Hi , In this newsletter, we include a timeline of the life of Daniel. We also continue the special offer for newsletter readers. God willing, the
sixth volume in the series Terror on Every Side! The Life of Jeremiah will be released in February 2023. The book is called "That Broken Reed", and you can see the special offer below. |
Timeline of Daniel's Life
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Daniel was an extremely godly man, and is held up as an example of righteousness along with Noah and Job by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 14:14, 20). He is also described by angels as "greatly loved" (Daniel 9:23; 10:11, 19). In short, Daniel is a wonderful character and reading his story in the Bible is very valuable. The book of Daniel begins with King Nebuchadnezzar attacking Jerusalem in the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim
of Judah. We are introduced to Daniel and his three friends as youths who are taken to Babylon to be educated in the learning and language of the Chaldeans. We don't know Daniel's age at this time, but we can guess that he was probably about 15-20 years old. I have assumed that he was 17 years old at that time, or about 22 years younger than the prophet Jeremiah and the same age as the prophet Ezekiel. Daniel spent most of his life in Babylon and does not appear to have
returned to Judah at all. Presumably he was too old to travel by the time the decree of Cyrus was issued for the people of Judah to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple (2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4). We are told the timing of a few events in Daniel's life, but they are always given in relation to the reigning king: - Third year of Jehoiakim (first year of Nebuchadnezzar), Daniel and his friends were taken to Babylon (Daniel 1:1)
- Second year of
Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar's dream of a metal image (with God's help) (Daniel 2:1)
- Daniel had a dream in the first year of King Belshazzar (Daniel 7:1)
- Daniel had a dream in the third year of King Belshazzar (Daniel 8:1)
- Daniel had a dream in the first year of King Darius (Daniel 9:1)
- Daniel continued in the court until the first year of King Cyrus (Daniel 1:21)
- Daniel had a dream in the third year of King Cyrus (Daniel
10:1)
Some interesting points about the kings referred to in the book of Daniel: - Historical records suggest that Belshazzar ruled for his father Nabonidus, which is probably why he offers to make Daniel the third ruler in the kingdom. Nabonidus was the first and Belshazzar the second (although he was still called king).
- King Darius is said to have "received the kingship" after the death of Belshazzar (Daniel 5:30-31) and also described as having been "made
king over the realm of the Chaldeans" (Daniel 9:1), both of which are unusual expressions. They give us the impression that perhaps Darius was not made king through his own power or choice.
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Terror on Every Side! The Life of JeremiahVolume 6 – That Broken Reed
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After an eBook serial that began back in September 2021, this extra volume is now being prepared for publication in February 2023. Terror on Every Side! The Life of Jeremiah was originally published in five volumes which ended with
the survivors in Judah planning to flee the country following the assassination of Gedaliah, Nebuchadnezzar’s appointed governor. Until that point, the story is based on the many details of the time recorded in the books of Kings, Chronicles, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel and other prophets, as well as some historical information from outside the Bible. At that point, however, most of the Biblical sources fall silent. This
longer sixth volume attempts to retell events in the life of Jeremiah from that time on, a time and place in history about which the Bible says very little – directly. However, there are still many hidden nuggets of information that help us to imagine what might have happened to Jeremiah in Egypt as he came to the end of his life as Yahweh’s prophet to the nations.
As a special offer for
readers of this newsletter, you can have a free advanced reader copy of the eBook if you will agree to read it and leave a review on Goodreads. If you wish to take up this offer, please reply to this newsletter by email. I will get back to you as soon as I can (maybe a week or two!) with a preview copy of the book and some instructions about adding reviews on Goodreads. Of course, there is no requirement that you give a positive review.
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May the Lord bless you and keep you safe this week.
Mark Morgan
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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