Daniel 7
Over the next few months, our morning gatherings will be working through the book of Hebrews, and our evening gatherings through the book of Daniel.
Readings for this week June 5 - 9
Click here for a pdf of this week’s readings
Day 1 – A God Who Speaks
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Daniel 7:1-8
Daniel is a book of two halves and now the second half begins. We move from a summary of Daniel’s life during his time in captivity to a series of dreams and visions that he has had. (Unlike our journey through the entire first half of the book – chapter 4 still to come – we will only be looking at a couple of these vision chapters.) The visions are not chronologically after what we have already read; they jump back to previous episodes in Daniel’s life, this first vision occurring in the reign of Belshazzar whom we met in chapter five. In other words, with all he was doing as an official at the Babylonian court, he was receiving these dreams and visions.
And what a dream it is! Bizarrely incomprehensible is a polite way of describing it; completely bonkers might be a blunter assessment, but one that probably resonates more with us today! An interpretation of the dream is given later – and (especially for us) it would need to be as the dream contains imagery and meaning that is difficult for us to comprehend 2,500 years later. But the upshot is that God is communicating with Daniel. He is speaking to him, revealing himself and his plans and promises to Daniel – just as he still does to us. Through his word and his Spirit – and dreams and visions – God speaks to us. The way he does is less important than that we be open and ready to hear. While life goes on we need to be open to God’s input into our lives, open to the move of his Spirit, open to the continuing call to follow where he leads. Our God is a God who speaks.
Questions to Consider
What are the ways in which God speaks to you and to your community? What does he say? What has he recently been calling you to do?
Prayer
Lord God, that you are always willing to speak to us and guide us deeper into your love is something I truly thank you for. May I always be listening when you speak, no matter the circumstances. Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 2 – When God Turns Up
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Daniel 7:9-10
However unnerving and terrifying the initial vision may have been (for Daniel or for us), however chaotic and confusing the imagery and the events, suddenly we reach a turning point in the vision. God turns up. Not quietly, not surreptitiously, but in all his royal glory. The King comes to town leaving no one in doubt of his majesty and authority. This is God and he gets involved. He does not remain aloof and distant and uninterested in his creation. (The Watchmaker of 18th century deism, who creates the world to run on its own and then walks away, was never a viable theological option.) God gets involved in our world and our lives – our triumphs and successes and, as here, our messes and mistakes.
Once again, regardless of the specific interpretation (still to come), what we see here – and what Daniel would have taken as a great comfort – is God turning up. The arrival of the God of creation, the Ancient of Days, to sort out the chaos, to bring order to the confusion – and to bring judgement to the elements of the created order that are operating in defiance of his rule. God is in control, even amid frightening, godless chaos, and he will appear and pass judgement on those who oppress and exploit and enslave others. He is the God of the poor, oppressed, forgotten and powerless. He is the God of justice, compassion and righteousness. We need never fear that God will turn a blind eye to our situation, or that he will ignore the plight of his people and his creation. He is a God who will get involved – and he always has been.
Questions to Consider
Where does God need to turn up today? What role might you play in this?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we pray for your presence with the poor and dispossessed and abandoned of the world. Be with them. Vindicate them. Show us what we need to do for this to happen. Guide us Lord. Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 3 – The Ultimate Victory
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Daniel 7:11-14
“The beast was slain and the body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.” The scene depicted in this verse is a sign of the complete and utter victory that God, from Daniel’s viewpoint, will ultimately win. Amid captivity, this vision still highlights the fact that ultimately all people will one day gather together to worship God and be with him. Victory will be complete. Corruption and injustice will be destroyed. Sin and death will be done away with. This vision is not only an encouragement in a time of danger and uncertainty, but also a reminder of God’s ultimate purposes for his creation and his people, whatever their circumstances now, and a call to continue faithfully to live out those purposes in difficult times. However harsh life becomes, however precarious our existence, it is still to be lived for others and the community of God’s people is to embody this celebratory vision and invite others to be a part of it.
In Jesus, this victory over the forces of death and darkness was accomplished and will one day be fulfilled throughout all creation. All creation. Through the power of God’s Spirit transforming us and shaping us into a united community of people, we can show all the peoples of the world – “all peoples, all nations, and people of every language” – a glimpse of what this final scene of triumph and love looks like; how people of all tongues and cultures and groups can be moulded together, individuality maintained and unity achieved, into God’s community of people in his renewed and restored creation.
Questions to Consider
What does living in victory require of us? How does it help others?
Prayer
Almighty Father, we know the victory is yours. Help us live faithfully in the light of that victory, showing the world what love and community and full restoration look like as we work to help you bring it in its fullness. Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 4 – The Tables Turned
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Daniel 7:15-22
This is not a normal position for Daniel to be in. Usually he is the one who knows what is going on; sometimes, in the midst of dangerous and terrifying events, it has seemed like he has a hotline to God, and is thus the only one who knows what’s really happening, and calmly and faithfully brings meaning out of chaos. But here he is, troubled and disturbed by the vision he has been given. Whatever else has happened to him up to this point in the book (and it’s a lot: death threats, furnaces, lions…) Daniel has been calm and collected. As well as this, dream interpretation is his thing. But now, he doesn’t know what to make of the vision and has to ask someone else for the meaning of what he has seen.
Being disturbed, finding yourself ‘out of the loop,’ suddenly unsure where before you were comfortably certain – we all have moments when we feel like this. Daniel saw an opportunity to grow in reliance on God, admitting he didn’t know what was going on but nevertheless owning it and reaching out for help. He found himself with less ‘power’ than before but, unlike the satraps and kings around him, he was humble enough to take the opportunity to learn, again, to rely on God in new ways and let go of ‘position and power’ and surrender himself to the will of God. He didn’t cling on to power, try to hang on to what he thought was his by right, but instead cast himself once again upon God’s guiding mercy, trusting that his God was in control and would provide what Daniel needed.
Questions to Consider
When have you found yourself similarly out of the loop? How did God meet you and provide for you in this time? How did this grow you?
Prayer
Gracious God, teach me to rely on you more, at all times, when I feel I know what is happening and when I don’t. May you always be the foundation of all I do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 5 – Always Hoping
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Daniel 7:23-28
As awful and frightening as these visions and prophecies are, and as terrifying as it might be to know that the kingdoms represented in these dreams are going to last a very long time, succeeding each other again and again, there is still hope. With God there is always hope. There is always promise. There is always a reason to remain faithful, even in the darkest times – because the darkness will end. That is a promise that God has made – a promise made flesh in Jesus – and that he continues to make: the darkness – the sin, the pain, the suffering, the darkness, the death – has been defeated, and though the dregs of it remain around us, the promised fullness of God’s reign over all things is coming nearer.
It is not just a dream in which these things are true. God is not only a salve for the terror of these dreams and visions; his defeat of the powers arrayed against him and his rescue of his hard-pressed people is not just in our dreams; neither is it only a ‘spiritual’ reality in the heavens. God became flesh in our world, he became human just as we are, and confronted the powers and authorities – the beasts – that towered over his times and defeated them. God confronts the terrors of life and the world and, despite the apparent continuing victory of sin and death in the world, God wins. The victory is already assured; it is still in the process of working itself out – something that, as hard as it sometimes is, we need to hang on to and remember and live into.
Questions to Consider
How do we live between the tension of the already/not yet of the kingdom of God? How do we manage this practically?
Prayer
Heavenly Lord, where there is pain bring healing, where there is sorrow bring joy, where there is injustice bring restoration – and help me live as a bringer of your peace and love to places it is needed. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)