Unit 19, Session 3: God Gave Daniel Wisdom
Daniel 5
Christ Connection: God used Daniel's wisdom to get the king's attention about his pride. The king acted like he was better than God. God humbled the king. Jesus humbled Himself by dying on the cross for our sin. God raised up Jesus and gave Him honor. When we humble ourselves and trust in Jesus, God will raise us up too, and we will be with Him forever in heaven.
Adult Connection Point:
It’s the kindness of the Lord that will lead us to repentance, not merely His majesty. How is God’s kindness demonstrated? In His provision of protection. God has made a way for us to be protected from His own righteous wrath and to pay for sin that would keep us out of heaven.
How much money do you think it would take to cover the United States in one-dollar bills? If you guessed 1 trillion dollars, you’d be way off. It would take 886 trillion dollars; that’s 2.8 million per person in the United States. That’s a lot of green! What would you do with 2.8 million dollars?
According to Ephesians 1:7-8, we are even richer. God has lavished all His wealth on those who are redeemed by the blood of His Son. Just imagine! The God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Ps. 50:10) and all the storehouses of heaven is saying that His wealth is yours. In fact, the riches that you possess in Jesus Christ—on earth and in heaven—are so encompassing that the sum of them can never be accurately calculated.
When we trust in Jesus Christ, who has been slain for us, we have everything we need forever!! Take a look: “We have redemption in Him through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.”
Family Devotion:
Materials: glove
Give a glove to one child and direct him to print a word in the air using one finger from the gloved hand. Direct the rest of the family to guess the word. Continue the game until everyone has had a chance.
Recall the story then ask, “What did the words MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN mean?” God gave Daniel the wisdom and understanding he needed to uncover the meaning of the words. Because Daniel worshiped and obeyed God, God revealed to him that Belshazzar would soon die because he had not humbled himself before God, thus the kingdom would be taken over by two other nations.
Ask, “What was Belshazzar's main problem?” Belshazzar had a problem with pride. Pride is simply exalting oneself to a high position, in this case, above God. His other problems included using the silver and gold containers for parties and worshiping foreign gods. Belshazzar did not learn from king Nebuchadnezzar’s mistakes, thus, God had to humble him, too.
Remind your kids that Jesus is the example we want to follow. He humbled himself to death on a cross—always following God’s plan for His life. When one humbles himself and trusts in Jesus, God will raise up that person.
Bow down, humbling yourself before God, asking Him to help your family trust Jesus in all circumstances so you can live with Him forever in heaven.
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