Theme: GOD’S MAGNIFICENT WISDOM
Text: Daniel 2
Intro.
a. In our last message, we learned about personal responsibility. Though God will ultimately fulfill His purposes and plans despite or even through our shortcomings, He still holds us accountable of our decisions and actions. The truth that God is in sovereign control of every event does not excuse us from being responsible of our wrongdoing.
b. With this conviction of personal responsibility, Daniel made up his mind not to defile himself with the king’s food. And by God’s intervention, he was able to keep himself from defilement and remained pure in the sight of God. His determination to live in purity resulted him to experience God’s unlimited blessings.
c. This morning we shall study our next passage, Daniel chapter 2. This chapter is all about the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Well, this story gives us many spiritual insights to learn this morning. But we shall focus our exploration on the magnificent wisdom of God.
T.S. Our passage is divided into three divisions.
A. THE TROUBLE WITH NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S DREAM (v.1-11).
1. Nebuchadnezzar did not understand the dream. It was obvious of his perturbed disposition. He was extremely troubled about it. His wisdom and his brilliance were of no help. The vision in a dream from God was beyond his mind to understand. Nebuchadnezzar was genius in everything. He was able to overpower the world by his military brilliance. He made Babylon the world power of his time. He created the famous hanging garden. But his carnal mind was not able to comprehend the spiritual meaning and the message of his dream.
APPLICATION:
Paul said in 1 Cor. 2: 14 –“The carnal man cannot understand the things of God for he is spiritually discerned.” The trouble of one’s inability to understand God’s message lies in the carnality of his mind. Therefore if you have trouble listening and understanding the Word of God, you should be alarmed and should make and evaluation of your spiritual relationship with the Lord.
2. All the wise men in Babylon were in trouble to know the dream. Nebuchadnezzar, out of his bewilderment, summoned all the wise men and magicians in his kingdom and asked them his dream and its interpretation without telling them what it was he had dreamed of. We don’t know if he truly forgot his dream or out of his arrogance or confused mind tested them all. “Tell me or you will all die” is his final word. They were trapped in helpless condition. “No one could tell the king of his dream but god,” they said.
APPLICATION:
These men were right of their assessment. The matter is beyond the intellectual capacity of any human being and it could only be known by divine revelation. But we can see that none of them appealed to the king that he’d inquire his god of the matter. Instead we can sense that all of them were bewildered. They did not know what to do. Now, their true identity was exposed. Some of them are spiritual advisers of the king and are trusted to give spiritual guidance, but what they had was a mere cloak of piousness, a hoax piety. The real trouble of these men is this: the All-knowing God was not in their heart.
We can see many people to have this same plight, even in our churches. They were in trouble of many uncertainties, confusions, chaos, and disillusionment because God was not in their heart. Their piety is only an outward cloak, but there is emptiness within their heart. We have a lot of problems and troubles in our world because men ignored God. Thank God, His word says, “ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty” –there is peace, joy, assurance and security in His presence.
B. THE REVELATION OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S DREAM (v.12-18).
1. The crisis. The king had made a decree to execute all the wise men in his kingdom because they were not able to reveal his dream and its interpretation. Daniel’s and his three friends’ lives were in crisis; they were also in danger of the execution. Well anyway, this crisis resulted to Daniel’s promotion and prominence in the kingdom.
APPLICATION:
This is the advantage of God’s people. They gain more profits in crisis. They get more blessings in difficulties. They grow their spiritual muscle more in hard times. When crisis comes to your life, prepare yourself for a promotion of your spiritual experience with God.
2. The reaction. We can find three things in Daniel’s reaction to their crisis. I think these are very important that we should emulate them.
a. Daniel faced the crisis calmly (v. 13-15). He did not panic. He did not arm himself or organized a militant band to fight those who come to execute them. Instead he inquired, he listened and replied with discretion.
APPLICATION:
We should remember that most problems are solved by listening and giving answer with discretion. Unmindful reaction will do more damage especially when done in radical way.
b. He did not act presumptuously or even arrogantly. He asked for some time. We don’t know how long was the period given, but I believe, Daniel used it to intensely seek the mind of God. He did not rely on his own wisdom, he sought God’s guidance.
APPLICATION:
I think we should do likewise. We should not be presumptuous or act arrogantly, thinking that we know everything and can do it all by ourselves. We should always seek the guidance of God to understand what God has in mind in every incident that happen to and around us.
c. He informed his friends and requested them to help him in prayer. Daniel was aware that he needed the help and the prayer of his trusted friends.
APPLICATION:
Godly friends are very important in our Christian walk. We need them for fellowship, we need their advises, their encouragement, and their prayers.
3. The answer. God did reveal the mystery to Daniel in a night vision (v. 19). God had not failed their request.
APPLICATION:
One of the key factors that unraveled the crisis was the concerted prayer of Daniel and his friends. There is indeed great power of concerted prayer. This is the advantage of prayer-partnership. The “Prayer meeting” of God’s people will always result to great and marvelous things. As churches come together in prayer, God will powerfully works wonders.
C. THE INTERPRETATION OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S DREAM (v.24-45).
1. The statue that Nebu saw in his dream symbolized the four great kingdoms. The first was Babylon, second Medo-Persia, third Greece, and fourth Rome. These will arise after the other as world power. History tells us that this prophetic vision just happened exactly.
APPLICATION:
It is God who determines the history of kingdoms and nations! Before things or events happen, they are already in the mind of God. When He says a thing, it will surely happen. The word of God is not just true; it’s exact!
2. A stone was cut out without hands and struck the statue and crushed it. This is the kingdom that God Himself will establish. It is greater, more powerful and shall prevail over all the kingdoms of this world. It will never be destroyed and will endure forever.
APPLICATION:
Ultimately, God, in His own time, shall put all the kingdoms of this world to an end. With them shall be destroyed all their boastings, their pride, their arrogance and their vain conceitedness. And God shall reign forever in righteousness.
What a wonderful future awaiting us.
CONCLUSION:
We have an All-wise, All-powerful God. He holds everything in the hollow of His hand. He determines every event that happens to and around us. Our life is very secure in His mighty hand. He never suffers His people to be moved.
