Above:  Daniel’s Answer to the King, by Briton Riviere

Image in the Public Domain

Divine Sovereignty

OCTOBER 25, 2023

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The Collect:

Sovereign God, raise your throne in our hearts.

Created by you, let us live in your image;

created for you, let us act for your glory;

redeemed by you, let us give you what is yours,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 50

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The Assigned Readings:

Daniel 6:1-28

Psalm 98

Matthew 17:22-27

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In 539 B.C.E. King Cyrus II (reigned 559-530 B.C.E.) of the Persians and the Medes conquered the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire.  Yet the author of Daniel 6 wrote of one “Darius the Mede,” whom he listed as a king who reigned between the fall of Babylon and the time of Cyrus II.  As I wrote in the previous post, the chronology of the Book of Daniel makes no sense.  Evangelical-oriented resources in my Biblical studies library struggle to explain this historical discrepancy.  One even suggests that “Darius the Mede” might have been the regnal name of Cyrus II in the former Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire, but Daniel 6 lists “Darius the Mede” and Cyrus II as separate people.  Yet I, unlike the author of those works, do not labor under the false notion of Biblical inerrancy or infallibility.  So “Darius the Mede,” most likely (at least partially) a backward projection of Darius I (reigned 522-486 B.C.E.), a successor of Cyrus II, never existed as the Book of Daniel presents him.  The application of Ockham’s Razor to this issue leads one to avoid needless intellectual gymnastics based on a false assumption.

Here is a summary of the story:  Daniel, who had worked for the Chaldeans, went to work for the Persians, the text tells us.  (He must have been really old!)  Daniel was loyal, but court intrigue led to a charge of treason, hence the lion’s den.  Our hero survived unscathed (as had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in Chapter 3), of course.  And, as in Chapter 3, the monarch changed his mind and recognized the power of Yahweh.

The main point of this story, I suppose, is to trust God, who is sovereign over nations, kingdoms, empires, and rulers.  That, at least, is the point of the tale of Daniel in the lions’ den shares with the pericope from Matthew 17.  There God provided the money for a tax payable to the Roman Empire.  The display of divine power in both stories was the unmistakable.

To trust God in mundane circumstances can prove difficult.  To do so in dire and extreme circumstances might seem impossible or nearly so.  Yet the latter context is when grace becomes more obvious.  Grace is always present, of course, but it is like a lamp in a room; the light is more obvious in the darkness.  That has been my experience.  Deliverance did not arrive immediately, but at least I had excellent company while I waited.  And that company, present before darkness fell, remained with me.  And I have been more conscious of it since then.  Trusting God has become much easier for me.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 1, 2014 COMMON ERA

LABOR DAY (U.S.A.)

THE FEAST OF SAINT FIACRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC HERMIT

THE FEAST OF ARTHUR MACARTHUR, COFOUNDER OF THE UNITED REFORMED CHURCH

THE FEAST OF DAVID PENDLETON OAKERHATER, EPISCOPAL DEACON

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2014/09/05/divine-sovereignty/

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Above:  Ruins of Babylon, 1932

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-matpc-16078

Violence and Exploitation

OCTOBER 23 and 24, 2023

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The Collect:

Sovereign God, raise your throne in our hearts.

Created by you, let us live in your image;

created for you, let us act for your glory;

redeemed by you, let us give you what is yours,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 50

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The Assigned Readings:

Daniel 3:1-18 (Monday)

Daniel 3:19-30 (Tuesday)

Psalm 98 (Both Days)

Revelation 18:1-10, 19-20 (Monday)

Revelation 18:21-24 (Tuesday)

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In righteousness shall he [the LORD] judge the world

and the peoples with equity.

–Psalm 98:10, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)

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I have the read the Book of Daniel (in its Jewish/Protestant and Roman Catholic/Eastern Orthodox versions) closely.  Neither version has a chronology which makes any sense.  Thus, I conclude, we are reading theologically important folk tales, not anything resembling history.

The character of Nebuchadnezzar II (reigned 605-562 B.C.E.) was not only violent but willing to reverse previous decisions, as the Book of Daniel presents him.  This combination placed others in dangerous positions, for what was mandatory one day might contribute a capital offense the next.  In Daniel 3, for example, the monarch made committing idolatry mandatory upon pain of death.  Then he found three Jewish men–Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego–who disobeyed him.  Nebuchadnezzar II tried to execute them in the furnace, but they survived without even a singe mark.  Next the monarch promised violence against anyone who blasphemed Yahweh.

We know from history that, after the time of Nebuchadnezzar II, the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire fell to the forces of the Persian Empire in 539 B.C.E.  “Babylon” became the code word for the Revelation to John, which owed much to the Book of Daniel.  In Revelation 18 “Babylon” has fallen and those merchants, monarchs, and other people who had benefited from her oppressive and violent system mourn her demise.  There is much rejoicing in Heaven, however.

“Babylon” functions as an effective, damning metaphor in our day.  We of today live within systems of politics and economics which depend on violence and exploitation, do we not?  Some of us are even invested in one of these systems, whether or not we know it.  If it were to end tomorrow, such people would mourn its passing.  And that fact would stand in condemnation of such people.

I think of this text then ponder the ways in which even my simple lifestyle depends upon deplorable labor conditions and immorally low wages everywhere from down the street to far away.  Who made my garments, shoes, and radios, for example?  And under what conditions?  I apply the same questions to the pens I used to write the first draft of this post and the notebook in which I wrote it.  I could continue in this line of thought, but I have made my point plainly.  Would I mourn the fall of “Babylon”?  (I hope so.)  Would you, O reader?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 1, 2014 COMMON ERA

LABOR DAY (U.S.A.)

THE FEAST OF SAINT FIACRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC HERMIT

THE FEAST OF ARTHUR MACARTHUR, COFOUNDER OF THE UNITED REFORMED CHURCH

THE FEAST OF DAVID PENDLETON OAKERHATER, EPISCOPAL DEACON

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Violence and Exploitation

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Above:  The New Jerusalem

Image in the Public Domain

Daniel and Revelation, Part III:  The Proper Center

NOVEMBER 24-26, 2023

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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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The Assigned Readings:

Daniel 4:1-37/3:31-4:34 (November 24)

Protestant versification varies from the Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox pattern in places.

Daniel 5:1-30 (November 25)

Daniel 6:1-28/5:31-6:29 (November 26)

Protestant versification varies from the Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox pattern in places.

Psalm 110 (Morning–November 24)

Psalm 62 (Morning–November 25)

Psalm 13 (Morning–November 26)

Psalms 66 and 23 (Evening–November 24)

Psalms 73 and 8 (Evening–November 25)

Psalms 36 and 5 (Evening–November 26)

Revelation 21:1-8 (November 24)

Revelation 21:9-22 (November 25)

Revelation 22:1-21 (November 26)

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The king at your right hand, O Lord,

shall smite down kings in the day of his wrath.

In all his majesty, he shall judge among the nations,

smiting heads over all the wide earth.

He shall drink from the brook beside the way;

therefore shall he lift high his head.

–Psalm 110:5-7, The Book of Common Prayer (2004)

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The fictional stories in Daniel 4-6 are morality tales about kings who opposed God, sometimes out of hubris.  Two of the three med bad ends; the other changed his ways.  Hubris, of course, is that which goes before the fall.  It constitutes making oneself one’s own idol.

Glory, of course, belongs to God.  Thus, in Revelation 21-22, God and the Lamb (Jesus) are the Temple and the origin of light.  This is beautiful and metaphorical imagery which should influence how we who call ourselves Christians order our priorities.  God–specifically Christ–should occupy the focal point of our attentions and affections.

We are, as a psalmist said, like grass–grass which bears the Image of God and is slightly lower than the angels–but grass nevertheless.  So may we think neither too highly nor too lowly of ourselves and each other.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 5, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF ROBERT FRANCIS KENNEDY, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL AND SENATOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT BONIFACE OF MAINZ, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/06/06/daniel-and-revelation-part-iii-the-proper-center/

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Above:  The Last Judgment, by Michelangelo

Image in the Public Domain

Daniel and Revelation, Part II:  Settling Scores

NOVEMBER 23, 2023

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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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The Assigned Readings:

Daniel 3:1-30

Psalm 122 (Morning)

Psalms 141 and 90 (Evening)

Revelation 20:1-15

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The imagery of fire unites the readings from Daniel and Revelation.  King Nebuchadnezzar (Nebuchadrezzar) II orders Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego–all righteous, observant Jews–thrown into the fire.  But they emerge unscathed.  Yet, at the Last Judgment, in Revelation, the unrighteous face an unpleasant fate, one described metaphorically as

the burning lake.

–verse 15, The New Jerusalem Bible

These are stories about settling scores.

Certain Chaldeans came forward to slander the Jews.

–Daniel 3:8, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures

But God is the one settling scores in Revelation 20 as part of the process of destroying the old, unjust world order before establishing the new, just world order.

Which side of God–good or bad–are you on, O reader?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 5, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF ROBERT FRANCIS KENNEDY, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL AND SENATOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT BONIFACE OF MAINZ, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/06/06/daniel-and-revelation-part-ii-settling-scores/

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