DANIEL 5
BABYLON SEEMED IMPREGNABLE
ITS DOUBLE WALLS BECAME THEIR BOAST
AGAINST THE MEDO-PERSIAN THREAT
SURROUNDING THEM AS IN A NET.
BUT CYRUS WHOM ISAIAH SAID
WOULD ONE DAY WALK EUPHRATES SHORE
BEGAN TO GROW IN POWER AND MIGHT
DESTROYING NATIONS LEFT AND RIGHT.
TO SHOW CONTEMPT FOR YAHWEH'S WORD
BELSHAZZAR THREW A LAVISH FEAST
FOR ALL HIS WIVES AND NOBLE LORDS
DEFYING THREATS FROM PERSIAN HORDES.
WHILE SELF-INDULGENT DEVILTRY
AND DRUNKEN STUPOR FILLED ITS HALLS
THE KING HAD JUDAH'S TEMPLE BOWLS
FILLED UP WITH WINE AS SCRIPTURE SHOWS.
WITH TEMPLE GOBLETS ON DISPLAY
AS OFFERING TO THEIR GODS THAT DAY
A FINGER WROTE UPON THE WALL
A MESSAGE THAT WAS MEANT FOR ALL.
THE KING BEGAN TO SHAKE IN FEAR
SO ASKED HIS WISE MEN TO COME IN
BUT GOD MADE DANIEL UNDERSTAND
THE COMING JUDGMENT HE HAD PLANNED.
THE PROPHET MADE IT VERY CLEAR
BELSHAZZAR'S WEIGHT OF SIN WAS GREAT
AND THAT HIS KINGDOM SOON WOULD END
BY PERSIAN FORCES ROUND THE BEND.
THE PROPHET DANIEL THEN RECEIVED
THE OFFERED PROMISE THAT WAS MADE
THE PURPLE ROBE AND GOLDEN CHAIN
DECLARED HIM AS THE THIRD TO REIGN.
THAT VERY NIGHT THE PERSIANS MARCHED
ALONG THE DRY EUPHRATES BANK
THEN KING AND NOBLES MET THEIR FATE
FULFILLING GOD'S PRE-WRITTEN DATE.
--B Pent
Daniel 4
SOME THIRTY YEARS HAD NOW GONE BY
EACH CONQUERED LAND WAS HIS TO RULE
THE ROYAL PALACE OF THE KING
WITH HANGING GARDENS BLOOMED ALL SPRING.
THERE WAS NO KINGDOM TO COMPARE
AS ONE WALKED THROUGH THE ISHTAR GATE
ALONG WIDE STREETS WITH BUILDINGS RARE
AND SCORES OF TEMPLE-GODS TO SHARE.
BUT BABYLON'S KING WITH HEAD OF GOLD
BEGAN TO BOAST OF ALL HE HAD
SO AS HIS HEART FILLED UP WITH PRIDE
NARCISSISTIC THOUGHTS BUILT UP INSIDE.
ONE EARLY MORN AS HE AWOKE
NEBUCHADNEZZAR HAD A DREAM
IN WHICH A TREE WITH BRANCHES WIDE
PROVIDED SHADE FOR ALL TO HIDE.
BUT WHEN THE ANGEL OF THE LORD
ANNOUNCED THE FELLING OF THE TREE
AND LEAVE THE STUMP TO FILL ITS PLACE
A SENSE OF FEAR CAME TO HIS FACE.
THE WISE MEN SOON WERE CALLED TO GIVE
A REASON FOR THIS MYSTERY DREAM
BUT ONLY DANIEL COULD REVEAL
WHAT GOD WAS READY TO UNSEAL.
THE KING WAS TOLD HE WAS THE TREE
PROVIDING FRUIT FOR ALL TO EAT
BUT ONE DAY HE WOULD BE CUT DOWN
AND LIVE LIKE BEASTS THAT PROWL AROUND.
WITHIN A YEAR HIS BOASTING HEART
FAILED TO ACKNOWLEDGE YAHWEH'S PART
SO LIKE A WILD BEAST OF PREY
HIS KINGDOM WAS CUT SHORT THAT DAY.
FOR SEVEN YEARS HE LIVED APART
UNTIL ONE DAY HIS SENSE RETURNED
AS HE CONFESSED THAT GOD WAS KING
HIS THRONE WAS THEN RESTORED TO HIM.
A FEW MORE YEARS WERE GIVEN BACK
BECAUSE HIS LIFE HAD CHANGED WITHIN
HE OFFERED PRAISE TO GOD ALONE
WHO RULES AND REIGNS FROM HEAVEN'S THRONE.
--B. Pent
DANIEL 3
When gods of gold are sought by man
Demonic forces rule the mind
As evil plots begin to form
Narcissistic grandeurs soon are born.
Ishtar, Marduk, Nabu and Bel
Were eastern gods that they would choose
But Babel's god was made of gold
So all could worship, they were told.
Along the plains of Babylon
This massive frame of ninety feet
Became the sign of unity
While honoring kings as deity.
The call was sent both far and wide
Upon the sound of horn and flute
All subjects must bow down and pray
Or be destroyed that very day.
So when the pipes and harps were heard
All kingdom subjects bowed as one
Except for three who would not go
Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego.
When news arrived accusing them
The king demanded they repent
But calmly they gave reasons why
And gladly they would rather die.
The angered king spoke from his throne
And ordered guards to fuel the flame
Then these three men were cast alive
Knowing they could not survive.
But God had other plans in store
He stood amidst the furnace flame
So when the king saw Yahweh near
His hardened heart began to fear.
The order to "come forth" was made
And Yahweh's name was given praise
Then Babylon's king let these three go
Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego.
--B. Pent
The Prophecy Of ZechariahZechariah 1:1-6 - A Call To Return To YahwehIn vision clear the prophet saw
Invisible to man God's cosmic plan
Revealed in mystery's simple shapes
Ten awesome signs of global weight.
The drama on life's stage appeared
The sovereign Lord produced the plan
Four separate scenes before him passed
And then the Lord returned at last.
A call is heard before the start
"Return to Me with contrite heart
For Babylon's strength has been removed
And grace toward Judah is approved."
Then from the rubble-broken walls
Where once Shekinah's Glory dwelt
The angel's voice comes loud and clear
"He has remembered! He is here!"
The awful bondage from the past
Is now fulfilled as Yahweh said
So why is Israel in distress?
While Persia's rule gives nations rest?
The vision Zechariah saw
Outlines the course of Judah's call
To follow closely His command
Until with Christ they take their stand.
So gather round the prophet's stage
And watch this awesome sight unfold
For blessings fall on all who care
And from their hearts this message share.
--B. PentTHOUGHT QUESTIONS1. The three names: Zechariah; his father Berekiah; and grandfather Iddo together in Hebrew mean "Jehovah remembers and blesses in His time." What significance might these names have as they relate to the Book of Zechariah?2. According to verse 4-6, what are some of the contributing factors which led to the Babylonian captivity?3. Even after Cyrus urged the Jews to return to their homeland, why did so few leave and so many stay? Might it have something to do with the comforts of Babylon or the broken down walls of Jerusalem? What do you think?4. Verses 2 and 6b suggest that they were truly repentant of their past. What are some of the indication that they were returning to Yahweh?
