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July 20 Daily Reading- Read the Bible in 1 Year
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If you would like to download my FREE calendar for keeping track of your commitment to read the Bible every day, you can find that on my site, here: https://www.inthefamilywaycoaching.com/pages/read-the-bible-in-1-year
Monthly memberships to support this event can be purchased on my site, here: https://www.inthefamilywaycoaching.com/offering_packages
Oops! I forgot to plug my microphone in today and sound was recorded through the webcam microphone. Sorry about that!
Today's reading will cover the book of Daniel Chapters 9 and 6. Daniel, through reading the scriptures, understands that exile will last 70 years and prays to God for His forgiveness and the return of the people to Jerusalem. While he is praying God sends the Angel Gabriel to deliver a message to him, assuring Daniel that the exiles will return to Jerusalem and that an order will be given to rebuild the temple. God is so gracious to answer our prayers! We will also read about Daniel's work ethic- he was someone you could trust; he didn't do anything wrong, and he did a good job with whatever he did. As a result of Daniel's success and notoriety his co-workers, fellow men in leadership positions, tried to trap him and accuse him of doing wrong, but we will see that God protected him and saved him, even when he received a death sentence! In our discussion for daily application we will talk about always doing our best. The Bible teaches us that whatever we do we are to do everything as though we are doing it for God. We are to be trustworthy and seek God's kingdom first, as Jesus taught us, and everything else, including protection from those who are jealous of us, will be given to us, the same way that God was faithful to save Daniel! Never be afraid to do your best for God!
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Transcript
Introduction and Commitment
00:00:00
Speaker
Morning and foremost. Hello, everybody. Welcome to today's edition of our daily Bible reading of Reading the Bible in One Year, Using the Day-by-Day Kids Bible.
00:00:13
Speaker
You are with Robin at In the Family Way Coaching, and I am so glad that you are here with me. I'm glad that God has led you to this event, and I'm super glad if you are one of our regular followers who has been following along and reading and hearing the Bible this year.
00:00:29
Speaker
If you are using your daily commitment calendar, go ahead and get that out and your sticker or however you're marking that off because you're about to hear the Bible today.
Daniel's Prayer and Angelic Answer
00:00:42
Speaker
Yesterday, we got to read that amazing story about the writing on the wall with the hand. Ooh, that was so exciting. It was almost like straight out of a horror film. That would be so scared if a hand suddenly started writing on the wall.
00:00:55
Speaker
Ooh. Well, we are continuing in the book of Daniel today, and we are going to be seeing a prayer from Daniel to God. And then we're going to be seeing God sent an angel down with an answer for for Daniel.
00:01:12
Speaker
Then we will also see an amazing accounting, which you may be familiar with by now, is Daniel in the lion's den. So i wanted to give us a little bit of perspective on the timeline of when this is all happening, since it's important to remember that this story, ah this version rather, of the Bible that we are reading is written in chronological order.
00:01:35
Speaker
So we have just about gotten to the 70 years since Jerusalem was since Judah was exiled by God. Now, it occurred over a number of years, but that doesn't mean that the year started in the final year of of exile for all the rest of the people with King Zedekiah.
00:01:56
Speaker
This started almost 70 years. So the time period that we are hearing about in Daniel, Daniel has been reading ah Jeremiah's book.
00:02:07
Speaker
And other scriptures. And he has come to understand that there will be 70 years of exile. And so he is praying to God because he wants God to be sure and and rescue the people and allow them to go back to Jerusalem.
00:02:26
Speaker
It's a very complicated vision that he is given. And so I just wanted to give that little bit of perspective with that.
Understanding Daniel's Vision
00:02:34
Speaker
Our daily application is not specifically related to that vision, but I just want us to have understanding so that we can be should be sure to just realize and and just have comprehension as to what it is that's going on and why.
00:02:50
Speaker
Because remember, it doesn't do us any good just to read it if we have no comprehension. And I didn't want to just gloss over it either, since it's not technically part of our daily application.
00:03:03
Speaker
So here we're going to read Daniel chapter 9, and it's entitled Daniel's Prayer and God's Answer.
00:03:12
Speaker
Now, Darius was the king over Babylon. Remember that night King Belshazzar was killed, King Darius from the Medes of nation took over. So now Darius was the king over Babylon.
00:03:25
Speaker
And in his first year of reign, Daniel, understood what Jeremiah had written. I understood that Jerusalem would stay torn down for 70 years.
00:03:38
Speaker
So I prayed. I begged God. I didn't eat anything. I wore clothes made of old sackcloth. I said, Lord, you are a great and wonderful God.
00:03:54
Speaker
You keep your promise of love to everyone who loves you. You keep your promise to everyone who obeys you. God, you always do what's right.
00:04:07
Speaker
Today, your people feel bad. You have sent us to many lands near and far. And it's all because we sinned against you.
00:04:20
Speaker
So the bad things written in your laws happened. You made the words come true against us. But we still didn't turn away from our sin.
00:04:31
Speaker
We didn't listen to your truth. So you brought this trouble on us. And that's because you are right in all you do. God, you do what's good and right, so turn your anger away from Jerusalem.
00:04:47
Speaker
Jerusalem is your city. It is your holy hill. Now, God, hear my prayers and be kind to your city. We don't ask you because we are right and good.
00:05:01
Speaker
We ask you because you are kind. Listen, God, forgive us. Hear and act and do it because of who you are.
00:05:13
Speaker
Don't wait.
Interpretation of Daniel's Dream
00:05:16
Speaker
I was praying this to God and then Gabriel flew to me. I saw him in the dream I had before. Gabriel said, Daniel, I came to help you understand.
00:05:30
Speaker
An answer was ready for you right when you began praying. Good things are said about you. So think about the message. Understand this special dream.
00:05:43
Speaker
Seventy weeks are planned for your people in your holy city. Your people will stop their sin. They will make up for the wrong they have done.
00:05:54
Speaker
Know this and understand it. There will be a law made to build Jerusalem back again. Then the special ruler that God chose will come.
00:06:07
Speaker
The city will be built back up, but it will be built in a time of trouble. After this, the special ruler will be thrown down and he won't have anything.
00:06:20
Speaker
The next ruler and his people will tear down the city and the end will come like a flood water. War will keep going on until the end.
00:06:32
Speaker
That ruler will set up something terrible in the worship house. And then God will get rid of him.
00:06:41
Speaker
That was the end of Daniel's special dream.
Daniel in the Lion's Den
00:06:46
Speaker
Chapter six of Daniel. Lions. Now Darius chose 120 leaders for his kingdom. He chose three men to be in charge of them.
00:06:59
Speaker
Daniel was one of those three men. Daniel did a very good job, so the king planned to put Daniel in charge of everyone. The other leaders tried to find something wrong with Daniel, but they couldn't.
00:07:16
Speaker
Daniel was someone you could trust. He didn't do wrong. He did a good job with whatever he did. At last, the men said, we'll never find anything wrong, so let's think of something that has to do with Daniel's god.
00:07:34
Speaker
So the leaders went to the king. King Darius, may you live forever, they said. We think you should make a law.
00:07:46
Speaker
Tell people to pray only to you for the next 30 days. Anyone who doesn't obey, be thrown into the lion's den. Write this law down.
00:07:57
Speaker
That way, it cannot be changed. No one can change the laws of the Medes and Persians.
00:08:05
Speaker
So King Darius wrote the law down. And then the men went to go see Daniel and they found him praying to God. So they went back to the king and they said, you make a law?
00:08:22
Speaker
Anybody who doesn't pray to you gets thrown to the lions. Oh yes, said the king. The law can't be changed. Daniel isn't listening to you, they said.
00:08:35
Speaker
He isn't obeying the law. He still prays to God three times every day.
00:08:44
Speaker
Now the king was very upset and he thought hard about how to save Daniel. He tried everything he could until the sun went down. And then the men went to the king again.
00:08:58
Speaker
Remember, they said, no law you make can be changed. So the king gave an order for Daniel to be brought in. And then Daniel was thrown into the lion's den.
00:09:13
Speaker
The king called to Daniel, may your God save you.
00:09:20
Speaker
The king's men found a big stone and they put it in front of the opening of the den. The king marked it by pressing his ring into the wax. And he did the same thing with the rings of the other leaders.
00:09:34
Speaker
And that was so no one could let Daniel out. No one could help him. Then the king went back to his palace. He didn't need anything that night, and he did not have anyone sing for him or dance for him.
00:09:52
Speaker
He couldn't sleep. As soon as the morning came, the king got up and he ran to the lion's den. He called to Daniel with a sad voice.
00:10:03
Speaker
Daniel, could your God save you from the lions?
00:10:10
Speaker
May you said Daniel, called back. My God sent his angel. He closed the lions' mouths, and they did not hurt me. And that's because I hadn't done anything wrong to God, and I haven't done anything wrong to you.
00:10:30
Speaker
The king was very happy. He ordered his servants to take Daniel out of the den and they saw that he was not hurt at all.
00:10:42
Speaker
That's because he trusted God. The king gave new orders. He called for the men who had blamed Daniel. He had them thrown and their families thrown to the lions and the lions killed them before they even touched the ground.
00:11:02
Speaker
Then King Darius sent a letter to all his people. I pray that good things will come to you. I am making a new law.
00:11:14
Speaker
All people must look up to Daniel's God. He is the living God and he lives forever. His kingdom will never end. He does wonders in the sky and on earth.
00:11:27
Speaker
He saved Daniel from the lion's power.
God's Timing and Historical Events
00:11:33
Speaker
That is the end of our reading today.
00:11:38
Speaker
Isn't that exciting? God took one king who was very proud and who did not honor or worship or obey God. And he replaced him with another king, King Darius.
00:11:53
Speaker
And King Darius sent out a testimony just like King Nebuchadnezzar had done when he saw God's wonders.
00:12:04
Speaker
Oh, that's so exciting. So let's go back and let's look at and Daniel's prayer. And we are going to be seeing since the 70 weeks are close, that they would be those were translated to mean 70 years.
00:12:21
Speaker
So it's the 70 years of almost come. And they actually were corresponded, if you remember, to the the number of weeks that or years, rather, that the earth had not received rest for the Sabbath rest or for the Jubilee years.
00:12:42
Speaker
So there was one for every, there was one year for every year that the land should have had rest so that God aligned the calendar that way.
00:12:54
Speaker
So there was also to be some more time is what the angel was explaining, because there was the time that Solomon was building the temple.
00:13:07
Speaker
And so there were 500 years in between temple building to temple building. And so it looked like there was no Sabbath year in that year taken either in those times.
00:13:18
Speaker
So and God had set the number of
Faith, Integrity, and Divine Protection
00:13:22
Speaker
of years to equal the exact number of years that the land that needed to rest. It's also supposed that the year that King Jehoiakim was released from prison, we read about that a few weeks ago when he was set free and he was allowed to dine the king's table.
00:13:41
Speaker
This was in between Nebuchadnezzar and king his son, King Belshazzar. It was King Murdoch, I think was his name. And he... ah released King Jehoiachin in the 37th year. Let's see, that was, his name was Muradak, Muradak.
00:14:05
Speaker
I was close. And ah and it is it is possible that that was a year of Jubilee. So I just thought that was very interesting. And I thought I would share that with you, that God's timing, we see over and over and over and and over and over again.
00:14:22
Speaker
and how he aligns things. So in in accordance with those years of Sabbath rest for the land and the years of Jubilee, things would correspond just the right time.
00:14:35
Speaker
God's timing is perfect. And we may not understand until later, but these timings are perfect. So there would be a little bit more time.
00:14:46
Speaker
And then the angel Gabriel told Daniel that a decree would be made
00:14:54
Speaker
Let's see. It says, there will be a law made to build Jerusalem back again. And guess what? Tomorrow we will read about that law.
00:15:05
Speaker
Everything God says is true. Our God does not lie. When he tells us something is going to happen, we can count on it. And tomorrow we're going to be seeing that happen.
00:15:21
Speaker
So let's talk about Daniel. Daniel, it says, did a very good job. And so the king planned to put Daniel in charge of everyone. It says that the other leaders tried to find something wrong with Daniel, but they couldn't because Daniel was someone you could trust.
00:15:42
Speaker
He didn't do wrong and he did a good job with whatever he did. So that's our daily application today. is to see how Daniel behaved. Daniel not only trusted God, and so God saved him from the lion's den.
00:15:57
Speaker
And it was wonderful that the king, ah Darius, was ah was very favorable to Daniel because he could see that he was doing nothing wrong.
00:16:10
Speaker
And he was going to make Daniel the first one in charge out of everybody. So what we see is jealousy occurring among the leaders that they want to be first in charge.
00:16:21
Speaker
And they don't like the fact that Daniel, who was an exile from Judah, has constantly been given such favor in the eyes of every king. And in being known for being so wise,
00:16:35
Speaker
And we see that that was from the very beginning when God set them apart because Daniel was faithful to God to obey. So we see over and over with Daniel's behavior that he was someone you could trust.
00:16:47
Speaker
He didn't do wrong. It doesn't mean that he was perfect. It just means that he set out to obey God. He set out to obey the king, but he did not obey any rules that would contradict God's rules.
00:17:00
Speaker
And he knew that there was to be served no other gods other than God, because he is the only true God. And so he was faithful to God and honored him and did not relinquish and that that faith. He did not give in and even secretly worship the king.
00:17:21
Speaker
He did not do so in in addition to worshiping God. it says that if he just went into his room where he and he prayed to God, and he did so three times a day.
00:17:32
Speaker
And the king knew this. The king knew that he was a good man. But you see, the king's pride took hold there. When the leaders suggested, they actually came to him. And it says in the big version, it says that everybody agrees that he should make this law.
00:17:50
Speaker
So the king had had all of these leaders as his advisors. But he did not have to make that law. He allowed his pride and he didn't think about Daniel.
00:18:02
Speaker
And it's clear that all these leaders did not include Daniel because then Daniel wouldn't have even have known that this was going on or he would have presented himself and defended himself to the king and presented his position.
00:18:15
Speaker
And then the king would not have done so. But what we see here is that it doesn't matter if we are aware of people trying to sabotage us or not. God is aware.
00:18:26
Speaker
God alone is responsible for protecting us, and he does so. When we are faithful to God and seek his kingdom first, we don't have to worry about people being against us.
00:18:39
Speaker
If God is for us, who can be against us? even in such a terrible situation as this. And it's unlikely that we will find ourselves in such a situation as terrible as Daniel's.
00:18:52
Speaker
We may have people at work who are against us, but God is for us. And even in the midst of trials and difficult times and people trying to sabotage us in our workplace, because this was Daniel's workplace, working for the king.
00:19:09
Speaker
People trying to make him out to be bad and saying that he was doing wrong when they knew otherwise. God still protected Daniel. Daniel trusted in God.
00:19:22
Speaker
Even the King Darius trusted in God. He was hopeful anyway that God would save him. He knew that it was possible. And that was enough faith. Even without the faith of the king, Daniel trusted in God.
Encouragement to Act with Integrity
00:19:37
Speaker
So that's our big application today, is to trust in God, to do everything the best that we can. Whatever we do, we are to do it for God. And I mentioned once a long time ago that I do this when I'm washing dishes, too. And I don't particularly care for washing dishes, but I do a good job. And I say, Lord, I'm washing these dishes for you.
00:19:58
Speaker
it's been a long time since i've had to do dishes because my husband actually thankfully does most of our dishes or sometimes my daughter. But when I would wash dishes a lot and I was the only one doing them.
00:20:10
Speaker
I would pray while I was doing those dishes and I would do a really good job. And I would say, God, I'm doing this for you. I'm washing these dishes for you. But i do do I do take that into consideration, and I do that at work.
00:20:23
Speaker
So when I am at work, everything I do, I try to do it very well because we're supposed to do things as though the task were being done for God. And God honors that.
00:20:34
Speaker
He will see our faith. He knows our hearts. And so I just wanted to encourage you that it doesn't matter what task you are doing, to do it well, to do it honestly.
00:20:47
Speaker
and Be trustworthy and seek God's kingdom first and everything else will be taken care of. We've mentioned many times that Jesus tells us that God knows what we need before we even pray for it.
00:21:03
Speaker
So we don't need to be anxious for anything. And Daniel was clearly looking to God first. So I hope you enjoyed today's reading, and I hope that you feel that God has lit your light and that you are encouraged to do your very best in whatever you go out and Do it for God, to be trustworthy, and to know that even if you have people who are trying to sabotage you at work or anywhere else in the world, you know that you are still in God's control, in God's protection, and he alone will look out for you.
00:21:38
Speaker
So I hope you have a fantastic rest of your day and I'll be here for everyone again tomorrow.