Deeper Reflection
In 539 BC, Darius the Mede, who was “likely a subordinate ruler of Cyrus of Persia”⁵ , killed Belshazzar and “was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans [Babylonians]” (v.1; Dan 5:30-31). And at this particular historical moment, Daniel turned to “the Scriptures” (v.2). “The Scriptures” “suggested the existence of an identifiable collection of authoritative religious writings, though this need not imply a precisely defined and closed ‘canon’”⁶ . And Daniel “understood from the Scriptures… the word of the LORD to Jeremiah” that Babylon’s fall to the Persians signaled “the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem”, and the end of the “seventy years” of exile to Babylon (v.2): “When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfil My good word to you” (Jer 29:10).Do we, like Daniel, naturally turn to the Scriptures in our life situations – good or bad situations? To naturally turn to the Scriptures is a spiritual habit to be cultivated and developed over time. Consciously asking the key question, “What does the Scripture say?” (Rom 4:3), is a mark of this spiritual habit. And we must be familiar with the Scriptures, such that we are able to connect Scripture to life situations and life situations to Scripture. This was exactly what Daniel was doing. Daniel “understood” the turn of the geopolitical events around him “from the Scriptures”. And he “understood” the situation through a specific “word of the LORD to Jeremiah” (Jer 25:11-12; 29:10). Here is a principle for application of Scripture: Apply specific Scriptures to life. This requires us to grasp the Scriptures sharply.

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² John 6:63 ³ Matthew 4:4 ⁴ Romans 4:3 ⁵ Tremper Longman III, Daniel, The NIV Application Commentary (Zondervan, 1999), 221; there have been much discussions among scholars over the identity of Darius the Mede ⁶ John E. Goldingay, Daniel, Word Biblical Commentary (Word Books, 1989), 240