Foreword:
The Book of Daniel forms part of the “Writings” in the Hebrew Bible, but is grouped under the “Prophets” in our Bible. The name of Daniel means “God is (my) Judge”. He was a young nobleman of Judah taken to Babylon in the first deportation (605 B.C.). The book covers the historical period of the Babylonian Empire till the first years of the Persian era. Daniel most likely lived to his eighties. The book’s significance goes beyond this historical period within which the sovereignty of God is demonstrated, as it contains prophecies that were fulfilled in the time (and in the person) of Jesus Christ and those that will pertain to the End-time. It is the amazing accuracy of the prophecies which covered the next few hundred years after Daniel that has caused many modern scholars to date the book to the 2nd century B.C. However, in spite of confessing their disbelief in predictive prophecies, they formulate arguments based on the extensive use of Aramaic (2:4b – 7:28), the supposed used of Greek terms (for musical instruments) and other so-called evidence to conclude that the book of Daniel could not have been composed by Daniel, and certainly not during the sixth century B.C. Allow me simply to quote from Goldingay who, in my opinion, gives a fair-minded view on this issue as follows:
“The Aramaic of the book…is a form of Imperial Aramaic, the international language of the Middle East through much of OT times…It contains a fair number of Akkadian and Persian words and in chapter 3, three Greek ones and matches the stories’ setting in the eastern dispersion. It is distinguishable from the later Aramaic of Qumran but might be dated anywhere between the late sixth and early second centuries, B.C., though the spelling may have been updated later in the light of the ongoing development of the living language…The Greek words hardly necessitate a very late date, given the spread of Greek culture in the East, even in the Palestine.”
(Word Biblical Commentary, Goldingay, xxv)
The reading of the book of Daniel is key to the understanding of the book of Revelation. As one source puts it, “Material from every chapter of Daniel is either quoted or alluded to in Revelation” (The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible), and it provides a link to the gospel account as well — Luke begins his gospel account with the appearance of Gabriel at the time of the evening sacrifice; Mark begins his gospel account with Jesus proclaiming that the rule of God which Daniel promised is at hand; and John expands on the message of resurrection in Daniel 12.
Unlike the study of other books in the Bible, each day in our Devotion Guide we shall cover the entirety of each incident as much as possible, thus covering a larger section each day.
(1) From the perspective of the Jews, like Daniel, what do the events of vv. 1-2 signify to you — the defeat of the nation, the destruction of the temple with even its sacred articles carried off to the temple of Babylonian idols and yourself being exiled?
(2) What could you look forward to as an exile? What could you do for the Lord and for your country?
(3) What might be the purpose of Nebuchadnezzar’s policy of vv. 3-5?
(4) What might Daniel be like in modern-day terms since he met the criteria set out by the king?
(5) The meanings of the new (Babylonian) names given to the four Jewish men probably are:
- Belteshazzar: Bel (i.e. Marduk) will protect
- Shadrach: Command (or inspired) of Aku, the Sumerian moon god;
- Meshach: Belonging to Aku: and
- Abednego: Servant of Nego (likely corruption of the word, Nebo, a Babylonian god)
What might be the purposes of giving them such new names? Did it work?
(6) Daniel knew that the royal food and wine would have been sacrificed to their gods, but as exiles did they really have a choice? Was he prepared to face the consequence of such a daring request?
(7) Was the amazing outcome a result of a vegetarian diet or a miracle from God?
(8) What lesson can you learn from Daniel and his friends in this respect?
(9) What role were Daniel and his friends being trained for? As God-fearing Jews, what kind of an environment were Daniel and his friends being put into by God? What particular challenges would they face?
(10) Can you recall from your study of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, when was the first year of King Cyrus? How long a period of time had Daniel remained there (“there” likely means in Babylon)?
(11) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) The king’s demand seemed absurd at first sight. However, if the interpretation was to be true, it had to have come from a divine source. Was his request to prove the divinity of the source too unreasonable? Why or why not?
(2) What might be the possible reason that Daniel and his friends were not summoned before the king at all for such an important occasion?
(3) Why would the king grant Daniel time?
(4) What did Daniel and his friends do during the time granted by the king?
(5) Judging from his praise to God in vv. 20-23, do you think Daniel expected God to reveal the king’s dream to him? Why or why not?
(6) Reflect on his praise further and see what Daniel has learned about God through
a. His answer to his prayer;
b. The contents of the dream revealed to him.
(7) Before giving his answer, why did Daniel seize the chance to give credit to God and deflect any glory to himself?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
As a devotional study, we will not concern ourselves with all the debates regarding the identification of the world powers depicted by the statue, but the dream obviously portrays human kingdoms and contrasts them to the Kingdom of Heaven that will finally come and destroy all human dominions.
Irrespective of variations in our application of the dream to history, the following are worth noting:
(1) “The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and glory; in your hands He has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air.” (2:37-38)
a. Does this statement apply only to the Golden Head, Nebuchadnezzar?
b. What is the responsibility given by God to each of the world powers?
(2) What might the decrease in the value or preciousness of the metal in the successive powers indicate?
(3) List the features of the rock, the manner it crushes the statue and the kingdom it will become. What does it reveal about Christ, His coming and the “End-time”?
(4) What did Daniel emphasize in the conclusion of his interpretation in v. 45? (Also look up Rev. 22:6.)
(5) How did the king respond to Daniel’s interpretation and why?
(6) What did he learn about the God of Daniel?
(7) What was God’s purpose in giving Nebuchadnezzar such a dream? Does it necessarily mean that Nebuchadnezzar believed in the God of Daniel? Why or why not?
(8) With Daniel being exalted to such a high position within such a world power:
a. What might it mean to his people in exile?
b. What might be the message to them?
c. What might be the message to us today?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note: To many conservative scholars, Daniel’s interpretation, without being hard-pressed, does reflect the actual course of history following the Babylonian dynasty:
a. The Golden Head, as Daniel explains is that of Babylon.
b. The Silver chest and arms — likely Medo-Persia
c. The Bronze belly and thigh — likely Greece
d. The Iron legs — likely Rome with its Eastern and Western Empires
e. The mixed iron and clay feet and toes: This is the less certain part which could depict the diversified rulers and dynasties that governed the Roman Empire or the various world powers that would eventually terminate at the complete rule by Christ.
(1) Now Nebuchadnezzar built an enormous statue of gold:
a. So, what impact might the dream in chapter 2 and its interpretation have had on the king?
b. Did it help that the king had humbled himself and submitted to the “God of gods” (2:46-47)?
c. The Bible does not say in whose image this statue was made. Do you think it was made in the image of one of the Babylonian gods, or in the image of Nebuchadnezzar? Why?
(2) The building of such a huge statue obviously took a long time. The three friends of Daniel would also have had ample time to consider what to do at the dedication ceremony, which they were obliged to attend, due to their positions.
a. What might they have done to prepare for this occasion?
b. What are the pros and cons that they might have considered?
c. What was the basis of their final decision?
(3) What official positions did the three friends of Daniel hold at the time and who were the people who came forward to denounce them? What might be their motive?
(4) Although the king was filled with rage, did he simply go ahead and have the three friends thrown into the fire?
(5) Why did the king make such an exception and give them a second chance? Did he have any choice?
(6) Although he was giving them a second chance, how did he end his warning? Did he mean what he said? Why or why not?
(7) The reply of the three friends’ was one that defines what true biblical faith is:
a. Did they believe in the power of God to rescue them from the fiery furnace?
b. Did they believe that God would rescue them from the fiery furnace?
c. What if God, in His sovereign will, chose not to rescue them? Would they renounce their faith in God? Why not?
d. How did their decision define what true biblical faith is?
(8) What about your faith in God? — Is yours one that depends on whether or not God will answer your prayer, especially in rescuing you or your loved one from death?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) Can you blame Nebuchadnezzar for changing his attitude toward the three friends? Why or why not?
(2) Why did he order the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual? Would not a normal furnace be enough to burn them to death?
(3) Did he really need “the strongest soldiers” to tie them up?
(4) What did the killing of these soldiers by the fire indicate?
(5) The fourth person in the fire looked like “a son of the gods”— what does it mean? Who is this fourth person?
(6) How does this scene depict God’s promise to be with us always in Matthew 28:20?
(7) Does His presence necessarily mean that we will not be harmed, as happened in the case of the three friends of Daniel? Why or why not?
(8) Apart from the fact that they were unharmed, what does the detailed description of their clothes and smell indicate?
(9) How did the king show his reverence and submission to the God of the three friends?
(10) How did the king describe the faith of these three Jews? Does it necessarily mean that he believed in their God? Why or why not?
(11) What lesson can we learn from the three friends about non-conformity to the pressure we face in society?
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) What might be the reason that Nebuchadnezzar chose to tell his own story?
(2) Since Daniel had previously told the interpretation of his dream back in chapter two, Nebuchadnezzar knew that the Spirit of God was in Daniel:
a. Why then would he still consult his other magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners?
b. Why then did he continue to call Daniel Belteshazzar, after the name of his own god?
(3) What was God’s purpose in inflicting him with this unusual illness? (See note below.)
(4) As Daniel interpreted the dream to the king, what advice did he give to the king?
(5) Did his advice have any impact on the king? Why or why not?
(6) Why is it so hard for the king to humble himself? Is it hard for you too?
(7) What could God have done, instead of inflicting this arrogant king with a likely 7-year period of unusual illness (i.e. the whole tree could have been cut or uprooted, why would God allow the stump to remain)?
(8) The story opens and ends with a poem of praise (v. 3 and vv. 34-35):
a. How did he address God?
b. What was being repeated in both poems? What does this tell us about what he had learned from this particular experience?
c. In the closing poem, can you tell what he did learn about the sovereignty of God?
(9) Did Nebuchadnezzar regret having to go through such a process of humbleness? How can we tell?
(10) Have you been disciplined or humbled by God? Do you cherish or regret such an experience? Why or why not?
(11) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
“The illness described in Daniel 4:22-34 appears to have been a delusional disorder…Lycanthropy, in which patients imagine themselves to be wolves, is one such disorder.”
(Archaeological Study Bible, 1391)
(1) For a king to throw a lavish banquet was not that unusual. What then made this banquet thrown by King Belshazzar so offensive to God?
(2) What does the statement that “As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver…” reflect?
(3) To be frightened by the appearance of the fingers writing on the wall is understandable, but what made it more frightening was the circumstance under which it happened. See if you can imagine the scene preceding the appearance of the fingers, and why the king was so frightened that “his knees knocked together and his legs gave way” (5:6).
(4) Based on how the Queen mother introduced Daniel, and how Belshazzar talked to him, what seemed to have happened to Daniel since the death of Nebuchadnezzar?
(5) By what name did the Queen mother call Daniel?
(6) Why did Daniel respond with rudeness to this king, when before he seemed to be very respectful toward Nebuchadnezzar?
(7) Why did Daniel find it necessary to bring up the incident concerning the illness of Nebuchadnezzar to Belshazzar at this time?
(8) How did this add to his guilt?
(9) Scholars cannot determine the exact meaning of the three words on the wall, except to assume that they were basically nouns that denote measurement. But the best explanation has already been provided by Daniel:
a. Mene (a mina): Daniel explained that it means God has numbered the king’s days, and brought it to an end;
b. Tekel (a shekel): Daniel explained that the king has been weighed on the scales and found wanting;
c. Peres (half): Daniel prophesied that his kingdom is divided to the Medes and Persians.
What does each of these terms mean to you?
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note: