Thursday, October 15
Read Daniel 2
Think About It:
Nebuchadnezzar was in the second year of his reign in discovering the burdens of his kingdom as well as the far-reaching consequences of his decisions. Some of his concerns were causing him restless nights. His mind was unsettled as he worried about the future of his kingdom. “How long would Babylon the great last?”
The Lord gave Nebuchadnezzar a vivid dream that he couldn’t understand, and that disturbed him. That the Lord God Almighty would communicate truth to a pagan Gentile king is evident of the grace of God. It is believed that Nebuchadnezzar remembered the dream, pondered it, and realized that it contained a significant message concerning his kingdom. It must have brought fear and wonder to his heart when he beheld this massive metallic image smashed into atoms by a mysterious stone, which then grew into a mountain that covered the whole earth. The interpretation of this dream was too important for the king to treat as a routine matter. He wanted to be sure that his “wise men” would give him the correct meaning, for his future was involved in that dream. It is unclear why Nebuchadnezzar chose not to tell his advisers the dream. Some suggest the advisers were baggage inherited from his father’s court. Others suggest that king wanted to test them to prove their wisdom. Either way, it looks as Nebuchadnezzar wanted to clear his house to surround himself with only trusted advisers. (And God had a plan for that!)
Tell me my dream or I will kill you. That is not really the memo I want to get from my boss. So what did Daniel do? Daniel’s faith was so strong, he knew without a doubt that his God was the revealer of mysteries. If he and his friends would humble themselves, fast, and pray, the Lord Jehovah would give him the interpretation of the king’s dream.
What would all of this have meant to king Nebuchadnezzar as he sat on his throne listening to a young Jewish lad explain God’s mysteries? For one thing, the message of the image should have been humbling. It was not Nebuchadnezzar who conquered nations and kingdoms; it was God who enabled him to do it and who gave him his empire. “You, O king, are king of kings. For the God of Heaven has given you kingdom power, strength, and Glory.”
All of the cronies in the back of the room were listening. Daniel told him of a giant metal statue. It had a head of gold, arms and chest of silver, belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron, and the feet were mixed with iron and clay. See the picture below. We know from Daniels interpretation that the gold head represented Babylon. The silver represented an empire that would succeed them – the Persian empire. The Persian empire would be succeeded by the Greek empire; then would be succeeded by Rome, but in two phases. But that wasn’t the end of the dream: a stone cut without hands struck the image at the feet, disintegrating it, and the stone grew to become a mountain that filled the whole earth.
The king announced to everyone in the court that Daniel was superior to the Babylonian advisors who could not describe the dream, let alone explain it. Daniel and his friends did save the lives of those men! The king kept his word and promoted Daniel with great honors. He made Daniel ruler over all the providence of Babylon and, at Daniel’s request, made his three friends’ helpers with him in that office. They were put in different offices in the providence while Daniel remained at the court of the king and sat at the Kings’ gate, a place of great authority. What started out as a possible tragedy, the slaughter of four godly men, was turned into great triumph; and the God and Daniel received great Glory!!
Family Time:
- Imagine like Daniel you were about to die and the only way you would be spared is if you get an answer from the Lord. What would that prayer be? If you asked your friends to pray, what would you expect their prayers to sound like?
- Now picture the last time someone asked you to pray for a need in their life and you agreed. Did you actually pray? Did you pray with passion and power, expecting an answer, as Daniel prayed with expectation? It really puts things into perspective. We must learn to pray with power and truly believe the Lord will answer.
