Introduction to Daniel

Order of Service

• Announcements
• Opening Hymn — All Creatures of Our God and King
• Call to Worship — Genesis 2:1-3
• Hymn — All Creatures of Our God and King
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Faith
• Scripture Reading — Ezra 10:1-17
• Hymn — Out of the Deep I Call
• Prayer of Confession
• Offering
• Prayer of Dedication
• Hymn — Spirit of the Living God
• Scripture Reading — 2 Peter 1:19-21
• Scripture Reading — 1 Peter 3:13-17
• Sermon
• Closing Hymn — Teach Me, O Lord, Your Way of Truth
• Benediction — 2 Corinthians 13:14
• Doxology

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Sermon Title: Introduction to Daniel — The Trustworthy and Inerrant Word of God

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:19-21; 1 Peter 3:13-17

I. The Inerrant Word of God Reveals the Lord of Prophecy

A. The unique role of the prophet in Israel

1. In ancient Near Eastern kingdoms, the king was the supreme authority — often seen as the human manifestation of the chief god (e.g., Pharaoh as the manifestation of Ra)
2. In Israel, the prophet functioned like a "freedom of the press," holding the king accountable to God's law
3. Deuteronomy 17 — the king was to rule according to God's law, his constitutional authority

B. Daniel as a prosecuting prophet in a pagan court

1. Unlike other prophets, Daniel does not prosecute an Israelite king but Babylonian kings
2. Romans 2:12-16 — even Gentiles without the law are judged by the work of the law written on their hearts
3. Romans 13:1 — all authority is instituted by God; Babylon was raised up as an instrument of judgment on Judah
4. Isaiah 47:6 — God judged Babylon for showing no mercy to his people
5. Jeremiah 1:9-10 — God's word placed in the prophet's mouth has power over nations and kingdoms

C. The power of God's word displayed through Daniel

1. Daniel, a conquered exile, becomes a mouthpiece of the Lord who overthrows kingdoms
2. As in A Mighty Fortress Is Our God — "one little word shall fell him"
3. Christians hold in their hands that same powerful, living word

II. The Inerrant Word of God Reveals the Lord of Language

A. The critical scholarly attack on Daniel

1. Since Rudolf Bultmann, critical scholars have sought to strip the supernatural from Scripture, reducing it to merely a human document
2. Specifically, Daniel 11:29-39 is claimed to describe the atrocities of the Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes (~170 BC) with such precision that critics argue it must have been written after the fact
3. Critical scholars date Daniel to 165 BC rather than the traditional date of ~530 BC

B. The linguistic evidence of Daniel

1. Daniel uniquely alternates between Hebrew (Daniel 1), Aramaic (Daniel 2:4–7:28), and Hebrew again (Daniel 8–12)
2. The Dead Sea Scrolls (discovered 1947), written by the Essenes at Qumran between 200–100 BC, contain Aramaic that is markedly different from the Aramaic in Daniel
3. Nine-tenths of the Aramaic vocabulary in Daniel is attested in texts from the fifth century BC or earlier
4. Gleason Archer concluded there is "absolutely no possibility" of regarding Daniel as contemporary with Qumran based on syntax, morphology, vocabulary, and spelling
5. Even the critical scholar Montgomery (1927), who advocated a late date, could not resolve the problem posed by the Aramaic of Daniel 2–7

C. What the language of Daniel teaches us about God

1. God cares about the details — even syntax, vocabulary, and punctuation
2. Matthew 5:18 — not an iota or dot will pass from the law until all is accomplished
3. Isaiah 46:9-10 — God declares the end from the beginning; his counsel shall stand
4. The very language Daniel writes in, preserved through history, proves that God predicts the end from the beginning
5. Christians can hold their Bibles with confidence as the very word of God

III. The Inerrant Word of God Reveals the Lord of Hope

A. The critical scholars' claim about Daniel's purpose fails

1. Critics argue Daniel was written to give the Jewish people hope during the Maccabean revolt under Antiochus Epiphanes
2. Dale Ralph Davis notes the writer did a poor job if that was the aim — the Maccabean response was violent revolt, not the patient exile-posture Daniel models
3. Commentator Wallace: the book is written for those living in a "settled condition within an alien culture" — a Babylonian situation, not a Maccabean one

B. Daniel speaks directly to Christians as exiles

1. Daniel shows that powerful kingdoms rise and fall, but only the kingdom of the Son of Man, the Ancient of Days, endures forever
2. Peter addresses the church as "exiles" — we await the new heavens and new earth
3. The Son of Man riding on the clouds (Daniel 7) points forward to Christ's return and the consummation of his kingdom

C. Two lessons from Daniel on living as exiles in a foreign culture

1. Be people of high character

   • Daniel gained the respect of Babylonian authorities and rose to a position of influence in the pagan court
   • Like Joseph, God used his character and wisdom from within a position of prominence
   • 1 Peter 2:17 — honor everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the emperor
   • Romans 12:18 — as much as possible, live peaceably with all
   • Christians are to carry themselves with dignity so that even pagan rulers take notice

2. Be willing to suffer rather than compromise

   • Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego strove for peace but refused to deny God's word
   • Daniel was taken "under the wing of the dragon" of Babylon but never allowed himself to grow comfortable there
   • Matthew 13:22 — the cares of the world and deceitfulness of riches choke the word and make it unfruitful
   • As exiles with everything at our fingertips, we are susceptible to the same danger as Daniel faced
   • We must be grounded morning, noon, and night in the inerrant, infallible, life-giving word of God as we await the Ancient of Days