For a full description of the (Y3) reading plan, see the “About” page.
- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Dan. 4
I am beginning to understand what pride really is. It is claiming for ourselves anything that belongs only to God; elevating ourselves in any way to His position. We may not do that consciously, but that is what it boils down to. We see it easily in Nebuchadnezzar. The tree in his dream depicted his pride. The tree was at the center of everything and provided for every creature of the earth. Those are attributes that belong only to God. Yet that is the image of what was in Nebuchadnezzar’s heart. There was nothing wrong with the vast power and might that Nebuchadnezzar held. The problem was in his claiming the glory for those things as his own rather than acknowledging them as gifts from the mighty, sovereign God, who alone deserved all the glory.
Dan. 5
When King Nebuchadnezzar’s pride took over, God gave him a chance to humble himself. Though it took some time, he eventually came around. This wasn’t the case with Belshazzar. In his case God’s judgment was both swift and final. As I see it, this was because Belshazzar was without excuse. As Daniel pointed out, he knew Nebuchadnezzar’s story. Yet he chose to believe that God’s sovereignty did not apply to him. I note this because we, too, are without excuse. Not only do we, too, know about Nebuchadnezzar’s story but, as Paul pointed out in Romans 1, God has made his eternal power and divine nature known to us in so many other ways as well. Will we choose to ignore what God has made known, clinging to our pride even in the face of great fear, as Belshazzar did? Or will we humble ourselves before God’s truth?
Dan. 6
God shows us in so many different ways in the Bible that He alone is God and He alone can save. It was King Darius’ order that condemned Daniel to the Lion’s den. Yet, despite his best efforts, the king could not find a way to deliver Daniel. King Darius was not God. We, like Daniel, are condemned to die because of God’s own law. Unlike Darius, however, God is able to deliver. He alone is God, and He alone can save.
An interesting note regarding Darius, though. He was not too proud to accept his limitations and put his trust in the limitless power of the One True God. Though he did not at the time recognize God as his own, he put his hope and his faith in Him. From the instant he surrendered to the consequences of his action, he believed in the possibility of what God could do. That is the faith that leads to salvation.