1In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God; and he carried them into the land of Shinar to the house of his god. He brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.
3The king spoke to Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring in some of the children of Israel, even of the royal offspring and of the nobles: 4youths in whom was no defect, but well-favored, skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding science, and who had the ability to stand in the king’s palace; and that he should teach them the learning and the language of the Chaldeans. 5The king appointed for them a daily portion of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and that they should be nourished three years, that at its end they should stand before the king.
6Now among these of the children of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7The prince of the eunuchs gave names to them: to Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
8But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. 9Now God made Daniel find kindness and compassion in the sight of the prince of the eunuchs. 10The prince of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink. For why should he see your faces worse looking than the youths who are of your own age? Then you would endanger my head with the king.”
11Then Daniel said to the steward whom the prince of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: 12“Test your servants, I beg you, ten days; and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13Then let our faces be examined before you, and the face of the youths who eat of the king’s delicacies; and as you see, deal with your servants.” 14So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days.
15At the end of ten days, their faces appeared fairer and they were fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate of the king’s delicacies. 16So the steward took away their delicacies and the wine that they were given to drink, and gave them vegetables.
17Now as for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
18At the end of the days which the king had appointed for bringing them in, the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19The king talked with them; and among them all was found no one like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore stood they before the king. 20In every matter of wisdom and understanding concerning which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters who were in all his realm.
21Daniel continued even to the first year of King Cyrus.
Daniel was a remarkable man who lived in a vortex of world conflict. He witnessed the fall of three great empires: Assyria, Egypt, and Babylon. He witnessed the rise of two superpowers: Babylon and Persia. He survived the destruction of his own nation, Judah, where he belonged to a noble or even a royal family. The Bible states that he was handsome and intelligent. Yet he suffered deeply and personally. His compassionate faith and uncompromising ethics were a beacon to his fellow exiles and a thorn to his rivals.
Captured by foreign enemies at about twelve years old, he survived brutal treatment and, over sixty-nine years, advised three great rulers: Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar of Babylon and Darius the Mede. He walked with kings but never lost the common touch. God loved him especially and gave him sweeping visions of generations yet unborn and understanding beyond the scope of ordinary men. His visions were so conceptually vast that they sometimes exhausted Daniel’s imagination and physical strength.
Daniel foretold the political events of the ancient Middle East across 542 years with pinpoint accuracy. His clairvoyance so astonishes that attributing it to human agency stretches credulity beyond the breaking point. Cold, logical analysis of Daniel’s prophecies points to an amazing conclusion: Daniel wrote through supernatural insight, or, simply put, God showed him the future.
The times in which Daniel lived and the events that unfolded in the years about which he prophesied are history worth knowing. They are a vivid drama of man’s failed attempts to rule the world and assume divine prerogatives. Repeatedly, God intervened, steering history on the path He plainly had foretold centuries before. Over the vast ambitions of men and empires He purposefully fashioned and founded the prophesied Messianic Kingdom not made by human hands.
The thesis of Daniel is consistent: God, not man, is sovereign over human events. All history points to a glorious apex: the advent of Messiah the Prince. Daniel’s prophecy pinpoints the Year of the Cross, in which Jesus was anointed, “cut off,” atoned for sin, ascended to the Father, and established His eternal kingdom.