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God
had granted Nebuchadnezzar victory over Jehoiakim. He granted Daniel
favor with his overseer, the youths knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom,
and the result was favor with the king. Dr. J. Vernon McGee adds this,
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I
want to submit to you that the Bible was not written by a bunch
of . . . men who were ignorant. Moses was learned in all the
wisdom of Egypt. The Egyptians were quite advanced; they knew
the distance to the sun, and they knew that the earth was round.
It was a few Greeks who came along later and flattened out the
earth. They were the “scientists” in that day, you
see. Science taught that the earth was flat. The Bible never
did teach that; in fact, it said it was a circle (see Isa. 40:22).
Daniel, too, as a young man was outstanding. He must have rated
high on the list of these young men who were given tests in
the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The apostle Paul, who wrote much
of the New Testament, was up in that bracket intellectually
also. All these were brilliant young men who were exposed to
the learning of their day. I get weary of these so-called [intellectuals]
who act as if the Bible was written by a group of ignoramuses
. . . Daniel was nobody’s fool. He was a brilliant young
man and he was taught as few men have been taught . . . Thru
the Bible with J. Vernon Magee, Vol III |
˜
Conclusion.
Daniel
was brilliant and holy. The kings of Judah and Israel caused the kingdoms
to fall into captivity by their evil. Here we have a young man who
seeks to be holy, and God responds by making him one of the great
prophets of the Old Testament.
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When
Queen Victoria reigned in England, she would occasionally visit
some of the “humble cottages” of her subjects. One
time she entered the home of a widow. Later the poor woman was
taunted by her neighbors, “Granny, who is the most honored
guest you have ever entertained in your home?” They expected
her to say it was Jesus. But to their surprise she answered,
“Her Majesty, the queen.” They were surprised and
asked, “Did you say the queen? Ah, we caught you this time!
How about Jesus?” To that, the woman responded, “No,
He is not a guest. He lives here!" |
Daniel
could have sinned and done what he wanted. He was away from home,
away from parents and away from church - unseen by all who knew him.
This reveals Daniel’s real heart. He risked his life to be holy.
God was not a visitor in His life. Do you live your Christian life
as if God is a visitor?
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