The Gift of Daniel

It’s finally fall, and that means gift giving season is just around the corner. As a follow up to the Lessons from Babylon series, I want to recommend two books that would make good gifts, especially to the young people in our lives who are going to have to make their way in these cultural waters. Or you can gift it to yourself.

There are lots of good commentaries on the book of Daniel, but in my reading I came across two short books that were more focused on living in this modern world that’s looking more and more like Daniel’s. I consciously tried not to imitate these books, so even if you read my series, you should still benefit from reading one or both.

The first is The Daniel Code: Living Out Truth in a Culture That Is Losing Its Way by OS Hawkins. Hawkins grew up in the US in the ‘50s and ‘60s, so he has had a front row view of the changes our culture has undergone. He says that our options today are to compromise with this culture, condone it, condemn it, or confront it. (Yes, in full Baptist preacher style, there is a lot of alliteration, but it isn’t overused.) This book is all about how to confront this age.

My one complaint about the book is that he makes a lot out of his interpretation of the nations represented by the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Daniel 2). In his view, the “toes” are the ten kings of Revelation which, in his view, will be thrown down when Christ returns. He’s hardly alone in that interpretation, but Daniel speaks to our day whether that dream is about events of our future or not. The other works I read did not place much emphasis on the identity of the kingdoms of the dream and still had plenty to say about that chapter. That said, his application really did not hinge on his particular interpretation of the dream. You can benefit from this work without agreeing with his view on either the statue or Revelation.

On the gift-giving front, it comes in a very nice imitation leather volume with a decorative cover. And like all of Hawkins’ “Code” books, the proceeds from this book go to support the excellent work of Mission:Dignity, a ministry supporting poor retired pastors and their widows.

The second book I want to recommend is Brave by Faith: God-Sized Confidence in a Post-Christian World by Alistair Begg. He says, “This book will not tell you to be like Daniel. Instead, it will call you to believe in Daniel’s God.” God is the “hero” of the book of Daniel, and we need to “rediscover our confidence in the God who reveals himself there.” So he shows us how the first seven chapters of Daniel are all about how big God is.

I was ready to start writing my series when I stumbled across the book and said, “OK, one more.” And this book ruined my plans. Basically, this book said everything I was wanting to say, so I had to reconsider how to approach the material without copying Begg. I hope I was successful.

For those who don't read a lot, you may also consider the Audible version which is read by Allistair in his delightful Scottish brogue.

Of the two, Brave by Faith is my favorite, but both are very good. For gift purposes, it’s worth mentioning that Begg’s book is about half the length of Hawkins’, but The Daniel Code is only 224 pages — hardly a monster. Both are very readable and have a lot of wisdom to impart on how to live in this crazy world we find ourselves in. Either would make a great addition to your library or a fine gift, whether for Christmas or graduation.

The world’s a changin’. Help the people in your life navigate in these choppy cultural waters with one of these volumes.


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