Today’s passage: Daniel 5:1-12

Helpful thoughts:

• Chapter 5 moves into the reign of Belshazzar.
  • Nabonidus reigned as king after Nebuchadnezzar.
  • Belshazzar and Nabonidus then shared a co-regency (He could only promise the third highest position in the kingdom).
  • It is believed by historians that Nabonidus spent time away from Babylon worshiping their moon god, leaving Belshazzar in charge.
• Using the vessels from the Temple of God to drink and toast to the gods of the Babylonians was a direct insult to the God of Israel and would have normally been viewed as insulting and inappropriate even by the Babylonians…the king was drunk and wanted to assert the superiority of Babylon when he gave the command.  Quite the contrast from Nebuchadnezzar’s realization from Daniel 4!
• The king was not hallucinating.  Everyone could see the writing on the wall.
• The queen who called for the king to bring in Daniel was quite possibly the queen mother, either Nebuchadnezzar’s or Nabonidus’ queen.

Questions to consider:

1. Why was Belshazzar’s decision to bring in the items from the Temple in Jerusalem so foolish?  What do you think he was trying to communicate with their use for drinking and toasting the Babylonian gods?
2. What do you think Belshazzar would have been thinking when he first saw the hand and the writing?  What might he have thought concerning the gods and the supernatural activity?
3. Even though the queen didn’t know why Daniel was the way he was, how did his testimony of service provide an opportunity for him to be used by God?  Who made Daniel that way and gifted him for that time and these opportunities?  How could God use you today?

Today’s passage: Daniel 4:34-37

Helpful thoughts:

• Now that Nebuchadnezzar has returned to sanity, he also returns as the narrator.
• Nebuchadnezzar first blesses the Most High God by acknowledging that nothing and no one on this earth comes anywhere close to God’s power and sovereignty.
• By God’s power, Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom was not taken away from him during his seven years of absence.  Not only did everything he had return to him (From possessions to people), he also say that he was given even more.
• In an indication of genuine repentance, Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges that God was just in His actions of humbling the king.

Questions to consider:

1. What did Nebuchadnezzar learn about God as a result of this discipline?
2. How does his response show genuine signs of his repentance?  What would have been another way (A proud way) he could have evaluated all that had happened to him?
3. How can this passage (And passage like Hebrews 12:6 and Proverbs 3:12) be an encouragement to us when we are going through discipline?  How would we know that we are?

Today’s passage: Daniel 4:28-33

Helpful thoughts:

• Nebuchadnezzar didn’t repent, and his dream came true.
• While the words were still in his mouth, God’s promised consequence came to be.
• Matthew 15:18 – “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart…”

Questions to consider:

1. Babylon was an amazing place.  But, who had made it that way?
2. What kinds of things was Nebuchadnezzar saying that sound wrong?  If he had repented and had a humble heart, what might he have said instead?
3. Why did Nebuchadnezzar say those things anyway?  What was it that he wanted?  Where did he truly need to repent?

Today’s passage: Daniel 4:19-27

Helpful thoughts:

• Daniel has the not-so-sought after job of telling King Nebuchadnezzar bad news…
• Daniel doesn’t shrink back from his job.  This shows his loyalty to the Lord and to the king.  “Speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).
  • He shows genuine sadness for what will come upon the king.
  • He pleads with the king to repent.

Questions to consider:

1. What could the king have done if he had not liked Daniel’s interpretation and especially his advice?  What could have happened to Daniel?
2. How did Daniel’s response (advice included) show that he was truly loyal and looking out for the king’s best interest?  Is it more loving to tell the truth or to avoid the risk of hurting someone’s feelings?
3. How could this passage help you to share with your brothers and sisters in Christ when they are in sin?
4. How could this passage help you to listen when your brothers and sisters love you by helping you to see your own sin?

Today’s passage: Daniel 4:1-18

Helpful thoughts:

• The events of chapter 4 would have been toward the end of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign.  Daniel would have been closer to fifty years old by then.
• This chapter is very uncommon in that it is written from the perspective of Nebuchadnezzar himself (Save the portion where he goes crazy).
  • The king desired to show the “signs and wonders that the Most High God” had done for him.
  • In these verses, the king of Babylon is declaring to the world that God is the everlasting King and sovereign over the world.  That’s a big deal, but later we will see that his level of respect for God (Though he never got rid of his own god…) at the end of his life did not carry down to the next generation.
    • Nebuchadnezzar believed the God of Israel was the most powerful God, but the true God was never his God.
    • The king now refers to Daniel by his Hebrew name, giving honor to Daniel’s loyalty to the God whom his name points.
• The “watchers” and the “holy ones” are angels.

Questions to consider:

1. What are some evidences in this passage that Nebuchadnezzar had not truly repented and submitted himself to God alone?
2. Are kings and leaders always the greatest of people?  How do they come to power?  Who is ultimately in control at all times?
3. What is the difference between believing that God is great and calling Him your Lord?  What is the difference between believing that Jesus died on the cross and receiving the gift of salvation by faith?  What is the role of repentance in being born again?

Today’s passage: Daniel 3:19-30

Helpful thoughts:

• Nebuchadnezzar’s fury made him irrational.
  • “Seven times” was an expression that would have equated to, “as hot as the furnace can get,” which is believed to be 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (Hot enough to melt several metals).
  • The mighty soldiers were unnecessary given the three men’s response.  The king lost his own mighty men that day because he lost his temper.
• Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew that God was able to save them from the fire.  Now everyone knew He was both able and willing on that day.  This miracle put His power on display in a way the king had not yet seen or considered.  Nebuchadnezzar now refers to God as the “Most High God” (Meaning, more powerful than the rest of the gods) and commends these Jews for refusing to obey the his command.
• Nebuchadnezzar identified the fourth man in the fire as an angel.  Many biblical scholars believe this could have been the angel of the Lord, the preincarnate Christ.
• Now, instead of being despised, the men were praised for refusing to worship any other god.
  • It was then written into law (With alarming consequences!) that no one in all of Babylon was allowed to speak poorly of God.

Questions to consider:

1. What was God accomplishing through this miracle?  Generally speaking, pagan cultures believed the greater strength of their gods over the gods of other people provided their victories in battle.  What was God teaching Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian people?
2. What would have been the best response from Nebuchadnezzar and all those who heard about this event?  Was the “moral of the story” to stay true to yourself and what you believe? Or was it, there is only one God worthy of obedience and praise?
3. God is not going to temporarily save every believer physically through martyrdom the way He did Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.  If that were the case, there would be no martyrs.  But, how has He saved each and every one of them?  How has God provide for your salvation and snatched us out of the fire?

Today’s passage: Daniel 3:8-18

Helpful thoughts:

• In this context, the Chaldeans were wise men who served Nebuchadnezzar and had been saved but also humiliated by Daniel’s and these three men’s service to the king.
• King Nebuchadnezzar may have been particularly frustrated after having been willing to “worship” their God and have them not return the favor.  His understanding of deity was polytheistic (Many gods).  From his perspective, they were being both rude and directly disobedient.
• By asking, “Who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” Nebuchadnezzar reveals his low view of the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  Perhaps he only viewed God as the revealer of dreams.
  • The gods of polytheistic cultures all have certain responsibilities that coincide with specific powers.  The king was about to learn much more about the true God!
• Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were willing to obey God, whether He preserved their lives or not.

Questions to consider:

1. Why was Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’s choice the right one?  What would have made it hard and scary?  What truths from Scripture would have made it easy and safe (Even in their potential death)?
2. How did Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego speak to the king, even in their explanation of why they would not bow down?  Were they arrogant and smug or were they respectful?
3. How does this passage encourage us toward missions?  Should we think that it is right and good for different cultures to worship other gods or to not worship at all?  Is it culturally appropriate for us to go to other nations and participate in their worship in order to “learn their culture”?  What do the people of the world need?

Today’s passage: Daniel 3:1-7

Helpful thoughts:

• This statue was about 90 feet tall.
• The statue/image was set up in the plain of Dura, outside the city.  The last chapter ended by telling us that Daniel did not leave the palace, therefore he would not have been present when this false worship was commanded.
• Further proof that Nebuchadnezzar did not convert to worship of the Lord alone…He commanded all of these officials to worship this new image or die.  In a way, this was a means for him to assert his authority and culture over all of his subordinate governing authorities.
• Babylon had set up native leaders for each province.  This means that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were not the only Jewish people at this event.

Questions to consider:

1. Why was this command such a big deal? (See Deuteronomy 6:12-14)
2. Why did it probably seem like such an easy decision for all the people who did bow down and worship?  How would what they already believed and committed to have guided them in this instant of decision?
3. How does what we really believe show itself when we have to make choices in the moments of everyday life?
4. What kind of faith can a person have if the reason they bow down is just to make sure they don’t get killed?

Today’s passage: Daniel 2:46-49

Helpful thoughts:

• Nebuchadnezzar shows some of his confusion in his response.  Who was he supposed to thank and praise?  He decided to praise Daniel AND God.  This might have looked as though Nebuchadnezzar was worshiping Daniel, but he was treating Daniel as a representative.  The Babylonians had statues and images/icons to burn incense before…the God of Israel has no shrine or golden replica, this was a foreign concept to the king.
• Nebuchadnezzar did not convert to Judaism here.  At best he acknowledged that Daniel’s God was the best of all the gods.  That’s a major statement for the Babylonian king to make.  It would have been offensive to think of him calling the Babylonian gods inferior to the God of Judah.  But he was not converting, just adding another God to the list.
• Daniel was made the head of all the wise men in Babylon and the head of the government of the province of Babylon.  This combination of responsibilities made him incredibly powerful.
  • Daniel first exercised his power by bringing Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into the government as well.  They would have reported to him.

Questions to consider:

1. What were some amazing things we learned about God in this chapter?
2. Who was in control of this situation?  Who humbled Nebuchadnezzar and elevated the role Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego would play in Babylon during the exile?  Who is sovereign?
3. Why would it have looked like Daniel was in control…or that he had a handle on the whole situation?  Where was Daniel’s hope and trust?  How did that impact his bravery and actions?

Today’s passage: Daniel 2:31-45

Helpful thoughts:

• In today’s passage, Daniel shares the contents and the meaning of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
• Here are the probable kingdoms/empires represented in the statue:
  • The head of gold=Babylon
  • The chest and arms of silver=Medo-Persia
  • The belly to thighs of bronze=Greece
  • The legs of iron=Rome
  • The feet and toes of iron and clay=The future gathering of nations led by the Anti-Christ
  • The stone=The kingdom of God led by Jesus Christ
• The “Stone” kingdom will be set up by God and will never be destroyed!

Questions to consider:

1. Who made Nebuchadnezzar the greatest king on the earth at that time?  Who will make the kingdom that will never be destroyed?
2. Who gave this dream, revealed it and made it’s meaning to be known? (Have all of these things happened so far?  Has God been right or wrong?)
3. Why can Daniel confidently say, “The interpretation is sure.”?  Why can we be so confident that these things yet to come are going to happen?  Where, or with Whom does our confidence lie?
4. What matters in your life have you entrusted to our all-powerful and faithful God? (One of them is your salvation!)  Are there any matters you have you withheld from Him?