Old Jerry

Daniel’s essential prayer is one that says that they were guilty of sin and that they deserved to be scattered and that they hadn’t turned back to him. But he asked for his mercy and to return to his people. The angel Gabriel came and talked to him and told him to consider and understanding of the vison. So Gabriel answered him with the restoration of Israel.

Daniel identifies himself with the sins of his people because he is part of those people. Being part of those people is also responsible for their actions. Jesus took on the forgiveness for all people where Daniel only took on the sins of his nation.

Daniel humbled himself when he prayed to the Lord. He didn’t demand anything just asked for mercy. He prepared by fasting and putting on sackcloth. The way that we might prepare for intercession is to fast so that we can get closer to God.

Daniel noticed that the seventy years that they would be captive was coming to an end and that he needed to ask God for the forgiveness and restoration of Israel to its homeland. Daniel’s practice of prayer lead him to pray again.

The circumstance that this truth is most precious to God’s people is the return of Jesus Christ. This is when he will return and take control of the earth. I expect the ultimate fulfillment to be when the new earth is created.

These verses describe “one like a son of man” as a man coming down with the clouds from heaven. Everybody will bow down to him and worship him because his dominion over everything and it will never end. I think that Jesus called himself “the Son of Man” because he didn’t want to offend the Jewish leaders and have them after him all the time. He didn’t want them to think that he was blaspheming God’s name.

The relationship of God to the various beastly nations that rage against each other and against him and his people is that God is in control of all that is happening. So the thing that happens to these beast-nations is that they get defeated and are thrown into the lake of fire. I think that sometimes we have such a difficult time believing that God is in charge of the world is because some of the things that happen are just so unbelievable. Sometime they are so destructible that it is hard to believe that God is in control and would let such a thing to happen.

I think that we do all kinds of things that show that we are irreverent and would offend Him. We go to church like we would go to the beach. We wear hats in the church. I don’t think that we even try to respect God even when we are in the church. I have changed my ways to conform to God’s holiness.

Nebuchadnezzar’s confession tells us that God is in control. Nebuchadnezzar though that he was in control but found out that there in only one in control and that One does not have to answer to anybody. I have given a public testimony to what I have learned about God through my trials, I talk about them in Sunday school classes.

Nebuchadnezzar was walking around and looking at the things that he had commanded to get completed and thinking to himself what a great person. He thought he had everything in control. This same thing can show up in my life when I think that I have accomplished everything on my own. Only I know that it was God that has made things possible. Pride can mask itself with humility when we look humble but our actions show otherwise.

Nebuchadnezzar must start treating people right in order to demonstrate that he renounces and repents of his sins. We must confess our sins and change the ways that we are going. For us to be kind to the poor means to help them in any way that we can. It is in my ability to accomplish this one person at a time. God has always had do us things so that we can help ourselves. If we do them then He is there helping us.

The meaning of “acknowledge that Heaven rules” is that God, the ruler of heaven, made all things and all things are under his power. The king thought that he was in control of all things because he had built some beautiful building therefore he was in control of all things. Our actions sometimes show that we think that we are in charge especially when something goes especially well.

I don’t think that Daniel is actually afraid to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream but he is concerned about him. It wasn’t a pleasant dream and Daniel wasn’t the one that wanted to break the bad news to him. I am afraid to say the bad things to my brothers and sisters because I am afraid to hurt their feelings. This is true if things seem to be going good with them. I just don’t want to bust their bubble.

Daniel testified about God when out got out of the lion’s den by telling the king that God found no guilt in him and that God kept the lions mouths shut. The thing that might have happened if Daniel would have focused on injustice done instead on the positive of what God had done then maybe God would have opened the lion’s mouth because he was still in the cage. But instead he focused on what God had done. I have a whole life time that I could use as a testimony of God’s mercy to me.

Daniel’s prayer practices seem to be very regimented and constant. I have adopted the prayers in the morning and usually when I have lunch. I think that most of his practices would humble me more because it all being respectful to God.

Daniel’s character qualities as a government official is one of being honest, trustworthy, and diligent. These qualities reflect on Daniel’s God because He is all these qualities and more. I am retired now but I hope that they saw these qualities in me.

Nebuchadnezzar summed up their faith by saying that they would rather give up their life then bow down to an image made by man. I think that I would be willing to disobey a command or law to be faithful to God. I hope that I would be like those Christians kids in Oregon that gave up their lives and said that they would rather follow God than deny Him. I have thought about this quite a bit so I hope that there is nothing that is holding me back. But I have learned that you don’t know what you will do until you have been in that situation.

The effect that their deliverance had on the government official colleagues is that their God is a powerful God and that if you believe in Him He will also protect you. The effect on the king was that he blessed there God as the most high God.

The Jews answer Nebuchadnezzar by telling him that with their God they can overcome everything. So if it is God’s will, he will rescue them but even if it is not they are not going to bow down to the image. They are in defiant in the face of death because they believe that God has their back.

The Jew’s fellow government officials reported them to Nebuchadnezzar because they were jealous of the position that they had attend. The king in angry because this could have been a test to see who they were loyal to him. His motivation to have people bow to the statue was to show that that he had absolute power.

Verse 44 teaches us that the kingdom that the God of heaven will set up will destroy all other kingdoms and that it will not be man that will set it up. This will become God’s kingdom. The kingdom will come and smash all other kingdoms. Mark 1:15 says that the time has come and that the kingdom of God is at hand and that we should repent and believe in the gospel. There is no time line when all the other kingdoms will be destroyed.

Daniel showed humility in this situation be saying the no man could interpret his dream but only the God of the universe could do it. By doing this he was using this opportunity to witness before the king his faith in God. According to I Peter 5:5-6 we should never try to exalt ourselves and if we do God will oppose us.

Daniel asks his friends to “plead for mercy” because he knows that the more prayers that go up to God the more likely that God will answer them in the way that we want Him to. According to Scripture intercessory prayer if very important. James tells us to call the elders to pray for you if you are sick. Intercessory prayer if very effective. I think that most churches have implemented intercessory prayers.

Daniel approached the caregiver and convinced him to give them special food for ten days and if they weren’t in better condition than they would go back to eating off the kings table. So Daniel came to a compromise with the person in charge. The demeanor toward those over him was on of cooperation. God’s hand in this is that He made Daniel and his companions healthier then the others.

I think that Daniel took a stand concerning being defiled by the king’s food and wine because that was going to affect him physically. He might have believed in what you eat is what you are. The food that was being offered to Daniel was probably food that was cooked in pork or some other unclean meat and he didn’t want anything to do with that. This tells me that Daniel stood on his principles.