Category: The Book of Daniel
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Basketball and Babylon
Most of the “court tales” we hear these days relate to the NBA and the recent lockout. The book of Daniel certainly features big egos, a bit of sport, and plenty of suspense, but its early chapters tell a completely different kind of court tale than the NBA tells. Daniel 2 moves us into a…
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Taking Stock
It’s taken only eight weeks to get through Daniel 1. Just wait until we get to chapter 7 (sometime in 2013, if we’re lucky). You ain’t seen nuthin’ yet. Before we turn the page to chapter 2, we’re going to pause and take inventory of what’s happened in chapter 1. It may be obvious to…
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Ezekiel Bread, Daniel’s Diet, and Other “Biblical” Food Follies
When I first heard about Ezekiel Bread, I was in the middle of translating the book of Ezekiel for a year-long Ph.D. class. So when my roommate asked if I’d heard of Ezekiel Bread, I had…and I hadn’t. I certainly knew about the bread in the book of Ezekiel (chapter 4), but I had no…
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Wisdom: Finding the Right Way to Do the Right Thing
I have enough failed resolutions in my life to appreciate the difference between making up my mind to do something and then actually getting it done. Daniel makes up his mind in 1:8 not to eat what the king is serving – but actually keeping his resolution without dying in a hunger strike is a…
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What’s His Beef?
We have barely met Daniel (v.6) before we learn that his name is changed to the more Babylonian appropriate “Belteshazzar,” which probably meant something like “Bel (oh, great Babylonian god!), protect his life!” (v.7). Having informed us of this fact, the narrator immediately reverts back to the name “Daniel” (v.8). This narrator will have nothing…
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All the King’s Not-Quite-Yet Men
Last time I thrilled you with a roll call of King Nebuchadnezzar’s staff. I’m sure you’ve been checking back hourly to see if I’ve written more of this compelling material. At the risk of disappointing you, I thought I’d write next about the guys you actually care about – namely, Daniel & Co., the good…
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All the King’s Men
Daniel is the most famous person in the book of Daniel, followed by Nebuchadnezzar and Shadrach-Meshach-and-Abednego, but before he rises to fame, we encounter a number of his handlers. Chapter 1 introduces us to a cadre of officials with cameo appearances. In verse 3 we meet Ashpenaz, the king’s head honcho. English translations aren’t quite…
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A Curmudgeon Cries “Context! Context! Context!”
I’m teaching Daniel to a group of urban ministry leaders on Monday nights this semester. They love the book because it preaches so well, and I love teaching them because it’s a dream to teach students so enthusiastic about the material. At least, it’s a dream for the first six chapters. When we get to…
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An Ancient Hyperlink
Hyperlinks aren’t really anything new under the sun. A book as ancient as the Bible has its own kind of hyperlink – though, unfortunately, they aren’t underlined in blue. You just have to pay close attention to notice them. There’s one in Daniel 1:2. “And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand,…
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Don’t Miss This! (Daniel 1)
Sometimes you can miss the first few minutes of a movie or even the first few pages of a book, and you can still catch up pretty easily. This is not the case in the book of Daniel. If you read too quickly past the first 2 verses of chapter 1, you miss the key…
Three Rubies Press 