Daniel

Daniel is a book of two parts. The first six chapters we will deal with here tell the story of Daniel and his three friends as they are taken into captivity in Babylon. The next six chapters tell of Daniel's visions and the prophecies taken from them. These are dealt with in the prophecy section.

Captives (Daniel 1)

During the reign of King Jehoiakim, The Babylonians, under King Nebuchadnezzar, invaded Judah, and took a number of the people back to Babylon. Daniel and his three friends were among those taken captive. They were young men at the time, taken from the royal household. When they got to Babylon, the king ordered them trained up in the local language and teachings. He also gave them Babylonian style names. Daniel became Belteshazzar, Hananiah became Shadrach, Mishael became Meshach and Azariah became Abednego.

The boys who were being trained were to go through a three year programme, at the end of which they would be assessed by the king. They were given food and drink from the king's table. Daniel didn't think that was right and asked if he could avoid the king's food. His supervisor was worried that Daniel and his friends would grow weak on a different diet, and he would get the blame. So Daniel suggested a trial. For ten days, he and his friends would take only vegetables and water. If at the end they looked weaker than the other boys they would eat the king's food. To the supervisor's surprise, at the end of the ten days Daniel and his friends looked stronger and healthier than the others. He agreed they could stick to their diet.

The boys learned their lessons diligently, and at the end of he three years, King Nebuchadnezzar talked with each of them and was impressed by how well they'd done. He appointed them advisors, and found hat they were ten times as good as his Babylonian magicians and astrologers.

The Statue Dream (Daniel 2)

One night King Nebuchadnezzar had a strange and frightening dream, and it woke him in a fear. He called his magicians and astrologers to him and demanded they explain the dream to him. They asked him what it was he dreamed, but he said he had forgotten the dream. If they were truly wise men they could tell him the dream and the interpretation. They said no man could do that, only the gods. Nebuchadnezzar got angry, and ordered the execution of all he wise men.

When the executioner called on Daniel, he asked what was wrong with the king. When he had it explained, he went to the king and said he would reveal the dream to him the next day. Daniel then went back and asked his three friends to pray for him. That night God revealed the dream to Daniel in a vision. He went to the king in the morning and explained that God had shown him the dream.

The king had dreamed of a great and fearful statue. The head of the statue was made of gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze and its legs of iron. Its toes were made of iron and clay. A rock was carved from the earth and crushed the statue. Daniel explained that the statue represented different periods of history, with succeeding empires being less noble, until an empire would exist made up of strong and weak components. These would all be dashed by the great empire of the promised Messiah. We can see the following matches from history:

• Gold - Babylon
• Silver - Medo-Persia
• Bronze - Greece
• Iron and Clay - Roman

The king was very impressed. He made Daniel head of all his advisors and put him over all his kingdom. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were made Daniel's assistants.

The Fiery Furnace (Daniel 3)

King Nebuchadnezzar decided to have a huge statue of himself built on the plain where everyone could see it. When it was built, he ordered all the important people of the country to gather around it. When the music started they were instructed to bow down to the statue, and so they did. Except for a few Jewish men, who were reported to and brought before the king. It was Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The king was angry with them and gave them one more chance to bow to the statue or they would be thrown in the fiery furnace. The three men still refused to bow, saying their God was greater and they would bow to none other.

Nebuchadnezzar ordered the three thrown into the fiery furnace, but first it should be heated up to seven times its usual ferocity. The men were thrown in, and the furnace was so hot, the guards who put them in were killed by the heat. When the king looked into the furnace he was amazed. The three men were in the midst of the fire, walking about, and there appeared to be another man there, who the king said was like a god. He called for them to come out, and when they came out there wasn't a mark on them, only the ropes binding them had been burned away.

The king declared that the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego was greater than other gods, and he promoted them to higher positions.

Dream of a Tree (Daniel 4)

One night King Nebuchadnezzar had another dream. He called his advisors to him the next day but none of them could interpret it. Them he called on Daniel, who he realised had power from somewhere to interpret dreams. He told Daniel the dream.

Nebuchadnezzar had dreamt of a great tree, reaching to the sky, sheltering animals, and growing fruit. But an angel appeared and announced that the tree was to be cut down to a stump. He said that someone should be given the mind of an animal and be cast out into the fields.

Daniel was disheartened by the dream, and took a while before telling Nebuchadnezzar. The tree was himself, as the ruler of a great kingdom. Many people benefitted under his rule. But he would lose his sanity. He would become as an animal, and eat grass in the fields for seven years, until he realised that God was sovereign over all. Daniel wished that the dream would happen to someone else, and urged the king to repent from his sins and do good, that God may change His mind.

A year later, Nebuchadnezzar was walking on his palace walls, telling himself that he was responsible for this great city and this great kingdom. An angel appeared and condemned him. The king's mind became like that of an animal, and he was put out of the palace. He ate grass in the fields and slept in the open. His hair and nails grew long. After seven years, he came to his senses. He declared that all the earth is in the hand of Almighty God, that He is sovereign over everything. His sanity was restored and he returned to the palace.

Writing on the Wall (Daniel 5)

After Daniel and his friends had been in captivity for about 65 years, Belshazzar was the king, and he decided to hold a great banquet. He ordered that the goblets taken from the temple be brought in and used to drink from, and he and his guests praised the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron and wood. Suddenly a hand appeared and wrote some words on the wall. The king was so scared that his knees knocked together. He sent for his best advisors, but not one could interpret the meaning of the writing.

The Queen Mother heard the noise and came into the banquet hall. She told the king not to fret, that there was a man who was advisor to King Nebuchadnezzar, who could interpret dreams and give wise counsel. So Daniel was sent for. The king offered him a purple robe, a chain of gold and third place in the kingdom if he interpreted the writing. Daniel told the king to keep his gifts, but here was what the writing meant:

The writing read "Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin". Daniel explained that these meant weighed, found wanting and divided. The king had been weighed in the balance. He had scorned the true God by using His holy implements as drinking mugs, and he had not humbled himself as Nebuchadnezzar had. He had therefore been found wanting. His kingdom would be taken from him and given to others.

That very night, King Belshazzar was slain, and the Medes and Persians took over the Babylonian empire. Darius the Mede was put in charge of Babylon.

Den of Lions (Daniel 6)

When Darius took over, he set up 120 men to run the country with 3 administrators over them. One of these administrators was Daniel. As time went on, Daniel impressed Darius, and he wanted to promote him to be in charge of the country. The other men got envious of Daniel, and hatched a plot. They went to the king and suggested a new law. If anyone prayed to a god other than the king over the next 30 days he should be thrown into the lions' den. The king was flattered by the proposal and agreed.

Daniel heard about the new law, but knew that he couldn't stop praying to God. He continued to pray to God three times a day. The rulers spotted him and brought him before the king. Realising he had been tricked, Darius tried to change the law, but the laws of the Medes and the Persians could not be repealed. Daniel was thrown into the lions' den.

After the den was sealed up, the king couldn't eat or sleep. He paced about all night and at dawn came to the den. He shouted in to see if Daniel was still alive. Daniel answered back. He was alive because God had sent an angel to shut the lions' mouths. The king was overjoyed, and decided that those who had plotted against Daniel must be punished. They and their families were thrown into the lions' den, and there was no angelic protection for them.

After this, Daniel was kept in good favour of the king, and of Cyrus, his successor.

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