Watchtower Study, Week of October 9 to 15, 2023, Daniel, an example to follow, Underlined Answers.

Watchtower Study, October 9-15, 2023, Daniel, an example to follow, Underlined Answers.

Yellow: Direct Response.

Dark Yellow: Additional Response.

Light Blue: Additional Points.

“You are very valuable” (DAN. 9:23).

1. Why did young Daniel attract a lot of attention from the Babylonians?

WHEN Daniel was young, the Babylonians took him prisoner of war and took him far from his land and home. But despite his youth he did not go unnoticed. The Babylonians were struck by what they saw “before their eyes”: a young man “without any physical defect and of good appearance” who came from an important family (1 Sam. 16:7). So they decided to train him to be part of the high society of Babylon (Dan. 1:3, 4, 6).

2. What opinion did Jehovah have of Daniel? (Ezekiel 14:14).

2 Jehovah loved Daniel, but not because of his physical appearance or his social position, but because of the kind of person he had decided to be. We know this because, when Daniel was about 20 years old or even younger, Jehovah mentioned him along with such faithful men as Noah and Job, who had served him for a long time (Gen. 5:32; 6:9, 10; Job 42:16, 17; read Ezekiel 14:14). And Jehovah never stopped loving Daniel, who lived a long and extraordinary life. (Dan. 10:11, 19)

3. What will we see in this article?

3 In this article we will talk about two qualities of Daniel that made him a very valuable person to Jehovah. We will first define these qualities and review some situations in which Daniel demonstrated them. Later we will see what Daniel did to develop these qualities. And finally we will talk about what we can do to follow his example. Although this article was written with young people in mind, we can all learn a lot from Daniel.

BE BRAVE LIKE DANIEL

4. On what occasion did Daniel show himself to be brave?

4 Courageous people may feel afraid, but they don't let it stop them from doing the right thing. Daniel was a very brave young man. Let's look at two occasions when he demonstrated this quality. The first probably occurred about two years after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem. It turns out that King Nebuchadnezzar had a very disturbing dream in which he saw a huge statue. Later, he ordered all the wise men of Babylon, including Daniel, to tell him what he had dreamed and what it meant. If they didn't, he would kill them all (Dan. 2:3-5). Daniel had no time to waste; there were many lives at stake. So he “asked the king to give him time to reveal the interpretation to him” (Dan. 2:16). Doing this required faith and courage.Because? Because the Bible does not say that he had interpreted dreams before. Daniel spoke to three of his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and “asked them to beseech the God of heaven for mercy regarding this secret” (Dan. 2:18). Jehovah answered his prayers, and with his help Daniel was able to interpret the king's dream. He and his friends escaped death!

5. On what other occasion did Daniel show himself to be brave?

5 Some time after interpreting the dream of the enormous statue, Daniel faced another situation that required courage. Nebuchadnezzar had another chilling dream; This time he saw a gigantic tree. Daniel was brave and explained to Nebuchadnezzar the meaning of the dream. Among other things, he told him that he would go mad and would not be king for a time (Dan. 4:25). Nebuchadnezzar might have thought that Daniel was turning against him and ordered him executed. But Daniel mustered up his courage and did not hide any details from her.

6. What possible helped Daniel to be brave?

6 What is it possible that helped Daniel to be brave all his life? Surely when he was young he learned a lot from the good example of his parents. They obeyed the instructions that Jehovah had given the Israelite fathers, and taught him the Law of God (Deut. 6:6-9). Daniel not only knew the Ten Commandments, but he was also well aware of what foods the Israelites could and could not eat (Lev. 11:4-8; Dan. 1:8, 11-13).  Furthermore, he knew the history of God's people and knew what happened to them when they did not obey Jehovah's rules (Dan. 9:10, 11). Everything that happened to him throughout his life convinced him that Jehovah and his powerful angels were always there to support him (Dan. 2:19-24; 10:12, 18, 19).

7. What else helped Daniel to be brave? (See also the image).

7 Daniel was in the habit of studying what God's prophets, such as Jeremiah, had written. Thanks to that, he eventually came to the conclusion that the exile of the Jews in Babylon was about to end (Dan. 9:2). He was sure that, as he saw how the prophecies were being fulfilled, his trust in Jehovah became stronger. And, when a person greatly trusts in Jehovah, he has incredible courage (he compares this idea to Romans 8:31, 32, 37-39). What helped Daniel the most is that he prayed a lot to his heavenly Father (Dan. 6:10). He confessed his sins to her, told her everything he felt and asked her for help (Dan. 9: 4, 5, 19). Like any human being, Daniel was not born brave. He had to develop that quality, and he did so by studying, praying and trusting in Jehovah.

ILLUSTRATION

Daniel speaking to King Nebuchadnezzar, who is sitting on his throne. Other officials of the king's court listen open-mouthed. Study, prayer, and trust in Jehovah helped Daniel to be courageous. (See paragraph 7).

8. What will help us to be brave?

8 Although our parents are brave and encourage us to be brave, courage is not inherited; We must do our part. Courage is like a skill; you have to learn it. To master a skill you have to pay close attention to the teacher and copy what he does. Well, to be brave you have to look closely at those who are like that and do the same as them. What has Daniel taught us? That we have to study the Bible thoroughly, become friends of Jehovah by praying to him a lot and from the heart, and trust that he will always give us his support. If we do all this, we will be brave when our faith is tested.

9. What good results does being brave have?

9 Being brave gives good results. Let's think about what happened to Ben from Germany. At his school, everyone believed in evolution and thought that what the Bible says about creation is nothing more than a myth. One day he was given the opportunity to explain to the entire class why he was convinced that life was created by God, and he spoke about his beliefs with great courage. With what result? He says: “My professor listened to me carefully and gave all my classmates a copy of the information I had prepared to support my arguments.” How did his colleagues react? Ben says: “Many listened to me with an open mind and said they admired me.”His experience shows that courageous people often earn the respect of others and can make others curious and want to learn more about Jehovah. It is clear that being brave is worth the effort.

BE LOYAL LIKE DANIEL

10. What is loyalty?

10 In the Bible, the Hebrew word translated “loyalty” or “loyal love” conveys the idea of ​​deep affection and attachment. Many times it is used to talk about the love that God feels for his servants. That same word is also used to refer to the love that God's servants have for one another (2 Sam. 9:6, 7). Jehovah expects us to be loyal to him, too. And that loyalty can grow stronger over time. This is clearly seen in the case of the prophet Daniel.

11. What test of loyalty did Daniel face when he was over 90 years old? (Look at the cover drawing).

11 Throughout his life, Daniel demonstrated his loyalty to Jehovah many times. But, when he was over 90 years old, he went through an extremely difficult test. At that time Babylon was under the control of the Medes and the Persians, and the king was Darius. Some court officials hated Daniel and had no respect for Jehovah. So they hatched a plan to get rid of Daniel. They got Darius to sign a law that put Daniel between a rock and a hard place: he had to be loyal to God or the king. To demonstrate his loyalty to the king and not attract attention, all he had to do was stop praying to Jehovah for 30 days. Daniel stood his ground, and ended up in the lions' den. But Jehovah rescued him and thus rewarded his loyalty (Dan. 6:12-15, 20-22).What will help us be as loyal as Daniel?

ILLUSTRATION

The prophet Daniel surrounded by lions in a den; he is looking at the sky. Behind him, an angel who is suspended in the air is protecting him. Jehovah rewarded Daniel's loyalty by sending an angel to shut the lions' mouths. (See paragraph 11).

12. What did Daniel do to strengthen his loyalty to Jehovah?

12 To be loyal to Jehovah it is necessary to love him deeply. Daniel remained loyal to his heavenly Father because he loved him so much. It is likely that he nourished this love by thinking about Jehovah’s qualities and how he demonstrated them.​—Dan. 9:4. Furthermore, Daniel meditated with a grateful heart on all the good things that Jehovah had done for him and his people (Dan. 2:20-23; 9:15, 16).

13. a) What tests of loyalty do young Christians face? Give an example. (See also the photo). b) What could we say to someone who asks us if Jehovah's Witnesses support homosexual behavior? (Watch the video “The Result of True Righteousness Will Be Peace” on jw.org.)

13a ). Like Daniel, our young people are surrounded by people who do not respect Jehovah or his standards. These people may despise those who say they love God, and some may even pressure our young people to stop being loyal to Jehovah. That's what happened to Gabriel, who lives in Australia. When he was a teenager he was given a very complicated test in class. The teacher asked the students what they would do if a friend told them that he was gay. She told them to put those who would support their friend's behavior on one side, and those who would not on the other side. Gabriel says: “Everyone took the side of those who were in favor except another Witness and me.” What happened next was a true test of loyalty for Gabriel. He remembers: “There was still a long way to go before class was over, and our classmates and even the teacher spent all that time insulting us and making fun of us.“I did everything I could to stay calm and explain my beliefs well, but they wouldn't listen to me.” How did Gabriel feel? He explains it this way: “Of course, I didn't like being insulted, but I felt super happy because I was loyal to Jehovah and defended my faith.”

ILLUSTRATION

Two teenage Witnesses calmly defend their beliefs in front of their angry classmates and teacher. Like Daniel, you can always be loyal to Jehovah if you love him with all your heart. (See paragraph 13).

14. What can we do to always be loyal to Jehovah?

14 Like Daniel, we can always be loyal to Jehovah if we strive to love him with all our hearts. For that love to grow more and more, we have to know his personality well, and one way to do this is by studying the things he has created (Rom. 1:20).Young man, what help do you have to make the love and respect you feel for Jehovah ever greater? In the “Did Someone Design It?” There are videos and short articles that you can watch. You could also review the booklets Is Life the Work of a Creator? and The Origin of Life. Notice what a young sister from Denmark named Esther said about these publications: “I love the reasoning in these booklets. "They don't tell you what you have to believe, but rather they present the facts so you can reach your own conclusions."Ben, mentioned in paragraph 9, says: “These articles and pamphlets greatly strengthened my faith. “They showed me that God created life.” After studying this information you will probably agree with what Revelation 4:11 says: “Jehovah our God, you deserve to receive glory, honor, and power, because you created all things.”

15. What else can we do to strengthen our friendship with Jehovah?

15 Another thing that will help us love Jehovah more is to study the life of his Son, Jesus. This is what a young sister living in Germany named Samira did. She says, “I came to know Jehovah better through Jesus.” As a child, Samira had a hard time understanding that Jehovah had feelings, but she didn't have the same thing with Jesus. She says: “I liked Jesus because he loved children and it was easy to be friends with him.” The more she knew him, the stronger her friendship with Jehovah became. Because? Samira explains: “Little by little I understood that Jesus is very similar to his Father; He imitates it perfectly. And I realized that one of the reasons Jehovah sent his Son to Earth is so that humanity would know him better” (John 14:9).Young man, if you want to strengthen your friendship with Jehovah, why don't you decide to get to know Jesus well? If you do so, your love for Jehovah and your loyalty to him will grow stronger.

16. Why is it good to be loyal? (Psalm 18:25; Micah 6:8).

16 People who are loyal generally have stronger, longer-lasting friendships (Ruth 1:14-17). Furthermore, if we are loyal to Jehovah, we have inner peace. Because? Because it gives us peace of mind to know that he promises to be loyal to his loyal friends (read Psalm 18:25; Micah 6:8). The almighty Creator wants to be our friend forever even though we are very small compared to him. Isn't that wonderful? No test or enemy can break that friendship, not even death (Dan. 12:13; Luke 20:37, 38; Rom. 8:38, 39). It is certainly worth following Daniel's example and being loyal to Jehovah.

KEEP LEARNING FROM DANIEL

17, 18. What else can we learn from Daniel?

17 In this article we have talked about two qualities of Daniel. But we can learn many more things from his life. For example, Jehovah caused Daniel to have dreams and visions and gave him the ability to interpret prophetic messages. Many of these prophecies have already been fulfilled, and others give us information about things that will happen in the future and that will affect all the inhabitants of the Earth.

18 The following article will talk about two prophecies from the book of Daniel. Understanding them well helps us all, young and old, make good decisions now. These prophecies will also help us to be braver and more loyal, and thus we will be prepared to face the trials that will soon come.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?

Why did Jehovah love Daniel?

Jehovah loved Daniel because he was a very loyal young man and had great appreciation for him.

On what occasions did Daniel show that he was brave?

On several occasions. First when she had to tell the dream to Nebuchadnezzar, if she didn't do it her life was in danger. Another time she had to demonstrate loyalty to Jehovah was when he was thrown into the lion's den. 

What can we do to be more loyal to Jehovah?

We have to be loyal to Jehovah at all times, not only when everything is good, but also in extreme circumstances we have to demonstrate our loyalty as Daniel did.