URC Daily Devotion 3 September 2024

Daniel 7: 1 – 14

In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head as he lay in bed. Then he wrote down the dream: I, Daniel, saw in my vision by night the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea,  and four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.  The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then, as I watched, its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a human being; and a human mind was given to it.  Another beast appeared, a second one, that looked like a bear. It was raised up on one side, had three tusks in its mouth among its teeth and was told, ‘Arise, devour many bodies!’  After this, as I watched, another appeared, like a leopard. The beast had four wings of a bird on its back and four heads; and dominion was given to it.  After this I saw in the visions by night a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth and was devouring, breaking in pieces, and stamping what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that preceded it, and it had ten horns.  I was considering the horns, when another horn appeared, a little one coming up among them; to make room for it, three of the earlier horns were plucked up by the roots. There were eyes like human eyes in this horn, and a mouth speaking arrogantly.

As I watched,
thrones were set in place,
    and an Ancient One took his throne;
his clothing was white as snow,
    and the hair of his head like pure wool;
his throne was fiery flames,
    and its wheels were burning fire.
A stream of fire issued
    and flowed out from his presence.
A thousand thousand served him,
    and ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending him.
The court sat in judgement,
    and the books were opened.

I watched then because of the noise of the arrogant words that the horn was speaking. And as I watched, the beast was put to death, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. As I watched in the night visions,

I saw one like a human being
    coming with the clouds of heaven.
And he came to the Ancient One
    and was presented before him.
To him was given dominion
    and glory and kingship,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
    should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
    that shall not pass away,
and his kingship is one
    that shall never be destroyed.

Reflection

We all dream, whether we can remember them or not.  Sometimes our dreams recur, particularly where we are confronting our deepest fears (Don’t worry, I’m not going to share my dream life with you!).  The second half of the book of Daniel is a collection of dreams and visions.  Reading them may leave us confused, perplexed and anxious.
 
The sea was always something to be feared by the Jewish people as it represented chaos.  Four beasts emerge from this chaos to terrorise the earth often thought to represent empires.  The final beast has horns, which are often interpreted as rulers of this empire.  They are characterised by power, terror and arrogance.
 
The second section of the passage is a complete contrast.  We are introduced to an Ancient One who will bring judgement on behalf of his people.  In the Old Testament, a judge was someone who would put things right – it was a much wider remit than just listening to a case and finding in favour of one side.  We learn that the last beast is totally destroyed while the other beasts or empires lose their power.
 
A study of history shows that empires come and go, regardless of the terror and chaos that they leave behind them.  Set against this is the permanence of the heavenly kingdom represented by the Ancient One (God) and the son of man (a foreshadowing of Jesus).  No matter how much chaos, confusion, violence and disruption the empires of the earth cause God is in control and will triumph in the end (even if it takes extra time and penalties).
 
Prayer
 
Dear God, 
eternal and all powerful, 
when the chaos of the sea 
brings up powerful empires who threaten the world, 
help us to remember that justice will eventually prevail 
and help us also to stand against tyranny 
and work for that justice and peace. Amen.