Even before the Exodus, throughout the history of Old Testament Israel, the nation seemed never far from lapsing into idolatry. Once inside the Promised Land, the very similarities between worship of Baal and Ashtarte and that of Jehovah made it all too easy. It was never a case in their minds of rejecting Jehovah, but simply adding the others. The claim of God to being the only god was too foreign a concept for that people in that time. It simply did not register, and once they slipped a bit across that line to adding a familiar worship practice of another god, it was not many steps to accepting other gods.
By the time Manasseh takes the throne of Judah in 696 BC, the deportation of the Northern Kingdom was still a fresh memory. Sadly, the cautionary tale was missed, for Manasseh was the most idolatrous of Southern Kings (1 Chronicles 33). He was also the longest lived, holding power for 55 years. By the time he came to his senses near the end of life, it was too late to undo much of the damage. An entire generation had sunk deeply into polytheism, to the point of shutting down the Temple worship and never reading the Torah. Indeed, no one knew where to find a copy of it, because when the righteous boy-king Josiah came to power, and the Book of the Law was found hidden in the Temple during renovations (622 BC), it's commands shocked those who read it for the first time.
Josiah's Reforms brought a sweeping revival of faith. While we can be sure not everyone was thrilled with the shifting balance of power which must have followed such a revival, we can be sure the entire royal household, by then a huge clan, as well as the upper nobility, at least superficially adopted the reforms. Many within the elite were true believers.
Daniel was among these. While we are not told his precise lineage, we know he was most likely of the royal household because of what we know about ancient Babylonian Imperial policies, within the context of customs throughout that part of the world. Shortly after Josiah's death, his successor faced the steamroller conquest of Babylon. Jeremiah had prophesied Babylon would succeed, and counseled capitulation in the punishing hand of God -- punishment in part due to the sins of Manasseh. This conquest came in 605 BC. Typical of that day and time, regarding royalty as a class apart and above the rabble, Babylon's imperial policy was to draft young men from the royal clans and finish their education in Babylonian academies to fit them for court service, just as lesser men were drafted to serve in the army.
Serving in the Imperial Babylonian Court his entire adult life, Daniel outlived the empire itself. The ruling dynasty, upon reaching the third generation, was promptly conquered by the Medo-Persian Empire. Typically, Daniel was accepted into the service of the new rulers. In those times, conquest was more about gaining control and tribute, not destroying and killing. The previous imperial house may have all been executed or enslaved, but everyone else willing to serve was left pretty much in place. Why waste all that training and experience? It was from this new position in the Medo-Persian Imperial Court Daniel published this book of his experiences and prophecies.
While it was promised the surviving Nation of Israel would be allowed to return to their homes, few went. This was a direct reflection of their failure to learn from the Exile what God intended. Surely, they never again fell into the trap of idolatry, but little else changed. Already the overwhelming emphasis on external ritual observance had begun to extinguish the spiritual fire in the hearts and minds of the people. Obeying the Law was a matter of sentiment, culture, habit, fear -- but never again a matter of true conviction from within, barring a few individual examples we are given. The warning of Asaph (Psalm 78) indicates it was clear long beforehand: Real obedience to God from the heart was the purpose of the Law, but was simply not possible with Israel under the Covenant of Moses. Thus, Asaph promised God would from thenceforth winnow out the fakes from the faithful by using parables. Those whose hearts belonged to God would see the higher truths within parabolic language; the rest would hardly benefit from a direct and plain explanation. Only a handful of prophets after that time spoke in plain terms.
Thus, we find Daniel's prophecies buried in symbolic terms. This aspect of Semitic culture was long established. While a great deal of this lore has been lost to us, enough can be found to make Daniel's book serve its purpose. Further, we to a large extent understand what is must have meant to the immediate target audience. The Post-Exile Nation of Israel was merely an incubator for the Messiah. That they rejected Him when eventually He appeared was merely a symptom of the same disease which put Daniel in Babylon. The nation whose existence was supposed to have been a reflection of God's glorious revelation had rarely come close, and failed utterly to spread His message to other nations (see Jonah; Isaiah 59:14-17 for examples). Indeed, they had rejected that task so completely, they would reject the message itself in the person of Christ. This hideous truth must have torn at Daniel's soul.
Ancient Warfare: To help explain some contextual details in the narrative, I offer this quick overview of how military affairs were viewed in the Ancient Near East.
Chapter 1: We are introduced to Daniel and his friends, and told a bit of the circumstances of his life.
Chapter 2: Nebuchadnezzar had a frightening dream, and Daniel knew what it meant.
Chapter 3: On the day Nebuchadnezzar dedicated a new image of his favorite god, he gets a lesson he never forgets from Daniel's friends.
Chapter 4: At the end of his long reign, Nebuchadnezzar suffers madness, and learns to serve Jehovah.
Chapter 5: Belshazzar shows he has little of the greatness of his predecessors, and is foolish enough to blaspheme the God of Israel.
Chapter 6: The conquest by the Medo-Persian Empire sees Daniel again serving God by serving the royal court. It also hints at the very real danger to Israel hidden in Persia's Zoroastrian religion.
Chapter 7: Daniel is granted a vision in his dreams to further explain Nebuchadnezzar's dream in chapter 2.
Chapter 8: A second vision a couple of years after the previous shows Daniel how Satan will use the Persians and Greeks to destroy the Hebrew culture, making observance of the Law impossible.
Chapter 9: In reponse to Daniel's prayer Jehovah keep His promise regarding the 70 years of Exile, Gabriel warns Daniel it will happen, but won't mean what he hopes it does.
Chapters 10-11: We catch a glimpse of events in the Spirit Realm as Gabriel explains to Daniel how it is his nation will betray God and warrant utter destruction.
Chapter 12 The end of Israel, the destruction of the Temple and the rituals, will come during a time of great tribulation. Some of Israel would embrace the Messiah, and the Kingdom of Heaven, but most would not. Daniel is promised a place with the redeemed in eternity.
Ed Hurst
13 December 2007
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