Daniel's Triumph

Reflections on the Unity of Daniel

In the last post, we looked at Daniel 1-3 in light of the sanctuary. Today, we complete our discussions of Daniel by looking at Daniel 4-5. Throughout the narrative arc of the book, we see the taking of Jewish exiles together with the taking of sacred vessels. At first, these are simply persons and objects detached from their appropriate context- meant to be resituated in a Babylonian setting. Yet the absolute supremacy of God entails that His people and His vessels are what recontextualizes everything else. Daniel ends his service to Babylon as the ruler of the city following the death of Belshazzar. The temple vessels are the principal object in the final feast celebrated in the city before its capture by Cyrus.