47:32
  Speaker 1: the answer is no, you don't understand what it means
• 47:35
  Speaker 1: to be redeemed. Is it okay that God redeems you
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: as a single and never gives you a spouse? If
• 47:41
  Speaker 1: the answer is no, you don't understand redemption. Is it
• 47:44
  Speaker 1: okay that God redeems you in a bad marriage? and
• 47:48
  Speaker 1: you spend the rest of your life in that bad marriage,
• 47:51
  Speaker 1: and it never gets better. If your answer is no,
• 47:55
  Speaker 1: you do not understand redemption. Is it okay that God
• 48:00
  Speaker 1: redeems you in the midst of a culture that has
• 48:09
  Speaker 1: absolutely gone astray and in your lifetime never rights the
• 48:17
  Speaker 1: ship If the answer is no, you do not understand redemption.
• 48:22
  Speaker 1: Is it all right that God redeems you and doesn't
• 48:25
  Speaker 1: save every one of your kids? If the answer is no,
• 48:29
  Speaker 1: you do not understand redemption. Is it all right that
• 48:32
  Speaker 1: God redeems you and you never ever become wealthy or
• 48:37
  Speaker 1: healthy or prosperous? If the answer is no, you do
• 48:41
  Speaker 1: not understand redemption. Is it okay that God redeems you
• 48:44
  Speaker 1: and yet you're sick in your body and or your
• 48:48
  Speaker 1: mind if your answer is no? That's not okay? Then
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: you don't understand redemption because you think that God has
• 49:02
  Speaker 1: created you for Babylon. That's not Daniel's message. Daniel's message is,
• 49:11
  Speaker 1: God has me in Babylon, but he didn't create me
• 49:14
  Speaker 1: for Babylon. What did he create me for? Here is
• 49:18
  Speaker 1: the beauty. And I don't want to step on chapter
• 49:22
  Speaker 1: 2 before we get to chapter 2. But I cannot
• 49:29
  Speaker 1: imagine what it felt like for Daniel to stand there
• 49:34
  Speaker 1: and interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Nobody would tell him what the
• 49:40
  Speaker 1: dream was or what it meant. Daniel goes and he
• 49:42
  Speaker 1: prays and he comes back. And again, in the midst
• 49:45
  Speaker 1: of captivity, we'll deal with it in more detail. But
• 49:50
  Speaker 1: for now, just listen to this. They're in captivity. He's gone.
• 49:55
  Speaker 1: Here's Daniel, who basically by this point says, my country's gone,
• 50:01
  Speaker 1: being burned with fire. I'm not going to have any children.
• 50:05
  Speaker 1: My line is going to be gone. It's over for me.
• 50:09
  Speaker 1: And they're teaching me these occultic practices. I got nothing.
• 50:15
  Speaker 1: But Daniel, who has the ability to interpret dreams, all
• 50:22
  Speaker 1: of a sudden gets a call. Our lives are in danger. Why?
• 50:28
  Speaker 1: Because the king had a dream we can't interpret. He
• 50:30
  Speaker 1: won't even tell us what it is. He goes to
• 50:31
  Speaker 1: God and he prays. And not only does Daniel get
• 50:36
  Speaker 1: the dream and its interpretation so that he can stay alive,
• 50:39
  Speaker 1: but here's what he gets to say to Nebuchadnezzar. There's
• 50:43
  Speaker 1: four kingdoms. You're number one. You don't last. Number two's coming.
• 50:51
  Speaker 1: They're going to wipe you out. They're not going to last.
• 50:55
  Speaker 1: Number three's coming, and they're going to wipe out number two,
• 50:57
  Speaker 1: but they're not going to last. Why? Because there is
• 51:00
  Speaker 1: a kingdom coming that is going to stand forever. Not
• 51:06
  Speaker 1: only is God going to get my people out of here,
• 51:10
  Speaker 1: but my king will reign supreme over all of heaven
• 51:15
  Speaker 1: and over all of the earth. I may not ever
• 51:17
  Speaker 1: see it, but I'm standing here to tell you, king,
• 51:20
  Speaker 1: you won't either. But the difference between you and me
• 51:25
  Speaker 1: is that even in the midst of captivity, I am
• 51:28
  Speaker 1: part of the kingdom that will never die. Even in
• 51:32
  Speaker 1: the midst of captivity, all you have to hope for
• 51:36
  Speaker 1: is that you don't see the other army marching to
• 51:41
  Speaker 1: take over. I've already experienced that and I'm still here.
• 51:49
  Speaker 1: But what I have to hope for is that there
• 51:53
  Speaker 1: is a day coming when the King of kings and
• 51:57
  Speaker 1: the Lord of lords will vindicate himself. And I may
• 52:07
  Speaker 1: be your slave now, but I'm his son forever. So
• 52:15
  Speaker 1: do with me as you must, but I'm going to
• 52:20
  Speaker 1: be okay. That's what Daniel teaches us. Not, you just
• 52:29
  Speaker 1: be a good little boy and try really hard and
• 52:32
  Speaker 1: be like Daniel. That's not Daniel's message. Daniel's message is,
• 52:37
  Speaker 1: if you're a good little boy and you study hard
• 52:41
  Speaker 1: and you're attractive and articulate and intelligent, God may send
• 52:47
  Speaker 1: an army to come and destroy you, kill your family,
• 52:51
  Speaker 1: carry you off to a foreign land, castrate you so
• 52:54
  Speaker 1: that you never have a future or a family, and
• 52:56
  Speaker 1: then teach you occultic practices and have you spend the
• 52:59
  Speaker 1: rest of your days in a land that's not your own.
• 53:03
  Speaker 1: That's what Daniel got for being a good, smart, hard-studying
• 53:07
  Speaker 1: little boy. He didn't have kids, but he's got a
• 53:19
  Speaker 1: book in the Bible. Though he is dead, yet he speaks.