Concluding thoughts on Daniel (part 2)

It was back in June that I began submitting blogs on Daniel and his three cohorts.  I have to confess to you that it feels like it’s been much longer than that.  I think it’s because I’ve had these blog installments in my head; I have been eager to share them, only to have life slow the process down.  But today is the conclusion of this blog series.

There’s one last phrase I want to look at from Daniel 1.  In Daniel 1:17 there’s an important statement made: “Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.”  This is a teaser to a large portion of the book of Daniel as a whole – prophetic dreams and visions.  So I would be remiss if I didn’t submit one last blog on how God used Daniel in relation to a dream or vision.  Initially, I was going to look at Daniel 2 as an example.  In that chapter King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream that Daniel interprets.  This dream has such relevance that theologians and end times scholars meticulously study it even to this day. 

But I actually want to look at Daniel 4 instead.  Why?  Well, let me ask you this question: have you ever seen a movie or TV show where you think you have the plot and characters figured out only to be presented with a big scene where you realized you were wrong?  This happened to me recently.  About halfway in, the writers threw a curveball that left me confused, and on the edge of my seat to discover what was going to happen.  Daniel 4 presents us with a similar curveball.

In Daniel 4, King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream that terrifies him.  Eventually, he goes to his trusted advisor – Daniel.  He lays out the dream, and he is confident that Daniel will explain it to him.  Interestingly, Daniel 4:19 states that for a time Daniel was “astonished” and “troubled”.  But he composes himself and presents a detailed interpretation; the king’s dream was a warning of what was going to happen.  God was going to take it all from him, his majestic kingdom, and even his sanity.  “You see, the Most High God rules,” Daniel continued, as I paraphrase verse 25.  “He gives kingdoms to whomever He chooses, until you acknowledge that, O king, you’re going to lose everything you have.”

A year passes, the king has forgotten all about the dream and Daniel’s interpretation.  He struts about like a proud peacock bragging about his majesty (verse 30).  Just as he finishes speaking, a voice from Heaven speaks, and confirms the words Daniel had previously stated. Nebuchadnezzar loses his reason.  He begins to think he is an animal; “he was driven from men and ate grass like an oxen; his body wet with the dew of Heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws” (verse 33).  There’s an image for you, just in time for Halloween!  Once again, all of this had been accurately predicted by Daniel’s interpretation of the king’s dream a year earlier.

But the chapter doesn’t end there.  Finally (many believe it was seven years), Nebuchadnezzar’s sanity returns to him, and he gets the point.  In his own words: “I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever.  For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation” (Daniel 4:34).  Nebuchadnezzar is a changed man!  My belief is that this pagan king became a believer through this.  It’s a debate that ultimately only God knows for sure, but I don’t think an unbeliever says, “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of Heaven, all of whose works are truth and his ways justice” (Daniel 4:37).

In conclusion, it was back in October of 2014 when the TV show “The Flash” premiered (I’m not going on a tangent; stay with me).  It features the adventures of Barry Allen alias The Flash.  I enjoyed both that first season, and every year since (they recently completed the seventh season).  In the pilot episode, Oliver Queen A.K.A. Green Arrow counsels Barry with these words: “You can inspire people in a way that I never could.”  Barry’s example has certainly inspired me these years.  But I’m also inspired by the example of another man – Daniel.  Daniel’s loyalty to God, his dedication to speaking the truth no matter how difficult, his prayer life, his integrity, and his virtue inspires me to walk the path of unselfishness and holiness.      

Kevin   

Concluding thoughts on Daniel (part 1)

As you may have noticed from the blog title, after today, I have one more blog on Daniel and his companions.  I have mixed feeling at the realization that we are near the conclusion of these series of blogs.  On the one hand, I’m pleased to finally be done with it.  But on the other hand, it is sad because it’s been motivating to see the life and example of these four boys.

We left off with Daniel and company boldly refusing to eat the improper food the king had provided for them.  They may have been in a pagan country, but they were not going to defile themselves.  Ultimately, after demonstrating that their health wouldn’t suffer, they were able to stick with their menu choice.  Then the text goes on to say this in Daniel 1, verse 18: “Now at the end of the days, when the king had said they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.”

It’s important to remember the overall context.  Daniel 1:5 tells us, “the king appointed for them…three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king.”  They had to be taught the customs, language, and literature of Babylon.  Some may wonder why they didn’t reject these three years of education outright.  Nebuchadnezzar had conquered Daniel and friend’s homeland; they were exiles in a foreign land.  Daniel 1:3-4 makes it clear that they were brought in to the palace for one reason: serve the king.  If they had defied this program, frankly they wouldn’t have lived very long. 

To put it another way: these boys knew it wasn’t an accident or bad luck that they were in Babylon; it was divine providence.  God had placed them right where He wanted them to be.  I’ve been reading Levi Lusko’s book “Through the eyes of a lion”.  I haven’t finished it yet, but what I’ve read (about half the book) I have thoroughly enjoyed.  At one point, Levi writes: 

“If you are reading these words, you have been given a unique powerful, custom-built platform. A voice. As long as there is breath in your lungs, you have a microphone in your hands. There are things God intends for you to accomplish that no one else has been chosen for. Words he wants you to speak.  Actions that speak louder than words.”

That excerpt inspires me.  It’s true for you and me, and it was also true for Daniel. So Daniel and his three cohorts submitted to the three years.  Let’s look at verse 18 again: “Now at the end of the days [the years of training], when the king had said they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.” 

What happened next?  Verse 19 states that there was no one else found that was like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.  In fact, verse 20 says that Nebuchadnezzar found them “ten times better” than everyone else he could have consulted.  Daniel 1:21 – the last verse of the chapter – says, “Thus Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus.”  According to my research, the first year of Cyrus’ reign was nearly six decades later!  I’m sure Daniel envisioned a different future for himself, but he submitted to God’s plan for his life.  I want to follow Daniel’s example and surrender to God’s will and plan for me.

Kevin