Daniel and Joseph
Daniel the prophet was a young man when the Babylonians captured Jerusalem and exiled he and many others to Babylon. He is famous for the Lord explaining Nebuchadnezzar’s dream through him. Daniel was very careful to note that he was a mere man and the God of Creation revealed the dream and its meaning to him.
The Book of Daniel is unique in that it is the only book in the Old Testament that contains a chapter written by a Gentile, King Nebuchadnezzar. In fact, several chapters of the Book of Daniel are in a Gentile language, Aramaic, and represent prophetically the Times of the Gentiles. Jesus pointed to the Times of the Gentiles in Luke 21:24.
The prophecy of Daniel is so close to that of the Revelation that you might assume that it was written after the Revelation. Of course, we know that this book existed in at least 250 B.C. because it is included in the Septuagint translation that is known to have existed at that time. I point this out because there are those who would denigrate the prophecy of Daniel by saying his book was written after the events.
It is interesting that the Book of Daniel is so close to the prophecy given John in the Revelation because, as far as I know, Daniel and John are the only two men of the Bible who are called “beloved”. Daniel is called “greatly beloved” in Daniel 9:23, 10:11 and 10:19. What an honor! John is also known as the Disciple whom Jesus loved. See John 13:23, 21:7 and 21:20. For clarification of the identity of this Disciple see John 13:25 and 21:24.
The life of Joseph is known to foreshadow that of Jesus. Daniel also parallels the life of Joseph.
As a young man he was taken from his home.
Joseph was in Egypt for about three years when he interpreted the dream of Pharaoh. Daniel and his three friends were to be trained in Babylon for three years before they began their administrative duties.
Daniel was an interpreter of dreams, as was Joseph. When he interpreted the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, he was made ruler over the entire Province of Babylon, just as Joseph was made second in command over Egypt.
King Darius planned to set Daniel over his entire kingdom, again, as Pharaoh did Joseph. This time however, jealous men (like Joseph’s jealous brothers) falsely accused Daniel before the king and caused him to be placed in the Lion’s Den. The den was a pit like that in which Joseph was placed.
In chapter five, Belshazzar, the Prince Regent, promised Daniel a royal robe if he could interpret the writing on the wall. As you recall, Joseph received a special, richly ornamented robe from his father.
Daniel honored the Lord and the Lord greatly honored Daniel. There is a lesson here for each of us. Honor God. There is none other beside Him.