The Book of Daniel

Daniel opens with covenant catastrophe: Jerusalem falls, the temple vessels are carried to Babylon, and young exiles are pressed into the service of the empire. The covenant name Yahweh scarcely appears in the book; God is 'the Lord' and 'the God of heaven,' and that restraint sharpens the book's question: has God abandoned His people to the kingdoms of the world? Every chapter answers no. Daniel and his friends stand faithful under pressure, and the God of heaven rules the furnace, the lions, and the succession of empires alike.

The visions widen the same truth: kingdoms rise and fall like beasts from the sea, but dominion is given to one like a Son of Man, and His kingdom will never be destroyed. These chapter-by-chapter commentaries trace faithfulness in exile and the God who removes kings and establishes kings.