Day 257 (Daniel 4-6) - Year 8

0:00Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Beacab. King Nebby of Babylon kicks us off today with a letter he's written to his people praising Yahweh that God most high. This letter shows an unexpectedly humble side of Nebby, because if you think of all he had lined up yesterday with the statue and the calling in all the foreign dignitaries, he's actually praising God for thwarting his plans. Nebby goes on to talk about another perplexing dream he's had. He calls in the dream team, but no one can interpret it until Daniel shows up. Why didn't Nebby just go to Daniel first? Some commentators think he was testing the others on the dream team, and others say that this is a sign he isn't fully committed to Yahweh because he's still seeking help from his familiar wicked resources. In his dream, a tree grows big and strong and its impact, which is mostly positive in this dream, reaches the whole earth.

1:01Then a messenger of Yahweh shows up and commands that the tree be chopped down and stripped of its branches and fruit, but that its stump which represents a man should be left to soak in the ground for seven years. Daniel is like, Yikes, I wish this dream were for your enemies, but it's not. So buckle up, this isn't going to be easy to hear. You and Babylon are the tree. Your reign is going to get chopped down, and you're going to be relegated to living in the fields for seven years among the beasts. This dream is definitely going to happen and you can't avoid it, but if you want my advice on how to delay getting stumped, turn from your sins and show mercy to the oppressed, because God might postpone the chopping for a later date. A year later, Nebby is walking on his roof riding a prey song to himself when a voice from Heaven yells, Timber! So if he did repent, it wasn't for long. His pride has come back full force. Then after seven years of eating grass, he's sufficiently humbled, and just like God said through Daniel, his reign is reinstated.

2:04Nebby sings another prey song, but this time it's for Yahweh. His closing statement in the chapter blows my mind, because these words came from the man who toppled Jerusalem and the temple. Verse 37 says, Now I, Nebicon Ezra, praise and ex-toll and honor the King of Heaven, for all his works are right and all his ways are just, and those who walk in pride he is able to humble. In chapter 5 we meet Belchezar, who is probably King Nebby's grandson. He's throwing a big party, and when he tastes the wine, he says, Ooh, this is the good stuff we need to serve it out of those awesome antique glasses I inherited. He's well aware that these are the same goblets Nebby stole from the temple before he destroyed it. Belchezar and his crew are drinking it up while having a pagan worship ceremony until God breaks through the fourth dimension and shocks everyone. Belchezar almost passes out because he sees the hand and the writing. If you've ever wondered where the phrase, I saw the writing on the wall comes from, now

3:06you know. Belchezar calls in his wicked interpreters, but they can't make sense of it. Either they understand the words, but not the meaning, or maybe it's written in a foreign language like Hebrew. A woman who is probably Belchezar's mom tells him about how Daniel helped King Nebby all those years ago, so they call him in to figure things out. King B opens with a backhanded compliment. He knows who Daniel is and praises his wisdom, but he refers to him as an exile, not by the title King Nebby gave him. Then he promises to promote Daniel to third in the kingdom, if he can interpret the writing. And of course, we know he's got what it takes because what it takes is Yahweh, but it's also clear in Daniel's response that he doesn't really like King B. Not only does he say he doesn't want the King's gifts, but he also leaves up the traditional, oh, King live forever in his greeting. Then Daniel says, King B isn't ignorant of what happened with Nebby. He's just proud and foolish. He doesn't pull any punches in accusing him. After he rebukes him for using the holy vessels and worshipping pagan gods, he ends by saying,

4:11the God in whose hand is your breath and whose are all your ways, you have not honored. By the way, when Daniel says God's ways are all King B's ways, he's not saying King B follows God, obviously. He's pointing out God's sovereignty over everything King B does. When Daniel interprets the message, he boils it down to this. God has deemed you an unworthy leader and he's going to remove you and divide your kingdom between the needs and the Persians. And signs point to it happening quickly because the word that means numbered is doubled. Despite the bad news, King B gives Daniel the promised gifts that he dies later that night and the kingdom is given to Darius the Mead. Something that isn't in the text here is that many commentators believe this is the very night the Meads invaded and they're the ones who killed King B. Chapter 6 tells us that the new Persian King Darius leaves Daniel in his newly appointed role, which means he's now in charge of lots of other politicians in Babylon. And he's doing such a great job that Darius wants to give him a promotion and all the other

5:14politicians in Babylon become super jealous. They try to find fault in him but not even his internet search history throws any red flags. The man has integrity. They realize that the only way they can trap him is to make his religion temporarily illegal. And it's a brilliant move because it also gives them the opportunity to appeal to the King's side. They all agree to make it illegal to pray to anyone except King Darius for 30 days or else they'll be executed by lions. Darius is new in this role so it probably feels especially good to have his ego boosted and he hastily agrees to the law. When Daniel finds out about this, he doesn't change anything about his behavior. He doesn't try to change the law or run or hide in fear. He just goes about his faithful business as usual praying three times a day. The men catch him praying and tattle to Darius and as if Darius doesn't know who Daniel is, they refer to him as the exile even though he's been there for 66 years. His ethnicity is probably one of the things that provoked their jealousy all the more and

6:18it's evident in their choice of insult. It's kind of like casually referring to someone's race when that information adds nothing to the conversation. Darius is devastated because he really likes Daniel. That devastated that Daniel refused to pray to him but that he's going to be executed. Darius tries to get the new law overturned but when he fails, he lets Daniel know he's rooting for him and then he spins the night fasting. They throw Daniel into the pit with the lions and seal it with a big stone. And here's something I didn't learn in vacation Bible school. Daniel is at least 82 years old when this happens. He survives the pit because God sends his angel to shut the lion's mouths. Darius orders his conspirators to be executed by lions instead and he writes a decree praising Yahweh. My God shot today was noticing how often God works through one person at a time. He granted Daniel faithfulness and integrity that turned the hearts of kings and nations,

7:19not just once but twice. When people in the Old Testament read the prophecies of the Messiah, they imagined a political ruler who would win every war. They never imagined a humble, faithful man like Jesus. Even though Daniel was a political ruler, he fought his battles in prayer. And even in light of all his great qualities, he's still not the hero of the story. He didn't close the lion's mouth. He didn't fulfill the prophecy against wicked King Belchazar. Yahweh is the active agent. Yahweh is the hero of every story. And he's where the joy is. Have you thought about becoming a recaptain? Recaptains are the amazing people who support the Bible recap and get fun perks in return. Personally, one of my favorite perks we offer is the Recaptains Facebook group. It's the best place on the internet. It's a great place to share your thoughts about what we're reading and questions about what we're studying. You can also find encouragement for the days when you don't want to read with no judgment

8:21and the occasional hilarious Bible meme which we all love. You can join for just $3 a month. Go to thebiberycapt.com, forward slash recaptain or click the link in the show notes.