Heavenly Living in Hostage Times (6)

Daniel 2:24-45

Daniel 2:24–45 NKJV

24 Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.” 25 Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king, and said thus to him, “I have found a man of the captives of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.” 26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?” 27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. 28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these: 29 As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be. 30 But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart. 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.”

Prayer

Message

Our last time together you remember that Daniel asked time of the king to interpret the dream. He went to his three friends and they prayed to the Lord for answers. Daniel prayed a beautiful prayer to the Lord that teaches us much about God in his prayers.

We come tonight when Daniel went to Arioch (the one who Nebuchadnezzar appointed to kill all the wise men) and shared that he would interpret the King’s dream.

The Constructive Manner of Daniel’s Dialogue

“do not destroy the wise men.” The astrologers, the magicians, the Chaldeans stood for everything opposite of Daniel and his mission, yet Daniel found no profit in attempting to destroy those that against the things of God. Arioch even has an agenda and took credit that he “found” Daniel rather than Daniel finding him.

Daniel 2:26 “26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?””

Daniel 2:27 “27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king.”

Notice that Daniel had a constructive nature further in that he confirmed what the wise men had told Nebuchadnezzar. No man of flesh except the gods can provide the answer you want.

Daniel teaches us a great deal about winning friends and influencing people. We will not be effective in reaching the lost if we are real opinionated about their lifestyles, we are condescending or critical. Nothing came across combative or destructive in nature.

Daniel in verse 27 confirmed what the wise man stated in

Daniel 2:10–11 “10 The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. 11 It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.””

May I ask you a question tonight. How many matters do you and I take ownership of everyday and we fret and we worry over that really is a matter for the Lord?

The Christ Merit in Daniel’s Dream Interpretation

Daniel 2:28 “28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these:”

Remember that Arioch is in this rat race world of high achievers and yet, Daniel gives credit where credit is due.

Daniel 2:28 “28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these:”

At this juncture in this text we learn a great deal about life, the importance of life, certain realities about life that plagues people if their lives are not ground in proper sequence.

This story is not primarily about young Jewish boys that are submissive to the will of God. Our time is not about a Pagan king that finds himself as the world leader. Our time tonight is gaining a greater perspective of God and the world He controls that we are to fit into His world.

Tonight, Nebuchadnezzar discovers that he is just a squirrel in God’s world. And we are all living life under the providential hand of God ruling our lives.

1. In verse 28 we are reminded of the fact that God’s providential hand rules the universe.

2. The nature of people. Nebuchadnezzar was the world power only started the beginning of his second year in leadership.

Ill. King of the Hill-5 or 6 coming up the mountain at the top. Only one on top to defend.

Isn’t it interesting that the man who was on the top of the world was worried about his destiny?

Dearly beloved, we should all be worried about our destiny in the sense of understanding who has our destiny in His hands.

It is a true fact that those that have more to worry about related to their wealth, their position, their place in life will worry more than those that have less.

We learned from the beginning of chapter 2 that Nebuchadnezzar had some sleepless nights over this matter.

Everything that Daniel shares is respectful, mannerly or polite and he gives credit to the God Yahweh for the answers. If you ever come to a time that you are attempting to win someone over to Jesus and you use apologetics, always remember, its not what we say, but how we say it. In the midst of sharing God’s truth, we must share in love. Daniel showed respect for the king. He showed respect for his position, for what he accomplished, he respected the office.

Do you realize that everyone we interact with has an office? They are God’s creation and that is enough to show respect.

The Revelation of God in Daniel’s Delivery

Daniel 2:31 “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.”

Notice the positive nature of Daniel as he shares with Nebuchadnezzar. he is going to reveal that this 90 foot statue you saw in your dreams was full of splendor and awesome.

King Nebuchadnezzar, you have reason to be concerned. Your life to this point has been great. What a reign you have had, but let me share with you what is coming. Daniel is bragging at this point on the king at what he supposedly has accomplished to this point. The reality is that in moments Daniel is going to give credit to who really deserves the credit of Nebuchadnezzar’s accomplishments.

Ill. Nick Saban gets the credit for his ability as a coach. Guess who keeps his feet on the ground? Mrs. Terry.

Daniel 2:32 “32 This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze,”

And Daniel describes vividly the scene of this state that was towering in his sleep.

And as you know, the four metals from the head down to the feet are a prophecy of what was to come for Nebuchadnezzar from his reign until the reign of Rome.

Babylon would lead from 605 BC-539BV

Medes Persians 539-331BC

Greece 331BC-146BC

Rome 145BC-395AD

Daniel 2:34–36 “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.”

This prophesies that the Lord came to Bethlehem to save a sinner like you and me and to establish His kingdom, that upon this rock i will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against me.

There will come a day when He comes again and every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Here we see lives built on the wrong materials.

Oh listen, football dynasties come and go, land ownership comes and goes, large corporations comes and go, fortunes are lost and made, health today and loss of tomorrow, marriages strong today, broken tomorrow. Life as we know life is fleeting.

Ill. Jerry Hyatt-Raymond worked at Empire Rouse-supplied St. Margaret's-no longer.

Matthew 7:24–27 “24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.””

Daniel 2:34 “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.”

God is ultimately in control divinely at work and in control.

Ill. Israel, Hamas, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Cutter, Russia, China, North Korea

Reminds me of King of the Hill

If our country will come back to God, He might spare us.