Why does Daniel 1 BEGIN like THAT? | The Book of Daniel EXPLAINED

Why does Daniel 1 BEGIN like THAT? | The Book of Daniel EXPLAINED

Ever wondered why the Book of Daniel begins with  the reference to the third year of Jehoiakim?

Is that just a standard way to begin biblical  book or is there more significance to this phrase? 

Find out now on this episode of Masterpiece! Hi,  welcome to Masterpiece! My name is Chris and I  

want to show you how fascinating the Bible can  be once you take a closer look. Right now we're  

in the Book of Daniel. Last time we looked at the  very last verse of Daniel chapter 1. If you missed  

that video check it out right up here in the  info box. This time we're gonna go back to the  very beginning of that chapter, to the first verse  or to be more precise to the very first phrase of  

that first verse, so look at Daniel chapter 1 verse  1 which begins like this: In the third year of the  

reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah... Just like with  the last verse in this chapter it's so easy to  

Why does Daniel 1 BEGIN like THAT? | The Book of Daniel EXPLAINED

+Why +does +Daniel +1 +BEGIN +like +THAT? +| +The +Book +of +Daniel +EXPLAINED

[Why does Daniel 1 BEGIN like THAT? | The Book of Daniel EXPLAINED]

"Why does Daniel 1 BEGIN like THAT? | The Book of Daniel EXPLAINED"

skip right over this phrase. I mean, why should we  spend time thinking about this? We want to get to  the story, we want to get to the application. So  Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem and besieged  

it in the third year of Jehoiakim. Good to  know, let's move on. But wait, wait, wait! Slow  

down! If everything in the Bible has significance  maybe there's more to this phrase than we think. 

So let's stop for a minute and ask the question  why is it written the way it's written. In other  

words: why does the book begin like this? Why  doesn't it just say: And it came to pass that  Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem and besieged  it? Why the specific reference to a reignal year?  

Personally, I believe there are several reasons.  For one thing, of course, the reference to the  third year of Jehoiakim firmly roots the events  of this chapter and therefore also the whole book  

in history. In other words, the story in Daniel  1 which begins the larger story of the whole  book is presented not as a more or less fictional  tale like some people think, but as actual history.  

The third year of Jehoiakim is a historical date  that can be calculated. But that's not all. If we  keep reading we discover that the third year of  Jehoiakim is not the only regnal year mentioned  

in the book. Just take a look at the first verse  of chapters 2, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. The second year  of Nebuchadnezzar. The first year of Belshazzar.  The third year of Belshazzar and so on. So the  

mention of a regnal year at the beginning of the  book is not accidental or just included to give a  historical reference point, but apparently part of  the literary design of the book. Speaking of design:  

as we noted in the last video, together with the  first year of Cyrus in verse 21, the third year of  Jehoiakim also provides a frame around the first  chapter. We begin with a third year in which one  

kingdom is conquered by another and we end with  the first year that hints at another conquest.  

The Kingdom that conquered will eventually itself  be conquered and the Hebrews that were conquered  will eventually be allowed to return home. But  as we also noted last time the term "year" doesn't  

just occur in verses 1 and 21 but also in verse 5.  And this is where things get interesting because  

in verse 5 the term "year" is also connected to  the number 3. The Hebrew young men chosen by the  Babylonians are to be educated for three years.  So we have a third year and now three years and  

then in verse 18 we are told that at the end  of those three years something happens. Which  means the chapter is framed by events connected  to a three year period and more specifically to  

the third year and both events are associated  with judgment of Hebrews For one Hebrew, Jehoiakim, the  

judgment is negative. The Lord gives him into the  hand of Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon triumphs over  

Judah. But for the Hebrews Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael,  and Azariah the judgment is positive because God  

gives them wisdom. They are found to be 10 times  better than all of Nebuchadnezzar's wise men and  

thus Judah triumphs over Babylon. But it gets even  more interesting once we do some more research on  Jehoiakim. Check this out: in 2 Kings 23:31  to 24:7 and 2 Chronicles 36:1-8 we are  

told among other things that Jehoiakim was a young  man from the royal line, that his name was changed  

and that he was taken to Babylon. Sound familiar?  That's exactly what we're told about Daniel and  

his friends in Daniel 1: they were young men from  the royal family, their names were changed and they  

were taken to Babylon. Interesting! Could it be that  the author has intentionally opened the book the  way he did in order to set up a comparison between  Jehoiakim on the one hand and Daniel and his friends  

on the other hand? All of them go through a very  similar experience. In fact, 2 Kings 24:1 seems  to suggest that during the 3 years that Daniel and  his friends got their training, Jehoiakim served  

Nebuchadnezzar. But then he rebelled. He resists  Babylon, creating another parallel to Daniel and his  friends who also resist Babylon. But that's where  the parallels end because, you see, Jehoiakim is  

very different from Daniel and his friends. 2 Kings 23 says that he did what was evil in God's eyes.

He's the guy who cuts up a scroll the prophet  Jeremiah wrote which contains a message of warning  from God. Personally cuts it up as it's being read  to him and throws it into the fire. Kills a prophet  

who prophesized things he doesn't like. That's  Jehoiakim. He rebels not just against Babylon  but also against God. Daniel and his friends, on  the other hand, don't rebel at all. They resist  Babylon, but as we also saw last time, they do so  in a non-violent respectful way and only where  

Babylonian practice comes into conflict with  divine law. Jehoiakim doesn't care about God's  law, but Daniel and his friends want to live in  accordance with the law. Their resistance is based  on trust in God and because of that God is able  to use them in amazing ways. Joachim's resistance  leads to more hatred, strife and destruction - some  interestingly at the hands of Chaldean raiders - but  the resistance of Daniel and his friends leads to  honor and exultation and in chapter 2 Daniel will  

triumph over the Chaldean wise men. But here's the  neat thing: in the end, the triumph of the Hebrews  turns out to be a blessing for Babylon, because  Daniel and his friends use the gifts God gave  them for the benefit of Babylon and so God is  able to use them in his endeavor to reach the  people of Babylon. Babylon will fall, but God wants  to save the people of Babylon, because God loves  the people of Babylon. So what about you and me,  living in the exile of sin, in a world that's  

constantly trying to impart its values on us and  puts our faith in God to the test. That tells  us how we should dress, what we should eat and  drink, what we should watch, how we should behave.  

Which way are we gonna choose as we relate to this  world? The way of Jehoiakim who was part of God's  people but didn't care about God and his law? Who  resisted Babylon but in a very Babylonian way? Or  

the way of Daniel and his friends who were willing to  risk their life in order to stay faithful to God?  Who resisted Babylon with God's help and in  an intelligent respectful way and because they  resisted like that God was able to use them to  reach the people of Babylon and even the king  

of Babylon. I don't know about you, but I want to  choose that second way. It's not always an easy  way for sure, because it's the way of faith, but  as Daniel 1 shows, in the end it's the only way  that leads to true success and happiness. Hey  everyone, thanks so much for watching, isn't it  

fascinating how much you can discover in just one  short phrase? And the cool thing is I'm pretty sure  there's even more to discover here simply because  we're dealing with the Bible, which means there's  always more to discover, so if you see anything  else here in verse 1 or in Daniel 1 or you just  

want to share something from your own personal  Bible study, let me know in the comments. Have fun  

studying the Bible and discovering really cool  things and we'll see you next time. Take care.

Umn ministry