DANIEL PROCLAIMS GOD TO THE KING

Daniel 2:1-49

Key Verse 2:37

“You, O king are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory.”

In this morning’s passage, we see how God uses men of faith to declare his sovereign purpose in world history. Daniel was a prisoner of war in Babylon. His country had been devastated and his people had been humiliated and scattered. The pagan Babylonian’s were ruling the known world. What could Daniel do to influence the world? However, we saw in chapter one how Daniel and his three friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah had made a resolution not to defile themselves with the royal food and wine. God blessed that decision of faith and elevated them to enter the king’s service. This means that God had a plan to use them in a great way. It became an opportunity for God to use them. When the king had a dream that no one could tell him and interpret, Daniel took and his three friends prayed for God’s mercy. With the help of God, the king’s dream was interpreted. In this way, Daniel proclaimed that the God of heaven, not king Nebuchadnezzar, was ruling nations and all history. Through this message, may God help us to accept that he is the one who is the ruler of all nations and that his coming kingdom is the true and everlasting kingdom. May God give us a shepherd heart for others so we can proclaim this news to others.

Part one. Nebuchadnezzar has a dream. (1-30)

Let’s read verses 1-3, “In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, he said to them, ‘I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.’”

King Nebuchadnezzar was the king of the Babylonian Empire which was the super power of the world. He should feel secure and at ease knowing his kingdom was so extensive and so powerful and that he was the ruler of it all. Yet now we see he couldn’t sleep one night. It was because he had a bad dream that he could not understand. When he had this bad dream, his mind was troubled. In the middle of the night he got up and walked around and cried out, “I’ve had a bad dream, Aaaghh!” Everyone was sleeping soundly and snoring peacefully, but he couldn’t because of his bad dream. So he woke all the astrologers and wise men up and they all came to him in their pajamas. He wanted them to tell him what the dream was and to interpret it.

What answer did the astrologers give to Nebuchadnezzar? Let’s read verse 4, “Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, ‘O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.’” This reply was not favorable to the king. He wanted an immediate response. He didn’t want to be taken advantage of. What did he tell them? Let’s read verses 5-6, “The king replied to the astrologers, ‘This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.’”

This was an incredible ultimatum. It shows how troubled in his heart the king was to find out the meaning of his dream. The astrologers began to feel troubled, too. They insisted that the king tell them the dream so that they could interpret it for him. Look at verse 7, “Once more they replied, ‘Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it.’”

The king grew even more suspicious about them. Were they really wise men or not? In the past they always gave him many flattering interpretations when he told them his dreams. They said, “You will conquer more kingdoms! You will become even richer!” and they said, “We see a woman coming into your life.” Now the king became suspicious and troubled. Were they trying to plot something against him? Let’s read verses 8-9, “Then the king answered, ‘I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me the dream, there is just one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping that the situation will change. So then tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me.’” When the astrologers heard this, they panicked and they began to get hot and sweaty. In verses 10-11, they complained and said that what the king was asking was too difficult for them to do. There is no one who could do such a thing. Do you know anyone who can tell someone what they dreamed without being told what it was? If I asked you what I dreamed last night could you tell me?

At this time, the king was furious with rage. He was so angry that these men could do nothing to help him, that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. This affected Daniel and his friends. Let’s read verse 13, “So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends and put them to death.” What did Daniel do in this time of crisis? Remember that this is the second crisis he had encountered. The first crisis was in chapter one when he was assigned to eat the royal food and wine. This was involving his faith in God and keeping his identity as a Jew. That time, he made a resolution of faith not to defile himself. When he did, God honored him and blessed him. Now another crisis rose up. This one was more serious because it involved his life, his friends lives and all of the wise men of Babylon. It seems as our faith grows, the crisis’ that lay ahead get more challenging.

What did Daniel and his friends do in this time of terrible crisis? Did he and his friends go and get a few six-packs of beer and get themselves drunk, thinking that they were going to die? No, they didn’t. Daniel and his friends took this problem together to God in prayer. Let’s read verses 17-18, “Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.”

Daniel had built a prayer vessel with his three friends. They had come to be good friends while in exile together. Good friends know each other’s prayer topics and needs. They say to each other, “Will you please pray for me…” They come together and pray even outside formal meetings like fellowship meetings and Sunday Worship Service. Sometimes in the time of crisis we can argue and get mad at each other. But this is not the way. We must come together and agree with each other in prayer.

Sometimes we can think that prayer with others is a burden. But it isn’t when we believe that Jesus hears our prayers and rewards us when we earnestly seek him. Especially it is better to share your prayer topics and the burdens of your heart you’re your fellow believers than to keep them bottled up inside you. Many times I kept my burdens to myself and did not ask prayer support. I thought I was strong enough and that my prayers were enough for God. When I prayed with others I made believe I was listening as I closed my eyes, but in reality I wasn’t and was even sometimes I fell into sleep. I didn’t care too much about praying with others.

But later when I experienced different trials living in Virginia I experienced it is better to let my coworkers know my personal prayer topics and burdens because I reached my human limitation. Especially, I began to enjoy praying with Missionary Abraham Lee and then later with David Chung as my coworkers at GMU. I realize the time of crisis is God’s way to help us to make a vessel of prayer and to rely on him in prayer. All men are weak and need prayer. Though Daniel was a determined man of faith and very resolute to keep his decision, as we saw in chapter one, he was now helpless and needed support and asked prayer support. He did not panic. He did not scream and yell. He urged prayer for God’s mercy from others. Then what happened when they all got together and prayed?

Let’s read verse 19, “During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven.” God answered their prayer almost that night. How quickly it was answered!! When God answered their prayer, Daniel’s first reaction was to praise and thank God. How relieved Daniel must have felt to know the king’s dream and its interpretation!!

Especially, through his prayers, Daniel began to know just who his God is. This was even greater reason for Daniel to thank and praise God. Let’s read verses 20-21, “and said, ‘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

Through his prayer, God opened Daniel’s spiritual eyes to see that God, not mortal and godless men like King Nebuchadnezzar are ruling the world. Look at the rest of Daniel’s thanksgiving to God. Let’s read verses 22-23, “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.’”

After Daniel praised and thanked God, he went to Arioch and told him not to execute the wise men of Babylon. He then requested to go to the king so that he could interpret the king’s dream. When Daniel came before the king, how did he act? Let’s read verses 26-28, “The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), ‘Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?’ Daniel replied, ‘No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you lay on your bed are these:’”

Daniel did not point to himself and say that he could do it. He only mentioned the God of heaven. His desire was to proclaim the God of heaven to the king. Though Daniel was an exile and prisoner of war in Babylon, he had a shepherd heart for this godless and very proud king. Daniel was not just concerned about himself. He was not just concerned about his survival. He had a true shepherd heart and a humble heart. He wanted the king to know God and have salvation. Now let us find out about the interpretation of the dream.

Part 2. The interpretation of the dream (31-49)

Let’s read the content of the king’s dream. Let’s read verses 31-35, “You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue---an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms o silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.”

This is a strange dream. However, dreams tend to be strange. The point here is that this dream had a message in it. It had a message that God wanted to tell king Nebuchadnezzar about the kingdoms of this world and the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

According to the interpretation in verses 38-45, there are four kingdoms. The gold head represents Babylon, the chest and arms of silver represents the Mede-Persian Empire, the belly and thighs of bronze are the Greek Empire and finally the legs of iron and feet of partly baked clay and iron is the Roman Empire.

Each kingdom had its glory. Each kingdom had its decline. This is the picture of the history of the world. It is a series of kingdom’s rising and falling. But this is not how human history will always be. In the dream an incredible and amazing thing happened to the statue. A rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It came and struck the statue on its feet and knocked it down and smashed it. It kind of looked like a bowling ball going in and smashing down all the bowling pins. Then an incredible thing happened. All the broken pieces of the statue became like chaff. The wind came and swept them away without leaving even a trace. Can you visualize this? A mighty wind coming and sweeping away any evidence of this statue. The rock then grew and became a huge mountain that filled the whole earth. What an incredible picture! What an incredible dream for a godless and pagan king like Nebuchadnezzar!!

Now let us read verse 37 and see what Daniel told the king. “You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory.” In this word, Daniel is teaching the king who God is. Who is God? God is the one who gave King Neb his power and might. King Neb was so proud and arrogant. He thought he did it all with his hard work, sweat and with his military skill and brains. But he wouldn’t be king if it weren’t for God’s desire. When Daniel mentioned “the God of heaven” (We see this many times in this passage), Daniel was saying, “King, you are just a mortal and fallen man. You are dust. There is a God in heaven and he is the one who gave you all of this.”

And just as God brought King Neb to power, he would also bring him down to the ground, he and his mighty Babylonian Empire would one day be nothing but the dust of the ground. Where is the Babylonian Empire today? What happened to it? It fell and became the dust of the ground. Where is the might, glory and pomp of the Roman Empire today? At one time it ruled from Africa and all of Europe even up to England? Where is it? It is gone, swept away by God. All that remains are some ruins that have become tourist attractions and spaghetti and pizza. The Kingdoms of the world look strong and invincible. The rulers of the world look powerful and mighty. They look like the awesome statue in King Neb dream. But before the God of heaven, they are nothing and will become the dust of the ground one day.

Isaiah 40:23-24 says, “He (God) brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of the world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.” In our times we saw the growth and decline of the Soviet Union. Only twenty years ago the Soviet Union was the largest and perhaps the strongest nation. It ruled many nations with its communist doctrine. It had military might and power. However, within the last ten years we saw the complete collapse of the Soviet Union. Now its is no more. Only Russia is what is left of the former Soviet Union. Russia is now a weak nation full of many problems. Therefore, we should not be fooled by what looks powerful and invincible to us; that is the glory of men.

But what about the rock that struck the statue? What about the mountain that filled the whole earth? What does that mean? Let’s read verse 44, “In the time of those kings, 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.” This rock is Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:6-7 says, “For in Scripture it says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame. Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone.”

Jesus was born in a manger in the time of the Roman Empire’s zenith. He looked small and helpless. But he came to preach and teach the good news of the kingdom of God. He came to plant this hope of God in men. But his people did not accept the message. They condemned him to death and had him crucified. However, God raised him from the dead to make him the cornerstone of his salvation work. From that time on, the kingdom of God is growing in the hearts of those who believe in him and trust in him. Those who believe in him no longer live in shame and guilt. They live with God’s hope and have God’s peace. This is what the kingdom’s of the world can not give us. However, those who do not believe and reject Jesus will crushed and judged.

What about the mountain? This is the kingdom of God. It will never perish or be destroyed. It doesn’t need any missiles or nuclear weapons to protect it because God is the owner and ruler. One day the kingdom of God will be the only kingdom and it will be forever. Here we see that Daniel taught King Neb about the Son of God and the eternal kingdom of God. He taught him that God’s kingdom is one that is the final kingdom and it will last forever. What a great revelation it was!! Daniel no longer felt like a helpless exile and a minority. He knew now that God was the one who gave the king the dream and that this dream was not just for the king but for him to know who God is.

Living in America as we do we often find ourselves feeling very comfortable. We enjoy its many blessings of freedom and privileges as its citizens. We have a strong military and economy. However, we are only blessed because of our forefathers of this country, a minority, that lived by faith in God. We see “In God we trust” on our money. Yet we like to worship money, material things and pleasure. When we review the events like 9-11 that happened this past year and all the other conflicts in the world we begin to see that America is losing its sense of invincibility and security.

We begin to realize that America does not rule the world. From this passage we learn that the God of heaven is the ruler of the world. We learn that God can use us like Daniel if we know who he is and how blessed we are to live by faith. Two years ago at the beginning of the year of 2000, each of us were asked to have a vision for us for the next ten years. We each wrote prayer topics and what we thought God’s vision was for us for the next ten years. We were all amazed at Jay Jagun’s testimony. Though she was only 16 years old at the time, she had methodically planned each of the next ten years. She saw God’s blessing on her with faith. She could have this positive plan because she wants to know Jesus and live for the glory of God. David Park, Jr. is serving the Bible Center and growing in faith. He is learning Jesus’ humility in serving others and even cleaning the bathrooms. He has vision to be a great man of God, even greater than his father. What should we then do in this selfish and cold world? We must have God’s vision and have his future hope. Our hopes and desires should not just be in food, clothes, cars and pleasure. It should be to be servants of God and to be great servants of God. This is why we must keep our faith and see God and know who God is like Daniel found out.

How did King Nebuchadnezzar respond to Daniel’s trustworthy interpretation? Look at verses 46-47.He fell prostrate to the ground before Daniel. He confessed that the God of Daniel is the God of gods and revealer of mysteries. After this, according to verses 48-49, the king gave Daniel a high position. He made him a ruler and listened to Daniel and had his three friends take a high position as well. We can learn here that God honors those who honor him. God also exalts the humble who seek to serve and glorify his name. God gave them all greater jobs then ever before! May God open your spiritual eyes to personally know who God is and that the God of heaven rules and that his kingdom is forever.