Daniel 2 Essay Research Paper DanielThe book

Daniel 2 Essay, Research Paper

Daniel

The book of Daniel has always been a kind of guide and an example for me to use throughout my whole life. I learned about the Bible stories in Daniel when I was very little and I always loved them. They taught me what faith is and how it comes to us in an understandable way. Stories like, “Daniel and the Lions’ Den” and “The Three Men in the Fiery Furnace” first taught me what God’s word is all about. No matter what age you are, the Bible stories in Daniel will give you a sense of comfort that the Lord is always watching over us. Daniel tells us in his prophecies of the coming Savior, which gives us a feeling of hope and joy that our Savior will someday come back and take us to be with Him in Heaven.

The book of Daniel is a very fascinating portion of God’s Word, which is written to teach us. Chapters one through six make up the historical background of the Israelites during this time. They describe historical events in Babylon during the Israelites captivity. The last six chapters make up the prophetic section. It foretells upcoming events that will affect God’s chosen people. It also records a series of dreams in which Daniel foretells the future. We can learn of God’s love for his people, which is a demonstrated throughout this book. The book of Daniel was written in two different languages. Chapter 2:4 through chapter seven were written in Aramaic. The rest of the book was written in Hebrew. It was done this way because the first part of the book of Daniel was for all nations and the last part of the book was for the Israelites.

Daniel is an Old Testament prophet and writer of the book of Daniel. He was born some where in Judah, possibly Jerusalem, but no one knows for sure. The Bible doesn’t talk about his earliest years. The first record of Daniel is during the exile of Judah, which started in about 605 BC Daniel was one of four men to be trained for important positions in the Babylonian government. This is the description Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon gave, in Daniel 1:4-5: “young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing every kind of aptitude of learning, well-informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.” Daniel and the other three men faced many different problems in the new culture of Babylon. They were in the limelight so to speak because they were chosen to be trained for government services. These men had to learn a new language far different from their own Hebrew language. They were taken from their homes in Judah as young men, away from their families and friends. Three major transitions faced these types of men. They had to study a heathen culture, adapt to heathen names, and eat heathen food. The first two problems the men did not have a problem with because it did not reflect on their faith or beliefs. The food was another story. They still had to abide to the rules God gave the Children of Israel at Mount Sinai.

After Daniel became such a high political figure in the Babylonian kingdom, the Lord used him to help the Jewish exiles. Being exiled in Babylon was not as hard on the Jews as it could have been. The Jews did not get treated like slaves. They could worship any god they wanted. It has been shown to us that even though Daniel had to work with heathens in the royal court, he still sustained his beliefs and proclaimed them. The kings saw how the Lord was with Daniel and in some instances the heathen kings praised the God of Israel, as in Daniel 4:34: “At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation.”

The history of the kingdom of Israel up to this point is as follows: In 931 BC, the kingdom of Israel split and formed two separate countries, Israel and Judah. Israel lasted about two hundred years and Judah lasted about three hundred and fifty years. Judah, although they had Solomon’s temple, started following the ways of heathen nations around them. The people reflected the prophets the Lord gave them and so the Lord brought judgment upon them. Starting in about the year 605 BC, the Babylonians invaded Judah three times, demolishing their cities, destroying Solomon’s temple, and leading tens of thousands of Jews into captivity in Babylon. The Jews would then be in exile for the next seventy years. The Babylonians and the Medes, who were eventually let them go, would control them. During their exiles, the Lord gave them two prophets, Daniel and Ezekiel, so the people would not fall from the Lord. Ezekiel was a common man spreading the gospel among the people, while Daniel helped them from a higher political position. The Lord’s people did stray from the gospel at times, temptations from the other heathen nations got to them, but these two prophets led them in the way of the truth through the work of the Holy Spirit.

The people of Israel at the time the book of Daniel was written were very halfhearted in their faith. They varied between the gods of the Babylonians and others and the one true God. They were not really in much discomfort while they were enslaved so they did not always remember who was in control. The Israelites only prayed to God