MEMORY VERSE: Daniel 2:28. "But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets..."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: 2 Thessalonians. Write "2 Thessalonians" on small slips of paper and hand out at the end of class, so the students may memorize the verse at home.
PRAYER: Thank God for His Bible that He gave to us to read every day.
SPECIAL SONG: Read, Read Every Day (February - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #1 on this blog. Click on orange circle to hear tune.)
VISUAL AID: Large Activity (see below)
LESSON POINTS:
- We remember from last time that God talked to Daniel through dreams and visions. This is important to our lesson because the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, had a dream and couldn't remember what it was. It troubled him so much that he called all of his wise men to come and tell him, not only what he dreamed, but what the dream meant. Sometimes wise men are called wise, but they really are not wise. This was the case of King Nebuchadnezzar's wise men. When the king called the wise men to come and stand before him, the wise men had no clue what the king had dreamed, so they said they could not tell him what the dream meant, if they didn't know what he dreamed! The wise men made many excuses why they could not help the king and soon the king became angry and very furious Sometimes men say and do silly things when they are angry. Because the wise men said that no one but a god could do what the king requested, King Nebuchadnezzar commanded that all the wise men be destroyed! The king's command went out into the land and the soldiers looked for Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego because they, too, were wise men.
- When Daniel heard about the king's command to kill all the wise men, he asked the captain of the king's guard why the king had made this command. When the captain informed Daniel that the king dreamed a dream, but didn't know what the dream was or what it meant and no one would help him, Daniel went right in and asked the king to give him a little time and he would interpret the dream for him. Then Daniel went to his house and told his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego what had happened. Do you know what they did next? They prayed to God that He would help them with this secret dream and that very night, God told Daniel all about the king's dream. Daniel thanked God for answering his prayer.
- The next morning, Daniel went to the king's captain and said to take him before the king and he would show the king what his dream meant. The king's captain hurried and brought Daniel in before the king and said, "Here is a man of the captives that will tell you of your dream." The king then asked Daniel if he was able to tell him of his dream and the interpretation of the dream. Daniel said that no one but God could tell reveal secrets and then told the king what God had told him.
- Daniel said that the king had been thinking of what would happen in the future when he went to bed that night and that the LORD had told the king in a dream future events. Daniel said the king had seen a great image that was bright and terrible. The image's head was made of fine gold, his chest and arms were made of silver, his belly and thighs were made of brass, his legs were made of iron, his feet were made of part iron and part clay. He said that the king saw a stone that was not made with man's hands strike the image's feet that were made of iron and clay and it broke to pieces. Everything broke into such small pieces that the wind carried them away and the stone that had struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
- Then Daniel told the king what his dream meant: It was a dream of the nations who would rule the people. King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, was the head of gold. Another inferior or lesser nation was going to rise up after Babylon who was represented by silver, even a third kingdom (brass) would rise up after the second kingdom and rule over the earth. A fourth kingdom would then reign over the people and would be as strong as iron and as harsh as iron. It would bruise and break things in pieces. Daniel said that the king also saw a fifth kingdom that was made of clay and iron, meaning that that kingdom would be part strong and part broken. But then the God heaven would set up a kingdom that would never be destroyed which the stone was a symbol, and it would break down ALL other kingdoms and would stand forever. He said that the Great God had told King Nebuchadnezzar what would happen in the future and that the dream was true.
- After this, the king fell before Daniel and spoke good things about Daniel and about his God. He made Daniel a great man and gave him many gifts, making him a ruler over a whole province or state in Babylon, even making him the chief of governors over all of the wise men of Babylon. The king knew that God was with Daniel.
- Do you know what Daniel did next? He asked the king to make Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego officers over Babylon's affairs. The granted Daniel's request, but Daniel sat in the gate of the king which was a very important place.
- Read Daniel 2:29-23 to learn a little more about the God we serve. God changes the times and seasons, He removes kings and sets up new kings, He gives wisdom to the wise, He reveals secret things, He knows what is in the darkness, and the light lives in God.
- Daniel not only told the king his dream and the interpretation, but told him why he dreamed the dream in Daniel 2:29--to tell what would happen in the future.
- From history, we learn that after Babylon fell, the Medo-Persian empire rose up. After that kingdom fell, the Grecian kingdom ruled. When the Grecian kingdom fell, the Roman empire reigned over much of the world, but then that Roman kingdom divided and broke to pieces. Do any of these kingdoms rule today? No. But that little stone that grew into a mountain still rules the earth. The stone was not made with hands and is God's kingdom, the church.
ACTIVITY: The Great Image
Materials needed: 9" x 12" yellow construction paper, 5" x 9" dark brown construction paper, scraps of shiny gold paper and light and dark brown paper, 6" x 10" piece of aluminum foil, markers, crayons, glue, scissors.
- Hand out dark brown paper.
- Draw a faceless man with no detail for image.
- Cut out image.
- On gold scrap of paper, place image's head on top.
- Trace image's head.
- Cut out gold head. Set aside.
- Cut foil in half, width-wise.
- Place image on top of SHINY SIDE OF FOIL.
- Trace chest and arms.
- Carefully, cut out chest and arms out of foil. Set aside.
- Place image on top of scrap of dark brown paper.
- Trace belly and thighs.
- Cut belly and thighs out of dark brown paper. Set aside.
- Place image on top of DULL SIDE OF FOIL.
- Trace legs and feet.
- Carefully, cut out legs and feet. Set aside.
- Place image on top of light brown paper.
- Trace feet.
- Cut out feet out of light brown paper.
- Cut light brown feet into large pieces. Set aside.
- Glue dull-foil legs and feet to dark brown image.
- Glue cut-up light brown paper to foiled feet.
- Glue shiny arms and chest to dark brown image.
- Glue gold head to dark brown image.
- Hand out yellow paper.
- Glue image to yellow paper.
- Write "Daniel told the king what he dreamed, what it meant, and why the king dreamed." and "Daniel 2" to top of paper.
- Write "GOLD" and an arrow pointing to the head in red.
- Write "SILVER" and arrow pointing to the arms and chest in green.
- Write "BRASS" and an arrow pointing to the belly and thighs in purple.
- Write "IRON" and an arrow pointing to the legs and an arrow pointing to the feet in blue.
- Write "CLAY" and an arrow pointing to the feet in brown.
