Friday, March 7th

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Numbers 13-14; Psalm 48; Luke 4

Today's scripture focus is Daniel 5

Daniel 5

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Handwriting on the Wall

5 King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand.

² Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. ³ Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.⁴ They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
⁵ Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote. ⁶ Then the king's color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together. ⁷ The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” ⁸ Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. ⁹ Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed, and his lords were perplexed.
¹⁰ The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, “O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change. ¹¹ There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, ¹² because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel,whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”

Daniel Interprets the Handwriting

¹³ Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel, one ofthe exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. ¹⁴ I have heard of you that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. ¹⁵ Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, butthey could not show the interpretation of the matter. ¹⁶ But I have heard that you can give interpretations andsolve problems. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
¹⁷ Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. ¹⁸ O king, theMost High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. ¹⁹ And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. ²⁰ But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. ²¹ He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. ²² And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, ²³ but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.
²⁴ “Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. ²⁵ And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. ²⁶ This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; ²⁷ Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; ²⁸ Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
²⁹ Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
³⁰ That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. ³¹  And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

Accompanying John MacArthur sermon: Divine Graffiti - The End of an Empire
Accompanying Ray Pritchard sermon: God's Graffiti

There are so many things to learn from this passage.

One is the destructiveness of sin, especially in the form of pride, which could be said to be the root of all sin.  Sin is eternally destructive - both personally and nationally.  The only thing that can save us from that destruction and judgment is faith in Jesus Christ.

There are so many parallels between Babylonian society and ours today.
- The decline of the family (Nebuchadnezzar turned to God after being humbled by Him, but the spiritual gap between Nebuchadnezzar and his grandson, Belshazzar, is huge).
- Corrupt leadership.  The princes were just as drunk as Belshazzar, and the wise men continued to show their lack of wisdom.
- free flowing alcohol and sex
- their confidence in human security and our own invincibility as a nation
- materialism
- greed and impure motives
- unrelieved guilt
- willful rejection of the gospel message
- blasphemy and mocking God
- idolatry
-  immorality and the obsession with pleasure seeking

God cannot be mocked.  A nation that becomes this depraved cannot survive forever.  God raises nations and He causes them to fall.

When Nebuchadnezzar first heard about the golden head of Babylon being replaced by the Medo-Persian empire, it likely seemed pretty far away.

But God's Word is sure.  Every promise, every prophesy will be fulfilled, exactly as He said it would be.  Babylon's destruction was certain.
God's Spirit will not strive with  man forever.  Eventually, we reach the point of no return.  It is foolish to continually presume upon the grace of God.  Judgement is coming.
God sees into the heart of every individual. He knows not only our deeds and words, but also our thoughts and motives.
We will be held accountable, and the more light we've seen the greater our accountability.

Pritchard ends his sermon this way:
Let’s end by stepping back and considering Daniel 4-5 together. In Daniel 4 a pagan king was humbled and then radically changed by God. In Daniel 5 another pagan king was judged and then slain the same night. It reminds me of what has been said about the two thieves crucified with Christ. One was saved that none should despair; one was lost that none should presume.

Today is the day of salvation. It is also the day for all of us to make a new start with the Lord. This is the day to forgive, to repent, to renew our vows, to repair broken relationships, and to encourage a fellow pilgrim.

Just as God humbled proud kings, he can do the same to us. These two chapters show us that our place is at his feet in obedience, submission, and gratitude. They teach us as clearly as anything could the First Rule of the Spiritual Life: He is God and we are not. Until we learn that truth, we are still in spiritual kindergarten.



Tomorrow's scripture focus: Daniel 6

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Numbers 15-16
Sunday's passage: Numbers 17-18
Monday's passage: Numbers 19-20, Psalm 49, Luke 5

Thursday, March 6 -- Miriam

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Numbers 11-12; Psalm 47; Luke 3.

Today's scripture focus is Daniel 4

I won't paste in today's passage, as it's quite lengthy.  Here we have a first-person account of events that happened to the most powerful ruler in the world at the time; events that seem so far-fetched and fantastic that one almost can't believe them.  Part of me feels badly for him, and says "Wow, that really was rock bottom.  My life is a gay and carefree skip through the park in comparison."  Can you imagine going from being the king of the world, really, to being like a dumb beast, unkempt, eating whatever was handy, sleeping out in the elements... what a way for God to prove his point!  Part of me says "That's what you get for being proud and full of yourself!"  Then again, I think we all have our struggles with pride, although none of us are likely to be the wealthy and prosperous rulers of vast kingdoms.  Thankfully, God is not given to punishing all of our pride with seven years of animalistic living, but I do often find that old proverb to be true:  "Pride goeth before destruction."

MacArthur says the following:

And the bottom line in this testimony is one statement that he repeats four times... The Most High God rules in the kingdom of men. That is the message here, that God rules. Things don’t happen by chance; they’re not kismet; they’re not fate--God rules in the kingdoms of men.

You remember Herod in Acts 12 who declared that he was some great thing, and he was immediately struck by God, eaten by worms, and died on the spot. World leaders are consumed with arrogance, pride, boastfulness, narcissism. We see it in our own country in politicians. We see it in world leaders, consumed with themselves. Some of them talk about God, they use the word God, but they’re not referring to the true and living God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ as revealed in Holy Scripture. If you defy the God who is God, the true and living God, you will be judged. 

The nations are in an uproar; just turn on the news. People are trying to devise things that are useless. The kings of the earth are taking their stand. The rulers are having their counsels. The problem is, they’re all set against the Lord and against His anointed, who is Christ, and they’re all saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart and cast their cords from us!” We will not be obligated to Scripture, to the Word of God. He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury as He terrified Nebuchadnezzar, because He has established His King, the One who He has begotten, the one who will rule the nations and the ends of the earth and “break them with a rod of iron and shatter them like earthenware.”

There is only one King, and that is God. And one anointed by that King and that is Christ. Verse 10, “Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the Lord with reverence.” And verse 12, the Hebrew says, “Kiss the Son.” “Kiss the Son, that He not become angry and you perish in the way.” Kiss the Son or “His wrath will soon be kindled.” That’s what’s going to happen to the world. The last line, “How blessed are all of us who found refuge in Him!”


What’s wrong with our world? Rejected God; same thing that’s always been wrong. What are the solutions to all of the things that come from that? The only solution is to worship God by honoring His Son, the only Savior, the only hope. People talk about hope and change. There’s only one hope--that’s Christ. There’s only one change--that’s regeneration. Otherwise nothing changes and there’s no hope.

Happy Thursday!

Tomorrow's scripture focus:  Daniel 5

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage:  Numbers 13-14; Psalm 48; Luke 4

Wednesday, March 5th

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Numbers 9-10; Psalm 46; Luke 2

Today's scripture focus is Daniel 3

Daniel 3

English Standard Version (ESV)

Nebuchadnezzar's Golden Image

3 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up onthe plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 3 Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 And the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 5 that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.” 7 Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

The Fiery Furnace

8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. 9 They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image. 11 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. 22 Because the king's order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. 27 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. 28 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside[the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Accompanying John MacArthur sermon: Uncompromising Faith in the Fiery Furnace Part 1 and Part 2
Accompanying Ray Pritchard sermon: A Time to Disobey

In the first two chapters we saw Daniel taking a stand and drawing the line based on what the word of God says.  Possibly to stop us from thinking that Shadrach, Meshac, and Abednego were simply riding Daniel's coattails, today we see their opportunity to prove themselves faithful under trial.

This is probably my favourite Bible story, and my favourite line is
our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.

But I'm getting slightly ahead of myself.

The Word of God is clear on the following....
1) We are to worship God, and God alone.
2) We are to respect the government and obey the laws of the land.
3) When God's Word and the law of the land conflict, we need to stand with the Word, but we do it respectfully.

Daniel's friends follow this to a tee.

Pritchard:
At the appointed moment the band played and the vast crowd fell to the ground. But three young men were left standing—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Evidently they didn’t say or do anything. They just stood there silently while everyone was prostrate on the ground.

Before going on, let’s consider some reasons they might have given for following the crowd that day: “When in Babylon, do as the Babylonians do. We can just pretend to bow down but in our hearts, we’re really standing up. The king has been so good to us, it would be ungrateful not to bow. We’re being forced against our will to bow, God will forgive us. No one back in Jerusalem will ever know whether we bow or not. Everyone is bowing down.” And they could have used my personal favorite: “If we don’t, we’ll be killed.” But as I’ve said before, when you want to compromise, you can always find an excuse. But since they intended to obey God, they didn’t need any excuses.

And I find it very instructive to consider what they didn’t do. They don’t seem to have made any speeches or attempted to call attention to themselves. There was no attempt to stop others from bowing down. No riots, no demonstrations, no press conferences, no abusive language, no violence, no resisting arrest, no running away, no lying about their actions, no request for amnesty, and no attempt to overthrow the king.

When they disobeyed, they did it openly, quietly, submissively.....

Speaking with one voice, they make a remarkable declaration of faith.

First, they admitted their guilt. “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter” (Daniel 3:16). Second, they affirmed their faith in God. “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king” (Daniel 3:17). Third, they accepted God’s will in advance. “But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:18).

One problem we have with this story is that we know how it ends. Subconsciously we tend to read everything in light of the miraculous deliverance. But that misses an important point. The three young men had no idea that God was about to deliver them. They hadn’t received any advance warning, no special revelation, no angels whispering, “Don’t worry. God is going to deliver you.” Nothing like that happened. As they stood before the king, they knew they might die.

Let me make the point plainly. They didn’t know what was about to happen, and they didn’t care. The only power the king had over them was the power of death, and since they weren’t afraid to die, he had no power at all. He couldn’t intimidate them because they were ready to die if need be. What can you do with men like that?

Observe the excellence of their faith. They recognized that obeying God might not be pleasant to them. And even so, they didn’t make their own obedience contingent on God doing what they wanted.

They knew God could save them.
They didn’t know if he would save them.
They determined to obey either way....

And that’s why these three young men said, “But if not.” They knew God could save them but they knew he might have higher purposes in mind that would require their death. Therefore, they didn’t try to back God into a corner by demanding that the Almighty work a miracle on their behalf. They accepted God’s will in advance without knowing how things would work out.

This week I ran across a fine statement regarding this kind of faith. “When the servant of God can do nothing else, he can at least die like a Christian.” Because they were ready to die like true believers, we still talk about the faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 2500 years later.
In this case, God did save them.  But note this important detail....

I am struck by the fact that the Lord Jesus appears at only one place in this chapter. Where is Jesus in Daniel 3? He is in the furnace waiting for the young men. You can do the math yourself. Outside there were three, inside there were four, and outside there were three again. Jesus never manifests himself except inside the furnace, at the very moment when he was needed the most.

What a lesson this is for all of us. So often we go through life for days and weeks without any consciousness of the Lord’s presence with us. But when trouble comes, when the flames lick at our feet, when life tumbles in around us, then we discover that Jesus has been by our side the entire time. It is in the fires of life that we experience the presence of Christ most powerfully. He is always there, but he makes himself known in the fiery furnace....

The young men didn’t know what was about to happen…and it didn’t matter. May the same be true of us.

Our job is to be faithful and let God take care of the results.

This is the biggest lesson of all. Be faithful. Stand tall. Obey God. Live for him. Do what you know is right. And let God take care of what happens next.

Sometimes God protects us from the fire; sometimes he protects through the fire.

Either way we’re going to be okay. No one likes to be thrown into a furnace, not even if you know you’ll be preserved from the flames. But we can endure whatever comes if we know that the Lord Jesus Christ will be standing by our side.

What outcome should we expect when we stand up for what is right?

We should expect to suffer for our convictions.

We should understand that God may intervene to deliver us but he is not obligated to do so.

We should trust God to use our higher obedience to enhance his reputation in the world.

When it comes time to disobey, let us do our duty with humble courage and then leave the results to God.

It is no great thing to disobey. The great thing is faithfulness to God. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t set out to break the king’s law. They were only doing what had to be done. I repeat: It is no great thing to disobey. The only thing that matters is being faithful to God. If faithfulness requires that you disobey, then do what you must do, but don’t break your arm patting yourself on the back.

Let it be said of all of us that we only did what had to be done. That we did not go looking for trouble, but when forced to make a choice, we chose to obey God rather than man.
May we choose faithfully.



Tomorrow's scripture focus: Daniel 4

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Numbers 11-12, Psalm 47, Luke 3

Tuesday - March 4 - Tiffany

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Numbers 7-8, Psalm 45, Luke 1

Today's scripture focus is Daniel 2:31-49

³¹ “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. ³² The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, ³³ its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. ³⁴ While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. ³⁵ Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.

³⁶ “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. ³⁷ Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; ³⁸ in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.

³⁹ “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. ⁴⁰ Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. ⁴¹ Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. ⁴² As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. ⁴³ And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.

⁴⁴ “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. ⁴⁵ This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.

“The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

⁴⁶ Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. ⁴⁷ The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.”

⁴⁸ Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. ⁴⁹ Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.

I read through MacArthur's sermons for studying this passage, and highly recommend you do as well.

In this dreams of Nebuchadnezzar, he saw the physical kingdom of God appear and overtake all the fallen world empires. Christ returns and sets up a physical, political empire that rests upon his shoulders.

And when this is explained to him, Nebuchadnezzar is completely overwhelmed by the massive awesomeness of Daniel's God, of OUR God. And because he doesn't know how to reach Daniel's God, he worships Daniel and offers him all sorts of honors and rewards. And (and I love this) once Daniel is given some power, he brings along his boys - Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 

MacArthur makes an interesting point - Daniel never strives for any of this, he simply follows God and is given great power.

I don't know that God will always put you in places of power simply because you follow Him, but I do know He will bless you.

Though it definitely won't always be easy.

Tomorrow's scripture focus: Daniel 3

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Numbers 9-10; Psalm 46; Luke 2

Monday, March 3rd

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Number 5-6, Psalm 44, Mark 16

Today's scripture focus is Daniel 2:1-30

Daniel 2:1-30

English Standard Version (ESV)

Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

2 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, andhis sleep left him. ² Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. ³ And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” ⁴ Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” ⁵ The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. ⁶ But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” ⁷ They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” ⁸ The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— ⁹ if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.” ¹⁰ The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. ¹¹ The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

¹² Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. ¹³ So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. ¹⁴ Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁵ He declared to Arioch, the king's captain, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. ¹⁶ And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.

God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

¹⁷ Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions,¹⁸ and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹ Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. ²⁰ Daniel answered and said:

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
    to whom belong wisdom and might.
²¹ He changes times and seasons;
    he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
    and knowledge to those who have understanding;
²² he reveals deep and hidden things;
    he knows what is in the darkness,
    and the light dwells with him.
²³ To you, O God of my fathers,
    I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me wisdom and might,
    and have now made known to me what we asked of you,
    for you have made known to us the king's matter.”

²⁴ Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”

²⁵ Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him: “I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” ²⁶ The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?”²⁷ Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, ²⁸ but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: ²⁹ To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. ³⁰ But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.

Accompanying sermon John MacArthur sermon: The Forgotten Dream and the Unforgettable Daniel
Accompanying sermon by Richard DeMass: The Revealer of Mysteries
Accompanying sermon by Ray Pritchard: The World According to God

There are limits to humanity's power and abilities.  King Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful man on earth, but he couldn't sleep.  His advisors were the wisest men in the kingdom, but they couldn't read the King's mind or tell him his dream - that was humanly impossible.

Why would God reveal prophesy to a pagan King?  Obviously, we don't know the mind of God, but there are some options that make sense.  First of all, Israel had become apostate, and rejection with full knowledge is even worse than pagan unbelief.  Secondly, this would reveal to both nations the power of God.  Thirdly, God can and will use anyone He wishes, in order to fulfil His divine purposes.

The King obviously knew, at least to a certain extent, that the abilities of the wise men to interpret dreams was a bunch of hocus pocus.  The Babylonians historically put huge stock in dreams and there was a method to their interpretations based on prior dreams and their "results", but it really was similar to the psychics of today, who find out a few details and then weave together plausible scenarios so broad they cannot be wrong.

And so the King issues them a challenge - not to just interpret his dream, but to tell him what he dreamt!  God had given him this vision, but then He caused Nebuchadnezzar to forget it, in order to display His power and dominion over all the earth and its future. Obviously, they cannot do what he asks, and in a fit of rage he orders all the wise men to be executed.  Anger causes us to make stupid and rash decisions, and the King was no exception.  This order would include Daniel and his friends, though they were likely still apprentices, which is likely why they were not in the room when the King made his demands.

Notice Daniel's incredibly mature response - remember, at this point he is still a teenager, between 17 and 19 yrs of age.  When the executioners found Daniel and his friends, he didn't panic.  He calmly and tactfully asked about the situation.  When he found out about the King's dream dilemma, he likely knew immediately that this was why God had given him the gift of understanding dreams and visions (Daniel 1:17).  Acting on faith, he sought an audience with the king - a king with absolute authority and who was currently acting in rage and not sound thinking.  But Daniel is certain that God is with him and he goes to the king.

After the king grants him time to interpret his dream (something the king had denied the other wise men - once again, evidence of God's hand at work), Daniel finds his friends and fellow believers and asks them to pray with him.  God answers Daniel's prayer and Daniel's immediate response is one of thankfulness and praise, giving glory to God.

What unwavering faith!  How do we react to pressure? To unexpected crises?  Do we remain calm, secure in the sovereignty of God, assess the situation, and gather fellow believers to pray to God for wisdom on how to handle the crisis? Do we respond in thankfulness and praise, giving glory to the One to whom it belongs?

And when Daniel returns to the King, he makes it clear, in no uncertain terms, that what the King asked for was impossible with man, and only possible through the power of God.

Isn't this also true of the way of salvation?  Salvation is impossible through the mind and power of man.  We are dead in our sins.  We cannot save ourselves or discover the way of salvation on our own.  But God, in His infinite wisdom and power, shows us the way, and stirs our spirits to receive the glorious mystery of salvation.  Thanks be to God our Saviour!




Tomorrow's scripture focus: Daniel 2:31-49

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Numbers 7-8, Psalm 45, Luke 1