Daniel 1:1 – “My World”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹In the year of third to the reign of Jehoiakim the king of Israel came Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babel [to] Jerusalem and besieged it.

I have been enjoying my study through the book of I Thessalonians but I need to take a break and do some OT study for a while and then come back to it. I don’t like to spend too long away from either Greek or Hebrew. That being the case, and needing some OT exercise, I have long loved the book of Daniel and it is a delight to actually slow down, exegete the Hebrew, ponder over each verse, and see what the Lord would teach me.

The study also possesses two personally pleasant aspects for me, one being that I’m studying the book specifically at the suggestion of my mother, who enjoys these studies with me, and the second being that my son’s name is Daniel. Not only is the mere mention of his name a delight but it also gives me great pleasure to note that, from his very birth, he has always lived up to his name. Just like his Biblical namesake, he’s always been a man you could count on to do the right thing. It was quite the pleasure for me to realize that even at a very young age, I already could respect and admire my son!

This study is also a considerable pleasure for me because I love history. Like our own, the world in which our Biblical Daniel lived was a world of rapidly changing politics, with the fortunes of four great ancient empires – Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and Medo-Persia – rising and falling, while his own nation Israel was seemingly caught squarely in the middle (or should I say “cross-fire?). It is fascinating to me to understand some of the history that was happening even as our book of Daniel was unfolding.

It is also fun as a portion of the book is actually written in Aramaic, which was the lingua franca of the ancient world. (The actual language of Babylon itself was Akkadian). Aramaic is very similar to Hebrew, yet not the same, so I get to explore yet a third ancient language in the course of my studies.

Finally, I want to say it is a particularly pleasant prospect for me to embark on a study of this book because I have always found it to be of profound practical implications. So much of the OT is set in the context of the nation of Israel where the Lord Himself is at least supposed to be King. In the book of Daniel, we find a godly man living in a world that feels no obligation to even acknowledge the God of Heaven, much less respect His will. Much like us Gentiles, Daniel had to live out his faith in a completely pagan world, and, in that, I find his example to hold what I believe are profound implications for your life and mine.

And so we embark. May the Lord richly bless the study of His Word and may He through it enable us to live more holy and faithful lives, even as the political landscape of our own world rises and falls around us like a storm-tossed ocean.

I could probably write for months on this one verse, but perhaps I should refrain? I’ll try. The year is about 605 BC. For centuries Egypt has been a dominant power in the Middle East. For at least a couple of hundred years, that power has been challenged by the kings of Assyria. But a new power has risen in the east, the kingdom of Babylon. In this year of 605 BC, young Nebuchadnezzar has fought a decisive battle in Carchemish, north of Palestine, and forever broken the power of Assyria and Egypt. Jehoiakim was a vassal to Pharaoh Neco of Egypt, so no doubt in order to protect his western wing, Nebuchadnezzar determines he will subjugate Jerusalem and besieges it.

The very good and godly king Josiah was killed just four years earlier in 609 BC at Megiddo by the same Pharaoh. Josiah was actually a supporter of the Babylonian empire and went to Megiddo to stop or slow the Pharaoh on his way to battle with Nebuchadnezzar’s father Nabopolassar. Following that battle, Jehoiakim was actually placed on the throne of Judah by Neco himself.

So the world is in convulsions politically. No matter who you side with, you may end up dead.

On the home front, Jehoiakim is a completely inept and wicked king. He learned nothing from his father Josiah. In Jeremiah 22:13-19, we find him building for himself a lavish palace and then refusing to pay the workers when they’re done. What can they say? He’s the king. Then in Jer 36:23ff, we find the account of Jehoiakim impudently cutting up Jeremiah’s scroll and burning it in his fire. One can only imagine the heartbreak and consternation of the godly people in Judah who only four years earlier had Josiah for their king. While the rest of their world is in complete turmoil, in their own land, they have a godless, wicked king.

And now, to top it all off, this new powerful king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem.

Pretty encouraging world to live in. Yes? Obviously, no.

But this is the world that Daniel lives in.

Here he is in the year 605 BC. He’s probably 15 to 20 years old. The events of world history are swirling around him. His nation is led by a godless man whose wickedness has brought disaster to the very gate of his city.

But this is the world that Daniel lives in.

The choice before him is not whether he wants to live in this world or not, but only how will he live in this world?

And actually, as we all know, it’s going to get worse. Soon.

Sound familiar? It should. It’s your world and mine.

I don’t think I’m being morose to say we too live in a world of political convulsions and godless leadership that is sure to bring down tragedy and hardship on the heads of us and our children. But this is the hope of the book of Daniel. We’re about to wade through glimpses of the life of a man who lived in our same world but lived it well.

It will be a fun study!