I Dare You: Wake Up!
Daniel 5
Skip Heitzig
Daniel 5 (NKJV™) | |
1 | Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. |
2 | While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. |
3 | Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. |
4 | They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone. |
5 | In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. |
6 | Then the king's countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other. |
7 | The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke, saying to the wise men of Babylon, "Whoever reads this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck; and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom." |
8 | Now all the king's wise men came, but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation. |
9 | Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were astonished. |
10 | The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke, saying, "O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change. |
11 | "There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your father--your father the king--made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. |
12 | "Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation." |
13 | Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke, and said to Daniel, "Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives from Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? |
14 | "I have heard of you, that the Spirit of God is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. |
15 | "Now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not give the interpretation of the thing. |
16 | "And I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations and explain enigmas. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom." |
17 | Then Daniel answered, and said before the king, "Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation. |
18 | "O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. |
19 | "And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down. |
20 | "But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. |
21 | "Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses. |
22 | "But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. |
23 | "And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified. |
24 | "Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written. |
25 | "And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. |
26 | "This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; |
27 | "TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; |
28 | "PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." |
29 | Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. |
30 | That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. |
31 | And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old. |
New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.
As a teacher was lecturing his class, he noticed a student sleeping in the back row, so he said to the sleeping student’s neighbor, "Hey, wake that guy up!" The neighbor answered back, "You put him to sleep, you wake him up!" Falling asleep on the job may be harmless in some situations, but not as the ruler of a nation, and certainly not when God’s judgment is impending. This week’s dare is directed to anyone who is not heeding divine warning signals and needs to wake up.
Skip Heitzig unfolds the book of Daniel verse by verse in the series I Dare You. We'll learn how Daniel lived differently and made a huge impact on his society, and we'll be challenged to do the same.
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Publications referenced: The Crawling Hand, "Invictus," by William Ernest Henley
Figures referenced: King Nabonidus, Joseph Parker, Nitocris
Cross references: Psalm 39:4, Proverbs 20:1, 31:4-5, Matthew 11:23, John 8:1-12, Romans 13:11, 1 Corinthians 2:14, Colossians 2:14, Hebrews 9:27, James 4:14, Revelation 20
Date | Title | Watch | Listen | Notes | Share | Save | Buy | |
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1/6/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Be Distinct! Daniel 1 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary Men and women of character will rise to meet a challenge. Our challenge over the next few months will be modeled in the life of Daniel, a man of God who stood out above the rest, honored God, and influenced his world. Each week, our service will be formed around a new challenge—a dare—to rise up, be counted, be different, and above all, be pleasing to God. |
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1/13/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Step Up! Daniel 2:1-23 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary Any crisis we face is a test. How will we respond? What actions will we take? What will our faith in God mean to us and to others in that moment of crisis? Daniel and his friends faced their moment of crisis when the King of Babylon’s insomnia became their worst nightmare. As they faced the possibility of their own death, they used the situation to display their life-giving faith. Let’s consider how we can step up to life’s difficulties and use them as spiritual opportunities. |
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1/20/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Speak Out! Daniel 2:24-49 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary Words can become jumbled when we feel intimidated by the one we’re speaking to, especially if the one we’re speaking to intends to kill us! That’s why this story is so inspiring: Daniel speaks out clearly, boldly, accurately, and yet humbly to Babylon’s monarch and thereby gives us a model of speaking God’s truth to our world. |
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1/27/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Stand Up! Daniel 3 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary Fitting in, blending in, and conforming to the values of the world around you is what is expected. If you dare go against the flow of popular worldly ideologies, you will be a marked person, regarded as a fanatic and relegated to the category of "dangerous individuals." Three of Daniel's friends decided it was better to stand up for God than to bow down to the wishes of the crowd. Their conviction of heart was to refuse to be "conformed to this world" (Romans 12:2). |
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2/3/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Submit! Daniel 4:1-18 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary Before us is a remarkable section of Scripture with a remarkable story about a king who makes a remarkable statement. It is the personal journal of an earthly political monarch who recognizes God’s authoritative rule in the human realm. As amazing as the story is, it carries with it implications for us to submit to God by submitting to man’s government. |
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2/10/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Be Humble! Daniel 4:19-37 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary A pundit once quipped, "Humility is like underwear—essential, but indecent if it shows!" The opposite of humility is pride, and Daniel 4 reveals it in spades. Nebuchadnezzar will learn (and then tell) about the greatest lesson God showed him in his long career—that He is able to humble those who walk in pride. So why not learn it the easy way? Listen carefully and apply these truths diligently. I dare you! |
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2/24/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Be Faithful! Daniel 6:1-15 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary Daniel was consistently faithful, both publicly and privately. His diligence and attitude set him apart from his peers and his reputation withstood harsh scrutiny. When his life was on the line, Daniel refused to compromise—he dared to be faithful! |
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3/3/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Be Steadfast! Daniel 6:10-28 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary Calvin Miller once wrote, “Security is never the friend of faith. It is peril that produces steadfastness.” Daniel knew this to be true and was willing to sacrifice the security of life and limb because his heart was steadfast and immovable toward his God. Even though he had been faithful to king and country, this aged prophet faced the trial of a lifetime. |
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3/10/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Defend! Daniel 7:1-8 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary Daniel did fine when he was thrown into the lions’ den, but how does he fare when thrust into the critics’ den? Daniel is an amazing book of prophecy as well as history, yet it has not escaped the bright white light of antagonistic critics through the ages. Today I dare you to move beyond a shallow faith that depends on personal feelings and subjective experiences and learn to “contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 3). |
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3/24/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Decide! - Part 1 Daniel 7:8-28 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary The world as we know it won’t last forever. Time will not march on without interruption. Daniel saw a vision of four future kingdoms which can be documented historically. But one final worldwide antagonistic thrust against God is coming. It will be waged by a ruler typically referred to as the Antichrist (but actually there are many more names for him). A fourfold description of this coming dictator’s reign is highlighted before us. Even more basic is the choice we must all make about which kingdom we will be part of. |
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4/14/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Decide! - Part 2 Daniel 7 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary The time is coming when the world will have to decide between a false messiah and the true Christ. Sadly, some already have. Today, we'll consider the world's fastest growing religion and how it might possibly interact with the Bible's predictions of the end times. |
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4/21/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Look Ahead! Daniel 7:9-14;7:26-27 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary Economists, meteorologists, visionaries, and psychics all share one thing in common: They all try to predict the future to announce what's coming. God's prophets never had to; God revealed it to them and they simply wrote it down or spoke it out. The central highlight of Daniel's vision in chapter 7 isn't the coming kingdoms of earthly men nor of the coming Antichrist but rather the coming of Jesus Christ. Let's look ahead and see what's coming. |
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4/28/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Be Great! Daniel 8:1-8;8:20-22 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary The New York Life Review posted this: "Great men have but a few hours to be 'great.' Like the rest of us, they must dress, bathe, and eat. And, being human, they must make visits to the dentist, doctor, and barber and have conferences with their wives about domestic matters. What makes men great is their ability to decide what is important, and then focus their attention on that." (I think that goes for great women too!) Let's compare three men who some consider to be great, and then see how we measure up. |
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5/19/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Be Shocked! Daniel 8:8-27 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary When was the last time you heard someone respond to an incident or piece of information by saying, “That’s shocking!”? Shock (emotional disgust, offense, and aversion) has been diminished due to a widespread exposure to facts and images. Things get too easily relegated to a file in our brains marked, “I’ve already heard this before.” It’s a sad day (and dangerous) when we become spiritually desensitized to God’s truth and the world’s pain. |
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5/26/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Pray! Daniel 9:1-5 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary I have never met a person who's regretted praying too much. I've met plenty who've regretted praying too little. Prayer is the one activity that everybody knows they need, but few actually do. It's preached often, but practiced seldom. Forgive me if I'm dispensing guilt—that's not my intention. I'd rather take a peek into the busy life of an ancient executive (Daniel), and see the role prayer played for him and, in so doing, get fired up about this most powerful of activities! |
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6/2/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Pray! - Part 2 Daniel 9:4-19 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary Just as a square has four sides and is incomplete without all four sides, so too does effective prayer. Daniel leaves us with a great example (and a simple one at that). Though we can pray anywhere and anytime, these four elements form a great baseline for us to emulate. When you talk to God, make certain the signal is clear, your heart is pure, and your confidence is sure. |
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6/9/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Understand! Daniel 9:20-27 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary God wants us to understand! He wants us to understand the truth about life. He wants us to understand the way of salvation. He wants us to understand His plans for the future. Today we come to the scriptural key that unlocks the door to the prophetic future of God’s plan. If you have never known it before, choose to understand it now. I dare you! |
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6/30/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Fight! Daniel 10 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary Fighting is never fun, but it's sometimes necessary. Certainly that's the case with the Christian life: It's not a playground but a battleground. Spiritual warfare (the cosmic battle between forces of good and evil) is a reality that none can escape but few really understand. For Daniel, the curtain is pulled back and he is allowed to see past the natural world into the supernatural world. Let's get a firsthand briefing on a heavenly battle that has earthly repercussions. |
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7/7/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Remember! Daniel 11:1-35 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary Daniel 11 is packed with prophecies about the history of Israel and the world. In just the first 35 verses of the chapter, we find that 135 of those prophecies have already been fulfilled. As we look at the historical details Daniel received in his visions, God's sovereignty comes to the forefront and prompts us to remember that He will carry out the prophecies yet to be fulfilled. |
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7/14/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Rest! Daniel 11:36-45 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary It's hard to be at rest when everything around you is chaos and conflict. But today that is our dare. Peace isn't the absence of a storm but being at rest in the midst of the storm. Daniel is informed about a stormy future in store for his own people and for the whole world. As we look ahead to consider a leader who will come during the most tumultuous time in human history, I dare you to rest in four distinct ways: |
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8/4/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Hope! Daniel 12:1-3 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary There is nothing needed more in the world today than hope. Every generation faces the tendency toward despair and hopelessness. Daniel especially did since he was learning of his own people's future suffering that would last for multiplied generations. But at last, God gives him a precious ray of hope: The worst of times will usher in the best of times. Four words describe that future time and become four rungs on the ladder of hope. |
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8/11/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Respond! Daniel 12:4-13 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary The Christian life is essentially a response to God: God is the Master and we are His servants; He's the Good Shepherd and we are the sheep; He is the Head and we are members of His body. Even our love for God is a response: "We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19). In this final section of the book of Daniel, let's consider three things that God does and what our response should be in each case. |
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8/18/2013 completed
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I Dare You: Be Balanced! Daniel 1-12 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary One dictionary defines balance this way: "A condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions." That's a fitting word to describe the whole of Daniel's life. In today's final study of the book of Daniel, we consider the man himself and how his life was so outwardly powerful and yet so inwardly stable. Daniel was supremely balanced in at least four areas. |
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