Study
0 From the Book of Daniel is: The
Introduction of the Book of Daniel
The
book of Daniel is rich in spiritual instruction, and will reward prayerful
study. It shows first of all, how those who believe in God can take their place
in the society where they find themselves, ply their part in current affairs,
and yet remain true to God, thereby bringing glory to Him and blessing to me.
Such men and women are needed among the nations today.
The book of Daniel is also tonic to
faith. The overthrow and exile of the
Jews raised the question ‘Where is their God?
(Ps. 115:2). The book of Daniel
reveals God as sovereign over the nation, watchful over those who trust in Him,
and working all things according to the counsel of his will’. The earlier
chapters helped to bring home to the Jews the great truth of the sole Deity of
the Lord. This weaned them from idol-worship (cf. Ps. 115:3-11). The later
chapters of the book, with their exact prediction of the course of events, were
the means by which the faith of the remnant was sustained amid the troubles and
persecutions that they endured. This book should help also to sustain our own
faith in days of darkness.
The book of Daniel is also an
integral part of Scripture in its revelation of things to come. This assumes
that the book is a true record and prophecy belonging to the time of the
exile. There has been a strong trend in
recent times to dispute this, and to assign the composition of the book to a
period 400 years later, when many of its predictions had already become facts
of history. The older view is not without its difficulties, but the progress of
archaeology has already removed some of these, and in holding to the
authenticity of the book, we are in line with the New Testament, which bears
witness to its miracles and predictions (see, e.g., Heb. 11:33, 34; Mt. 24:15,
and quotes from or alludes to it frequently, especially in the synoptic Gospel
and the book of Revelation.
