Sunday
Morning Bible Study
April
14, 2013
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is
the gospel preached? Does it speak to
the broken hearted? Does it build up the
church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church loved?
Announce: Russia Trip – we are looking for support for the upcoming trip –
prayer support & financial support.
Our trip this time will be very different from past trips. Instead of putting on huge outreach concerts,
we will focus on discipleship, meeting with Pastor Alexi and his church to
build them up in their faith. There are
going to be just four of us going – Drew & Nadia, Neil Gulassa, and
myself. The total cost of the trip for
the four of us will be around $10,000 and we already have about 1/3 of that
raised. If you are interested in helping
support this trip, you can put a check in the Agape box with “Russia Fund” in
the memo line.
Doug Shaul Service: Will be held next Saturday morning in
Mesquite, Nevada. I am putting together
a short video of comments from those of you who knew Doug. We will have the video delivered to Donna and
it will be played at the service. See me
after the service if you would like to say a few words.
What do you do
when you are faced with an impossible situation?
Play Mission
Impossible Squirrel clip
We’re going to watch Daniel and his friends face an impossible situation.
Play
Nebuchadnezzar’s battles map clip
In 605 BC, the end had come for the mighty Assyrian Empire. The Babylonians had conquered Nineveh, and
then finally broke the Assyrians at the famous battle of Carchemish. Carchemish was located where the mighty
Euphrates River intersects the modern border between Syria and Turkey. The Assyrians had been allied with Egypt, and
so after the battle, Nebuchadnezzar began his march to Egypt, stopping to take
control of Jerusalem along the way.
Nebuchadnezzar took the best and brightest young men from Jerusalem back to
Babylon to be trained and serve in his government. Among these captives were Daniel and his
friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
This would be the first of three
groups of Jews taken to Babylon, ending with the final destruction of Jerusalem
in 586BC.
2:1-13 A Troubled Dream
:1 Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams;
and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him.
:1 the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign
Nebuchadnezzar had become king after the victory at Carchemish, just
before he had made his way southward towards Egypt and took Daniel and the others
back to Babylon.
When you take into account the Babylonian method of accession-year
dating, this is going to be taking place very near the end of the three years
of Daniel’s university training (1:5).
This is taking place very close to the events of the last chapter.
:1 Nebuchadnezzar
had dreams
dreams – chalowm
– dream; dream (ordinary); dream (with prophetic meaning)
Dreams are things that can have meaning.
I think that sometimes
our dreams can tell us a lot about the kinds of things we think about when
we’re awake.
Sometimes
dreams are no more than a reflection on what we ate the night before. If you have too much pizza, you might dream
something like this …
There have been
times in history where God will give a person direction in their life through
dreams.
Joseph had
dreams about his future, like his brothers bowing down to him.
Pharaoh, the
king of Egypt, had a set of dreams that would affect the known world at that
time – a coming famine. Joseph would be used to
interpret that dream, and get the world ready to survive the coming famine.
Nebuchadnezzar, like Pharaoh, was the ruler of a large chunk of the
world. His growing empire is the largest
empire to that time.
God
is going to give Nebuchadnezzar a dream that lays out the major global empires
that will have an effect on God’s people, Israel.
Lesson
Dreams and Directions
Does God speak
today through dreams? He
can.
(Joe 2:28 NKJV) “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit
on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
If you are having dreams that actually mean something, it
might mean you’re an “old man”. Just sayin’.
J
Be careful
about the importance you place on a dream.
(Je 23:28 NKJV) “The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; And he who has
My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?” says the Lord.
Compared to wheat, chaff (dreams) is worthless. Wheat (the Word) is filling. In the context, Jeremiah has been warning the
people about the false prophets. Jeremiah
is saying that God’s Word is much more important than a “dream”.
You have
God’s Word. Pay attention to the
Word.
Be careful about basing important decisions on something
that might be based on eating bad pizza the night before.
:1 his spirit was so troubled
troubled – pa’am –
to thrust, impel, push, beat persistently;
(Hithpael) to be disturbed
There is going to be something very disturbing about this dream. Nebuchadnezzar knows this is something he
must figure out.
:2 Then the king
gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the
Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
This is the group of “wise” men that the king looked to for advice.
:2 magicians … Chaldeans …
The term “Chaldeans” refers here to
a special class of astrologers/soothsayers.
This is the same group that Daniel
and his friends are a part of.
:3 And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious
to know the dream.”
:3 anxious – pa’am
– to thrust, impel, push, beat persistently; (Niphal) to be beaten, be disturbed
This is the same word for
“troubled” in verse 1
:3 my spirit is anxious to know
the dream
Nebuchadnezzar isn’t just asking for an interpretation of the dream, he wants
these wise men to tell him what the dream itself was.
Perhaps he can’t recall everything
he saw in the dream. Or it might be that
he wants to know just how much these wise men are actually able to do.
:4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever!
Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”
:4 spoke to the
king in Aramaic
The book of Daniel is unique in that it was written in two related but different languages,
Hebrew and Aramaic.
Hebrew was the language of the Jews and is the language that most of the
Old Testament is written in.
Aramaic was the general language of the Gentile world in that day.
The phrase “O king, live forever!” is the start of the Aramaic portion.
It was the language spoken in Israel in Jesus’ day, the language Jesus
would have spoken.
From this verse
until the end of chapter 7, it’s all in Aramaic.
The order of the languages:
1:1 - 2:4a are written in Hebrew
2:4b - 7:28 are written in Aramaic
8:1 - 12:13 are written in Hebrew
Why the different languages?
There is much
in the book of Daniel that contains prophecies that affect the entire Gentile
world.
These just happen to lie within chapters 2-7
The rest of the
book greatly affects the nation Israel, written in Hebrew.
:4 Tell your servants the dream
They would be glad to help the king, but the king has to tell them what
the dream was before they can interpret it.
Sounds obvious.
:5 The king answered
and said to the Chaldeans, “My decision is firm: if you do not make known the
dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your
houses shall be made an ash heap.
:5 cut in pieces
The word “cut” isn’t in the text. It
is literally, “you shall be made into limbs”.
More
likely: The four limbs of the body
(arms, legs) are tied to four powerful trees that are temporarily roped
together at the top (like these horses).
When the ropes are cut, the victim is suddenly torn apart into four
pieces. Ouch. That’s gonna hurt.
:5 your houses
shall be made an ash heap
This was a common punishment in ancient days. For certain crimes, not only were you put to
death, but your
house was torn down and it was forbidden to build anything on top of it.
Nebuchadnezzar is one tough dude.
At the present time in Sudan, a Muslim nation, the houses of Christians
are habitually marked for destruction. “More than 1.2 million Christians—men,
women, and children—living in the capital city of Khartoum have had their homes
destroyed by the Muslim government—since 1992, 250,000 homes have been
bulldozed” (The New Foxes Book of Martyrs, 1997).
:6 However, if you
tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts,
rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.”
:6 gifts, rewards, and great honor
Nebuchadnezzar is using the old
carrot and a stick approach. If they
tell the king what he wants, they get the carrot – gifts and rewards. If they can’t tell the king what he wants,
they get the stick – cut in pieces and their houses destroyed.
:7 They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream,
and we will give its interpretation.”
:8 The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you would gain
time, because you see that my decision is firm:
:9 if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one
decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me
till the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that
you can give me its interpretation.”
:9 lying and
corrupt words
Nebuchadnezzar was a pagan
king. It’s been his practice to use
people like witch
doctors to guide his decisions. Ezekiel
wrote,
(Eze 21:21 NKJV) For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the road, at the
fork of the two roads, to use divination: he shakes the arrows, he consults the
images, he looks at the liver.
It sounds as if Nebuchadnezzar wondering at the moment if all the advice he’s gotten from these
soothsayers over the years had been a bunch of worthless lies.
He wants to know if their claim to supernatural wisdom was real.
:10 The Chaldeans
answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the
king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such
things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean.
:11 It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other
who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
:11 except the gods
The Chaldeans are trying to ask Nebuchadnezzar to be reasonable. He’s asking something that’s just
impossible. Only the “gods” know what he
dreamed, and they aren’t telling. Or so
they think.
:12 For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the
command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
:13 So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and
they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.
:13 they began killing the wise men
It sounds as if some of the wise men were being put to death.
:13 they sought
Daniel
Daniel and his friends were apparently not present at the earlier discussions with
Nebuchadnezzar. After all, they are just
junior wise men.
2:14-19 God reveals
:14 Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the
king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon;
:14 Arioch – ‘Aryowk –
“lion-like”
:14 guard – tabbach –
bodyguard, executioner, guardsmen
:14 with counsel
and wisdom Daniel answered
counsel – ‘eta’ –
counsel
wisdom – te’em –
decree, taste, judgment, command
Lesson
Careful Reply
Daniel is careful in how he responds to the king’s executioner. He answers with “counsel” and “wisdom”.
Sometimes we don’t make effort to respond to tense situations very well.
Peter, James and John were on a
mountain with Jesus when He suddenly started glowing in the dark and Moses and
Elijah appeared and started talking with Jesus. Peter feels like he has to say
something…
(Mk 9:5–6 ESV) —5 And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are
here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for
Elijah.” 6 For he did not know
what to say, for they were terrified.
He started talking
about pitching tents because he didn’t know what else to say.
The classic stupid response comes when Moses comes down from Mount Sinai to
find that the people had made a golden calf, gone into idolatry, all led by his
brother Aaron.
Actually, the
Biblical record makes Aaron’s excuse sound even lamer.
(Ex 32:24 NKJV) And I said
to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it
to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.”
The Bible says,
(Pr 29:11 NKJV) A fool vents all his feelings, But a wise man holds them
back.
(Pr 29:20 NKJV) Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for
a fool than for him.
Though Daniel is only about 20 years old at this time, yet he is very
careful in how he responds.
He asks for
advice, for “counsel”. He uses “wisdom” in
putting together his reply.
:15 he answered
and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so
urgent?” Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel.
:15 decision – millah
– word, thing; word, utterance, command; thing, affair, matter
:16 So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might
tell the king the interpretation.
I find it interesting that Nebuchadnezzar didn’t get mad at Daniel for
“stalling” for time. It seems as if
Nebuchadnezzar is willing to give Daniel a chance.
:17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah, his companions,
:18 that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this
secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the
wise men of Babylon.
:18 seek mercies
from the God of heaven
seek – be’a’ – to
ask, seek, request, desire, pray, make petition
mercies – rechem –
compassion
:18 might not perish
Their motives for their prayer was simple.
They didn’t care about what Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was.
They just wanted to survive.
Lesson
Praying for help
Daniel and his friends are faced with an impossible situation.
They respond to the situation with prayer.
James writes,
(Jas 1:5 NKJV) If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all
liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
James also writes,
(Jas 4:2b NKJV) …Yet you do not have because you do not ask.
:19 Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel
blessed the God of heaven.
:19 a night vision
A dream comes when you are asleep.
A vision comes when you are awake.
Daniel is awake and he “sees” the dream.
:19 blessed – berak
– to bless, kneel
2:20-24 Thanks
:20 Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
For wisdom and might are His.
Pay attention to Daniel’s theology.
Look at what he knows about God.
:20 wisdom – chokmah
– wisdom
:20 might – gebuwrah
– might
:21 And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises
up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have
understanding.
:21 He changes the
times and the seasons
changes – shena’ –
to change, be altered, be changed; (Aphel) to change, alter
times – ‘iddan –
time; time (of duration); year
seasons – zeman –
a set time, time, season
God is the one
who decides when events in history will take place. The fall of Jerusalem was no mistake. God even declares how long things will
last. Jeremiah, in Jerusalem, will soon
declare that the captivity will last for seventy years.
Daniel will
record that the antichrist will do something interesting:
(Da 7:25 NKJV) He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall
persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law.
think – cebar
– (P’al) to think, intend
changes – shena’
– to change, be altered, be changed; (Aphel) to change, alter
times – zeman – a set time, time, season
law – dath
– decree, law
This is the same
language used to describe what Daniel has ascribed to God. Perhaps this is hinting that the antichrist
is trying to control world events like he’s God.
:21 He removes
kings and raises up kings
Daniel knows that Nebuchadnezzar’s
dream is about changing world empires.
He’s also seen God remove his own king in Jerusalem.
:21 He gives wisdom to the wise …
Perhaps this is referring to God giving Daniel the answer to
Nebuchadnezzar’s question.
:22 He reveals
deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light
dwells with Him.
:22 He reveals deep and secret
things
deep – ‘amiyq
– deep things, deep mysteries
secret – cethar
– to hide, remove from sight
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was made of
deep and secret things. God revealed
them.
:22 He knows what is in
the darkness
darkness – chashowk
– darkness
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was in the
dark to everyone else except God.
:22 And light dwells with Him
light – nehiry
– light
Light makes things clear that are
hidden in darkness.
:23 “I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; 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 demand.”
:23 wisdom and might
These are the same words used by
Daniel in verse 20, that “wisdom and might are His”.
God has these qualities, and He
gives them away to others.
God has what you need.
:24 Therefore Daniel went 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; take me before the king, and I will tell the
king the interpretation.”
:24 the interpretation – peshar – interpretation (of dream)
:24 Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon
Some men might have used the answer that God gave Daniel to their own
advantage.
They might have said, “Go ahead and destroy the other wise men, because
they are fakes, but I am the one that has the answers…”
:23 I thank You and
praise You
Lesson
Remember to say “thanks”
The Bible says,
(Ps 92:1 NKJV) It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
Learning to say “thanks” to God doesn’t come naturally.
You have to work at it.
Jesus had an interesting encounter with ten men afflicted with an incurable,
IMPOSSIBLE disease
that cut them off from society.
(Lk 17:11–19 NKJV) —11
Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the
midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 Then as He entered a certain village,
there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. 13 And they lifted up
their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 So when He saw them,
He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as
they went, they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was
healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 and fell down on his face at His
feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. 17 So Jesus answered and said, “Were there
not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18 Were there not any found who returned
to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And He said to him, “Arise, go
your way. Your faith has made you well.”
Are you like the one or the nine?
For the last
five years or so, I’ve had a note at the top of my prayer list with the word “thanks”, to remind me to
say “thanks” to God.
To be honest, it’s taken me a long time to actually consistently learn how
to actually thank God.
It’s not easy, especially when you aren’t exactly happy about how your life
is going. But I’m learning that what the
Psalmist says is true.
It is good to give thanks.
Work to develop an attitude of gratitude.