#9 Daniel
Daniel is one of the most debated books of the Bible amongst different spheres of Christian beliefs and denominations. However, when understood correctly, it is also one of the most humbling, edifying, and sanctifying sections of the Holy Scripture.
Context and Narrative
The historical context of Daniel takes place during the Babylonian captivity that started after the fall of the divided kingdoms, Israel and Judah in 723 BC and 586 BC, respectively. During the time, Babylon and the Israelite exiles were under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar, a wise non-god-fearing man. Shortly after bringing the exiles to Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar desired to learn the literature and language of the Chaldeans, so he brought in the intelligent youth of Israel to teach him (Dan. 1:4-5). Among the youth were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Dan. 1:6). Nebuchadnezzar gave new names to the four Judean men: “to Daniel he assigned the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach, and to Azariah Abed-nego” (Dan. 1:7).1 The story focuses primarily on Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar, but the other three characters are also significant.
The literary context of The Book of Daniel is divided into two genres, story and apocalyptic literature. The latter section is much like other apocalyptic literature in the Old Testament, namely, sections of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, and Zechariah. The first section of Daniel takes place after the prologue in chapter one. The story section covers chapters two through six and is primarily about Daniel interpreting the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar. In chapter two, Daniel interprets the king's dream of a statue. He states that the head of the statue is the current kingdom, Babylon (Dan. 2:36-38). The rest of the statue, Daniel interprets to be three more kingdoms. The second kingdom turns out to be Medo-Persia, the third Greece, and the fourth Rome (Dan. 2:39-43). Daniel shares that the stone that crushes the statue is an unshakeable and undestroyable kingdom: the divine kingdom (Dan. 2:44-45). In the third chapter, Nebuchadnezzar tries to get the three Judean men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego to worship his golden image. They refuse and he throws them into the fiery furnace. However, he sees a fourth man “like a son of the gods” (Dan. 3:25) is with them, so the king spares them. In chapter four, Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges God (Dan. 4:1-3) and Daniel interprets another dream imploring the king to repent from his sins, an act that the king fails to do (Dan. 4:27). Through Daniel’s interpretations and the fulfillment of them, King Nebuchadnezzar finally comes to praise the Lord (Dan. 4:37). After Nebuchadnezzar passes away, Daniel interprets the writing on the wall that a man’s hand wrote after King Belshazzar (not to be confused with Belteshazzar, the name given to Daniel) drank out of the gold vessels brought from the temple in Jerusalem. Daniel concludes that the writing means the kingdom of Babylon will come to an end (Dan. 5:25-30). In the final chapter of the story section, King Darius tries to find fault in Daniel but can find none. He throws him in with the lions after finding him praying to God (Dan. 6:11-16). However, the lions do not harm Daniel and Darius praises the Lord (Dan. 6:25-28).
Chapters seven through twelve cover the apocalyptic section of The Book of Daniel. These chapters involve a series of visions about the end of the world, the events leading up to it, and the events that take place after it. While the date of Daniel’s writing is debated heavily over this section due to the prophecy involved, it is obvious that God can speak of the future because He is in charge and in control of all things.
Emphases and Message
The Book of Daniel showcases God’s sovereignty and His reign over all things. Chapters two through six show that all of the kings in the narrative come to praise the Lord because they can see this truth. Chapters seven through twelve demonstrate that God, in his sovereignty, is the Divine Orchestrator of the past, present, and future. Because of this, the overall message of Daniel is entirely positive. God is in control of all things and that should lead Christians to rejoice the way it led the kings of Babylon and Medo-Persia to rejoice.
Christ in Daniel
It has often been said that the man in the furnace with Shadrach. Meschach, and Abed-nego is the pre-incarnate Christ. However, it is debated whether this occurrence demonstrates an Old Testament Christophany or if the man was just one of God’s angels. Either way, it teaches Christians that no matter what they are going through, God is with them and will provide for them. Even if he does not, they ought to still worship Him because He is Lord of all, above any other god (Dan. 3:18). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego’s attitude in this situation is similar to the Apostle Paul’s attitude when he states, “for [him] to live is Christ and to die is gain… [to live] will mean fruitful labor… having the desire to depart and be with Christ, is very much better” (Phil. 1:21-23). No matter the outcome, Paul would have rejoiced just as the three Judeans would have rejoiced no matter the outcome. Another section of Daniel that points to Jesus occurs when Daniel interprets the stone that crushes the statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The stone represented an eternal kingdom and Jesus came to establish that kingdom saying, “The kingdom of God is in your midst” (Luke 17:21). Likewise, John the Baptist preached that “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). This is the Kingdom of Christ that Daniel interprets in Nebuchadnezzar's dream.
