Customer Reviews

Daniel (Communicator's Commentary: Mastering the Old Testament) (Vol 19)

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The book I actually worked through was of the old Communicator's Commentary. Fortunately that series is no longer operative, but even more fortunate, Dr. Ferguson is.

As bad as Communicator's was, Dr. Ogilvie should be commended for trying to improve it. Now to the book itself. As the other reviewer already noted, those who approach Daniel from a prophetic viewpoint miss the forest for the trees. Ferguson does not crucify scholarship at the expense of application. He provides deep truths with poignant illustrations (many of them with gripping Scottish overtones). Underlying Dr, Ferguson's interpretation of Daniel is a rock-hard foundation of God's Sovereignty. While focusing primarily upon the prayer lives of the heroes, Ferguson does justice to the prophetic sections when they arrive. He provides convincing exposition from a Reformed eschatological background. He also argues convincingly for an early date of Daniel.

I recommend this commentary for pastor's and the curious layperson. In fact, this is one of the top non-technical commentaries on the book.

There are two ways one can approach the Book of Daniel. One can ignore the stories and focus on the prophecies in chapters 2 and 7-12, looking for explanations in history. This jigsaw puzzle approach to the Book of Daniel does not help one to live a better life. But, I must confess, that that was the approach I was looking for when I bought the book. I got so much more out of it as I studied Daniel's uncompromising life of prayer. Dr. Ferguson does not ignore history nor fail to indicate what events the prophecies refer to when this is clear, but much more important than that is the lesson that God is sovereign over history. He is in control. We can either, like Daniel, seek after God's in obedience or, like the kings of Babylon, go against His plan in a rebellion that is doomed to fail.

I'm not familiar with Ferguson, but this exposition of Daniel is a fitting addition to The Preacher's Commentary series. Daniel is one of the most difficult books to explain in the entire Bible, and Ferguson does a better job than most of making sense of it without sacrificing scholarship. Very useful for the Bible teacher or pastor seeking to make Daniel real for a congregation or classroom.