Faithful Daniel

Faithful Daniel
Lessons we can learn from
the narratives of the
Old Testament Book of Daniel

Faithful Daniel
A “Lessons-To-Go” study
by Mark S. Pavlin

 Abraham and Sarah immigrate to a Land of Promise
 Almighty God (Yahweh) establishes an everlasting covenant with
them and their son Isaac and his son Jacob
 His son, Joseph, brings the entire clan of twelve tribes to Egypt
where they prosper but later are enslaved and oppressed
 Moses extracts this People of Yahweh from Egypt and leads them
back to the Promised Land which they subdue
 Now settled, they have no central government but share a
common ethnicity, culture and religion centered on the worship of
with Yahweh and the keeping of His commandments and festivals
 The Tribes constitute a loose confederation, led, when necessary,
by inspired “Judges.” (the last is Samuel).
Setting the scene: Israel before kings

Setting the scene: Saul, David and Solomon
 God is portrayed in Scripture as
reluctant to appoint a king over His
people (1Sam. 8:6-9)
 He nevertheless has Samuel anoint
Saul, who begins establishing a
centralized governing system,
taxation, and forced military service
 After the demise of Saul, David is
anointed king; his long reign adds
territory to Israel, ushers in a time
of (relative) peace, and garners
prestige. But it does little to help
common people
 Under Solomon, David’s son, Israel
reaches a peak in power and wealth
but not in spirituality.

Israel’s first three kings re-established
a domination system as old as Pharaoh
SAUL organized an army that enabled him to establish and
maintain order. Military force was then as it is too often today
the ruler’s power tool he can use to crush internal dissent.
DAVID expanded the Kingdom, exacting tribute from con-
quered lands that enriched the royal household but did little
for common people trying to eke a living from the land.
SOLOMON built the Temple and organized the priesthood to
control access to God’s favors only through payment of taxes
and sacrificial fees.

Domination trinity
As they grew under Saul, David, and Solomon the military power,
wealth, and religious control of the royal House reinforced each
other, leading to the firm establishment of a domination system just
like the one that God’s people fled from in Egypt
Economic
Accumulation of
wealth
Political
Oppression to
maintain orderReligious
Control of access
to God

After Solomon: disintegration
 “The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turn
away from the Lord…” (1Ki. 11:9ff)
 Solomon reigned for 40 years; his son Rehoboam succeeded him;
 But very soon thereafter, the ten northernmost tribes of Israel
revolted and set up a separate Kingdom (capital city, Samaria)
 Things go downhill fast from there, eventuating in the annihilation
of the North and the subjugation of the South (Judah)
 Opposing the domination system of the House of David and con-
demning its utter lack of spirituality are individuals (prophets)
who claim to be speaking words of given them by Yahweh
 Judah’s rulers reject the warnings; an alliance with Egypt (!) fails
to save them even as false prophets mislead them.
 In 587 BCE the Babylonia army sacks Jerusalem and burns the
Temple. Prominent leaders are removed to Babylon.

After disintegration, warnings

After disintegration and warnings, exile
“I will summon all the peoples of the north and
my servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon…
and I will bring them against this land…. I will
completely destroy them….” - Jer. 25:7-8

Anguish of separation preserved in Ps.137
By the rivers of Babylon we sat
And wept when we remembered Zion.
There on the poplars we hung our harps,
For there our captors asked us for songs,
Our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
They said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
How can we sing the songs of the LORD
While in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
May my right hand forget its skill.
May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you,
If I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.
“Rivers of Babylon” Iris

For some, exile not all bad
 The Babylonians were not “tormentors” in the sense of torturing
Hebrew captives, or working them as slaves; Daniel implies that
they were educated elites, likely people with ability
 Historical evidence tells of Israelites remaining in Babylon after the
time of exile; a thriving community there welcomed Jews fleeing
the destruction brought on by the revolts in 66-70 AD and 130 AD
 This is the first occurrence of what in later years is well-known of
Diaspora Jews in many places, that they hold tenaciously true to
their ethnic and religious identity
 This community produced the definitive commentary on the Oral
Jewish Law, the Babylonian Talmud
 The Persians who overthrew the Babylonians were not “saviors”
although Cyrus did rule his kingdom differently allowing local control
(as related in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah) as did the Romans
many years later.

 Presence: God is utterly free; access to Him cannot be controlled yet
He is holy and faithful to His promise to be with His people in what-
ever land they find themselves; He is, therefore, not El Shaddai (“God
of the mountain”) but Emmanuel (“God with us”)
 Word: God is dynamic; He does not “dwell” in any building. Yet His
Spirit lives in the hearts and minds of people, spoken words of
prophets and the cherished, studied, and applied words of Scripture
 Community: God is in His essence loving; He cannot be understood or
worshipped except in a covenantal relationship, holiness, therefore, is
not in ritual but in resisting pollution by the prevailing culture and by
cherishing the synagogue/ekklesia (assembling).
What can you do to remain a faithful People of God when you are
exiled to a place far away from the Promised Land, the Temple is
destroyed, and you are surrounded by goyim (nations, non-Jews)?
Learning lessons the hard way

Introducing Daniel
“The Book of Daniel is among the most
peculiar and most difficult books in the
Old Testament, an expression of faith
voiced in genres unusual in Old Testa-
ment rhetoric.
The book was formulated late in the
Old Testament period and has exercised
immense influence in ongoing interpre-
tive work.
There is broad critical consensus about
the primary matters in the book but...
much remains enigmatic and beyond
critical discernment.”
- Walter Brueggemann and Tod Linafelt
“An Introduction to the Old Testament”“Daniel in the Lions’ Den”
by Marc Chagall

The Book of Daniel as we now have it consists of two sections that have
little in common other than “Daniel”:
 Narratives (Ch. 1:1–6:29) written in Aramaic (except for the 1st
chapter), including the familiar story of the fiery furnace and the
lions’ den, probably originated as “court tales” that were later
elaborated, combined, and given an introduction
 Visions (Ch. 7:1–12:13) written in Hebrew (except for Ch. 7),
including the fantastic image of the beast from the sea. This section
belongs to the apocalyptic literary genre, stories in which a
heavenly reality is revealed to a human being, characterized by
arcane symbolism, an other-worldly mediator, an emphasis on
cosmic events, and the clash of angels and demons. Daniel is the
primary example in the OT (as is Revelation in the NT).
This study is concerned with the narrative section only; a companion
“Lessons-To-Go” study, “How Is Your Vision?”, is concerned with the
visions section.
Technical comments

Our protagonist, according to the text, was among those Jewish nobility
and their families captured in Judah and taken to Babylon by their king,
Nebuchadnezzar.
Daniel is one of a number of healthy, intelligent Jewish youth selected to
be trained for service on the administrative staff of the king.
He is assigned the Babylonian name “Belteshazzar” (meaning “protect
his life”). His Hebrew name, however, means “God has judged,” and is
an obvious clue that Daniel represents the Jewish nation standing under
the protection of Yahweh.
Rather than being a court toddy, a propaganda tool for the superiority
of Babylonian education and culture, he is from the start upright, brave,
wise and, above all, faithful to (and favored by) Yahweh.
Daniel it turns out is a kind of Jewish “superhero” given “superpowers”
by God to influence religious policy in Babylon and then Persia.
Who was Daniel?

Daniel as role model
This study accepts the view of most OT scholars that the Book of Daniel
reached its final form in about the 2nd century BCE and was written to
hearten Jewish youth now living in a world dominated by Greek culture
to speak Jewish truth to Greek power.
Babylon and its King are, then, symbols representing the dom-
inanting power to be faced with courage and unwavering faith.
Daniel receives a great deal of attention in the writings of the Jewish
historian Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews 10.188-280; 11.337; 12.322)
perhaps because the author himself wanted to live as a faithful Jew
amidst the power of Rome.
Daniel was popular in Christian literature, perhaps because the early
Christians found themselves faced with a similar difficulty but also
because of its lured visions and prophecies (Mt. 24:15, the apostolic
fathers 1 Clement 45:6, Barnabus 4:5, and 2Esd. 12:11).

Beginning Daniel
Three years after King Jehoiakim
began to rule in Judah, Babylon’s
King Nebuchadnezzar attacked
Jerusalem... and the Lord gave
him victory....
(After taking the city...) the king
ordered {the man} in charge of
his palace personnel to select
some of the Jewish youths
brought back as captives, those
of the... nobility of Judah, to
teach them the Chaldean
language and literature.., strong healthy, good-
looking lads… Among those chosen were… Daniel,
Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. - Dan. 1:1-6

The king assigned {the youth} a daily amount of food and wine from
the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after
that they were to enter the king’s service. - Dan. 1:5
Daniel, the vegetarian
But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and
wine and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile
himself this way. - Dan. 1:8
Daniel promptly (and bravely)
takes his stand. He is polite but
firm. He will be faithful to the
commandments of Torah no
matter what, even in a foreign
land. That means eating kosher.
Only fresh veggies are “safe” to
eat – he cannot know what the
cooks put in prepared dishes.

At the end of the ten days the {four Jewish boys} looked healthier
and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal
food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they
were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.
This is the first of numerous “deliverance” events in the book, all of
which follow a similar order and bear a tone of the miraculous:
The King issues an order / Daniel disobeys / He faces dire
consequences / God delivers him / He is rewarded /
The King acknowledges the power of Yahweh
In this first case, God causes the official to be sympathetic to Daniel but
all four boys must face a test (will they be healthy after a 10-day veggie
diet?). Either because fresh vegetables are in fact good for you or
because God sustains them, the boys thrive.
- Dan. 1:15-17
First “deliverance” event

At the end of the time set by King Nebuchadnezzar to bring them into
his service, the chief official presented Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and
Azariah (at court).
The king interviewed them and found that in every matter of under-
standing and wisdom... he judged them ten times better than any of
the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.
And so they entered the king’s service. Daniel remained there until the
first year of King Cyrus. (note – this is about 60 years!)
- Dan. 1:17-21
God favors them
To these four young men God
gave knowledge and understand-
ing of all kinds of literature and
learning. Daniel, in particular,
could understand visions and
dreams of all kinds.

Daniel Chap. 2- Nebuchadnezzar’s Statue

Chapter 2 is the second “deliverance” account. King Nebuchadnezzar
is portrayed as unreasonable, capricious, brutal, and bloodthirsty.
In contrast, Daniel is reasonable, calm, brave and faithful to God.
Daniel Chapter 2
When they came he said to them, “A recurring dream troubles me. I
want to know what it means.”
The astrologers answered the king, “May the king live forever! Tell your
servants the dream and we will interpret it.” - Dan. 2:1-4 (abridged)
In the 2nd year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar
had dreams; his mind was troubled; he could
not sleep. So he summoned the court wise-
men, the magicians, sorcerers, astrologers...

Standard “deliverance” story elements are present:
 A serious problem threatens the lives of Daniel, his friends [not this
time because of his faith] and all of the Babylonian wise men
 Stress is put on impossibility of success (v. 10) “No one can reveal
(the dream’s meaning) to the king except the gods.”
 Confrontation with the king (v. 16) gains time; Daniel and friends call
on God for aid (v. 18)
 God responds, explaining the King’s dream to Daniel in - of all things
- a dream, after which Daniel praises God (v.20-23)
 Daniel relays the information to the king who in turn praises Daniel
and Yahweh. Daniel then is given a reward (v. 48-49)
Characteristic elements
Listeners to this story would have understood that
Daniel, in captivity in Babylon, was acting like Joseph
did when he was in captivity in Egypt.

Narrative details
 The king cannot recall his dream but he
expects his wise men to tell him what it is
 This ludicrously unreasonable expectation
confuses the court advisors who respond,
“No one on earth can do what you ask”
 The king flies into a rage and orders the
execution of all of Babylon’s wise men,
including Daniel and his three friends
 The Hebrew men pray to God for mercy and
to reveal the dream “mystery” to Daniel
 God does so and Daniel responds with a psalm of thanks and praise
for the wisdom and insight that will save them all
 He then requests and receives an audience with the king, telling him
that “no enchanter, magician or diviner can explain the mystery the
king wants revealed except the God in heaven who reveals mysteries.”

Daniel decodes the dream
Dan. 29-45 is a detailed description of
the dream of Nebuchadezzar which fea-
tures an oddly-formed statute, transpar-
ently an apocalyptic allegory, whose:
“...head... was made of pure gold, its
chest and arms of silver, its belly and
thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet
partly of iron and partly of baked clay.
While you were watching, a rock was
cut out, but not by human hands. It
struck the statue on its feet of iron and
clay and smashed them...
Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken
to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The
wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck
the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.”

Any allegory is open to many and
various interpretations; the
meaning of the structure and
composition of the statue in the
King’s dream is no exception.
At right is one reasonable and
widely-accepted way to look at it
given the time the Book of Daniel
received its final form in (probably)
the 2nd century BCE.
The rock sent by God (“cut out, but
not by human hands”) represents
the apocalyptic and eternal King-
dom that God will bring about in
time, in which His elect will rule
over all nations.
The rock, then, is the Messiah.
Christians, naturally, take the vision
as a prophecy of Jesus Christ.

Result: praise, deliverance and reward
Then Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor
and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him.
He said to Daniel, “Surely your God is God of gods and the Lord of kings
and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.”
Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on
him, making him ruler over the province of Babylon and placing him in
charge of all its wise men.
At Daniel’s request he appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
administrators over the province of Babylon while Daniel himself
remained at the royal court.

Then Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor
and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him.
He said to Daniel, “Surely your God is God of gods and the Lord of kings
and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.”
Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on
him, making him ruler over the province of Babylon and placing him in
charge of all its wise men.
At Daniel’s request he appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
administrators over the province of Babylon while Daniel himself
remained at the royal court.
If this were an account of an actual event, the king’s reaction (falling
prostrate, granting Daniel great authority, etc.) would tax our credulity
exceedingly! Aside from the obvious (kings don’t do obeisance to their
subjects) Daniel’s interpretation is vague, of no real value to the king.
But as a “happy ending” to an account of God’s deliverance of the faith-
ful from grave danger, this over-the-top vindication is very satisfying.
Result: praise, deliverance and reward

The stories in Daniel look forward in expectation and hope
that God will smash the power of every idolatrous foreign
nation, even the best (Babylon), even the most powerful
(Greece), even the most widespread (Rome).
Gilgal Sculpture Garden , a
city park in Salt Lake City, UT

“The Lord God Almighty is the one you are to regard as
holy, to fear...to dread…and He will be a Sanctuary, but for
both houses of Israel He will be a stone that causes men
to stumble and a rock that makes them fall…” Is. 8:14
God is both sanctuary and stumbling stone

 Like most dreams, it doesn’t make much sense – the iron nation
smashes everything, but then all five are still around to be smashed
by the stone.
 King Nebuchadnezzar.‘s reaction is totally unrealistic even for a su-
preme monarch, but this account is like a parable – details are not
meant to be factual but are literary devices to help make a point
 Like many medieval thinkers, Daniel sees political history as a
degeneration from a “golden age” (order, wisdom, longevity, etc.)
into war, disease and chaos until God came to rescue mankind
 Daniel Ch. 2 is this kind of apocryphal vision – would we agree? Are
things going to hell-in-a-handbasket today?
 It’s not as good today as it was in the good old days? (how long ago
was that?)…it’s so bad that God must take over and restore order?
Like Many Dreams

Faithful Daniel
End of Part One

According to the Book of Daniel:
 An Israelite born around 610 BCE into the ruling aristocracy of the
Southern Kingdom of Judah
 Taken into captivity by Babylonia forces after
their successful siege and sack of Jerusalem
along with nobility
 Was “without any physical defect, handsome,
showing aptitude for every kind of learning...”
 Underwent a rigorous 3-year training pro-
gram, was certified for royal court service
 Given extraordinary wisdom, courage and
ability to interpret dreams by God
 Remained faithful to Yahweh, to His people,
and to Torah commandments.
To review: who was Daniel?

 The Book of Daniel’s protagonist is
a role model for all faithful Jewish
people to emulate who are immersed
in a non-Jewish culture and govern by
non-Jews
 Yet, Daniel serves the King and his
government; he is not a Moses; he
does not lead a revolt or an exodus
 Nor is he a messiah; he himself does
not take action as savior; rather, God
does saving work time after time.
 The lesson: in times of great stress
and severe trial, if the Jews withstand
foreign evils, God will judge their op-
pressors and will sustain the righteous
To review (continued)

 The Book of Daniel’s protagonist is
a role model for all faithful Jewish
people to emulate who are immersed
in a non-Jewish culture and govern by
non-Jews
 Yet, Daniel serves the King and his
government; he is not a Moses; he
does not lead a revolt or an exodus
 Nor is he a messiah; he himself does
not take action as savior; rather, God
does saving work time after time.
 The lesson: in times of great stress
and severe trial, if the Jews withstand
foreign evils, God will judge their op-
pressors and will sustain the righteous
To review (continued)
What time of stress, what
time of trial were the Jewish
people facing at the time the
book was finalized?

 The conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great in the years 334-323
BCE placed Palestine under the domination of Greek governors
 Torah-observant Jews were under pressure to conform to Greek
cultural norms, not by threat of punishment but by the ordinary
forces of social conformity
 A prime example was the need- because few
priests and scribes were literate in Hebrew- to
translate sacred texts into Greek, work accom-
plished by the mid-2nd century BCE*
 Pious Jews faced especially severe trials during
the 2nd century reign of the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes
(175-163), overthrown by rebel forces led by Judas Maccabeus
 The Book of Daniel likely received its final form during this time and
the additional (related) works of The Prayer of Azariah, the Song of
the Three Youths, Susanna, Bel, and The Dragon.
Under Greek rule, Israel was in danger
* This version, the
Septuagint, was the one
with which the writers of
the NT were familiar and
which they quoted.

The Book of Daniel- Chap. 3
Chapter 3 is the third “deliverance”
account of the book.
It concerns the other three young
men, Daniel’s companions,
Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah,
perhaps better known to us by
their given Babylonian names
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
The account follows the deliver-
ance pattern with the standard
elements discussed earlier.
The “take home” lesson is similar to
those of chapters 1 and 2.
Note: Daniel plays no part in this story
.

Nebuchadnezzar made a figure of gold*, 60
cubits high and 6 cubits wide (about the size
of the Statue of Liberty without the pedestal),
set it up... and then summoned (all) provincial
officials to come to its dedication...
(When they assembled and as they stood
before it) the herald proclaimed,
“Peoples of every language, you are
commanded as follows: as soon as you
hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither,
lyre, harp, pipe ... you must fall down
and worship the image of gold that King
Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
The giant idol
- Dan. 3:1-6 (abridged)
*To be understood as “sheathed in beaten-gold” not cast in solid gold.

Nebuchadnezzar made a figure of gold*, 60
cubits high and 6 cubits wide (about the size
of the Statue of Liberty without the pedestal),
set it up... and then summoned (all) provincial
officials to come to its dedication...
(When they assembled and as they stood
before it) the herald proclaimed,
“Peoples of every language, you are
commanded as follows: as soon as you
hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither,
lyre, harp, pipe ... you must fall down
and worship the image of gold that King
Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
The giant idol
- Dan. 3:1-6 (abridged)
*To be understood as “sheathed in beaten-gold” not cast in solid gold.
Whoever does not fall down and worship will be
thrown into a blazing furnace immediately.”

As soon as they heard the sound of (the) music, all of the people, of
every rank, fell down and worshiped the image of gold. - Dan. 3:7
The three friends are faithful
The text does
not say that
the three
friends were
there and did
not bow before
the statue but
the story
presumes this
to be the case.

The three friends are tested
But some hate-filled Chaldeansdenounced the three young Hebrew
men to the King,
“Your Majesty issued a decree that everyone - and you meant
everyone - must worship the golden image or else be executed
in an appropriately hideous fashion.”
“But those Jews you set over provincial affairs, Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego? Well, believe it or not they paid no attention! They
refuse to worship your image of gold!”
Enraged, King Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego and cried out,
“What is this I hear of you? If you are ready to fall down and wor-
ship the image I made, we’ll forget this ever happened. But if you
don’t, I’ve got a furnace I want to show you up close and per-
sonal – get me? Then what god will rescue you from my hand?”
- Dan. 3:8-15 (freely)

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied,
“O King! In this matter we have no need to
defend ourselves before you. If thrown into
a furnace, the God we serve can deliver us.
He will deliver us! But even if he does not
we will not worship the image of gold.”
Nebuchadnezzar was furious! His attitude
hardened toward them. He ordered the
furnace heated even hotter.
Strong soldiers tied the men, still fully
dressed in their robes, trousers, and turbans,
and threw them into the super-heated fire.
The king’s command was so urgent and the
furnace so hot that the flames killed the
soldiers doing so. - Dan. 3:16-23
The three friends are tossed

But then Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement...
“Weren’t three men tied up and thrown into the fire? But look, I
see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed!
The fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
He approached the mouth of the furnace
and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, servants of the Most High,
come out!”
The Hebrew men walked, calmly and
coolly, out of the furnace. The court
officials and the King’s advisers crowded
around them. Everyone saw that the
fire had not harmed their bodies, had
not singed their hair, and had not even
scorched their clothing.
- Dan. 3:24-30
The three friends aren’t toast

The Arches
National Park
“Fiery Furnace”
is a Ranger-
guided 4 h long
strenuous hike
through tow-
ering red rocks.
Aside: “Fiery Furnace” in Utah

Dan. 3:24-30
Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his
servants!
They trusted in him and defied {my} command and were willing to
give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their
own God.
Therefore I decree that {anyone} of any nation who says anything
against {their} God shall be cut into pieces and their house be
reduced to a pile of rubble! No other god can save in this way.”
Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the
province of Babylon.
The King’s speech

The King’s speech
Witnessing with his own eyes the deliverance of the men by a
angel of God from the vicious death he intended by his own
command, the King now utters a psalm of praise to Yahweh.
He then issues yet another command, this time
threating vicious death to anyone not showing
respect to the powerful God of the Hebrews.
What do you think? Do you obey and respect God because
He is more powerful than all the other gods? Or because
He thwarted the actions of an evil king or government?
It (no coincidence!) is a perfect summary of the lesson of the
account: They trusted... they defied... They were willing to give
up their lives rather than serve any god except their own God.

Which are the most famous, largest, and most
beautiful religious statues in the world?
Christ the Redeemer overlooks Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil. This 130 ft tall
landmark (1931) is the 5th largest
statue of Jesus in the world.

Christ The King (108 ft)
in Świebodzin, Poland
(2010) reaches a total
height of 238’ with its
mound, making it the
tallest statue of Jesus in
the world.
The project was con-
ceived and led by
Sylwester Zawadzki,
a retired priest.

“Christ Blessing” in
Manado City, Indonesia
(2010; statue, 94 ft,
pedestal, 64 ft) is made of
metal fiber with a steel
support.
It is Asia's 2nd tallest
statue and the world's 4th
tallest statue of Christ
(excluding the pedestal).

The Spring Temple Buddha
Henan, China (2002) is
420 ft high including its
66 ft lotus throne. Including
the building under the
pedestal, the structure’s
total height is 502 ft.
But the tallest religious
statue in the world is of
Buddha.

Perhaps the
most beautiful
statue is
Michelangelo’s
life-sized Pieta
(1497, The
Vatican, Rome,
Italy) which de-
picts the sorrow-
ing Mary holding
her crucified
son, Jesus.

These are the visions I saw while lying in my
bed: I looked, and there before me stood a
tree in the middle of the land. Its height was
enormous.
The tree grew large and strong and its top
touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of
the earth. Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit
abundant, and on it was food for all.
Under it the beasts of the field found shelter,
and the birds of the air lived in its branches;
from it every creature was fed.
- Dan. 4:10-12
Daniel - Chapter 4

The dream is a nightmare
.
Chapter 4 features a 2nd troubling
dream of King N. It concludes with
another deliverance, but this time the
king is the one who is delivered.
The scenario - elaborate, fanciful, his-
torically improbable - is transparently
allegorical but, again, the text is not
concerned with either history/reality.
The story is highly satisfying if the
reader is Jewish, someone suffering
under the oppression of a foreign
government and is looking forward to
its overthrow by God.
We again look for which of the standard deliverance account
elements are missing or present in a modified form.

The king’s dream tree
Large trees were not common in the Levant (exception - Lebanon’s
cedar forests) and so were symbols of greatness. Daniel tells the king:
The tree you saw... large and strong...
Its top touching the sky, visible to the
whole earth... beautiful leaves and
abundant fruit... sheltering wild
animals... having nesting places in its
branches for the birds— Your Majesty,
you are that tree!
You are great and strong! Your great-
ness has grown until it reaches the sky!
Your dominion extends to distant parts
of the earth.
- Dan. 4:20-22

The king’s dream tree
Large trees were not common in the Levant (exception - Lebanon’s
cedar forests) and so were symbols of greatness. Daniel tells the king:
The tree you saw... large and strong...
Its top touching the sky, visible to the
whole earth... beautiful leaves and
abundant fruit... sheltering wild
animals... having nesting places in its
branches for the birds— Your Majesty,
you are that tree!
You are great and strong! Your great-
ness has grown until it reaches the sky!
Your dominion extends to distant parts
of the earth. - Dan. 4:20-22
A great tree as a symbol of a great nation was used by OT prophets
(e.g. cedar for Assyria in Ez. 31). It is likely no coincidence that Jesus
deploys this familiar symbol to represent the extensive, thriving,
inevitable and hospitable coming Kingdom of God (see Mt. 13:31-32)

The tree is cut down
“In the vision... before me was a holy one, a messenger, coming down
from heaven.He called in a loud voice:
‘Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves
and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the
birds from its branches. Let the stump and its roots, bound with
iron and bronze, remain
in the ground, in the grass
of the field.
- Dan. 4:13-14
The great tree (which rep-
resents the king and/or
the Babylonian Empire) is
sure to be devastated, its
population dispersed.
Only stump and roots left.

The tree image is set aside
The voice of the vision continues:
‘Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven. Let him live with
the animals among the plants... Let his mind be changed from
that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, until
seven timespass by for him.“‘
This decision is announced... the holy ones declare the verdict,
so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over
all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and
sets over them the lowliest of people.’
- Dan. 4:15-17
The text abruptly drops symbolic language and begins using
the direct personal pronoun “let him...” The king is condem-
ned to madness for a period of “seven times,” indicating that
amount of punishment required for his purification.

In this account the standard elements are modified;
 the one put in danger is the king, not the Hebrews
 the dream is a made more clearly a Divine instrument (by the
presence of a holy messenger) and a Divine judgment (“verdict”)
 the danger, then, is coming from God, not from any Babylonian
 this verdict is imposed because of the king’s pride which he would
not have thought a sin nor would he think himself subject to Yahweh
 the king can save himself by taking Daniel’s advice:
“The stump... with its roots means that your kingdom will be
restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules.
Therefore... renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your
wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then
your prosperity will continue.” - Dan. 4:27
Not the usual

Not unexpectedly, King Nebuchadnezzar does not renounce his
prideful (= sinful) ways, with the result that...
He was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox. His
body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew
like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.
- Dan. 4:33
Humiliation

After a time, God restores sanity to Nebuchadnezzar, who then
responds with a psalm of praise:
Restoration
I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.
His dominion is an eternal dominion.... All the peoples of the earth are
regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
- Dan. 4:35

Nebuchadnezzar then tells us the result
of his whole-hearted acknowledgement
of the sovereignty of Yahweh:
“...my honor and splendor were
returned to me... My advisers
and nobles sought me out, and I was
restored to my throne and became
even greater than before. Now I...
praise and exalt and glorify the King of
heaven, because everything He does is
right, all His ways are just, and those
who walk in pride He is able to
humble.” - Dan. 4:36-37
Reward

Nebuchadnezzar then tells us the result
of his whole-hearted acknowledgement
of the sovereignty of Yahweh:
“...my honor and splendor were
returned to me... My advisers
and nobles sought me out, and I was
restored to my throne and became
even greater than before. Now I...
praise and exalt and glorify the King of
heaven, because everything He does is
right, all His ways are just, and those
who walk in pride He is able to
humble.”
Lesson and fervent desire
While one wonders why this chapter is so “preachy” and the story-
line so exaggerated, the intent of the text is clear – to highlight the
absolute sovereignty of Yahweh/God.
The lesson the text wants to drive home is the fervent belief of the
Jews of that time: that Yahweh controls the events of history and
the fate of nations. All righteous earthly rulers that acknowledge
this sovereignty in humility will be rewarded.

.
the Babylonian Empire which in fact occurred in 639 BCE, although the
conquerors were the Persians, not the Medes (see v. 31).
The account again includes standard “deliverance” elements including a
Divine message, a call for wise men to assist, textual explanation and
stern lecture by Daniel, a promised reward, and a satisfying (to a Jewish
person) conclusion, namely, that of Divine judgment of an enemy of the
Jewish people, making chapter 5 a close parallel to chapter 4.
Daniel Chapter 5...
... is the source of the
saying (left), still in
widespread use today,
applied to an event
when its future course
is certain.
In Dan. 5, the certain
event is the fall of

A good party spoiled
.
“Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on
the plaster of the wall... in the royal palace. The king watched...
as it wrote. His face turned pale- he was so frightened that his
legs became weak and his knees were knocking.”
King Belshazzar throws a great banquet for a thousand
nobles. While everyone is enjoying the food and wine...

.
The hand apparently goes away but the enigmatic* writing remains
visible, etched in the plaster. The king calls for all of his court wise men to
read and explain it, apparently unaware that Daniel is their supervisor.
The queen knows, however, informs the king who has him summoned.
“If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will be
clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and
you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”
*Probably written in Aramaic, the lingua franca of the entire Middle East
including Palestine since about 1000 BCE.
.

Numbered - Weighed - Divided
.
“This is the inscription that is written: mene, mene, tekel, parsin. And
this is its meaning: God has numbered the days of your reign and
brought it to an end. You have been weighed on the scales and found
wanting. Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
Daniel pronounces Divine judgment on the king and all Babylon for
their arrogance, worship of false gods and desecration of sacred
objects looted from the Temple in Jerusalem. He then explains:

.
“That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain. Darius
the Mede took over the kingdom....” - Dan. 5:30-31
Historical Note: Nabonidus was the last king of the Neo-Babylonian
empire, not Belshazzar, who was his eldest son* and regent for his
father during the latter's absence from the capital. Belshazzar never
assumed the titles or ritual functions of kingship. He was likely killed
when the Persians took Babylon. Nabonidus was captured and exiled.
*Dan. 5:18 and 22 imply that Belshazzar was the son of Nebuchadnezzar. He
was not, nor was Nabonidus, who seized power in a coup, toppling
Nebuchadnezzar’s son Labashi-Marduk in 556 BCE.
The fall of Babylon

.
“That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain. Darius
the Mede took over the kingdom....” - Dan. 5:30-31
We know that the Persians tolerated the worship of local gods in their
homelands and so allowed Jewish exiles to return to Israel. Yet one has
to wonder if God also weighed the Persians and found them wanting
since they were conquered some 300 years later. Did any Empire ever
measure up to God’s standards? Do we think America does today?
Historical Note: Nabonidus was the last king of the Neo-Babylonian
empire, not Belshazzar, who was his eldest son* and regent for his
father during the latter's absence from the capital. Belshazzar never
assumed the titles or ritual functions of kingship. He was likely killed
when the Persians took Babylon. Nabonidus was captured and exiled.
*Dan. 5:18 and 22 imply that Belshazzar was the son of Nebuchadnezzar. He
was not, nor was Nabonidus, who seized power in a coup, toppling
Nebuchadnezzar’s son Labashi-Marduk in 556 BCE.
The fall of Babylon

Faithful Daniel
End of Part Two

.
At the end of the last lesson....
God sends a four-word message to
King Belshazzar using the palace
wall as writing paper and a ghostly
hand as writing implement. Daniel
explains its meaning to the king:
“You’re doomed.”
“That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain.
Darius the Mede took over the kingdom....”
- Dan. 5:30-31
Textural Note: The author of Daniel apparently admired
Darius I (“Darius the Great”) who ruled Persia from 522-
486 BCE, crediting him with the overthrow of the
Babylonia Empire that was in fact accomplished by Cyrus I.

.
On Darius the Great
A major event in his long reign was the invasion of
Greece. This effort to punish Athens and Eretria for their
aid in the Ionian Revolt and thereby to subjugate Greece
ended, instead, in his epic defeat at the Battle of
Marathon. Darius did, however, succeed in the re-
subjugation of Thrace, and the expansion of his empire
through the conquest of Macedon, the Cyclades, and
the island of Naxos.
Darius re-organized the Empire by dividing it into
provinces and installing satraps to govern each. He
organized new coinage as a uniform monetary system,
along with making Aramaic the official language of the
Empire. He built roads and introduced standard weights
and measures. Through these changes, the empire was
centralized and unified.
Darius is mentioned in Scripture in the Books of Haggai, Zechariah, and
Ezra–Nehemiah.

Daniel Chapter 6 – Among lions
The change in
government
does not
change the
lessons our text
is teaching;
Daniel is once
again faced with
mortal danger.
But, again, God
is faithful to
those who are
faithful to Him.

(The new Persian king) Darius appoints Governors
to rule the Empire. He places over them Supervisors,
one of whom is Daniel.
Daniel is so able an administrator that the king,
pleased with him, plans to make him Prime Minister.
Some ambitious court officials are miffed and start
plotting to slap him with criminal charges in order to
ruin him.
But since Daniel was not in the least corrupt or un-
trustworthy, they can’t dig up any dirt on him!
They wring their hands, saying, “We will never find
any basis for charges against him!
Then it occurred to them, “Never, that is, unless it
has something to do with his worshipping his God.”
New government, old enemies
Dan. 6:1-5 (freely)

New government, new enemies
This, then, is the basis of the evil scheme they take to the king, slyly
proposing that he should “command that anyone who prays to any
god except you shall be thrown to the lions.” Darius, happy to agree,
puts the decree in writing, “in accordance with the law of the Medes
and Persians, so that it could not be repealed.” - Dan. 6:6-9 (freely)

Trial of faith, again
(Officials) “Well, Your Majesty, guess who’s paying no attention to your
decree? Daniel. We witnessed him praying to his God three times today.”
When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined
to rescue Daniel and made some effort to save him, but...
Daniel knows about the decree,
goes to his room and prays anyway,
three times a day, giving thanks to
God, as he had done before.
The schemers spy on him, of course,
and promptly report to the king…
(Officials) “Didn’t your Majesty
publish a decree about not praying
to other gods?”
(King) “Yes and my decree stands;
by law it cannot be repealed.
- Dan. 6:10-14

Throw him to the lions!
... pressured by his conniving officials and, apparently, reluctant to revoke
an “unrevocable” law, Darius gives the order: “lionize” the offender!
As they throw Daniel into the pen holding the royal lions, Darius cries out
to Daniel, “May God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”

What kind of lion faced Daniel?
 Lions are one of 5 major big cats (family:
Felidae, subfamily: Pantherinae)
 Asiatics are found now only in India, the
others Asiatics are the Bengal tiger and
the Indian, snow, and clouded leopards
 Asiatic lions once ranged wisely from the
Mediterranean to northeastern parts of
the Indian subcontinent but hunting,
water pollution and decline in natural
prey have greatly reduced their habitat.
 Panthera leo leo, the Asiatic lion. Historically, Asiatic lions were
classified into three kinds (Bengal, Arabian and Persian), but these
groupings are no longer considered separate species
 Asiatics are smaller and lighter than African lions (P. l. melanchaita)
but are equally aggressive.

Lion-hearted
 Lions have since ancient times been
associated with royalty and with
virtues of courage and strength
 C. S. Lewis represented Christ in his
Chronicles of Narnia as a powerful,
awe-inspiring lion, Aslan, the True King
 In Daniel, that the King of Beasts obeys
Yahweh makes clear who is sovereign
 Two appropriate names for lion-
hearted people are “Ariel” (“lion of
God”) and “Leonard” (“lion-strong”)

A stone was placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with
his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s
situation might not be changed. The king returned to his palace and spent
the night without food, sleep or entertainment.
At dawn, the king hur-
ried to the lions’ den
and as soon as he came
near called to Daniel in
an anguished voice,
“Daniel, servant of the
living God, has your
God, whom you serve,
been able to rescue you
from the lions?”
Peter Paul Reuben’s “Daniel
In The Lion’s Den (ca. 1640)
- Dan. 6:17-20

Unharmed!
- Dan. 6:21-22
Daniel answered,
“God sent his angel
who shut the mouths
of the lions. They
have not hurt me,
because I was found
innocent in his sight.
Nor have I done any
wrong before Your
Majesty.”

- Dan. 6:22-24
The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den.
Everyone saw that he had received not even a single bite, the result of
his complete trust in God.
Trust is rewarded
At the king’s command,
the men who falsely
accused Daniel were
thrown into the lions’
den along with their
wives and children.
Even before they hit the
floor the lions over-
powered them and
crushed all their bones.

It is an over-the-top story, with the elements
of a modern melodrama.
The good guy: a competent manager,
who worships Yahweh
The bad guys: a number of ambitious
scheming court officials
The king: a nice guy, innocently duped into
condemning the good guy to death,
The execution: cruel, degrading, gruesome
and (apparently) inescapable!
Still, the faithful one is steadfast, looking to
heaven for rescue.
And rescue comes!
A story to warm the heart of the oppressed

It is an over-the-top story, with the elements
of a modern melodrama.
The good guy: a competent manager,
who worships Yahweh
The bad guys: a number of ambitious
scheming court officials
The king: a nice guy, innocently duped into
condemning the good guy to death,
The execution: cruel, degrading, gruesome
and (apparently) inescapable!
Still, the faithful one is steadfast, looking to
heaven for rescue. And rescue comes swiftly!
Curses! Foiled again!
It’s a miracle!
The king rejoices, then hands
down just (if heavy-handed) judgment:
that the evildoers (and their families!)
undergo the very same trial to which
our hero was subjected.
The result is of course that the unjust,
the evil ones (and their families),
are completely destroyed.

Coming from a male-dominant culture, the deliverance stories in the
Bible are mostly about men like Daniel and his (male) friends.
An exception that tells of the bravery of a faithful woman is in the
Appendix to Daniel,
a work accepted
as inspired by some
denominations.
Susanna: a women of faith
This is the story of
Susanna.
Which of the usual
“deliverance” story
elements apply to
this account?

Joacim’s and Susanna’s Garden, Albrect Altdorfer (1480-1538)
In Babylon there lived a man, Joakim, who married a very beautiful
and God-fearing woman, Susanna, daughter of Hilkiah. Her parents
were righteous and had trained their daughter according to the law
of Moses. Joakim was rich. He owned a fine house with a garden.

That year, two men, elders of the Jewish commu-
nity, were appointed to be judges. They liked to
hold court at Joakim's large, pleasant house.
Everyone who had a legal suit came to them there
for trial. Legal business was done in the morning
and everyone departed by noon.
This happened to be the same time that Susanna
was in the habit of taking a walk in her garden.
When the elders saw her enter every day for her
walk, they began to lust for her. They perverted
their thinking; they would not allow their eyes to
Susanna’s stalkers
look to heaven and did not keep in mind just judgments. Day by day
they watched eagerly for her and they agreed to look for an occasion
when they could find her alone.
- Dan. 13:3-10 (NAB, rev. ed., freely)

The action takes place in Babylon, apparently soon after the Exile, since
we learn (shortly) that Daniel is still a young man.
The righteous person who is put in danger, a Torah-abiding Jew, is, in this
case, a married woman. She is favored by God with a good and rich
husband, a big house and garden, virtue, and great beauty.
The “bad guys” are
also Jewish, a sign-
ificant “twist” in the
usual storyline.
They are, apparently,
of sufficient stature
in the community to
be elected judges for
the year.

One day, Susanna entered {the garden} with two maids. Wanting to
bathe, for the weather was warm, and there being nobody there
{she thought}, she ordered her maids, “Bring me oil and soap, and
shut the garden gates...”
They did as she asked, leaving by a side
gate, unaware that the two Peeping
Toms were hidden inside.
The stalkers make their move
As soon as the maids left, the two men
got up and ran to her. “Look,” they said,
“the garden gates are shut, no one can
see us, and we want you!
So give in to our desire. Lie with us. If
you refuse, we will testify against you
that a young man was here with you,
which is why you sent your maids away.”
- Dan. 13:15-21

“I am completely trapped,” Susanna groaned. “If I yield, it will be my
death; if I refuse, I cannot escape- you will overpower me.
So be it! Far better it is for me to fall into
your power than to willfully sin before
the Lord.”
- Dan. 13:22-27
Trapped!

“I am completely trapped,” Susanna groaned. “If I yield, it will be my
death; if I refuse, I cannot escape- you will overpower me.
So be it! Far better it is for me to fall into
your power than to willfully sin before
the Lord.”
Pandemonium!
With that, Susanna screams, the two stalkers shout, people in the
house hear the commotion and scramble to see what has
happened, the servants rush to her side (with soap in hand?).
Pandemonium!
The elders, doubtless startled by Susanna’s brave action, start
acting indignant, loudly making their vindictive false accusation.
Susanna’s servants are conflicted. Ashamed (of themselves, that
they weren’t present to defend her), shocked (for never had any
such thing been said about their mistress), and afraid, because
if the allegations are true, she will be stoned to death.

Dramatic confrontation
What follows (v. 28-49) are proceedings of a kangaroo court that tries
Susanna before husband Joakim and people attracted by the scandal.
Recall that this account is set in Babylon soon after the Exile when the
Jews involved are, essentially, prisoners and
would have no recourse to an actual law court.
The wicked elders give their false testimony, “We
saw them lying together, but the man we could
not hold, because he was stronger than we; he
opened the gates and ran off.”
The assembly believes them, since they were
elders and judges of the people, and they con-
demned Susanna to death.
Her reaction? She “wept and looked to heaven,
for she trusted in the Lord wholeheartedly.”
The righteous one is in mortal danger!
Can anyone save her from stoning?

- Dan. 13:42-46
She prayed, “Eternal God, you know what is hidden and are aware of all
things before they come to be! You know that they have testified falsely
against me. I am about to die, though I have done none of the things for
which these men have condemned me.”
The Lord heard her prayer.
As she was being led to the place of execution, God stirred up the holy
spirit of a young boy named Daniel and he cried aloud: “I am innocent
of this woman’s blood.”
The assembly stopped, turned to him and said, “What are you saying?”
He stood among them, got every one’s attention and then railed at
them, saying, “Are you such fools, you who are Israelites, to condemn
a daughter of Israel without investigation and without clear evidence?
Return to court! I believe the men have testified falsely against her.”
God can save her / Daniel can help

- Dan. 13:47-56
The people re-assemble and Round 2 of “the trial of Susanna” begins.
Daniel is now clearly in charge of the proceedings, acting as the (God-
empowered) prosecuting attorney despite his youth.
He then demonstrates Solomonic wisdom, grilling each elder separately
before the assembly. Their sworn statements differ in important details
of the alleged assignation of Susanna and the lusty young man.
Daniel as Solomon (or Columbo?)
“Just one more thing.
Under what tree did you see the
young man lie with Susanna?”
One answered, “Under a mastic
tree.” The other one answered,
“Under an oak tree.”

Daniel proclaimed his
judgment: “You both
have lied! The angel of
God waits with the
sword to cut you down.”
The whole assembly
cried aloud, blessing
God who saves those
who hope in Him.
They all rose up against
the two men, for by
their own words Daniel
had convicted them of
false witness.
Swift justice
“Daniel Proving Susanna's Innocence”
François Gérard (1790)

- Dan. 13:61-64
They condemned them to the fate they had planned for their neighbor
in accordance with the law of Moses they put them to death {presum-
ably, by stoning}
Thus was the innocent blood (of Susanna) spared that day.
Hilkiah and his wife with Joakim her husband and all her relatives
praised God for their daughter’s life and honor because she was
found innocent of any shameful deed.
From that day on, Daniel was greatly esteemed by the people.
Retribution, thanks and praise
What do you think? Did the two Jewish elders deserve to be
executed for their dishonorable behavior and false witness?
Would you hand out the same punishment today if you judged a
man acted similarly toward a women today?

In the final two stories in the Daniel genre,
named for false gods the non-Israelites wor-
ship, formulaic elements are again present.
Most importantly, Daniel is again in mortal
danger because of his faithfulness to Yahweh.
In both of these vignettes, Daniel’s own
cleverness rather than miraculous Divine
intervention saves him.
Following the deliverance standard,
the bad guys get their comeuppance.
All the while, the text ridicules idol
worship.
“Bel” and “The Dragon”
The
Dragon
Bel

The Babylonians worshipped an idol called Bel.
Every day 70 servant-priests provided it with all manner of foodstuffs,
breads made from fine flour, choice cuts of meat, and the best wine.
The king revered Bel and went every day to its temple to worship it.
One day the king asked Daniel, “Why don’t you worship Bel?”
Daniel replied, “I do not revere idols made by the hands of men.
I worship only the living God who made
heaven and earth and has dominion
over all flesh.”
Then the king continued, “You do not
think Bel is a living god? Don’t see how
much he eats and drinks every day?”
Babylonian Idol
- Dan. 14:3-5

No idle challenge
At that Daniel began to laugh. “Do not be deceived, O king,” he said;
“Bel is only clay inside and bronze outside; it has never eaten or drunk
anything.”
Enraged {by this dismissive and sacrilegious
comment} the king {perhaps fearing that he
was, in fact, being made the fool} called his
priests and said to them, “Unless you tell me
who it is that consumes these daily pro-
visions, you shall all die.
Of course, if you can show that the god Bel
consumes them, as we believe, then, Daniel
shall die for blaspheming against Bel.”
Daniel said to the king, “Bring it on! Let it be
as you say!”
- Dan. 14:6-9

That evening in the temple of Bel...
The priests said to the king, “We are leaving. Have Bel’s food and wine
set before him as usual, then shut the door and seal it with your ring.
The secret of Bel
If the provisions are here,
uneaten, when you return
in the morning, then we
will die, as we agreed.
Otherwise Daniel shall die
for he has lied against us.”
They were not perturbed,
because the temple had a
secret entrance through
which they came in every
night to consume the food
offering.

After they departed and
the food was set before
the idol, Daniel ordered
his servants to bring in
fine ashes and scatter
them over the entire floor
of the temple.
The king paid close atten-
tion to what Daniel did.
Daniel sets a trap
Then they left and the king sealed the temple entrance with
his signet ring.
That night the priests, and their wives and their children, entered
the temple via the secret door and consumed all of the provisions,
as usual. - Dan. 14: 10-15 (freely)

Early the next morning, the king came to the
temple with Daniel.
“Are the seals on the door intact, Daniel?”
he asked.
Daniel answered, “They are unbroken, O king.”
The king opened the door, took in the empty
offering table, and cried out joyously, “You are
great, O Bel; there is no deceit in you.”
But Daniel kept the king from entering. “Wait!”
he said, beginning to laugh, “Look at the floor.
Whose footprints are these?”
“I see the footprints of men, women, and
children!” said the king.
- Dan. 14:17-22 (freely)
Betrayed by their footprints

Confession and condemnation
Enraged, the king arrested the priests, their wives, and their children.
The priests confessed, admitting to consuming what was offered to the
idol. They also showed him the secret door they used to gain entry to
the temple at night.
Having shown that they’d been making a fool of the king for a long time,
they could not expect that this revelation would dampen the king’s
anger and it did not. After this the king put them all to death.
- Dan. 14:17-22 (freely)
The king was a bit naïve, but he is not slow to realize that human
footprints are made by people and that those people must have
entered the temple (somehow) after he himself sealed the main
entrance. He puts 2 + 2 together and gets really mad.

Conclusion
He then allowed Daniel to destroy both the statue of Bel and its temple.
- Dan. 14:22
Once again the account has a happy ending for Daniel and the king.
Should it both us that the evildoers and their families are executed?

Once there was a great dragon*
which the Babylonians revered.
The king said to Daniel, “You cannot
deny that this is a living god, so
worship it.”
Daniel answered, “I do so deny it!
I worship only Yahweh, the Lord, my
God, for He is the one living God.
Give me permission, O king, and I
will kill this dragon armed with
neither sword nor club.”
“Ha! I’d like to see you try! You have
my permission,” the king said.
- Dan. 14: 23-26 (freely)
The Dragon
*or serpent

Once upon a time in Babylon....
Daniel took some flour, honey, pitch, fat, and hair, boiled them together
and poured them into cake molds. When they cooled he offered them
to the dragon. And when the creature ate them, it’s stomach burst!
“This,” he said, “is what
you revered.”
When those Babylonian
nobles who hated the
Jews heard of this, they
were outraged.
They spoke out with
anger even against the
king himself.
- Dan. 14: 27-8 (freely)

The last straw
They threw Daniel into a lions’ den where he remained six days.
The den held seven lions, fed every day with freshly killed cattle and
sheep but now given nothing so that they would devour Daniel.
“The king destroyed Bel, killed the dragon, and put priests to death.”
These nobles had apparently had enough of Daniel’s trashing
their sacred practices and, likely, his growing influence and power
over the king. They worked themselves up, saying...
- Dan. 14:28-32
Then they went before the king and stated this demand:
When he saw himself threatened with violence, the king was
forced to hand Daniel over to them.
“Hand Daniel over to us, or we will kill you and your family.”

Home delivery
Something remarkable happens next, something seen nowhere else in
the OT. A prophet (an OT book named after him, no less) goes to the aid
of another prophet (also with a book named after him)!
Habakkuk, in Judea, is fixing a meal of stew and bread for some farm
hands when an angel appears to him and orders him to take the food to
Daniel in Babylon, a mere
600 desert miles away.
Habakkuk demurs, saying
he has never been there,
doesn’t know where the
lions are kept.
- Dan. 14:33-35

Home delivery
The angel doesn’t seem to care
what he thinks. It just grabs
the prophet by his hair and
flies him to Babylon (“with the
speed of the wind”), and sets
him down above the opening
to the den.
Such an odd, even fantastic
detail to add to this story.
Why? God could have asked
someone in Babylon to feed
Daniel or simply kept him from
feeling hungry.
Habakkuk and the Angel by Gian
Lorenzo Bernini (1661) Basilica of
Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome

God is faithful
From the mouth of the
lion’s den Habakkuk cries,
“Daniel, Daniel, take the
meal God has sent you.”
“You have remembered
me, O God,” said Daniel;
“you have not forsaken
those who love you.”
Even as Daniel gratefully
began eating the stew,
the angel took flight to
return Habakkuk to his
own place in Judah.
- Dan. 14:38-39
The exaggerated literary device of the angel-powered mercy flight empha-
sizes the lengths God will go to care for those who put their trust in Him.
“Angel In Flight” by Zeus Cooney

Resolution
On the 7th day the king came to the den to mourn for Daniel.
He came to the place and looked in. To his amazement, there
was Daniel, uneaten, at peace among the beasts.
He brought Daniel out and then
fed to the (very, very hungry)
lions those who had tried to
destroy him. The lions devoured
them all in a moment, right
before his eyes.
- Dan. 14:40-42
The king, who knew a miracle when he saw one, cried
aloud, “You are great, O Lord, the God of Daniel,
and there is no other besides You!”

Nine stories about Daniel and his friends encourage the reader to be
always faithful to Yaweh, even while living in exile from Judah. What
thoughts or relevant experiences do you have to share?
The narratives of the Book of Daniel
Chap. # Narrative Focus Miraclous Deliverance
1 Young exiles refuse rich food Vegetables keep men healthy
2 King N.’s fantastic statue Daniel interprets the dream
3 All must worship golden idol Three men preserved in fire
4 King N.’s dream of great tree King goes mad, restored
5 Hand writes on the wall Persians invade, take Babylon
6 Prayer / in the den of lions Lions don’t eat Daniel
13 Susanna / two elders Daniel as prosecuting attorney
14 Bel / ashes on the floor Daniel’s clever trap
14 Dragon / in den of lions Habakkuk flies in a meal

Faithful Daniel
End of Part Three and
of the study of the
narratives involving
the prophet Daniel

Faithful Daniel
Interested in further
study of the Book of
Daniel? Check out the
Lessons-to-Go study
entitled “How’s Your
Vision”, also available on
SlideShare

Faithful Daniel

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