The Book of Daniel by Editor

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 18, 1908

The Book of Daniel

By Editor

True and False Education

THE EDITOR

Now 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. And at the end of the days which the king had appointed for bringing them in, the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. And in 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 that were in all his realm. And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus. Dan. 1: 17-21.

The Testimony of Josephus

The experience of Daniel and his companions in refusing to partake of the dainties and the wine from the king’s table, and the result of their temperate manner of life in their marked attainments in knowledge, are mentioned by Josephus, the well-known Jewish historian. The following extract deals with this subject:—

“Now Daniel and his kinsmen had resolved to use a severe diet, and to abstain from those kinds of food which came from the king’s table; and entirely to forbear to eat of all living creatures. So he came to Ashpenaz, who was that eunuch to whom the care of them was committed, and desired him to take and spend what was brought for them from the king, ‘but to give them pulse and dates for their food, and anything else, besides the flesh of living creatures, that he pleased; for that their inclinations were to that sort of food, and that they disliked the other. He replied, that he was ready to serve them in what they desired; but he suspected that they would be discovered by the king, from their meager bodies, and the alteration of their countenances; because it could not be avoided, but their bodies and complexions must be changed with their diet; especially while they would be clearly discovered by the finer appearance of the other children, who would fare better; and thus they should bring him into danger. However, they persuaded Arioch to give them what they desired for ten days, by the way of trial; and, in case their habits of bodies were not altered, to go on in the same way; as expecting that they should not be hurt thereby afterward; but that if he saw them look worse than the rest, he should reduce them to their former diet.

“Now it appeared that they were so far from becoming worse, by the use of this food, that they grew plumper, and fuller in body than the rest; insomuch that he thought those who fed upon what came from the king’s table seemed less plump and full; while those that were with Daniel looked as if they had lived in plenty, and in all sorts of luxury. Arioch, therefore, from that time, securely took himself what the king sent every day from his supper, according to custom, to the children; but gave them the afore-mentioned diet; while they had their souls in some measure more pure, and less burdened, and so fitter for learning; and had their bodies better adapted for labor. For they neither had the former oppressed and heavy with variety of meats; nor were the other effeminate on the same account. So they readily understood all the learning that was among the Hebrews, and among the Chaldeans. As especially did Daniel, who, being already sufficiently skilled in wisdom, was very busy about the interpretation of dreams. And God manifested himself to him.”—“Antiquities of the Jews,” book 10, chapter 10, par. 2.

The Divine Purpose

It is the purpose of God that humanity shall co-operate with divinity in carrying out the divine will. The experience of Daniel and his companions is a good example of the application of this principle. They refused the food which clogs the system and beclouds the mind, and chose that simple diet which would supply the needed nourishment in a form best adapted to student life, leaving the mind in the best possible condition for acquiring knowledge. When they had thus recognized their obligation to follow the light which God had given concerning the building up of the body, and the proper treatment of it as designed to be the temple of God, then special gifts were imparted to them, and “God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom.”

Faith and Study

There is an important lesson to be learned in this connection. Submission to the will and way of the Lord is not a substitute for the faithful application of all the mental powers in acquiring knowledge. A proper diet is a good preparation for study but does not take the place of study. That faith in God which is revealed in obedience to all the divine requirements is the key of knowledge, and with it the treasure-house may be unlocked, but the mere possession of the key does not put one in possession of the knowledge. The treasure-house must be unlocked, and its contents appropriated, or a person of great faith may still remain in ignorance. Every faculty of the mind must be brought into action, all the powers must be marshaled for the best effort, and all the dormant energies must be aroused.

Facts and Wisdom

Furthermore a distinction should be made between the acquisition of facts together with the deductions drawn therefrom by human reasoning and the possession of wisdom and understanding. An encyclopedia is not a man, and there is “knowledge which is falsely so called.” There are some who have devoted themselves assiduously to study without placing themselves under divine control, and who are led on to conclusions which deny the true God and the gospel of his grace, and which exalt man above God. Looking at the question from God’s standpoint we must conclude that, however great the literary distinction attained in the eyes of the world, they have not acquired wisdom and understanding. “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He that taketh the wise in their craftiness: and again, The Lord knoweth the reasonings of the wise, that they are vain. Wherefore let no one glory in men.” “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.”

The Value of Wisdom

The wise man glories in the value of true wisdom in these words:— “Happy is the man that findeth wisdom. And the man that getteth understanding. For the gaining of it is better than the gaining of silver, And the profit thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies: And none of the things thou canst desire are to be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: And happy is every one that retaineth her. Jehovah by wisdom founded the earth; By understanding he established the heavens. By his knowledge the depths were broken up, And the skies drop down the dew. My son, let them not depart from thine eyes; Keep sound wisdom and discretion: So shall they be life unto thy soul, And grace to thy neck.”

Moreover, true wisdom in its highest sense is a personality, and can not be attained apart from the gift of the Son of God, Christ Jesus, “who was made unto us wisdom from God.” Sin is folly. The rejection of the unspeakable gift of God is the rejection of the highest good. Man was originally created in the image of God, with capacities which ally him with the source of wisdom, and the purpose of true education is to restore the image of God in the soul and to bring us again into unbroken fellowship with God. Jesus is the way to God, and apart from him likeness to God is impossible. The highest development of the human faculties, the thinking of the thoughts of God after him, is to be attained only in him who is the truth.

True Wisdom Recognized

Such was the wisdom which was sought after and obtained by the Hebrew youth in Babylon. It was the purpose of Nebuchadnezzar that they should be instructed in “the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans,” and his plan was carried out, but above and beyond this technical knowledge, necessary under the circumstances, was that wisdom and understanding which was bestowed upon them as the result of their loyalty in the service of God. That their attainments were of a practical kind, and such as were recognized by men of the world, is shown by the fact that in what we would call a competitive examination they carried off all the honors and were assigned to service in the king’s palace. The sequel justified the selection thus made, for not merely on their first appearance before the king did they display a superior wisdom, but “in every matter of wisdom and understanding,” in the administration of the affairs of the realm they were head and shoulders above the professional wise men of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar himself being the judge.

In the compromise which was made with heathenism in Jerusalem, and in the surrender made to the world, there was an apparent triumph of the religion of Babylon. The temple and its services,—the pride of every Hebrew heart—whose boasted sanctity had been made to serve as a cloak for many an evil deed, had not been the hoped-for charm to repel the invader, and to bring victory to the Jewish forces. Alienated from God, deprived of that heavenly wisdom which is the heritage of God’s people, having no help but the arm of flesh, the inhabitants of the city of David became an easy prey to their foes, and the trophies of victory were taken to Babylon and deposited in the treasure-house of the god of Babylon, constant reminders of the failure of Jerusalem’s God to preserve his sovereignty above the gods of the nations. But the failure was the people’s not God’s. And now through Daniel and his companions the all-conquering might of the invisible King is to be displayed, and Babylon is to be captured by the captives who were trained at Nebuchadnezzar’s command, and the true temple service is to be maintained without visible priest or altar.

Two Systems of Education

In the providence of God the two systems of education were brought into competition in Babylon. The divine method is to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness through loyal submission to the divine government, and to receive wisdom as the gift of God, with every power of the being put to the stretch to reveal this fellowship with God in Christ as the attainment of the highest human ambition. The worldly method is to exalt human authority, and to dwarf the soul by confining it to paths already trodden, and to the traditional attainments of a merely human wisdom, repeating in dead formulas the best guesses of a dead past. The wise men of Babylon are the representatives of this worldly system; the superiority of the divine system in which is imparted that wisdom which is true religion, is revealed in Daniel and his companions. Thus will be reversed the verdict rendered in the downfall of Jerusalem, and the conflict between the true and the false, transferred to Babylon, will there be renewed with victory on the side of the principles which had been discarded in Jerusalem. Having God with them, the four Hebrew youths are a conquering host before whom superstition trembles and ancient errors are unable to stand.

Conclusion

The key to the correct understanding of the philosophy of the book of Daniel is found in this first chapter which we have been considering. Both in the historical and the prophetic portions of this book the real theme is the gospel of that kingdom which will stand forever, and that loyalty to principle and that devotion to service which are revealed by Daniel and his companions in their first experiences in Babylon, and which secured for them the right to stand before the king, are the concrete proclamation of those conditions of citizenship which ensure the privileges of the everlasting kingdom. And the steadfastness of character manifested in these experiences is the demonstration of fitness to gain the victory in those supreme tests which proved to all the world the superiority of the true God and his religion over the false gods and the heathen philosophy of Babylon.

The significance of the simple statement that “Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus” becomes more clear when we recall that in that very year the proclamation was made for the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem. During all the seventy years of the captivity, while the temple was in ruins, Daniel in Babylon was the living representation of the true meaning of the temple and its services, himself the temple of the living God in which the true service was preserved, a type of those who will survive the final overthrow of antitypical Babylon, and who will continue forever.