Nsovereignty of god in the book of daniel

Prophecy is here interwoven with history to show that god is overruling the idolatry, blasphemy, selfwill, and intolerance of the gentiles. The book of daniel is the most interesting book in the entire bible to me. Gods sovereignty according to daniel a jar full of joy. Daniels parents chose a hebrew name for their son meaning god is my judge, testifying of their faith in. He is not bound or limited by the dictates of his created beings.

Home bible book studies bible characters old testament. Accordingly, the book of daniel is not only important as a key to understanding the past in god s sovereign control of both gentile and jewish history but also gives insight concerning the future, and in particular helps to understand the symbolism in the book of revelation. Now he and meshach spent their days in town and village telling the renown of god, and in the evening they would ponder over years, and pray. Nebuchadnezzars dethroning and gods sovereignty by fat vox while there are many interesting narratives in the book of daniel, one of the most profound and provocative transpires in the fourth chapter. In a nutshell, gods sovereignty means that he is absolutely free to do as he pleases and to demonstrate his absolute control over the actions of all his creatures. Now the king spake and said unto daniel, thy god whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. No wonder the sovereignty of god is such a prominent theme in daniel.

And sometimes feel the loss of friends so deeply they would weep. Complete points to ponder as directed by your teacher. The king the portrayal of god in daniel is that he is the sovereign, eternal king the king of all kings. The sovereignty of god means that as ruler of the universe, god is free and has the right to do whatever he wants. If one attribute were disproportionate or overemphasized, chaos would result on a universal.

The god of israel is consistently called the most high god in the book of daniel. O king, the most high god gave your father nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. See more ideas about book of daniel, bible and bible knowledge. Book of daniel overview insight for living ministries. Through both the narratives and visions, daniel demonstrates the lordship of god over the whole world, not just jerusalem and the israelites. Faithful in all circumstances christian bible studies. As it happens, the book of daniel offers a readymade framework for unpacking its meaning in the workplace. The god of that ragtag group of people babylon had conquered would humble the proud empire. In keeping with that ordination it has remained tightly closed for almost 2500 years. Themes in the book of daniel include heroism, remaining true to god in the midst of an adverse and idolatrous culture, and gods protection of his faithful ones. In my bible theres a footnote that says this could also be translated as the spirit of the holy god. Widder is a unique and welcomed addition to this increasingly popular series.

In the book of daniel, king nebuchadnezzar says several times that the spirit of the holy gods is in daniel. Daniel still remained, as strong as though he had been trained to stand up like a cedar tree against the persian world. Daniel must have made a great impression on the king for him to trust daniels god also. Daniel forsees the kingdom of god united church of god. Literary patterns and god s sovereignty in daniel 4 byron burkholder the story of nebuchadnezzars dream of the tree and his descent to the life of a beast conveys a message which is not easily lost on any reader, ancient or modern. Had the author daniel been an unknown jew of the second century b. And what is more, it tells us how to live for god in ungodly times, like our own some approach this book as if it were a puzzle given to stretch our minds and to challenge us to compare scripture with scripture, to figure. God, the king of the universe, has the power to do whatever he wills. That framework is a nested parallelism structure in technical terms, a chiasm. Book of daniel encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway.

Clearly seen in the book of daniel is gods sovereign control over the affairs of rulers, nations and all people. As someone who has often struggled with doubt about the existence of god this book seems to be some of the most definitive proof if it was written before some of the events in the later chapters in the book. Because of the high position he gave him, all the peoples and nations and men of every language dreaded and feared him. God s sovereignty in the book of daniel webster s dictionary defines the word sovereign as a characteristic of a supreme ruler. In addition, the captivating prophecy, imagery, and symbolism make the book of daniel one of the most read of hebrew scripture, our old testament of the bible. The book christian education by ellen white says, daniel ever kept before him the glory of god. The clock of god, chapter 27, the book of daniel unsealed. You will rest, but you will stand up for your lot at the end of the days. But daniel illustrates this fact in graphic new ways. Daniel and his god fearing friends were forced to live in babylon, far from home and far from the land their lord had promised them. This is the pastor bringing the message entitled gods sovereign choice of nebuchadnezzar the conquests of nebu. It was ordained closed by god until the last days had arrived. The book reveals why god is the king of all kings, and it offers perspective on how citizens of his kingdom should live while they await the full realization of gods rule on earth.

Daniels desire is for us to remain faithful to the lord god and to. In any case, daniel, like revelation the other booklength apocalypse in the bible provides much valuable material relevant to work. The later chapters consist of an account of visions granted by god to daniel. It leads others to rebel against his representatives in government. Other old testament prophets knew that yahweh, the god of israel, was sovereign over the whole world, including the other nations.

The book of daniel was compiled in the second century b. Campbell morgan gave this theme for the book of daniel. Then he said to me, fear not, daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your god, your words have been heard, and i have come because of your words. Highlights from the book of daniel watchtower online library. At least two aspects of the book highlight this truth. The ancient of days god doesnt get any lines in the book of daniel, but hes the hidden master, pulling all the strings, controlling every event in the story as it moves along. As one studies the book of daniel, one sees that ultimately almost everything one encounters functions as an agent of god s sovereignty. Vss it occurs as the fourth major composition in the prophetic writings, following the order of the alexandrian canon. Daniel also has vivid, symbolic visions about the future of israel, world kingdoms, and the kingdom of godexposing us to some of gods longterm plan for the world. This is the pastor bringing the message entitled god s sovereign choice of nebuchadnezzar the conquests of nebuchadnezzar. The portrayal of god in daniel is that he is the sovereign, eternal king the king of all kings. In todays excerpt from the most recent edition in the story of god bible commentary series, author wendy l. This structure makes the big picture of daniel clear. Even during the times of the gentiles, god is still in charge, carrying out his eternal plans.

The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bc biblical apocalypse combining a prophecy of history with an eschatology a portrayal of end times cosmic in scope and political in focus. Instead, we have sought to stress tharuth t side of the t which in these days is almost universally neglected. And the lord delivered jehoiakim king of judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of god. Much earlier, god announces that should his people forget him and break the covenant, he would send. The personal, covenant name for israels god, yahweh, appears in only one chapter ch. God gave jehoiakim into the hand of nebuchadnezzar. Daniel the story of god bible commentary kindle edition by widder, wendy l. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, god shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. That is why it takes another special pair of lenses to be used in order to fully see the writing on the wall daniel 5. While the first part of the book of daniel is presented chronologically in the third person, the last part is written in the first person. Also evident in the book of daniel is god s sovereignty. The main message of the book is the sovereignty of god. Although his people are suffering now, their faithful suffering is one of the chief means by which gods power moves.

The widely held view that the book of daniel is largely fictional rests mainly on the modern philosophical assumption that longrange predictive prophecy is impossible. Daniel the story of god bible commentary kindle edition. God is coming to overthrow the corrupt and arrogant pagan kingdoms where gods people are living in exile. Daniel 1 niv bible in the third year of the reign of. But he obeyed god, even when that meant disobeying the king. Still, the opening lines of daniel make it clear that the defeat of jerusalem is not credited to the superior power of the babylonian king. Only gods kingdom will last eternally because only it shall never be destroyed.

The book of daniel is one of the most significant prophetic books in the bible. It is used throughout the book of daniel, because of the titles use in official court documents, and daniel s living in the royal palace. This study walks through daniels life and calls us to trust and obey god. Just as peasants always bowed before their king for fear of offending the one who had the authority to take their life, gods sovereignty compels us to bow before him. Taken to an extreme, it can cause god to seem unfair, prejudiced, and lacking in compassion. He was arrogant, confident, and it appeared that he was in complete control of everything within the empire and that he was sovereign over his own life. The main point of my sermon is that god in the person of jesus christ is the one who sits sovereignly on the throne of all creation and must sit on the throne of our lives if we are to respond faithfully to adversity. The book of daniel is a companion to the book of revelation. While it is recognized that the aramaic word could mean either gods or god context determines whether it is singular or plural in english, several commentaries share this view that the polytheistic king of babylon would have conceived of the figure as a son of the gods, plural, and not as god, singular. The message of the book of daniel faithlife sermons.

It leads others to rebel against his representatives in. Throughout the book of daniel we see gods sovereignty. Consider the words of daniel to king belshazzar on the last night of babylons insolence. The phrase is not just used in daniel, but also used in ezra 7.

Daniel, theology of bakers evangelical dictionary of. One website i came across in writing this post claims, for example, that the sovereignty of god is the biblical teaching that all things are under god s rule and. Again we see the strong emphasis on divine sovereignty found throughout daniel s work. Oct 05, 2017 daniel worked for several kings of babylon. The book of daniel thus sets forth the pattern of gods preserving grace that characterizes the nt as well, that gods gifts and his call are irrevocable rom 11. Use notes and commentary below to help you as you read and study the book of daniel. Misunderstanding his will leads men to underestimate his goodness. List of books and articles about book of daniel online. But unlike corrupt earthly kings who abuse their authority to terrorize their subjects, god rules in love.

God is sovereign over all nations, and rulers are therefore responsible to live ethically under god s lordship. From the first chapter to the last, prophecies are evident revealed by god through his angel to daniel. But now, in our own time, it is opening for the very first time to human understanding. Contemporary scholars debate about the origins and composition of the book of daniel. The attempt to fit the prophecies of daniel and revelation into the facts and events of human history has produced an endless conflict of opinions. This theme is that god will overthrow pagan kingdoms and replace them with his own kingdom. Ancient of days is a name for god in the book of daniel. The book of daniel is a clear revelation of the meaning of history. As humans it is very hard to see god at work when things are not going our way. Daniel the book of daniel is another book of the old testament that documents the various trials that members of the jewish faith are forced to endure at the hands of nonbelievers, this time focusing on the titular individual. God is sovereign, and man is a responsible creaturebut in th.

Now almost 100 years old, daniel receives god s promise. This could simply mean that in interpreting dreams or in providing counsel to the king, even in denying their idol worship, daniel placed his god before them. Daniels gifts are from the god of israel, and the young man becomes a living testimony to his god in a strange land. Though hes the secret wizard of oz behind the scenes, clicking the. Daniel himself is held up as a model of faith because no matter what happened, he kept his eyes firmly focused on god. Watch our overview video on the book of daniel, which breaks down the. Now god what a glorious phrase in the midst of national defeat and personal affliction bondage. Characteristics such as truthfulness, goodness, faithfulness, righteousness, and love define god s every action. Nebuchadnezzar would not escape this judgment except, perhaps, via repentance v. You can read his whole story in the book of daniel in the bible. The prophecies in the book of daniel humble the arrogant pagan rulers and exalt the sovereignty of god. The book of daniel is found in the prophetic section of the old testament which means towards the end. There are sixteen prophets with books named after them in the old testament lamentations is usually included in the group, bringing us to a total of 17 books, but lamentations is really just a poem written by jeremiah.

The first part contains stories about daniel, a jewish exile in the babylonian captivity, and his companions. A multitude of theories abound regarding whether or not the book was written by one person or by more than one. The book of daniel is followed by the prophet hosea, the first of the prophets in the book of the twelve. The overall theme of the book of daniel is gods sovereignty over history, and the theme of the tales in chapters 16 is that god is sovereign over all earthly kings. The true interpretation of the details of the visions is not always clear. Its prophecies of worldruling empires are closely related to revelation. What the book of revelation is in the new testament, the book of daniel is to the old. Later in the book, daniel prophesied of terrible trials still to come in the promised land daniel 11. Or, to put it another way, he permits, for reasons known only to himself, people to act contrary to his revealed will, but he never allows them to act against his sovereign will. Daniels friends shadrach, meshach and abednego served as advisers to king nebuchadnezzar of babylon. He indicates that this disaster is a fulfillment of the curse in deut. Having set up in detail the lifesituation faced by daniel and his friends, the book of daniel now in daniel 2 begins the first of the three themes that form the chiastic structure described in the section above the big picture of the book of daniel. In other words, god does as he pleases and when he pleases.

Widder has a clear passion for the local church, and this volume demonstrates that on almost every page. God doesnt get any lines in the book of daniel, but hes the hidden master, pulling all the strings, controlling every event in the story as it moves along. While the sovereignty of god is infinite, the use of his power is defined by his other attributes. Daniel appeals to gods historical compassion in bringing israel out of egypt. In the historical portions, god s sovereignty is demonstrated. Whatever the trial was, though, it was always the result of sin. The sovereignty of god 1 the sovereignty of god in the book of daniel, king nebuchadnezzar is king over one of the powerful empire that has ever existed, the babylon empire. The book of daniel is often read for its contribution to our understanding of endtimes events, but sometimes christians have been so obsessed with this that we have missed its main message. Does the sovereignty of god mean that god is responsible. There they refused to take food and wine from the king and were given knowledge and insight into dreams and visions by god, and at the end of their training they. The book of daniel part one church of the great god.

Further, he is in complete control over everything that happens here on earth. Convert a selected clip from one of your sermons into an animated video creatively styled with strong, visual elements in bold typography. Daniel 2 god will overthrow pagan kingdoms and replace them. In a series of visions, both to king nebuchadnezzar and to daniel, god revealed a series of four worldruling empires that would be followed by the kingdom of god. Persistent government of god in the government of the world. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure daniel 2.

God divests this king of his powers and brings one like a son of a man to power. More often than not, the controversy swirls around a misunderstanding of the truth. His visions offer hope that god will bring all nations under his rule. He argues that the present calamity of israel in exile is due to their disobedience of this holy god. Through the powers of babylon, persia, greece, and rome, god would bring to bear his purposes. When daniel is writing, israel is in captivity to the babylonians, persians and the medes. This is the book of the universal sovereignty of god. I would be careful, however, of extending the idea, as you heard done, to claim that because god can do anything he wishes, then god is responsible for everything that happens. Did nebuchadnezzar say that the spirit of the holy gods or. You will read what the end of the world will be like, and how truth has withstood constant attack by earthly powers. Daniel gives the meaning of history more clearly than any other portion of the bible. A second aim of the book of daniel was to give a more sure word of prophecy, for it.

Daniel understands god to be the one who is in control of all things including. Chapters 712 are especially full of symbols that speak of what is yet to come. And even though in the nt age israel as a nation has experienced hardening of the heart, yet after the full number of gentile believers the. C as we have it, it is written partly in hebrew and partly in aramaic. Nov 08, 2016 most recently, widder offers readers a muchanticipated volume on daniel in the story of god bible commentary. Daniel 1 the first chapter of the book of daniel tells how daniel and his three companions were among captives taken by nebuchadnezzar ii from jerusalem to babylon to be trained in babylonian wisdom. On the radio you are sharing the services of the first baptist church in dallas. Gods sovereignty over the nations northside harvest.

God rules his entire creation according to his sovereign will. Unknowingly, nebuchadnezzar was an agent of god s sovereignty. Few theological doctrines have caused more of a stir than the doctrine of divine sovereignty. It is true, the sovereignty of god is evident throughout the book of daniel. In the third year of the reign of jehoiakim king of judah, nebuchadnezzar king of babylon came to jerusalem and besieged it. In the prophetic portions, god s sovereignty is not only necessary. Daniel contrasts the holiness of god with the shame of israel. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Sovereignty of god in the book of daniel sermonaudio.