𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣
• What’s one of the hardest situations you have ever faced? How did you get through it?
• Tell us about the oldest person you know today. When was he or she born and what experiences has this person lived through?
• Would you say that you are aware of and involved in current events? What makes you say that?


𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗
“𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳; 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘦𝘴; 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴.” 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗟 𝟲:𝟮𝟲–𝟮𝟳

(Read also 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗟 𝟲:𝟭–𝟮𝟱, 𝟮𝟴.)

We’re following the life of Daniel—one of the Hebrew exiles in Babylon recognized by kings for his excellence and wisdom. Now under the Medo-Persian empire, Daniel served King Darius. Daniel’s faithfulness to the Lord was tested many times. This chapter contains one of his most severe tests: he was put in the lion’s den for praying to God. In this lesson, we will look at the main character of the story of Daniel’s life, of history, and of every event in the world: God.


𝟭. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗺𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀.
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, “𝘖 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳! 𝘔𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴’ 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘖 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮.” 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗟 𝟲:𝟮𝟭–𝟮𝟮

Daniel found favor with King Darius and served him faithfully and excellently. But when Daniel continued to worship God alone, Darius had to fulfill his decree to punish Daniel. He had Daniel thrown into the lion’s den. But God showed up, shut the mouths of the lions, and spared Daniel’s life. God remained faithful to Daniel from when he was a young man in Judah to an old man serving in a Medo-Persian kingdom. God had been present in all the twists and turns of Daniel’s life. God delivered him from impossibilities—including the lion’s den. How did the king try to help Daniel (Daniel 6:14, 16, 18–20)? How did God show Himself greater than King Darius?

𝟮. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩: “𝘗𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳; 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘦𝘴; 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴.” 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗟 𝟲:𝟮𝟱–𝟮𝟳

How could the disobedience of Judah, the horror of exile, and the fall of the Babylonian empire turn into a story of a Persian king praising God? Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in
Daniel 2 (of different kingdoms rising and falling) was coming to pass before Daniel’s eyes. God always has a greater plan and purpose. He is over all rulers, kingdoms, and nations. He weaves the threads of history, He has a plan for our redemption, and His purpose will prevail. His hand remains steady over the rise and fall of nations. What was the decree of King Darius? To whom was this decreed? How did Darius describe God?

𝟯. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.
𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘺𝘳𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘯. 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗟 𝟲:𝟮𝟴

God takes care of the small and big things in our lives and the world. He sustained Daniel and allowed him to serve Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus. He allowed the rise and fall of kingdoms to fulfill His plan—He restored the remnant of Israel through Cyrus. When we go through transitions (whether personal, national, or global), God remains with us. He is in control. How is this true of past, present, and future transitions? Why should we rely on God, not ourselves or others?


𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
• Take some time to determine who or what you trust. Why is only God most worthy of our trust? How can you trust Him more starting today?
• Compare the history covered in the book of Daniel to your nation’s history and situation. Do you believe God rules over all history and over every nation? How will you apply this truth to your life this week?
• Think of one person you know whose situation may be a bit like Daniel’s: at risk of facing consequences for serving God. Make a plan to contact him or her, send encouragement, and pray for this person to experience God’s faithfulness and protection even in the lion’s den.


𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥
• Pray that people in your nation will recognize God’s sovereign hand over circumstances, history, and transitions. Pray for people to know God and for His plan to be fulfilled.
• Pray for the church to remain faithful to God and proclaim His truth to others in spite of persecution and danger. Pray for more people to serve God as Daniel did.
• Pray the leaders in your nation to make decrees that honor God, as Darius did. Pray for their eyes to be opened to who God is.