Daniel 1: Leader's Guide

Study 1: New Land, New Culture

(Daniel 1: 1-21)

Objective (for leaders):

Ø  To give members an opportunity to introduce themselves and their background.

Ø  To challenge them to think more meaningfully about their experience and actions in this new land/ university/ polytechnic.

Ø  To encourage them about the importance of fellowship and accountability.

Ice-breaker: Introduce each other game. (10 mins)

Starters:

Share your thoughts about the views of the students in the video.  

Brief background to the book of Daniel:

In 605 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar became king of Babylonia. In September of that year, he invaded and captured Jerusalem, where the temple of God was. To show his dominance, Nebuchadnezzar took many of Jerusalem’s wisest men and most beautiful women to Babylon as captives. This act fostered great loyalty from conquered lands and ensured a steady supply of wise and talented people for civil service. Daniel was among this group.

How did you feel when you first moved away from home? Daniel and his friends were taken from their land and brought to Babylon as young men. They were probably only about twelve to fourteen years old. In Babylon they were put in a 3-year training programme (almost like university) to prepare them to oversee Jewish affairs in the Babylonian Empire.

Read Daniel 1: 1-21

Tip 1: Doing a biblical exegesis 
Examine biblical passages for its original meaning and context

The original meaning is very important because that is the true and only meaning of the verse.  Although from that one meaning, we can have a lot of applications for different situation in our daily lives.  Applications or "lessons" that we can derive from the verse must not conflict the original meaning intended by the original author for the  original hearer(s). To do an exegesis requires expertise in a lot of areas, but because of the availability of expert tools such as commentaries, dictionaries, handbooks, etc.  Everybody who has access and knows how to use such tools can exegete.  But the truth is, even with just minimal access to these tools, anyone can do good exegesis of the Bible. Taken from http://www.bible-interpretation.com/index.html

1.     Where were Daniel and his friends from?

Where were they taken? Was it their choice to go to a new land?

If applicable: *Where are you from? Why did you come to Hamilton?

*Is campus life challenging you out of your comfort zone? Why or why not?

(5 mins)

2.     What were some of Daniel’s attributes? (vv. 3-5) Application: What are 4 attributes that helped you get into university?

(5 mins)

3.     Daniel and his friends were given new names (vv.6-7). [Leader explains the significance of these names.][2] Why do you think they consented to the name change?

   i. The name Daniel (meaning God is my judge) was changed to Belteshazzar (meaning Bel’s prince).

ii. The name Hannaniah (meaning Beloved by the LORD) was changed to Shadrach (meaning Illumined by Sun-god).

iii. The name Mishael (meaning Who is as God) was changed to Meshach (meaning Who is like Venus).

iv. The name Azariah (meaning The LORD is my help) was changed to Abed-Nego (meaning Servant of Nego)

What are some of the differences you have noticed between studying at home or in high school and in university?  Why do you think Daniel and his friends did not object to studying Babylonian literature and their name change?

(10 mins – you can miss this question if you are running short of time)

4.     Why did Daniel choose not to eat the royal food and wine? (vv. 8-9)

(Do you think he is setting a precedent to be vegetarian and to not drink wine?)
You could explore the broader implications of food and culture:
 Does it show food is an important consideration in a new place? 
What is the place of eating in where you live? 
You could explore how what and where you eat could become a place of meeting, interacting and connection.

      

What was the outcome of this decision? (vv. 11-21)

* Daniel and his comrades seems to say that being a counterculture consisted of surprisingly small decisions—small acts of reorientation to remind them daily that in spite of their privileged status in the capital city of the world's most powerful empire, they belonged to another King and another kingdom. This article may help unpack this http://www.christianvisionproject.com/2006/12/the_importance_of_knowing_what.html

(10 mins)

5.     Daniel went through this Babylonian journey with his friends. They were to become a support to each other through challenging times (2: 16-17).

You might have come to Hamilton alone. But there will be challenging times ahead, and you’ll need your own support group. How will you go about forming your own support network (if you haven’t done so already)? 
You might be from Hamilton, how could you continue to journey with Christian friends while you are on campus? 

(Leader can emphasise that this is exactly what small groups are for)

(10 mins)

Closing:

Pray for everyone. (Float the idea of forming prayer-triplets.)

(10 mins)

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[1] Adapted from the additional notes for Daniel 1:1-2 in The Life Application Bible (NASB version), 1991.

[2] Nebuchadnezzar changed the names of Daniel and his friends because he wanted to make them Babylonian- in their own eyes and in the eyes of the Babylonian people. New names would help them assimilate into the culture. Their original names held great significance and were associated with the God of the Jews (and the Bible). Conversely, their new Babylonian names were associated with Babylonian gods. This showed that the king wanted to change the religious loyalty of these men from the God of all gods to the Babylonian gods. [Taken and adapted from Life Application, notes for 1:7.]

Daniel means “God is my judge”, Hananiah means “The Lord shows grace”, Mishael means “Who is what God is?”, Azariah means “the Lord helps”.

Belteshazzar probably means, in Babylonian, “Bel protect his life”, Shadrach probably means “command of Aku”, Meshach probably means “Who is what Aku is?”, Abednego means “servant of Nego/Nebo”. [taken from NIV Study Bible, notes for 1:6-7]
http://www.enduringword.com/commentaries/2701.htm