Introduction to the Book of Daniel

 Introduction to the Book of Daniel 

From the English Standard Bible

 

Author and Date

Daniel wrote this book in the sixth century B.C. It records the events of Daniel’s life and the visions that he saw from the time of his exile in 605 B.C. (1:1) until 536 B.C., the third year of King Cyrus (10:1).

Theme

The book’s central theme is God’s sovereignty over history, empires, and kings (2:21; 4:34-37). All the kingdoms of this world will come to an end and will be replaced by the Lord’s kingdom, which will never pass away (2:44; 7:27). Though trials and difficulties will continue for God’s people up until the end, those who are faithful will be raised to glory, honor, and everlasting life in this final kingdom (12:1–3).

 

 

 

Daniel 1:1-7

 

March 2, 2024

 

Daniel Taken to Babylon

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 gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand, 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 placed the vessels in the treasury of his god.  Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.  The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time, they were to stand before the king.   Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah.  And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

As I read this, I was thinking, I would have been passed over and left in Israel; I was a long way from nobility.  I was not good in appearance, nor skillful in wisdom, and certainly not endowed with knowledge.  Daniel has always been one of my heroes of God, in that he was just a young boy when he was taken, and we see nowhere in Scripture where he was anything but faithful to all he knew about God.

From our Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Nathan and Bathsheba Before David

 

 

 

1 Kings 1:11-14

 

April 2, 2021

 

Nathan and Bathsheba Before David

Then Nathan said to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king and David our lord does not know it?   Now therefore come, let me give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.   Go in at once to King David, and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord the king, swear to your servant, saying, “Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then is Adonijah king?’   Then, while you are still speaking with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.”

 

I hope you will read the full account through verses 27, but it took place just as Nathan the prophet had said to Bathsheba, and Nathan came in after she had spoken and gave the same account.  You may be thinking Nathan and Bathsheba were just protecting themselves, and to some degree that may be true, but Nathan, being God’s spokesman, was always telling the King what God told him with no fear of man, but of God.

 

Unlike our current leader who sits in the role of President, who is old and has lost his mind, and has always been a known liar and a seeker of power, but he is not the President of the USA, and today no one knows who is calling the shot, but it not Biden.  King David was very old but had not lost his mind and had a deep desire to honor God and listen to the man of God, Nathan.

 

As we read, it will become clear that in this world you will always have people who what to do an end-run and take the place of another, and that will soon play out with Biden and Harris.  If he lasts a year, I will be amazed.

 

One can only dream of a man with integrity who loves God and has a Nathan to tell him when he is off base with the command of his Lord.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

 

David in His Old Age

                                                                      1Kings 1: 1-10

 

April 1, 2021

David in His Old Age

Now King David was old and advanced in years. And although they covered him with clothes, he could not get warm.  Therefore, his servants said to him, “Let a young woman be sought for my lord the king and let her wait on the king and be in his service. Let her lie in your arms,  that my lord the king may be warm.”   So, they sought for a beautiful young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.   The young woman was very beautiful, and she was of service to the king and attended to him, but the king knew her not.

Adonijah Sets Himself Up as King

Now Adonijah, the son of Haggith, exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.   His father had never at any time displeased him by asking, “Why have you done thus and so?” He was also a very handsome man, and he was born next after Absalom.   He conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest. And they followed Adonijah and helped him.   But Zadok the priest and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and Nathan the prophet and Shimei and Rei and David's mighty men were not with Adonijah.

 

Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fattened cattle by the Serpent's Stone, which is beside En-rogel, and he invited all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the royal officials of Judah,  but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the mighty men or Solomon his brother.

 

King David was old and could not keep warm at night, so his servants came up with a plan they believed would work.  So, they came up with their version of the first electric blanket, a young woman who was very beautiful, her name was Abishag the Shunammite.  Now you do recall the king was an old man, and she served the king, but they did not have a sexual relationship.

 

When people get old, even kings or Presidents, people who want power try to step into authority they have not been given, so was the case with Adonijah.  How King David was a man after God’s heart, but history shows he was not a great dad.  A great example is found in this sentence: “His father had never at any time displeased him by asking, 'Why have you done thus and so?”  I can tell you, my dad often, very often asks me that question, and makes clear why my action did not meet the standards required.  He was fair and kept the same standards for each of his children.  When the dad is not giving direction to the child, you end up in a mess.  That is what David had from most of his sons, even Solomon went against the directions Moses had given.  David had a Nathan, but Solomon, a great king in many ways, was a misguided man, for like of a father's leadership. 

 

Verses 9 and 10 speak volumes about the kind of man Adonijah is; he did not have anything to do with anyone who would tell him he was wrong. Does that remind you of the Congress of the United States?

 

 

From our Back Porch,

Bob Rice

 

 

Who Jesus Appear to

 

 

 

 

 

Mark 16: 9-20

 

July 15, 2020

 

 

Note:   Verses 9-20 do not appear in the oldest and best manuscripts of Mark’s gospel.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

 Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.   She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept.   But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.

Jesus Appears to Two Disciples

After these things, he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country.   And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

The Great Commission

Afterward, he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.  And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.   Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.   And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name, they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

 So, then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.   And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.

 

Footnotes

Mark 16:9 Some manuscripts end the book with 16:8; others include verses 9–20 immediately after verse 8. At least one manuscript inserts additional material after verse 14; some manuscripts include, after verse 8, the following: But they reported briefly to Peter and those with him all that they had been told. And after this, Jesus himself sent out by means of them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. These manuscripts then continue with verses 9–20

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

The Resurrection

  

 

 

 

 

Mark 16:1 – 8

 

July 14, 2020

 

 

The Resurrection

When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.   And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.  And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”   And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large.   And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed.   And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.   But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”   And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

 

Matthew 28:1-3 presents a somewhat different account of the angel, mentioning an earthquake, and the angel instructs them to report all they had seen to the disciples.  Matthew tells of Jesus speaking with them on the way to see the disciples and instructs them to tell the disciples to go to Galilee, where they will see him.

 

In Luke’s account, you have the women at the tomb that is empty, and two angels appeared to them. The one thing that is the same in all the accounts is that Jesus is resurrected; death and the grave had no hold on Him.  

 

And John’s account is also somewhat different, in that Mary Magdalene found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty, and ran to Peter, and he and John ran to the tomb, but John outran Peter and looked into the tomb, but did not go in, but Peter did.  Only John gives this account of Jesus talking to Mary Magdalene by herself.  I have no understanding of why the stories are somewhat different, but I do know they all had an empty tomb and a risen Savior.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Is

 “Is”

 

Someone once said if you’re going to write, you should have a title.  I was thinking about the word “is”, it became a somewhat important word, when our late President Bill Clinton asked the question What is, is?  I will get back to the answer a little later, but first, I would like to look back at what was in my life and how it relates to the word “is”.

 

Robert Wayne Rice showed up on planet Earth on April 10, 1942, and the world seemed to be in a mess. Pearl Harbor had happened on December 1, 1941, and there was a lot of uncertainty both economically and politically. My mother and dad called me Bobby.  I was too young to know or understand, but I’m quite sure the America I showed up in was full of fear, confusion, doubt, and uncertainty.  Not many years before, we had fought the war to end all wars, and not many years had passed since America and Europe had gone through what was called the “Great Depression”.   And once more, the loss of business, wealth, homes, and land may have left our parents with fear, confusion, doubt, and uncertainty, but let me go back to my story.

 

Ten years later, or as I was reaching my tenth birthday in 1952, strange things were happening at school; we were talking about bomb shelters, and having lessons at school on how to get under our little wooden desk in case of a bomb.  The United States was in what was to be called the KOREAN CONFLICT. I was only ten, but I was somewhat confused. Why would anyone want to bomb Oak Park Elementary School? Why would they want to kill me, my friends, or the people of Corpus Christi, Texas?  I did not know, and it caused confusion, doubt, and uncertainty in my thinking.  The good news was that Mother told me not to fear that God would take care of us, and I still trusted my mother, so it was not so terrifying.

 

Ten years later, I was twenty years of age, it was 1962, and the fear, confusion, doubt, and uncertainty were still in my world; now I seemed to understand them better.  I was one year out of High School and soon to be going to boot camp.  Nikita Kruschev was banging his shoe on the table at the United Nations, saying, “We will bury you”.  On October 22, 1962, after reviewing newly acquired intelligence, President John F. Kennedy informed the world that the Soviet Union was building secret missile bases in Cuba, a mere 90 miles off the shores of Florida. I was wondering if I would have a future.

 

Ten years later, I was the young age of thirty, it was 1972, and the prime rate hit 10 percent, and America was in the middle of an oil embargo.  I was working for 3M Company selling copy machines, and my daughter Natalie was almost three years old.  I was not sure I could make it in that economy.  It was also the year that Israeli athletes were taken as hostages during the Olympic Games in Munich, on September 5, 1972. Yes, once more, fear, confusion, doubt, and uncertainty were a big part of my worldview.

 

Ten years later, I was forty, it was 1982, and we were experiencing a 17 percent interest rate.  We had an oil crisis, and we had high inflation.  My world was changing, and my old friend Fear was very close to me.  If I had the ability to look into the future, it would have been even gloomier.  In 1983, the closing of my Division at 3M and the possibility of not being unemployed caused some uncertainty, fear, and confusion in our lives. 

 

Ten years later, and if you add the numbers, I am 50 years old, and the year is 1992.  It seems the United States is getting a big break; Boris Yeltsin announces that Russia will stop targeting United States cities with nuclear weapons.  We have a jury acquitting four police officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King, causing the 1992 Los Angeles riots and leading to 53 deaths and $1 billion in damage.  We found a new enemy, and he lives among us.  Bill Clinton defeated incumbent U.S. President George H.W. Bush and businessman H. Ross Perot.  Yes, I am still having fear, and confusion, with a lot of uncertainty, what will this new President do, and how will he act?  He will always be known as the President who said, "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is.

 

Ten years later, I am sixty and the year is 2002.  The United States Department of Justice announced it would pursue a criminal investigation of Enron.  We learned that this large corporation had lied and stolen millions from its employees and American stockholders.  In March, the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: In eastern Afghanistan, Operation Anaconda begins.  In Houston, Texas, Andrea Yates was found guilty of drowning her 5 children on June 20, 2001. She is later sentenced to life in prison.  The US State Department released a report naming 7 state sponsors of terrorism: Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria.  Also, the  Congress of the United States passed a joint resolution, which explicitly authorizes the President to use the United States Armed Forces as he deems necessary and appropriate, against Iraq.  My friend's fear and uncertainty are still standing on all condors, and he is very convincing. 

 

It is now 2007, and I am 65 years of age. The Lord has blessed me with a great wife and family.  Both Jan and I have been given the gift of good health, and the Lord has blessed us with many blessings.  Our son-in-law, Byron, is a man who loves God and our daughter, and they have two boys, whom we love, John Mark and Zachary David.  But the war is still going on in Iraq, and it seems to not be going well; that’s what the press is saying.  Al Gore is telling us that we only have a few years left before man annihilates the world that God spoke into being.  Many people are buying into global warming it and the war is causing fear, uncertainty, and confusion. 

 

My goal in writing this was to leave a record for my two grandsons that life in this world is full of fear, confusion, doubt, and uncertainty, unless you know what “is, is”.  At the age of 27 years, I began a relationship with Jesus Christ Himself.  I hope you heard I began, in some small ways, I can identify with a great name in the Bible, a guy called Moses.  He got into a lot of trouble trying to help God out.  In his attempt to help God, he killed an Egyptian and had to flee Egypt, and became a shepherd or a keeper of sheep.  Then God spoke to him from a burning bush that was burning, but it was not consumed.  Now, a bush burning is no big deal but one that is burning and not consumed is worth seeing, and that is what Moses did.   We all know the story, but I bet you may not have seen the answer to Bill Clinton's “Is” question, "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is.”  God has told Moses to go back to Egypt and tell, not ask, but tell Pharaoh to let God’s people go.  Let us pick up the story in Exodus 3: 13-14 “Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”  God said to Moses, I am Who I am” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.”  Do you see it, God is, is, there is no other.  Dan Stone wrote in the book titled, “The Rest of the Gospel” the following: “He told Moses to tell the Hebrews that “I AM” had sent him.  God’s very name indicates the changeless, timeless, eternal, present-tense nature of His being, Jesus used the same language to refer to Himself: “I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58).  The writer to the Hebrews stated: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  God “is” the unseen, eternal, timeless, changeless One.

 

Boys never forget that Jesus, the changeless, timeless One, became a seen and temporal man.  And as a man, Jesus experienced all that we experience, but unlike us, He did not sin.  He never forgot his identity. He, being God, was holy, pure, and without sin.  And this is the kicker, He also did not depend on anything or anyone but His Father, He drew all His power to live life from His Father in heaven.  And that is what each of us must do to live life in a world that is filled with fear, confusion, doubt, and uncertainty.

 

Bill Bright is one of my heroes, and he makes this statement: “God is not 'the man upstairs.”  He is not a divine Santa Claus.  He is not a cosmic policeman.  He is the One who spoke, and a hundred billion galaxies were flung into space.  To give you a little perspective, our planet Earth is like a grain of sand in our galaxy, and our galaxy is no more than a grain of sand in the vastness of all creation.  The God who created it all is manifest in the person of Jesus Christ, for He “is the visible expression of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15, Phillips).  He created it all, and the Scripture says He holds it all together by the word of His command.”

 

Guys, if the Scripture is true and I am staking my life now and the eternal life on one man, the God-man Jesus Christ.  He has become my life. He is living in me, and I am living in Him.  John Mark, you and Zachary do not have to worry about the things that our world fears; the Scripture states that Jesus Christ holds it all together.  Our world has gone the way of the fool, and God has a lot to say about the fool.  In Psalm 53:1, it is written that the fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”  In Proverbs 28:26, we read the following; Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.

 

Never forget that “God Is”, and do not live in fear as I did for so many years, not knowing or believing this truth.  “I have chosen you and not cast you off; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:9b-10).  From December 26, 2020 – April 18, 2021, I held on to that Verse in Isaiah 41:10.  And today it is still the verse I’m running to with my high blood pressure.

 

With all my Love,

 

Grand Bob, or as known by you guys, Bob, Bob

 

Monday, May 14, 2007 – October 12, 2023

Jesus Is Buried

                                                              Mark 15: 42 – 47

 

July 13, 2020

 

 

Jesus Is Buried

And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath,   Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died.  And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead.   And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph.   And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.   Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

 

Jesus' burial was a rushed job; it was already evening on Friday.  The Sabbath was soon to begin, and it was preparation day, and the more pious Jews got everything ready for the Sabbath.  Mark gives us some insight into Joseph of Arimathea, who was a secret follower of Christ.  I believe many of us in the Church fit that role.  How can I make such a statement? Let me ask a few questions. Do you watch movies at home that take the Lord’s name in vain?  Do you ever tell anyone what Jesus has done for you?  You’re a good person, but often, so are your lost neighbor, business associate, or family members.  But they are not secret followers of Christ, for they may know about Him, but as long as they think they are not so bad, grace will not look that good.

 

If you want to understand Joseph of Arimathea, look at Matthew 27:57; John 19:38,  and Luke 23:51.  Joseph opposed their verdict and did what many who are secret followers of Christ will not do: he came out of the shadows and boldly went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus.  Why am I so strong in my statement?  Because when we are, as I was for a while, an underground Christian, it took mentors showing me that to follow Jesus, you had to allow Him Lordship over your messed-up life.

 

The apostle Paul tells us why we need to be bold in our confession of Jesus in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8.  ^“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.   After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.   Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last, of all, he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.”

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice