Lesson 147

Daniel 3–5

Introduction

Because Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego refused to worship a golden image made by King Nebuchadnezzar, they were cast into a fiery furnace. The Lord miraculously delivered them from harm. Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a great tree and many years later, under King Belshazzar, interpreted divine writing on a wall concerning the conquering of the Babylonian kingdom by the Medes and the Persians.

Suggestions for Teaching

Daniel 3

The Lord miraculously delivers Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego from the fiery furnace

To prepare students to see the relevance of the truths they will learn today, divide them into groups of two or three, and give each group a copy of the following chart (or copy it on the board). Invite students to write on the chart or in their study journals the positive consequences and negative consequences that could result from each choice.

Choices and Consequences

Choice	Positive Consequence	Negative Consequence
Not joining with your peers when they invite you to cheat on a school assignment
Not adopting a popular fashion trend that goes against the Lord’s standards
Walking out of a movie with inappropriate content

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Establish relevance and purpose

Beginning a lesson with a relevant question, situation, or problem can lead students to search the scriptures for doctrine or gospel principles that give them guidance and direction. If needed, you can make this lesson more meaningful for your students by replacing some of the choices in the accompanying chart with choices that reflect specific challenges your students encounter.

After students have had a few minutes to complete their charts, invite several students to report what their groups wrote.

• How might thinking about possible consequences influence your choices?

Invite the class to look for truths as they study Daniel 3 that can help them choose to obey the Lord, regardless of the outcome.

Summarize Daniel 3:1–5 by explaining that King Nebuchadnezzar had a large golden image or statue made that was approximately 90 feet (27.4 meters) high and 9 feet (2.74 meters) wide. The king then gathered leaders from his kingdom for “the dedication of the image” (verse 2). At the dedication, an official messenger announced that when music sounded, everyone was to “fall down and worship the golden image” (verse 5).

Invite a student to read Daniel 3:6–7 aloud. Ask the class to follow along and look for the consequence for not worshipping the golden image as commanded.

• What was the consequence for not worshipping the golden image?

Ask five volunteers to come to the front of the class. Assign one the role of a prominent Babylonian, one the role of Nebuchadnezzar, and the remaining three the roles of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.

Summarize Daniel 3:8–11 by explaining that a group of prominent Babylonians came to Nebuchadnezzar to report something they observed. Ask the student acting as the prominent Babylonian to read Daniel 3:12 in an accusing tone while addressing the student acting as Nebuchadnezzar.

• What did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego refuse to do when the music sounded?

Read Daniel 3:13 and the beginning of Daniel 3:14 aloud (ending with “unto them”), and ask the student acting as Nebuchadnezzar to read the remainder of Daniel 3:14–15 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what Nebuchadnezzar said to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.

• What choice did Nebuchadnezzar give to these three Jewish men?

• What did he ask about their God?

Invite the students acting as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego to each read aloud a verse from Daniel 3:16–18. (You could read the beginning of verse 16.) Ask the class to follow along, looking for significant statements in the men’s response to the king.

You may want to explain that the response “we are not careful to answer thee in this matter” (verse 16) could also be interpreted as “we have no need to discuss this matter” because they were completely resolved not to worship the image. After the student volunteers have finished reading, invite them to return to their seats.

• What were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego confident about? (God could save them from death.)

• What did they not know? (They did not know if God would save them. Invite students to consider marking the phrase “but if not” in verse 18.)

• What stands out to you about their faith in the Lord?

Ask students to write in their study journals a principle they learned from the example of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. After sufficient time, invite several students to report what they wrote. (Students may use different words, but make sure they identify the following truth: We show our faith in the Lord by choosing to obey Him, regardless of the consequences.)

Invite a student to read aloud the following statement by Elder Dennis E. Simmons, who served as a member of the Seventy. Ask the class to listen for how the faith shown by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego relates to our lives:

“Our scriptures and our history are replete with accounts of God’s great men and women who believed that He would deliver them, but if not, they demonstrated that they would trust and be true.

“He has the power, but it’s our test.

“What does the Lord expect of us with respect to our challenges? He expects us to do all we can do. …

“We must have the same faith as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.

“Our God will deliver us from ridicule and persecution, but if not. … Our God will deliver us from sickness and disease, but if not. … He will deliver us from loneliness, depression, or fear, but if not. … Our God will deliver us from threats, accusations, and insecurity, but if not. … He will deliver us from death or impairment of loved ones, but if not, … we will trust in the Lord.

“… We will have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that if we do all we can do, we will, in His time and in His way, be delivered and receive all that He has [see D&C 84:35–38]” (Dennis E. Simmons, “But If Not …” Ensign or Liahona, May 2004, 74–75).

• How can you develop the same kind of faith in the Lord that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego had, as you face trials and persecutions in your life?

Remind students of the choices presented at the beginning of the lesson. Ask them to ponder whether they would show their faith by making those righteous choices despite the negative outcomes, or “fiery furnaces,” they might experience.

Invite a student to read Daniel 3:19–20 aloud. Ask the class to follow along and look for how King Nebuchadnezzar reacted to the response of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.

• If you were one of these three men, what might you have been thinking and feeling as you watched the furnace being heated?

Invite several students to take turns reading aloud from Daniel 3:21–27. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what happened as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were cast into the furnace.

• What did Nebuchadnezzar see when he looked into the furnace?

Display the picture Three Men in the Fiery Furnace (Gospel Art Book [2009], no. 25; see also lds.org/media-library).

• What principle can we learn about what the Lord will do for us if we choose to obey Him regardless of the outcome? (Students may use different words, but make sure it is clear that if we choose to obey the Lord, He will be with us, help us, and bless us. Write this principle on the board.)

• What are some ways the Lord shows He is with those who obey Him?

To help students feel the truth and importance of the principles they have identified, discuss the following questions:

• When have you or someone you know shown faith in the Lord by choosing to obey Him regardless of the outcome? How did the Lord show He was with you or the person you know?

Invite students to write in their study journals how they feel impressed to apply the truths they have identified from studying this experience of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Invite them to consider writing how they will show their faith in and love for the Lord the next time they are faced with the choice to obey or disobey one of His commandments.

Invite several students to take turns reading aloud from Daniel 3:28–30. Ask the class to follow along, looking for the positive outcomes that came from the affliction of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.

• What positive outcomes came from the affliction of these three men?

Daniel 4

Daniel interprets King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the great tree

Summarize Daniel 4 by explaining that Daniel interpreted another of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams. The dream was a prophecy of the king’s removal from the throne and his madness. A year later, while the king was boasting of his accomplishments in his kingdom, the events in his dream began to be fulfilled. From the suffering Nebuchadnezzar experienced, he learned several lessons about the Lord.

Invite a few students to read aloud from Daniel 4:34–37. Ask the class to follow along, looking for some of the lessons Nebuchadnezzar learned.

• What did Nebuchadnezzar learn about God? (Students may use different words, but make sure they identify the following truth: God has power to humble the prideful.)

• Why do you think God cares about whether we are humble?

Daniel 5

Daniel interprets writing on a wall, and Babylon is conquered by the Medes and the Persians

Explain that the lesson Nebuchadnezzar learned about pride and humility would have importance for a later king of Babylon.

Summarize Daniel 5:1–21 by explaining that more than 20 years after Nebuchadnezzar died, Belshazzar, the king in Babylon at that time, hosted a feast for leaders in the kingdom. Belshazzar had the vessels that had been taken from the temple in Jerusalem brought to the feast. The king and the people mocked the Lord by drinking wine from these vessels while they praised their false gods. During the feast, a hand appeared and wrote on a wall in the king’s palace. Belshazzar was greatly concerned, and when others were unable to interpret the writing, he summoned Daniel. Before interpreting the writing, Daniel spoke to Belshazzar about what his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar had experienced when “his mind [was] hardened in pride” (verse 20).

Invite a student to read Daniel 5:22–23 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what Daniel taught Belshazzar about his actions.

• Despite knowing what Nebuchadnezzar had experienced, what had Belshazzar failed to do?

Summarize the remainder of Daniel 5 by explaining that Daniel interpreted the writing on the wall, which was a declaration that God had judged Belshazzar and that Babylon would be given to the Medes and the Persians. That night, Belshazzar was slain and the Babylonian empire was conquered.

Invite students to think about what they can learn from the prideful decisions of others to avoid making similar mistakes.

Commentary and Background Information

Daniel 3:17–18. True faith is in the Lord and does not depend on outcomes

Elder Dennis E. Simmons, who served as a member of the Seventy, taught that “true faith is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ—confidence and trust in Jesus Christ that leads a person to follow Him.” After quoting Daniel 3:17–18, Elder Simmons added:

“[‘But if not’ (Daniel 3:18)] is a statement of true faith.

“[Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego] knew that they could trust God—even if things didn’t turn out the way they hoped [see Mosiah 7:33]. …

“… Faith in Jesus Christ consists of complete reliance on Him.

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego knew they could always rely on Him because they knew His plan, and they knew that He does not change [see Alma 7:20; 3 Nephi 24:6; Mormon 9:19; Moroni 8:18]” (Dennis E. Simmons, “But If Not …” Ensign or Liahona, May 2004, 73).

President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency taught the following about faith:

“As children of God, knowing of His great love and His ultimate knowledge of what is best for our eternal welfare, we trust in Him. The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and faith means trust. I felt that trust in a talk my cousin gave at the funeral of a teenage girl who had died of a serious illness. He spoke these words, which first astonished me and then edified me: ‘I know it was the will of the Lord that she die. She had good medical care. She was given priesthood blessings. Her name was on the prayer roll in the temple. She was the subject of hundreds of prayers for her restoration to health. And I know that there is enough faith in this family that she would have been healed unless it was the will of the Lord to take her home at this time.’ I felt that same trust in the words of the father of another choice girl whose life was taken by cancer in her teen years. He declared, ‘Our family’s faith is in Jesus Christ and is not dependent on outcomes’” (Dallin H. Oaks, “Healing the Sick,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2010, 50).

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles told of an experience in which he visited with a young, newlywed couple in the hospital. The husband was suffering from cancer, and at the conclusion of the visit, he asked Elder Bednar for a blessing. Elder Bednar consented but first posed the following questions, which he had not planned on asking nor had considered previously:

“Do you have the faith not to be healed? If it is the will of our Heavenly Father that you are transferred by death in your youth to the spirit world to continue your ministry, do you have the faith to submit to His will and not be healed?”

Elder Bednar added:

“We recognized a principle that applies to every devoted disciple: strong faith in the Savior is submissively accepting of His will and timing in our lives—even if the outcome is not what we hoped for or wanted” (David A. Bednar, “That We Might ‘Not … Shrink’ (D&C 19:18)” [Church Educational System devotional for young adults, Mar. 3, 2013], broadcasts.lds.org).

Daniel 3:25. If we choose to obey the Lord, He will be with us

President Thomas S. Monson (1927–2018) provided assurance that the Lord will be with us if we choose to obey Him:

“As we go about living from day to day, it is almost inevitable that our faith will be challenged. We may at times find ourselves surrounded by others and yet standing in the minority or even standing alone concerning what is acceptable and what is not. Do we have the moral courage to stand firm for our beliefs, even if by so doing we must stand alone? …

“… May we ever be courageous and prepared to stand for what we believe, and if we must stand alone in the process, may we do so courageously, strengthened by the knowledge that in reality we are never alone when we stand with our Father in Heaven” (Thomas S. Monson, “Dare to Stand Alone,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 60, 67).

Daniel 3:24–29. Being delivered

Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught the following about our deliverance from our problems:

“Having ultimate hope does not mean we will always be rescued from proximate problems, but we will be rescued from everlasting death! Meanwhile, ultimate hope makes it possible to say the same three words used centuries ago by three valiant men. They knew God could rescue them from the fiery furnace, if He chose. ‘But if not,’ they said, nevertheless, they would still serve Him! [Daniel 3:18]” (Neal A. Maxwell, “Brightness of Hope,” Ensign, Nov. 1994, 35).