The Book of Daniel
Part I: Dedicated, Diligent, Devout
An Overview Study of the Book of Daniel
Friends and Fellowship (and Food)
McLean Bible Church
Fall 2016
Study Outline
Session
Study Description
Primary Bible
Chapters
Part I: Dedicated, Diligent, Devout
1
Introduction
Historical Background
So What! - Then and Now
2
Pride and Punishment
Image of Gold & the 4th Man in the Fire
3
4
5
6
The Insanity of Pride
Weighed and Found Wanting
Relying on God
God Protects His Own
Intercessory Prayer
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Daniel 1
2 Kings 23:2925:30
2 Chron 36:1-23
Daniel 3
Daniel 4
Daniel 5
Daniel 6
Daniel 9
Study Outline
Session
7
8
9
Study Description
Primary Bible
Chapters
Part II: Worldly Kingdoms & the End of Ages
Of Dreams, Visions, & Prophecies
 Dream of the Great Image
 Four Great Beasts and the Ancient of Days
 The Great Worldly Kingdom
10
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From Persia to the End-of-Times
11
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From Persia to the End-of Times
12
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Messengers of God
Daniel 2
Daniel 7
Daniel 8
Daniel 11 & 12
Revelations 20
Daniel 10
Pride and Punishment
Session 2
Daniel 3: Image of Gold & the 4th Man in the Fire
Nebuchadnezzar's Golden Image
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Daniel 3:1-7
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Dimension: 60 cubits high x 6 cubits wide.
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Most likely made of wood or stone overlaid with beaten gold
(24k) leaf or sheets covering the entire image
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1 cubit = length from elbow to tip of finger (of the king)
Mine measured 19 inches
References vary: 18 inches – 22 inches.
 Image height: 90 feet to 110 feet
 Image width: 9 feet to 11 feet
e.g. 1 King 6:19-35 Temple built by Solomon, almost everything was
overlaid with gold.
It is not clear whether the golden image was a statue.
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It might have been pictures and words imprinted in a stele or obelisk
to honor one or more gods.
The image might have been of Marduk (Bel), the patron god of
Babylon.
Artists' Renditions
Other Possibilities of the Golden Image
Interesting Consideration:
The golden image might have
been a tall narrow obelisk,
covered in gold leaf.
 60 cubits x 6 cubits
 10:1 Height to width ratio
 Comparison:
Washington Monument:
555 ' high x 55 ' wide  10:1 ratio
Marduk's symbol, the
(triangular) spade, on
top of a temple, as
seen on the side of a
kudurru TT at the
British Museum. The
relief probably dates to
the late 12th century
BC. [BM ME 102485].
Kings Dictate Direction of Worship
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Worship According to Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 3:2-7)
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Daniel 3:2-3
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Daniel 3:4-7
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Dedication: (Chaldean). Chǎnukkâ' = Consecration
i.e. All were summoned to a religious ceremony to worship and
to render the golden image sacred.
Nebuchadnezzar commands worship before the golden image
 Worship music
 Kneeling & bowing down before the idol
Refusal = Immediate punishment: cast into a fiery furnace
Contrast
 Rev 19:1-4 [24 elders and 4 beasts fall down to worship God
 2 Sam. 6:12-16 [David dancing before the Ark of the
Covenant
Why didn't Hananiah, Mishael, & Azariah do as
commanded? Ex. 20:2-6
Nebuchadnezzar Directing Worship
"Nebuchadnezzar, the king of righteousness, the humble, the lowly, who hath
knowledge of the fear ( = worship) of the gods, who loves justice and
righteousness, who seeks after life, who puts in the mouth of the people the fear
of the mighty gods; who sets in order the temples of the gods; ...”
Nebuchadnezzar Barrel Cylinder, British Museum
http://www.bible-history.com/Archaeology/babylon/ nebuchadnezzar-cylinder.html
Responding to the Wrath of Man
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Gleeful tattletales [Dan. 3:8-12]
 Possible motivations
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Self-justification, self-promotion
Accusation that the Jews are defying the King out of jealousy
 Implication: this goes beyond just the 3 Jewish servants
Apply imagination to visualize what has transpired
Use imagination to visualize a situation surrounding an event
being described in the Bible.
 Used only to help develop understanding.
 The written word of God is the Word of God.
 What you imagine and visualize is NOT the truth in God's
Word
 Table Exercise: Discuss the following 2 questions .
 Has this ever occurred to you at work, school, or even at home?
 Have you ever done this?
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Responding to the Wrath of Man
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Character of Hananiah, Mishael, & Azariah
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King's reaction to the news: (Dan. 3:13-15)
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The King's demand: “Is it true that you Shad-aku, Mesh-aku, and
Abed-nebo do not serve my gods nor did you worship the golden
image I set-up?”
Hananiah's, Mishael's, & Azariah's response to the King (Dan.
3:16-18)
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Key considerations
 No equivocations, hemming & hawing, or sugar-coated excuses
 Make no claim that God will save them, only that He has the ability
(and power) to do so.
 No matter what happens the three are devoutly dedicated to
diligently follow and trust in God
“Who is that god who shall deliver you out of my hands?”
 'ělâhh (Chaldean) – god
 The 3 Jews' response: “our 'ělâhh (god), whom we serve, is able”
 They are not using the Hebrew word for God, e.g. 'ělôhîym.
 King's mindset: “loser nation = loser god” (2 Kings 18:28-35)
The 4th Man in the Fire
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Wrath of a king no match against the love of GOD
 Dan. 3:19-25
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Dan. 3:14-18 The king's “original” countenance
Why did King Nebuchadnezzar offer Hananiah, Mishael, and
Azariah a 2nd chance?
 Possible reason: Dan 1:19-20
After their response what was the King's countenance toward the
three?
 Rejection of the King's gods + Rejection of the King's attempt
to honor his god(s) = Fiery doom
 Heated furnace 7 x what it was
 Use your spiritual imagination to visualize the scene and what
happened next. [Dan. 3:20-23]
 What crucial spiritual “revelation” arises when you visualize
Dan. 3:22-23?
What did the “4th Man” in the fire do? [Dan. 3:23, 25]
Who is the “4th Man” in the fire? [Dan. 3:25]
Totally Astonished
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The King's Countenance changes again
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From fury to flabbergasted (totally astonished) [Dan. 3:2425]
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Hananiah, Mishael, & Azariah didn't get fried like the guards
They fell down bound, but were now unbound
They were walking around in the fiery furnace totally unharmed
There was another man-like shape walking around with the three
The man-like shape looked like a “son of 'ělâhh”
The King is so stunned that without thinking:
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“Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning,
fiery furnace.”
Practically speaking, he had come off his seat and came close,
but not so close as to be threatened by the fire.
Testimony of the Lord's Power & Love
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Daniel 3:26-30
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Physically unharmed
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No 3rd, 2nd, 1st degree burns
Not even a smudge of soot
Clothing was not damaged in any way
Deut. 29:2-5 God even protects the clothing we wear
2Now Moses called all Israel and said to them: “You have seen all that the
Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his
servants and to all his land— 3the great trials which your eyes have seen,
the signs, and those great wonders. 4Yet the Lord has not given you a
heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day. 5And I
have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn
out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet.
 Not even the stench of the fire, burned flesh, or burned fuel was
on them.
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Nebuchadnezzar's Awed Response
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Nebuchadnezzar calls three out of the furnace
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“26Shad-aku, Mesh-aku, and Abed-Nebo, servants of the
'ělâhh (god) most high, come out, and come here.”
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Nebuchadnezzar recognized a “greater” god, who was separate
from the Babylonian gods.
Nebuchadnezzar is totally impressed
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28Nebuchadnezzar
spoke, saying, “Blessed be the god ('ělâhh)
of Shad-aku, Mesh-aku, and Abed-Nebo, who sent His
messenger and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and
they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies,
that they should not serve nor worship any god ('ělâhh) except
their own god ('ělâhh)!
To Nebuchadnezzar the god of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah
has be come “real”, and is no longer a “loser god”
Decree concerning God (v 29)
Promotion for the Hananiah, Mishael, & Azariah (v 30)
So What!
Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah
Key Points for Us
8Therefore
24
at that time certain
Chaldeans came forward and
accused the Jews. 12 There are
certain Jews whom you have set over
the affairs of the province of Babylon:
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego;
these men, O king, have not paid due
regard to you. They do not serve your
gods or worship the gold image which
you have set up.” [Dan. 3:8, 12]
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and AbedNego answered and said to the king,
“O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no
need to answer you in this matter. 17 If
that is the case, our God whom we
serve is able to deliver us from the
burning fiery furnace, and He will
deliver us from your hand, O king. 18
But if not, let it be known to you, O
king, that we do not serve your gods,
nor will we worship the gold image
which you have set up.” [Dan. 3:1618]
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the
one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and
despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” [Matt.
6:24]
15”Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone
loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all
that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.” [1
John 2:15-16]
32
“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also
confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33But whoever
denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father
who is in heaven.” [Matt. 10:32-33]
17But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us
severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man
in this name.” 18So they called them and commanded them not
to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19But Peter and
John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the
sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20For
we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and
heard.” 21So when they had further threatened them, they let
them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the
people, since they all glorified God for what had been done.
[Acts 4:17 - 21]
Conclusion
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Dedicated – Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were
dedicated in following Yahweh Elohim's commandments:
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Diligent – The implication of their actions are that they
were diligent in living according to the Law, day by day.
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They refused to bow and worship the Nebuchadnezzar’s golden
image, even though they knew the punishment.
They honored God through steadfastly living the “first three” of the
ten commandments.
Applying Joshua 1:7-8
In the end they were promoted by the King, the exact opposite
result intended by the tattletale Chaldeans.
Devout –Their devotion to LORD is evident from their
response to King Nebuchadnezzar.
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Deut. 6:5
Deut. 11:1