week of 12/21

Unit 16  Session 3

FAITHFULNESS

DANIEL 6:13-24

 

Key Concept:

We honor God when we live in faith and trust God in all situations.

In the waning years of Nebuchadnezzar's rule, the Lord humbled him for seven years and then restored him to his throne, for which the king praised the Lord as "the King of the heavens" (Daniel 4:37). But the king's descendant failed to learn this lesson. On a night of revelry, Belshazzar defiled the gold vessels taken from the Lord's temple. He the observed mysterious fingers writing on the wall, which Daniel interpreted as God's coming judgment upon the king. That very night, Belshazzar was killed, and Babylon was conquered by Darius (Cyrus) of the Medo-Persian Empire. Daniel then served Darius as an administrator of the kingdom.

As you examine Daniel 6:13-24:

 

✞   Recognize that Daniel felt honoring God with his life was more 

    important than preserving it.

     

✞   Consider that when we are falsely accused, we can rest in

    God's justice.

week of 12/14

Unit 16  Session 2

COURAGE

DANIEL 3:14-18, 24-29

 

Key Concept:

God is worthy of our trust and obedience even if the result is death.

After three years of Babylonian training, Daniel and his friends served the king as advisers. One night, the king had a disturbing dream, and only Daniel, blessed with God's gift to interpret dreams, was able to answer the king about its meaning. That dream included a multi-layered statue and foretold the rise and fall of nations, beginning with Babylon, whose king was represented by the statue's golden head. Nebuchadnezzar later decided to build an enormous statue made entirely of gold and to have all of his subjects bow in worship to it. Daniel's friends, however, chose to remain faithful and to worship the Lord alone.

As you examine Daniel 3:14-18, 24-29:

 

✞   Recognize that the three friends' courage stemmed from

    their belief that God could be trusted in life or death.

     

✞   Notice how Nebuchadnezzar recognized God's power and

    gave Him the praise He deserved because of the three

    friends' faithful testimony.

week of 12/7

Unit 16  Session 1

OBEDIENCE

DANIEL 1:8-21

 

Key Concept:

Obedience to God leads to greater wisdom from God.

In 605 BC, a few short years into King Jehoiakim's reign over Judah, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar took control of Jerusalem, made Judah's king his vassal, and carried off some high-profile young men as exiles to Babylon. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They were brought to the palace to be educated in Babylonian ways so they could serve their new king. For three years they were trained in all things Babylonian - language, customs, and religion - and faced the temptation of losing their identity as God's people.

As you examine Daniel 1:8-21:

 

✞   Recognize that Daniel determined to remain faithful to God

    and His law with its dietary restrictions.

     

✞   Consider how our obedience to the Lord helps us grow in

    wisdom and knowledge of the Lord.

week of 11/30

 Unit 15  Session 5

GOD'S REVIVAL PROMISED

EZEKIEL 37:1-14

 

Key Concept:

God revives His people when hope seems lost.

Ezekiel was brought up to be a priest in Jerusalem, but he was carried away to Babylon during the first wave of the Babylonian exile. Yet even there, the Lord's hand was on him, and he was called by the Lord as a prophet. Ezekiel prophesied to the people who remained in Judah that their hardheartedness and sin would result in the Lord's abandonment of the temple and the total destruction of Jerusalem. When God's judgment came to pass, the people understandably lost all hope. They had earned their punishment. But God still had a plan for His people, and Ezekiel prophesied their revival and spiritual new birth.

As you examine Ezekiel 37:1-14:

 

✞   Visualize Ezekiel's experience of God commanding him to 

    tell dry bones to come to life and them obeying.

     

✞   Reflect upon the role of the Holy Spirit in transforming us 

    and drawing us out of hopelessness.

week of 11/23

Unit 15  Session 4

GOD'S NATION FELL

2 CHRONICLES 36:11-21

 

Key Concept:

God warns people with compassion but will also judge evil.

Josiah was a good king over Judah who followed in the ways of his ancestor David, and he obeyed the Lord in almost all that he did. Josiah's faithfulness brought restoration to God's people. But after Josiah's death, his successors - three sons and a grandson - did not follow in his faithful footsteps. Each one did what was evil in the Lord's eyes. They did not obey God but pursued wickedness and rebelled against His ways and His punishments. Their continual disobedience brought about God's judgment that resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple and exile from the promised land for God's people.

As you examine 2 Chronicles 36:11-21:

 

✞   Recognize the compassion of God in sending messengers 

    to warn and call His people to repentance.

     

✞   Understand that apart from Christ, everyone will reach a

    point of no remedy from the just wrath of God against sin.

week of 11/16

Unit 15  Session 3

GOD'S COVENANT RENEWED

JEREMIAH 17:5-8 ; 31:31-37

 

Key Concept:

A new covenant will establish followers of Jesus.

Jeremiah was called to speak for the Lord in the waning days of the kingdom of Judah. Most of his messages warned of the coming judgment, which he witnessed with his own eyes, but a few promised hope for a ruined people. For a time, Judah was looking to put their trust in Egypt to fight the Babylonians, but Jeremiah's warning was to put their trust in God alone. In Jeremiah 17:5-8, which sounds like a psalm or proverb, the prophet addressed Judah's misplaced trust. And in Jeremiah 31:31-37, the prophet foretold the new covenant that God would make with His people to deal with their sin and ours once and for all.

As you examine Jeremiah 17:5-8 ; 31:31-37:

 

✞   Understand that trusting in humankind leads to desert places without life.

     

✞   Dwell upon the promise that God will write His law on His people's hearts,

    call us His people, and forgive our sins.

week of 11/8

Unit 15  Session 2

GOD'S PROPHETS WARNED

mICAH 5:1-5 ; 6:6-8 ; 7:8-9, 18-20

 

Key Concept:

Though there is a future judgment, there is also a future hope.

During the reigns of Judah's kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, God sent the prophet Micah with a message for both Israel and Judah. Micah spoke the word of the Lord and foretold the judgment, destruction, and exile that was coming for both Israel and Judah. Both kingdoms had failed to keep the Lord's covenant and would continue to do so, with a few exceptions from Judah's kings, such as Hezekiah and Josiah. But Micah also had a message for the future, a message of hope and restoration. Micah prophesied that the Messiah-King would come to shepherd God's people in righteousness forever.

As you examine Micah 5:1-5 ; 6:6-8 ; 7:8-9, 18-20:

 

✞   Emphasize God's desire for His people to act justly, to love 

    faithfulness, and to walk humbly with Him.

     

✞   Recognize that disobedience results in judgment, but God's

    grace and mercy abound as well.