Tag: Daniel

Daily Word

Daniel 5

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Read Daniel 5 – Mene, mene, tekel, parsin – Here we have Belshazzar, son of Nebuchadnezzar, ruling Babylon and hosting a debaucherous banquet. It must have felt so rebellious when he had the holy goblets brought in with utter disdain, praising his gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone with them.

Verses :5-6, wow~! Only God, right? A hand wrote words the king did not understand, but he went pale and collapsed at the sight of them all the same. Have you ever known to fear, without understanding why?

Daniel is summoned and the king promises him royal gifts if he can interpret the dream. “Daniel answered the king, ‘Keep your gifts or give them to someone else, but I will tell you what the writing means…’ “ :17 Daniel gives a quick history of where pride got the last king. He tells King Belshazzar his lack of humility earned him the writing on the wall:

Mene – God has numbered the days of your reign and has brought it to an end. Tekel – you have been weighed on the balances and have not measured up. Parsin – your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians. (:26-28)

The king gives Daniel the royal gifts… was this a shallow attempt at good behavior? Scripture does not say, but even so, God was not fooled. “That very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king was killed. And Darius the Mede took over the kingdom at the age of sixty-two.” :30-31

Rest assured, a life lived in rebellion is never satisfying for long because sin is never satisfied. The LORD is not swayed by fame, fortune, title or charm. One day every knee will bow before the LORD God Almighty.

Daily Word

Daniel 4

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Read Daniel 4 – Another dream – It seems as if King Neb is sharing this in hindsight. In verses :2-3 he is praising God and thanking him for all the Lord performed in him… He said he told the dream to his wise men and they could not explain it; then he told Daniel… :4-8

King Neb called him Daniel, his Hebrew name and not Belteshazzar, his Babylonian name in verse :8. This seems to indicate he was no longer trying to convert Daniel to his Babylonian gods, Nebu and Marduk.

Anyway, he tells Daniel a crazy dream and Daniel’s interpretation is alarming. Daniel advises the king to stop sinning, break from his wicked past and be merciful to the poor… but that does not happen, and the dream is fulfilled. King Neb lives like an animal for seven periods. Did you know this is an actual psychological condition called “boanthropy”, when one believes themselves to be a cow or an ox?

“After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored the one who lives forever.” :34

May this comfort each of us. No matter the slip or fall, God can restore the one who humbly seeks Him. Note King Neb’s praises through the end of the chapter, by the grace of God Most High, he was restored in full, giving all glory and honor to God.

Hallelujah! Our Heavenly Father can do great things with a surrendered heart. He can restore; He can redeem. He can turn one’s worst years into one’s greatest testimony! Hallelujah and amen.

Daily Word

Daniel 3

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Read Daniel 3 – Forced religion meets true faith and courage – Chapter 3 is a picture of forced religion. The king determined he was to be worshipped by everyone; he determined how he was to be worshipped and set his demands against the threat of death. Our God is nothing like that – Hallelujah!

The true and living Lord Jesus Christ takes the risk of freewill with every soul. That is love. Jesus died for all, but only those who say yes to Salvation and invite him in as Lord and Savior are saved.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are called out for refusing to bow down. Verses 13-15 fascinate me. The supreme ruler of Babylon himself, King Neb (can we call him that moving forward? Nebuchadnezzar is kind of a mouthful in our generation), is furious, yet calls the three before him and offers a second chance. They respond with a level of valor that must have shocked him, “We do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it…” :17

I pray you did not read the next part casually as one is apt to do in the face of miracles. Scripture records that King Neb’s face was changed… fury had taken over. The king ordered the fire so hot that even the guards that walked the bound threesome up to the furnace burned up! Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not burn up though… verses 24-27 record that they were unscathed, even their garmets were untouched by smoke or flame, and that there was a fourth man in the fire with them.

WHO WAS THE FOURTH MAN? My heart screams JESUS!!! King Neb said he saw four men loosed… so the fire burnt only the ropes that bound them.

Beloved, consider that one day there will be an anti-christ who requires the worship of all people. We all know and even love people who will not fall under the protection of Jesus in the wicked days to come. Even after the church is raptured, there will be second chances for a short time. Tell them about Daniel and his friends and pray they remember and are counted among the faithful.

Daily Word

Daniel 2 – Part 2

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Read Daniel 2:29-49 – But because God wants you to understand… That’s from :30 “And it is not because I am wiser than anyone else that I know the secret of your dream, but because God wants you to understand what was in your heart.” This was a unique situation of course, but God is always reaching out in unique and personal ways to reach those who don’t know him, and he often uses simple folks like you and me – all glory to God!

God gives Daniel perfect knowledge of the king’s dream, as well as its interpretation. He dreamt of a statue that was a frightening sight, with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet a combination of iron and clay. Picture it. And as the king watched a rock was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands…. reread :31-35 and try to imagine what this could be.

Daniel explained that the different metals and clay represented different kingdoms. Commentators explain this to be Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, with each kingdom progressively inferior to King Nebuchadnezzar’s in terms of the centralized power he held, yet each is progressively larger and longer lasting. (I used the David Guzik commentary from the Blueletterbible app)

But the dream included details not yet fulfilled, namely the ten kingdoms of clay and iron, represented by the toes, and the rock that causes the entire statue to crumble and becomes a great mountain that covers the whole earth… pointing to Jesus, our cornerstone, and the new heaven and new earth spoken of in Isaiah 65:17, 66:22, Matthew 13:52, Revelations 3:12, 21:1-2… Who’s ready for extra credit???

The king’s reaction indicates he was overwhelmed by the reality of Daniel’s God. He changed his entire kingdom and appointed Daniel to a high position, his friends too.

Beloved, here you have history and future. Could we be the generation that sees this ultimate fulfillment? I pray you take comfort as the world seems more and more out of control that there is a God in Heaven who loves you and has every detail worked out. He knows the beginning to the end; He is the Alpha and Omega. The best (for believers in Jesus Christ) is yet to come!

Daily Word

Daniel 2, part 1

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Read Daniel 2:1-28 – God is in control. We find suspense, certain death, a vision and rescue all in Chapter 2. So, King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream he wants interpreted by his panel of experts, yet he refuses to tell them what the dream was. When no one can do it he orders the death of all wise men, which includes Daniel, Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego.

“When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, came to kill them, Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and discretion.” :14 When everyone else is focused on the problem, Daniel remains focused on the LORD, and the truth that nothing is impossible for God.

Arioch told him and Daniel went directly to the king to ask for an opportunity to interpret the dream. It was granted. Daniel did not handle the situation alone, but solicited the prayers of his friends… “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there with them.” Matthew 18:20

Beloved, this was an impossible situation, but for God. You will face impossible things in life too. I pray you also handle them with wisdom and discretion, get the facts, and summon a few friends to pray with you.

In verses :19-23, we see the LORD does give Daniel the vision and Daniel gives God all the glory! Then he returns to Arioch who quickly takes Daniel to the king (:24-25). The fact that he did it quickly indicates he knew the king’s order was wrong. If Daniel would have failed, it most likely would have meant his life as well, yet he risked it for the hope of a solution. Hope can make you brave.

Daniel is clear with the king, telling him he asked for something no man could reveal, but there is a God in heaven who could and did. Daniel tells the king what he dreamt and what it means, again giving all glory to God.

This dream was so huge, we will talk about it tomorrow. God bless you.

Daily Word

Daniel 1

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Read Daniel 1 – The Lord gave, now God, God gave, and God gave… The Lord’s hand over Daniel’s circumstances is shown throughout this chapter (:2,9,17).

Daniel begins with a time stamp to show us when and where in history these things occurred, commentaries show this to be 605 b.c. and this is substantiated by many secular writings as well (:1). Now, the Babylonians are bad guys, yet because of the way the God’s chosen people were straying from Him, God gave them victory and they besieged Judah. The Babylonians took the people and sacred objects from the Temple of God back to Babylon. Hang on to that detail…. it comes up later.

The king specifically ordered his chief of staff to bring some of the young, strong, healthy, educated and good-looking men from Judah’s royal family and other noble families back as captives. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were four of the chosen young men. They were assigned rations of the king’s food and given new Babylonian names as part of their indoctrination into Babylonian service.

Now while all these things are happening and stripping these young men of control, Daniel resolved not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them, and instead asks for only vegetables and water. And even though vs :9 tells us God had given the chief of staff favor for Daniel, he could not grant Daniel’s request because it would cost him his life if they became pale and weaker than the others. Daniel negotiated a ten-day trial, and they were notably healthier and better nourished at the end than the other men, so they were allowed their dietary request.

“God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams.” :17

Do you see how God met these men in their obedience? The obstacles were enormous, yet God remained with them. Do you ever feel like everything around you is overwhelming with corruption and sin? May Daniel’s incorruptible faith be a shining example for you, as you determine your life to be fit for the royal service to the King above all kings, Jesus.

Daily Word

Daniel

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Daniel – History and future unfold. Daniel is the 27th of 39 books in the Old Testament, between Ezekiel and Hosea. You probably want to use the table of contents in your bible to find it. Go ahead and read any introduction your bible includes to get a feel for it.

We just finished Zephaniah, which was the last recorded prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem along with the parallel prophecy for end times that is to come. Daniel begins when the Babylonian siege has just occurred. People must have felt hopeless, realizing that all the warnings they received and dismissed had come to pass. That is my opinion, but Daniel stands out as one who never even hints at anything like that.

The last chapter has a verse I hope you’ll cling to as you read, and as you walk through your own trials in this life.

“And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” Daniel 12:3

In Ephesians 6:24, we read about incorruptible faith. (Sept 29, 2022 post) Daniel has it. Get ready for an adventure! Go ahead and read chapter 1 now and we will talk about it tomorrow.