Overview of Daniel

Daniel is set shortly after the Israelites are first taken into exile in Babylon. This places Daniel among the exilic prophets. The book is a blend of stories from the live of Daniel and his friends, and the visions that Daniel had in exile.

The first half of the book contains the stories of four young Jewish men; Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. These Jewish men were given new Babylon names; Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The second half is a collection of Daniel's dreams and vision.

What’s notable about this book is that Daniel 2-7 is written in Aramaic, not Hebrew. Aramaic is a sister language to Hebrew, like modern day Portuguese and Spanish, or German and Dutch. It became the common language for many of the exiles.

Daniel 1 - Daniel and his friends serve in Babylon’s court (written in Hebrew)

Daniel 2-6 - Stories written in Aramaic

• Daniel 2 - Daniel interprets the king’s dream
• Daniel 3 - Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the furnace
• Daniel 4 - Nebuchadnezzar’s pride
• Daniel 5 - Belshazzar’s pride
• Daniel 6 - Daniel in the lions’ den

Daniel 7-12 - Daniel’s visions and prayers (written in Aramaic and Hebrew)

• Daniel 7 - Daniel’s first vision in Aramaic
• Daniel 8 - Daniel’s second vision in Hebrew
• Daniel 9 - Daniel’s prayer
• Daniel 10-12 - Daniel’s third vision

A key theme of Daniel is that the pride of humans actually leads them to being less human and more beast. Meanwhile, we see images of beasts attempting to set themselves as above God.

The book seeks to explain the chaos that the exiles were experiencing by pulling back the curtain so they could see the much larger battle that is going on between the forces of God and the forces of chaos. In doing so, it draws on a very particular genre known as apocalyptic literature.

These writings are packed full of imagery and seek to reveal the supernatural happenings behind the physical world we can see. This is often depicted as a war across the cosmos between good and evil . They also tend to focus on ‘end times’, looking forward to the end of this war when God will stand victorious.

When handling apocalyptic literature, there’s a tension of when the writer is talking about. Are they talking about the period their currently in, are they talking event in their future, or are they really talking about an ‘end time’. The answer is likely all of the above. This allows the writer to paint a picture of a reality that every generation of God’s people can find themselves. That also gives us hope of how God is going to break in and restore his people.

Daniel 1-3

King Nebuchadnezzar attacks Jerusalem, sieging it and taking its residents into exile back to Babylon. Some of the Israelites that were taken were chosen to be given an education and trained to serve in the king's court.

Amongst these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Away from their home, in a foreign land, and serving a foreign king, these men had to decide if they would compromise their way of living to fit in. While Daniel had no problem learning what the Babylonians had to teach them, and serving their king, he refused to break the laws set out in the Torah, specifically about what should not be eaten.

When offered the food of the king's court, Daniel and his friends refused and asked that they be given vegetables and water. If after ten days the men looked weak and underfed, the steward that was over them could do whatever he saw fit. Because these young men refused to compromise on their faith, God blessed them. After the ten days, they were the healthiest of all the men. They continued to grow in wisdom and favour in Babylon.

A little later, Nebuchadnezzar has a dream that he didn't understand. It was common for ancient kings to call on their court magicians to tell them what their dreams meant. But Nebuchadnezzar was getting suspicious that his court magicians were just saying what he wanted to hear. So he challenged them to prove themselves and not only interpret the dream, but tell him exactly what he had dreamed without him telling them first.

The wise men and magicians of Babylon cry that this isn't possible, and so Nebuchadnezzar threatens to have them all killed. Hearing this, Daniel comes forward and, giving all the credit to God, tells the king his dream and then the interpretation.

Nebuchadnezzar had seen a statue made of five parts; a gold head, a silver chest, a bronze middle and thighs, legs of iron, and feet of a blend of iron and clay. Each of these parts represented an empire that was to come, starting with the Babylonian empire. But God is building his own empire, his own kingdom, that was represented in the king's dream as a giant boulder that destroyed the statue. This kingdom would become well established, like a mountain, and would reign forever.

There is a lot of debate over what this dream means. History would suggest that the gold is the Babylonian empire, the silver is the Persians, the bronze is the Greeks, the iron is the Romans, and the iron/clay is when the Roman empire split into two. Not everyone agrees on this, though.

In many ways, it's not important. The point of the dream is that empire after empire will set themselves up against God in their pride, but God will establish a kingdom that will outlast them all. Seeing Daniel's wisdom, the king appointed him as the ruler over the province of Babylon and gave his friends similarly important roles.

Unfortunately, Nebuchadnezzar wasn't humbled by his dream and still chased after his own glory. He built a golden statue of himself and demanded that everyone bow down and worship it, on pain of death.

Daniel's friends were faced with another choice. Would they compromise their faith this time, or would they risk death for what they believed? Once again, they refused to compromise. The king was furious and prepared a great furnace to throw the men into.

The men are given one last chance to change their minds, and they give perhaps the greatest statement of faith in the whole Bible. They declare that their God is powerful enough to save them from these flames, but if he doesn't, they will still trust in him and won't turn their back on him. At this, Nebuchadnezzar has them thrown into the furnace with their arms bound.

But after a moment, the Jewish men could be seen walking around inside the furnace, unharmed. There also seemed to be a fourth person walking in the fire with them that the king described as 'like a son of the gods'.

Nebuchadnezzar calls the men out of the furnace, and the three walk out unburnt by the flames. The king pardons them for not bowing down to his statue and declares that anyone that speaks badly of these men, or their God, would be destroyed. Again, we see God's blessing poured out because his people decided to not compromise their faith in the face of opposition and pressure.

Psalm 43

Many believe Psalm 42-43 were originally one psalm, as they both share the same refrain. We’ve mentioned multiple times that Biblical lament involved bringing God your complaint and struggles, ask God to intervene, and declare your trust in God. 

In Psalm 42, the psalmist shared their struggles and made declarations of trust, but they never asked God to intervene. That request appears here in Psalm 43. 

Psalm 43:1-4 - A prayer for deliverance

Psalm 43:5 - Why are you downcast my soul

Having worked through their emotions in Psalm 42, the psalmist is now ready to ask God to break in to their situation. They ask God to defend them and protect them from those who would wish them harm.

They also begin to interrogate God. Why is that God seems far? Why is that the psalmist is suffering at the hands of their enemy? We may feel scared to ask God these kinds of questions, but he would much rather us bring the questions to him than let them sit inside us chewing away at our faith.

The psalmist asks God to send out his light and truth. They are drawing on God’s character, asking him to be faithful to who he is. The psalmist’s desire? To once again be brought into God’s presence. That’s all they want. To experience the joy they know comes from God.

So one last time the psalmist speaks to themself, to encouraging themself to continue to hope in God.