There could be times when meats forbidden in the book of God’s law could be served. They were unsure what animals were being slaughtered for food. They refuse to eat the king’s food which was allocated to them. Yet they are determined to walk faithfully with God in the smallest details of life. Here they were in a foreign land almost 900 miles away from home. Chapter 7 – 12 Dreams and visions of the futureĨ:1-27 Daniel’s vision of the ram and the goatġ0:1-12:13 Daniel vision at the Tigris Riverĭaniel and his three friends exemplify spiritual training that has taken root in a young person. Chapter 1 – 6 Historical materialġ:1-21 Daniel and his three friends decline the kings offer of royal foodĢ:1-49 Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dreamģ:1-30 Daniel and his three friends in the furnace of fireĤ:1-37 Nebuchadnezzar’s second dream: he loses his kingdom for seven yearsĥ:1-31 King Belshazzar and the writing on the wallĦ:1-28 Daniel and his three friends in a den of lions B.

The book can be divided into two broad parts: A.

Daniel lived through the whole 70 years of the Jewish captivity in Babylon. When Jerusalem eventually fell in 586 and the Jews were taken to Babylon in large numbers, they found their countrymen in positions of authority to help them settle peacefully in the foreign land. This was the providence of God towards the Jews. The king of Babylon intended to take some noble Jewish young men and train them in the Babylonian culture in preparation for serving in government. Daniel was taken in the first deportation. There were three deportations of Jews from Judea to Babylon, 605, 597, and 587 B.C. He uses all events to further his purposes which are far beyond human understanding. Nothing happens without his allowing it to happen, and nothing he purposes will ever be thwarted. He causes them to rise and fall, and he will triumph over their enemies in the end. He tells them that God is sovereign over all kingdoms. Has the great God of heaven and earth been defeated by the gods of Babylon?ĭaniel writes his book to encourage the people.

They had been told about his promises to always be there for his people, but now, here they were in exile and stateless.

They were wondering whether God is indifferent to their plight. The book was first addressed to the people of Judah who were in exile in Babylon, discouraged, and almost bitter at God. The book of Daniel is the twenty-seventh book of the Bible. The Rector’s Weekly Letter to the Congregation for Sunday, JThe Book of Daniel

The book of daniel chapter 1