Daniel Chapter Six

Below are your questions for our Bible study of Daniel chapter six.

Our last lesson was a study Daniel chapter five.  

We saw how King Belshazzar mocked God Almighty and how this cost him not just his kingdom, but his very life.  Daniel however, made out just fine — even after pointing out the king’s sin to him to his face and then telling him that he should repent.

God sent a hand — a physical hand to write on the wall for all to see.  Daniel explained that God had weighed King Belshazzar in the balances and he was found to be deficient, guilty, and would suffer for it.  So afterwards, in Chapter six, we see a new king — Darius is now the ruler of Babylon.  

Scholars are not exactly sure who this Darius is.  Perhaps he was actually King Cyrus.  Much speculation surrounds the that idea as ancient kings often had two names.  But it really doesn’t add or detract from the message of the story to know exactly the identity of Darius. 

What’s important is to understand from chapter five — and from all four chapters before it — is that God continues to demonstrate again and again that he is sovereign.  He consistently demonstrates that nobody, not even the most powerful king on earth, is really in charge of anyone or anything unless he allows it to be so.  Specifically:

• In Chapter 1 - God allows Nebuchadnezzar to capture Jerusalem.

• In Chapter 2 - God reveals hidden dream to Daniel only he would know and the future of history.

• In Chapter 3 - God protects his worshippers Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in a miraculous way. 

• In Chapter 4 - God is praised by King Nebuchadnezzar himself after he was humbled and then restored by God.

• In Chapter 5 - God removes King Belshazzar and gives the kingdom to another after he explains that he will do so.

God demonstrates through all of this that he's in charge of the affairs of mankind, despite what any man or woman may think.  That was true then, and it’s still true today, and it will be true tomorrow. 

Now let’s study Daniel chapter six.