The Biblical Path of Life

Category: Year Two Quarter Four

  • Lesson 3: Daniel 1-4 Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon

    Key Verse

    Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.    

    —Matthew 10:16

    Key Verse Thought: Read the Key Verse. What do you think would happen to a sheep that was sent into the midst of a bunch of wolves (i.e.:  chased, surrounded, killed, eaten, etc.). In this lesson, we will learn of four young men who were taken from their own people to live among an enemy nation who did not know God. We will learn how they were wise (as serpents – serpents means “the emblem of wisdom or cunning”) and harmless (harmless means “without any mixture of deceit or any defiling material”) as doves.

    Emphasis: In this lesson, we will learn to understand that we are a witness to this lost generation – just as Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were a life changing witness to Nebuchadnezzar – for he was saved because of their lives.

    Lesson Summary: The book of Daniel contains some of the more familiar events in the Bible. Most people have probably heard these “stories” often. We will recognize that these are not just “stories” and, we will begin to understand them even better. First, we will consider their place in history. Daniel lived during the lives of the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Daniel and his three friends were most likely taken during the first siege of Nebuchadnezzar when many nobles and princes were taken captive (Daniel was of the kingly lineage of Judah). Remember that God allowed Babylon to come up against Jerusalem because of the condition of the Israelites – especially during the reign of their last four kings (for they had predominately forsaken God for idol worship).       

    In this lesson, we learn of four particular young men who were carried captive into the enemy king’s household: Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. We find that they chose to obey God rather than the king, and God blessed them for that choice. They became rulers in the enemy land. The familiar events we will learn about today:

    1. Daniel and his three friends refuse to eat the king’s meat, but they are found wiser than all of the wise men in Babylon.
    2. Nebuchadnezzar had a troubling dream that he could not remember. Although none of the wise men of Babylon could tell him the dream or the meaning, Daniel prayed with his friends and God revealed to Daniel the dream and the meaning of that dream.
    3. When King Nebuchadnezzar erected a ninety-foot statue, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow and were cast into the fiery furnace. When Jesus was in the fire with these three, Nebuchadnezzar again acknowledged God was real.
    4. Nebuchadnezzar had another dream, and Daniel warned him to repent of his sins. Instead, Nebuchadnezzar lived as a wild animal for seven years. Nevertheless, when he acknowledged God as the most High God, he was finally saved – all because of the witness of these four men.

    Y2Q4 – Lesson 3 Questions

    Y2Q4 – Lesson 3 Children’s Worksheets

    If you are teaching this to younger children, the following is a craft idea to help them remember this lesson:

    We used stickers to help us remember that God took care of them in the fiery furnace.

  • Lesson 2: Ezekiel 33-48 Judah’s Future

    Key Verse

    Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

    —1 Corinthians 15:58

    Key Verse Thought: Read the Key Verse. We are to understand what it means to be “stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” That means: not changing or moving, but being more abundant or distinguished than somebody else in reference to doing something. We are to try to be the best Christian living for Jesus than anyone else around us – for we know that even though it may be very difficult (labour), we also know that our life will not be fruitless in God’s eyes.

    Emphasis: We are to remain true to the task God places before us, no matter how difficult it may seem – even if people ignore us and reject God’s Word (just as they did to Ezekiel), when we tell others about Jesus. 

    Lesson Summary: God called Ezekiel again, to be a watchman to Israel. He was to continue warning the people – especially the children of God’s people. The children would be the ones who would eventually return to Jerusalem. God warned Ezekiel that he would be accountable to God if he was not faithful to speak the Words God gave him to speak. 

    While Ezekiel was warning God’s people, a messenger came with the news that Jerusalem had been smitten (defeated; destroyed). Ezekiel proceeded to remind them why Jerusalem had been destroyed. Although the people listened to the message, they did not adhere to the teachings.

    Ezekiel had to remind the people why they lost their homeland and their beloved city, Jerusalem. It was because they forsook God and worshiped idols instead. Nevertheless, after this reminder, they were encouraged with the words that God would one day restore their homeland to them. After these words, God gave Ezekiel an unusual visual to help him understand what God would do for His people one day. God took Ezekiel to a valley full of dry bones and told him to preach the Word of the Lord to them. When he did, the bones were rejoined and skin covered them again. After God breathed life into them, those dead bones lived. It was a picture of the dead, desolate nation Israel would be when God would one day restore them. 

    God would join the divided kingdom as one nation with one king, they would reject idolatry once and for all and God would be their God, and God then gave the promise of Jesus.  Jesus would be the king over God’s people, the one shepherd, and he would be their prince – forever.

    Y2Q4 – Lesson 2 Questions

    Y2Q4 – Lesson 2 Children’s Worksheets

    If you are teaching this lesson to younger children, the following is a craft idea to help them remember this lesson:

    We made a book with the pictures of the different stages of the events that took place when Ezekiel preached in the Valley of the Dry Bones.

  • Lesson 1: Ezekiel 1-32 Judah’s Fall

    Key Verse

    Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

    —Hebrews 13:17

    Key Verse Thought: Read the Key Verse. Think for a minute. Is it ever hard to obey someone who is in authority over you? Consider the authority in the written Word of God and those who teach the doctrines therein. Even when it may be difficult, we are called to not only obey, but also choose to do it correctly. Consider how you treat one who teaches you (and may occasionally correct or admonish you). Do not make their task more difficult, for they must give an accounting to God for how they teach you, and they want it to be a joyful time. If you respond incorrectly, you may just miss the blessing intended for your life.

    Emphasis: We must first have a heart of flesh, so God’s Word can be written therein. Then we must be a watchman, telling all of the world about Jesus, so they can know God as the God.

    Lesson Summary: Weeks of Bible study time could be spent just on the book of Ezekiel. However, because we are not doing an exhaustive study, but an overview, we will take two lessons to study highlights of the book of Ezekiel. Remember that Jeremiah witnessed the captivity of Judah by Babylon and the destruction of Jerusalem. The book of Lamentations, written by Jeremiah, is a poem revealing the horrors of seeing the city of Jerusalem and the temple of God destroyed after a terrible siege against the city. Jeremiah and Ezekiel both lived during the demise of Israel.

    Ezekiel was carried captive from Jerusalem during the second invasion of Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. Once in Babylon, God came to Ezekiel in a heavenly vision and called him to be a watchman for God to the house of Israel. God gave Ezekiel the words that needed to be spoken to His people. The people of Judah had to understand that they were being disciplined for their sin. God often called Ezekiel “the son of man.”    

    After God showed Ezekiel the wickedness that had permeated God’s Temple, Ezekiel witnessed God’s Spirit depart from the Temple in Jerusalem, and finally from this earth.

    God was chastising His people by using their enemy, Babylon. It was because of the many transgressions of God’s people. But most importantly, God wanted His people to know that He is the Lord (this is expressed around 70 times in Ezekiel). Ezekiel was to be sure to let God’s people know that He had not forsaken them, but that He had future plans for them.

     As many other prophets before, Ezekiel was to call the people to repentance. There were many signs that God had Ezekiel use to gain the people’s attention, and to reinforce the message God had for His people. For lack of time, we will not look at these. (Some of the signs of Ezekiel: a tile, filthy food, a razor, a pot, a fire, lay on left/right, prepare his clothes to move, smite hands together, not to mourn his wife’s death, etc.)

    It is in the book of Ezekiel where we also understand that God judges each individual. God does not save the child because of the father, or the father because of the child. Each person is accountable unto God for his or her actions in his or her own life – whether in righteousness or in iniquity. God wants each individual to turn from his or her sin, and only then will he or she live.

    Y3Q4 – Lesson 1 Questions

    Y3Q4 – Lesson 1 Children’s Worksheets

    If you are teaching this to younger children, the following is a craft idea to help them remember this lesson:

    We made binoculars adding stickers and the verse Ezekiel 3:17 to help us remember the importance of being a Watchman (like Ezekiel) who warns people with the Word of God.