Page 100 - Old Testament Survey Student Textbook

The Book of Ezekiel chapters 34-48

DANIEL “God is my judge”

Setting/Date: Royal Court in Babylon/Persia, 6th c. B.C.

Theme(s): Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility

Message: Regardless of ruler, God is sovereign, carrying out His purposes in history, often through His
faithful people!

Prologue: Divine Orchestration (1:1-21) When Babylon besieges Judah, God hands His people over,
allowing their best possessions and people to be taken. Among the elite are Daniel and his three friends
(1-7). Daniel resolves not to defile himself with the king’s food, even proposing a testing period. God
rewards his faithfulness with favor from the king’s servants (8-16). In the end, God exalts Daniel and his
friends before the king, endowing them with superior skill and wisdom (17-21).

Divine Oracle (2:1-49) Nebuchadnezzar is distressed by dream and the sages are unable to recount it.
When king decrees their death, Daniel volunteers to recount and interpret it (1-16). Daniel and friends
seek God for revelation, and He discloses the mystery. Daniel praises God, privately in prayer and
publicly to the king (17-30). He explains the dream as God’s revelation of future; the statue is portrait of
successive empires (quality=power), and the stone is God’s kingdom (31-45). When the king exalts
Daniel, he points to God and promotes his friends (46-49).

Delivering the Obedient (3:1-30) Nebuchadnezzar builds statue and demands worship— bow or burn!
Daniel’s friends refuse and are slandered before the king (1-12). When challenged by the king, they
uphold God’s power and obey regardless (13-18). Infuriated, the king throws them into a deadly fire, but
God delivers them in the fire (19-25). The king retrieves the Jews, recognizes their rescue, raves of their
obedience, and requires respect for their God (26-30).

99