Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 Commentary

Commentary:

How are we meant to read the text of Daniel 7? Is it a history book, a mystery novel, an algebra equation? Or is it poetry? Well, how would Daniel’s original audience have received the vision?

Context

Daniel wrote for Israelites in Babylonian exile, about 600 years before Christ’s birth. They knew the story of their people. They could look back and remember the covenant God gave to Abraham. They knew the stories of God renewing the covenant with the people. When Moses received the law, the promises of land became contingent on a promise. With obedience comes blessing. With disobedience will come disaster. The people could look back and see that it was their own disobedience that had gotten them into this mess of an exile.

But now … did God still love and care for them? It might seem as though their covenant-making God was very far removed now.  In God’s place were all the cruel tyrants of Babylon’s army the oppression of Babylon’s government and the reverberating emptiness of Babylon’s many gods.

Genre

Daniel also wrote during a time and in a place that was saturated with Near Eastern story-telling and mythology. Most of the best-sellers at Babylon’s Barnes & Noble would have been stories of one god besting another, rival god. Or myths to make sense of chaos and harmony, of peace and warfare. This is called “apocalyptic literature,” similar to the New Testament book of Revelation and some portions of the book of Daniel.

Here are three ways to identify apocalyptic literature:

• It is poetic, saturated with images and visions, with reference to cosmic battles of good and evil. One image is piled on top of another as though there is one central truth in the middle and the author is content to try to reach at it from one angle, and then from another and another so that the reader might be able to catch a glimpse, might be able to hold on to one image as an anchor in a chaotic time and place.
• It points to eternal, cosmic realities. It is a genre that attempts to pull back the curtain between heaven and earth, to reveal what is happening in heaven when people’s minds are filled to overflowing with the harsh realities of earth. It thus provides a lens through which to interpret earthly realities from a heavenly perspective.
• It comforts the afflicted. It is always intended to provide a sense of stability and identity to those in the midst of chaos. Wheras Biblical prophecies are intended to afflict the comfortable, apocalyptic literature is meant to comfort the afflicted.

So when Daniel’s audience heard the words, “Daniel had a dream and a vision passed through his mind…” They settled back in their seats knowing exactly what to expect: a word in poetic form, eternal in scope and comforting in intent.

The Images

But Daniel 7 hardly seems that comforting, with its imagery of strange creatures arising out the sea. In Near Eastern literature, the sea was a place of chaos and unpredictability. Arising out of the sea are four strange creatures, made up of bits and parts from various different animals, a sight, which for the Israelites who were very particular in the separation of animals due to kosher laws, send shudders down their spine.  How is this comforting?

Indeed, many commentators have been intrigued by that very question — what are these creatures? Writing from the heart of Babylon’s empire, from a prominent position in King Darius’ favor, Daniel couldn’t just name names. But, writing for the oppressed and relying on their shared history, the people would have known: he’s talking about Babylon!

• Hearing about a lion with wings that are clipped, keeping him powerful but only on the earth, they might have mused, “Hey, that’s kind of how it feels to be oppressed by the earthly reality of Babylon’s power over us…”
• Hearing about a ravenous bear, always on the hunt for wealth, power, fame and influence: “that’s exactly what it feels like to be oppressed by Babylon’s insatiable appetite for control.”
• Hearing about a leopard who is fast to catch his prey. “We were brought into captivity before we knew it. But with FOUR HEADS?!  Aha! What a brilliant commentary on the infighting of powerful empires!”
• Finally, the worst of the four beasts, with a horn that spoke constant boasts. “All we ever hear is discouragement, belittling taunts and the prejudice of Babylonian propaganda!”

With the layering of images, Daniel is able to let the Israelites know he has seen and understands their plight. And for the oppressed, it is far better to be seen than ignored. What a relief it must have been to know that their suffering was not being ignored, that their struggle was not invisible. Daniel had seen them.  In a vision no less, a vision given by God, which means that God has not forgotten us!

Eschatological Hope

Once it is determined that God has not forgotten God’s people, Daniel turns the people’s sight toward the throne on which “the Ancient of Days took his seat,” where “thousands upon thousands attended him, ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him, the court was seated and the books were opened.”

While the Israelites in captivity felt abandoned to the beasts of Babylon’s tyranny, Daniel slowly drew aside the curtain revealing the scene in heaven: God is seated on the throne. The Ancient of Days — faithful and unwavering — is in control, even when (especially when) it seems evil beast are on the loose.

God’s Word to Daniel, to God’s people in exile and to us today is a word poetic in form, eternal in scope and comforting in intent. When the curtain is pulled aside and God’s eternal purpose is seen, we realize that there is more than the chaos in the world around us.

Illustration/Worship Tie-In:

This apocalyptic letter — evoking images to undermine the oppressor and comfort the afflicted — reminds me of the oral history of songs and sermons within the churches of enslaved people in the American South. In that context, remembering the stories of Moses and the Israelites wasn’t only important because it was Biblical history. Those images and ideals spoke a word of truth about the congregation’s present condition. The story of the Israelite’s freedom, passing through the Red Sea, was also intended as a word of hope, balm for the wounded, comfort for the afflicted. A reminder that their struggle wasn’t invisible and that God knows — and cares for — the plight of those in exile.

This would be a good Sunday to review the songs in your church’s repertoire that come from the Black church tradition, to sing and reflect on the apocalyptic revelation of songs like “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” “His Eye Is On the Sparrow,” and “Soon and Very Soon.” The last one is especially meaningful as a song that captures the themes of Christ the King Sunday as well.