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It is useful to draw up a list of comparisons and contrasts between Daniel and Shemaiah (Jer. 29:24-32), which reveals the force of the opposition which Daniel would have experienced.
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DANIEL HAD understanding in all visions and dreams" (Dan. 1:17). Such Spirit-gifts were not indiscriminately given to him, but he truly had those attributes which qualified him to be numbered amongst those "holy men of God" (2 Pet. 1:21). In a word, Daniel, and indeed his three friends, exhibited the mind of the Spirit (Rom. 8:6,27) [In Psalm 51 David is inspired to describe three distinct ‘spirits’: the mind of the spirit (v. 10); the holy spirit (v. 11); and the free spirit, that is, the breath of life (v. 12). Verses 13 and 14 then describe the possibilities if he retained the free spirit, verse 15 the consequence of him being able to retain the power of the holy spirit, and verses 16 and 17 further describe the mind of the spirit.] and became vessels [It is most interesting, especially from an exhortational view, to note how often in the various records of Judah going into exile the vessels are mentioned before the people themselves. See also 2 Timothy 2:20,21.] which God used.
The Parable of the Sower
In examining Daniel’s attitude to the Scripture and how it affected his life, it is helpful to consider the Parable of the Sower in all three Gospel records. The Lord Jesus reveals seven features of faithful believers. They:
| 1 | hear the Word (Mt. 13:23); |
| 2 | understand it (Mt. 13:23); |
| 3 | receive it, in the sense of accepting or delighting in it (Mk. 4:20); |
| 4 | have an honest and good heart, the good soil (Lk. 8:15); |
| 5 | keep it, in the sense of keeping it in memory and holding it fast (Lk. 8:15); see how the Greek word katecho is used in 1 Corinthians 15:2 and Hebrews 10:23; |
| 6 | show patience, in the sense of endurance (Lk. 8:15); |
| 7 | bring forth fruit, "some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty" (Lk. 8:15; Mt. 13:23; cf. Gal. 5:22-24). |
The Word sown
As Daniel was a member of the royal family, it is most likely that he was exposed to the Word of God by the hand of Jeremiah, his older contemporary (cf. Jer. 26:1-3). Those early events of Daniel chapter 1 reveal his good and honest heart, in that he held fast the Word of promise with endurance during circumstances of the greatest pressure, circumstances which were life-threatening on the one hand and a temptation from the great riches of Babylon (so esteemed by Achan) on the other.
Separation from the world
The "care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches" (Mt. 13:22) did not choke the implanted Word in Daniel’s heart. He could have reasoned that he was rejected of God in the tribulations of exile, and that it was a ‘chance of a lifetime’ to grasp the opportunity of a university education (with its attendant pagan trappings) in the world’s greatest city, and of a subsequent position of influence in Nebuchadnezzar’s court, with its attendant luxuries (Dan. 1:5).
There was no doubt that Daniel and his friends had all the qualities of being "skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science" (v. 4), which qualities the world holds in high esteem, and which would have earned them rapid promotion to executive status. But, rather than "stand before the king" (v. 5), Daniel preferred the commendation of the angel, whereby he would "stand in [his] lot at the end of the days" (12:13).
Taking the lead in the ecclesial remnant, "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" (1:8). In verse 6, "Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel...", there is an implication that the majority of the ecclesia did not agree with Daniel’s judgement in this matter. Indeed, from Jeremiah’s prophecy we learn that there was a vociferous element in the ecclesia in Babylon that must have opposed Daniel at every step. [Jeremiah 29 is the key to this issue. Shemaiah, (‘heard of Yahweh’) the Nehelamite (‘he of the dream’), referred to in verse 24, was the major cause of the problem in the ecclesia in Babylon. Compare the meaning of his name with Jeremiah 23:25-29.]
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This separation from the world, so essential to enable the implanted Word to grow, is again evident in chapter 5. Regarding Belshazzar’s riotous and blasphemous feast, the important question should be asked, Where was Daniel at that time? The equally important answer is that he was not to be found sitting "in the seat of the scornful" (Ps. 1:1), for he could not have been present at the feast as he had to be called in to interpret the writing on the wall (Dan. 5:12,13). Indeed, our neighbours and work associates may likewise call us in to explain the signs of the times—the writing which is on the wall for this generation.
The honest and good heart
Humility is of vital importance in our attitude to the Word of the living God. How wonderful it would be if Gabriel’s commendation of Daniel was to be spoken to us on the day of resurrection and judgement: "Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten [RV humble, cf. Isa. 66:2] thyself before thy God, thy words were heard" (10:12)! Such humility was evident in Daniel as a man of prayer: "And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: and I prayed unto the LORD [Yahweh] my God... and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God..." (9:3,4). Prayer is like a plough which keeps the soil in an appropriate tilth for receiving the seed of the Word and the rain from heaven (Isa. 32:20; 55:10).
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Consider Daniel 6:10: "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem...". By this we perceive the impact upon Daniel of the words of Isaiah 62:6,7: "I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD [Yahweh], keep not silence, and give Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth". Thus Daniel "kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime" (Dan. 6:10). In these words we see his humility and his persistency in prayer (cf. 1 Thess. 5:17). Such was the steadfastness of Daniel in the things of God that his enemies who sought to incriminate him knew that they would find him "praying and making supplication before his God" (Dan. 6:11).
Bearing fruit from studying the Word
King Darius testified in Daniel 6:16 to Daniel’s living out the principles of the burnt offering sacrifice: "Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God Whom thou servest continually, He will deliver thee". Paul is inspired to emphasise of Joseph, amongst other things, that he endured to the end: "By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing [RSV, exodus] of the children of Israel" (Heb. 11:22). What Joseph said was: "God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which He swear to Abraham..." (Gen. 50:24). Daniel would have known this scripture and its fulfilment, together with the words of Jeremiah to the exiles in Babylon: "For thus saith the LORD [Yahweh], That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform My good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place" (29:10).
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One can imagine that Jeremiah 25 and 29 in Daniel’s ‘Bible’ would have been well worn as he regularly meditated upon the hope of Israel. One can imagine how he would have counted the years as they passed during his long life, wondering if he would live to see Yahweh again visiting His people in a strange land. Now, perhaps approaching eighty years of age, having seen God judging the nations in accordance with the hope of Israel (Deut. 32:8), the day was at hand.
It is a key point of this article that, although "Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams" (1:17), it was necessary for him to study the Scriptures in order to be a faithful watchman: "In the first year of Darius... I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD [Yahweh] came to Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem" (9:1,2).
Further, Daniel’s subsequent wonderful prayer, "And I prayed unto the LORD [Yahweh] my God, and made my confession" (v. 4), reveals a profound comprehension of Leviticus 26:39-42: "And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands... If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers... if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: then will I remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land".
Yahweh’s immediate response to Daniel’s prayer is remarkable. Gabriel appears while he is still praying (cf. Isa. 65:24), and the inference is that Daniel was so exhausted by such intense prayer, and by a period of fasting, that it was necessary for Gabriel to once again touch him (Dan. 8:18; 10:10). Gabriel says, "thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter" (9:23), and there follows that glorious Seventy Weeks Prophecy.
The need to study
In Daniel we see the implanted Word, not choked with worldly cares or the thorns and thistles of riches and power, but held fast, with patience, over a long life, in a good and honest heart, with a poor and contrite spirit. We see a spiritual maturity of great exhortational value to us because of his understanding of the spirit of the Word. And God heard that man; and the proclamation of Cyrus (Ezra 1:1) altered the tide of events for God’s chosen people. If it was necessary for Daniel, a man who was so naturally gifted, and who was given the power of the Holy Spirit, to study the Word, how much more do we need to follow his example!