The first 6 chapters of Daniel are mainly historical with some great lessons. I will try to give a brief summary of each chapter and then some lessons from each chapter.

Introduction

Daniel was carried captive as a young boy to Babylon in the 1st deportation in 605 BC by Nebuchadnezzar during the reign of Jehoiakim, King of Judah. He lived the entire 70 years of captivity in Babylon as he deals with 2 kings of Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar (ch 1-4), and Belshazzar, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar (ch 5, 7, 8) and after the fall of Babylon in 539 BC with Darius the Mede (ch 5, 6,9,11) and Cyrus the Great (559-530 BC) the Persian king (ch 10). Daniel as the author of this book was not questioned until Porphyry (260 AD) based on his belief that miracles like predicting the future like Daniel did in Daniel 2 were not possible and therefore he concluded that the book was written after the events “predicted” in Daniel had already occurred, probably by some Jew in 164 BC during the Maccabean period. The Jews were entrusted by God with collecting inspired prophetic writings (Romans 3:1-2) and accepted the book of Daniel into the OT canon. Many of Daniel’s predictions are fulfilled in 70 AD with the destruction of the temple by the Romans. That would negate Porphyry’s arguments since he said it was written in 164 BC.

Chapter 1

Daniel and his 3 friends are chosen for special training but refuse the choice food and wine (probably some meats unclean to the Jews). Daniel asked to be tested for 10 days without the food, and at the end their appearance was better than the other youths who had eaten the food. 1:17 these 4 boys were very intelligent, and Daniel could understand visions and dreams.

From Bible Fun For Kids

1. Use the intelligence and gifts that God has given you to make the best of bad circumstances (captivity in Babylon). That allows God to use you to fulfill His plans, just as He did with Daniel.

2. Have your convictions and hold fast to them even when the world puts pressure on you to violate your conscience. That means you must have convictions on moral issues based on the Bible. Too many people really don’t care about what is right and wrong. They don’t stand for anything and they don’t stand up for anything. They compromise what few convictions they have under social pressure.

Chapter 2

The Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar had a terrifying dream. Wisely, he demanded that his “wise men” (2:2) tell him what the dream was and its interpretation or they would all be killed. They couldn’t, so he sent orders to kill all of them, which would have included Daniel and his 3 friends. Daniel asked the king for time. The mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Daniel told him exactly what he saw in the dream. See the picture of the statue. He gave God the glory for enabling him to interpret the dream. He said the statue represented 4 consecutive kingdoms, with Babylon being the head. In the days of the 4th kingdom (the legs of iron and feet of iron and clay), God would set up his kingdom that would endure forever (2:44,45). Nebuchadnezzar glorified God and promoted Daniel.

From Goodsalt images

1. The amazing providence of God. God is giving Nebuchadnezzar this dream, and then using Daniel to interpret the dream and enhance his position in Babylon. Daniel will then work with Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus over the next 70 years of captivity to bring a remnant back from Babylon just as He had promised in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Sieze every opportunity to use your God-given gifts to help God work out His plans.

2. The amazing prophecies of God. Predicting the future was God’s way of proving His existence. Can you imagine trying to accurately predict the major world powers over the next 600 years? How does God allow freedom of will and yet control who the world powers will be? But He somehow does that! Isaiah challenges the false gods of Canaan to predict the future to prove they are real.

How do we identify these 4 kingdoms in the statue.

1) Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar that Babylon is the head of gold (605-539 BC).

2) The Medo-Persians (539-331 BC) conquered Babylon in 539 BC and would be the chest of silver in the statue. Ch 8 will verify by name the Medo-Persians as the 2nd kingdom. They diverted the river flowing through Babylon and enterd secretly on the dry river bed and entered the city, conquering it as Belshazzaar (the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar) was hosting a fiest to honor the gods of wine and gold (Ch 5). It says that night Darius took the city.

3) Alexander the Great and the Greeks conquered the Persians in 331 BC and ruled the world till 168 BC. Ch 8 will verify the Grecian Empire by name as the thighs of bronze in the statue.

4) The Roman Empire (168BC-476AD) will be the legs of iron. We know this b/c Daniel 2:44-45 says that in this 4th empire that God would set up his kingdom. Jesus came preaching that the “kingdom of heaven is at hand” (the same kingdom predicted in Daniel 2:44-45). Mark 9:1 Jesus said that some of those listening to him would still be alive to see him coming in his kiingdom. Mt 16:18-19 Jesus told Peter, “upon this rock I will build my church…I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven”. Peter used those keys to open the kingdom to those 3,000 baptized in Acts 2 and they were added to the church, the spiritual body of Christ. The kingdom at hand was the church kingdom established in the book of Acts in the 1st century. Rome was the world power when Jesus said that, so Rome would have to be the 4th kingdom legs of iron that was ruling the world when that prediction was fulfilled.

A stone would crush all the kingdoms. That stone is Jesus. He did not physically destroy Rome or the other 3 kingdoms that no longer existed when he was on earth. His kingdom of Daniel 2:44-45 was a spiritual kingdom, the church. He said that his kingdom was “not of this world”. But Jesus did destroy the demonic princes that control all worldly kingdoms. This fulfilled Daniel 7:13 ¹³ “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. ¹⁴ And to him (Jesus) was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. .Revelation 11:¹⁵ Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” 

From wvbs world video bible school

Chapter 3

Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image. At the sound of the music playing, anyone who did not bow down to worship the image would be thrown into a fiery furnace. Daniel’s 3 friends do not obey. They are brought before the king who gives them one last chance to obey. Their answer: “we don’t need to give you an answer; if it be so, God will deliver us from the fiery furnace; if not, we will not worship the image” (3:16-18). The king heated the fire 7 times and had them thrown in. The king was astounded when he saw 4 men in the fire, without harm, and told the 3 friends to come out. Their hair was not even singed! The king glorified God again, as in 2:46f.

From mcbi.org

1. The amazing courage and convictions of these 3 boys. They are ready to die for their faith and convictions even if God chooses not to save them from the firre. Would I be willing to die for my faith just as many martyrs have done over the last 2,000 years? Will I compromise my faith in the one true God when pressured by our secular society that. worships many gods.

2. There is also a lesson here on answered prayer. “If you save us, God, that’s great. But if you don’t, that’s great also. Whatever your will is and whatever is best.” God can always answer that prayer “yes”. Jesus prayed that way. “if possible let this cup of suffering pass; if not, thy will be done”. Always leave your prayers totally content with however God grants or doesn’t grant your requests.

Chapter 4

Nebuchadnezzar had another frightful dream but the wise men could not interpret it. Daniel did. In the dream there was a great, high, strong tree, but a holy one said to chop down the tree leaving only the stump. The stump (a person) would live in the fields like an animal and lose his mind for 7 periods until he learns that the Most High God (of Israel) rules over all mankind, and bestows power on whomever he chooses to (4:25; 2:21). Daniel told the king that this tree/stump referred to him. He advised him to break away from his sins by showing mercy to the poor (apparently a big flaw with the king) (4:27). The king apparently did not repent, and 12 months later he was walking on his roof and said, “Is this not Babylon the great which I myself have built by the might of my power for the glory of my majesty?” A voice immediately said that the prediction of the dream would now come true. He ate grass like the cattle, and his hair grew like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws (4:33). At the end of the 7 periods, his reason returned to him and he praised God (again) (4:34,35).

1. God is in control of the world. He appoints and removes rulers. He certainly did that as He fulfilled the predictons of the next 4 empires in the statue of ch 2. Perhaps He allows more freewill in kingdom formations after the Roman Empire, but He can certainly step in and appoint or remove rulers any time He wants to. We do wonder why He didn’t step in and miraculously stop Hitler and other tyrant dictators, which means that He allows freewill more after the Roman Empire.

2. The danger of pride and boasting. Proverbs 16:¹⁸ Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. James 4:⁶ “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” James warned about the “pride of life”. In America we are so blessed with material things. We can work hard and gain many material things as well as prestige and power. It is easy to be lifted up with pride and feel that we have done great things, and forget God. God told Israel: Deuteronomy 8:¹¹ “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, ¹² lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, ¹³ and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, ¹⁴ then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, ¹⁵ who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, ¹⁶ who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. ¹⁷ Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ ¹⁸ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth….

Chapter 5

Belshazzar 556-536 BC, the 5th king from Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 BC), held a drunken feast for 1000 of his nobles, brought out the gold vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem in 586 BC, and praised the gods of gold, silver, etc. Suddenly a man’s fingers wrote on the wall, and his joints went slack and his knees began knocking. His wise men could not interpret the writing on the wall. The queen told him about Daniel who had a reputation for interpreting dreams, explaining enigmas, and solving difficult problems (5:12). Daniel was brought before the king. Daniel scolded the king. He said that Belshazzar knew how God had humbled Nebuchadnezzar to become like an animal, and yet Belshazzar had not humbled his heart (5:22) as evidenced by his actions at the feast. Daniel then told him what the words meant: MENE: God has numbered your kingdom and put it to an end; TEKEL: you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient; PERES: your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians. That night Belshazzar was slain and Darius the Mede was given the kingdom at the age of 62. Jewish sources say Darius the Mede was the uncle and father-in-law of Cyrus and Josephus says he was a “relative”. Cyrus subjected the Medes in 559 BC but appointed a ruler named Gubaru (Darius the Mede) to rule in Babylon (maybe not a king like Cyrus). Historical records say Gubaru (Darius) and Cyrus both had a part in conquering Babylon. This fits Daniel 5:30-31 which describes the fall of Babylon under its last king, Belshazzar to Darius the Mede when he was 62. Herodutus says that Cyrus diverted the Euphrates River so his men could walk under the bars extending down into the river as it flowed through the city and they caught the Babylonians in a drunken feast (as described in Belshazzar’s feast in Daniel 5 on the night the city fell.

Belshazzar was last king of Babylon (co-regent with Nabonidus) (556-539 BC). The story in ch 6 would have occurred in 539 BC, as the predicted 70 years of captivity was coming to an end (606-536 BC). Notice that Isaiah predicted that Cyrus would let the Jews return at the end of the 70 years (Is 44:28; 45:1), so there had to be a switch from Babylon as the world power to the Medes/Persians, and there was in 539 BC.

1. Are we worshipping the gods of gold, silver, money, material possessions like Belshazzaar did? Maybe we don’t make golden images like Nebuchadnezzaar did, but do we have idols that we put before God in our affection, time, and money? Remember John’s words in 1 John 5:²¹ Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Covetousness or greed is a major sin in affluent American churches. Ephesians 5:⁵ For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater) has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Chapter 6

Belshazzar was last king of Babylon (co-regent with Nabonidus) (556-539 BC). The story in ch 6 would have occurred in 539 BC, as the predicted 70 years of captivity was coming to an end (606-536 BC). Notice that Isaiah predicted that Cyrus would let the Jews return at the end of the 70 years (Is 44:28; 45:1), so there had to be a switch from Babylon as the world power to the Medes/Persians, and there was in 539 BC.

This story occurred between 539-536 BC after Darius the Mede (Gubaru) had taken the city of Babylon in the name of Cyrus the Great. Darius’ 120 satraps wanted to tried to find some wrongdoing in government affairs to accuse Daniel of, but could find nothing. So they attacked his religious devotion. They persuaded the king to issue a decree that, for 30 days, anyone who anyone who prayed to a god or man other than the king would be thrown in the lions’ den. Daniel knew about the decree, but continued to pray from an open roof chamber window toward Jerusalem 3 times every day. The satraps brought Daniel before the king, which distressed the king who did not want to kill Daniel. The king was forced to have Daniel cast into the lions’ den, and spent the night fasting, sleepless. He came to the den the next morning and said, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God been able to deliver you from the lions”? Daniel said, “O king, live forever! My God has sent an angel to shut the lions’ mouths”. The king was pleased and ordered Daniel’s accusers to be thrown into the lions’ den along with their families (6:24). The king then praised the God of Daniel. “So Daniel enjoyed success in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian” (6:28). We don’t know where or how Daniel died, but probably in Babylon since he did not return with the returnees.

The 2nd image is from Jessica Lassitter.

1. If your enemies wanted to attack your religious devotion, would they be able to find spiritual habit you are doing regularly to attack you with? This happens overseas in persecuted countries all the time as believers are arrested for passing out Bibles, preaching, evangelizing, etc. Many of us would be afraid to pass out Bibles if we knew we were going to be arrested.

2. Give examples where even in the U.S. the government is taking away religous liberty and freedom. The baker in Texas who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple was sued. You can’t choose to not rent your rental house to a gay couple. Will the government ever step in into our private Christian schools and force us to hire gay teachers or to have trans bathrooms? How will we handle all that?

3. God saved Daniel from martyrdom. He did not save Polycarp and many other martyrs who died in the Roman arenas or was burned at the stake (John Huss). Foxes Book of Martyrs tell of many such martyrs. Would I be willing to die for my faith? Daniel could have stopped praying each day and kept from being thrown into the lions’ den, but he didn’t.

That concludes the study of the historical part of Daniel, chapters 1-6. A 2nd blog will examine the visions and dreams in chapters 7-12.