Daniel Intro
Intro
About the Book of Daniel
The events in the book of Daniel began in about 600 BC.
God's special people, the Israelites, did not obey God. #1:0 The Israelites were the descendants of Jacob, who was also called Israel. Jacob's 12 sons became the ancestors of Israel's 12 tribes. The land that God gave to them as their home was called Israel. After King Solomon died, the nation of Israel became two kingdoms. The nation in the north was called Israel. The nation in the south was called Judah. So he punished them. He let Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, win against the Israelites who lived in Judah and its capital city, Jerusalem. #1:0 Babylon was a rich and powerful city on the Euphrates River. The king of Babylon ruled many other countries. Jerusalem was the capital city of Israel and Judah. The temple of God was in Jerusalem. We call those Israelites ‘Jews’. #1:0 A Jew was someone who belonged to the Israelite tribe of Judah. The name was first used at the time of their exile in Babylon. The people of Israel who still remain after that time are called Jews. Nebuchadnezzar took away almost all the Jews to live in Babylon. We call that the exile.
Daniel and his friends were among the Jews that Nebuchadnezzar took to Babylon. Daniel became a very important officer in the government of Babylon.
The first part of the book (Daniel 1–6) tells us about things that happened to Daniel and his friends when they lived in Babylon. Many times, the people of Babylon tried to make them turn against God. They wanted them to worship idols or to worship the king. The people in Babylon even tried to kill Daniel and his friends because they would only worship the true God. But Daniel and his friends knew that idols are not really gods. So they continued to worship the Lord God. #1:0 When we write Lord like this, it is a special name for God. Sometimes people write it as ‘Yahweh’, or as ‘Jehovah’. It is his own name that he told Moses. See Exodus 3:14. It means ‘I am who I am’. This shows that God has always been there and he always will be there.
The second part of the book (Daniel 7–12) tells us about Daniel's visions. They were special dreams that God gave to Daniel. God showed Daniel what would happen in future years. Some things that Daniel saw in his dreams have already happened. Other things that God showed Daniel in his dreams have not yet happened. But God will do all the things that he has promised to do.
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Daniel Intro: EASY
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