Daniel and his three friends were given the position of being witnesses to the Gentile rulers that there is a God of heaven. Jerusalem was in ruins, along with the temple that had been destroyed. There was no longer a place on earth where Jehovah was known to dwell. In this vacuum of testimony Daniel and his three friends were taken to Babylon. They were given opportunity to represent God before the Gentile rulers, beginning with Nebuchadnezzar. These circumstances are particularly significant for the Christian today because, like Daniel, we live in a land to which we do not belong; our citizenship is heavenly. We belong to the kingdom of heaven, which has no visible governmental throne on earth. This kingdom is going to be taken to heaven at the close of the age. Meanwhile, it is our place to represent Christ while here on earth. Our participation with Christ in His reign is future, but our faithfulness now will determine our position in the future. May we be encouraged, in considering the first six chapters of Daniel, by seeing how he represented God — how he proved by his faith and obedience that the God of heaven rules over the kings on earth.
Preparation by Separation
Daniel writes with faith and optimism about his background history in chapter 1; there is no complaint of what he had lost, but rather appreciation for the Lord’s blessing. From the very beginning, Daniel recognized that God had brought him into favor with the prince of the eunuchs. He, along with his three friends, responded by keeping themselves separate and pure from what would cause them to lose their identity with God by association with the gods of Babylon. They requested pulse (grain) to eat. Grain was what the children of Israel first ate after arriving in the land of Canaan; it is a picture to us of heavenly food. In order for Daniel and his three friends to be strong witnesses of the God of heaven, they must maintain their outward identity with their God. The Lord proved that this food, which identified them with Him, made them look better than those who ate the king’s provision. This was a witness to the power of God in the palace. Melzar allowed them to eat their own food. Separation to God by the food they ate was even more important than maintaining their Hebrew names which would connect them with the nation of Israel. God is supreme, and He honored the four students who honored Him; they are found to be ten times better than all the others.
There Is a God in Heaven
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in chapter 2 is a prophecy of the future of his realm, but it appears that he had forgotten the dream, though he must have realized that it had an important significance. This was allowed of God to bring Daniel, His representative, on the scene to make known the dream. The magicians of Babylon said that none could show the dream for the king but the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. But Daniel was sent to prove that he had a relationship with God and could make known the dream. Daniel asks for time and goes to God in prayer with his three friends. The Lord makes known to him the dream. His first response is to praise God for revealing the dream and its interpretation. The ability to make known the dream was proof to all that it was from God and that the interpretation was real. Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar, “There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days” (vs. 28). The end of the dream refers to the coming kingdom of the Lord Jesus in verse 44: “In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”
We have in the interpretation of this dream a wonderful revelation of the span of time from Nebuchadnezzar until the last Gentile ruler. The Lord Jesus, the son of David, is the little stone that will smite the Gentiles and take the kingdoms of the earth. Daniel, who was one of David’s seed but was deprived of participating in an earthly kingdom, could look forward to the kingdom of the promised seed which would establish the everlasting kingdom. Today we live at the time when we expect the Lord Jesus to descend from heaven, first to take His heavenly people home to glory, and then to bring us back with Him when He comes to reign on earth. It is important for us, in the meanwhile, to be His faithful representatives on earth, as Daniel was in Babylon. “Ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:88But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8)). “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God” (1 Peter 2:11-12).
We see in this chapter how Nebuchadnezzar is brought to recognize, “Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings” (vs. 47). This is the beginning of the testimony to the king regarding the God of heaven, but more witness would be needed from Daniel and his three friends.
Idolatry and the Fiery Furnace
In chapter 3 we see that Nebuchadnezzar uses the imagery of his dream to make a golden idol of himself for all to worship. Where faith is lacking, only the outward things are seen. The king seeks to unify the kingdom under himself by force, but forgets the God who gave him the kingdom; this is idolatry. Daniel is not singled out for this trial and deliverance, but Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego prove the power of God to deliver from the worst judgment the king can bring upon them. They, by their faith in God, “quenched the violence of fire” (Heb. 11:3434Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. (Hebrews 11:34)) and proved that their God was the only God to be worshipped. “Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent His angel, and delivered His servants that trusted in Him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God” (vs. 28). Yet the king does not admit that he must also bow to the One whom they worship; he only speaks of Him as the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. More work is necessary in his soul.
From Godlessness to Worship
Chapter 4 is written by Nebuchadnezzar himself. It is beautiful to see this high monarch showing the signs and wonders that God had wrought with him. The king is able to tell his own dream this time, while Daniel listens. Twice in the chapter Daniel is referred to by Nebuchadnezzar as “Daniel [God is Judge], whose name was Belteshazzar” (vss. 8,19). The faith of Daniel enabled him, in this most difficult position, to interpret the dream that pronounced judgment on the king. After hearing the dream, he was astonished one hour before speaking. Like his God, he was not hasty to judge (see John 8:6-76This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. 7So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. (John 8:6‑7)). Only when the king prompted him again to speak did he give the interpretation. May those around us in the world see in us that non-condemning spirit. May they also understand that we have no desire for the kingdom they seek to enjoy.
After the judgment was pronounced, God waited twelve months. But the knowledge of what was to happen to the king was not enough to make him bow the knee. Is not this also true of us? Mere understanding of the future is not sufficient; we must learn to walk by faith according to our knowledge of prophecy. It took the sevenfold governmental judgment upon the king to break him down — living like an animal. Then he looked up and acknowledged God as his God: “At the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation.” He was brought into a personal relationship with God. “I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and His ways judgment: and those that walk in pride He is able to abase” (vss. 34,37).
Judgment of the Profane
There is no waiting time after the announcement of the judgment upon Belshazzar in chapter 5. When Daniel was called to interpret the writing on the wall, he was identified by the king as one of the captives taken from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel was linked with the place from which the judgment was coming. The God that once dwelt in Jerusalem now ruled from heaven and had sent His angel to write on the wall. Belshazzar along with his wives had used the holy vessels from the temple to praise other gods. Daniel was an old man and Belshazzar much younger; Daniel first rehearses the warning that God had given his father Nebuchadnezzar, and then he reprimands him saying, “Thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified” (vss. 22-23). This was rebellion, and it brought down God’s judgment. So the kingdom is passed to Darius the Median.
The Envy of Self-Seekers
We cannot help but think from reading chapter 6 that everyone in the palace knew that Daniel had interpreted the writing on the wall about the fall of Babylon. When Darius took the city, he set Daniel over the whole kingdom. This exalted position put Daniel to a new kind of test — he was subject to the envy of the princes and presidents. For many this may be the hardest kind of test. We may observe that Daniel did not change his habit of praying three times a day. This was the source of his strength; the God of the temple was the God of heaven that had controlled the kings of the earth throughout his life. No threat of being thrown into a den of lions would change his prayer life. He did not love his new position of ruler more than the God who gave it, and the threat of death would not turn him aside from complete dependence on God. Remembering this example of Daniel may well help us when we are tempted to use our position or authority to help us out of a difficult situation. May we not forget that Daniel’s God in heaven is also our God, whom we know as our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
D. C. Buchanan