Wednesday 8 December – Daniel 2
God Of Gods And Lord Of Kings
Our four young men have entered the king’s service and have found great favour. “In every matter of wisdom and understanding … he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom” (1:20, NIV). King Nebuchadnezzar was a powerful, cruel man, who threatened unspeakable punishments for those who did not please him and incredible rewards for those who did (vv.5-6). He was ruler over all! Yet he could not understand his dreams. He did not want a misleading interpretation given by servile flatterers, but he wanted the truth (vv.7-11).
Now was Daniel’s moment. He could not work out himself how to solve this problem; indeed, he didn’t know what the problem was, as the king had refused to disclose what his dream had been about (vv.5, 9). So the four men turned to God, trusting in Him for the revelation they needed. To God belongs wisdom – He is all-knowing and all-wise – and might – for He governs all things (v.20). The course of history lies in God’s hands; it is He who changes times and seasons, and the destinies of rulers are at His disposal (v.21). He reveals deep and hidden things, namely His wondrous salvation plan (v.22). The purpose of the dream was to reveal exactly this to the king. When Daniel appeared before the king he made it very plain that he had not come to the interpretation of the dream in his own power, but gave the glory to God (vv.27-30).
The dream had to do with the latter days, in other words with the Messianic age (see Acts 2:17 and Heb.1:1-2). The head of the colossus that the king saw was identified with Nebuchadnezzar himself as a representative of the Babylonian Empire. The other parts of the image stood for other kingdoms, almost certainly the Medo-Persian, Greek and Roman empires (vv.36-43). The rock cut out not by human hands (v.34) represented Jesus and the growth of his eternal and divine kingdom, which will stand in contrast with the human and temporal empires represented by the colossus (vv.44-45). As we will see over the next few chapters of this book, although King Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged that the God of Daniel is, “the God of gods and the Lord of kings” (v.47, NIV), he had some way to go before he finally recognised that He is the one, true and living God, to be worshipped and adored! God has not finished with him yet.
Prayer:
* Give thanks and praise to God that He is in control of the earth and no plan of His can be thwarted (Job 42:2).
* Thank God that He is the One who gives wisdom, and ask for wisdom for the situations you are facing (James 1:5).
Now was Daniel’s moment. He could not work out himself how to solve this problem; indeed, he didn’t know what the problem was, as the king had refused to disclose what his dream had been about (vv.5, 9). So the four men turned to God, trusting in Him for the revelation they needed. To God belongs wisdom – He is all-knowing and all-wise – and might – for He governs all things (v.20). The course of history lies in God’s hands; it is He who changes times and seasons, and the destinies of rulers are at His disposal (v.21). He reveals deep and hidden things, namely His wondrous salvation plan (v.22). The purpose of the dream was to reveal exactly this to the king. When Daniel appeared before the king he made it very plain that he had not come to the interpretation of the dream in his own power, but gave the glory to God (vv.27-30).
The dream had to do with the latter days, in other words with the Messianic age (see Acts 2:17 and Heb.1:1-2). The head of the colossus that the king saw was identified with Nebuchadnezzar himself as a representative of the Babylonian Empire. The other parts of the image stood for other kingdoms, almost certainly the Medo-Persian, Greek and Roman empires (vv.36-43). The rock cut out not by human hands (v.34) represented Jesus and the growth of his eternal and divine kingdom, which will stand in contrast with the human and temporal empires represented by the colossus (vv.44-45). As we will see over the next few chapters of this book, although King Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged that the God of Daniel is, “the God of gods and the Lord of kings” (v.47, NIV), he had some way to go before he finally recognised that He is the one, true and living God, to be worshipped and adored! God has not finished with him yet.
Prayer:
* Give thanks and praise to God that He is in control of the earth and no plan of His can be thwarted (Job 42:2).
* Thank God that He is the One who gives wisdom, and ask for wisdom for the situations you are facing (James 1:5).