𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣
• Share about a time that you spoke up to stop an injustice. What happened?
• Has someone ever shown appreciation for you when you did the right thing? Tell us about it.
• Recall a time when you regretted not speaking up for someone. What happened?


𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗
𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥: “𝘉𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴; 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴; 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨; 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴; 𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘥𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮.” 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗟 𝟮:𝟮𝟬–𝟮𝟮

(Read also 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗟 𝟮:𝟭–𝟭𝟵, 𝟮𝟯–𝟰𝟵.)

While Daniel and his three friends were still in training to become courtiers in the Babylonian palace, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and could not remember what it is. He called all the sages, magicians, sorcerers, and enchanters to tell him of the dream and its interpretation. No one could do what he asked them to do so he ordered that all the sages of the kingdom be killed. In this story, we will see how Daniel and his friends reacted to the king’s deadly command.


𝟭. 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴’𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁.
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘤𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨'𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘢𝘣𝘺𝘭𝘰𝘯. 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘤𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨'𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯, “𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵?” 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘈𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗟 𝟮:𝟭𝟰–𝟭𝟲

King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, and he wanted someone to tell him his dream and interpret it. When no one could, he threatened to kill the wise men of Babylon. Daniel did not know the dream or what it meant, but he knew his God and that God is greater than Nebuchadnezzar. When he heard about the king’s decree, Daniel did not panic or hide. He boldly asked for an audience with the king and then went home to pray with his friends in order for God to reveal the dream to him. Though our challenges may seem impossible for us, God will always be with His people and turn things around for His glory. Recall a time when you found yourself in an impossible situation but trusted God instead of panicking.

𝟮. 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴.
2. 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘩, 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘩, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘢𝘣𝘺𝘭𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯. 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗟 𝟮:𝟭𝟳–𝟭𝟵

Daniel’s request for an appointment with the king allowed him time to regroup with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah and pray. They knew that on their own, they would fail and meet certain death. When God showed Daniel the answer through a vision, his first reaction was to praise God. How did Daniel answer God when the mystery was revealed to him (Daniel 2:20–23)?

𝟯. 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹’𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗼𝗱.
𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘕𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘕𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘻𝘻𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 . . .” 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗟 𝟮:𝟮𝟳–𝟮𝟴

When it was time for Daniel to appear before the king, he made it known that no wise man, not even he himself could interpret the dream. In a way, Daniel was on a level playing field with everyone else, except that he immediately acknowledged God as the source of all wisdom and knowledge. He pointed the king to the God who makes all things known. Daniel’s interpretation was a foreshadowing of the kingdom of God that cannot be destroyed and will overcome every kingdom. Because God was glorified through Daniel, the king’s heart turned toward God and he immediately promoted Daniel and his friends to high government positions (Daniel 2:47–48). Share about a time when you helped point someone who was going through a difficult time to God. What happened?


𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
• In a situation similar to Daniel’s, what do you think would give you the confidence to speak? Are you facing a similar situation today?
• Is there an issue or situation that you feel you need to do the unpopular but right thing? What insight from Daniel 2 can help you in your response?
• Are you praying for God to change someone’s heart to acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior? How important is wisdom from God in this situation?


𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥
• Thank God for the wisdom He gives us for deliverance, to change hearts, and to give us victory.
• Pray that God will show you His plans and give you the words to say in times when you choose to speak up.
• Ask for the right words to use when you share about God and the gospel to your family and friends.