Archive for the ‘deliverance’ tag
November 22, 2009: Daniel in the Lions’ Den
The text for this lesson is Daniel 6.
Key Points
- He, Jesus, who saved Daniel, would Himself be given over to the satanic lion to save the world.
- Law: In the world, evil is called good, and those who seek to do good suffer and are brought down by sinners who hate anything good.
- Gospel: In Christ, I am blessed when I suffer for His name. He is with me, granting me His comfort and strength and preserving me for salvation in Him.
Context
Daniel was among the youths from Jerusalem whom King Nebuchadnezzar exiled to Babylon in 605 BC to be trained in the “literature and language of the Chaldeans” (Daniel 1:4). When Daniel interpreted the king’s dream, the king was so impressed that he made Daniel “ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men” (2:48). When the Babylonians lost their top spot on the world’s totem pole, ousted by the Persians, Daniel kept his high political position. He was part of King Darius’s threeman cabinet, as we might call it, in charge of the 120 regional governors of Persia, called satraps. When Daniel “became distinguished above all the other presidents and satraps” (6:3), his political peers became bitter and envious. They began to plot how they might rid themselves of this foreigner, “one of the exiles from Judah” (6:13), as they contemptuously referred to him.
November 15, 2009: The Three Men in the Fiery Furnace
The text for this lesson is Daniel 3.
Key Points
- Just as Jesus was with and saved the three men in the fiery furnace, so our Savior is with us and saves us in His Word and Sacraments, sustaining us when we suffer for His name.
- Law: In sin, I choose what makes the world, my flesh, and the devil happy and try to avoid the suffering or trouble that sometimes comes my way because of my faith in God.
- Gospel: He who once walked unharmed with the three faithful men in the fiery furnace was incinerated by fiery wrath for my sins to make me a citizen of heaven.
Context
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, was the most powerful man in the world in his day (late seventh and early sixth centuries BC). It’s no surprise that such power went to his head, as this story illustrates (see also Daniel 4). When Nebuchadnezzar began his takeover of Jerusalem, he took the best and brightest of the citizens as POWs to Babylon. Among such captives were Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When they risked punishment by sticking with kosher foods only, God rewarded their fidelity (Daniel 1). All four, though Israelites, rose to prominence in this Gentile court.
November 8, 2009: Hezekiah Prays
The text for this lesson is 2 Kings 18—19.
Key Points
- Just as Hezekiah prayed in faith to God and was delivered, so Jesus, our mediator and advocate with the Father, intercedes for and with us, granting us deliverance from sin, death, and the devil.
- Law: My sin makes me proud; thinking I can be self-sufficient and don’t need God, I avoid Him.
- Gospel: My heavenly Father is always ready to hear me and my cries for help, giving me His Son for my salvation.
Context
In the late eighth century, Assyria was the world power of the ancient Near East. Led by Sennacherib, their armies went on a blitzkrieg across various lands. Ruling Judah was Hezekiah, a top-notch king. Along with Josiah, he was one of the two Israelite rulers after David who received not a word of criticism from the biblical writer (see 18:1–8). Though he initially caved in to Assyrian pres-sure, paying them tribute (vv. 13–16), Hezekiah later refused to bow to their demands. As the story in 2 Kings 18–19 recounts, Sennacherib would pay dearly for his mocking of the true God. Assyrian records echo the biblical account of his demise, that he was slain by his own sons as he knelt praying before a god who could not save (19:37).
