Daniel, and his three friends, have figured out not only to survive
being captured and deported to a new country, but how to thrive by being
faithful to God first. Because of their faithfulness to God, He elevated them
in the kings sight. They were the head of their class and they made it into the
ranks of the king’s wise men.
That would seem like a good and secure job, or at least you
would think. But our story continues, in Daniel chapter 2, with another seemingly
impossible situation that will challenge their faith. However, Daniel and his
three friends are up to the challenge.
The Test – Daniel 2:1-16
Have you ever had a bad dream that unsettled you in the
night? A nightmare that woke you up sweating with your heart beating fast? Then
experiencing the relief that it was just a dream?
King Nebuchadnezzar (Neb), experienced all of that, with one
exception. He had an innate sense that his dream wasn’t just a dream. But how
do you determine what your dream means? He employed dozens of magicians, counselors,
enchanters, astrologers and wise men to give him counsel. The best and
brightest of their day. But he did not trust them.
He knew that they would often make up interpretations to
please him or advance themselves in his kingdom. So he determined to test the
genuineness of their claim by demanding they not only interpret the dream, but
they tell him his own dream first. Oh, and the cost for being wrong was certain
death. And just to show how serious Neb was about it, he said if they couldn’t
do it at all, then all the wise men in the kingdom would be put to death.
All of a sudden, being one of the king’s wise men didn’t
sound like a very secure job. The established counselors tried to get more time
and more information out of the king, but Neb pressed them on it. They
responded with, “there is not a man on
earth who can meet the king’s demand…no one can show it to the king except the
gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
This made Neb furious and ordered the death of all who fall
in the ranks of wise men throughout his kingdom. Now this included Daniel, Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah too, who just graduated from the king’s program. Being recent
graduates, they were not part of the test and only heard about it as they were
about to be carted off, yet again, only this time to their death.
The Power of Prayer –
Daniel 2:17-24
Upon hearing of the king’s request, Daniel asked to stay the
execution for a time, in order that he could show the interpretation. The king
granted his request. Now Daniel faced another seemingly impossible situation.
He went straight home and gathered his friends and asked them “to seek mercy from the God of heaven
concerning this mystery.”
Care for people, that is in our missions statement here at
Lakeside and Loft youth ministries. It is a foundational principle from Jesus’ words
in Matthew 22:39, to “love your neighbor
as yourself.” And Jesus said, “By
this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one
another” (John 13:35). The intent here is to love the community of faith. We
need to understand the importance of the faith community in our lives everyday.
Most often we recognize the importance of it when we are going through trials.
Daniel, when faced with an impossible situation, gathered
his faith community for a prayer meeting. And they prayed into the night. We
are not sure how long, but the implication is that they committed to pray until
God answered.
Do you pray expecting God to answer? How many of our prayers
go unanswered because we don’t believe God will actually answer them?
Hananaiah, Mishael, and
Azariah cared for Daniel well as they stayed up and prayed with him.
In the night, God answered and gave Daniel a vision of the
dream. He then blessed the God of heaven.
Here we see the effect of a Care group resulted in a loving
response and praise of God. Love for God is the first foundational principle in
our missions statement from Matthew 22:37-38. Listen to Daniel’s praise as a
reflection of His love for God.
Daniel 2:20–23
“Blessed be the name
of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and
seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and
knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he
knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. To you, O God of
my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and
have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us
the king's matter.”
In this prayer, Daniel speaks amazing truths about God that
we need to remember. You can see the confidence, trust and hope Daniel has in
our God as he prays this prayer.
·
He changes
times and seasons; - God is in sovereign control of the eras of human
history, He controls the climate and the changing seasons (cf. Genesis 8:22)
·
He removes
kings and sets up kings; - God is in sovereign control of world governments
and elections.
·
He gives
wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; - God is
the source of wisdom and understanding and gives it to those who seek Him
(Jeremiah 29:13).
·
He reveals
deep and hidden things; - God speaks and reveals His truth, which has been
recorded for us in the pages of Scripture. For Daniel this was Neb’s dream and
it’s meaning.
·
He knows
what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. – He knows what
mankind does not, and is the source of understanding for those who seek it.
The Proclamation of
the dream – Daniel 2:25-45
As Daniel is taken before king Neb, he speaks boldly and
clearly to Communicate God’s Word to Neb.
Again, Communicate God’s Word is a part of our missions statement
based on Jesus’ words in Matthew 28:18-20. As believers we ought to look for
ways to communicate God’s love and truth to all people. Daniel knew his mission
was to represent God before the king.
Daniel answered the
king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to
the king the mystery that the king has asked, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made
known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days.
(Daniel 2:27–28)
Four times in this passage (vv 27-28, 37, 44, 45), Daniel
points Neb to the one true God in Heaven. He presents the truth about God being
the sovereign Lord over dreams and the future.
God showed Daniel that Neb’s dream was of a giant statue of
a man made of five metals, each representing a world power. Beginning with the golden
head, representing Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon, to the silver torso and arms of the
Medo-Persian empire, the bronze waist of the Greek empire, the iron legs of the
Roman empire and the iron/clay mixed feet of future kingdom.
Each of these kingdoms represents human history and the
decline of humanity. The rock that crushes the statue is the Kingdom of God that
will be established forever.
Daniel, in the presence of the king, Communicated the truth
that God alone is sovereign. He is the one that allows kings to have power and
He is the one who removes that power.
The Response – Daniel
2:46-49
After hearing the dream and it’s interpretation, Neb’s
response was to fall before Daniel and worship Daniel’s God.
The king answered and
said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a
revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery” (Daniel
2:47).
It is no small thing for a pagan king to worship and
acknowledge God. This should not be considered a conversion story, but it is
significant that he sees the power of God amongst the lack of power of the other
gods he believes in. Neb was a polytheist, meaning he believed in many gods,
but here he sees Daniel’s God as more powerful than the others.
Daniel was rewarded for his faithfulness to God once again
by being made the govern of Babylon. All the wise men were saved. And we see
once again how Daniel Cared for his friends and requested they be administrators
with him, which Neb granted.
In Daniel 2, we see Daniel demonstrating a confident Love
for God, a strong commitment to a Care group and boldness to Communicate God’s
Word. He did not allow the circumstances to dictate his feelings, but allowed his
faith in God to stand up and speak out for God’s glory.
No comments:
Post a Comment