Devotion Brought to You by Daniel

If you asked Daniel his name, and if you asked runner # 693 his name, both of them would express hesitation. Runner # 693 childhood friends knew him as Stephen Cherono. Today, thanks to an alleged one million Kenya shillings to switch citizenship and more thanks to efforts by Qatar to arabize and may be even Islamize him, he now goes by the Arabic name Saif (“sword”) Saaeed Shaheen.

Same thing with Daniel. He grew up as Daniel. The “el” at the end of Daniel just like the “el” at the end his buddy’s name Mishael or the “yah” at end of the names of his other two buddies, Hananiah and Azariah is an abbreviation of Elohim or Yahweh.

In Babylon (present-day Iraq), Daniel was rebaptized “Belshazzar.”  “Bel” is the name of one of the gods worshipped over here.

Tell me that this name change was not an attempt erase Daniel’s Jewishness and possibly convert him to the dominant religion over here

How long did Daniel live in Babylon?

A good 46 years. He witnessed one colonial power (Babylon) rise and fall and a new colonial power (Media-Persia) rise in its place. He watched a dynasty come and go. Granted the dynasty began before he arrived in Babylon. He watched it continued by King Nebucahdnezzar (605-562), then Nebuchadnezzar’s son Evil-Marduk (562-560), then the brother-in-law of Evil-Marduk by the name of Neriglissar (560-556), then the son of Neriglissar, Labasi-Marduk (556), and finally Belshazzar.

What was his educational background?

He was alumni of the equivalent of Moi university or Kenyatta university except that his alma mater is called Nebuchadnezzar university. He majored in both literature and linguistics. As a result of his linguistic training he was tri-lingual. He spoke Akkadian, Aramaic and Hebrew.

Any college experience?

We know that while in college, he and his three buddies entered a fat and handsome contest and won. (Dan 1:10-15).

One word that describes him?

Fore-teller. Much of the material that makes up the book of Daniel  can be classified as prophetic dreams or visions. Some of the prophecies were fulfilled right away (e.g., Dan 4:10-16; 5:25-28). Others were fulfilled later (e.g., Dan 11:2-4)

Employment history?

He started off as part of the President’s staff (Dan 1:19), and very quickly rose up the ranks first as head of intelligence (2:48) and finally speaker of the house (Dan 5:29: “third” from the presidency)

His  legacy?

Someone has suggested the acronym ACTS to remind us of the different aspects of prayer. Daniel’s  legacy is in modeling more than ACTS. He tried to model PFACTS. “P” stands for posture (Dan 6:10 “… go down on his knees); “F” stands for frequently (Dan 6:10 … three time a day to pray; “A” stands for Adoration (Praise (Dan 2:20-22); “C” stands for confession (Confession, Intercession (Dan 9:4-20); “T” stands for Thanksgiving (Dan 2:23); and “S” stands for supplication (Petition (Dan 2:18)

Secondly, He modeled what is expected of a believer in the work place: “spirit of excellence” (Dan 6:3); Incorruptible; Faithful, No evidence of dereliction (Dan 6:4)

Lastly, He is remembered as one who lived out my faith no matter what, not when it was convenient