Comparing The Book Of Daniel In The Old Testament

In the Old Testament, God uses prophets to communicate his message to the world. He chooses specific people to lead, instruct, admonish, and encourage. Prophets are specifically called by God, sometimes with a vision. They are usually sent when God is displeased with how the priests are teaching God’s law to the people or when the kings are ruling unjustly. They are often set apart somehow, either by their appearance, lifestyle, or some other way. Most prophets lead lives filled with difficulty and hardship, and many predict the future. Each prophet has a unique background, audience, and style. Daniel, Jeremiah, and Isaiah are the prophets that will be discussed throughout this paper. These three men share many similarities, but there are
and is claims to be written by Daniel himself (Keathley, 2006). Daniel is of Jewish descent and is raised by his mother and father, both believers in God. Daniel learns at a young age the way of his parents and becomes spiritually mature (Kreger, 2000). When he is a youth he is taken to Babylon with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Daniel and his companions serve in Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel is able to prove his wisdom to the king by interpreting the king's dreams, and he works his way up to higher positions within Babylon (Daniel 2:18). Daniel interprets the king’s dreams to mean that God will destroy the four kingdoms, including Babylon, and replace them with his own kingdom (Daniel 2:1-43). King Nebuchadnezzar gives Daniel many gifts before making him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and placing him in charge of all wise men. Daniel becomes one of the highest rulers of the land of Babylon, and God blesses him with a gift of great wisdom. Daniel’s success makes others jealous, and he is accused of worshipping God instead of the king and is thrown into the lion’s den. Daniel shows great faith in God when he is thrown into the lion's den. He remains faithful by praying, and God sends and angel to save him (Daniel 6:19-22). Throughout Daniel’s life, God sends messages to him through angels and visions. For example, he sends the angel Gabriel to let Daniel know the visions of
The book of Jeremiah takes place from 627-585 B.C. (Keathley, 2006). Jeremiah is the son of Hilkiah and comes from a family of priests. Before Jeremiah is born, God chooses him to be a prophet to the nations. He speaks to Jeremiah many times throughout his youth (Jeremiah 2:1-3). Jeremiah begins to doubt himself because he is only a boy, but God tells him, “don’t say, ‘I am only a boy.’ You must go everywhere I send you and say everything I tell you to say” and touches his mouth to place in him the word of the Lord (Jeremiah 1:6-7). God had also gives Jeremiah a vision of what is going to happen in the northern kingdoms. He is told that Judah and Jerusalem are going to be attacked, and that he should warn the people (Jeremiah 1:11-19). Jeremiah continues to prophecy during the reign of King Josiah (Hyatt 1958). He condemns idolatry the greed of the priests, and false prophets. He wars the Judeans of what is to come because of their sins, but most people do not listen to him. The kings continue to worship idols and be unfaithful to the laws of the covenant. Jeremiah leaves to go to the territory of Benjamin to receive his share of property. Jeremiah is stopped by the captain of the guard and is imprisoned (Jeremiah 37:11-12). While Jeremiah is in prison he continues to prophecy. Jeremiah tells the people that who ever goes to the Babylonians will live and not be killed