Bible Story: Book of Daniel
Bible Verses:
Daniel 1:15 - At the end of the ten days, they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.
Daniel 6:22 - My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”
Background:
Daniel and his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, along with thousands of other Israelites, had been exiled to Babylon.
King Nebuchadnezzar oppressed God’s people and attempted to conform them to Babylonian culture.
We pick up early in Daniel’s story. He and his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, had been selected to undergo a three-year training period in Babylonian culture. This included everything from learning a new language to eating new foods. Unfortunately, the new foods they were offered we considered “unclean”. Eating these “unclean” foods would have defiled them and separated them from God.
So, instead of eating these foods, the men decided to only eat vegetables and drink water. At first, the guards were worried that Daniel and his friends would become weak. But before long, Daniel and his friends proved to be stronger than everyone else. Because of this, they were promoted and held high positions in the nation. God blessed them because they stayed faithful.
Daniel’s position and rank continued to increase the longer he lived. He had God’s favor in his life. He interpreted dreams and visions for the king, which led to even greater prosperity. But eventually, people grew jealous of Daniel and the amount of favor in his life.
When a new king took the throne, the people convinced him to make a law where people could only pray to him. Anyone who prayed to anyone or anything besides the king would be thrown into a lion's den. The people did this because they knew Daniel was faithful and prayed to God every day. When Daniel heard the news of the new law, the first thing he did was pray like he always had.
The people that were jealous of Daniel caught him praying and brought him to the king. The king liked Daniel but was required to throw him into the lions’ den because his law was irreversible.
Daniel was thrown in the lions’ den, and everyone thought the lions would kill him. But the next morning the rock that was covering the den was removed, and Daniel walked out unharmed. God had shut the mouths of the lions and saved Daniel because he was faithful. Then the people who were jealous of Daniel were thrown into the den, and the lions ate them before they even reached the bottom.
In the account of Daniel, we see that God rewards faithfulness. Daniel got into trouble for obeying and following God. But because Daniel was faithful, God got him out of trouble.
We see a similar thing happen with Jesus. Jesus was faithful to God, but people didn’t understand him. They had him killed and put in a tomb. But just like in Daniel’s story, the rock that sealed Jesus’s tomb was rolled away, and Jesus walked out. And now we get to live resurrected lives with Jesus when we accept what he did for us.
Key Takeaways:
Stay Faithful to the Lord
Pray First in every situation
Pray God’s Favor on your life & your children's lives
Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about the life of Daniel this Sunday, both in-person and online.
Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.
To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.