Dare to be a Daniel (Daniel in the Lions’ Den) ~ FREE Article for kids

DARE TO BE A DANIEL ~ DEFINITELY *NOT* FOR WIMPS!

The prophet Daniel is one of my favourite Bible heroes. He was kidnapped as a teenager in 606 BC, taken to a foreign land as a slave, became prime minister of three different world empires, was thrown into a den of lions—and lived! He had three friends who were thrown into a fiery furnace—and lived! He received the most astonishing prophecies about the future and the Messiah. Yet, Daniel was a man of strong faith, courage, and the utmost integrity. He was beloved of God and even has his own book in the Bible called… Daniel! Wow! What an adventure…

DID YOU KNOW: Daniel was told the precise day in history that Jesus Christ ~ the Creator ~ would present Himself as the “Meshiach Nagid” (The Messiah the King). It is perhaps the most astonishing passage in the whole Bible. And it was in black and white three centuries before the Messiah was born! We are indebted to Sir Robert Anderson from Scotland Yard for figuring it out. Read more…

DARE TO BE A DANIEL ~ ARTICLE FOR KIDS ~ FREE PRINTABLE

Click on the image or the download link below the image to download the article in full resolution.

DOWNLOAD: English | French

OTHER LANGUAGES

I have also sent articles to my other non-English speaking kids, but generally make sure to include all relevant text in my letter to make sure it is translated. You are welcome to copy and paste any of the article text at the end of this post.

LAMINATE + EXTRA COPY

Laminate your articles to keep them looking nice for your homeschool or Sunday school students, and print an extra copy for them to give to a friend. Add the articles to a DIY Activity Folder with some FREE Daniel colouring pages, puzzles, crafts, etc and finish it off with some FREE ‘Dare to be a Daniel’ paper gifts.

Daniel – FREE colouring pages, puzzles, crafts and creative ideas for kids with super cool majestic lion

Armour of God

Bible Treasure Theme

The Secret of the Missing Scrolls

Warrior or Wimp? King David / King Saul

Moses / God’s Top 10

DARE TO BE A DANIEL ~ ARTICLE TEXT

Taking a closer look at Daniel

Memory Verse: Daniel made up his mind not to do anything that would not please God. Daniel 1:8

The prophet Daniel is one of my favourite Bible heroes. He was kidnapped as a teenager; taken to a foreign land as a slave; became prime minister of two different world empires; was thrown into a den of lions—and lived. He had three friends who were thrown into a fiery furnace—and lived. He saw angels; received astonishing prophecies about the future and the Messiah. Yet, Daniel was a man of strong faith, courage and the utmost integrity. He was beloved of God and even has his own book in the Bible called… Daniel! Check it out! Wow! What an adventure!

Daniel came from a royal or noble family. He was highly intelligent, well educated and good looking. He was kidnapped from his home—along with others—when he was only about 12 to 15 years old. He lost everything. He was forced to become a slave in a pagan empire run by a cruel, clever and hot tempered king, who did not worship God. Daniel and his three friends—Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah—were trained and chosen to serve King Nebuchadnezzar in running his empire. They were even given new names, honouring the king’s pagan gods: Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

DANIEL WAS DISCIPLINED

Daniel soon had a choice to make. To love God and follow Him. Or to fit in with the crowd. He was far from home and it would have been easy to give in. But Daniel refused to compromise. He made up his mind not to do anything that would not please God. He chose to obey God, no matter what everyone else was doing. By doing this, Daniel developed the character, discipline and courage he would need to stay strong for life and the tough times ahead.

DANIEL’S REWARD

Daniel pleased the king and was soon promoted. Even when he was put in positions of power and influence, Daniel knew that it was God who had given him everything. He became a politician and diplomat—in two different world empires—at the highest levels of government. Daniel always showed great respect, honour and fierce loyalty to the various kings he served, but never compromised what he believed.

Daniel spent much time with God—in prayer, fasting and the study of God’s Word, which he took literally. Daniel knew that God says what He means—and means exactly what He says (Daniel 9:2).

DANIEL WAS CONSISTENT

Some colleagues were jealous of Daniel’s promotion and his power and influence with the kings. They flattered and trapped one king into making a foolish law. Everyone had to worship the King. But Daniel—now in his eighties—refused to follow the flow just because everyone else was doing it. He stayed faithful to God and trusted Him with the outcome, as he had always done. The best way to be courageous is to fear God more than people. Daniel feared and wanted only to please God. This gave him the courage he needed when threatened with torture by being eaten alive by hungry lions. Daniel was thrown into the den of lions—but lived. He had such an incredible faith, that even the kings he served came to know the power of God.

Daniel became the leader of the Magi, which we read about in the Christmas story. He taught this elite group of magistrates and kingmakers (wise men) how to watch for the birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. That is how they knew to come from so far away—with a huge political delegation (not just three!)—to worship Him.

Daniel is a wonderful picture of what a Godly person looks like when faced with trauma, devastation, loss, betrayal, godlessness, hostility, stress, grief—and also great personal success. Daniel reflected the nature and character of the God he worshipped so faithfully. He was a man of integrity and unquestionable character. He obeyed God and remained faithful to what God wanted him to do—where God had put him—even though it was not what he wanted or had planned for his life. He just got on with it. Daniel is a stunning role model for all of us. It takes GREAT courage and determination to live out what we believe and… Dare to be a Daniel!

People will know what you really believe by what you do, not by what you say!

NOTE: This post about Daniel was inspired by the fabulous Daniel commentary from Dr Chuck Missler at khouse.org, and a Vision Radio home group segment (you can listen online). We cannot believe how much we have learnt from Dr Chuck Missler. The Bible has really been opened up to us. And we thought we knew it pretty well before that. Thank you, Vision Radio, for introducing us.

THANK YOU ~ MERCI BEAUCOUP

A very special THANK YOU to D. Walther, one of our very special Compassion translators, for very kindly translating these articles for our French speaking children. It is such a joy to work in partnership with you. A very special thank you also to your two lovely daughters who have also assisted in translating other articles. The pay may be lousy, but the rewards are eternal!

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