Writing on the Wall (Daniel's Days 5)

Daniel chapter 5 has a humbling story about King Belshazzar who ruled Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar. The King hosts a jolly party for many guests. The King orders the special serving pieces that had been captured with Israel to be brought out. As they are merrily eating and drinking from the sacred goblets taken from the temple of Jerusalem, a shocking thing happens. Suddenly, the words "Numbered, Measure, Divided" appear mysteriously on the wall. The King and his guests are terrified! They eventually call Daniel to explain the meaning. Daniel tells King Belshazzar that this is a message from the true God. God is not pleased with Belshazzar's actions, and is going to take his kingdom away. That very night, Persian soldiers take the King captive and the city is taken over.

We had a great time coming up with a paint to "write on the wall." We simply covered the bottom of a muffin tin with dish soap (or baby shampoo would work.) Then we added a few drops of food coloring and about a teaspoon or two of cornstarch. If you want the paint thicker, add more cornstarch. The kids mixed up each color and we went outside to paint the windows. We acted out the story and wrote the words on the wall. Then the kids had a good time covering the windows with washable paint. When they were finished, we hosed off the windows. Warning: the washing created A LOT of slippery bubbles. I would also try to keep the paint off any window facings or non-glass surfaces.

THE POINT? God has a plan and WILL fulfill it

The Fiery Furnace (Daniel's Days 3)

The well known story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is found in Daniel 3. Daniel and his friends have become targets for the other "wise men" in Babylon because of the success the Lord has given them. Therefore, the others desire to kill the Israelite advisors. The Babylonions seize the opportunity when King Nebuchadnezzar builds a huge statue as a tribute to himself and his victory. The King demands that everyone bow and worship the statue, when signaled. However, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego know that the LORD God is the only one worthy of worship, so they refuse to bow to a statue. As punishment, they are thrown into a huge furnace filled with a raging fire. The Bible tells us the fire was so hot that even the gaurds throwing the men into the fire are scorched. However, when the King looks into the furnace later, he not only sees the three Israelite men walking around unharmed, but also a fourth man is in the furnace with them, WOW! The King brings them out and demands everyone to honor the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Today we tried a different activity than we have done in the past. Both Von and Alyse drew pictures of the three Israelites on a piece of paper. Because Knox is three and just learning to enjoy drawing, he got the job of creating fire. He used a red wet-erase marker and covered a large (quart size) mason jar with "fire." You can use a dry-erase marker or even a regular washable marker with varying results, just be sure to test it on the bottom and make sure it will wash off after the activity. Anyway, we acted out the story with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refusing to bow to the "statue." Then we rolled the paper so it would fit inside the jar. It looked like they were on fire. We added a fourth guy to the jar, and remarked that they did not look burned!

THE POINT? God has the power to protect his people in any way! We should worhsip him only.

Total Obedience (deeds of David day 4)

Wow, I am so sorry for not blogging in so long. We were out of town a couple days and then have been having computer trouble a while now. I have a back-log of Bible Times to be blogged so I will do my best to get them up.

In 1 Samuel 15 we learn of another time that Saul did not obey God. God instructed King Saul to completely destroy King Amalek and everything in his land. God told Israel he would give them the victory, but they must not take anything as spoils. After Israel defeated the enemy, a disappointed Samuel confronted Saul. Saul claimed he did obey, but only kept some of the animals "to sacrifice to God." Samuel relays God's message that because of his disobedience, the throne would someday be taken away from him.

To emphasize the importance of total obedience we played the classic "mother-may-I" game. I gave each kiddo instructions like take three forward hops, skip 2 steps, spin 4 times, etc. They had to ask "mother may I" before they began the action. If they forgot to ask permission, they went back to the beginning. The first person to reach me got to be the "mother" next game.

The point: "To obey is better than sacrifice." God is not impressed with our "bright ideas" to do for him... he is pleased with our total obedience to him.