Daniel: The First Dream (5)
Text: Daniel 2:31-49
If you will, please take your Bibles and open them up to Daniel chapter 2.
Now if you missed last Sunday, I’ll give you a quick re-cap as you’re turning there, but I urge you to go back and watch the sermon on YouTube, and also, to read through this chapter, because if you miss, you might be out of the loop. Especially as we get deeper into this book.
So, what we’ve seen so far was that King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream… or more likely a series of dreams… or reoccurring dreams. And he was greatly troubled by them. So much so that he couldn’t even sleep at night. And so, he was looking for answers, and he called all his magicians and sorcerers and wise men and asked them to tell him not only the interpretation of the dream, but to tell him what the dream was. He was testing them.
And of course, they couldn’t.
The world has no solutions for the REAL problems and issues facing humanity.
And so Nebuchadnezzar says, “Ok, I’m going to have all of you killed. What use are you to me anyway?”
But Daniel hears about this, and makes it known that “there is a God in heaven” who can do what the king asks, and he goes to his friends and asks them to pray.
So, we’re in Daniel 2 and we’re going to be looking at verses 31 – 49 this morning… let’s go ahead and read through that (READ TEXT).
So, right there in verse 31, is the answer as to why the king couldn’t sleep. The dream was of an image and the image was mighty, of exceeding brightness, and its appearance was frightening.
This thing was scary looking. I don’t know, maybe it grew out of the ground and stood over Nebuchadnezzar… or maybe it was just there… this giant, looming, statue. Whatever it was, it was unnerving.
And Daniel describes it. Head of gold, chest and arms of silver. It’s torso, down to the thighs are made of bronze, and then the legs and feet are made of iron and clay… and I love what else Daniel says right there in verse 31… “You saw, O King…”.
In other words, in all of this, you, King Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful king alive at the time, are just a spectator. With all of your might and power, and wealth, and all your armies and influence… you’re not the one controlling history. All you can do – at best – is be a spectator. You can watch it unfold.
God has a way of humbling the proud.
Church, God is sovereign! He is sovereign over history and the affairs of man – whether it’s the most powerful rulers, or the homeless guy on the street. God can turn fortunes on a dime if He so chooses. He raises up kings and empires and He brings them down.
Now that’s not to say that God is causing people to sin, and act wickedly. God’s not causing people to steal, or hurt one another. He’s not behind the evil that men do. But at the same time, He permits it. And that might mess with some of you.
It’s an issue that you have to deal with as you study theology. Historically it’s been called “The problem of evil.”
So here’s the thing. God does not cause evil, He is not the Agent of it, or the Cause of it… but He does permit it, and He permits it in order to bring about good from it, and in order to accomplish His sovereign and good will.
Think about it. The most evil act ever committed in all of human history was the murder of Jesus on the cross. God permitted that… and even ordain that… He didn’t cause the evil in the men’s hearts who were responsible… but He used it to bring about the greatest good ever done in all of human history – the salvation of lost sinners. The reconciliation of lost sinners back to Himself.
What men intended for evil… and DID as evil… God worked for good.
We don’t always understand it, but we trust that God is sovereign, and that He is good. That’s what faith is all about. Now if you want to get a much more in-depth teaching on that, come to evening Bible study, and we can go over it in depth… But we’ve got to move on.
So… Daniel describes the dream, and I hope you noticed that the metals from head to toes, decreases in value. And I think that’s important here. Yeah, when we get to the Roman Empire – it’s strong. Its military might was unequaled… But it didn’t have the brilliance of Babylon. Mankind is not evolving, it’s devolving.
And that’s the next thing Daniel does. He explains what this statue represents. Four Empires. Four World Powers. And he tells us that the first one is the Babylonian. He says, “Nebuchadnezzar, you are the head of gold.”
So there’s your starting point… the question is – do you know your history?
Who came after Babylon? The Medo-Persian Empire… That was followed by Alexander the Great and the Greek/Macedonian Empire. And then finally Rome.
And then it gets really cool… Verse 34, “A stone, was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.”
So this stone is not one of these world empires. This stone is heavenly. It’s from God.
When you look at human history from the heavenly perspective, God is not impressed with the might and power of Babylon, or Persia, or Greece, or Rome.
Or England… or China… or Russia… or America…
God is more concerned with the moral and spiritual state of a nation.
Man looks on the outward appearance, God looks on the heart.
And Dainel says… look at verses 44 & 45, “And in the days of those kings (those kings of the empire that is iron and clay – in other words, in the days of the Roman Empire), the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break into pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold…”
Daniel is telling Nebuchadnezzar about God’s promise to David here.
Some of you are looking at me like, “Say what Pastor Ken?”
Yeah… 2 Samuel 7:12-13 God says to David, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish His kingdom. He shall build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever.” That’s not talking about Solomon…
Daniel is telling Nebuchadnezzar about Jesus.
Catch this – God gave a pagan king a dream about the exact same things the prophets of the Old Testament were foretelling. That a “Son of David” would come, and rule and reign forever. Of His kingdom there would be no end. And that kingdom would grow… like the stone in the dream, and become a great mountain and fill the whole earth.
Turn with me to Matthew 4 real quick. Matthew 4:17 (READ), now jump down a little bit and look at verse 23 (READ Matthew 4:23). That’s Jesus saying, “I’ve brought to you the kingdom that Daniel was talking about. I’m the stone, not cut from human hands.”
Daniel says, all these great empires… they’ll be crushed. They will be blown away like chaff in the wind. That actually ties in with Psalm 1:4, “The wicked are like chaff that the wind drives away.”
In verse 44, Daniel says the Stone will break the nations into pieces… That’s Psalm 2:9.
Church, do you remember last Sunday when I said to you, “When God gives dreams, visions, and prophecies, they never contradict His Word”? This is a perfect example of what I meant.
Now the text goes on… Nebuchadnezzar falls on his face and pays homage to Daniel. He even promotes him.
See, you don’t have to compromise to get that promotion. You don’t have to compromise to get moved up. The devil wants you to compromise… and you might even get that promotion if you do, but then he’s going to condemn you and sink his hooks in… and it will be easier to compromise the next time, and the time after that, and before long you’ve lost your saltiness.
This time Daniel gets promoted, next time he gets thrown into a den full of hungry lions. The point is – God can promote, God can move you up. God can bless you, but even if He chooses not to, you remain faithful. Even if that advancement doesn’t come that’s perfectly fine, because our reward isn’t in this world. It’s an eternal reward waiting for us in glory!
I love what the writer of Hebrews said about Moses… Hebrews 11:24-26 if you want to turn there. He says, “By faith, Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin (NOW CATCH THIS)… He considered the reproach OF CHRIST greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.”
On the road to Emmaus, after the resurrection, Jesus tells some disciples about Himself… and He begins by turning to the story of Moses.
It’s all about Jesus!
So there’s this kingdom and it has no end… and if Jesus is your Lord and Savior, you’re a part of it. And Babylon may not be throwing you to lions just yet, but it is enticing you. It’s saying… that kingdom and its rewards are just myths and fables, but look what you can get here and now. Look at what we offer you. Something tangible… Something you can enjoy right here and now. But understand, that the world, and all of its kingdoms, and all that it offers, and promises… all of it, is going to be blown away like chaff in the wind.
The Kingdom of God will prevail and ultimately triumph.
So, whatever you do, work heartily, as unto the Lord, and not for men. Knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let’s Pray!
