Book of Daniel - Find security in God's sovereignty

Topics: faith, prayer, end of time

I. God is sovereign in discipline

* God utilizes a secular nation to discipline Judah!

  1. Because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him. The Lord said, "I will remove Judah also from My sight, as I have removed Israel. And I will cast off Jerusalem" (2 Kings 23:26b, 27a)
  2. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the vessels of the house of God; and he brought them to

the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his god (Daniel 1:1, 2).

II. God is sovereign in disruption

* The indoctrination into Babylonian culture was by design!

  1. "And some of your sons who will issue from you, whom you will beget, will be taken away, and they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon" (Isaiah 39:7).
  2. Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles, youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king?s court; and he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The king appointed for them a daily ration from the king's choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be educated three years, at the end of which they were to enter the king's personal service. Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach and to Azariah Abed-nego (Daniel 1:3-7).

III. God is sovereign as deliverer

* God demonstrates through Jesus His sovereign desire to rescue!

  1. "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life" (John 5:39, 40).
  2. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9).