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| Dan. 2:14-18 |
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Lesson # Dan. 2:14-18 Study Material - Dan. 2:14-18 You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth. Dan. 2:14-18 14 Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to Arioch, the captain of the king's bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon; 15 he answered and said to Arioch, the king's commander, 'For what reason is the decree from the king so urgent?' Then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter. 16 So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would give him time, in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king. 17 Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, 18 in order that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. The officers were on the hunt for the wise men of Babylon, to gather them up and then execute them per the decree of Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel was found and the order was read to him. He replied to the officer. He did not merely reply in a panic, but with discernment. Others were most likely crying and whining as they were being carried away. But here the contrast of Daniel's response verses the response of others is made clear. In the face of certain death, Daniel kept his poise. He made inquiry as to what the problem was and when told, made a request from the king for time in order to prepare for the interpretation of the dream. He sought counsel with his immediate friends and they prayed to God for an answer and deliverance. Contrasts are evident in this passage. The wise men sought counsel with each other in order to plot an explanation and then divide the reward. They failed and ran. The palace guards had to be sent to gather them up. Daniel was apparently no involved in the immediate counsel with the king, and as a result was probably given some leeway in his request for time. Nebuchadnezzar has already demonstrated some favoritism for Daniel and his friends, but Daniel was not called together with the other wise men for this dream interpretation. He was excluded in the initial phase of the problem. Previously Daniel, when examined by Nebuchadnezzar, was found to be ten times the wiser than the rest. Probably jealousy resulted out of this and when the wise men were summoned, Daniel was excluded. God has his ways of including or excluding us from an event in accordance with his will. Many might think the opportunity was lost because they missed the chance, but in the spiritual life, God brings certain opportunities to you when it is in His interest. If God wishes you to be successful, nothing can prevent it. Missing an opportunity is a human attitude, not a spiritual one. Daniel used discernment and discretion. He was polite with the guard as was the guard with him. Daniel requested an audience with the king and that was granted. Consequently time was allowed by the king. Daniel consulted with his friends and together the did not attempt to conjure up a plot and a quick answer, but they instead turned to God in prayer. The first lesson in life is that all counsel comes from God. Anyone who approaches God in the proper way will be received and heard. And an answer will be forth coming. If your petition is in accordance with Gods will then your petition will be granted. If not, then your petition will be denied. See the prayer chart on the index page. God only hears those who belong to his kingdom, believers in Jesus Christ. Daniel was a believer in the Son of God, the Savior of the human race, the deliverer of man from sin and death. Daniel understood the work that Christ would be doing on the Cross. Daniel understood the principles that were taught in the Levitical sacrifices and offerings. He knew how to approach Nebuchadnezzar in humility and diplomacy despite Nebuchadnezzar's unstable attitude. Daniel knew how to approach God who is infinitely more stable than any creature. We approach God from a 'clean' stand point. The washing of the hands, the washing of the feet, the removal of the shoes are illustrations, teaching aids, to help us learn the concept of fellowship. God exists on Holy ground. Holiness consists of two things - righteousness and justice. No sin and a cleansing of that which is sinful or unclean. Thus we approach God in a clean attire. In sin we are in effect covered in vomit and all kinds of yuk. You cannot approach God until you have been cleaned up. If you approach God in filth, you will be rejected. Therefore we have the concept of fellowship, a concept which applies only to believers in Christ. Unbelievers lack a human spirit and therefore lack the mechanism of communion and fellowship with God. In fellowship we confess our sins to God the Father, only. The Father is the only recipient of prayer. We do not pray to anyone else. We do not confess our sins to anyone else This is a private matter between you and God. On confession, where you simply list your recent sins (since your last confession - perhaps an hour ago!!!!), then you forget them. God forgives them and forgets them as well. You are now in fellowship and God will hear your petition, your prayer, and answer in an appropriate way. The next time you sin you will be out of fellowship and therefore you'll need to confess again in order to get yourself back into fellowship. In fellowship in where you need to live your life. This is the place of spiritual growth, prosperity, protection, security, blessing, and so forth. While out of fellowship you are exposed to the jungle, you are outside of the palace walls, unprotected, and depend on Gods grace for whatever protection you might receive. And that grace usually involves some sort of discipline for your infractions. Better to live inside the palace walls, than to live outside the palace. The Israelites had a wall of fire protecting them from the Egyptians. They had walls of water protecting them from the world around them. So too each of us have that same protection, but only if we comply with Gods command to be in fellowship with Him. Daniel knew and understood the events that were happening. If it was Gods will for Him to die in such a frivolous manner, then there was a reason for it. But as long as each of us is alive, then nothing can take us out of this world until God allows it. The issue is clear. Either an answer of some type would be forth coming, or the king would have a change of heart, or God had some other purpose in mind for these events. In many cases events are allowed to drag out just to demonstrate mans inability to get to a solution, to demonstrate mans arbitrariness and tendency to plot deceit, to demonstrate mans refusal to call on God for the answer, or to promote those who do call on God, or to show at just what level the spiritual life exists in a person, group, or nation, or even group of nations. The wise men debated with the king. Daniel sought counsel with God through prayer. 
Now is the time to post a prayer. End Of Lesson Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth. |
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