Verse of the Day: V27 “He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”
1. The Deception Of Man (V1-9)
V4 “Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.”
The leaders in the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians were jealous of Daniel because Daniel was preferred above all of them, and King Darius thought to set him over the whole realm. They could not find any fault with Daniel and eventually they deceived King Darius in establishing a royal statute that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, except the King, shall be cast into the den of lions. They knew that Daniel would disobey the statute as he had always faithfully asked petitions from his God.
2. The Den Of Lions (V10-17)
V10 “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.”
The jealous leaders were right as Daniel continued to pray and give thanks to God three times a day with his windows open in his chamber in spite of the royal statute. He would rather be devoured and die in the den of hungry lions than to stop praying to his holy God.
V16 “Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.”
3. The Deliverance Of God (V18-28)
V22 “My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.”
Faithful Daniel was delivered from the lions without hurt or harm as God sent His angel to shut the lions’ mouths. Indeed, God shall deliver His people from trials and troubles as they believe and trust in Him. Even if God did not deliver Daniel, He would ultimately deliver him from the fiery pits of hell and promote him to the pearly portals of heaven.
V27 “He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, thank You for delivering me from trials and troubles.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 04:15 pm
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Verse of the Day: V27 “TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.”
1. The Wine (V1-4)
V1 “Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.”
Belshazzar, the king of Babylon, mocked the Almighty God when he used the golden and silver vessels brought from God’s temple in Jerusalem by his father Nebuchadnezzar for their wine drinking during the great feast held with his princes, wives, concubines and lords. In the eyes of Belshazzar, his great feast was more important than God’s vessels.
V2 “Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.”
2. The Writing (V5-24)
V5 “In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.”
King Belshazzar did not glorify or please the Lord of heaven when he blatantly used God’s golden and silver vessels for their wine drinking during the great feast. That same hour, the fingers of the Lord of heaven were seen writing on the wall of the king’s palace.
V23 “But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:”
3. The Weight (V25-31)
V27 “TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.”
Prophet Daniel interpreted the writing as the Lord of heaven weighed King Belshazzar in His balance, and found him guilty, and thus numbered or would soon end his life and his kingdom. That same night, King Darius of the Median kingdom suddenly attacked and killed Belshazzar, and subsequently defeated the Babylonian or the Chaldean kingdom.
V30 “In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.”
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, please help me to always glorify You and You alone.
Posted by: Pastor Dave Sim AT 06:23 am
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Verse of the Day: V32 “And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.”
1. The Alarm (V1-27)
V5 “I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.”
God sounded the alarm through a dream given to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, which frightened and troubled him. Daniel then interpreted the king’s dream, and warned him to repent of his arrogance and pride otherwise God would punish and humble him.
V8 “But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying,”
2. The Arrogance (V28-32)
V30 “The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?”
Indeed, the most High God humbled the arrogant Nebuchadnezzar by making him insane and driving him out of his palace to dwell and eat with the beasts and the oxen in the field.
V32 “And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.”
3. The Awakening (V33-37)
V34 “And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:”
However, the time of awakening came as Nebuchadnezzar lifted up his eyes to heaven and acknowledged and blessed God and realised that it was the most High God who promoted kings as well as removed them. Indeed, there is one and only most High God and not even the most powerful king on earth can be compared to the most High God.
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, please humble me to know that You are the one and only most High God.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 06:41 pm
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Verse of the Day:V25 “He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”
1. The Fire (V1-7)
V1 “Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.”
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, thought that he was the greatest in the world and he began to build a towering golden image which represented his power and glory. He then commanded all the people in his kingdom to worship the golden image and those who refused to worship the golden image would be thrown into the burning fiery furnace.
V6 “And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”
2. The Fury (V8-18)
V12 “There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”
There were three Jews, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who refused to worship the golden image. They prayed for God’s deliverance yet they were prepared to die in the fire than to fear the fury of the king. They believed that their God, their Creator shall deliver them even in death, so how could they fear the king, who was but a creature like them?
V13 “Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king.”
3. The Fourth (V19-30)
V25 “He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”
The fourth was indeed the Son of God who walked with Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego and preserved their lives. Nebuchadnezzar not only pardoned but promoted them as he realised that their God was the true God! Let us not fear man but God who not only saves our lives, but especially our souls from the fiery pits of hell to the portals of heaven.
V30 “Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon.”
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, thank You that I know You, the Fourth Man.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 12:00 pm
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Verse of the Day: V19 “Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.”
1. Impossible (V1-13)
V5 “The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.”
Imagine the king of Babylon dreamed a dream and had forgotten it, and he expected his wise men to tell him his forgotten dream! It was impossible for his wise men to know the king’s dream and let alone to interpret them. The bad news was that Daniel and his friends would also be killed together with the wise men of Babylon because the king had decreed that all wise men be killed if his dream was not told and interpreted to him.
V13 “And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.”
2. Possible (V14-35)
V18 “That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel was his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.”
The God of heaven revealed to Daniel the forgotten dream of the king. The impossible became possible as Daniel desired and sought the mercies of the God of heaven.
V19 “Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.”
3. Done (V36-49)
V45 “Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.”
God revealed to the king through Daniel that his Babylonian kingdom, which was represented by gold, shall one day be defeated by the Persians, which was represented by silver. The Persians shall one day be defeated by the Greeks, which was represented by brass. The Greeks shall one day be defeated by the Romans, which was represented by iron mixed with clay. Indeed, no kingdom can remain forever except God’s kingdom.
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13)
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, thank You that I can do all things through You who strengthens me.
Posted by: Pastor Dave Sim AT 10:36 am
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