In the Fire – Daniel 3

Posted on September 30, 2022 by dkoop

In today’s scripture we find one of most well-known biblical stories, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego and the Fiery Furnace.   In the last post we learned in chapter 2 all about Nebuchadnezzar and his dream. 2600 years ago, this powerful ruler of most of the known world had a recurring dream of a statue of a man with a head made of gold, then a chest and arms of silver, a belly and mid-section made of bronze, with legs of iron and toes made of a mixture of iron and clay.  In the dream this statue is just standing there minding it’s business when a stone comes flying through the air and when it hits the entire statue is reduced to dust. Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that the golden head of this statue represented him and the Babylonian Empire. The other metals represented other empires that would come after his. And as verse 44 says, the rock represented God’s coming kingdom,“…a kingdom that will never be destroyed nor will it be left to another people.”

When he heard all this, Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face before Daniel. He praised Daniel’s God, our God,the one true God.  Nebuchadnezzar seemed to be on the verge of giving up his idols. He even promoted Daniel,and his three friends Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego. Verse 48 says, “Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. Moreover, at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon.”

Sixteen years have passed since that day. As the curtain opens on chapter 3 Nebuchadnezzar is in the 18th year of his reign. And in all these years since his dream none of the prophecies from Daniel’s interpretation have come true. There has been no “silver” kingdom…no “bronze” kingdom…no “iron” kingdom. And there has been absolutely no sign whatsoever of a magical flying stone. So,pumped up with a renewed sense of invincibility,the king thumbs his nose at God and builds a massive idol out on the plains of Dura to be a glittering symbol of his “sovereign” rule. As you can see in this illustration, it was massive,over eight stories tall,and not just the head but the entire towering image was overlaid in gold. Nebuchadnezzar had apparently decided, “No kingdom, natural or supernatural, is going to crush my statue…or my empire. After all, why should my kingdom be succeeded by others? Why shouldn’t this great ‘golden’ Babylon I have built last forever?” So he built this massive statue not to reflect his dream,but his desires.

Once the monument to his ego was completed, verse 2 says he,“…sent word to assemble the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces…to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.” This assemblage of powerful people from all levels of society represented every ethnic group and religion under Nebuchadnezzar’s authority,and it was a very diverse grouping. Remember, Nebuchadnezzar had conquered lots of nations and people groups and he had brought the best representatives of each culture to serve him in Babylon. In his commentary on this text Swindoll writes, “As the king surveyed the colorful crowd milling around the base of the statue, the morning sun flashed brilliantly off the polished gold, practically blinding the eyes of the onlookers. When the moment was right, Nebuchadnezzar signaled for quiet, and according to verses 4-6, the herald proclaimed the royal decree: “This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of MUSIC, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

So, apparently there was a furnace near the statue, perhaps it is the same one Nebuchadnezzar’s workers used to shape his towering golden image. verse 7 says that as soon as the throngs of people who came to this dedication,as soon as they heard music, they fell on the ground and began to worship the golden image. The Hebrew literally says, “…as soon as they were hearing, they were falling.”  It was a race to see who hit the ground first. No one wanted to face those flames! But then through the idol-worshiping crowd, there was a ripple of noise that grew until everyone lifted their heads to see. The music stopped and nobody looked at the statue anymore. They were looking at the front of the throng where Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego, three of the highest ranking officials in the country were still standing. , in the midst of a groveling nation, in an act that looked like either monumental courage or suicidal folly, these three refused to bend the knee to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue.

They refused to bow their heads,and no one had any doubt about what would happen next, because everyone knew these Jewish men had powerful enemies. We meet them in verse 8 where it says, “At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews.” The word “denounced” here literally means “to eat the pieces of them.” It could be translated “slandering” because it was intended to convey intense hostility. In short, if words could kill,these words would,because that’s actually what the astrologers hoped would happen!

Think of it. For the past 16 years these wise men had been forced to follow the authority of these three young Jews which means they had been nursing their grudge for a long time. To them this is their chance to finally bring these three down, so they immediately charged them with treason. You can almost feel their eagerness to do so as you read verses 8-12:

8 But some of the astrologers went to the king and informed on the Jews….10 You issued a decree requiring all the people to bow down and worship the gold statue…12 But there are some Jews—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—whom you have put in charge of the province of Babylon. They pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They refuse to serve your gods and do not worship the gold statue you have set up.”

We wonder where was Daniel in all of this? Some say he was on business elsewhere…that the king had sent him to some far away part of his kingdom but I it could be the answer is in Daniel 2:48-49, that says Daniel “…remained at the royal court…”  He may have been at his post in the city doing his assigned job,but back to the situation out on the plains of Dura. As if he can’t quite believe anyone would dare defy his orders, the king gives Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego one more chance…he gives them one more shot to pledge their allegiance to the golden image but not without reiterating the punishment if they still refuse. Look at verses 13-15:

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in, 14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up? 15 I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue… But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?”

What kind of people were Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego? How could they do this, what made them able to stand up when everyone else bowed?” What can we learn from them?

  1. When Convictions are Tested, Refuse to Compromise

Like Daniel, as God-followers, they had deeply held beliefs, especially when it came to idol worship. They knew God’s commandments from Exodus 20 where it plainly says, “Do not worship any other gods beside Me….Do not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything…Do not bow down and worship them, for I the Lord your God, am a jealous God punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation and those who hate Me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Exodus 20:3-6) So understand. These three young men knew the Scriptures.

They knew what they believed and, more importantly they believed what they knew, so deeply that they were willing to lay their lives on the line. Let me put it this way, they held to their convictions so firmly that they would literally rather “burn than turn.”

This reminds me of an incident from the life of  Martin Niemoeller, a well-known German hero of the first world war. During the 2nd world war Niemoeller again displayed heroic bravery as he spent time in prisons and concentration camps because of his firm opposition to Adolph Hitler. Hitler realized that if Niemoeller could be persuaded to join his cause then, due to his popularity, much opposition to the Nazi movement would collapse. So he sent a former friend of Niemoeller’s to visit him, a friend who supported the Nazis. Seeing Niemoeller in his prison cell, the onetime friend asked, “Martin, Martin! Why are you here?” And Niemoeller replied, “My friend, my friend! Why are you NOT here?” Like these three Jewish youth, Niemoeller had convictions based on his understanding of God’s Word, convictions that were dearer to him than life itself. These convictions enabled him to stand up to Adolph Hitler just as the convictions of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego enabled them to stand up to Nebuchadnezzar.

Most of us will not be faced with a choice between compromise or execution like these three. But the issue is the same regardless of the penalty.

Many of us fail in the Christian life because we are not willing to pay even the price of a loss of popularity or loneliness or ridicule or economic hardship. Ortberg calls this “furnace avoidance.” And ,only those who have enough conviction to be willing to pay the price, even if the price is death itself, only these people make a real difference in this world.

How firmly do we hold to our convictions? Do we believe what we know? Does the decision-making part of our brain follow the guidance of God’s written Word such that it knows that there is a right and a wrong? Or have we programmed our brain according to the world’s standards? Will we refuse to compromise even when threatened? We’ll never be able to say brave words like these three young men did, and we’ll never make any real difference in this world until we become people of Christian conviction.

 

Look back at the question Nebuchadnezzar asks in verse 15. He says, “What god will be able to deliver you from my hand if you refuse to bow to my statue?” This is a rhetorical question, but much to his surprise, these three men don’t treat his inquiry as a rhetorical question at all.  In verse 16: “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king.”  What a statement of remarkable faith. What did they say? “Our God is able to save us from the furnace. He is able to rescue us from danger. He is able to deliver us from even your hand, O king. Our God is able.” Did these three have confidence in God or what?! In essence they said, “Nebuchadnezzar, you ask what god will be able to rescue us from your hand, here’s your answer: Ours can! Ours IS able!”

Another reason these three men could be so brave and bold in the face of this particular “worst case scenario” is because they knew they served the only TRUE God, the God Who IS ABLE to do “…exceedingly, abundantly above all that they could ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20) These three men knew that as Jeremiah says, “Nothing is to hard for God.” (Jeremiah 32:17) In short, they were absolutely certain that God had the ability, the power, to deliver them from this fiery dilemma. When everyone else bowed, they were able to stand up and say these words because of their unshakable confidence in God.

  1. When in Trouble, Remember God is Able

I don’t know if it’s possible for followers of God to spend too much time reflecting on stories that teach this vital truth so it bears repeating: The God we serve, the God we worship, our God is able!
We know that there is nothing God cannot do. God can do anything!

  • He is able to reconcile broken marriages.
  • The God we serve is able to liberate people from addiction.
  • The God we serve is able to heal damaged bodies
  • …and able to forgive the darkest sin.
  • The God we serve is able to provide for the greatest need,
  • …able to guide with supernatural wisdom,
  • …able to inspire spiritual gifting beyond human ability in unbelievable ways,
  • …able to soften the hardest heart,
  • …able to bring the farthest runaway prodigal rebel back home.

 He is able! And these three young men believed that in the depths of their being. They could refuse to bow, they could stand up in the face of this worst-case scenario because they were men of Godly conviction who embraced complete confidence in God.

Their commitment made Nebuchadnezzar furious. He burned with rage, and as a reflection of that he ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual. He ordered them bound and thrown in the fire and the fire was so hot that it killed the soldiers who threw them in. Imagine what it must have been like! The three feel themselves tumbling into the flames. They wait for the searing pain, the numbness, for the smoke inhalation that would suffocate their lungs, but none of that happens. They aren’t even warm! There are no burns, no smoke. They realize that they don’t feel any different, except they are no longer bound. But the best part is they discover they are not alone in the furnace. And they weren’t alone in this realization.   Look at verse 24: “Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement. He asks his advisors, ‘Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?’ Look I see FOUR men walking around in the fire, unbound, and unharmed and the fourth looks like The Son of God.” Nebuchadnezzar was correct because this was a pre-incarnation of God’s only Son, Jesus Himself. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego met Him hundreds of years before anyone else. Think of it. They came to this place on the Plain of Dura intending to withhold worship and they ended up worshiping as they never had in their lives, at the feet of the Son of God!! I love how Ortberg puts it. He says, “Sometimes God saves us from the furnace but many times He saves us in the furnace.” And these three young men had the confidence in God that allowed them to experience this truth first hand.

 3. When in the Fire,  Reveal Jesus

In Christian circles we talk a lot about being FULLY devoted followers of Jesus, but I wonder, is our “full” devotion from one day to the next, is it contingent on just getting from Jesus what we want? What about when He doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want? Are we like these three and other truly committed believers? Are we like Esther who showed her “no-holes barred” commitment to God by saying, “I will go to the king even though it is against the law and if I perish I perish?” Are we like Job who said of our God, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him?” ,how much REAL confidence do you have in our Heavenly Father? Are you like so many believers who say they have faith, but it’s an “if faith?” You know, they pray, “If you do this, I’ll have faith in You God…If you help me pass this test…if you help me find the money to pay my bills…if the doctor’s diagnosis is good…”
“If faith” is not really faith. If there’s an “IF” in your commitment to God, it’s not true commitment, because it shows your relationship with God has no depth.

I believe that we never really get as close to God as we need to be, we never truly meet with Jesus, until we embrace the confident faith these three had. So, no matter what worst case scenario we are facing.  I’ll challenge us to pray, “God…even if You do not do this or that, I will trust You and Your perspective on my life. Even if that co-worker continues to be so difficult…I’m going to keep on being Your servant…even if You don’t reward me financially I’m going to trust You…even if I have to go through health problems…I’ve already decided that no matter what comes I’m going to trust You…trust that in all things You work for my good.”  When times are tough, people really see Jesus in us.

Just as the iron ore goes through the refining fire and comes out clean and pure and genuine so does our faith. Actually, there may be something questionable about a faith that never walks through the fire. An army going through basic training is not yet ready for battle. Not until soldiers face the battle, and have been under fire, do they consider themselves proven, hardened, worthy. A ship’s builder cannot prove that the vessel is sturdily built as long as it stays in dry dock. Its hull must get wet; it must endure a storm to demonstrate genuine seaworthiness. The same is true of our faith. When we hold fast to belief in Christ in spite of the fiery furnace experiences of life, then we demonstrate the genuineness of our faith and Christ becomes more visible to others.

Jesus was seen, not only from the flames, but also in the flames. A reminder that if we want to experience Jesus, we should expect Him when life gets hot.

Darrell

www.Upwards.Church

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The Power of Biblical Prophecy – Daniel 2 – Part 2

Posted on September 24, 2022 by dkoop

The last part of Daniel 2 is prophetic.  The prophetic parts of the Bible aren’t just about the future, they are about the present. God gave us books like Daniel and Revelation so that we can know how to live today with tomorrow in mind. These Scriptures and the prophecies they contain are meant to sober us and ground us in His eternal perspective.

There is a difference between prophecy and eschatology. Eschatology is the kind of prophecy that concerns end times, things that will happen at the very end of history. All other forms of prophecy concerns things that happen before the end, and as you’ll see, this dream was both. Most of the events prophesied in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream have already happened. But it’s not done yet. There is part of it yet to come true, and that’s the eschatological part, the part that will happen in the end times.

This dream has been coming true down through the centuries. History records the fulfillment of it’s prophecy, ust as Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar. His prophecy is 100% correct thus far, and this is why the book of Daniel is attacked and criticized by liberal scholars who say it couldn’t really have been written by Daniel. They say the only reasonable explanation for the fact that his prophecy has been perfectly accurate, is that it was written by someone pretending to be Daniel, someone who lived after the things had already happened. The problem is, there are two huge holes in their argument. First, this dream part of Daniel is written in Aramaic, not Hebrew. For the most part the Old Testament is written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek but there are exceptions, there are Aramaic portions, .and this is one of them, and this fact points to an earlier date. You see, after the Jews returned from Babylon, hundreds of years later, the common language became Aramaic, the common language of Babylon. Before then the Jews language was Hebrew. No one writing later (after all the events Daniel prophesied had happened) would have written in both Hebrew and Aramaic. He would have written only in Aramaic. James Montgomery Boice puts it this way, “Only a man who spoke Hebrew but who had learned Aramaic in the Babylonian court, would have written the part of the book that dealt with Babylon in Aramaic so that it could be understood by Babylonians, and part in Hebrew so that it would fit in with the rest of the Jewish Scriptures.” A second proof that Daniel really did write these words of prophecy long before they were fulfilled is found in the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. These ancient copies of the Scriptures prove that the book of Daniel was written exactly when the Bible says it was written.

This is not the only time the Bible’s prophecies have been seen to come true. I could give many examples but I’ll give only one, one that relates to Daniel’s life and ministry. Here it is. In Isaiah 44:28 God says, “I am He Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd and will accomplish what I please; he will say of Jerusalem, ‘Let it be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundations be laid.’” The amazing thing about this verse is that it was written 150 years before Jerusalem and the temple were rebuilt, long before Cyrus was even born! And this is one proof that this book is not just a book. It is God’s book! The Bible is God’s infallible word! How else to you explain the fact that all of the Bible’s prophecies come true? How else to you explain how it is completely reliable in foretelling world events like this?

The late Ray Stedman tells of a time he was asked what he thought of psychic Jeane Dixon. With Daniel, like tact he said, “Well, I am not in a position to judge Miss Dixon personally, but one thing I do know: she admits that she sometimes misses in her prognostications. She has been wrong on occasion but many people seem to be impressed even though she only bats .300. The impressive thing to me is that the Word of God is always 100% right. Its batting average is 1000. It hits the nose every single time.” And he’s right!

Nebuchadnezzar dreams about a statue made of various metals, a statue that is crushed by a rock not made with human hands. Let’s quickly review the interpretation God gave Daniel, and as we do, I want you to note how the value of the materials in the statue go down while at the same time increasing in strength. I believe this is to illustrate the fact that our society may grow stronger externally down through the years, while it grows weaker internally. As the decades march by we build stronger houses but have weaker families. We have better roads but less sense of purpose and direction. We have computers that are supposed to save us time, but we seem to have less time, especially when it comes to the truly important things of life. We have more laws and bigger police forces, but less morals. Perhaps all this is what Thoreau was referring to when he said, “America has improved means to unimproved ends.” But enough of that, let’s look at the vision itself. As In verse 31 and following we read that the king’s recurring dream involved a huge statue.

  1. The HEAD was made of pure gold.

In verse 38 Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that this represented him and the Babylonian Empire. We now know that it lasted from 626BC to 539BC.

2. The CHEST AND ARMS was made of silver.

This represented the kingdom that was to come after the Babylonians, the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians. It lasted from 539BC until 331B.C. By the way, these two parts of the statue, the CHEST and the ARMS, represented the joining together of two nations so they could defeat the Babylonians, which they did. Now this union of two nations would have made sense to Nebuchadnezzar because he believed that no one kingdom could have ever destroyed his. As I told you earlier the city of Babylon was very well defended. As you can see in this picture, it’s first line of defense was a huge moat that tied into the Euphrates river. The city also had huge double walls that rose like stone cliffs into the sky. The ancient historian Herodotus measured them and said they were 300 feet high and 87 feet thick. But in 539B.C. the unthinkable happened. The combined forces of the Medes and the Persians diverted the Euphrates which caused the water level to drop and enabled them to enter at night through the moat’s unguarded sluice gates. In this way, great, golden Babylon fell without a fight or harm to the city, and in its place rose the Medo, Persian empire. Later, the Persian King Darius, required conquered nations to pay tribute in silver which corresponds to the silver chest and arms in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

3. The belly and thighs of the statue were made of BRONZE and represented the GREECIAN EMPIRE which lasted from 331 B.C. until 63B.C.

Verse 39 says that this would be a government that would rule over all the earth and that’s what happened thanks to a young Greek named Alexander the Great who by 331B.C. had extended his rule as far as India, vanquishing the Persian empire. Stedman writes, “He swept across the world of his day, conquering the known kingdoms of the earth and then wept because he had no other worlds to conquer.” The Greek soldiers used shields made of bronze, hence the bronze in the image.

4. The legs were made of IRON and represented the ROMAN EMPIRE.

Roman legions like this one rumbled across the Mediterranean world like iron tanks and crushed everything in their path. The fact that this part of the statue is the legs symbolizes the fact that the Roman Empire was eventually divided into east and west. And we see it’s impact in the east, where German rulers were called Kaisers and the Russians Czars, both versions of the Roman word, “Caesar.” We also see it in the west. Ray Stedman writes,

“Our entire Western world is Roman to the core. We have a senate which is one of the fundamental bases of our government, and which we copied directly from the Roman senate. The very republican form of the US government is based upon the republic of Rome. Our courts, our laws, our military, all reflect the forms of the Roman empire.”

It’s rule began in 63BC and the Western empire collapsed in 476AD but it is hard to date the end of the Roman Empire because the Eastern empire continued and no other world kingdom ever took it’s place. This leads me to mention the next part of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the eschatological part.

5. The TEN TOES were made of IRON MIXED WITH CLAY.

And, most scholars believe that these ten toes represent an unstable confederation of nations today.  And in the future, ten nations that still have the “iron” of Rome’s influence but nations that are weak like clay.  This 10, nation confederation is also mentioned in Daniel chapter 7 and Revelation chapter 13.  In verse 44 Daniel says,“In the time of those things, the God of Heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end but it will itself endure forever.”

6. In the dream, this was symbolized by a rock, not cut by human hands, a rock that struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed the entire statue to dust.

This is a picture of the return of Jesus Christ, Who as 1st Peter 2:6, 8 says is “the Stone the builders rejected, the Stone that has become the Chief Cornerstone.” This also ties in with Isaiah’s prophecy in 2:2 where it says, “The mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it.”

In other words, through Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar, God was saying that someday, after the rapture of the church, Jesus will come to earth to set up His earthly kingdom. Well, as Daniel’s interpretation ends, Nebuchadnezzar’s terror over his dream melts into fear of the Lord. Verses 46-47 say that the king fell on his face and said, “Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a Revealer of mysteries!” To me this underscores the truth that when we accurately represent God, when we lift Jesus up in our words and our actions, people respond.  The king rewarded Daniel and his friends, promoting them to positions of great authority and so ends the 2nd chapter.

What does this prophetic dream have to say to you and me?

It reminds us that the Bible is true.

Stedman is correct when he says that its prophecy is 100% correct, so let’s ask,  are we living our lives according to this book? Wouldn’t we agree that it would be foolish not to?

This prophetic dream also shows us that there is a GOD in Heaven and He is still in control.

Doesn’t that bring us peace? Isn’t it good to know that no matter how the news reports make it seem, God is still in charge. He is still working out His eternal purposes!

And finally, this dream shows us that we are living in the end times. Jesus is coming!

Are you ready for His return?

Darrell

www.Upwards.Church

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Living on a Prayer – Daniel 2 – Part 1

Posted on September 20, 2022 by dkoop

Have you ever had a disturbing dream, one that you had over and over again? I have. About once a year I dream that it’s Sunday morning, the church is full, I get up to speak and my mind is blank!  All that I studied for and prepared for is gone.  Or before the start of the service, I can’t find my bible or message outline.  I’ve talked to other pastors who have had a similar dream. One pastor dreamed that he’s at the church and ready to go, but he’s in his underwear.  Of course that dream has turned into a nightmare. Those who study dreams say that everyone dreams, and even though it may seem that our dreams last all night we only dream about an hour and a half out of every eight hours we sleep.

Most of the times our dreams are just jumbled nonsense like my no sermon deal, but there have been times when dreams have turned out to be very significant. In the Bible there are examples of world leaders having dreams, dreams that were much more than dreams. They were God’s way of communicating significant truth, and today we are going to look one of those dreams, and the events surrounding it. I’m referring to a dream that Daniel tells us about in the 2nd chapter of his book, a dream that King Nebuchadnezzar had 2600 years ago, a dream that has been coming true ever since. But, before we look at this amazing dream, let me remind you that this book that we are studying, Daniel, is made up of two things: narrative and prophecy. The first six chapters are mostly true stories from the life of Daniel, familiar stories like the one we studied last week. The last six chapters are prophecies given to Daniel by God.

This second chapter is special in that it gives us a little of both, narrative and prophecy.

The first verse gives us the setting. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is in the 2nd year of his reign. Assyria, which had been Babylon’s chief enemy, had completely collapsed 5 years earlier.
This made Nebuchadnezzar the absolute dictator of an empire that reigned with unchallenged authority over most of the known world, and you may not know this but he was the first world leader to rule this much of the planet. He controlled from Greece, all the way around to Egypt, and eastward into India. He built a beautiful city, the ancient city of Babylon, the ruins of which are 40 miles from modern day Baghdad. Merril Unger gives us a picture to help us imagine its grandeur. He writes:

“[Ancient Babylon] included vast fortifications, famous streets like the Processional, canals, temples and palaces. The Ishtar Gate led through the double wall of fortifications, and was adorned with rows of bulls and dragons in colored enameled brick. Nebuchadnezzar’s throne room was likewise adorned with enameled bricks. Not far distant were the hanging gardens, which to the Greeks were one of the seven wonders of the world. How well to the words of Daniel 4:30 fit this ambitious builder/king: [Nebuchadnezzar says: ‘Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling place by the might of my power and to the glory of my majesty?”

All this goes to show that Nebuchadnezzar was one of the greatest world leaders of all time. By the way you may remember that before the first Gulf War Saddam Hussein declared himself to be the reincarnation of Nebuchadnezzar. Saddam vowed to rebuild the ancient city of Babylon and restore it to world power status, which explains why he got in a fight with bordering nations so often.

But back to Nebuchadnezzar. At this point in his reign he had it all: youth, strength, wealth, fame, and power unparalleled in this world. He had huge armies at his command and all this was eclipsed by the fact that he couldn’t get a good night’s sleep, the reason he couldn’t is because he kept having this recurring, troubling dream. As I inferred, this was much more than a dream, it was a message from God to Nebuchadnezzar and to you and me as well, a message we need to hear and understand. As we review it, and the story that surrounds it, we’ll stop from time to time, so that I can point out three main things we can learn from this 2600 year old dream that is still coming true.

After having this same dream over and over and over again, Nebuchadnezzar was understandably troubled. He wanted to know what this was all about. He wanted to understand the dream and what it had to do with him and his mighty kingdom. So he called together his wise men. Think of these wise guys as a cross between an astrologer and a librarian and as you read the story, you can almost see them falling all over each other eager for their master’s praise. You see, in their minds, this dream was a golden opportunity for them to get in good with the king. They thought they couldn’t miss, because they had tons of books about interpreting dreams, and they were very good about spinning their interpretations to please Nebuchadnezzar. They thought that once he told them his dream, they could then “cash in” on his insomnia. But Nebuchadnezzar surprised them. He basically said, “If you guys are so wise, then you tell me what I’ve been dreaming, .and then give me the interpretation to boot.” Obviously Nebuchadnezzar was no dummy, he knew that anyone could fabricate an interpretation once the dream was disclosed and he hungered for real truth. He wanted real answers. And as incentive to get them he told his wise men that if they couldn’t do the job they would be killed and their homes destroyed. It was  a “deliver or die, publish or perish.” This wasn’t an idle threat, Nebuchadnezzar was well known for violence.

His wise men said that as much as they wanted to, they couldn’t interpret the dream because they didn’t know what it was, and in their explanation they said a very true thing. It’s in verse 11: “No man can do this. Only a god could.” I don’t know about you, but I get excited when I read that, because our God, the only true God can do anything. He is all, loving, all, wise, and all, powerful. And contrary to what these wise men said next, as John 1:14 says, in Jesus, He, “…became flesh and made His dwelling among us.”

In spite of their insight in verse 11 these “wise men” weren’t servants of God, they were fakes and frauds.  Nebuchadnezzar had called their bluff. And let me just pause and say that consulting horoscopes and psychics in our day is not only foolish, it is sinful. The people who provide this kind of information, today’s “wise” men and women are either fakes, or servants of our adversary, so we should stay away from them.

I read that Barbara Bush, wife of our 41st president, was once told by an astrologer, and this was unsolicited. She didn’t seek him out. He just told her this. He said that since both she and George Bush are Geminis they should never have gotten married, because any astrologer worth his star chart knows Geminis just can’t get along. Later she made fun of his statement by saying, “George and I have just celebrated 50 years of marriage. Every time I have a bad day, I tell George that astrologer was right.”

Back to our story. The wise men admitted to Nebuchadnezzar that they couldn’t do what the king requested so he followed through with his threat and ordered that all his wise men be killed. Execution squads were sent to carry out his orders, which included Daniel, Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego who had only recently graduated from their Babylonian university and been admitted to the ranks of the king’s wise men. When the executioner came for Daniel he used his God, given people smarts. With respect and great composure he asked for clarification. He didn’t have a heart attack. He didn’t have a panic attack. He didn’t even go on the attack. Verse 14 says He replied with wisdom and tact saying, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Then after the executioner explained, Daniel bravely went to Nebuchadnezzar, and asked that he be given a chance to fulfill his king’s request.

By the way, I think he was able to walk right into Nebuchadnezzar’s presence because this sleep deprived king had grown to trust Daniel and his four friends. Remember in chapter 1 it says that after his post, graduation interview with them Nebuchadnezzar found them each worth ten of his other advisors. And Nebuchadnezzar not only met with Daniel. He gave him something he wouldn’t give the rest of his “wise” men. He granted Daniel time to both discern his dream and it’s meaning. I think when we emulate Daniel and decide to live by our God given convictions with respect and tact, people are impressed. Remember, all people are made by God, so all people hunger for God, and when we graciously live Godly lives people are drawn to Him. Note that according to verse 18, Daniel uses the time Nebuchadnezzar gave him to pray. Many of us would probably have used that time to leave town, to get as far from Nebuchadnezzar and his execution squads as possible, but not Daniel. Daniel knew who was really in charge. He believed God was all, wise and completely sovereign so he and his three friends prayed. They went right to the top and asked God Himself for help. This is the first main thing we can learn from the events surrounding this dream.

  1. Prayer is to Proceed our Problems

Do you remember Paul’s words from Philippians 4:6, 7 where he says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” A rough paraphrase would go like this, “Don’t worry about ANYTHING, pray about EVERYTHING. Go to God, ask for His help FIRST!”

God encourages us to come boldly before His throne. He wants us to bring Him our questions. I like how someone once put it, “Can’t sleep.. don’t count sheep, talk to the Shepherd.” When we find ourselves with our backs against the wall, we must stop relying on self and ask God for His guidance. James 1:5 says,“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, Who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” I love this verse because that phrase, “without finding fault” tells me that to God there is no such thing as a dumb question. God invites all our inquiries, all of them. He loves to help us decide what to do, .so when you have an issue and you don’t know what to do, the first thing you must do is pray, take it right to the top! Remember, God is completely sovereign. He is the One Who is truly in charge.

After he prayed, Daniel was at peace. He was able to sleep even though a sword literally hung over his neck, and as he snoozed, God answered his prayer. As Daniel slept the deep sleep of someone who literally rested in the character of God, our Heavenly Father told him both Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and it’s meaning, and what happened next provides us a second bit of important instruction. At this point many of us would leap out of bed, grab our robes and head for the king’s palace yelling, ‘I’ve got it! I’ve got it!’ But not Daniel. No, before he went to King Nebuchadnezzar, he went back to God, he went back to Nebuchadnezzar’s superior and praised Him. Look at verses 20-23. Daniel says,

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons; He sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him. I thank and praise You, O God of my fathers: You have given me wisdom and power, You have made known to me what we asked of You, You have made known to us the dream of the king.”

Don’t you admire Daniel! Aren’t you impressed with this young man!? The first thing he did was give four verses of solid, specific praise! Now be honest, how often do we respond to God’s blessings in that way? 

  1. Praise is a Priority When God Answers

I don’t know about you, but I need to embrace this instruction because so often when God intervenes in my life I’m tempted to grab a little glory for myself or we simply take God for granted and forget to thank Him, but not Daniel. He knew that without God there would be no interpretation, no wisdom, no audience with the king. In fact, Daniel knew there would be no kings and countries at all if God did not will it, so we need to be like this ancient prophet. We must always praise God for His great faithfulness. Praise reminds us how capable and gracious our God is. It reminds us that without Him, we can do nothing. “Praise God!”is a phrase that should always be on our lips because God is the Source of every good and perfect gift.

About 20 years ago Orel Hershiser was pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers. They had just won the World Series. And Orel had been named the Most Valuable Player. During the series a TV camera zoomed in on him sitting in the dugout just before the 9th inning started. He was leaning against the wall. His lips were moving but the microphones couldn’t pick it up. When he was a guest on the Tonight Show, Johnny Carson asked him what he had been saying. Orel said, “I wasn’t saying anything.” And Carson responded, “Well, then, tell us what you were doing.” Orel replied, “I was singing.” Johnny said, “You were singing? I didn’t know you were a singer. Come on, let’s hear it!” And Orel said, “Nah. I don’t want to.” But the audience clapped and said, “Yeah! Let’s hear it! Sing Orel!” So, Orel Hershiser acquiesced and on network TV he sang the song cameras had caught him singing in the dugout. He sang: “Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise him above Ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost! Amen!” Johnny Carson was speechless. The whole audience was dead silent. Then one person stood up and started clapping. And soon, the whole audience joined in applause. This song was Orel’s way of saying, “God, You are the only reason I’m a Most Valuable Player. You’re the one who gave me my ability. You’re the reason why my life has been so blessed. I’m giving You all the credit. Praise You Lord!”

When Daniel met with King that’s what he did. I don’t know if he put music to verses 2:20-23, but in the privacy of his room and then as verse 27-28 as he stood before Nebuchadnezzar, he made it clear that the interpretation came from God and God alone. When you read this part of chapter two you see that, including proper nouns and pronouns Daniel referred to the Lord thirteen times and used only five pronouns to refer to himself and his three friends. Even then, the focus was still on God as the Source of all that had happened. What incredible maturity for a young man of 17! Daniel said, “No man can do this, but there is a GOD IN HEAVEN and He both can and has!” Then in verses 29-45 Daniel shares with Nebuchadnezzar both the dream and it’s interpretation as given by God Himself. And we’ll look at that in the next post.

Darrell

www.Upwards.Church

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Surviving Change – Daniel 1 – Part 2

Posted on September 16, 2022 by dkoop

In the last post we were introduced to Daniel and his three friends who faced many challenges and changes. We saw that Daniel decided in advance to honor his God given convictions, secondly when facing many changes and challenges, like Daniel we have to….

2. Depend on your Community of Faith

 He knew that as a stranger living in a strange land he needed all the support he could get so he formed one of the first believer small groups with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They would go to school together. They would study and pray together and face decisions together. Listen, you can’t handle the Babylons of life on your own. You will never survive and thrive outside of community. As Christians we need each other. Julius Segal writes,

Few captives suffered more than Vice-Admiral James Stockdale who served 2,714 days as a POW in Vietnam. On one occasion, his captors shackled his legs and arms and left him in glaring sunshine three blistering days while guards beat him repeatedly to keep him from sleeping. After one beating, Stockdale heard a towel snapping out in a code that the POWs had devised, a message he would never forget. It was five letters ,  G B U J S ,  “God bless you Jim Stockdale.”

Segel writes that for these POWs the briefest experiences of community, of being connected, became literally a life or death deal. Their devotion and ingenuity to making community happen in spite of unbelievable obstacles defies belief. He says that if one man walked by another cell, he would drag his sandals in code to send a message. Men sent messages to their comrades through the noises they made shaking out their blankets, by belching, snoring, slowing their noses, or with the use of bodily noises that I will not name but are usually mastered by 10-year-old boys. All this goes to show how precious community is to us. In those places where community is difficult, people will move heaven and earth and risk their lives just for a moment of it. So, as our Creator says, “it is not good for man to be alone.” We need other like-minded people to survive the tough times of life!

As the world around us changes drastically, are you in community with a group of Christians? We need the encouragement of others. We their prayers, we need their strength to lighten our burdens and their smiles to magnify our joys.

We need other Christians to survive the Babylons of life. As someone once put it, there are two things you can’t do alone: be married and be a growing Christian. We need community. Join us here at Upwards. We would love to have you as part of our family.

There’s third choice we can make when the world is changing all around us….

3. Draw Upon God’s Favor and Blessing

Daniel trusted God’s blessing and favor. He knew that God always “works for the good and His glory,” even amidst the “Babylon’s” of life. He knew there was purpose in the changes that were happening. And he was right. Our text shows how much God was already at work. Notice the ways God was fulfilling His purposes, even in Daniel’s captivity: Verse 2 says that “GOD delivered Jehoiakim” into Nebuchadnezzar’s hands. Verse 9 says that “GOD caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel.”

God was at work.  He caused Ashpenaz to look with favor upon Daniel and his three friends. But that happened after Daniel’s decision, not before. Does God bless those who honor him? Yes he does, but we generally don’t experience God’s blessings until we stand up for what we believe. Eric Liddell’s conviction of honoring the Sabbath Day led him not to race on Sunday in the 1924 Olympics in Paris. A few days later before another race for which he had not prepared but was allowed to compete, a fellow competitor put a note in Eric’s hand: “He who honors me, I will honor.” Eric raced with his convictions in tack. He honored God; and, God honored him. Eric Liddell won the race and the gold medal.

Solomon wrote, “A good man obtains favor from the Lord” Proverbs 12:2 ESV. The Psalmist wrote, “For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield” Psalm 5:12 ESV.

The good physical report we read of in verse 15 was the result of God’s miraculous intervention. He made the 10 day test succeed. Verse 17 says that “GOD gave these four young men knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. GOD gave Daniel the ability to interpret dreams.”

God blessed Daniel and his friends with wisdom and the ability to interpret dreams.

They stood above the rest. They would find themselves in positions of enormous influence. God always rewards those who stand for him. In this case, the reward came quickly.

Often it takes much longer than that. Sometimes it won’t occur until we get to heaven.

It’s important to note the order. First, the decision is made to stand for what they believe. Second, they depend on God and each other for support, Third, they draw upon God’s blessings who gave them wisdom and understanding. They held firm to their convictions and God rewarded them. God protected Daniel when he proposed the test. God prospered Daniel during the test and afterward. God promoted Daniel in the eyes of the king.

So, Daniel believed in God’s power and providence from the very beginning. He was convinced that even the defeat of Judah and the loss of the temple that looked so tragic was not just a random meaningless event. God was not asleep. No, God was up to something in Babylon even in that place of great change. He knew that this time of challenge was the only thing that would turn some of His chosen people back to Him. Plus, as it turned out, hindsight shows that God loved the people of Babylon. He even loved Nebuchadnezzar and was reaching out to them in all of this. To survive and thrive in the Babylons of life we have to know that God loves us, and that He is all-powerful and always at work. We’ve got to know that He’s got it all in control. We’ve got to trust God’s heart. We’ve got to believe He knows what He is doing and that there is purpose in the changes that occur. Daniel and his three friends knew all this, and because they did, instead of being transformed they became transformers themselves. They joined God in His work and He used them to bring great glory to His name even in a pagan land. As we’ll see in our study, their spiritual and political influence was enormous. So, the question we must ask ourselves in our own Babylons is not, “HOW can I get out of this?” but rather, “WHAT can I get out of this? How can God use me, even in this?”

Daniel outlived Nebuchadnezzar, his successors, and even the Babylonian empire. He lived until the days of Cyrus, ruler of the Medes and Persians, and the thing that kept him going all those decades is that he knew that His God was more supreme than any king.

Are committed to living by your God-given convictions? Will you decide to go against the flow if necessary? If you aren’t involved in Christian community, you don’t have a church home, you don’t have believers like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to help you keep this first commitment, if you don’t have a group of believers with whom you are committed, will you decide today to find one, join a local church, get in a Connect group?  Have you received Christ, the greatest blessing there is? When we receive Christ we have our sins, forgiven, His presence is with us, we have a purpose and a future home in heaven! That’s the blessing and favor of God that we draw upon in difficult times!

Darrell

www.Upwards.Church

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