“A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is true.” – Daniel 2:45
As we continue in Daniel chapter 2, Daniel recaps the king’s dream, where he saw an image made of bronze, iron, gold, and clay, revealing that Babylon would eventually be overtaken by a succession of other kingdoms. Babylon, represented by a gold head, was the gold headquarters of the world because they’d stolen God’s gold from the Temple when they conquered Israel. Next, the Medo-Persian Empire would one day overtake Babylon, represented by two silver arms or two kingdoms coming together as one kingdom. The Greek Empire would overthrow the Medo-Persians, represented by bronze, which is what Alexander the Great’s soldiers’ battle gear was made of, leading to his name, the King of Bronze. Finally, the Roman Empire would come in. It was strong like iron but was mixed with clay because it would be a divided kingdom so large that it had disparate languages, nationalities, ethnicities, and people groups. And the stone that “was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and…broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold” (2:45) is Jesus Himself!
This can all get a little complicated but if you remember anything, remember this: It was all leading to Jesus. The Roman Empire called for a census and compelled and caused Jesus’ parents to leave their hometown of Nazareth and go to Bethlehem, where He was born. It was the Roman government that brought charges against Jesus, arrested Him, and executed Him through crucifixion before He was buried and rose from death. The Roman government brought into existence a road system so that the news of Jesus’ resurrection could travel to the nations of the earth. We’re all here today as Christians because Jesus lived, died, and rose during the rule of the Roman Empire.
Daniel finishes the interpretation with, “The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure” (2:45). He’s fearless. Do you think he’s going to edit the Word of God for Nebuchadnezzar even though he’s the king of the most powerful nation on earth at the time? Do you think Nebuchadnezzar liked this interpretation? No, but it’s the truth. Then the king does a shocking thing: he falls on his face and gives Daniel a promotion. He wants to worship Daniel. He wants everyone to accept Daniel into their hearts. He wants kids to wear a bracelet that says, “What Would Daniel Do?” This could’ve been a real opportunity for Daniel to live as a god rather than living for God, but he doesn’t allow himself to be worshiped. He continues to bring glory back to God. Nebuchadnezzar puts him at the top of the org chart, and now he’s running the University of Babylon and asking for his friends to be appointed to high government positions as well.
We can take several lessons from the way Daniel handles this situation:
- Be a good citizen until you can no longer be a good Christian. Daniel ends up faithfully serving the Babylonian government until the point where he’d have to become more Babylonian and less believer.
- Your faith is to be public, not just private. Daniel is very public with his faith; he prays, praises, and prophesies publicly.
- We should not seek signs and wonders but should pursue God and not be surprised if signs and wonders follow us. Supernatural things happen as we pursue our King, the Lord Jesus Christ.
- God knows, rules, and reigns over the future, and it’s fixed and unchangeable. It will ultimately culminate with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. This will give us clarity, comfort, and courage in the midst of our lives in Babylon. For God, everything is the History Channel, and nothing is the nightly news. We know what happens in the end, so we don’t need to freak out in the present.
Come back tomorrow as we take a look at one of the most well-known stories in the Bible.
Which of the above four lessons can you relate to most right now?
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