The Writings of Daniel

The unthinkable has happened.  God’s nation has been captured and taken into slavery. This slavery is not like Egypt.  The ruling nation of Babylon wants Jews to work and become a part of their society. Now Jews, like Daniel are faced with a choice.  How do you live in a world that is anti-God?  Do you hideaway waiting for God to rescue you? Do you blend in, allowing society to change your worship?  Or is there a third way? 

Daniel is written about a young man who faced this situation.  His life followed a third way.  Daniel worked hard and succeeded in his new world, but he never compromised his worship of God.  The first half of the book tells story after story, covering many years of time, of how Daniel and his friends stayed faithful to God and were highly respected and favored by society.

In the first section, Daniel tells several important stories where God performs great miracles.  King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its interpretation are given to Daniel.  Daniel is kept safe in the lion’s den. His friends are miraculously rescued from a fiery furnace.  A mysterious hand writes on the wall at a feast and Daniel interprets the message.  Each of these events would have been terrifying for those with no faith in God. Imagine being told that you have to read someone else’s mind correctly or you will face death.  Imagine hearing a den of roaring lions or feeling the searing heat of a fiery furnace.   Imagine being in a room where a hand appears and starts writing a strange message on the wall.  It is remarkable how calmly and wisely Daniel and his friends respond in such unique supernatural situations.  In each of these situations, God reveals his great power and shows that he cares for his people.  In every situation God is in control.  He is the hero of each story.  He reveals deep and hidden things.  He sets up kings and removes them as he chooses. 

Using these stories to show God’s power and His plan Daniel then decides it will help his people most to write about the future, the very distant future.  Israel is facing hardship. Christians today face hardship.  Daniel, receiving visions and revelation from God, writes about a future that enables people to face their present suffering.

In the second part of the book, Daniel writes down the powerful, terrifying visions he receives from God. These visions show that God knows the future and has plans to restore the world from evil. These messages of the future are encouraging to His people. God shows that he is king over everything and everyone.  The words of Daniel are also of great important for the New Testament.  Daniel writes of the resurrection of the dead. Daniel calls Jesus the “Son of Man”, helping New Testament writers understand Jesus’ work on earth.

Daniel lived a faithful, God-centered life.  While he served earthly kings well, Daniel never forgot that his primary role was to honour his heavenly king. His story can be your story. In your own way, you face situations where you must decide to either hide away from a hard world, blend in to ease your suffering or work to redeem the world as a way to worship God.  You, like Daniel, are living in a type of captivity while on this earth. But, like Daniel, one day your captivity will end.  You will no longer be in exile, living with people who do not worship God.  One day you will be with God fully.  That day is coming.  Daniel’s book teaches us its important to keep that in mind today. But that day is not here yet.  How will you live today while you wait for God’s day of resurrection?