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

We usually interpret Daniel’s two visions in today’s passage together, and there is some merit to doing so.  However, they are separate visions, with separate interpretations provided in the passage, for a reason.  So, I am going to look at these two visions separately. In the interpretation of the vision we are told both that the four beasts are four kings and that the fourth beast is a fourth kingdom.  I am unsure if this represents two different things, or if the writer was just using “king” and “kingdom” interchangeably.  I will note that I have had dreams where things in the dream make that kind of transition: when they first appear they are one kind of thing, but later in the dream they are something else with no point in the dream where they change, I just knew they were one thing and now I know they are something else.  More importantly, we have the horn which overthrew the three other horns.  Both in the vision and in the interpretation we can see it as a ruler who claims power over God’s people while denying God’s power.  Yet, the rise of such a ruler presages God sitting in judgement over the world.  When a ruler or government ruler or government puts itself in the place of God, we should look for the great work which God is about to do.  I am not referring to where the government tries to co-opt the worship of God in support of its agenda and plans.  This refers to those times when the government seeks to replace worship of God with its own rites and rituals.  I intended to write something about the vision of the ram and the goat, but this has gone too long already.

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

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

In the story about the writing on the wall I noticed that when the hand wrote on the wall the king was terrified.  As I read the passage, he was not frightened just by the disembodied hand, but by the writing itself.  So, he knew the message was bad before he even knew what it said.   Which brings me to something I realized a few years ago.  We often say that someone left some place before things there went wrong because they “saw the writing on the wall”, referencing this story.  However, in this story, it was too late for King Belshazzar when he saw the writing on the wall.

Then we have the story of Daniel being thrown into the lion’s den.  Daniel’s political enemies could find nothing wrong in his actions.  So, they changed the rules to make his religious practices illegal.  They presented the change in a way which made it seem like it was innocuous and disguised the fact that it was aimed at Daniel.  When the new law was passed, Daniel made no effort to hide his now illegal worship of God, nor did he make any effort to make a scene.  He continued to worship God as he had always done. I want to note that Daniel had no need to “make a scene” about his worship of God because he had always done so publicly in a manner that anyone who knew him knew that he did so.  Let us strive to live such lives that when our enemies look for something to “get us” on, they must make faithfully serving God illegal.  I will say that I believe we see such things happening in the world today.  Perhaps not yet by passing laws, but more and more our society is declaring being faithful to God to be “beyond the pale”.

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

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

I have always loved the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the fiery furnace.  Certainly much of that love goes to my childhood hearing of the story and the safety it made me feel.  As a young child the message which I was taught by this story was that God could, and would, protect me from any danger, no matter how great.  Then, as I got a little older it gave me the confidence to understand those who willingly gave up their lives to do God’s will.  Here, the trio tell Nebuchadnezzar that God WAS able to save them from the furnace, but that they would serve Him even if He did not do so.  Their service to God was not conditional on Him saving them from danger. We should have the same attitude in serving God: He is able to save us, but we should willingly serve Him even if His plans mean that He will choose not to do so.

However, today I was struck by something I never noticed before, King Nebuchadnezzar’s arrogance.  He rhetorically asks of the three, “Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”  His statement there was more than denying that their God was powerful enough to thwart his will.  He was claiming there was no god which could do so.  He had come to believe that he was accountable to no one and to nothing. The dream, its interpretation, and the events which followed in the next passage give a similar message of a ruler who believes nothing will hold him to account for his actions.  Those who make up our government today believe that no one and nothing will hold them to account.  They are demanding that we bow down and worship their “gods”.  If we do not, they promise to punish us in ways from which they are sure that no god can rescue us.  In the face of this threat, let us remain faithful to God, even if He chooses not to rescue us.

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

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

I really like the story of how Daniel and his friends chose to eat only foods which met Jewish dietary laws.  The first aspect of the story shows us four young men who were brave enough to request of their captors a less enjoyable experience in order to remain faithful to their beliefs.  The second aspect of the story shows us that God rewarded them for their faithfulness by making healthier and more capable of learning than their counterparts.  From what is written and what we know of the diets of the elites of the day, the diet chosen by Daniel and his companions was probably healthier than that of their counterparts.  But the moral of the story is NOT that they excelled because they ate a healthier diet.  The moral of the story is that they excelled because they were faithful in honoring God.

I have often spent a lot of time considering the meaning of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.  However, today I want to focus on what this story tells us about our relationship with God.  When Nebuchadnezzar made his demand on the wise men present, their response was that only the gods can meet that demand and they are not available to us to ask.  Daniel had a different response.  He agreed with the other wise men in stating that only a god could provide what the king asked, but he saw it differently.  First, Daniel took the position that there was only one God, not many gods.  Second, Daniel believed that God would communicate with those who sought Him.  Therefore, Daniel turned to God in prayer, and asked his friends to do likewise.  The other wise men viewed the gods as beings who were inaccessible to men.  Daniel and his friends viewed God as one to whom they could turn for guidance.  Let us be like them: faithfully honoring God in the face of other’s skepticism, and prayerfully seeking His guidance.

I want to make one other point.  In the book of Daniel, his friends are mostly referred to by the Babylonian names they were given, but Daniel is mostly referred to by his Hebrew name.  Related to that is the fact that Ezekiel refers to a man by the name of Daniel who was legendary for his wisdom and righteousness.  So, the reason Daniel was not referred to more in the book of Daniel as Belteshazaar was so that people would see that he was similarly wise and righteous as his legendary namesake.

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

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

In the year 2000, on the 23rd day of this month, my wife married me.  So here we are on day 16 of the 20 days that I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary for 20 years of marriage.  Happy Anniversary Darling!

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

The events outlined in Chapter 11 represent the wars between the Seleucid and Ptolemaic Empires as they would have been perceived by the people living in Judea.  It was a reminder to the Jewish people that God was in control and that these troubling times would come to an end according to His plans.  Then in the summation of this vision in Chapter 12 we learn some things which should both encourage and frighten us.  A time of great anguish will come and only those whose names have been written in the book will be rescued.  In addition, at some point those who are dead and buried will rise up, some for everlasting life, but some for everlasting disgrace.  Let us strive to be among the wise who shine as a beacon to lead others to righteousness.

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

In the year 2000, on the 23rd day of this month, my wife married me.  So here we are on day 14 of the 20 days that I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary for 20 years of marriage.  Happy Anniversary Darling!

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

Every time I read this I try to understand how the four beasts of the first vision and the ram and the goat in the second vision relate to us, or exactly how they fit with history as we know it.  I have never been able to accomplish either.  I know from the passage that the ram in the second vision is the Persian Empire and the goat is the Greek Empire founded by Alexander the Great.  I understand that the small horn which grew out of one of the four larger horns represent Antiochus Euripides, who tried to eliminate Judaism during his reign.  I see the similarities between the account of the fourth beast in the first vision and the one representing Antiochus Euripides in the second vision, but there are also inconsistencies between the two visions.  There are elements of the first vision which suggest that the fourth beast is the Roman Empire, which would resolve the inconsistencies and suggest that one of the Roman Emperors behaved similarly to Antiochus Euripides.  You can certainly make a case for that interpretation of the first vision.  In any event, the key element of the first vision is that the four beast kingdoms will be overthrown and replaced by the Kingdom of God.

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

In the year 2000, on the 23rd day of this month, my wife married me.  So here we are on day 13 of the 20 days that I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary for 20 years of marriage.  Happy Anniversary Darling!

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

This passage is the origin of the phrase “read the writing on the wall.”  Every time I read this passage I am struck by the fact that by the time the writing is on the wall to read, it is too late to do anything; there is not even time to flee.  As I wrote the above it occurred to me that perhaps I should spend some time considering the message on the wall, “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin.”  The passage tells us that “Mene” means “numbered”, as in the days of the person to whom the message was sent are numbered.  No explanation is given for why “Mene” appears twice.  Technically, the word “Mene” is a specific weight, so perhaps it appearing twice is what makes it mean “numbered”.  Or perhaps, “Mene” appears twice to indicate that the number has been reached.  In any case, the first two parts of this message applies to all of us.  Our days are numbered, and our actions will be weighed and they do not measure up.  We need to recognize that we cannot measure up.  We also need to recognize that the point I made at the beginning is true: when the writing on the wall appears it is too late to turn to God.

The story of Daniel in the lions’ den is another one of those stories which I have always loved.  As a child I learned to story as a lesson on God’s ability to protect us in even the most dangerous situation.  Today I want to focus on what Daniel did in the face of a government edict forbidding him to worship God.  He ignored it.  When he learned of the edict forbidding prayer to anything or anyone other than the king, he did not change his routine in any way.  He did not stage a protest, but he also made no attempt to hide what he was doing.  He neither prayed in a way to draw attention to the fact that he was defying the edict, nor in a way which would make it difficult for anyone to discover what he was doing.  He was not ashamed, nor afraid, to do what he had always done.  He felt no need to make a statement opposing the law.

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

In the year 2000, on the 23rd day of this month, my wife married me.  So here we are on day 12 of the 20 days that I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary for 20 years of marriage.  Happy Anniversary Darling!

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

I have always loved the story of Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace.  As a child I was taught that this account reveals how God can save us from even the most terrible danger if we faithfully serve Him.  Actually, the lesson I learned was that God will save us from such dangers if we are faithful.  However, a few years ago I was struck by our heroes’ response to King Nebuchadnezzar before they were thrown into the fire.  It comes in two parts.  The first part has been emphasized in most of the exposition I have seen on this passage: ” the God whom we serve is able to save us.”  That emphasis is good.  The God whom I serve (and whom I hope that you serve) is able to save us from even the most dangerous situation.  However, the second part is one to which we need to give more thought: “But even if he doesn’t, … we will never serve your gods.”  God is able to save us from whatever danger we may face, but we must be ready to face that danger even if His plan calls for us to suffer from it.  If we willingly experience whatever suffering comes out way as a result of serving God, He will reward us.  If we bravely stand our ground in faithful service to Him, God may save us from the threats we face, but we should stand our ground even if He does not.  I believe that most of the time God will indeed save us, but if we follow the example of these three men, we will certainly experience a reward and a joy which will make the pain worthwhile.

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

In the year 2000, on the 23rd day of this month, my wife married me.  So here we are on day 11 of the 20 days that I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary for 20 years of marriage.  Happy Anniversary Darling!

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

I have read many people who interpret the actions of Daniel and his three friends as dietary advice and there have been times I have looked at this passage to consider its practical application.  However, the point of the passage is that Daniel and his friends were healthier than the other young men because they were faithful to God’s commands.  Now, I find myself looking at what we can tell about the diet of Daniel and his friends versus that of the other young men.  The difference which tells us anything useful is that Daniel and his friends drank only water while the other young men drank wine.  To me, this right here explains the difference between them, both initially and at the end.  We have here a bunch of young men away from their parents for the first time in their life given lots of tasty food and as much wine as they can drink.  They would have drunk to excess and eaten way too much of food that was not particularly good for them (and very little of what was good for them).  That would have left their minds a bit muddled for their studies.  Whereas Daniel and his friends were drinking only water and eating food which was sustaining, but probably not tempting them to eat to excess.  Their heads would have been clearer when it came time to study and learn.

Then in chapter 2 we have the story of Daniel interpreting King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.  This bears a resemblance to Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams.  Just as with Joseph, Daniel refuses to take credit for providing the interpretation.  Daniel insisted that his ability to interpret the dream was no reflection of any special skill or merit on his own part.  God chose to reveal something about the future to Nebuchadnezzar through the dream and Daniel was merely the conduit for God sending him the message.  Daniel did everything in his power to make sure that the glory for the interpretation he provided went to God.  Daniel and his friends were not healthier and smarter than their fellows because any of them had special insights into the correct diet for young men.  They were healthier and smarter because they faithfully followed God’s commands.  Daniel did not obtain Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its interpretation because he was smarter, wiser, or possessed arcane skills that others did not.  He did so because he asked God in fervent prayer for that answer and God provided it to him.  God could have used someone else to deliver the message.  Daniel was the one He chose because Daniel put his trust in God.