Daniel 1–3
Common Theme
God honors those who remain faithful to Him, even in hostile environments. His power and presence are made known through the courageous obedience of His people in the face of pressure and persecution.
Questions
- What does it look like to remain faithful to God when your environment is hostile or indifferent to Him?
- In what areas are you being asked to trust God with the outcome of your obedience?
God Shot
God is sovereign over kings and kingdoms, yet He draws near to the faithful, even in fire. He is the one who gives wisdom, preserves life, and reveals Himself through miraculous deliverance and unwavering presence.
Deeper✝
Chapter 1
In the third year of Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem and took Jehoiakim captive, along with sacred vessels from the temple. He ordered Ashpenaz to select young men from Israel, including Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, for training in Chaldean literature and language. They were to receive royal food and wine for three years. Daniel, however, chose not to defile himself with the king’s food and requested a diet of vegetables and water instead. After ten days, he and his friends appeared healthier than those who ate the king’s food. God granted them wisdom and understanding, making them stand out before Nebuchadnezzar, who found them ten times better than his other advisors. Daniel remained in Babylon until the first year of King Cyrus.
Chapter 2
In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, the king experienced troubling dreams and summoned magicians, enchanters, and Chaldeans to interpret them. He demanded they reveal both the dream and its interpretation, threatening death if they failed. The Chaldeans argued that no one could meet such a demand, leading to the king’s anger and a decree to execute all wise men in Babylon. Daniel, one of the exiles, learned of the decree and requested time to interpret the dream. He and his companions prayed for divine mercy, and God revealed the mystery to Daniel in a vision.
Daniel praised God for His wisdom and might and approached the king’s captain, Arioch, to prevent the execution of the wise men. He was brought before Nebuchadnezzar, who asked if Daniel could reveal the dream and its meaning. Daniel explained that no human could do this, but God could reveal mysteries. He then described the king’s dream of a great image made of various materials, culminating in a stone that destroyed the image and became a mountain.
Daniel interpreted the dream, explaining that the image represented successive kingdoms, with Nebuchadnezzar as the head of gold. He foretold the rise of inferior kingdoms and the establishment of a divine kingdom that would last forever. Impressed, Nebuchadnezzar honored Daniel, acknowledging his God as the ultimate revealer of mysteries, and appointed him ruler over Babylon, along with his companions.
Chapter 3
King Nebuchadnezzar erected a massive golden image in Babylon and commanded all officials to worship it upon hearing music. Those who refused would be thrown into a fiery furnace. When certain Chaldeans accused three Jews—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—of defying this decree, Nebuchadnezzar summoned them. He offered them a chance to worship the image, threatening them with the furnace if they did not comply. The three men boldly declared their faith, stating that their God could save them, but even if He did not, they would not worship the golden image.
Enraged, Nebuchadnezzar ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter and had the men bound and thrown in. The flames were so intense that they killed the soldiers who cast them into the fire. However, Nebuchadnezzar was astonished to see four unbound figures walking in the flames, one resembling a divine being. He called the three men out, and they emerged unharmed, with no signs of fire on them. Nebuchadnezzar praised their God for delivering them and decreed that anyone who spoke against Him would face severe punishment. He then promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Babylon.
✝Deeper excerpt from NIV Application Commentary, One-Volume Edition.