Series: Resilience  
Message: Trust  
Preacher: Japhet De Oliveira
 
Refresh: Open with prayer. Read or listen to Psalm 7:12-17.
 
Read: Daniel 2 - As you read in the NIV translation, note 1-3 insights that arise.

Reflect: Each metal has a different value and varying level of strength. At that time, gold was the most valuable commodity but the most pliable of metals. King Solomon (2 Chronicles 1:15) was famous for the abundance of gold and silver in his land. Several kings following Solomon struggled to sustain that abundance and had to revert to silver, bronze and eventually other metals. Within the statue, as the metals decreased in value, they increased in strength all the way through to the iron legs. The final lingering empire transitions into the feet mingled iron with clay. Jacques B. Doukhan, in his book Secrets of Daniel, brings this insight on page 34.

​“When the Bible employs the word “clay,” it is always in association with the word “potter,” and always evokes the human person in a relationship of dependence upon the Creator. The reference to clay thus has a strong religious connotation. We have good reasons to believe that the clay at the base of the statue represents a different power of a religious nature though associated with the political power symbolized by iron.”

This last kingdom, clay and iron, has been hotly debated for centuries. As we explore the rest of the book of Daniel, the more detailed picture will develop, and I believe you will see too we are living the final era of human history as we know it.
 
Recalibrate:

1. Life has this uncanny ability of speeding up the older we get. Summers as a child often feel like forever, summers as an adult are over before they begin. With the life you have, what have you not made time for?
2. What is the greatest life lesson you have learned?
3. What legacy has Jesus asked you to create in and for others?​

Respond: Pray for clarity in your life.

Research: Consider starting a personal journal, recording daily or weekly insights you have experienced in life with God. Google the different theories about what the iron and clay of Daniel 2 mean.