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what might 'removing kings and setting up kings' mean for modern political systems and leadership?

Adds the setting and its conversation across both testaments.

Daniel 2:21

“He changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings, and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding.”

This verse is part of Daniel's prayer of praise to God after he has been given the interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar's troubling dream. Daniel, an Israelite exile in Babylon, is acknowledging that only God possesses the power to reveal such mysteries and to control the rise and fall of rulers and empires.

How might this passage encourage or challenge those who feel powerless in the face of political change?

Then — the setting

Daniel lived as an exile in Babylon during the 6th century BCE, serving in the courts of various Babylonian and Persian kings. The book of Daniel itself is believed by many scholars to have been compiled later, perhaps in the 2nd century BCE, during a period of intense persecution under Antiochus IV Epiphanes. This historical setting, whether in the Babylonian exile or the Maccabean period, underlines a central theme: God's sovereignty over earthly powers, especially when his people are under foreign rule. The affirmation that God 'removes kings and sets up kings' would have been a profound message of hope and cosmic order in a world where seemingly invincible empires rose and fell, and where God's people were often subject to their authority.

Across the Testaments

The Old Testament, particularly prophetic books like Daniel, consistently portrays God as the ultimate sovereign over nations and their leaders (e.g., Isaiah 40:23-24, Psalm 2:4-6). This perspective is not diminished in the New Testament but is re-contextualized within the reality of the Roman Empire and the nascent Christian church. While Daniel speaks of God directly intervening to change rulers, the New Testament, notably in Romans 13:1, states that 'there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.' This doesn't necessarily imply direct, moment-by-moment divine installation of every leader, but rather that all legitimate authority ultimately derives its permission and bounds from God, even if human means (like elections or conquests) are used. The New Testament maintains God's ultimate sovereignty but shifts the focus towards the believer's ethical response to existing authority, rather than explicitly predicting the downfall of specific rulers as Daniel does.

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Psalm 75:6-7
This Psalm similarly declares that exaltation comes neither from the east nor west, but God is the judge who brings one down and exalts another.
Romans 13:1
Paul's letter instructs believers to be subject to governing authorities, stating that there is no authority except that which God has established.
Proverbs 21:1
This proverb states that the king's heart is in the hand of Yahweh, like streams of water, and he turns it wherever he desires.

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