Daniel

Product Summary

Main Characters:

Daniel; Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (later Shadrah, Meschac and Abednego); Nebuchadnezzsar, Belshazzar, Darius

Scriptural References:

Daniel 1:11-20; Daniel 2:1-45; Daniel 3:1-27
Daniel 5:1-31; Daniel 6:1-27

Overall Theme:

Daniel, enslaved as a child by the Babylonians,     maintains his faith in God. King Darius has Daniel thrown to lions because Daniel will not worship Darius’ idol.  God protects Daniel form the lions.  Darius repents and orders all of his people to worship Daniel’s God, the one true God of the Hebrews.

Summary:

Nebuchadnezzar orders that all Hebrew boys be brought to his palace in Babylon.  Daniel, along with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, are captured and taken to the palace.  They are to be trained alongside Babylonian boys to become wise men and are given Babylonian names.  David demands that the Israelites be given their own food, and they become much healthier than their Babylonian counterparts.

God gives Daniel and his friends great wisdom.  To Daniel, God gives the special power to interpret dreams.  The King has frightening dream and when Daniel interprets the dream, the King makes Daniel and the Hebrews his closest advisors.

The King has a magnificent golden statue built and demands that all worship the idol.  When Daniel’s three friends refuse, Nebuchadenzzar has them thrown into a fiery oven.  An angel of God appears and protects them in the furnace.

Time passes.  Daniel becomes the closest advisor to Darius, the new king.  Responding to the jealousy of other court officers who know that Daniel will never worship an idol, Darius issues a edict that all shall worship his statue.

Daniel refuses to obey the decree and is thrown into a den of lions.  God protects him and Darius recognizes that Daniel’s God is the one true and just God.  Darius frees Daniel from the lions and issues a final decree:  All of this people shall worship the God of Daniel – the all powerful and just God of the Hebrews.

Background:

Even thought he was torn away from his family and enslaved in Babylon, Daniel kept his faith in God.  God rewarded him with the gift of wisdom and      protected him from the hungry lions.  Through Daniel’s faith and God’s miracles, the entire Kingdom of Babylon accepted the true faith.

We, too, must keep our faith and keep our promises to God.  Although we may never need to ask God to save us from hungry lions, we sill may encounter similar challenges.  Daniel serves as a good example, finding wisdom through his faith.

God promised many rich rewards, but demands in turn our obedience and faith. But obedience to God requires courage, and our faith is tested daily. If we only trust in Him, God will give us the strength to meet all tests.