The God who Rules and Reveals - The Book of Daniel - Daniel 2:1-49
Outline:
1. Nebuchadnezzar's nightmare
- Despite all his power and wealth, Nebuchadnezzar is weak and afraid
- The world’s power and success is never as strong as it seems
2. The root of Daniel’s wisdom.
- Daniel responds with wisdom and prayer
- Daniel’s response is rooted in knowing the God who knows all things
3. The dream revealed.
- Daniel’s life of faith becomes a bold confession of faith
- All of history is the place where God is building his kingdom
Scripture references:
- Daniel 2
- Philippians 4:6-7
Application Questions:
- What are you doing with your anxieties today? How do you process the tensions the challenges and the fears of life? Where do you run?
- Where does your ultimate trust lie today? Is it the King of Kings? Or in yourself?
- Does your life confront the truth and expose the lies of the world around you? Or does it buy in to them?
Discussion questions:
- What made the difference between Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar?
- What does Daniel's example teach us of the importance of prayer in the christian life?
- Why is it so critical for christians to be rooted in a clear understanding of the sovereignty of God?
- How do we cultivate a trust and knowledge of God that overpowers our fears and anxieties?
- How is our faith supposed confront the lies and false idols of the world around us?
Daniel 2
We are taking the summer to journey through the book of Daniel.
Daniel is written about 500-600 before Christ, a time when the Jewish people were overrun by their enemies the Babylonians and some of their best and brightest were taken to Babylon to serve the king there and be educated by him.
Daniel faces the tension of being faithful to God in a land that is totally opposed to God and in a situation that seems like God may have abandoned them.
Following God's way in a world of opposition often becomes threatening and dangerous.
As we walk with Daniel through this book we will find many key and powerful recurring themes. The one we want to see today is true strength and peace is found as we root ourselves in the God who sovereignly reigns over history and over every aspect of our lives.
Nebuchadnezzar's nightmare
In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled him, and sleep deserted him. 2 So the king gave orders to summon the magicians, mediums, sorcerers, and Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams
Even though he is the most powerful man in the world, he is still scared
Being a ruler over the most powerful empire in the world does not make him immune to fear. Actually is does the opposite - it creates more threats and more enemies.
This is the second year of his reign - he is not far into it - and its already feeling shaky and unstable to him.
As a solution he brings in the best and most powerful men of his land to help with his problem. Magicians, mediums, sorcerers and Chaldeans - for the real problems, spiritual power and knowledge is requires - no money or weapons are helpful here.
But these guys don’t realize the challenge they are walking in to.
"I've got bad dreams, and I need to understand them"
"Ok tell us the dream and we will tell you the meaning!"
"NO. YOU tell me the dream AND the meaning and if you don't, you will be torn to pieces and your houses will be turned into a garbage pile."
Well that escalated quickly.
Why is he doing this? Did he forget his dream? No, most likely not. He knows this dream is really important and he can't trust them to be truthful with him.
They need to prove it to him - if they have the power to tell him the meaning of his dream don't they also have the power to tell him the dream itself?
He is alone in his struggle and his fear. The closest people can't be trusted.
“I know for certain you are trying to gain some time, because you see that my word is final. 9 If you don’t tell me the dream, there is one decree for you. You have conspired to tell me something false or fraudulent until the situation changes. So tell me the dream and I will know you can give me its interpretation.”
When they fail to come up with an answer this scared and suspicion king now becomes a violent destroyer.
"king became violently angry and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon."
Sinclair Ferguson - "Despite his power and position as king of Babylon, in his heart of hearts he was like a lost child in the darkness."
Why do we get scared? Why is fear and anxiety such a powerful struggle for so many?
You can have so many amazing and wonderful things in life, you can have what many others around you crave and desire - and still be filled with angst, with anxiety and with fear.
Why?
Fear and anxiety have to do with the unknown. They have to do with the future that we think may happen, but we don't know for sure and we can't control it.
It is this unknown that eats away at us, grows like a weight on us - this unknown sets our imaginations on fire to think of the possible things that CAN happen.
what if something happens to my kids? what if my business crashes? what if everyone thinks I am a fool? what if I fail? what if i let everyone down? what if I never get married? what if.....???
Fear grows and explodes out of us in anger and violence. Angry people are often people who are anxious and scared, people who feel like they are loosing control.
This is what finally blew the cap on Nebuchadnezzar -
10 The Chaldeans answered the king, “No one on earth can make known what the king requests. Consequently, no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any magician, medium, or Chaldean. 11 What the king is asking is so difficult that no one can make it known to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”
With all the power you have you are not God - you can't control the future and you can't know the unknowable. At its heart our fears and anxieties and our desire to control our lives is our rebellion against God and our rebellion against the fact that we are not God.
Friedrich Nietzsche: “If there is a God, how can I bear not to be that God?”
This is a declaration of the failure of paganism. Who can reveal secrets? Who can tell the future?
Life in Babylon is not all its cracked up to be - famous city in the center of the world - luxury and power - and those who are at the top - live in constant tension and danger.
Same goes for today. Look at the top elite areas of our world - fame, politics, riches - look deeper behind the perfect pictures and videos - death, danger and decay.
"Nebuchadnezzar, like so many people, had everything except the one thing he most needed: peace." Sinclair Ferguson
How do we get that?
The roots of Daniel's wisdom.
14 Then Daniel responded with tact and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon. 15 He asked Arioch, the king’s officer, “Why is the decree from the king so harsh?” Then Arioch explained the situation to Daniel. 16 So Daniel went and asked the king to give him some time, so that he could give the king the interpretation
Right away what we see here is a total contrast between Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel a young slave, Nebuchadnezzar a powerful king.
This is at the beginning of Daniel's life in Babylon, they had just graduated from their school of Babylonian education elites - he is still a very young man.
"tact and discretion" "prudence" - a proper taste and sense of the situation and what the right thing is to do.
What to do? Talk to the executioner.
Even though the situation is pretty scary - he doesn't freak out.
It is clear that Daniel was the type of guy who had healthy relationships with people around him that even in time of crisis like this, he was able to have a sensible conversation with the guy who was supposed to execute them. This was his character, his reputation.
One of the most important traits we can cultivate in ourselves is this sense of calm and wisdom in difficult situations. He doesn't run for he hills. He asks questions. He considers the situation. He asks for time.
17 Then Daniel went to his house and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about the matter, 18 urging them to ask the God of the heavens for mercy concerning this mystery, so Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of Babylon’s wise men.
OK, they have a little time - what do they do with it? Escape plan? Disguises? Rebellion? No - prayer.
Here is where we see the real reason for the difference between Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar.
Was Daniel also scared? Probably. Did he know the secrets to solve the problem? No.
But Daniel KNEW the God who knows. And he KNEW that God knows.
For a lot of people, the activity of prayer is seen as sort of a last effort thing when all else fails we start to pray or at scene is this minor introductory thing that we do before we actually do the real work but for Daniel prayer was the work prayer was the most powerful thing he could do it very difficult crisis
This is how the early church viewed prayer, early church father Turtullian writes:
"Prayer is alone that which vanquishes God. But Christ has willed that it be operative for no evil: He had conferred on it all its virtue in the cause of good. And so it knows nothing save how to recall the souls of the departed from the very path of death, to transform the weak, to restore the sick, to purge the possessed, to open prison-bars, to loose the bonds of the innocent. Likewise it washes away faults, repels temptations, extinguishes persecutions, consoles the faint-spirited, cheers the high-spirited, escorts travelers, appeases waves, makes robbers stand aghast, nourishes the poor, governs the rich, upraises the fallen, arrests the falling, confirms the standing. Prayer is the wall of faith: her arms and missiles against the enemy who keeps watch over us on all sides. And, so never walk we unarmed." (Turtullian, On Prayer)
Prayer was the most powerful thing Daniel could do - why?
And it all comes back to how we view God
Daniel had a clear conviction that God is completely over everything and has all the knowledge and all the power over this entire situation
You see this very clearly in the way, Daniel responds when God hears his prayer and gives him this miraculous revelation.
Daniel responds with a song of praise and worship that it’s at the very center of this chapter.
A song of exaltation to God and this song is highlighting fact that God is completely in control over everything and that God knows all things.
20May the name of God
be praised forever and ever,
for wisdom and power belong to him.
21 He changes the times and seasons;
he removes kings and establishes kings.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those
who have understanding.
22 He reveals the deep and hidden things;
he knows what is in the darkness,
and light dwells with him.
23 I offer thanks and praise to you,
God of my ancestors,
because you have given me
wisdom and power.
And now you have let me know
what we asked of you,
for you have let us know
the king’s mystery.
This is the key to Daniel’s wisdom.
Anxiety thrives on the unknown - fear thrives on doing everything you can to try to control all the things you are afraid of.
Daniels fears are not solved by knowing everything it is solved by running and leaning and completely depending on the God who knows everything
This is what gives him the ability to stay controlled to act wisely, and this is what drives Daniel to prayer first and foremost
Sometimes God permits the struggles in the difficulties in the scary things in life, so that we may be driven to him in prayer so that threw our prayers he can reveal and work, and do his mighty act.
Often times he lets these things happen to drive us to prayer so that in our prayer we might rediscover the beautiful fact that he is God that he knows all things that he reveals that he guides with his wisdom, and with his power, and he never leaves us up for success
Daniel and his friends pray, and that is their biggest and most powerful weapon against all of the powers of paganism
Philippians 4:6-7
6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
What are you doing with your fears and anxieties today? Are you frantically running for solutions or are you boldly coming to pray to open your heart interest in your all knowing all powerful god?
God knows the answers. God controls the future. He orders every detail of your life for his glorious purposes.
God knows the answer to the difficult and complicated issues you are facing today.
God gives wisdom to those who ask tells us, James. His wisdom is the total opposite to the anxiety and fear and anger that takes place in our hearts when we are trying to run our lives in our own power.
This leads us to the third and final point is God’s revelation
The dream revealed.
Everything in this chapter points to the power of God to control all things into reveal all secrets. The word reveal or make known is a constantly recurring phrase all over the chapter.
And the central point that everything leads to the fact that it is that God is God, he is the actual King. He is the one who is in control over all things, and it is to this end that Daniel is called to stand before the king and boldly proclaim the truth of God.
This is where Daniel finds himself
26 The king said in reply to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to tell me the dream I had and its interpretation?”
27 Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, medium, magician, or diviner is able to make known to the king the mystery he asked about. 28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has let King Nebuchadnezzar know what will happen in the last days.
It is his knowledge of God that puts him in the place to speak, and to declare the truth of this God
As Daniel lives out his life of faith and worship to God, his entire life also becomes a confrontation of the lies of idolatry that surround him
"The picture of the servant of God standing before the Lords of the earth to bear witness to God’s truth is one that occurs regularly in Scripture; consider, for example, the stories of Joseph, Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, Jesus, Peter, John, and Paul." (Sinclair Ferguson)
This is also why we confess the truth - we live in a world of paganism - we live in a world where the enemy is trying to confuse and twist the truth.
This got my blood boiling this week, an example of the evil that spreads into building CALLED CHRISTIAN CHURCHES
a female pastor leads the congregation in saying THIS confession of faith:
"(we) believe in the non-binary God whose pronouns are plural.
(we) believe in Jesus Christ, their child, who wore a fabulous tunic and had two dads and saw everyone as a sibling-child of God.
(we) believe in the calling to each of us that love is love is love, so beloved, let us love."
that is satanic; and Satan knows how to make disciples.
Theres a bunch of people who DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY BELIEVE.
A confession of faith is a confrontation of all false lies that surround
This is why we confess this is why we proclaim the truth as a church. This is one of the central jobs as the people of God to confess, and proclaim the truth of the one true living God, in a world of idols.
Daniels rootedness in a sovereign God gives him the power, puts him in the position - to stand before the world and proclaim the true God and expose the lies of all the idols.
So what do we make of this dream?
And it’s quite the idea it’s quite simple. This terrifying statue has four different sections. Each section represents a different world dominating kingdom.
Babylon is a head of gold, followed by three other kingdoms.
Traditionally its been understood here to refer to Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome.
This is where some people love to take a detour, and start to dig into all the intricacies of who these different layers in empires are, and missed the whole point of the chapter.
We will take more time to dive into this 4 kingdom breakdown in chapter 7, this is a topic that continually resurfaces in the book of Daniel.
The main point in THIS chapter is pretty simple.
A stone that is cut out of the mountain without hands means it is not done by humans, strength or human ability comes and completely decimates all these empires.
44 “In the days of those kings, the God of the heavens will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever.
The powers of the world are doing their thing, making their plans, conquering lands.
And running parallel to all their efforts, the God of heaven is working throughout all history setting stage until the time is just right.
during the height of the Roman empire a young girl gets a visit from a supernatural being, an angel that tells her that she will have a son and that through him, God will establish his everlasting kingdom.
Years go by. Rome's armies grow, wealth and money, power and influence. Nothing changes.
Then 30 years later a man shows up preaching in the last of Israel like no man ever preached. He heals the sick. He confronts the religious leaders. He speaks of the kingdom of God.
He seems like he’s on a solid path when the Jewish religious leaders conspire to have him arrested, and in a corrupt trail they have him condemned and killed.
Just a blip in history. Not noticeable to anyone outside the Jewish land. The movement seems to have died out.
Then a few months later something weird happens. His disciples show up in the middle of Jerusalem during a crowded feast and they are boldly proclaiming that he is alive, that he is the Savior of the World and that he is coming back to judge the living and the dead.
the small band of disciples grows and grows to thousands, it spreads to other lands - despite severe persecution, it continues to grow until it covers all the Roman empire.
2000 years later Rome is long gone but the disciples of Jesus number just above 2.6 billion living in the world today. The stone that crushes the empires grows and grows to fill the whole earth.
All the kings of kingdoms of the world, who think they are so powerful and capable, and have arrived there by their own genius in their own power, are only Pons on the stage of history, which God, himself sets, leads guides and controls, and all of it is moving to a very distinct direction direction that glorifies God and his kingdom above all
The entire dream is simply highlighting, one simple truth the truth, Daniel, declares in his song of praise. God is the one who establishes times and seasons, that God is the one who put who removes kings that God is the one who knows all things, and he is the one who reveals all mysteries.
There is a God in heaven - and this God is building his kingdom today.
Here is the amazing thing - even though Nebuchadnezzar got the revelation of this dream - he didn't seem to hear anything really past "you are the head of gold.."
in the next chapter he is setting up a giant gold statue of himself for everyone to worship.
God entered our world, and the people who looked him in the face missed it.
Why?
Our hearts are blinded by our idolatry - our selfishness and our pride.
The King who conquers all kingdoms rides into town on a lowly donkey.
Jesus says come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and i will give you rest.
But you must lay down your pride, your self centeredness, confess your sins and trust in the king who gave his life to save you.
Application:
What are you doing with your anxieties today? How do you process the tensions the challenges and the fears of life? Where do you run?
Where does your ultimate trust lie today? Is it the King of Kings? Or in yourself?
Does your life confront the truth and expose the lies of the world around you? Or does it buy in to them?