Vol.9 No.4
Daniel
He was a Hebrew and a captive.
The greatest rulers in heaven and earth told him their secrets.
He was the prophet.
by Betsy Mayer
Imagine for a moment that the Nazis have just won World War II. Your country has been bombed to the ground and most of your family and friends have been lined up and shot.
Because of your genius and promise you and a few friends find yourselves among an elite group of young captives selected for future roles in the Fuhrer’s government.
Your training includes free education at the best German universities. The Fuhrer’s chef prepares your meals. And while you are closely supervised, your accommodations and stipends are lavish. You receive German names, are indoctrinated in Aryan supremacy, and immersed in German language, literature and history.
It doesn’t take long to grasp the survival strategy. Co-operate. Find the politically correct thing to say and do and fit in. Personal expression? Forget it. That means goodbye to cultural pride, religious convictions, even your personal identities. On the surface you are Nazis. Inside? Well. . . maybe on a dark night you could whisper a prayer and recite some Scriptures together. . . .
Uncommon Courage
Viewed from this perspective, the story of Daniel is extraordinary. Daniel did not adopt the obvious survival strategy like so many others chose. He did not do the “smart thing.” Why?
The Bible answers this eloquently. Confronted with compromise at the most basic level of his existence, he revealed the motivating force of his life: “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank. . . ” (Daniel 1:8). To this young captive, obeying God was more important than obeying man—even at the cost of his life.
And God honored Daniel’s faithfulness. In the midst of a treacherous court, God surrounded him with divine protection and tokens of His love: “Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs” (Daniel 1:9).
Daniel’s courage inspired his three friends, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael. They joined his courageous stand and together demonstrated that rare blend of conviction and humility. Throughout the book of Daniel these four names reappear, sometimes together, sometimes separately. But always as God’s representatives in a hostile land, even at the expense of their own reputations and lives. At the completion of their studies, God honored their courageous witness with a stunning show of intellectual achievement.
Unselfish Sympathy
Higher critics have judged the book of Daniel a historical fraud. Yet the stories are too extraordinary to be fictitious. Someone once wrote, “truth is stranger than fiction.” The story of King Nebuchadnezzar’s first dream is a notable example.
God gives a dream to Nebuchadnezzar and then removes it from his memory so the court magicians and sorcerers cannot tamper with the divine impressions. For when the king turns to them for help in recalling it, they fail him. The truth dawns on the king: his magicians and sorcerers are not what they claim to be. In a rage he orders their execution.
But as the king’s guards hasten to their task, Daniel judiciously stops them with the request, “let me ask the king for time.” They respect Daniel enough to risk the king’s displeasure at their delay in his orders and arrange for Daniel’s petition. His request is granted and he and his three friends beseech God for an interpretation of the forgotten dream.
Everything that the king saw is revealed to Daniel, in addition to the interpretation. Yet he takes no credit for any of it, pointing instead to the true source of divine revelation—Jehovah, the God of the Hebrew captives.
Neither does Daniel say, “king, get rid of those flakey false prophets. They are frauds and liars and are manipulating you. You’ve got me. What more could you want?” He could have, but he didn’t. Why? Because Daniel felt genuine sympathy for those men cringing in defeat. The argument had been won by God and the true prophet would not indulge his pride by deposing his rivals.
Unpolitical Prime Minister
One great proof that the book of Daniel is true is the writer’s lack of political motives. People don’t make up stories and dreams that put them at odds with great and dreadful kings. Rather, they flatter themselves in roles of glory and treat rulers as demi-gods.
But because Daniel chose God’s favor over man’s favor, he can be trusted to write objective biography and deliver unsavory messages to the king at God’s command. Imagine telling any king, “your kingdom is finite and will soon pass away; you will go insane for seven years while my God (the God of a nation you have conquered) humbles you in a last attempt to eternally save you” (See Daniel, chapters 2 and 4). And what king would include such unflattering autobiography? No king, unless he was inspired to do so. Another clue to the inspiration of Daniel’s book and the genuiness of Daniel’s character.
Yet as we read between the lines of Babylon’s final moments, we sense that Daniel was not appreciated by Nebuchadnezzar’s successor, Belshazzar. He conveniently forgets about Jehovah and his prophet at court.
But Daniel does not covet Belshazzar’s insincere attentions. They come too late. “Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another,” (Daniel 5:17) he says to the terrified, yet unrepentant king on what turned out to be Belshazzar’s and Babylon’s last night.
Daniel’s renown is so great, however, that Darius, the new Median king, appoints him prime minister of his whole realm. An amazing turn of events—a lowly captive survives two conquests and serves two world monarchs as prime minister!
The Bible says that Darius preferred Daniel above the others “because an excellent spirit was in him.” What a great testimony to the witness of this humble prophet. And true to God’s gracious character, He sets about to win Darius’ heart through His trusted servant, Daniel. When Darius succumbs unwittingly to the trap laid by Daniel’s jealous rivals and Daniel is thrown to the lions, he remembers Daniel’s God and proposes: “Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee” (Daniel 6:16). All night long the king tosses and turns. Away with the court musician and the tasty palace dainties. He must know if Daniel’s God has delivered his trusted friend.
“Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel. . . O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?”
We can imagine Daniel’s affirming answer, “O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.”
unpretentious petitioner
Perhaps the most compelling chapter of Daniel’s life comes from his prayer as recorded in Daniel chapter nine. As a young man, he had heard Jeremiah prophesy the 70-year exile of God’s people. Now at the end of his life he petitions God for the restoration of Israel in fulfillment of this prophecy. Humbling himself in prayer, he identifies with the most rebellious and apostate of his people, pleading his repentance and sorrow for sin as the condition for God’s mercy. “We have sinned. . . . We have done wickedly. . . neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name. . .,” he confesses (Daniel 9:5, 6). Not once does Daniel point to his own faithful witness or even to his prophetic role as a condition for the fulfillment of God’s promise. As a representative of his people, his only plea is their great need.
The graciousness and humility that permeate the stories of Daniel’s life are proof enough that a young Hebrew captive who served as prophet of Jehovah also walked in the highest circles of power of the ancient world. The world may yet uncover evidence of this faithful prophet, prime minister, and prayer warrior. But if this evidence should remain unknown, the stories of his life and ministry shall still speak to us from the pages of God’s Word.
If faithful, we shall meet this prince among men along with his harvest of souls—among them, his three friends, Nebuchadnezzar, and perhaps even Darius.
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