Topic: God things
I just got home from our ladies' Bible study and I am thoroughly exhausted!! But I need to write down some thoughts before I sleep and forget them all. (very very true, I'm ashamed to say) I was so filled up with excitement over this week's study, I just have to say something. Besides, I promised some people I would do some entries on this study and I haven't done any yet! (it's been so long, I forgot who I promised! Good grief!)We are doing a study on the book of Daniel written by Beth Moore and I come away from watching the DVD each time overwelmed by the information and knowledge I've gained. (and hopefully can retain, since I have to sleep sometimes!) We just finished the first half of the study, which was the first 6 chapters of Daniel, now we have a break until January. Then we will begin on the prophecy in Daniel, starting with chapter 7. I am eating it up, as I have not had this kind of deep personal study in a long time. I love to study the Bible. I love it when things happen in science or archaeology or historic writings that confirms something in Scripture that before, wasn't proven to be fact. I LOVE THAT. This study has already thrilled me like that at least 3 times.
First of all, it is so relevant to today. Right away, she began showing us the comparisons of today's American/Western culture and the ancient culture of Babylon. We are just like Babylon! Yikes, it is so clear. The mindset in Babylon was as described in Isaiah 47, on the fall of Babylon.
and have said, 'No one sees me.'
Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you
when you say to yourself,
'I am, and there is none besides me.'
Isaiah 47:10
I am and there is none besides me. It reeks of pride and self-centeredness and rebellion. Yikes, indeed....
Chapter one is all about the captivity. The prophets of old warned the Jewish nation time and time again that they would be taken captive and lose their land if they did not follow Jehovah. It is interesting that where He takes them is back to where they began. Back to Babel....where the people tried to build a tower to reach Heaven. Their pride brought them down and scattered them to the ends of the earth. Daniel and his 3 friends do not conform in captivity to their captors' society like the other young people do. God uses them in great ways and they will forever be honored for it. What/who is holding you captive? Don't get comfy there.
Chapter two blew me away with it's prophesy and history. The statue that Nebuchadnezzar has a dream about represented the kingdoms, beginning with his, that would be the great kingdoms through history until the time of Christ, whose kingdom is the rock that flew down from the heavens and destroyed their earthly kingdoms. The head was gold, arms and chest of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, feet of iron mixed with baked clay. The minerals decreased in value as they went down, but increased in strength. And do you see how our very culture is increasing in strength but diminishing in value....in morality. And that is just a nutshell! There is so much more.
Chapter three is about the 3 friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. I can't even think about them without the Veggies Tales Rack, Shack and Benny scenes going through my head! But I managed to make it through the study on chapter three and actually supress that and learn something. It's actually an awesome story of these 3 young men's courageous faithfulness to God and His bringing them through the fires unharmed. They didn't even smell like smoke! But interestingly, there was one thing that did burn....the bonds on their hands and feet fell off. =) Amen?
Chapter four: "Farewell Lessons from Nebuchadnezzar" was an uncomfortable study. King Neb. (as I will refer to him) was not a good learner, poor guy. After vowing allegiance to the God of Israel in the end of chapter 3, he goes on into chapter 4 making some very bad mistakes. They are mistakes we can make too when we live in Babylon. 1) Losing touch with the poor, (Daniel 4:27) and 2) Losing touch with our own poverty of spirit (Daniel 4:28-30). While standing out on his balcony, viewing his awesome city, he praised HIMSELF and his 'majesty'. Poverty of spirit is knowing that we are nothing without Christ. He is our strength and nothing we do is successful because of ourselves, but because of His grace. King Neb. paid severe consequences when his self-praise came rolling off of his tongue. While the words were still rolling, God told him what was about to happen and it immediately did. One minute you're up on your balcony loving on yourself and the next minute you're going stark raving MAD, eating grass and growing hair all over your body. Ummm, yikes again.....humility and caring for the poor go a long way people. In Beth Moore's words, "....learn [this lesson] in the classroom and not on a field trip."
Thirty years pass before chapter 5 comes to begin. Now Belshazzar has come to be king and he is a piece of work! He throws a huge party and brings in the gold vessels that the Babylonians had pillaged from the Temple in Jerusalem and brought back with them when they brought the Israelites into captivity. All these years, the articles from the Temple had been in storage…until Belshazzar’s wild party. They pour their wine and toast their gods with the very vessels that God had consecrated for holy use. A hand appears…spooky….and while they are all freaking out, God writes a little message to Belshazzar on the plaster of the wall. He tells him he has been examined and found wanting. That very night his kingdom would be taken. Then the Medes and Persians come in, kill him and take over the kingdom. Wow, very abruptly, the Babylonian kingdom comes to an end.
26and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
2 Timothy 2:20-21, 26
We are God’s vessels, set apart as holy by Him for His purposes. Satan wants to use you for his purpose and defile you just as Belshazzar did with the Temple articles. In what ways has Satan tried to put you to use to defile you and to dishonor God? Has he used you in any way to distract and thwart the work of His Church? It's amazing all the things He showed me as I went through this week's study on ways Satan's tried to use me, to defile me. It was very eye-opening.
Chapter 6, “In the lion’s den” find Daniel in trouble for having holy habits. He prays several times a day at an open window, specifically, it says he ‘gave thanks’. The corrupt men who attend the king trick him into making a rule that no one is to pray to any other god but the king. (twisted, but a culturally accepted thing…..it vaguely reminds me of our culture’s insistence on being politically correct and giving your honor to society instead of to Truth) Daniel’s holy habits though, have prepared him to stand the test of faith, to refuse to bow and consequently to be thrown into a den of hungry lions. God delivers Daniel from the lions, shuts their mouths, and the king then honors the God of Daniel. Our enemy is also a prowling lion. (1 Peter 5:8-9) We need to develop those holy habits of faithful praying and of sharpening our only weapon against him…..the Word of God, our sword of the Spirit. Then when trials hit us in the face when we least expect it, our tendency will be to call on the Lord and trust Him instead of panicking or becoming paralyzed by fear. There is too much in this part of the study to convey here too.
I’m so glad to be a part of this study…so glad to be learning something so very relevant and fresh, yet thousands of years old. God has a way of working that is so cool…He gets people from all over the world interested in certain things…all at the same time. I know so many people who are studying the book of Daniel right now. It is the forerunner to the book of Revelation and it has been promised to us by Beth Moore herself, to be a really interesting ride through the prophesy section of Daniel. I can’t wait!
You can find this study for sale at lifeway.com. I’m not trying to sell it, but you may be interested in it after my little spiel here.
And yes, Hannah, I loved her story about her dogs. Beth Moore told a story on tonight's dvd. She was all set to do a phone interview with a radio station, live, at her house. Her kids and husband were not there to give her total concentration and she put one dog in the house in a room and the other outside with the curtains closed. The phone interview got underway and the dogs started barking…all the way through the interview. She eventually backed herself into a small closet and shut the door in order to be able to concentrate and do the interview and stayed there until it was over, an hour later! It was such a funny story because I can see it all perfectly. My dogs are pills too. She was so mad at those dogs that she didn’t speak to them the rest of the day. She replayed the whole ‘conversation’ that the dogs were having, loudly, during her interview. She got up the next morning to give them their morning biscuit and said, “ok, which one of you is the bad dog? Wag your tail.” And of course they were both wagging like crazy. She sounds just like me, talking to/about my dogs. I’m glad I’m not the only freakishly strange dog interpreter in the world. =) (I wonder if she sings to them too?)
