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The Return of Apologetics in the North - lessons from Babylon -

The Return of Apologetics in the North - lessons from Babylon -. Daniel 1:1-16.

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The Return of Apologetics in the North - lessons from Babylon -

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  1. The Return of Apologetics in the North- lessons from Babylon - Daniel 1:1-16

  2. “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matt 22:34-40

  3. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 1 Pet 3:15-16

  4. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god. Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility— young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service. Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.

  5. But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.” Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

  6. The Ishtar Gate

  7. 1. Babylon Blues Nebuchadnezzar and three waves of terror against Jerusalem 1: Besieged & plundered 605 bc 2: Besieged & plundered 597 bc 3: Levelled 587 bc

  8. By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy. Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. “Tear it down,” they cried, “tear it down to its foundations!” O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us— he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.

  9. Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me not be blessed! Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, who made him very glad, saying, “A child is born to you—a son!” May that man be like the towns the Lord overthrew without pity. May he hear wailing in the morning, a battle cry at noon. Jer 20: 14-16

  10. Love God and love people • Babylon Blues? • If we love God; yes! • But what about love for the Babylonians?

  11. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Jer 29:4-7

  12. 2. Integration a la Nebuchadnezzar What to do with defeated people • oppress them? • banish them? • change them!

  13. Focus on the elite • from the royal family and the nobility • young men without physical defect, handsome • aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand • qualified to serve in the king’s palace

  14. Give them education & career trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service • appointed administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court (2:49) teach them language and literature of the Babylonians • polytheism, astrology , the occult …

  15. Change their self-understanding • Daniel Belteshazzar (Bel) • Hananiah Shadrach (Marduk) • Mishael Meshach (Aku) • Azariah Abednego (Nebo)

  16. Undermine their faith … some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god. v 2

  17. Was Nebuchadnezzar successful? • More were chosen than the 4 friends • Among these were • compare … with that of the young men who eat … • What happened with the others? • no other protesting voices in the book

  18. Love God and love people • Should we follow Nebuckadnezzar’s integration plan? • If we love people; yes! • But what about love and faithfulness towards God?

  19. 3. Team Daniel Starting point: Sovereignty of God And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. v 2

  20. Strange accomodation? Accepts education, new names, work … … but not the food??!! Daniel did not compromiseHe resolved not to defile himself

  21. Why food and drink? • Not in accordance with OT laws about clean and unclean food? • why reject the wine? • Food sacrificed to idols? • not wrong to eat, 1 Kor 8:1-13

  22. Unusual word; only twice in the Bible food and wine from the king’s table, 1:5 Those who eat from the king’s provisions, 11:26 Meal as a covenant

  23. It is about loyalty to God • Priorities for team Daniel • But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. 3:16-18 • Did they misspelled their name as a reminder of their true identity? Aved-Nego (Nebo)

  24. How can an individual resist Babylon? • Daniel had strong convictions • resolved not to defile himself • Daniel was close to the Lord in prayer • Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 6:10 • Daniel studied the word of God • Daniel understood from the Scriptures … 9:2 • Daniel was part of a team

  25. The deepest secret – the presence of the son of God Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, O king.” He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” Dan 3:24-25

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