Isn't it nice to know that even kings two and a half thousand years ago were struggling to sleep? The book of Daniel was originally written by Daniel to the Jews who were in exile.

They were living in Babylon.

And by the grace of God, it has survived all the way down to us so that we can read it and learn as well.

For we are also a people who live in a foreign land, strangers and aliens, a foreign Babylon, and we await to be taken home to where we live.

Daniel is going to remind us that God is with his people revealing mysteries and that earthly kingdoms are short-lived and that there is a kingdom that lasts forever and in fact has an eternal king.

Today we're actually going to pick up the story.