Daniel 2:31-45
English Standard Version

Daniel Interprets the Dream
31 “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32 The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

36 “This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37 You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, 38 and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold. 39 Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. 41 And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, 45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

You have probably been waiting for the interpretation of the dream, just like the king was.  We've been hinting at it somewhat to know that it talks about the end of days, it talks about God raising up and tearing down kings and kingdoms, and it has something to do with the Kingdom of God being without end in space or time.  Daniel interprets that dream for the king by telling him that before him in his dream was a tall statue with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, abdomen and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet of clay with toes made of a mixture of iron and clay.  Note that the most valuable materials are at the top, but the strongest materials are at the bottom.

The head of gold represents the kingdom of Babylon, and all the other parts of the statue reveal the progression of the future empires that will follow.  This was upsetting to the king, because he assumed his kingdom would be eternal.  One day, his kingdom would come to an end and be replaced by an inferior kingdom.  We will learn the identity of some of these kingdoms later in the book of Daniel, but for now the kingdoms are left unnamed.  Hold onto this progression of four major kingdoms though with a fifth growing out of the fourth far into the future, and you have a template for many of the visions that Daniel will receive in the future.  We will be able to cross-reference them to be able to better understand them as future visions will fill in some or all of the blanks for us.

This second kingdom that was interior to Babylon would itself be conquered and replaced by another kingdom that would rule over the whole world.  The first two kingdoms desired world domination, but this kingdom would seem to actually accomplish that.  After the kingdom of bronze comes a kingdom as strong as iron that would smash everyone else to pieces that stood in their way.  They would conquer and reign over even more of the world than the empire of bronze.  Finally, out of this last kingdom came a confederation of nations represented by the ten toes of the statue.  They were heterogeneous in nature symbolized by iron and clay that do not mix well together--some parts were strong while other parts were brittle and easily broken like clay pottery.  This is where we get the expression "feet of clay" from.  All of these kingdoms would be kingdoms in the future of the day that Daniel revealed this vision to the king.  Only one of these kingdoms remains to this day, so we now know the identity of the kingdoms of silver, bronze, and iron (and we even know the kingdom of the mixture of iron and clay from other prophecies).

If we focus on the statue though, we miss the meaning of the dream or vision.  A day is coming when all of these kingdoms as powerful and great as they were will be destroyed by a large boulder not cut out by human hands.  It will hit the statue at its feet and the kingdoms will be destroyed in reverse order starting with the last and going back to the first.  Though one kingdom has replaced another the remnants of these kingdoms still remain until the day comes when the kingdom of God will destroy all kings and kingdoms that stand against Him and the Kingdom of God will stand alone in time and space ruling over all creation for all eternity.  His is the kingdom that will be without boundary and without end.  God revealed to Nebuchadnezzar that not only would he not reign forever and he would not reign over the whole world, there would be many kings and kingdoms to follow in his footsteps that would try to do the same thing (each getting closer and closer to world domination until the last "kingdom" which will essentially rule the entire world at the very end).  Even this will not be enough to stop the kingdom of God though as His kingdom will destroy all the other kingdoms and they will become like dust that the wind will blow away and they will be quickly forgotten.  No one can stand against the kingdom of God.  All a wise man can do is surrender to the LORD and become a part of the kingdom that will be victorious in the end.  This is why the king was so shaken and his advisors could do nothing to help him.  Only Daniel the prophet could advise the king to surrender if he wanted to survive the coming judgment.

Daniel 2:17-30
English Standard Version

God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar's Dream
17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18 and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said:

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
    to whom belong wisdom and might.
21 He changes times and seasons;
    he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
    and knowledge to those who have understanding;
22 he reveals deep and hidden things;
    he knows what is in the darkness,
    and the light dwells with him.
23 To you, O God of my fathers,
    I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me wisdom and might,
    and have now made known to me what we asked of you,
    for you have made known to us the king's matter.”

24 Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”

25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him: “I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” 26 The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” 27 Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: 29 To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. 30 But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.

Though the passage titles are not inspired, I like the way the ESV has titled this passage, putting the focus on God and not on Daniel.  This passage is about how God is superior to the gods that the Babylonians worshiped (especially Nebuchadnezzar's god Bel).  First, we see that the LORD is the God who hears and answers the prayers of His people.  Daniel had faith that the LORD would provide the answer before praying, but he still instructed his friends to pray all night for him while he slept so that he could clearly remember the dream and the interpretation that was given to him.  There is no super-spiritual reason given for why Daniel did this--his goal was simply for him and his friends to not be killed by the king.  However, God wants to save Daniel and his three friends for His reasons as the LORD has many lessons to teach the Babylonians about Himself and His people.

Daniel's immediate reaction once receiving the dream and the interpretation was to praise the LORD (we see his song set off in a block to show that it is poetic in nature).  He blesses the name of God forever because He is wise and mighty enough to change the seasons, set up and remove kings, and to give His wisdom and understanding to others like Daniel who lack wisdom and understanding.  (All of these statements have something to do with the dream and its interpretation, but Daniel rightly realizes that this dream is about revealing to the king who God is and what His kingdom is like, not just about revealing the future).

Daniel goes to the captain of the guard who had been appointed to destroy Daniel and his three friends (and all the other wise men) and tole him to save the lives of all the wise men because he would give the king the interpretation that he sought.  Notice that Daniel did not just lobby for his own life or himself and his three friends, he lobbied to save the lives of all of the wise men of Babylon.  The captain of the guard brought Daniel before the king and said, "I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation."  (notice how Arioch tries to take credit for finding something he wasn't even looking for--we do that a lot when we try to take credit for our salvation).  Daniel will take the opportunity to set the record straight that this is all the work of his God, but he will take no credit for himself.

First, Daniel sets the stage by saying that none of the king's wise men (he lists all the different roles that have tried and failed) could possibly do this because they are mere men, and for a man this thing is impossible (I would imagine the king getting hot under the collar at this point).  Daniel continues, "But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days."  This would already set the king's mind at ease that he would start thinking this dream did not mean something was going to happen to him right now (not necessarily true).  It was because of the king laying in bed and wondering about the future that the LORD gave the king this dream.  The king imagined his own kingdom would cover the whole world and last forever.  Daniel reminds the king that it is not by any earthly wisdom that he knows the dream or its interpretation, but that all glory goes to God because God wants the king to understand the meaning of the dream that He gave to the king, but He wanted Daniel to deliver the meaning to the king.  The LORD knows not only the dream and the interpretation, but the thoughts of the mind of a pagan king and can give dreams to answer questions that weren't asked directly of Him.  I think that would be even more frightening to the king than the dream (which we will talk about next time).

Daniel 2:1-16
English Standard Version

Nebuchadnezzar's Dream
2 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. 2 Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” 4 Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” 5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. 6 But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” 8 The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— 9 if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.” 10 The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. 11 The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

12 Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. 13 So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. 14 Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. 15 He declared to Arioch, the king's captain, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. 16 And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.

We're going to go through several cycles of stories in the book of Daniel, so don't be surprised that the book is somewhat chronological, but in a cyclical manner (we'll go from A to B to C, but several times).  We'll start today with King Nebuchadnezzar, who was in power when Daniel and his friends were taken exile.  This story happens in the second year of his reign (very early), and that tells us that his attack on Judah and Jerusalem and taking Daniel and his friends captive must have been one of his first official acts as king, since Daniel is already in Babylon so early in his reign.

The king's sprit was troubled as he tried to sleep (he was having disturbing dreams).  You may not know this, but Babylon was a hotbed of occult activity.  Like ancient Egypt, they were full of magicians, astrologers, and all kinds of "wise men."  In fact, the "wise men" from Luke 2 who came from the East likely came from the regions controlled by the Babylonian Empire and were probably influence by Daniel and his friends and the Hebrew Scriptures that they left behind in Babylon.  Just like what we saw in Genesis and Exodus when the Pharaohs had disturbing dreams, they called on their magicians and wise men to interpret them.  In similar fashion, the king asks them to reveal both the dream and the interpretation so he will know they true insight into the meaning of the dream.  The magicians and wise men are dumbfounded because they only know how to look up certain symbols to give meaning.

When they told him that they could not interpret his dream without him telling them the dream, he threatened to kill all of them and all of their families and to tear down all their houses (this is par for the course for Nebuchadnezzar.  We'll see that on more than one occasion he goes straight to threatening to kill advisors and their families and destroy their property to try to get them to comply when they say it is impossible to do something (as if their problem is a lack of motivation and not a lack of ability).  Remember this when you think of God putting Daniel in the king's network of advisors and how risky a position that would be and how Daniel's life was always under threat.

The magicians and wise men begged the king multiple times to tell them the dream.  The king accused them of stalling for more time, lying, and trying to avoid the king's decree that they and their families would die if they did not tell him the dream and the interpretation.  The king repeats his threat on their lives and tells them that he will kill the whole lot of them (even the ones not present) and that his decree if firm and only the death penalty awaits them if they do not comply.

The wise men cannot help the king and the king sends his soldiers out to start rounding up all the magicians and wise men (Daniel and his companions were in this group after the education and training they received).  However, Daniel knew nothing of the dream or its interpretation and wondered why the king made such an urgent decree to kill them all so quickly.  He was told that about the king having the dream and wanting the magicians to give the dream and the interpretation and the magicians being unable to do so.  Daniel then offers to help the king, but the king would need to appoint a time for him to do so (this is proper etiquette as you don't just barge into the king's chambers, especially when he's angry like this).  This gives Daniel time to ask the Lord to reveal to him the dream and the interpretation.

Up to this point, we have no indication that Daniel received any king of prophetic visions, had any dreams or interpreted other people's dreams (the whole lot of this pagan witchcraft, sorcery, necromancy, astrology, and so on would be something Daniel would avoid because it was all behavior the LORD had deemed worthy of death in the Law).  Daniel probably would have known the Torah well by this point and maybe even leaned into the story of Joseph (though we're not told that specifically) and counted on the fact that God did this once before to show His favor to someone who was in exile in land full of "wise men" and spiritual leaders who could not interpret the king's dreams.  Daniel knew his only chance was to pray to the LORD for the dream and the interpretation, and that is exactly what he and his three friends will do.  In the next passage, Daniel will call his three friends over to have an all night prayer meeting--they would pray while he tried to sleep so that the LORD would give him the same dream that He had given the king.  We often ignore the part that the three friends played here coming in the middle of the night and praying all night and the whole time that Daniel was in front of the king, but it is just as essential as Daniel receiving the dream and standing before the king and proclaiming the truth to him.  We'll talk more about that and the dream and its interpretation next time.

Daniel 1:8-21
English Standard Version

Daniel's Faithfulness
8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. 9 And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, 10 and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” 11 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king's food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” 14 So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food. 16 So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.

17 As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. 18 At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. 20 And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. 21 And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.

This passage gives us an overview of the entire historical narrative portion of the book of Daniel.  We know that Daniel and his three friends were taken captive under King Nebuchadnezzar and that the Babylonian Exile was to last 70 years (Daniel will later learn this by reading the book of Jeremiah while in captivity, and he will intercede for the sins of the nation so that they may be ready to return from Exile at the proper time).  He would serve the various kings of the Babylonian and Persian empires until King Cyrus, the king that would issue the decree for Israel to return to the Promised Land, to rebuild the Temple, and to rebuild the city and walls of Jerusalem--and he used the empire's tax money to pay for it.

Daniel will be a faithful witness to these pagan kings, along with his three friends.  This passage introduces us to those key themes of faithfulness, integrity, and blamelessness.  Those are all similar, interconnected ideas, but they are slightly different.  Let's start with faithfulness, or what some may call loyalty.  Daniel will be put through many tests of his faithfulness or loyalty to see if he will be faithful or loyal first to the king and the kingdom of Babylon, or if he will be faithful and loyal first to the LORD and His Kingdom.  Every time, without fail, Daniel will purpose in his heart to remain faithful to the LORD and obey His commandments above all else.  He chooses to obey God and trust God to deal with the consequences, even when those consequences appear to end in certain death--the same can be said for his three friends.  They will make some of the boldest statements in all of the Bible regarding these matters of how the king can try to kill them, but whether in life or through death, the LORD will deliver them from the evil king and they will not disobey the LORD, even to save their own lives because their lives are not their own to begin with--even they belong to the LORD.

Next is the issue of integrity.  That is that a man of integrity is the same person in private and in public.  They do not put on any masks when they worship the LORD or go out into the workplace or public, but become a different man when they are alone in the confines of their home and in front of their friends and family.  Daniel especially was someone that was known for being a true believer and being the same person in his public life and private life to the point of when people that will be jealous of him want to devise a trap, they know that none of the typical ways of trapping a politician with women or money or lust for power will work.  They know that they will have to convince the king to make a decree that will make it illegal for Daniel to do what he did each and every day.  Daniel could not and would not stop being what he was and doing what he always did even if the king's law told him it was illegal to do so for a month (more on that later).  He will say that he must obey god rather than men in these matters.

Last is blamelessness which ties in with what I just said about the people jealous finding no fault within him.  Daniel is one of the few people in the Bible to whom the term blameless is applied and we never hear anything bad about him.  That does not mean that Daniel never sinned, but in his public and private life, no one had anything bad to say about him because he had a reputation for always doing the right thing.  A lot of that comes from the wisdom that God will give to him and how he stopped and prayed about everything, but I'm sure Daniel wasn't free from temptation--he just loved God enough to refuse to give into it.  We all are also called to be blameless in our conduct before God and men.

The first of these loyalty tests that I mentioned is in today's passage and I referenced it last time.  Daniel and his three friends were to eat from the king's table while they were receiving their three years of Babylonian education (read that as indoctrination).  However, they knew that that the meat and wine had been sacrificed to idols and they purposed in their hearts not to eat it and defile themselves because it was against the Law for them to do so.  Though many others were willing to compromise, they would rather starve than defile themselves with the food from the king's table.  The eunuch that was in charge of them feared for his own life because he could not show the king four young men who were skin and bones because the eunuch was in charge of their health and well-being, and because Daniel cared about the eunuch and did not anyone to lose their life on his behalf, he proposed that the eunuch feed them nothing but vegetables and water (which had not been sacrificed to idols) for just ten days and see if they weren't as strong and healthy as those who had been eating meat and drinking wine.

The eunuch begrudgingly agreed and after ten days they were the strongest and healthiest men in the group and the eunuch ended up changing the food given to all the young men to vegetable and water (I'm sure many of them were unhappy with Daniel and his friends at this point, but Daniel's obedience led to the rest of the group that was willing to compromise no longer being tempted to defile themselves, and that was more important).  All the men grew stronger and healthier than when eating from the king's table and this was not just an issue of diet, it was supernatural that obedience leads to blessing.  There was real risk to the lives of Daniel and his friends and the eunuch in this passage and it took real faith for them to not eat the same food as everyone else, but the reason for their decision was that obedience was worth it and the eunuch saw that faith and figured it was worth putting their God to the test, and I have an idea that eunuch probably learned much that day about the LORD that was worth more to those four men than their own lives, and that he would learn more as he follows their careers and sees even more times that they choose the LORD above their own lives.  Light is breaking forth into the darkness as they choose obedience even at the risk of not just their own comfort, but their very lives.

In return, the LORD will bless all of them and give them long lives and give them wisdom to govern the people for many, many years.  None will be found like these four among all the Jewish men as God will look on them with favor and cause them to have favor with the men who hold them captive (similar to the story of Joseph).  I think there are actually a lot of parallel between Daniel and Joseph and Daniel and his four friends were there in that place and that time what many people viewed as a time of great evil was a time of God working great salvation, not just for the Jews, but also for the Gentiles.  We see in Daniel that the LORD can turn the hearts of pagan kings, and we will see some wonderful declarations from King Nebuchadnezzar and King Darius about who God is what He has done, how He always saves His people and how He alone is worthy of the worship of all nations and people need to stop worshiping other gods.  This will be the backdrop for King Cyrus who is a Messiah figure (literally referred to with this title) and is a type of Christ.  Though he was a Persian king, he loved the LORD and the LORD's people and is a picture for us of how Gentile believers should treat the Jewish people

Daniel 1:1-7
English Standard Version

Daniel Taken to Babylon
1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 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. 3 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, 4 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. 5 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. 6 Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. 7 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.

The book of Daniel mixes a couple of different kinds of genres.  First, it starts off with a section of historical narrative, and this first section gives us the setting and the main characters.  This book, unlike almost all the others in the Old Testament, seems to be written with an audience of all of the nations of the world in mind.  We'll see that in several places where messages are directed to all peoples and nations of the world.

The story starts by telling us that it is the third year of king Jehoiakim when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, attacks Jerusalem and besieges it.  Nebuchadnezzar robs the Temple of its holy vessels and brings them into the temples of his god in the land of Shinar (this name should invoke memories from the book of Genesis as the Tower of Babel was in the plains of Shinar and this people and kingdom were of that same wicked rebellion that occurred there and then).  Not only did Nebuchadnezzar take the sacred objects from the Temple and destroy the Temple, but he also commanded that the young men, especially those of the royal family, be brought back to Babylon and put under the tutelage and care of the chief eunuch.

The purpose of this was to indoctrinate these young men and make teach them the Babylonian worldview while they were still young.  Nebuchadnezzar understood at that time what many today are unwilling to admit--that education doesn't just teach facts, but it teaches a way of thinking that helps to assimilate someone into a particular culture.  If these young men had parents who had not done their duty in teaching them the Law and their history and culture, then it would be easy to turn their hearts to become Babylonians.  However, if they already knew who they were, who God is and the answers to the big questions of origins, meaning, morality, destiny, and identity, then it would be much harder for the Babylonians to erase that worldview and replace it with their own.

We will follow the story of four Jewish boys (one in particular who the book is named after) who would not be reprogrammed.  They were offered a life of ease and comfort if they would simply ignore the LORD's commandments and defile themselves by eating food and drinking wine that had been sacrificed to idols.  I(We'll see this in the next part of the narrative).  They would be subjected to Babylonian education (indoctrination) all day, every day for three years and would live in the king's palace and would be given the king's food to eat and they would live like Babylonian royalty (remember most of the were from the royal family--of David's line).  All they were asked to do is to change their names and put off their old identity.  It doesn't appear that they were directly asked to worship idols right away because the Babylonians knew that was detestable to them and the people knew that's what just got them sent into Exile,, but the Babylonians asked them to compromise over and over again until one day when they would ask the Jews to bow down to an idol it would be just another compromise to go along to get along.  We will follow the story of Daniel and his three friends and they teach us much about being God's people in a culture that is opposed to Him, being salt and light wherever we are planted, and how we can even work for the very powers that are opposed to God for the good of the kingdom of God by being in the world, but not of the world (they all end up working as high-ranking members of the Babylonian government, and Daniel continues to work for the Medo-Persian government as well, serving at least three different kings during his time in office).  This speaks volumes to me specifically as I am currently a government employee who has to deal with the hearts of the people and the government leaders not usually being aligned with the kingdom of God, but there is still a way to be faithful to God in all this and to serve while in exile in a way that brings glory to God.  The apostle Peter will say much about this later in His epistles and will draw a straight line from this Babylonian exile to how the early Christians under the persecution of the Romans.  I hope you see the connection to how this tells us how we can live as Christians in the world today.  The kingdoms of men think they are eternal, but they are fleeting, but the kingdom of God will stand forever and will be the only kingdom left standing in the end.  With this in mind, we can remain faithful to the end.

Ezekiel 48:30-35
English Standard Version

The Gates of the City
30 “These shall be the exits of the city: On the north side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, 31 three gates, the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi, the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel. 32 On the east side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan. 33 On the south side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, three gates, the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun. 34 On the west side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali. 35 The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The LORD Is There.”

In this final passage of Ezekiel, we see the layout of the walls and gates around what I believe is the post-Exilic Jerusalem, but not the New Jerusalem (the New Jerusalem is much larger in the book of Revelation with sides of 12, 000 stadia (2, 160, 000 cubits on each side).  Each wall here has a length of "only" 4, 500 cubits (2, 250 yards) and contains three gates.  The layout of the gates will be similar in the book of Revelation and probably the same tribes will have gates on each side of the city.  The interesting thing though is we clearly see a Temple here in the midst of the future Jerusalem in the book of Ezekiel and John tells us there is no Temple in the New Jerusalem, "And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb."  (Revelation 21:22).  I have yet to fully grasp this is this is my first time reading certain parts of the Bible and I will try to understand it more going forward, but I think this is one of the things that points Dispensationalists towards a future kingdom for the Jewish people that is separate from the New Jerusalem described in Revelation 21 and 22 (the eternal kingdom).

Back to the Ezekiel's description of the city which may be used by Nehemiah as he built the walls of Jerusalem.  The North Wall had the gates of Reuben, Judah and Levi.  The East Wall had the gates of Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan.  The South Wall had the gates of Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun.  The West Wall had the gates of Gad, Asher, and Naphtali.  There was a gate for each of the twelve sons of Israel (not the same as the Twelve Tribes because Levi is included and Joseph did not get a double portion by his two sons being adopted as sons of Jacob in his place).  It is sill a massive city that will be the place where the world would know that the LORD dwelled there among His people once again and scorn and shame would be erased.  No more would the name of Israel or Jerusalem or the Temple be a byword, but they would once again cause the nations to glorify and worship the name of the LORD.

Ezekiel 48:1-29
English Standard Version

48 “These are the names of the tribes: Beginning at the northern extreme, beside the way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan (which is on the northern border of Damascus over against Hamath), and extending from the east side to the west, Dan, one portion. 2 Adjoining the territory of Dan, from the east side to the west, Asher, one portion. 3 Adjoining the territory of Asher, from the east side to the west, Naphtali, one portion. 4 Adjoining the territory of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, Manasseh, one portion. 5 Adjoining the territory of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, Ephraim, one portion. 6 Adjoining the territory of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, Reuben, one portion. 7 Adjoining the territory of Reuben, from the east side to the west, Judah, one portion.

8 “Adjoining the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be the portion which you shall set apart, 25,000 cubits in breadth, and in length equal to one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west, with the sanctuary in the midst of it. 9 The portion that you shall set apart for the LORD shall be 25,000 cubits in length, and 20,000 in breadth. 10 These shall be the allotments of the holy portion: the priests shall have an allotment measuring 25,000 cubits on the northern side, 10,000 cubits in breadth on the western side, 10,000 in breadth on the eastern side, and 25,000 in length on the southern side, with the sanctuary of the LORD in the midst of it. 11 This shall be for the consecrated priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, as the Levites did. 12 And it shall belong to them as a special portion from the holy portion of the land, a most holy place, adjoining the territory of the Levites. 13 And alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an allotment 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in breadth. The whole length shall be 25,000 cubits and the breadth 20,000. 14 They shall not sell or exchange any of it. They shall not alienate this choice portion of the land, for it is holy to the LORD.

15 “The remainder, 5,000 cubits in breadth and 25,000 in length, shall be for common use for the city, for dwellings and for open country. In the midst of it shall be the city, 16 and these shall be its measurements: the north side 4,500 cubits, the south side 4,500, the east side 4,500, and the west side 4,500. 17 And the city shall have open land: on the north 250 cubits, on the south 250, on the east 250, and on the west 250. 18 The remainder of the length alongside the holy portion shall be 10,000 cubits to the east, and 10,000 to the west, and it shall be alongside the holy portion. Its produce shall be food for the workers of the city. 19 And the workers of the city, from all the tribes of Israel, shall till it. 20 The whole portion that you shall set apart shall be 25,000 cubits square, that is, the holy portion together with the property of the city.

21 “What remains on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city shall belong to the prince. Extending from the 25,000 cubits of the holy portion to the east border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the west border, parallel to the tribal portions, it shall belong to the prince. The holy portion with the sanctuary of the temple shall be in its midst. 22 It shall be separate from the property of the Levites and the property of the city, which are in the midst of that which belongs to the prince. The portion of the prince shall lie between the territory of Judah and the territory of Benjamin.

23 “As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west, Benjamin, one portion. 24 Adjoining the territory of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, Simeon, one portion. 25 Adjoining the territory of Simeon, from the east side to the west, Issachar, one portion. 26 Adjoining the territory of Issachar, from the east side to the west, Zebulun, one portion. 27 Adjoining the territory of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, Gad, one portion. 28 And adjoining the territory of Gad to the south, the boundary shall run from Tamar to the waters of Meribah-kadesh, from there along the Brook of Egypt to the Great Sea. 29 This is the land that you shall allot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, declares the Lord GOD.

Where the previous passage gave the boundaries for the entire nation, this passage gives the boundaries for each of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.  Many maps show these divisions as horizontal slices that are made from north to south.  First Dan, then Asher, then Naphtali, then ​Manasseh, then ​Ephraim, then Reuben, then Judah.  We will then stop ant talk about the division of the portion for Judah a bit because it will contain the capital city of Jerusalem which will further be divided into areas for public use and a place that belongs only to the king and a holy district that belongs to the priests and Levites and a Temple district that belongs to the LORD (no one may make their home there).  The dimensions and measurements are given here, but these were already described in previous passages, so I will not rehash them here.

The allotments to the tribes then continues.  The distribution is a little different than pre-Exile as Judah is now in the "center" of the allotments making the Temple the central focus.  After Judah comes Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, and Gad.   There is still no land grant to Levi other than the holy district, and we do not discuss cities of refuge to be given to the tribe of Levi, thought I assume this practice would continue as the Levites would continue to need places to live when they were not working in the Temple and there would still need to be distribution centers for the tithes and offerings.

The next passage will be the last passage in Ezekiel, then we'll pick up with the prophet Daniel (who I am named after).  Though it is apocalyptic in genre, I believe it will still be a breath of fresh air to most of us because Ezekiel is definitely a prophecy written to the Jews (as is most of the Prophets), but Daniel definitely seems to be a book of prophecy written to the nations to let them know God's timeline for the rise and fall of several kingdoms before the final kingdom--the Kingdom of God and His Christ shall put an end to all earthly kings and kingdoms and He will reign forever and ever.