Today in our journey through the 66 books of the Bible we come to the book of Daniel.
Author
The figure of Daniel is known from the Aqhat Epic (c. 1350 BCE) found at Ugarit in 1930/31. Daniel is also mentioned in Ezekiel 14:14 and 28:3. In Ezekiel 14:14 Daniel is mentioned alongside Noah and Job, two ancient non-Israelite heroes. This wise and righteous hero of the ancient past becomes in the book of Daniel a new model of Jewish faithfulness to God. As the story unfolds, we see Daniel as a member of the Jewish exile community in Babylonia. He eventually rises to become an important Jewish figure in the Babylonian court.
Traditionally, the authorship of the book of Daniel was attributed to Daniel himself. However, most modern scholars think that this book was written by some anonymous Jew of a later period, using the period of the exile as a setting to address the challenging issues of Jews living under foreign rule—something the Jewish people had to contend with long after the exile.
Date
Traditionally, it was thought that Daniel was written during the time depicted in the story, that is during the reigns of the powerful kings of Babylon, Media, and Persia, in the 6thcentury BCE. But most modern scholars believe the book of Daniel was probably written in its final version around 164 BCE. If the latter view is correct, then Daniel is the latest composition of the Hebrew Bible.
Themes
The book of Daniel really has two halves to it and each half belongs to a different literary genre. Chapters 1 through 6 consist of six “court legends” told in the third person. These legends recount the adventures of Jewish heroes in the highest court of the land. These stories are, in a way, like the Joseph story and the Esther tale. The stories have an entertaining, humorous, and even satirical touch to them.
Chapters 7 through 12, on the other hand, contain four apocalyptic visions. Apocalyptic is a genre of literature in which revelation is mediated in a narrative framework to a human recipient through otherworldly beings.[1] These visions are told in the first person. These revelations are all about events that lead to the cataclysmic end and transformation of history.
These two halves of the book seem like they are from different times in Judah’s history. Chapters 1 through 6 have stories that were probably originally told orally, and these most likely circulated between the 4th and 2nd centuries BCE. The stories were then later collected in writing and used to form the cycle of Daniel legends.
Chapters 7 through 12 were, most likely, written compositions all along. They most likely date to the last year of the Maccabean revolt (164 BCE). The final editor of Daniel made the whole book into an apocalyptic one by combining these two halves together. This, in a way, is not unusual, because apocalypses often mix different literary genres.
Despite the differences between the two halves of Daniel, several themes hold the entire book together. One theme is that of God’s sovereignty over history and foreign monarchs. Another theme is that of special wisdom and insight given to the person devoted to God. A third theme is that of heroic obedience, even to the point of death.
Daniel is the only apocalypse in the Old Testament. Ezekiel has some apocalyptic elements as we saw last week. But the book of Ezekiel still fits within the prophetic genre. There are Jewish apocalypses that were written before Daniel, including parts of 1 Enoch and Jubilees. There are also apocalypses written after Daniel (including other parts of 1 Enoch and 4 Ezra). In the New Testament the main example of apocalyptic literature is the book of Revelation.
Another aspect of Daniel that is unusual is the fact that it is composed using two languages. Daniel 1:1-2:4a and 8:1-12:13 are written in Hebrew. Daniel 2:4b-7:28 is written in Aramaic. Aramaic is a Semitic language which first appeared in the 6th century BCE. Aramaic gradually replaced Hebrew as the language of the Jewish people. Aramaic was the language spoken by Jesus in the first century CE.
The major empires of the ancient Near East figure prominently in the book of Daniel. The narrative begins during the Neo-Babylonian empire. Nebuchadnezzar was the Babylonian king who conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the first temple in 586 BCE. Contemporary with the Babylonian empire in the west was the empire of the Medes in the east. Cyrus the Persian arose as a political figure in the mid-6th century BCE. He conquered the Medes and then the Babylonians in 539 BCE. The Persian kings (the first four being Cyrus, Cambyses, Darius, and Xerxes) ruled the Jews more benevolently than the Babylonians. Cyrus was the one who gave the Jews permission to return to the land of Judah and rebuild their temple during the years 520 to 515 BCE. Limited autonomy under Persian rule continued for the Jews until the time of Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE). Alexander was, of course, the Macedonian-Greek king who conquered the Persians and founded a new empire. He conquered the land of Israel in 333. When Alexander died at a young age, his empire was split into several Greek-ruled kingdoms. One of these was the Seleucid kingdom centered in Syria and Babylonia. At this time, Judea was once again at the intersection of two great empires, the Seleucid in the north and east and the Ptolemaic in Egypt to the south. The Seleucid kings gained control of Judea at the beginning of the 2nd century BCE. One of these kings, Antiochus IV Epiphanes gained control, temporarily, of the Temple in Jerusalem and the gold that was stored there. The Jews, led by the Maccabees, resisted Antiochus militarily (1 Maccabees 1:29-38). This event led to the later celebration of Hannukah. Now, here is the intriguing thing… Daniel’s predictions are very detailed and accurate until the end of the Maccabean revolt in 164. This has led modern scholars to date the composition of the book of Daniel to this same time-period. The inaccurate descriptions of the end of Antiochus’s reign and of his death suggest that the book of Daniel was completed before these events took place in 164 BCE.
Structure
- Prologue: The Setting (Chapters 1-2:4 in Hebrew)
- The Destinies of the Nations (Chapters 2:5-7 in Aramaic)
- The Destiny of the Nation of Israel (Chapters 8-12 in Hebrew)
Key Concept—A Game Plan for Problem Solving
Perhaps one of the most famous stories from the book of Daniel is the story of Daniel in the lions’ den. Many of us may have learned this story as children. But we sometimes forget that while Daniel’s faith got him out of the lion’s den, faith in God is also what put him there in the first place!
I would like to look at this story with you piece by piece for in it I think we can find a game plan for problem solving that is relevant to our lives today. Listen for God’s word to you from Daniel 6:1-4…
It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.
One thing I think we can learn from Daniel right off the bat is that the first step to problem solving is to prevent as many problems as we can by doing our best in the first place. I think it is significant that non-Jews saw in Daniel someone who was neither corrupt nor negligent in his work life. Daniel pursued excellence in the work that other people could see. But as the story progresses, we will see that Daniel also pursued excellence in a relationship with God. Thereby, he probably prevented a lot of potential problems in his life.
We see a second step for problem solving in Daniel 6:5-10…
Finally, these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”
So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever! The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” So King Darius put the decree in writing.
Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
The second step we see in Daniel’s problem-solving game plan is to anticipate problems before they arrive.
Daniel made enemies at work by doing a good job. Perhaps you have had a similar experience. When we begin to excel, sometimes we find that others look for ways to hold us back or tear us down. How should we deal with those who cheer at our downfall or even try to hasten it?
Daniel was not stupid. He figured out that his coworkers were trying to get him into trouble. According to verse 10, “Daniel learned that the decree had been published.” Daniel knew what problems would result if he continued to pray to God. He anticipated the problems before they happened. But he didn’t let that deter him from taking the right course of action.
Anticipating problems before they arrive is so important. Unfortunately, what many of us tend to do is ignore problems, hoping they will go away. One benefit of being people of faith is that God gives us strength and courage to face our problems head on.
The third step in Daniel’s game plan for problem solving was to ask God for help with his problems. We read in Daniel 6:10-11…
Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help.
Daniel did not ignore his problems. Neither did he let his problems get him off-track in his relationship with God. Rather, he anticipated problems and talked to God about them.
Daniel was courageous. Even though he knew about the law against praying to anyone except the king, he continued to pray to Yahweh three times a day as he always had. That’s an example of a disciplined prayer life!
I don’t know about you, but my prayers are often interrupted not by threats from the outside, but simply by the pressure of my own schedule, or by my own laziness. We learn from Daniel the importance of praying no matter what.
Henri Nouwen once wrote, “The paradox of prayer is that it asks for a serious effort while it can only be received as a gift. We cannot plan, organize, or manipulate God; but without a careful discipline, we cannot receive him either.”
And Corrie ten Boom once said, “Satan laughs when we exert ourselves. He sneers at our wisdom. But he trembles when we pray.”
The fourth step in Daniel’s game plan for problem-solving was to obey God’s solution to his problem. We read in Daniel 6:12-16…
So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”
The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”
Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.” When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.
Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, “Remember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.”
So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”
Daniel prayed about the impending problem of the lions’ den. Then as his co-workers got ready and eventually threw him in with the lions, Daniel did nothing to save himself. He just kept on obeying God.
Sometimes obeying God involves doing just what Daniel did—being still and trusting God. As God says in Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”
This leads to the final step in Daniel’s game plan: he trusted God to deliver him. Here is what we read in Daniel 6:17-23…
A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.
At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”
Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”
The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.
Daniel trusted God, even after he was thrown in the lions’ den. He trusted God either to deliver him, or, perhaps, to take him to himself in death. To trust God is to have immeasurable peace. If we are trusting God, then we will know, along with Paul, that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love (Romans 8).
I wonder, do we really trust God even in the lions’ dens of life? Darius was watching to see if Daniel’s God would get him out of the lions’ den. The world is watching to see if God has the solution to our problems too.
People ask: is Jesus able to make a difference in everyday life? Yes, he is able.
Many years ago, when I was going through a tough time, a friend agreed to meet with me to encourage me. My friend Wes suggested we meet at the National Gallery in Washington, DC. The exact place where we met was in front of Peter Paul Rubens depiction of Daniel in the Lions’ Den. I loved that, because at that point in my life, I felt like I was in the lions’ den. It was a reminder to me that when we end up in such situations in life, it is perfectly normal. Also, it was a reminder to me that the God who led me into the lions’ den, would also lead me out. I believe that will be true for you as well, as you trust him. Let’s pray…
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