The Silver Chest: Daniel’s Statue Part Two: The Hungry Bear

A Chest of Silver: The Kingdom of Medo-Persia

We are considering the statue in Daniel chapter two. (See this post.) The head was gold, and the arms and chest were made of silver. King Nebuchadnezzar saw the statue in a dream. But it was left to the prophet Daniel to interpret the dream’s meaning.

Later, the Lord gave Daniel a vision of four beasts which compare to the four kingdoms seen in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The dream and vision have great importance in relation to the return of Christ. Both the statue and the vision of the beasts lead directly to Christ setting up His kingdom on earth.

 

Historical Background of the silver kingdom

• The Medo-Persian Kingdom, led by Darius the Mede conquered Babylon in B.C. 539.
• So, after they defeated the reigning power in the region of Mesopotamia, they quickly pushed north and west, taking full control of the defeated Babylonian Kingdom. This took little more than a year after they took the city of Babylon.
• King Cyrus and successive Medo-Persian rulers controlled their subjects by using less constraint than that of Babylon. They allowed the various cultures and religions greater freedoms over their choices of worship and gods.
• And of course, King Cyrus issued his famous decree. Thus establishing his fame in Jewish history. He ordered an allotment of money and resources for the restoration of Jerusalem and its religious practices. So, many of the Jews returned to Jerusalem and began the process of rebuilding their city and the temple.

  • See Ezra 1:2

  • “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
  • Ezra 6:8
  • Moreover, I make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God. The cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province from Beyond the River.
• Cyrus ordered the return of the Temple. They were stolen during the Babylonian conquest.
  • Ezra 1:7-11
  • All the vessels of gold and silver were 5,400. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.
• King Artaxerxes of Persia sent Ezra to Judah for religious reform and spiritual guidance.
  • Ezra 7:1-6
  • Now after this, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah,
• And then finally, Nehemiah, another famous Jewish leader, went to govern Judah. With his guidance, the Jewish people finally rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem.

 

The King’s dream: Chest and Arms of the Statue–Daniel Two

• In the king’s dream, the chest and arms of the statue were made of silver.
• The silver arms and chest of the statue represented the kingdom of Medo-Persia, the second power to rise after Babylon.
• Silver has less value than gold. Daniel interpreted this to mean this kingdom was a lesser power than the one it conquered.
  • But they eventually ruled over a greater stretch of land and countries. So we need to understand that Daniel referred to the type of power Nebuchadnezzar held. His was complete and united in one head — the kingship.
• The succession of power led to weaker leaders but a wider reach in terms of countries and people over which they ruled.

 

 

Daniel’s Vision of the Beasts in Daniel seven

• In Daniel’s vision, the second beast he saw looked like a bear.
• It was raised up on one side. This kingdom was ruled jointly by the Medes and Persians, Persia being the dominant power of the two. The phrase “raised up,” points to one, Persia, having dominance over the other.
• Daniel saw three ribs in the mouth of the bear. This points to the dominance of the kingdom. It conquered three once-great kingdoms — Babylon, Egypt, and Lydia.
• The bear was commanded to devour much flesh. The Bear did exactly that. Persia’s military expansion swallowed up the area once controlled by the three prior kingdoms.

 

Next, we will consider an even greater kingdom.

 

The ClayWriter

Learn what the early Church fathers believed about the Antichrist