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 hey
have invaded us!
They
have conquered us, stolen from our temple, and captured thousands
of our people! Those must have been just a few of the thoughts
of some of the Israelites who watched Nebuchadnezzar and his
Babylonian army march through the streets of Jerusalem after
they had defeated Pharaoh Neco and his Egyptian army. Nebuchadnezzar
and his army had come to conquer and control the land of Judah.
Now he came to humiliate their King Jehoiakim by making him
his slave and stealing from the temple. Before Nebuchadnezzar
left Judah, he made Jehoiakim a puppet governor to control the
land Nebuchadnezzar now claimed for his own. The once proud
nation under King David and King Solomon was now in the control
of the Babylonian Empire.
God's
Hand.
Daniel picks up this historical event in the first two verses.
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In
the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah,
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and
besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah
into his hand, along with some of the vessels of the
house of God; and he brought them to the land of Shinar,
to the house of his god, and he brought the vessels
into the treasury of his god. (NASB) Daniel 1:1-2 |
Nebuchadnezzar was an emerging power and Jehoiakim was
a wicked king. Daniel begins with two kings, one defeated and
the other a conqueror because God helped him win. The Holy Spirit
tells us that God “gave” Jehoiakim to Nebuchadnezzar.
Psalm 127:1 reminds us that Nebuchadnezzar would not have won
without God’s help.
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Unless
the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build
it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps
awake in vain. (NASB) Ps. 127:1 |
Nebuchadnezzar did not know that he had been helped. He did
not know that he was to soon discover God through one of his
captives.
Overview.
Daniel
is about kings and godly men who remained faithful to the true
God. It is about dreams and prophecies concerning five nations.
It is a book about God, Satan, and demons. It is a book that
will give us confidence that the Bible is God speaking to us.
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