Introduction: Do you tend to focus on the little things of
life? Do these “little things” cause you to modify your view
of God? If your country were invaded and defeated, if you were
taken as a slave by the invaders, would you call those “little
things?” Probably not! In our study today we learn that God
has His hand on the course of our life, and the course of
human history! Let’s plunge into our study of the Bible and
learn more!
- Disaster
- Read Daniel 1:1-2. Imagine that you lived in
Jerusalem during this event, and you were a faithful
follower of God. What would you think? (From all
appearances, the great God of Heaven has been
defeated. His people have been defeated, and God’s
temple articles have been looted and put in the
temple of a pagan god!) - Read Daniel 1:3-6. Now imagine you are Daniel, how
has your situation gotten worse? (Not only has your
God and your country been defeated, but you are now
a slave. It might not be bad work for a slave, but
you are no longer free.) - Tests
- Read Daniel 1:8. Once again, put yourself in
Daniel’s place. Would you be tempted to think that
if God wanted you to follow His dietary principles,
He should have defeated the Babylonians? Or, at
least not let you be taken into captivity? - Read Daniel 1:11-16. How would you feel now if you
were Daniel? (I would rejoice in this small victory,
and consider it a sign that God was still with me if
I remained faithful.) - Read Daniel 1:17-20. What does this teach us about
God’s favor when the world around us is collapsing?
(We don’t have time to get into why Jerusalem fell,
but it was due to the unfaithfulness of the people.
This shows that when our world seems to be coming
apart, God looks for those who are faithful and He
rewards them.) - Read Daniel 2:1-4. Does this sound like a reasonable
response to the king’s request? - Read Daniel 2:5-6. Is this king a maniac, or is
something else going on? (Nebuchadnezzar apparently
had reason to doubt his “wise” men. He could be
certain that they were telling the truth if they
refreshed his recollection on his dream.) - Read Daniel 2:10-13. Would you call Daniel’s life
“peaceful?” Has Daniel or his friends done anything
wrong? - If you know how this story ends, does God have a
plan for this time of trouble? (God sent the
dream! I like the confession of the “wise men”
that only the “gods” can fulfill the request of
the king.) - Read Daniel 2:14-16. Would you have shown wisdom and
tact? Or, would you have been screaming about how
this was unfair and the latest offensive thing done
to your people by the Babylonians? (We need to learn
a lesson from Daniel on emotional intelligence.) - Read Daniel 2:17-19. What is the first thing that
Daniel does? (He suggests a prayer meeting with his
friends! They turn to God.) - Read Daniel 2:20-23. What is the second thing that
Daniel does? (Praises God when his prayer is
answered. Notice verse 21. It shows that Daniel
believes the shift in political power that so harmed
his life has been ordained by God.) - Read Daniel 2:24. Would you have done what Daniel
did here? - Read Daniel 2:25-28. Would you have started your
response in the same way? (The first words out of my
mouth would have been “Yes!” I would not want to
risk losing my life by repeating the same thing that
caused all the wise men to be under a death decree.) - So, why did Daniel start his response in the way
he did? (Aside from not having me as his coach,
we see that he is giving glory to God. He is not
taking the glory for himself – even if it
creates peril for him.) - End Times
- Read Daniel 2:29-30. Put yourself in
Nebuchadnezzar’s place. How would “wise” men of the
world normally reveal their “wisdom” to the king?
How does it compare with Daniel’s approach? (Daniel
is not exalting himself. He is not bragging. He is
stressing the importance of the king and the God in
heaven.) - Read Daniel 2:31-35. If you had this dream, and no
interpreter, what would strike you as the most
important element? (The rock! It destroyed the
statue and it grew to fill the entire earth.) - Read Daniel 2:36-38. Would this sound good to
Nebuchadnezzar? - Who has given Nebuchadnezzar his power? (The God
of Heaven. Daniel keeps God first.) - Read Daniel 2:39-43. What does this dream represent?
(The march of history. It reveals the world kingdoms
that will follow.) - Read Daniel 2:44-45. Who triumphs in the end? (“The
God of heaven” will set up an indestructible
kingdom.) - How does God triumph? (His kingdom will “crush
all those kingdoms and bring them to an end.”) - Why do you think that God chose a rock to
represent His kingdom, while the other kingdoms
were metal, some of them precious? - Let’s step back and consider this. What has been
going on in Daniel’s life? (All sorts of turmoil.
His God seems to have been defeated. As a follower
of God, he is a slave, not a master. The world is
not going the way it should.) - What does this dream say to Daniel? (That he is
a citizen of the Rock Kingdom which triumphs
supernaturally. This is a tremendous
encouragement that God is in charge at all
times.) - What does this say to you in the “little things”
of your life? (Even if your “little things” are
big things, they are not as big as knowing that
your God will triumph. The Rock Kingdom, of
which you are a citizen, will never be destroyed
or left to others.) - Read Daniel 2:46-47. How does this arrogant king,
who was about to kill Daniel and his friends, react?
(He gives glory to God and honor to Daniel.) - What does this tell us about the validity of the
interpretation? (Clearly, Daniel has correctly
recited the dream. King Nebuchadnezzar is
convinced.) - Read Daniel 2:48-49. How has faithfulness to God
changed the life of Daniel? - Is being a citizen of the Rock Kingdom paying
dividends? - In all of this account, did Daniel do anything
to promote himself? (Learn this lesson. Daniel
let God promote him.) - Unreliable Humans
- Read Daniel 3:1-3. How has Nebuchadnezzar modified
the image in his dream? - Daniel 2:49 tells us that Daniel is in
Nebuchadnezzar’s “royal court.” Do you think he
mentioned this deviation from the dream? - Read Daniel 3:4-6. Is this consistent with the
dream? Do you think this plan was discussed with
Daniel? - Read Daniel 3:9-12. How much of this should
Nebuchadnezzar already know? - Read Daniel 3:13-15. Has Nebuchadnezzar completely
forgotten what he previously said about Daniel’s
God? How do you explain this? - Read Daniel 3:16-18. Why do they say that they do
not need to defend themselves? (This proves that
Nebuchadnezzar knows of their faith and their God.) - Read Daniel 3:19-25. Consider this, four men
defeated Nebuchadnezzar, when their whole nation
could not. What made the difference? - Read Daniel 3:28-30. What does this teach us about
dealing with the world? (God is faithful, humans are
not.) - Friend, we have a God who knows the beginning from
the end. He not only tells us what will happen in
the future, but He is faithful now if we are
faithful to Him. Will you determine, right now, to
be faithful to God – even when things are not going
as you expected? - Next week: Jesus and the Book of Revelation.
