1. Without naming names, share examples with your group of someone you know who acted presumptuously and someone who acted humbly.
Ask two people to read aloud Daniel 5:1-6, 13-30, one after the other, preferably from different Bible versions. Then ask a third person to briefly summarize these verses.
2. After naming several arrogant kings in the Bible, lesson writer Mark Scott observed, “But one of the worst was Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon.” From Daniel 5, make a list as a group of the ways Belshazzar acted arrogantly. What do you learn from your list?
3. In the middle of his great banquet, Belshazzar ordered that the gold and silver goblets Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem be brought out to his guests and used in their drunken revelry (v. 2). How was this a particular affront to God?
4. What does the handwriting on the wall and the king’s response to it (vv. 5-6) teach us about God’s honor and his wrath?
5. Even though he was a foreign captive in a pagan land, Daniel was often called into the service of Babylon’s kings to help them understand the works and ways of God (vv. 13-16).
- How can our personal integrity and devotion to God make a difference in our culture today?
6. The king refused to humble himself before God (vv. 22-23) and as Daniel predicted, “That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain” (v. 30).
- Are there areas in your life where you could exercise greater humility?
- How will you seek to humble yourself before God?
7. Based on our study and discussion, complete the sentence: “I will . . .”
For Next Week: Read and reflect on Daniel 9:1-6, 14-27. You can also read next week’s supplemental texts and the Study and Application sections as part of your personal study.
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