I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Daniel 11-12.

    The second of Daniel’s visions from yesterday’s passage continues in today’s passage. The messenger gives Daniel an account of the rise of Alexander the Great and the interactions between his successors. There are discrepancies between what is predicted here and what the historical record tells us. These discrepancies have led many scholars to conclude that the Book of Daniel was written well after the time when it claims to have been written. I have not made a study of the historical record, but it is worth noting that at least some of that record has been written so as to put certain people in a better light than their actual actions would yield. There are other reasons that scholars believe it to have been written at a later date than the time conveyed in the Book itself. My understanding of the Bible inclines me to believe that the Book of Daniel was written when it purports to have been written, but discovering incontrovertible evidence that this is not so would not shake my faith.

    The writer expresses his own lack of understanding what these visions mean. He is told that their meaning will remain hidden until the end of time and even then only the wise will understand. The messenger tells Daniel that many will be cleansed, purified, and refined by the trials described in his vision. What is interesting about that to me is that those three words more or less mean the same thing. I see two reasons for using all three words in this context. The first reason is to communicate the thoroughness of the process we will go through. The second reason takes advantage of the slightly different connotations of these words. Cleanse tells us that the dirt and wrongness which clings to us from our environment will be removed. Purify tells us that we will no longer generate dirt and wrongness through our actions. Finally, refine tells us that the dirt and wrongness which has become part of us will be extracted from within us. Of course, there will be those who refuse to allow themselves to be cleansed who will continue in their wickedness.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Daniel 9-10.

    When, during his studies of scripture, Daniel discovered that God had promised that the Exile would only last 70 years, he began praying. Daniel did not “claim” God’s promised redemption. He pleaded for it. He acknowledged that his people deserved what God had done to them and that they did not deserve God’s help. Daniel’s prayer stands in stark contrast to what some preach today. Despite reading in the prophecies of Jeremiah that God had promised to end the Exile after 70 years, Daniel begged God to fulfill this promise despite the fact that he and the rest of the Jewish people did not deserve it. Daniel asked God to fulfill His promise and use the Jewish people to bring honor to His name. Daniel provides us with a model to humbly request that God do what He has said that He will do. We do not have the ability or right to demand anything from God, not even the things He has promised to do.

    In response to his prayer, Daniel received a vision in which a messenger from God spoke to him. Then sometime later, Daniel had a second vision of a messenger also recounted in today’s passage. In both visions numbers are symbolically used regarding time. In the first vision the messenger tells Daniel that things will happen in “sets of seven” (I believe that seven is used as a noun in the original language). This use of seven as a noun for a unit of time is both symbolic and intentionally ambiguous. Additionally, there is the symbolic disconnect between the period of seventy sevens which is mentioned and the seven sevens plus sixty-two sevens (for a total of 69 sevens). As I read this, I am unsure if the seventy sevens comes before the seven sevens plus sixty-two sevens or if they are the same (with one seven difference between them which is not accounted for). In the second vision, the messenger was delayed for 21 days. Twenty one is three sets of seven. Three and seven are both highly significant numbers in Judaism. Every time I read this passage I am struck by the symbolism, but I am not sure what to make of it.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Daniel 7-8.

    In today’s passage Daniel recounts two visions which he experienced. Both visions are explained to him, but the explanation of the first vision is less than clear. Perhaps part of the reason we find the explanation difficult to understand is because we misunderstand what the visions are intended to tell us. I will touch on the second vision first because it and its explanation matches up with history that we know. It clearly describes the fall of the Persian Empire to Alexander the Great followed by the death of Alexander and his kingdom being split into four parts. This second vision was intended as a message of hope for the people of Israel while they were being oppressed and forbidden from practicing their faith.

    As I was writing the above, I came to a realization. In both of these visions, the powers of this earth rise to power with no acknowledgement of God. Eventually, the dominant power becomes ruled by someone who believes that they can challenge God. They will seem to succeed for a time, but their end will not be long in coming. It is the nature of world powers that eventually there will rise to power someone who seeks to usurp God’s place. This someone will generally deny that God even has a place. These visions remind us that God is in control of history and such individuals will fail in the end.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Daniel 5-6.

    We know from history that when the walls of Babylon were first breached by the Persian army those in the citadel at the center of the city were unaware that this had happened until it was too late to even defend the citadel (somewhat oversimplified oversimplification). That is the background to the story told here. The Persian army had laid siege to the city of Babylon. While the city was under siege the elites of the city threw a party, convinced of their power and security. As part of their celebration of their power they used the gold and silver cups taken from the Temple to drink libations to their own gods, gods which in their minds were manifestations of themselves. In the middle of all this, a hand appeared and wrote something on the wall. In their drunken stupor they were shocked sober (OK, probably not really). The king’s scholarly advisers were summoned, but none could read the writing. Finally Daniel was summoned and he told them what it meant.

    I have spent more time describing the scene which you can read for yourself than I intended. My first thought about this is that we use the expression, “Read the writing on the wall.” One thing about that expression which we overlook is that by the time the writing is on the wall, it is too late. Daniel told the king, and his cronies, that they knew what God had done in the past. They had no excuse for not honoring Him, but they chose to mock Him by using His holy articles to worship gods they knew had no power. The lesson here for us is that we too know of God’s power, if we choose not to heed Him because we think there will be time later to do as He commands we will wake up one day and see the writing on the wall. Then it will be too late.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Daniel 3-4.

    The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the fiery furnace is one that I have loved since childhood. I am sure that it is a popular story among children in many Christian families. I suspect that Mennonites, with their emphasis on the idea that faithful Christians will face persecution, probably focus on this story more than many denominations. When I read this story I see a few things which seem worth noting.
    King Nebuchadnezzar issued his edict that everyone should bow down to his statue, but he did not send out any enforcers. He appears to have believed that no one would even think about defying his order. However, a number of his advisers ratted out the trio of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Those advisers made a point of the fact that these three were Jews, likely an attempt to undermine other Jews as well by the actions of these three. There is an important lesson her for us. If you are a Christian, not standing up for what you believe is not likely to get you off the hook. If you identify as a Christian, someone is going to “smear” you by associating you with those who stand up for their faith, whether or not you do.

    For me, the part of this story which really strikes home is how the trio responded when Nebuchadnezzar said he would give them one more chance to bow and if they did not, no god would be able to save them from his wrath. There is a lot packed into their answer to Nebuchadnezzar. First, they told him that he did not have the authority to determine the morality of their actions. Second, they told him that God was more than capable of saving them from whatever he chose to do to them. Finally, they told him that they were willing to suffer the worst he could do to them rather than be unfaithful to God. That is worth a little more explanation. Their resistance to Nebuchadnezzar’s order was not predicated on the idea that God would save them from suffering. They believed that God could save them from suffering, but they did not know if He would. And it did not matter to them.

    The final part of this story, and the one which most Christians emphasize is what happens when they get thrown into the fire. The fire was so hot that those who threw the three into it were killed by the heat. However, despite being tied up before being thrown into the fire, our three heroes were able to walk around inside the furnace. More importantly is the fact that Nebuchadnezzar saw a fourth person in the fire with our heroes. The traditional Christian interpretation of this story is that the fourth person in the furnace was Jesus Christ, which is both a legitimate interpretation and a reason for putting so much emphasis on His presence. Jesus will be with us in our suffering. When we get shoved into the fiery furnace, He will be right there with us. Whether or not God rescues us from this, as He did these three, Jesus will be there with us until the end.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Daniel 1-2.

    Today’s passage contains two stories, each with their own message. The first story is about how Daniel and his three friends became officials in the Babylonian Empire. The four of them were brought to Babylon as part of a group of young men from Jerusalem. We would probably have thought of them as boys since they were almost certainly no older than 18, and possibly as young as 12. However, when these four when they started their training were determined to be faithful to God. Part of that was keeping a kosher diet. Daniel requested a diet of vegetables for himself and his friends because none of the meat available to them was killed and prepared according to the laws laid out by God. Daniel did not request a diet of all vegetables because meat in itself was a problem but because the meat available to them would not have been killed and prepared according to the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses laid out few requirements concerning the harvesting and preparation of vegetables.
    The passage tells us that Daniel and his three friends were the only ones among the group they were trained with who chose a kosher diet. We often think of them as being trained among a group of young men (really just boys) from all over the Babylonian Empire. However, the passage only mentions that they were among a group of young men brought back from Jerusalem. So, we have to conclude that the young men to whom Daniel and his friends were compared were also from the nobility of Jerusalem. All of these young men had been taught God’s Law, but only these four chose to attempt to follow it. Even after these four pointed the way by taking a stand, none of the others followed their lead. They did not allow the failure of their peers to follow their lead discourage them from doing what God had commanded.

    The second story is the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The king had a dream which struck him as very portentous and he wanted to know what it meant. So, he called all of his various soothsayers, those who claimed supernatural ability to tell the future from various signs (one of which was dreams). They asked the king to tell them what the dream was and then they would tell him what it meant. However, Nebuchadnezzar demanded that they tell him what the dream was and what it meant without him telling them what he had dreamed. My suspicion is that the reason he asked them to tell him what he had dreamed was because he could not really remember the dream. Perhaps he had even previously told them about a dream, received an explanation of its meaning, and then later remembered other parts of the dream which made the meaning they had told him nonsense. In any event, none of these men could tell him what he had dreamed.
    In response to their failure, Nebuchadnezzar ordered the execution of all the “wise men of Babylon”. I am speculating here, but I believe that Nebuchadnezzar ordered this because he believed that his soothsayers had been scamming him all along and that the other “wise men” were complicit in the scam. In any event, the execution order included Daniel and his three friends even though they had not been part of the group summoned to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Daniel immediately went to the king and requested time to find the answer. Daniel and his friends then prayed to God for aid. God revealed to Daniel Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its interpretation. When Daniel went to the king with the answer God had given him, he stressed that he did not obtain this information because he was particularly talented. I think this is the most important part of this story. The other men who offered to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream all claimed a special skill and/or power which would allow them to do so. Daniel claimed that anyone could have obtained the answer because it came from God, not human agency.