Study Desk

You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you the nation, the power, the strength, and the honor.

In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a nation which will never be destroyed. And it will never be taken by another people. It will crush and put an end to all these nations, but it will last forever.

You saw how a stone was cut out of the mountain by no human hands, and how it crushed the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The great God has shown the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true. And I have given you its true meaning."

The king said to Daniel, "For sure your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and He makes hidden things known. For you have been able to make known this secret."

King Nebuchadnezzar made an object of gold which looked like a god. It was fifteen times taller than a man, and as wide as three long steps. He set it up on the plain of Dura in the land of Babylon.

Now if you are ready to get down on your knees and worship the object I have made when you hear the sound of the horns and harps and all kinds of music, very well. But if you will not worship, you will be thrown at once into the fire. And what god is able to save you from my hands?"

If we are thrown into the fire, our God Whom we serve is able to save us from it. And He will save us from your hand, O king.

He said, "Look! I see four men loose and walking about in the fire without being hurt! And the fourth one looks like a son of the gods (or the Son of God)!"

Then Nebuchadnezzar came near the door where the fire was burning, and said, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the fire.

Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. He has sent His angel and saved His servants who put their trust in Him. They changed the king's word and were ready to give up their lives instead of serving or worshiping any god except their own God.

So I now make a law that if any people of any nation or language say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, they will be torn apart and their houses will be laid waste. For there is no other god who is able to save in this way."

I am pleased to tell you about the wonderful things which the Most High God has done for me.

At last Daniel came to me, who was given the name Belteshazzar after the name of my god. A spirit of the holy gods is in him, and I told him about my dream. I said,

So they brought the gold cups that had been taken from the house of God in Jerusalem. And the king and his important men and all his wives drank from them.

He was driven away from people, and his mind became like that of an animal. He lived with the wild donkeys. He ate grass like cattle, and his body became wet with the water from heaven. It was like this for him until he understood that the Most High God is ruler over the nation of all men, and that He lets whomever He wants rule it.

You have honored yourself more than the Lord of heaven. The cups of His house have been brought to you. And you and your important men and all your wives have been drinking wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver, gold, brass, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see, hear or understand. But you have not honored the God Who holds your life and your ways in His hand.

And this is what it means: ‘MENE' means that God has numbered the days of your rule and has brought it to an end.

Then these men said, "We will not find anything to say against Daniel unless it has to do with the Law of his God."

All the leaders of the nation, the captains, the important men and the rulers have spoken with each other and have agreed that a new law should be made. The king should make a law that must be obeyed, saying that anyone who asks something of any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, must be thrown to the lions.

When Daniel knew that the king had written his name on this law, he went into his house where, in his upper room, he had windows open toward Jerusalem. There he got down on his knees three times each day, praying and giving thanks to his God, as he had done before.