July 2025

READ: Dan. 5:1–12: … from the temple … and … drank from them … In chapter 5 we meet one of Nebuchadnezzar’s descendants: King Belshazzar. His name means “May Bel (a Babylonian god) protect him.” Compare that to Daniel’s name, which means “God is my judge.” Belshazzar throws a massive banquet for his officials—about a

READ: Dan. 4:28–37: … he was driven from man and ate grass … The message of the dream came true a year later. It was a divine warning intended to bring Nebuchadnezzar to repentance. But what effect did it have on the king? If he truly valued God as highly as he claimed earlier to

READ: Dan. 4:1–27: … till you know that the Most High rules … Now King Nebuchadnezzar speaks in the first person. He has experienced who God is, how far His power reaches, and how He saves His people. So now—does he still consider the God of heaven just another “idol,” like the gods of conquered

READ: Dan. 3:19–30: … that they should not serve nor worship any god than their own God! Nebuchadnezzar responds with furious rage. Now he wants to demonstrate his power against God and His followers. The furnace is heated seven times hotter than usual. The heat is so intense that even coming near it is deadly.

READ: Dan. 3:8–18:  … who is the god who will deliver you …? The conflict in Dan. 3 is directed against the powerful advance of God’s Kingdom. How do God’s followers respond? Who can stand firm under such pressure? The three friends, as royal officials, are summoned to bow down before Nebuchadnezzar’s statue in the

READ: Dan. 3:1–7:  … you shall fall down and worship … After Daniel’s explanation of the dream, Nebuchadnezzar expresses a certain recognition of God. But it is by no means genuine faith. He now exalts himself and has a golden statue made—about thirty meters tall. He commands everyone to fall down and worship it at

READ: Dan. 2:24–49:  … and it shall stand forever … Daniel tells King Nebuchadnezzar the content and interpretation of the dream. This shows that he can do what none of the other wise men can. But Daniel immediately deflects attention from himself: it is God in heaven who reveals mysteries. In doing so, Daniel not

READ: Dan. 2:1–23: … for wisdom and power are His … The dreams Nebuchadnezzar receives align with his desire to be the greatest ruler in the world. Babel had already been the center of the godless world once (Gen. 11:1–9), after the flood, and now it will be so again, with him as the great

READ: Dan. 1:17-21: … ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers … God gives the four boys “knowledge and skill in all kinds of literature and wisdom”. God does not take them out of the world—they remain in Babylon—but they are not of the world. In the midst of a godless society, they

READ: Dan. 1:8-16: … But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself … and tested them ten days … better and fatter in flesh … The boys are required to eat and drink things that God’s law forbids. Moreover, Nebuchadnezzar has a close connection with his idols through this food and