Wenstrom Bible Ministries Marion, Iowa Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom wenstrom

1. Wenstrom Bible MinistriesMarion, IowaPastor-Teacher Bill Wenstromwww.wenstrom.org

2. Thursday November 10, 2011Daniel: Introduction to the Book of Daniel-Historical Background of the Book of DanielLesson # 3

3. Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 10:8.

4. God used the prophet Daniel to declare His message to Babylon, Medo-Persia and Israel over a period of approximately seventy years.

5. Daniel and his three companions were of royal descent and were taken captive in 605 B.C. to Babylon for training in service to King Nebuchadnezzar.

6. The city of Babylon was founded by Nimrod according to Genesis 10:10 who made it his capital.

7. However, Babylonian religious tradition gives credit to the god Marduk.

8. Genesis 10:8 Now Cush became the father of Nimrod (“rebel”); he became a mighty one on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.” 10 The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. (NASB95)

9. “Babel” is located in modern Iraq, about twenty miles south of Baghdad, near the modern city of Hilla, on the Euphrates River, south of where the Tigris and Euphrates approach.

10. Babylon had long been the commercial and pagan religious center of the entire Mesopotamian region.

11. The city was at its zenith when Daniel was taken captive.

12. Nebuchadnezzar expanded the city and made it a magnificent capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.

13. The city was a square and was approximately 14 miles on each side and was surrounded by a double wall with a wide moat in between.

14. The inner wall was about 75 feet high and 32 feet wide and the outer wall of the city was about 344 feet high and 86 feet wide.

15. Four horse chariots could run on top of the wall, pass each other and turn.

16. The Euphrates River flowed through the city and orchards and fields were within the city walls.

17. The famous hanging gardens were one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

18. The walls, palaces, temples and homes associate with the city were built with brick.

21. Babylon asserted her independence in 627 B.C.

22. She and Media joined forces in 612 B.C. to sack the Assyrian capital, Nineveh.

23. Ashur-uballit led some Assyrians to flee eastward to Haran and it was at this location that they declared authority over all Assyria.

24. The King of Babylon at the time, Nabopolassar moved in 611 B.C. against these Assyrian forces in Haran and 610 B.C., he allied with Media and attacked Haran.

25. This led to the withdrawal of Assyrian forces in that city where they settled westward beyond the Euphrates River and thus left Haran to the Babylonians.

26. The Assyrians sought help from Pharaoh Neco II of Egypt in 609 B.C.

27. In Palestine, the king of Judah, Josiah attempted to attract the favor of the Babylonians by preventing the Egyptians from joining Assyria and engage the Egyptian army at Megiddo where he was defeated and killed (2 Kings 23:28-30; 2 Chronicles 35:24).

28. Thus, Pharaoh Neco joined forces with the Assyrians and together they assaulted Babylon at Haran but were repelled.

29. Assyria no longer was a major player in the ancient world from this point on but Egypt continued to engage Babylon in battle after this conflict in Haran.

30. All resistance was crushed with the conquest of Haran, which was occupied by the remnant of the Assyrian military in 610 B.C.

31. That the might of Assyria was at an end was a fulfillment of the prophecies of the Israelite prophets Zephaniah (2:13ff.) and Nahum (3:1ff.).

32. The Tigris river served as a boundary marker for dividing up the empire with the Babylonians taking the territory to the west and south and the Medes taking the land to the north and east.

33. Nebuchadnezzar II married the daughter of the Medan king which served to unite the two nations into the New Babylonian empire (612-539 B.C.) and after the downfall of Assyria Neco marched into Palestine.

34. He did this to assist the Assyrian forces according to the Babylonian Chronicle published in 1923 by Gadd.

35. Josiah did not want Neco to aid the enemies of Judah and thus sought to stop him at Megiddo.

36. However he was assassinated there in 609 B.C.

37. Jehoahaz II, the son of Josiah was installed as king but after three months he was ousted by Neco in favor of his elder brother Jehoiakim.

38. Neco made him a tributary and demanded him to pay one hundred talents of silver and of gold (2 Kings 23:33).

39. As these events were transpiring the prophet Jeremiah was asserting his influence in the political arena by rebuking the Temple priests (Jeremiah 26:8ff.), false prophets (Jeremiah 23:9ff.) and government officials (Jeremiah 36:12ff.).

40. Consequently, his ministry was rejected and was marked by constant opposition and persecution.

41. Jeremiah prophesied that Judah would be overtaken by Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 25:9ff.).

42. He attempted to influence the political policies of his country so that Judah would become a vassal of Babylon and thus escape destruction (Jeremiah 27:6ff.).

43. In 605 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar attacked Egypt in the Battle of Carchemish which resulted in the defeat of Egypt.

44. The Babylonian king pursued the Egyptians and thus expanded his area of authority by going into Syria and toward Palestine.

45. Upon learning of the death of his father Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar returned from Riblah to Babylon in August 605 B.C. where he was crowned king.

46. After this he returned to Palestine and attacked Jerusalem in September 605 B.C.

47. This conquest of Jerusalem resulted in Daniel and his companions being taken back to Babylon as captives.

48. Nebuchadnezzar returned to Judah again a second time in 597 B.C. where he laid siege to Jerusalem in response to Jehoiachim’s ill advised rebellion.

49. At this point, Jerusalem was now subjugated to Babylon.

50. Ten thousand captives were taken to Babylon, one of whom was the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:1-3; 2 Kings 23:8-20; 2 Chronicles 36:6-10).