Looking for daniel

[JLG]

76) Where does it come from?

How does it grow?


Daniel 5


Then all the wise men of the king come in, but they are not able to read the writing or to make known the interpretation to the king. So King Belshazzar is very frightened and his face turns pale; and his nobles are perplexed.

Because of the words of the king and his nobles, the queen entered the banqueting hall. The queen says: “O king, may you live on forever. Do not let your thoughts terrify you, nor let your face turn pale. There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of holy gods. In the days of your father, enlightenment and insight and wisdom like the wisdom of gods were found in him. King Nebuchadnezzar your father appointed him as chief of the magic-practicing priests, conjurers, Chaldeans, and astrologers; your father did this, O king. For Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, had an extraordinary spirit and knowledge and insight to interpret dreams, to explain riddles, and to solve knotty problems. Now let Daniel be summoned, and he will tell you the interpretation.” So Daniel is brought in before the king. The king asks Daniel: “Are you Daniel of the exiles of Judah, whom my father the king brought out of Judah? I have heard concerning you that the spirit of gods is in you and that enlightenment and insight and extraordinary wisdom have been found in you. Now the wise men and the conjurers were brought in before me to read this writing and to make its interpretation known to me, but they are not able to tell the interpretation of the message. But I have heard concerning you that you are able to provide interpretations and to solve knotty problems. Now if you are able to read the writing and to make its interpretation known to me, you will be clothed with purple, a gold necklace will be placed around your neck, and you will rule as the third one in the kingdom.” Daniel then replied to the king: “You may keep your gifts and give your presents to others. However, I will read the writing to the king and make known its interpretation to him.

“But you, his son Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all of this. Instead, you exalted yourself against the Lord of the heavens, and you had them bring you the vessels of his house. Then you and your nobles, your concubines and your secondary wives drank wine from them and praised gods of silver and gold, of copper, iron, wood, and stone, gods that see nothing and hear nothing and know nothing. But you have not glorified the God in whose hand is your breath and all your ways. So the hand was sent from him, and this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN.

“This is the interpretation of the words: MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end. “TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and found lacking. “PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and the Persians.” Then Belshazzar gives the command, and they clothe Daniel with purple and place a gold necklace around his neck; and they herald concerning him that he is to become the third ruler in the kingdom. That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king is killed. And Darius the Mede receives the kingdom; he is about 62 years old.


- When you read this chapter, you can see that times change, kings change!


- But Daniel keeps being the same!


- He still has God’s spirit!


- He is still able to tell about visions and dreams and their interpretations!


- And he is the only one in Babylon!


- So apparently nothing has changed regarding this!

- Daniel doesn’t care about the kings’ gifts!


- Of course, he knows the game is over for him!


- And he is the only one to know!


- And he tells the king that he has acted badly against God and he will pay the price that is death!


- And Daniel keeps building his relationship with God!


- It keeps growing and growing!


- In fact, it’s like the universe which keeps growing and growing!


- And it should be like our brains which are supposed to keep growing and growing through all the connections between our neurons!


- And getting older shouldn’t stop it!


- It’s like nature which keeps growing and growing!


- It’s like life itself which keeps growing and growing!


- In fact, if it doesn’t keep growing, it’s dead!


- But it’s not the case with Daniel!


- And may we listen to God’s warning through Daniel:


- MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end!


- TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and found lacking!


- PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and the Persians.


- And that very night, the king was killed!

 

[JLG]

77) Where does it come from?

How does it grow?


Daniel 6


Now Daniel is distinguishing himself over the other high officials and the satraps, for there is an extraordinary spirit in him, and the king intends to elevate him over the entire kingdom.

At that time the high officials and the satraps are seeking to find some grounds for accusation against Daniel respecting matters of state, but they could find no grounds for accusation or anything corrupt, for he was trustworthy and no negligence or corruption could be found in him. These men then say: “We will find in this Daniel no grounds for accusation at all, unless we find it against him in the law of his God.”

So these high officials and satraps go in as a group to the king, and they say to him: “O King Darius, may you live on forever. All the royal officials, prefects, satraps, high royal officers, and governors have consulted together to establish a royal decree and to enforce a ban, that for 30 days whoever makes a petition to any god or man except to you, O king, should be thrown into the lions’ pit. Now, O king, may you establish the decree and sign it, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be annulled.”

So King Darius signs the decree and the ban. But as soon as Daniel knows that the decree has been signed, he goes to his house, which has the windows of his roof chamber open toward Jerusalem. And three times a day he gets down on his knees and prays and offers praise before his God, as he has regularly done prior to this. At that time those men burst in and finds Daniel petitioning and pleading for favor before his God...

So they approach the king and remind him about the royal ban: “Did you not sign a ban stating that for 30 days any man who makes a petition to any god or man except to you, O king, should be thrown into the lions’ pit?” The king replies: “The matter is well-established according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be annulled.” They immediately say to the king: “Daniel, who is of the exiles of Judah, has paid no regard to you, O king, nor to the ban that you signed, but three times a day he is praying.” As soon as the king hear this, he is greatly distressed, and he tries to think of a way to rescue Daniel; and until the sun set he makes every effort to save him. Finally those men go in as a group to the king, and they say to the king: “Take note, O king, that the law of the Medes and the Persians is that any ban or decree that the king establishes cannot be changed.” So the king gives the order, and they bring Daniel and throw him into the pit of lions. The king says to Daniel: “Your God whom you are continually serving will rescue you.” Then a stone is brought and placed over the entrance of the pit, and the king seals it with his signet ring and with the signet ring of his nobles, so that nothing could be changed with regard to Daniel. The king then goes to his palace. He passes the night fasting and refused any entertainment, and he could not sleep. Finally at the first light of dawn, the king gets up and hurries to the lions’ pit. As he gets near the pit, he calls out to Daniel with a sad voice. The king asks Daniel: “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you are continually serving been able to rescue you from the lions?” Daniel immediately says to the king: “O king, may you live on forever. My God sent his angel and shut the mouth of the lions, and they have not harmed me, for I was found innocent before him; nor have I done any wrong to you, O king.”

The king is overjoyed, and he commands that Daniel be lifted up out of the pit. When Daniel is lifted up out of the pit, he is completely unharmed, because he has trusted in his God. The king then gives an order, and the men who have accused Daniel are brought, and they are thrown into the lions’ pit, along with their sons and their wives. They have not reached the bottom of the pit before the lions overpower them and crush all their bones.


- When you read this chapter, you can see that times change, kings change!


- But Daniel keeps being the same!


- He still has God’s spirit!


- And think of that, an extraordinary one!


- And Daniel has worked hard to get it!


- He has kept building an extraordinarily strong relationship with God!


- Not a superficial one!


- But a deep one!


- And the important people in the administration of Darius become jealous of him!


- But they can’t find anything against him!


- Because he is irreproachable!


- So the only way is to find something against him in the law of his God!


- As soon as Daniel hears about the decree, he prays God as he does it three times a day!


- Nothing can change his routine toward God!


- It is part of his life!


- It is not from time to time, he does it every day and regularly!


- And all the officials know it!


- And Darius appreciates Daniel and he wants to rescue him but he can’t go against the law he has signed!


- Even Darius knows that Daniel continually serve God!


- Darius can’t sleep at night!


- He gets up early in the morning and goes to the lions’ pit!


- He asks Daniel if he is still alive!


- The king is overjoyed!


- Darius commands all Daniel’s accusers to be thrown into the lions’ pit with their sons and wives!


- We can thus see how the king appreciates him!


- What a powerful example we have here in each detail!


- May we remember it in building up our relationship with God!

 

[JLG]

78) Where does it come from?

How does it grow?


Daniel 9


In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus—a descendant of the Medes who has been made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans— in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, discern by the books the number of years mentioned in the word of God to Jeremiah the prophet to fulfill the desolation of Jerusalem, namely, 70 years.


- Daniel knows the book of Jeremiah which was written between 586 and 570 BC!


So I turn my face to the true God, entreating him in prayer, along with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I pray to my God and make confession and say:

“O God, the great and awe-inspiring One, who keeps his covenant and shows loyal love to those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled; and we have deviated from your commandments and your judgments. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, our forefathers, and all the people of the land.


- The Pentateuch was written between 1445 and 1405 BC!


- Joshua between 1405 and 1385 BC!


- Samuel between 931 and 722 BC!


- Isaiah between 700 and 681 BC!


- Ezekiel between 590 and 570 BC!


- Jeremiah between 586 and 570 BC!


- Daniel between 536 and 530!


To you, O Jehovah, belongs righteousness, but to us belongs shame as is the case today, to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and all Israel, those nearby and far away, in all the lands to which you dispersed them because they acted unfaithfully toward you. “O God, to us belongs shame, to our kings, our princes, and our forefathers, because we have sinned against you. To our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him. We have not obeyed the voice of our God by following his laws that he set before us through his servants the prophets. All Israel has overstepped your Law and turned away by not obeying your voice, so that you poured out on us the curse and the sworn oath written about in the Law of Moses the servant of the true God, for we have sinned against Him. He has carried out his words that he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled over us, by bringing great calamity on us; nothing has ever been done under the whole heavens such as what was done in Jerusalem. Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us, yet we have not begged for the favor of our God by turning away from our error and by showing insight into your truth. “So God kept watchful and brought calamity on us, for our God is righteous in all the works that he has done; yet we have not obeyed his voice. “Now, O our God, the One who brought your people out of the land of Egypt by a mighty hand and made a name for yourself down to this day, we have sinned and acted wickedly. O God, according to all your righteous acts, please, may your anger and wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the errors of our forefathers, Jerusalem and your people are an object of reproach to all those around us. And now listen, O our God, to the prayer of your servant and to his entreaties, and cause your face to shine upon your sanctuary that is desolate, for your own sake, O God. Incline your ear, O my God, and hear! Do open your eyes and see our desolate condition and the city that has been called by your name; for we are not entreating you because of our righteous acts but because of your great mercy. O God, do hear. O God, do forgive. O God, do pay attention and act! Do not delay, for your own sake, O my God, for your own name has been called upon your city and upon your people.” While I am still speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request for favor before my God concerning the holy mountain of my God, yes, while I am yet speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I have previously seen in the vision, comes to me when I am extremely weary at about the time of the evening gift offering. And he gives me understanding, saying: “O Daniel, now I have come to give you insight and understanding. When you began your entreaty the word went out, and I have come to report it to you, because you are someone very precious. So consider the matter and understand the vision. “There are 70 weeks that have been determined for your people and your holy city, in order to terminate the transgression, to finish off sin, to make atonement for error, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up the vision and the prophecy, and to anoint the Holy of Holies. You should know and understand that from the issuing of the word to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Leader, there will be 7 weeks, also 62 weeks. She will be restored and rebuilt, with a public square and moat, but in times of distress. “And after the 62 weeks, Messiah will be cut off, with nothing for himself. “And the people of a leader who is coming will destroy the city and the holy place. And its end will be by the flood. And until the end there will be war; what is decided upon is desolations. “And he will keep the covenant in force for the many for one week; and at the half of the week, he will cause sacrifice and gift offering to cease. “And on the wing of disgusting things there will be the one causing desolation; and until an extermination, what was decided on will be poured out also on the one lying desolate.”


- This prayer shows that Daniel knows all the books of the Bible which have been written at this time!


- When he makes a list of all the sins of Israel, he knows what he speaks about!


- He has a very good knowledge of books!


- It means that he has been studying them carefully again and again!


- That’s why he can pray to God this way!


- He gives facts!


- Can we do the same or do we have a superficial knowledge of the Bible?

- Are we conscious that if we don’t want to be strangers to God, we must learn and study the Bible and think about it?


- Otherwise he may say to us I don’t know you, go away from me!

- Why should I care about you?


- Give me good reasons!


- Why does he care about Job, Daniel and Samuel for example?


- Because they are strangers to him?


- Not at all!

 

[JLG]

79) If Daniel had had children, how would he have educated them?


Daniel 1:


- Daniel was sent to Babylon because he had a good education in terms of wisdom, knowledge and discernment, and thus he could serve in the king’s palace!


- It seems thus logical that he would transmit what he had learned to his children!


- Moreover, he wanted to keep eating vegetables and water as he was used to. So he showed the importance for him to have a balanced life away from any kind of excess!


- He would be careful to offer the same conditions to his children!


- As a consequence, there was no one like him in Babylon regarding knowledge and insight into every kind of writing and wisdom!


- He would also transmit all that knowledge to them!


- But as he had important responsibilities, he would have to spend a lot of time working!


- So to be able to transmit such a knowledge to them, he would have to find enough time to spend with them and take advantage of any situation to teach them!

- He would understand that having people to educate his children wouldn’t be enough!


- He should do his part reserving time for that every day!

 

[JLG]

80) If Daniel had had children, how would he have educated them?


Daniel 2:


- Daniel needs to get Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its interpretation. So he asks his three companions to pray for mercy from God!


- When he gets the dream and its interpretation he prays God to thank him!


- Then he tells the king!


- And the king elevates Daniel and gives him many gifts and he makes him the ruler over all the province of Babylon and the chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon!


- Here we see the importance for Daniel to pray to God and he does it every day whenever possible!


- We can imagine Daniel would pray to God with his children and show them how to do it!


- They could see and hear him pray to God with his heart!


- They could see and hear him maintaining a strong communication with God!


- He would do it since they were young children!


- Thus he would communicate with them daily about everything!


- They would open their hearts to him!

 

[JLG]

81) If Daniel had had children, how would he have educated them?


Daniel 5:


- Daniel had an extraordinary spirit and knowledge and insight to interpret dreams, to explain riddles, and to solve knotty problems!


- We can be sure he would use such abilities and train his children to get them!


- He would teach them how to serve God!


- They would learn how to do their work properly probably in the Babylonian administration!


- They would also not care about privileges and gifts and positions which can easily disappear!


- They would learn how to adapt to fast changes!


- Daniel kept his position whatever the king which is quite incredible!


- His children would also learn that from their father that is a man with great qualities!


- Thus they could also develop such qualities!


- When they are young, children copy their parents especially when they can spend time with them, in particular when they do activities with them!


- Yes, quality time!

 

[JLG]

82) If Daniel had had children, how would he have educated them?


Daniel 6:


- Daniel belongs to the top administration of Darius!


- In fact, he is one of the three top officials!


- Thus many are jealous of him!


- But they can’t find anything against him!


- The only possibility was to find something in the law of his God!


- As soon as he hears about the ban on prayers, he goes to pray openly and some men arrest him!


- He is thrown into the lions’ pit!


- God saves him!

- Darius orders all his accusers and their families to be thrown into the lions’ pit!


- At the difference of Daniel, they all die!


- Their children would be proud of their father!


- They would see a living example of faithfulness!


- Of course, they would be terrorized when their father would be thrown into the lions’ pit!


- They would see how Darius would care about him!


- They would see the mental strength of their father!


- They would never forget that!


- They would keep it in their minds forever!

 

[JLG]

83) If Daniel had had children, how would he have educated them?


Daniel 9:


- In his prayer for the reconstruction of Jerusalem, Daniel tells about Israel’s history through its sins and bad actions and deviations from God’s commandments and judgments!


- Through this, it is clear that Daniel had a very good knowledge of Israel’s history!


- Thus he would tell everything to his children!


- The good examples and the bad ones!


- And he would warn them too!


- He would tell them to learn how to serve God the way it pleases God, not the way men usually do it!


- It’s not for nothing that he was blessed by God in such a way that he was among the top officials in Babylon!

 

[JLG]

84) If Daniel had had children, how would he have educated them?


Daniel 4:


- Daniel could tell kings about their visions or dreams and their interpretations!


- He could also use them to teach his children!


- And the case of Nebuchadnezzar is a good one not to follow!


- He was a great king and because of his pride, God condemned him to behave like an animal before he could recover his mind!


- His power didn’t help him!


- They could also see the difference with their father who always showed humility in any aspect of his life!


- And he was appreciated by kings even if others were jealous of him

!

 

[JLG]

85) If Daniel had had children, how would he have educated them?


Daniel 5:


- He would also tell them about what happened to king Belshazzar!


- How he drunk in the vessels from the vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem!


- How he was frightened by the apparition of a man’s hand which began writing on the plaster of the wall!


- And Daniel remembered the king about what happened to his father because of his pride!


- But Belshazzar didn’t humble his heart and he took the vessels belonging to God and thus committed a sacrilege!


- And because of that, he was condemned !


- And the same night he died!


- What a powerful event to grab into his children’s mind to warn them not to do the same but to follow Daniel’s example regarding faithfulness and humility!

 

[JLG]

86) If Daniel had friends...


Daniel 1:


- He had a good education in term of wisdom, knowledge and discernment, we can then imagine he would look for people with the same depth of the mind to investigate his own depth of the mind again and again!


- It would be like an inward travel!


- For a better knowledge and understanding of oneself!


- No need to go away!


- On the contrary!


- Just staying calm, without moving physically, but flying mentally, through the universe, like when you dream for a very short time and all your neurons explode in a total firework and you get up exhausted!


- They would share the same experiences through healthy food and water and a balanced life without excess!


- A free mind based on a simple life excellent to develop mental abilities!


- Thus they would increase their knowledge in all directions!


- It would mean spending time together on a regular basis in mental sessions by renewing personal experience!


- Same goal, full mental action, no waste of time, constructive action, positive view, always waiting for the next session to be continued with constant writing to maintain the discussion!


- 100% active!

 

[JLG]

87) If Daniel had friends...


Daniel 2:


- Daniel needs to get Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its interpretation. So he asks his three companions to pray for mercy from God!


- Spending time on a regular basis to develop their mental abilities would also mean praying together using simple but deep prayers coming from the heart!


- No competition but the possibility to develop their communication to God through prayers!


- When people share their ideas, it always opens the way to new ways!


- Two are better than one and three are better than two and…!


- Make progress in a positive way!


- Encourage each other to improve one’s communication!

 

[JLG]

88) If Daniel had friends…


Daniel 3:


- They would speak about special events to build up their faith and faithfulness to God!


- Chapter 3 is particularly an interesting example because it deals with life and death!


- Daniel’s three companions must decide what to do about the obligation to worship the king’s statute if they don’t want to die!


- And the three decide to refuse and keep faithful whatever may be the price!


- Imagine their feelings where they are thrown into the burning fiery furnace and in fact they are not three but four!


- An angel is with them!


- Would it be possible for them to forget that during their life!


- They would remember it forever and it would stay in their minds and they could visualize it every day in front of their eyes!


- Sharing this mutual experience together again and again!


- Not only that, they could build on it and open new eyes on the past experience thinking again and again about it!


- Memory works differently depending on the people even when dealing with the same event!

 

[JLG]

89) If Daniel had friends…


Daniel 4:


- They would speak about Daniel’s visions and dreams and their interpretations!


- And Daniel 4 is a good example of them!


- Thinking about what happened to King Nebuchadnezzar because of his pride would mean a source of inspiration!


- They could think about how God could have struck the king, different possibilities and how the one he chose was powerful!


- And about all its implications!


- And the fact that the king didn’t change in spite of Daniel’s warning!


- They could discuss the importance of thinking and work on humility to get away from pride and get closer to God!


- Many people look for pride and nourish their mind with it going away from God at the same time!


- Many may think it is a quality!


- But for God it is one of the main human stupidities!


- And for the men who understand it!


- But pride is everywhere among the supposed important people of this world!


- Comparing humility and pride and the consequences of both can be the source of constructive discussions!

 

[JLG]

90) If Daniel had friends…


Daniel 5:


- They would speak about Daniel’s visions and dreams and their interpretations!


- And Daniel 5 is also a good example of them!


- Thinking about what happened to King Nebuchadnezzar because of his pride would mean a source of inspiration!


- And also about what happened to King Belshazzar because of the same pride!


- Or even worse because he took the vessels from God’s temple to drink and have a party!


- It is so serious that he is killed the same night as his sacrilege!


- From a party to his death and the end of Babylon!


- Is it possible to strike people’s mind in such a powerful way?


- It should be a personal matter for us to remember again and again as a warning!


- We are free to believe according to man’s tradition but it it has always been dangerous and many people have died because of such a way!


- And the same will keep happening!

 

[JLG]

91) If Daniel had friends…


Daniel 6:


- They would speak about Daniel and the lions’ pit!


- Thinking about what happened to important people because of their pride and jealousy would mean another great source of inspiration!


- They would think of such an event again and again!


- It would show the importance of putting God first place no matter what the consequences are!


- It is a matter of exclusive attachment!


- And it shows us the way!


- So powerful and even more powerful when you think about it again and again to make it more alive as if we you were seeing it with your own eyes!


- Do you feel goose bumps on your skin when you visualize the situation?

 

[JLG]

92) If Daniel had friends…


Daniel 7:


- Through Chapter 7 they would remember the beasts and human powers who fight against each other showing the same pride and limitations and inconsistency with the final result of their total destruction and their replacement by God’s kingdom to open up to a completely different world based on God’s values!


- They could think again and again about it!


- And the necessity to prepare oneself!


- If we want to be accepted!


- And play a part in something unbelievable when we think about the poor human history!


- And a world which will open to what we can’t even imagine!


- Especially when we only have in mind our poor and miserable human world!

 

[JLG]

93) If Daniel had a wife…


- First, we can see that the Jews in Babylon were influenced by Islam regarding the attitude towards women and wives!

- Second, we can see that the Jews later were influenced by Christianity!

- But in all cases, we are told about man’s tradition not God’s word!

- Thus we can see that many have been working to turn God’s word into man’s tradition and thus have altered God’s word exactly as Jesus had told!

- Jesus even says that Moses gave the Israelites the possibility to repudiate their wives but it was not according God’s word only because of the bad mentality of the Israelites!

- And then they have been altering God’s word in such an extent that it is insane and a shame!

- How is it possible to trust all these so-called religious leaders?

 

[JLG]

94) If Daniel had a wife…

- First let’s have a look at Jewish tradition!

- We must remember it was a long time ago!

- We must also remember that even in Europe, women have been fighting for their rights!

- And they keep doing it!

Wifebeating in Jewish Tradition | Jewish Women's Archive

Wifebeating in Jewish Tradition

by Naomi Graetz

 

[JLG]

95) If Daniel had a wife…


- Now Daniel had a different mentality!


- He would not let himself be influenced by Babylonian culture!


- He would keep being faithful to his faith and to his God and to God’s word!


- He would not behave like the majority of the Jews!


- He would not participate in their sins!


- He would respect his wife!


- He would set a good example to his children!