Daniel 7:1

Daniel 7:1 says, In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.  We are now backing up in time to the first year of Belshazzar's reign.  We are also being told of some of Daniel's dreams and visions.  These are prophetic visions, and as Matthew Henry says they are hard to interpret.  They do point to suffering for God's people and not for the prosperity that many Jews expected to come in this world.  God's kingdom is spiritual and not physical.  The first eight verses speak of the four beasts that Daniel saw in his dreams.  Verse two adds, Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.  Daniel first speaks of the four winds of heaven.  Matthew Henry said these represented kingdoms or those rulers within a kingdom always being at war with each other.  Verse three continues, And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.  After the four winds, Daniel saw four great beasts rising out of the sea.  These beasts were different from one another.  Verse four states, The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.  Matthew Henry says this first beast represented the Chaldeans, who had a heart like a lion and wings like an eagle for a time.  Then, they had their wings plucked and their heart was a man's heart.  Their power went away.  Kingdoms on earth can be powerful for a time, then just lose their power.  Verse five adds, And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.  Matthew Henry says this beast represented the Persian monarchy, which was like a bear and the ribs in its mouth represented kingdoms that were devoured.  This kingdom was not quite as glorious as the Chaldean kingdom but was more brutal.  Verse six continues, After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard,which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.  According to Matthew Henry, this beast represented the Grecian empire, which under Alexander the Great was even larger and more powerful than the empire of Nebuchadnezzar.  Upon the death of Alexander the Great, the kingdom was divided between four rulers.  Verse seven says, After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.   This is unnamed beast is considered by some to represent the Roman empire, which did rule most of the known world and was at times very brutal.  Verse eight adds, I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.  This little horn in this case would be the Turkish empire, which defeated three of the kingdoms within the Roman empire.  Others consider this fourth kingdom to be Syrian, and the horns its ten rulers, with the little horn representing Antiochus Epiphanes, who by whatever means claimed the power of three of the other ten.  This is all according to Matthew Henry.

Daniel 6:24

Daniel 6:24 says, And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.  These were the men who had plotted against Daniel, and in effect against God.  They had wanted to silence Daniel because he had prospered under God's blessing.  Instead of looking to God for this same type blessing, they wanted to silence Daniel and remain true to their gods.  There are people today who will do everything they can to silence those who truly follow and speak for the only true God.  We might think it extreme that the wives and children were thrown into the lion's den as well, but it was a common practice to punish the family along with the guilty in that day.  They were all devoured by the lions, but if there were those who had acknowledged God as their God, they were still delivered to everlasting life.  Verse twenty-five adds, Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.  Darius was once again writing to all people, but this time he was wishing them peace.  He really could not dictate peace though, because only God can bring peace to the world. Verse twenty-six continues, I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.  Though it was better that Darius decree that everyone worship the God of Daniel than that they worship some other God, that did not mean that everyone was suddenly saved.  The only way that we can acknowledge God as our God is individually.  A right relationship with God can only come from a person accepting Christ as Savior and Lord themself.  Darius could not, nor can we, force people to acknowledge God for Who He is.  Verse twenty-seven states, He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.  Darius was correct about Who God is.  God does indeed deliver and rescue us from the power of sin, and by the very order of the universe He works signs and wonders.  In our own lives, though it may not be from the lion's den, we as followers of Christ should be able to see where God has delivered us from bad situations.  Most importantly, we can see where God, through our faith in Christ, has delivered us from the power of sin and death.  Verse twenty-eight adds, So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.  Daniel continued to prosper, even during another reign change.  Kingdoms on earth may change but, if we are followers of Christ, we know that we shall prosper forever, no matter what happens in this life.  We should simply remain true to God, whether we are in the lion's den or are one of the most powerful people in the country.

Daniel 6:16

Daniel 6:16 says, Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.  Darius had no choice.  He had to put Daniel in the lions den.  Still, he expressed faith that Daniel's God would deliver him.  Sometimes, even those who are not followers of Christ recognize God's power.  I believe that this will only occur when we are totally obedient to God through the leadership and power of the Holy Spirit.  Daniel's obedience only rewarded him with the lion's den.  We sometimes hear the thought expressed that God does not want us to be unhappy, so He will give us anything we desire strongly enough.  This has never been God's teaching.  Verse seventeen adds, And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.  The king made sure that Daniel could not sneak out, but I don't think Daniel would have anyway.  He was relying on and being true to God, no matter what.  Daniel defied the law that came between God and him, but being held accountable for the consequences did not change.  We cannot stay true to our faith in God only because we believe that He will always keep us from suffering any consequences for our faith.  Daniel's faith got him sealed in a den of lions.  We need this same faith.  Verse eighteen continues, Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.  Darius had a sleepless night, but I don't believe that Daniel did.  When we are secure in our relationship with God, we should rest easy at night.  Through our relationship with Christ, we should be at peace in our lives, no matter what.  We are God's children forever through our faith in Christ.  Verse nineteen states, Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.  The king had sealed Daniel in overnight, but that didn't mean that he had to keep him there longer than necessary.  Verse twenty adds, And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?  When the king put Daniel in the lion's den, he said that Daniel's God would deliver him, but he didn't truly believe this.  If he had, he would not have had a sleepless night and have now been questioning if God had delivered Daniel.  The king was more concerned with Daniel than he was with God, which is why it said he spoke in a lamentable voice.  He feared that Daniel was dead.  Acknowledging that God exists is not the same as putting one's faith in His ability to deliver us.  Verse twenty-one continues, Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.  Daniel did not speak angrily to the king.  I believe his greeting was more sincere than that of the other wise men who had failed to to interpret the writing, because they feared the king, and Daniel did not.  Verse twenty-two says, My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.  Daniel said that God had shut the mouths of the lions, because Daniel was innocent before God and the king.  This did not mean that Daniel had never committed a sin, but instead that he remained true to God even when faced with the very real threat of death.  We need to pray that God will find us innocent in our actions in the world through the sacrifice of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.  We must remain faithful to our death, no matter how imminent it may seem if we do so.  God has already delivered us from the power of death.  Verse twenty-three adds, Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.  The king was exceedingly glad that Daniel was unharmed.  Daniel was brought out of the lion's den unharmed because he believed in his God.  We must have that same faith in God, Who was Daniel's God.

Daniel 6:10

Daniel 6:10 says, Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.  Daniel was aware of the decree, but he did not allow it to alter his worship of God.  The decree was not that anyone had to worship Darius but was that no other god could be worshipped for thirty days.  Daniel could have just gone along with the decree and not worship God for thirty days, or he could have done so quietly in his own home, but he did not alter his worship at all.   Daniel knelt before his open windows three times a day and prayed.  If confronted with a situation where acknowledging God might be dangerous, we cannot allow ourselves to just go along and not acknowledge Him, even for a short period of time.  We must remain as faithful as Daniel was.  We cannot alter our worship of and obedience to God to conform to the dictates of the world.  Verse eleven adds, Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.  These presidents and princes did not just happen to notice Daniel praying to God.  They assembled to watch him, knowing he would not obey the decree.  There are people today who want nothing more than to discredit Christians, and the more faithful we are, the more they desire this.  We need to pray that the only way they hope to discredit us is due to our faithfulness to God.  Verse twelve continues, Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king’s decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.  They had what they wanted, and that was a way to get rid of Daniel.  I believe this would have been the first day of the decree.  They went to Darius, supposedly out of concern for his decree being violated, but they were never concerned about him anyway.  People still use flattery today to get what they want from those in power.  Verse thirteen states, Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.  The other presidents and princes had what they wanted, which was some way to discredit or destroy Daniel.  They could not find a way to discredit Daniel through his work for Darius, so they attempted to get rid of Daniel through his devotion to God.  That is a good place to be.  It is always good that no one can discredit us because of our having done something wrong in the eyes of the world and can only attack us due to our devotion to God. They told the king that three times a day Daniel was praying to his God and not the king.   Verse fourteen adds, Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.  The king was not upset with Daniel but was upset with himself for issuing the decree.  He spent the day trying to figure out a way to deliver Daniel, but the law prevented him from doing so.  Verse fifteen continues, Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.  The king had to follow his decree.  There may be some in power today who feel that certain laws are wrong, but unless they are changed, they must be enforced.  If a law comes between God and us, we must remain true to God, no matter what happens.

Daniel 6:1

Daniel 6:1 says, It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom;  Darius set up the government the way he wanted it.  When governments are overthrown today, those coming to power establish their own system of government.  Verse two adds, And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage.  Over the hundred and twenty princes, Darius placed three presidents, and Daniel was first.  This had nothing to do with Belshazzar's promotion of Daniel, because he was no longer in charge.  Verse three continues, Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.  Daniel was preferred over the others and was placed over the whole realm.  I believe this was because Daniel was not attempting to gain power for himself but was honestly doing what was best for Darius under the leadership of God.  If we, as followers of Christ, are placed in a position of power, or authority, we must always do what is best for the ones we serve under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, and never for personal glory.  Verse four states, Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. The other presidents and princes did not like Daniel, this Jew who was a Babylonian captive that now ruled over them.  Yet, the could find nothing to accuse him of to cause him to be removed from power.  We need the same testimony today.  We need to be honest in all our dealings with others.  Verse five adds, Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.  Those who plotted against Daniel knew the only way to cause Daniel to fail was by utilizing his relationship to God and His law.   We know that Christians today are charged with all sorts of negative things because of their stand for God and His law.  Verse six continues, Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever. The presidents and princes began to put their plan into action by appealing to Darius' vanity, appearing to have his best interest at heart.  Verse seven says, All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellers, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.  They really did make it seem that what they proposed was for the king's glory.  He would be the only one worshipped for thirty days.  They knew this was long enough for their purpose.  They knew Daniel would not go thirty days without worshipping God and he would never worship Darius.  Are people as certain about our faithfulness as followers of Christ today?  Verse eight adds, Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.  For their plan to succeed, they had to convince the king to issue a decree in writing so that it could not be changed.  They wanted no loophole for Daniel.  Verse nine continues, Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.  The king, likely due to his vanity, signed the decree.

Daniel 5:24

Daniel 5:24 says, Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.  Daniel told Belshazzar that it was because of his actions in claiming the temple vessels as his own that he saw the part of the handwriting on the wall.  We sometimes hear the expression that we have seen the writing on the wall, but we don't always associate it with God's judgment.  We need to acknowledge, that by whatever method, God will make people aware of their sin.  Verse twenty-five adds, And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.  Since the writing was from God, those who did not know Him could not understand it.  They may have even been able to pronounce the words, but they didn't know what they meant.  The same is true today.  God's judgment is certain, unless we accept Christ as our Savoir and Lord.  Until we do, we cannot begin to understand what God has to say to us.  There is no way that someone who doesn't know God can tell us about God and His will for us.  Verse twenty-six continues, This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE: God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.  Daniel begins a word-by-word interpretation of the message.  The first thing was that God had numbered Belshazzar's kingdom.  We can also be certain that our kingdom, our time on earth, is numbered.  It will end, either in death or at the return of Christ.  Verse twenty-seven then states, TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.  God weighed Belshazzar with God's scale, and no matter how important Belshazzar was in the eyes of the world, by God's scale he was found wanting.  When God weighs our lives, we will always be wanting or come up short.  It is only through the sacrifice of Christ that we can be restored. Verse twenty-eight adds, PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.  Beshazzar's kingdom was going to be divided between the Medes and Persians.  What we amass in this world will not last forever.  When we die, it will be claimed by others, yet we often put more emphasis on the things of the world than we do on the things of God.  Verse twenty-nine continues, Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.  There is nothing said about Belshazzar repenting.  He did fulfill his promise of making the one who interpreted the writing, which turned out to be Daniel, a third ruler of the kingdom.  Still, this was an empty promise, because his kingdom was coming to an end.  Any worldly possession or position we are given in this world is likewise an empty promise.  Verse thirty declares, In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.  We might say that God didn't give Belahazzar much time to make things right, but God had given him a lifetime.  Belshazzar knew of the experience of his father, Nebuchadnezzar, but still chose to defy God.  People today choose to ignore the teachings of the Bible and the example of Christians, sometimes even their own parents, and the time will come when God judges them, and they will be found wanting.  Verse thirty-one adds, And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.  Not only was there a new king, but there was a new kingdom in power.  Still, God was and is and always will be the ultimate authority.

Daniel 5:17

Daniel 5:17 says, Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.  As with the rich foods of the Nebuchadnezzar earlier, Daniel told Belshazzar that he did not want the money and power that was offered him.  If we start to accept material rewards before we will proclaim God's word, then we have truly lost sight of what we are called to do.  There is a difference in witnessing for reward and relying on God to meet our needs.  Verse eighteen adds, O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour:  Daniel begins by proclaiming the power of God.  He said that God had given Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar's father, his kingdom and glory.  As stated earlier, we can ask if God actually placed Nebuchadnezzar in power, or simply allowed him to rise to power.  Verse nineteen continues, And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.  God gave or allowed Nebuchadnezzar to have great power over all the nations around him.  There are nations today that have great power and deny God, but the fact that God allows them to maintain this power does not mean that He gives them this power.  I do not believe that God changes nations, but that He changes individuals who change nations.  That is why we need moral leaders, those who are dedicated to following God.  Verse twenty states, But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:  I believe that by now Belshazzar might have been wondering why Daniel was telling him all this.  He had to have known what had happened to his father during Nebuchadnezzar's time of disgrace, as we might say.  Sometimes we may need to remind people of God's work in the past in order to get them to understand that God is still at work today and will never change.  Verse twenty-one adds,  And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.  Daniel reminded Belshassar of what had happened to Nebuchadnezzar when he refused to acknowledge God.  God's judgment does not change with time or situations, but is always sure and just.  Verse twenty-two continues, And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;  Basically, Daniel told Belshazzar that he was without excuse for his behavior.  He knew what God had done in Nebuchadnezzar's life.  We will never be able to stand before God and justify our rebellion against Him.  Verse twenty-three concludes, But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:  Daniel still had not interpreted the writing, but he was telling Belshazzar the reason for the writing.  Belshazzar not only didn't recognize God, but he went out of his way to defy God by using the temple vessels as his own.  The reason that any person is punished by God is because of their refusal to acknowledge Him.  I also believe that we can never use the things of God for our own purposes without being held accountable for doing so.