Title: Wise Up
Text: Daniel 2:1-49
Truth: To have the wisdom to live in a chaotic and confusing world, we must grow in our
relationship with Christ.
Aim: To pursue and submit to Christ’s will in order to live wisely.
INTRODUCTION
During the week, when I have lunch at home, I often watch a prerecorded episode of The Rifleman or Rawhide. Occasionally I have tried to watch an episode in the evening, and my wife says, “Don’t you even think about watching that with me in the room.” Consequently, I do not watch it because she will not leave the room. I have asked. She mocks my taste in TV entertainment, and I admit that the programs are sophomoric compared to programming today. The themes are simple: good vs. evil or right vs. wrong. But I told Carol that the more I watch these old shows the more I really do enjoy them. Behind the simplistic story, and the amateur acting, are themes that reinforce good, wholesome beliefs and behaviors. The relationship that Lucas McCain has with his son Mark in The Rifleman must have been ahead of its time. They model an open, honest, caring relationship that is remarkable, and worthy of any parent, or child, to emulate.
I tend to think back to those days as simpler than today. Today, drugs are more rampant, pornography is no longer hidden, more mothers in the millennial generation are unmarried than married, and almost every sexual deviance is not just tolerated, but affirmed. With the advance of every new technology, we are told it will make our life easier, but sometimes it makes our life lonelier. It appears that this world is getting more chaotic and confusing. What is needed is the wisdom of God to make it successfully through life. Where do we find this wisdom?
I propose that Daniel 2 is telling us that to have the wisdom to live in a chaotic and confusing world, we must grow in our relationship with Christ. The major theme of Daniel is that, despite appearances, God is sovereign. This is found in every chapter. The dream, and its interpretation, is the backdrop to the inability of Babylon’s wise men to understand, and act rightly, in contrast to the insight and wise actions of Daniel and his friends. Where did Daniel obtain the wisdom to navigate this chaotic and confusing world? He acquired it from having a relationship with God.
Richard Bewes’s outline of the chapter helps us understand the story. I will use it as I read through the passage, and make some comments. Then, we will draw two lessons from this story that will help us find the wisdom we need.
I. THE DREAM THAT MADE NO SENSE (DAN. 2:1-13)
(1) 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 diviner-priests, mediums, sorcerers, and Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. When they came and stood before the king, (3) he said to them, "I have had a dream and am anxious to understand it."
(4) The Chaldeans spoke to the king (Aramaic begins here): "May the king live forever. Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation."
These men sought to understand actions of the gods through black magic. They looked at the livers of animals, or how a flock of birds flew, the stars, or an odd birth to determine the mind of the gods. They were not like the prophets that received revelation from the true God.
(5) The king replied to the Chaldeans, "My word is final: If you don't tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be made a garbage dump.
He is not exaggerating; what a horrible way to die! On top of that, your family does not just have its home bulldozed and later rebuilt on the same property. No, your property becomes a public latrine. It is total loss.
(6) But if you make the dream and its interpretation known to me, you'll receive gifts, a reward, and great honor from me. So make the dream and its interpretation known to me." (7) They answered a second time, "May the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will give the interpretation." (8) The king replied, "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."
He does not trust these men, and we do not know why. He is essentially saying, “If you talk to the gods to get an answer to my dream, then you ought to be able to learn from them the dream they gave me in the first place.”
(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 diviner-priest, 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." (12) Because of this, the king became violently angry and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. (13) The decree was issued that the wise men were to be executed, and they searched for Daniel and his friends, to execute them.
Now, that is what I would call a real brain-drain on a nation: the dream that made no sense.
II. THE SERVANT THAT TOOK NO CREDIT (DAN. 2:14-30)
(14) Then Daniel responded with tact and discretion to Arioch, the commander 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.
Daniel is on the hit list. Take a moment and put yourself in his shoes: You are faithfully doing your job. The king’s chief police officer shows up at the door and says, “I’m here to escort you to the electric chair. You’re to be executed before the day is done.” How would you respond? How do you think the other wise men responded? Daniel would no doubt be alarmed and fearful, but his wisdom is seen in his careful actions and his seeking to understand the situation. Then he takes a very practical step: he buys some time so he can talk to God. The Babylonian gods cannot tell the Babylonian wise men the king’s dream, but Daniel’s God knows everything. If God wants, He can tell Daniel the dream.
(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 heaven for mercy concerning this mystery, so Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the rest of Babylon's wise men. (19) The mystery was then revealed to Daniel in a vision at night, and Daniel praised the God of heaven
Daniel secludes himself in prayer, but also enlists the aid of his three friends. He is convinced that the answer can be found in prayer, rather than digging around in the entrails of some dead goat. The author uses an unusual phrase to refer to God, “the God of heaven.” The Babylonians were the premier nation of astrology. The stars were silent for their wise men, but the God that made the stars was about to speak.
Daniel receives an answer in a vision. To the Hebrews, visions were of a higher order than dreams. Dreams could be vague and deceptive, but in a vision, God spoke clearly. When Daniel got his answer, would you not have expected him to dash off to the king with the interpretation? Instead, he prays a word of thanksgiving and praise to God. We do not have time to look at the prayer, but Daniel highlights two aspects of God’s character that will be shown throughout this chapter and the book:
First, God is powerful. Babylon just thinks it has control over Daniel and Israel. The reason Nebuchadnezzar is king is because of God’s permission. Second, God is wise. Someone might say Daniel’s wisdom, illustrated in chapter one toward Ashpenaz, and in chapter two toward Arioch, is because of a clever and winsome personality. But you cannot ignore that it takes God’s wisdom to know a man’s dream without him telling you. Have you ever been around someone you thought could read your mind? It is spooky; I live with someone like that!
Daniel is taken to the king and, beginning in v. 26, this is the exchange that takes place:
(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, diviner-priest, or astrologer 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. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay in bed were these: (29) Your Majesty, while you were in your bed, thoughts came to your mind about what will happen in the future. The revealer of mysteries has let you know what will happen. (30) As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.”
What follows in vv. 31-43 is the telling and the interpretation of the dream.
III. THE KINGDOM THAT COULD NOT STAND (DAN. 2:31-43)
(31) "My king, as you were watching, a colossal statue appeared. That statue, tall and dazzling, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was terrifying. (32) The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its stomach and thighs were bronze, (33) its legs were iron, and its feet were partly iron and partly fired clay. (34) As you were watching, a stone broke off without a hand touching it, struck the statue on its feet of iron and fired clay, and crushed them. (35) Then the iron, the fired clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were shattered and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. (36) "This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. (37) Your Majesty, you are king of kings. The God of heaven has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and glory. (38) Wherever people live—or wild animals, or birds of the air—He has handed them over to you and made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold. (39) "After you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours, and then another, a third kingdom, of bronze, which will rule the whole earth. (40) A fourth kingdom will be as strong as iron; for iron crushes and shatters everything, and like iron that smashes, it will crush and smash all the others. (41) You saw the feet and toes, partly of a potter's fired clay and partly of iron—it will be a divided kingdom, though some of the strength of iron will be in it. You saw the iron mixed with clay, (42) and that the toes of the feet were part iron and part fired clay—part of the kingdom will be strong, and part will be brittle. (43) You saw the iron mixed with clay—the peoples will mix with one another but will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with fired clay.
Our idiom that people have feet of clay comes from this passage. It describes a point of weakness in an otherwise strong person.
My message is not about the prophetic element in this passage. My message is to show that God can give us His wisdom so we will know how to live in a chaotic and confusing world. God’s wisdom is greater than man’s wisdom; that is the point of this chapter. I am not denying that this has prophetic value, but that will have to be a message for another day. Of course, there is significant difference of opinion by conservative interpreters as to the meaning of the details of this prophecy. All agree that this is about the future, but who is it that knows the future? God, not man; He is sovereign. All agree that it refers to four kingdoms, but all four kingdoms do not last, and are reduced to nothingness. What lasts? The rock, carved out of a mountain, without human hands, obliterates this manmade image. Despite the present conditions, God is sovereign over the kingdoms of man. There is only one eternal kingdom: God’s kingdom. The evil we now experience is not the end of the story; God rules. He gives us wisdom to know how to live until that time.
IV. THE RULE THAT CANNOT END (DAN. 2:44-49)
(44) "In the days of those kings, the God of heaven 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. (45) You saw a stone break off from the mountain without a hand touching it, and it crushed the iron, bronze, fired clay, silver, and gold. The great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation certain." (46) Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell down, paid homage to Daniel, and gave orders to present an offering and incense to him. (47) The king said to Daniel, "Your God is indeed God of gods, Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery." (48) Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon. (49) At Daniel's request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king's court.
Nebuchadnezzar is overwhelmed. He falls on his face before Daniel, makes an offering, and burns incense. It reinforces the theme of the book: the most powerful pagan in the world lies on his face before an exiled Jew! Israel’s God is sovereign. It must have caused a chill of excitement to go through the heart of every Jew. The king is not worshiping Daniel; he praises the power behind Daniel. Daniel is honored not for what he has done, but what his God has done.
According to Daniel 2, only God’s wisdom can reveal the mysteries of life. Human wisdom will fail you. Daniel found the wisdom to live successfully in a chaotic and confusing world through his relationship with God. To have the wisdom to live in a chaotic and confusing world, we must grow in our relationship with Christ.
We live in a community that says, “The good life is found in knowledge, an advanced degree, and a high IQ; that is the ticket to success and happiness in life.” I am not one to discourage people from improving or enlarging their knowledge about the Bible, or their career, or the world. Your support was vital in me advancing my education. I am not anti-education. However, let us be clear: being smart does not guarantee being happy and successful in life. Some of the people with the worst lives are some of the smartest people you know. Have you ever experienced a doctor with a poor bedside manner? Ever had a boss that was brilliant in his job, but he could not keep employees working for him? Ever known someone with a sparkling personality but a failure at every long-term relationship?
Daniel Goleman disagrees with the idea that a person with a high IQ will have the world at his fingertips. He says it is no guarantee of happiness, prosperity, or prestige in life. He cites a study of college graduates with varying IQs, which showed no correlation between their IQ and their salary, productivity, or status, or their happiness with friendships, family, and romantic relationships. He concludes that, “At best, IQ contributes about 20 percent to the factors that determine life success, which leaves 80 percent to other forces.”
He hit a nerve. His book Emotional Intelligence spent many months on the New York Times best-sellers list. All he did was stumble across a biblical truth: Wisdom is a divinely given ability to have insight as to the best way to live life. He called it, “Emotional intelligence;” it is an ability that goes beyond the facts. He said it includes self-control, zeal, and persistence, and the ability to motivate oneself. It is persisting in the face of frustration. You can delay gratification or regulate your moods or deep distress from shutting down your ability to think. You can empathize. I think he is describing biblical wisdom, the ability to have the insight as to the best way to live life. How did Daniel obtain the wisdom to make the best decisions in a chaotic and confusing world? He discovered it in his relationship with God. I have time for just two lessons:
1. Pursue Christ.
Recently, when we studied Proverbs in Sunday school, we were introduced to two women. One was named Folly, and the other was named Wisdom. Both invited us into an intimate relationship. That is to say, God’s wisdom is not a lesson to be learned, but a relationship to be enjoyed. Keeping the rules simply reflects the love you have come to have for Christ. Daniel’s wisdom, in contrast to the Babylonian astrologers’, did not come from books on the interpretation of dreams; instead, it came from his conversation in prayer with the God of heaven himself.
Paul was one of the most educated men of his generation. But if you would have asked him the source of his wisdom, he would reply, “Jesus Christ.” In 1 Corinthians 2, he discusses the difference between true wisdom and worldly wisdom. He says, “Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, in order to know what has been freely given to us by God (12).” He concludes by saying, “But we have the mind of Christ.” For us to be wise, we must be united to Christ. To have the wisdom to live in a chaotic and confusing world, we must grow in our relationship with Christ. This is the lesson we gain from Daniel chapter 2.
The Washington Post described an experiment they called, “Pearls Before Breakfast: Can one of the nation’s greatest musicians cut through the fog of a D.C. rush hour?” Violin virtuoso Joshua Bell, one of the finest classical musicians in the world, was hired to perform several classical masterpieces at a Metro station during the morning rush hour. Three days prior to his debut at the Metro, Bell had filled Boston’s prestigious Symphony Hall. The average seat sold for $100. As he performed with the same fervor on his handcrafted 1713 Stradivari for nearly an hour at the Metro, he took in a total of $32 and change from the 27 people who noticed him. The other thousand people hurried by, unaware that they were three feet away from brilliance. There was never a crowd, not even for a second. A.W. Tozer wrote, “The tragedy is that we have trained our ears not to hear.”
In practical terms we converse with Christ through prayer, and Bible reading. You are no further away than your knees and the Word in your lap, from having the wisdom He gives to successfully navigate this chaotic and confusing world. You do not have to understand everything you read, but simply obey what you do understand. This is wisdom. Wisdom is found in pursuing Christ.
2. Humble yourself to God’s ways.
The story is told that heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali was flying on a commercial jet when it encountered turbulence. The pilot asked the passengers to fasten their seatbelts. Everyone obeyed except Ali. The flight attendant approached the champ and asked him to fasten his seatbelt. Ali audaciously declared, “Superman don’t need no seatbelt.” The flight attendant didn’t miss a beat in her reply: “Superman don’t need no airplane either!”
There is trouble ahead. You are going to be tempted to think you are invincible; that you can handle it; you are going to depend on your smarts, or cleverness, your youthfulness, or your experience. But what you need to do is to humble yourself and seek God. Open your eyes. See where life has gotten you and others when you chose to go your own way instead of God’s way. How foolish to depend on man’s wisdom when we cannot predict our life in the next hour; how much better to humbly follow the God of all-power and all-wisdom who holds the future.
Biblical wisdom produces a mindset of humility, a way of looking at life. Christian humility produces a self-forgetfulness because it thinks most about what pleases Christ. That is how we have the victory over pride: we pout less because Christ would rather we love, forgive, and be truthful; we are less demanding and kinder with our words, because we value others more than our self-centered wants. To have the wisdom to live in a chaotic and confusing world, we must grow in our relationship with Christ.
CONCLUSION
Recently, I saw church member, Aubrey Chapin, perform on stage. There was a live orchestra in the pit that played for the performance. She was great, and the orchestra was very good. Do you know why the performance was so successful? The orchestra stayed in relationship with the conductor, and did what he instructed, and the actors did the same with the director. It would have been a mess if the orchestra or cast members decided they wanted to do their own thing.
Friend, the God-centered life works. It rescues us from a life that does not. We live in a chaotic and confusing world. Where do you find the wisdom to make the choices that lead to a successful life? You find it in pursuing your relationship with Christ, and humbling yourself to His ways.
The NIV Application Commentary, Tremper Longman, p. 90-91.
Richard Bewes, All Souls Anglican Church, London England. Sermon on Daniel 2.
Longman
www.rzim.org, Jill Carattini, “The Good Eye.”
