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December 8 - Daniel 4 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Monday, it's the start of a
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  new week, it's the 8th of December or the end of the year
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  is just around the corner. Hope you're going well as your
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  weeks begin to get a Tinsley flavour with some Christmas
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  carols playing and all that good end of year stuff surrounding
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  you. But here you are taking a moment
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  to join me, and we're going to be continuing to read through
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  Daniel. We read through the middle
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  section of Daniel as we finish off these awesome narratives,
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  these stories about Daniel living in Babylonian exile.
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  And then we move into this wild territories of apocalyptic
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  visions and dreams. But we'll get to that later on
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  in the week. Right now, all we need to do is
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  stop, pause our life, take a deep breath.
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  Ah, come Holy Spirit, settle our hearts.
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  Let them turn to you and hear your truth and your love through
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  these words. Let's read it together, friends.
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  Daniel Chapter 4. King Nebuchadnezzar sent this
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  message to the people of every race and nation and language
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  throughout the world. Peace and prosperity to you.
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  I want you all to know about the miraculous signs and wonders the
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  Most High God has performed to me.
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  How great are His signs? How powerful his wonders?
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  His Kingdom will last forever, His rule through all
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  generations. I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living in
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  my palace in comfort and prosperity.
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  But one night I had a dream that frightened me.
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  I saw visions that terrified me as I lay in my bed, so I issued
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  an order calling in all the wise men of Babylon so they could
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  tell me what my dream meant. When all the magicians,
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  enchanters, astrologers, and fortune tellers came in, I told
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  them the dream, but they could not tell me what it meant.
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  At last Daniel came in before me, and I told him the dream.
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  He was named Beltigesar after my God, and the spirit of the holy
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  gods is in him. I said to him, Beltages are
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  chief of the magicians. I know that the spirit of the
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  holy gods is in you, and that no mystery is too great for you to
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  solve. Now tell me what my dream means.
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  While I was lying in my bed, this is what I dreamed.
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  I saw a large tree in the middle of the earth.
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  The tree grew very tall and strong, reaching high into the
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  heavens for all the world to see.
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  It had fresh green leaves, and it was loaded with fruit for all
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  to eat. Wild animals lived in its shade,
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  and birds nested in its branches.
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  All the world was fed from this tree.
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  Then as I lay there dreaming, I saw a messenger, a holy 1,
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  coming down from heaven. The messenger shouted.
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  Cut down the tree and lop off its branches.
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  Shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit.
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  Chase the wild animals from its shade and the birds from its
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  branches, but leave the stump and the roots in the ground,
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  bound with a band of iron and bronze, and surrounded by tender
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  grass. Now let him be drenched with the
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  dew of heaven, and let him live with the wild animals among the
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  plants of the field for seven periods of time.
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  Let him have the mind of a wild animal instead of the mind of a
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  human, for this has been decreed by the messengers.
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  It is commanded by the holy ones, so that everyone may know
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  that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world.
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  He gives them to anyone he chooses, even to the lowliest of
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  people. Beltigesar.
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  That was the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had.
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  Now tell me what it means, for none of the wise men of my
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  Kingdom can do so. But you can tell me, because the
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  spirit of the holy gods is in you.
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  Upon hearing this, Daniel, also known as Beltigazar, was
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  overcome for a time frightened by the meaning of the dream.
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  Then the king said to him, Beltigazar, don't be alarmed by
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  the dream and what it means. Beltigazar replied.
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  I wish the events foretold in the dream would happen to your
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  enemies, my Lord, and not to you.
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  The tree you saw was growing very tall and strong, reaching
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  high into the heavens for all the world to see.
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  It had fresh green leaves and was loaded with fruit for all to
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  eat. Wild animals lived in its shade,
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  and birds nested in its branches.
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  That tree, your majesty, is you, for you have grown strong and
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  great. Your greatness reaches up to
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  heaven, and your rule to the ends of the earth.
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  Then you saw a messenger, a holy 1, coming down from heaven and
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  saying, Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump
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  and the roots in the ground, bound with a band of iron and
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  bronze, and surrounded by tender grass.
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  Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven.
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  Let him live with the animals of the field for seven periods of
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  time. This is what the dream means,
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  Your Majesty, and what the Most High has declared will happen to
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  my Lord the King. You will be driven from human
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  society and you will live in the fields with the wild animals.
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  You will eat grass like a cow, and you will be drenched with
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  the dew of heaven. 7 periods of time will pass while you live
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  this way until you learn that the Most High rules over the
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  kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone He chooses.
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  But the stump and the roots of the tree were left in the
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  ground. This means that you will receive
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  your Kingdom back again when you have learned that Heaven rules.
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  King Nebuchadnezzar, please accept my advice.
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  Stop sinning and do what is right.
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  Break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor.
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  Perhaps then you will continue to prosper.
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  But all these things did happen to King Nebuchadnezzar 12 months
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  later. He was taking a walk on the flat
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  roof of the royal palace in Babylon.
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  And as he looked out across the city, he said, Look at this
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  great city of Babylon. By my own mighty power, I have
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  built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my
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  majestic splendour. While these words were still in
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  his mouth, a voice called down from heaven.
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  O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you.
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  You are no longer ruler of this Kingdom.
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  You will be driven from human society, You will live in the
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  fields with the wild animals, and you will eat grass like a
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  cow. 7 periods of time will pass while you live this way until
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  you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the
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  world and gives them to anyone he chooses.
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  That same hour the judgement was fulfilled and Nebuchadnezzar was
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  driven from human society. He ate grass like a cow and he
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  was drenched with the dew of heaven.
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  He lived this way until his hair was as long as eagle's feathers,
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  and his nails were like bird's claws.
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  After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to
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  heaven. My sanity returned, and I
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  praised and worshipped the Most High and honoured the one who
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  lives forever. His rule is everlasting and his
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  Kingdom is eternal. All the people of the earth are
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  nothing compared to him. He does as he pleases among the
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  angels of heaven and among the people of the earth.
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  No one can stop him or say to him, What do you mean by doing
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  these things? When my sanity returned to me,
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  so did my honour and glory and Kingdom.
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  My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored as head
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  of my Kingdom with even greater honour than before.
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  Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honour the King
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  of Heaven. All his acts are just and true,
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  and he is able to humble the proud.
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  Our Father, let us never be deceived or confused or
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  sidetracked, but let us always know without a shadow of a doubt
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  that you reign supreme. And no matter how powerful and
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  glorious anything else may seem, it's power and glory is lent to
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  it by You, because all power and all glory are yours.
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  So we place you back in that spot of power and glory in our
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  own lives, and we just surrender ourselves, our dreams, our
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  ambitions, and our plans to You, our most holy, majestic, and
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  wonderful God. And in the midst of all of your
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  wonderfulness and your power and your majesty, you love us.
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  You call us your prized possession, and we don't
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  understand why that is, but boy, we're grateful.
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  So here we are, your beloved people, humbly surrendering our
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  lives to you. May we reflect you and your love
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  and your priorities for this world.
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  So shape us and use us. We love you and we are yours.
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  And we pray all of this in that saving name of Jesus, Amen.