The Power of Yielded Gifted People Text: Daniel 2:31-49
31 “You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. 32 This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. 36 “This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. 37 You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; 38 and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold. 39 But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. 41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. 43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”
Daniel and His Friends Promoted
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him. 47 The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” 48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
Daniel’s life and ministry bridge the entire 70 year period of Babylonian captivity. Think about the text we just read. Daniel tells the king his dreams and its interpretation! Daniel proves that individuals can live life anointed and stay filled with wisdom even when people are out of their comfort zone. Daniel was deported to Babylon at the age of 16, and handpicked for government service; Daniel becomes God’s prophetic mouthpiece to the gentile and Jewish world declaring God’s present and eternal purpose. 9 of the 12 chapters in his book revolve around dreams!
Before we look farther inside these verses; I believe we need to be reminded of Daniel’s steadfast love and devotion unto God.
Listen unto Daniel 1: 8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
Proverbs 23:29-35 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? 30 Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine. 31 Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly; 32 At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper. 33 Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things. 34 Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying:” They have struck me, but I was not hurt; They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?"
The anointing on your life can only increase and stay as God sees character. Also, character is always tied into having the fruit of the Spirit!
Daniel 1: 19-20 Then the king interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they served before the king. 20 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm.
In chapter 2 the king called all his magicians, astrologers, sorcerers and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dream! (These men try to talk the king into telling his dream and then they would give the king the interpretation.) The king refuses, and tells them if they can’t they will be executed!
In Chapter 2 of vs. 14-23 Daniel ask for time and then he seeks God and worships Him. Also, Daniel tells God how great and wise he is!
Daniel 2: 19-23 19 Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. 21 And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding. 22 He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him. 23 “ I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”
What actually happens as Daniel gets ready to reveal the kings dream? God is being exalted and testified about!(Daniel also pleads for the king not to execute those pagan men!)
Is anyone in here right now willing to make a prediction about the next 12 months?
In Daniel 2:1-Why was Nebuchadnezzar so troubled about his dream? Maybe because he didn’t understand it, but he knew that it was very important!
Daniel tells the king the dream. The head is gold. The chest and arms silver. The belly and thighs are bronze. The legs iron and clay. Then all these minerals were crushed together!
Then Daniel tells the king that all those minerals become like chaff on the summer threshing floor, and the wind carried it all away!
Then the stone that struck the image became a great mountain!
Now Daniel tells the King the interpretation;Daniel tells the king that he is the head! (Gold) Vs. 36-38
Then Daniel tells the king that there will be a second and a third kingdom after his.
The fourth kingdom shall be made of iron and clay and these won’t mix! Vs. 42 say’s it will be partly strong and partly fragile!
Vs. 44-45 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”
In your opinion, was this prophecy fulfilled when Jesus established the church or is it referring to the still future kingdom?
Look at the king’s response to Daniel’s interpretation. Vs. 46-49 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him. 47 The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” 48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
How does this portrait of God in this chapter encourage you to trust Him with your life and circumstances? We ought to take some time to thank God that He’s in control of the present and the future!
