Recap

So far in Daniel, we’ve read how Daniel and his friends found themselves in Babylon and how they rose to authority. King Nebuchadnezzar attacked 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. They were renamed Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and trained in the king’s court. We read as these men were faced with three tests. The first was whether they would eat the royal food that was previously forbidden to them. They decide to ask if they could be on a cleaner diet, and after ten days trialling it they were shown to be healthier than everyone else.

Then came Nebuchadnezzar's dream. He challenged all his court magicians to not only interpret it, but to tell him what it was. In the end, Daniel was the one to step up, and empowered by God gave him the dream and the interpretation. He explained to Nebuchadnezzar that God was the one who gave him his kingdom.

The third test was if they would bow down to Nebuchadnezzar's giant golden statue. They refused even when threatened with being thrown into a furnace, and God rescued them. With each of these tests, the faithfulness of these men caused them to rise in prominence and to demonstrate God's authority here in Babylon.

Daniel 4-6

Having been shown multiple times by Daniel and his friends the power of their God, Nebuchadnezzar praises him, acknowledging him as the one who has allowed Nebuchadnezzar to become so powerful. He then explains why he has come to this conclusion.

The king had had a second dream, one of a great tree that is cut down, and an angel declaring a man's mind should be turned into an animal. Once again, none of the court magicians could interpret the dream, but Daniel could.

Except Daniel was nervous about giving the interpretation of this dream. He had grown to care for the king, and the dream's interpretation was bad. The great tree was Nebuchadnezzar, and because of his pride, he was going to be cut down and forced to behave like an animal for seven years. All this would happen so the king will know that God is in control.

And so it happened. Before the end of the year, Nebuchadnezzar was looking out over his kingdom and prided himself on his might and glory for making all this happen. Immediately, he was struck with madness and driven out of the city. For seven years, he lived out in the field eating grass like a cow. But after the seven years, his sanity was restored, and he was restored as the king. Because of all this, from then on, he would praise God and remain humble.

After King Nebuchadnezzar came his son, Belshazzar. While his father had learnt humility before God, Belshazzar had not. He took all the religious artefacts that his father had taken from the temple back in Jerusalem and drank wine out of them.

As this was happening, a human hand appeared and wrote on the wall in front of Belshazzar, before disappearing. Belshazzar asked his court magicians to interpret the writing for him, but none could. His mother told him to ask Daniel, because Daniel had proven many times that he was good at interpretations, so Belshazzar summons Daniel.

Daniel points out that this has happened because Belshazzar has not humbled himself before God. The interpretation is that Belshazzar has been judged as not good enough, his kingdom has been numbered, and it will soon be given over to the Persians and Medes. Despite the fact that this interpretation was bad for Belshazzar, he still rewarded Daniel and made him the third ruler over all of Babylon.

In this, Daniel is much like another Old Testament character, Joseph. Both were young Israelite men who could interpret dreams and were given prominence and power, serving under foreign kings. We've mentioned many times before how the Israelites had got used to the idea that God was the king of Israel, and outside of Israel he couldn't help them.

Daniel is an important reminder to them that God was helping his people in foreign lands long before Israel even existed, and he can help them in Babylon now. That evening, Belshazzar was killed, and Babylon became part of the Medo-Persian empire.

The new king, Darius, began to reorganise his empire, placing 120 officials across the empire to help him manage it. Over these 120 officials were three men who organised everything, and Daniel was one of these three men. Daniel does so well in this position that the king planned to put him in charge of the whole empire. But many of the officials didn't like that and decide to get rid of Daniel.

They realise that there is no dirt on him, so they come up with a plan. They appeal to Darius' ego, saying that the king should introduce a law, saying that for thirty days everyone should only worship the king, no one else. If anyone disobeys this law, they were to be thrown into a pit with lions. The king loves the idea and immediately makes a declaration.

What is Daniel to do? Will he compromise his faith, or will he remain faithful and risk death? Daniel continues to be faithful to God, praying three times a day. The officials now have the ammunition they need. They go back to the king and ask if the law is still in place. He, of course, says yes. The officials then point out that Daniel has broken the law and needs to be punished.

The king is devastated, for he cares deeply about Daniel, but he can't go back on his word now. He throws Daniel into the pit and prays that his God might save him. He then goes home and fasts all evening. When he gets back, Daniel is safe. God has saved him because of his faithfulness.

In celebration, Darius has all those who tried to get Daniel killed thrown in the lion pit instead, and makes a law saying that everyone should fear and show respect to Daniel's God. Once again, faithfulness to God meant blessings for Daniel, and favour amongst men.

Psalm 44

This psalm is attributed to the sons of Korah and falls into the category of lament psalm. Specifically, this psalm was recited after the nation had faced a loss in battle.

The psalm alternates between the people and their king as they work through their lament before God. On top of that, the psalm is split into three sections; declarations of trust (Psalm 44:1-8), bringing their complaint before God (Psalm 44:9-22), and asking God to intervene (Psalm 44:23-26). 

Psalm 44:1-8 - Declarations of trust

• Psalm 44:1-3 - The people remember what God has done
• Psalm 44:4 - The king declares God is the ultimate king
• Psalm 44:5 - The people declare that it is God they trust
• Psalm 44:6 - The king acknowledges he cannot trust in his own might
• Psalm 44:7-8 - The people boast in God and give thanks

Psalm 44:9-22 - The complaint 

• Psalm 44:9-14 - The people lament their loss
• Psalm 44:15-16 - The king declares his shame
• Psalm 44:17-22 - The people declare their innocence and commitment to God

Psalm 44:23-26 - Both the people and the king ask God to help them

The people have just lost a battle, but before they bring their complaint before God, they decide to ground themselves in his past faithfulness. 

They remind themselves of the stories their ancestors passed down, of when God drove their enemies from the land so they could occupy it, and how it was God’s might, not the strength of their swords, that won that battle. The king then acknowledges that it is God who is truly the king that leads them out to battle.

The people place their trust in God. Just as it was God that won the battles of their ancestors, it will be God that helps them defeat their enemies now. The king accepts the fact that he cannot trust in his own might to win battles.

The people then remind themselves of times in their own lives where God has rescued them and defeated their enemies. Because of this, they will boast in God and give thanks to him.

Now that the people are grounded in their confidence in God, they move to their complaint. For whatever reason, God has rejected them by allowing their enemies to defeat them this time. Their enemies have looted their wealth and killed their people. 

Israel has become a laughingstock amongst the nations, who now mock them. The king speaks from a personal point of view. There is such a sense of shame and disgrace on him, because he was the one that led the people out to battle, only to be defeated.

The people then defend their case before God. They have not been faithless or turned their back on God. They ask God to search them and their hearts, because they are confident in their own innocence.

Emboldened by their complaint, both the people and their king now ask God to intervene. They ask him why he seems to be sleeping or hiding himself from them. Why does he now seem to be okay with oppression? The unspoken statement here is that this doesn’t line up with who God is.

They point once more to their suffering and then ask God to save them.