Category: The Book of Daniel
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The Bad Guy and the Worse Guys
The king is an arrogant fool in Daniel 3, but the real bad guys in the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are the “Chaldeans,” a group of the king’s experts who specialized in astrology. When the population of Babylon fell down to worship the golden image (which Nebuchadnezzar the king set up), the Chaldeans…
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Sticks & Stones & Unburned Bones
“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all” is nowhere in the mind of the storyteller of Daniel 3. He fully intends to mock Nebuchadnezzar, and he does so through his use of repetition. But why is he picking on poor old King Nebuchadnezzar? Is he worth mocking just because he’s a…
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Let the Music Play
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego step onto a stage that is set for them in Daniel 3:1–7. It’s a stage replete with pomp and ceremony and, I suggest, a fair bit of mockery. The king has orchestrated a grand occasion. You can tell it’s grand because everyone who’s anyone is summoned to be there (v.2). And…
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Pete & Repeat…
I grew up a dog person, which might explain why I didn’t meet the book Millions of Cats until I took a children’s literature class in college. I don’t remember the plot (except that it involved lots of cats), but I can still recite half the book to you – every other page or so…
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Disney in Daniel?
Disney makes a big deal (and a lot of money) about making dreams come true. I’ve only been there once and I don’t recall having my dreams come true, but maybe that just means I should go more often. How many times does it take, I wonder? Speaking of making dreams come true, some people…
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1+1+1=4
My friends know math isn’t my strongest skill. I tell people, only half jesting, that if counting involves more than one hand, I’m out. (I do have two hands and ten fingers, but apparently my brain lacks the synapses required to make the mental leap from thumb to thumb.) So, I have a little bit…
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Bad News or Good News?
At long last, we have reached the end of Daniel 2. It’s an interminably long chapter – an impression I had when I had to slog through it verse by verse in Aramaic for a PhD class. Blogging through it has done nothing to change that impression! Here’s how things end. When Daniel is done…
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It’s All So Clear – except when it’s not
It may take me longer to get through this dream than it took the Israelites to live through the Exile. My apologies to those of you sitting on the edge of your seat waiting to sort out the interpretations of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue dream. Daniel gives a pretty straightforward interpretation of the dream, but he leaves…
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Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, Knees and Toes…
I’ve had lots of dreams this week. This is what happens when you’re sick for five days and spend inordinate amounts of time napping. But none of my dreams merits a blog posting. So, let’s get to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, finally. The dream, as recounted by Daniel, involved “a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in…
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I Told You So
In case you haven’t been buying my argument that Nebuchadnezzar’s dream isn’t the most important part of chapter two, let me present my next piece of evidence: 2:24–30. Once God reveals the mystery to Daniel and Daniel spends four verses praising Him (vv. 20–23), Daniel tells Arioch the Executioner to take him to the king…
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