Daniel - an introduction
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 April 24 – 28
Click here for a pdf of this week’s readings
Day 1 – The Book of Daniel
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Jeremiah 29:1-9
Over the next few months, we are going to be looking at the book of Daniel. If ever there was a biblical book that could be described as a book of two halves, it’s Daniel. The first half is comprised of a narrative about Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah at the court of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, where they find themselves after being taken away into exile and slavery in the aftermath of Babylon’s destruction of the nation of Judah. This narrative half of the book contains some very well-known stories – Daniel in the lions’ den, his friends surviving the fiery furnace, the writing on the wall – some of which are especially famous due to their perennial inclusion in children’s bibles.
The second half of the book, which we will be taking a shorter look at, is a series of visions and dreams that Daniel has. These dreams and visions Daniel finds difficult to understand, which is not surprising considering their bizarre and sometimes disturbing imagery, which is also the reason so many people since Daniel’s time have found them hard to decipher: we are not as conversant with the ‘apocalyptic’ images encountered here as they were back then. Daniel requires divine assistance in order to interpret them. But as we will see, both halves of the book say important things about how to remain faithful to God in a foreign land, in a culture that wants to squeeze you into its mould, under an authority that has the power of live and death, and that thumbs its nose at God’s claim of sovereignty.
Questions to Consider
What do you know already of the book of Daniel? What have these stories meant to you?
Prayer
Lord God, speak to me again through your word. Prepare my heart for what you have to say over these next few months so I am ready to absorb what you say and change my ways accordingly. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 2 – Letting Scripture Interrogate Us
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Jeremiah 29:10-14
When we read Daniel, as when we read any scripture, we must read carefully and prayerfully in order to fully grasp what God is saying to us today. Unlike Daniel, we are not actually being commanded to bow down before golden statues. We do not have kings threatening us with death if we fail to follow their commands. But there are two important things that we must keep in mind as we read Daniel. Firstly, there are people in the world, many of them Christian, who are being threatened with death for failure to follow the whims and commands of rulers and officials who are pressuring them to abandon their faith in Jesus and punishing them in various ways for refusing to do so. We must always have the persecuted church at the forefront of our minds and be praying for them.
We must also remember that our society and culture is also trying to shape us and mould us in its image. Maybe not with statues and death threats, but with marketing and the lure of prosperity. How are we being pressured, both overtly and subtly, to conform? What is our cultural and social milieu trying to teach us about the poor and the reasons for their poverty? About the ‘right’ to consume without consequences? About ‘value for money’? About grace or its lack? How are we being coerced into thinking and saying and acting in ways that betray the call to follow Jesus, that stunt his growth in us and our transformation into his likeness? As we read about Daniel and his friends in Babylonian exile, we must prayerfully allow God to interrogate our lives and show us where we are falling short.
Questions to Consider
How does our culture try to shape us? How are you resisting this?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, ‘Afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted’ – convict me when I am the former and guide me in how to help comfort the latter. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 3 – Dreams and Visions
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Daniel 7:1
The second half of the book, related in the first person, presents Daniel’s heavenly visions about the future and the interpretations that he is given of these visions. With the help of his angelic interpreters, Daniel is shown that despite the tyranny and bloodshed that pervades the earth, and the oppression and horror that seems to be the lot of most of humanity, God’s people included, and that seems to go unchecked and unpunished, everything is seen by God, everything is known by him, and one day everything and everyone will be judged by him. The visions that Daniel sees, while purportedly about the future, are really a vision – or, more particularly, a hope – for the future, a future where a righteous God reigns and justice and goodness flourish.
Through these apocalyptic visions, the author seeks not to provide an accurate, secure prediction of the course of future events, but rather to provide a wider view of the cosmos – of God’s cosmos; a wider, deeper understanding of God’s justice and ultimate faithfulness, and the place of his people within it. In the midst of suffering and oppression, the author searches for meaning out of despondency, for hope in a time of seeming hopelessness. When despair is all around, these visions confirm that a compassionate God is still in ultimate control and will not abandon his people to the ravages of the malignant forces that, for the moment, seem to be running rampant. These visions affirm that the currently oppressed and ravished earth will one day become a dwelling place for God and that his plans for his people and his creation remain intact.
Questions to Consider
What is the purpose of such visions? What bolsters your hope?
Prayer
Gracious God, strengthen my hope when it is weak. Show me that you are always in control, always working your good purposes for us all. Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 4 – Not a Code Book But a Promise
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Daniel 7:13-14
Within a certain very specific subset of modern Christianity, the book of Daniel is a very popular text. Its apocalyptic imagery and prophetic trappings make it popular with the “end times” crowd who mine the book of Daniel, chapters 2 and 7 in particular, for detailed clues about the future events we will supposedly soon face: the end of the world, Armageddon, and that elusive, mythical beast known as the rapture. Together with the book of Revelation and parts of Paul’s works, it is offered as proof that soon we will be magically pulled out of a world doomed to burn. But actually, it is the opposite.
In reality, as much as it tells of times and places that seem very different and alien to us today, with our for-better-or-worse-and-probably-both de-sacralised, scientific worldview, the book of Daniel is not a mysterious secret code about the end of the world waiting to be deciphered. Rather, the book of Daniel, through the faithfulness of its eponymous character and his three friends, shows us a way of looking at the world with faith and hope. It is about remaining faithful in difficult times, and working for the justice and compassion that are the hallmarks of God’s kingdom. It is not about otherworldly escape but about faithfulness and living hope in this world. Yes, the world is broken; yes, injustice is rife; and yes, the innocent suffer terribly. But Daniel reminds us that God is compassionate and has promised to end suffering and transform the world. In the meantime, we live and act in ways large and small, to show love, defy cruelty, and exhibit the justice and compassion of the God in whom we hope.
Questions to Consider
Why is such an escapist mentality popular? What is wrong with this view?
Prayer
Loving Lord, as I read, reveal to me the promise of your deep faithfulness. Remind me that no matter the circumstances, you are Lord. Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 5 – The Ending Already Written
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Daniel 12:13
“The experiences of Daniel and his companions as well as the content of Daniel’s visions and his reaction to receiving them present a sobering scene. Facing fearsome ordeals, besieged by capricious and dangerous overlords, and powerlessness before rulers, Daniel and his companions stand against tyranny and with each other. Incapacitated by terrifying visions, Daniel nonetheless finds comfort in the compassionate divine presence.
“The book of Daniel showcases these memories of a unique people – Israel – but it also transcends its specific time and place. This collection of stories and visions can comment on the experience of anyone or any group that finds itself weighed down by suffering. Clever designs by enterprising youths work quietly and subtly to defeat one much more powerful than they. Tested and threatened, Daniel never forgets to watch over his companions. Feeling the pain of a despairing community, the visions of the book offer an interpretation of history that is arresting in its expectation. It boldly declares, through the eyes of faith, that the suffering of the righteous matters, that God hears their voices, and that there is a divine plan for good. It was determined long ago by the very foundations of God’s creation: the evil of the present earthly kingdoms will end in dust. The kingdom of God will be ushered in because the universe follows a design in which wrongs are righted. With this confidence, Daniel – and hence all who hear the book’s message – can live with courage.”
–Daniel, Sharon Pace, pp.xv-xvi.
Questions to Consider
What does living faithfully day to day mean? What does it look like?
Prayer
Almighty Father, give us strength to stand firm in you so that we can love this world you made as much as you do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)