lent24

 Before I get into todays Daniel scripture I just have to tell you what happened on Wednesday night.  We were at our housegroup and the topic was the Word of God, are we hungry, how do we get and stay hungry for it etc. As part of the discussion I said that I write a blog twice a year as a way of disciplining myself to read and study scripture and listen to God. And I happened to mention that this Lent Im working my way through Daniel.  At which point Mark (the guy whose house we were in for the very first time) jumped up and disappeared upstairs, returning moments later with this. So this is an actual coin minted in the reign of Darius the Mede in 536BC - exactly at the time Daniel was doing his thing.  To say I was a bit astounded was an understatement.  We dont usually meet in Marks house, Ive never mentioned my blog to the housegroup before and Mark is the least likely bloke I could think of to have a collection of 'coins of the Bible' ( he also has a coin m...

  Daniel 9 Daniel’s Prayer for His People 1 In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes, a  a Mede by descent, who was made ruler over the kingdom of the Chaldeans b  —  2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the sacred books, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. c   3 So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. 4 And I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed, “O, Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of loving devotion d  to those who love Him and keep His commandments,  5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have acted wickedly and rebelled. We have turned away from Your commandments and ordinances.  6 We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, leaders, and fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 To You, O Lord, ...

 Daniel chapter 8 details another vision Daniel had in the 3rd year of the reign of Belshazzar.  So this was before Babylon was overtaken by the Medes and Persians and it depicts that invasion and the subsequent expansion of that empire.  God was reassuring His people that even though there was going to be a regime change at some point in the future, He knew all about it and He would still be watching out for His people.  The vision then goes on to explain the next stage of world history - the rise of Alexander the Great and the break up of his vast empire into four parts after his unexpected and sudden demise.  Well, thats what the commentators say anyway.  And who am I to argue with the scholars ? 😊 I didnt know much about Alexander the Great until I read a bit about him in researching todays post.  Apparently he was the most brilliant, ruthless global leader the world has ever seen.  And he died aged 33 in a debauched drunken episode.  He...

 Daniel Ch 7 3 In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man b coming with the clouds of heaven. c He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. 14 And He was given dominion, glory, and kingship, that the people of every nation and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. Daniel’s Visions Interpreted    15 I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit, and the visions in my mind alarmed me.  16 I approached one of those who were standing there, and I asked him the true meaning of all this. So he told me the interpretation of these things:  17 ‘These four great beasts are four kings who will arise from the earth.  18 But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and possess it forever—yes, forever and ever.’ 19 Then I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all th...

  Daniel 7 Daniel’s Vision of the Four Beasts ( Revelation 13:1–10 ) 1 In the first year of the reign of Belshazzar over Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he lay on his bed. He wrote down the dream, and this is the summary of his account. 2 Daniel declared: “In my vision in the night I looked, and suddenly the four winds of heaven were churning up the great sea. a   3 Then four great beasts came up out of the sea, each one different from the others: 4 The first beast was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and given the mind of a man. 5 Suddenly another beast appeared, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. So it was told, ‘Get up and gorge yourself on flesh!’ 6 Next, as I watched, another beast appeared. It was like a leopard, and on its...

  17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that nothing concerning Daniel could be changed. 18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. No entertainment was brought before him, and sleep fled from him. 19 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions.  20 When he reached the den, he cried out in a voice of anguish, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Then Daniel replied, “O king, may you live forever!  22 My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king.” 23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den, and when Daniel was lifted out of the den, no wounds whatsoever were found on him, because he ...

 Daniel 6 :1-16 The Plot against Daniel 1 Now it pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom,  2 and over them three administrators, including Daniel, to whom these satraps were accountable so that the king would not suffer loss.  3 Soon, by his extraordinary spirit, Daniel distinguished himself among the administrators and satraps. So the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4 Thus the administrators and satraps sought a charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom, but they could find no charge or corruption, because he was trustworthy, and no negligence or corruption was found in him.  5 Finally these men said, “We will never find any charge against this Daniel, unless we find something against him concerning the law of his God.” 6 So the administrators and satraps went together to the king and said, “O King Darius, may you live forever!  7 All the royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers, and governors have agreed...

 Daniel chapter 5 Belshazzar's feast.  The writing on the wall.     You can read it here.   https://biblehub.com/daniel/ A couple of things stood out for me from this passage apart from the blindingly obvious. One is that it is was a huge party (1,000 guests)  so many many people witnessed the writing on the wall. Secondly it was the queen ( probably queen mother according to the commentators) who brought Daniel into the king.  The king had evidently forgotten everything his father had learned - and this is a salutary lesson for those of us with kids.  However mightily the Lord moves in our lives and whatever the testimony we may have, our kids need to have their own experiences and testimony. They cant live on ours.  And they will forget about what God has done for us - especially when they get distracted by the party the world is throwing for them. But....... thankfully there is always someone who can bring the children back to th...