A Prayer for an Obedient Faith

January 21, 2018 Background Scripture: Daniel 9:1 – 19 Lesson Passage: Daniel 9:4 – 8, 15 – 19 While in captivity, Daniel studied the written word of God seeking to understand the reason for the shameful condition of the people of God. He found his answer in the writing of Jeremiah’s prophecy. The statement describing Israel’s punishment was very plainly written in the prophecy. Israel’s punishment was first described in the Law given by God through Moses. Because the nation, its rulers and people, had not adhered to the instructions given to them in the Law, God had poured out the curses defined in the Law upon His people. Israel was punished openly and other nations witnessed it. Israel’s sovereignty had been stripped from her and the people scattered throughout other nations. All of this was just as the Law had recorded it would be. Jeremiah’s prophecy confirmed this but also provided a ray of hope for Israel. God’s prophecy through Jeremiah declared that the nation’s punishment would last for seventy years and afterwards God would punish the nation He had used to bring judgment on Israel. After reading the prophecy, Daniel began to earnestly fast and pray to God. Daniel acknowledged the sins of Israel and her leaders in straying from God’s instructions and ignoring God’s warnings. Israel deserved all that she was experiencing because she had been warned beforehand about the consequences of her behavior. Even while the nation continued to descend into moral and spiritual disobedience to God, God continued to send prophets to warn her to repent and return to Him. Daniel acknowledged the faithfulness of God in spite of Israel’s behavior. Daniel prayed that God would now allow His face to once again shine on His people and the holy city of Jerusalem. Just as the punishment from the Lord had come about as prophesied, Daniel prayed that the promised restoration would now come to pass. Daniel knew Israel did not deserve restoration but he prayed that God would do it for His name’s sake. While deep in prayer and confession, Daniel was again visited by the angel Gabriel. Gabriel informed Daniel that at the beginning of his prayer, God had commanded him to go and assist Daniel by providing insight and understanding. Gabriel encouraged Daniel by telling him that he is highly esteemed. What an indescribable honor it was for Daniel to be acknowledged in such a way. In the gospel account, Gabriel identified himself as one who stands in the presence of God. When Gabriel delivers a message, it is coming from the very throne of God. What Daniel read in the Law and the Prophets, he was receiving second hand. Moses and the prophets received the messages from God that they delivered and recorded for the people of God. When Gabriel shows up, he is the intermediary between God and the recipient of the message from God. In other words, the message delivered by Gabriel was “hot off the press”. This was done because God held Daniel in high esteem. Daniel prayed earnestly, and God sent him an answer. Robert C. Hudson December 8, 2017

A Bold Faith

January 14, 2018 Background Scripture: Daniel 3 Lesson Passage: Daniel 3:19 – 23, 26 – 28 Someone once said that a faith that has not been tested is a faith that cannot be trusted. In today’s lesson, Daniel’s three friends have their faith put to the test. Nebuchadnezzar had created an idol and was insisting that everyone bow down and worship it when the music played. It is interesting to note that the scriptures do not tell us what was going on with Daniel during this time of testing of his friends. We don’t know if Daniel was complicit to the king’s request or away on official business during this time. However, we do know that Daniel’s three friends were there and they refused to bow down and worship the king’s idol. They were threatened with death by being thrown alive into a super-heated furnace for their rebellion. The king favored them because he had selected them for special positions in his kingdom. In spite of the king’s feelings toward the young men, the king knew that he could not allow any of his subjects to disobey his direct orders without risking anarchy in the kingdom. Therefore, the king extended the privilege of providing personal counsel to them so he sent for them to be brought to him. The king explained to them his request for everyone to worship the image and the punishment prescribed for anyone who disobeyed the king’s order. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego declared boldly that God, whom they serve, has the power to deliver them from the furnace and that He would deliver them from the king. To this they added, if God chooses not to deliver them from the furnace, they would still obey God and not worship the image. This was a bold faith. They were willing to risk their lives with no guarantee other than knowing that they were following the Law of God concerning the worship of idols. Nebuchadnezzar was undeterred by their faith in God and had his servants increase the heat inside the furnace seven times above its normal level. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were bound with ropes and taken to the opening of the furnace and thrown in. The fire from the furnace was so intense that it killed the king’s servants who threw the three men in the furnace. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, on the other hand, were unharmed and Nebuchadnezzar saw them walking around inside of the furnace. Nebuchadnezzar was so amazed at what he witnessed that he went to the door of the furnace and called for the three men to come out of the furnace. The fire in the furnace was real. It had killed the servants who threw the three men into the furnace. Yet there was no damage done to their bodies, their hair, or their clothes. Their clothes did not even have the smell of smoke in them! When the king witnessed this, he praised the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He praised their steadfast faith in their God even to the point of disobeying the king’s commandment. Then the king issued a decree that if anyone, regardless of nationality or language, speaks offensively against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego they should be destroyed and their property destroyed. The king wanted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to bow down and worship his idol but instead the king ended up praising the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego because of their bold faith. Robert C. Hudson November 29, 2017