Daniel
Lesson 4Daniel 4
In this lesson we will be studying Daniel Chapter 4 and examining another of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams: the "Tree Dream". Having returned from the Plain of Dura and the miracle with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, it is now some time later. We find that the King is suddenly interested in telling his empire about God and His "miraculous signs and wonders". What could have caused this excitement? Let’s have a look at Chapter 4 to find out about the apparent rebirth of the king.
Read Daniel Chapter 4, then answer the following:
- As identified in Daniel 4:1, who was the king addressing his great announcement to?
- In Daniel 4:5 we read that the king asserts that his dream made him "afraid". Immediately before having this dream, as recounted in Daniel 4:4, he says that he was "contented and prosperous". What a turn of events! What could he possibly be afraid of?
- What was different about the king’s approach to having Daniel interpret this dream, versus the approach he took regarding the dream described in Daniel Chapter 1?
- Who did the king call initially to interpret the dream? Was it Daniel?
- What was the title that Nebuchadnezzar used when he saw Daniel/Belteshazzar?
- We learned Daniel Chapter 1 that Daniel’s Babylonian name was Belteshazzar. In this chapter, we learn the origin of the name. Who had the king named Daniel after?
- Why do you suppose that Daniel ended up being the last person asked to consider the king’s dream?
- Even though the dream is about a tree, the "messenger" in the dream has a message for "him" (i.e., the king). What is this message?
- What does Daniel indicate that the Lord is calling the king to do?
- How much time transpired between the time that Daniel warned the king to repent and when God brought judgment?
- What did the king do once his time of punishment had been fulfilled?
So, by the end of our Chapter 4 study, we see a repentant king who acknowledges that all that he is and all that he has comes from God; and that God indeed is sovereign over all the earth. It took many miracles for Nebuchadnezzar to finally realize there is only one true God.
In our next lesson, Daniel encounters another leader and a new situation.
Thanks for studying with us.
In Christ,
Wes
[2012]